Logo of a legendary team that was part of the league that later became the National Football League, the Canton Bulldogs. They were founded in 1905 and played in the “Ohio League”, then became part of the NFL in 1920 until folding in 1926. They are the reason why the Pro Football Hall of Fame is located in Canton. The Bulldogs had six Hall of Famers during their short existence, including Guy Chamberlin, Greasy Neale and the top gate attraction of his time, Jim Thorpe.
We’ve featured a number of old Buffalo Bills logos on this site over time, but this one is unique. It’s the logo of the Buffalo Bills’ franchise that existed in the All America Football Conference from 1946 until the league merged with the NFL prior to the 1950 season. The team began as the Bisons (we’ll feature that logo in the future), but changed their name to the Bills in ’47. The franchise folded when the leagues merged and they weren’t absorbed into the NFL. Notable AAFC Bills players include QB George Ratterman, back Chet Mutryn and receivers Fay King and Al Baldwin.
The logos above are examples of “prototype” logos that teams considered at certain points of their existence. These prototypes are obviously for the National Football League’s Miami Dolphins, with the helmet logo on the left and a logo that’s just a slight variation of what became their regular logo – with the Dolphin wearing a pair of cool South Florida shades instead of his football helmet.
Logo of the Baltimore Ravens football team, used in their inaugural season in the NFL in 1996, until 1998. The Ravens came into existence when owner Art Modell abandoned Cleveland after the ’95 season, moving his Browns to Baltimore. The team’s nickname is derived from the poem by Edgar Allen Poe, who is buried in the city. After representatives from Cleveland sued the NFL over the Browns’ relocation, a settlement was reached that forced Modell to surrender the team’s name, color scheme and affiliation with the Browns’ past history, which pretty much made the Ravens a quasi-expansion team. When the Browns returned to the NFL in 1999, they were considered a “reactivated” franchise. The Ravens won a Super Bowl for Modell in 2000.
An early alternate logo of the American Football League’s Boston Patriots, one of the league’s charter franchises which later regionalized and became today’s NFL New England Patriots. “Pat Patriot” was a fan favorite as a logo and was featured prominently on the team helmet until the mid-1990s. Some of the Pats’ all-time players from the AFL era include Gino Cappelletti, currently a long-time team radio broadcaster, Babe Parilli, Ron Burton, Jim Nance, Houston Antwine, Bob Dee, Tom Addison and Nick Buoniconti.
This old program cover from a 1962 American Football League game features a logo for the Buffalo Bills that was never actually an “official” logo of the team, but made many appearances on the program covers in the early years of the franchise. The cartoon character “Buffalo Bill” was the artwork of Kevin Weil on programs from 1961 until 1964. Although never officially recognized as a team logo, “Buffalo Bill” was featured prominently on an AFL banner at the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s AFL 50th Anniversary display in 2009. A must-see web site for any Buffalo sports fan is www.buffalosportsmuseum.com ,which I came across while looking for the old “Buffalo Bill” cartoon character. Check it out, it’s full of lost treasures from the city’s sports past.
Logo of a team that existed in the National Football League from 1933 until 1939, the Pittsburgh Pirates. The team was founded by Art Rooney and renamed the Steelers in 1940, and during the “Pirate” years never finished with a winning record. The team turned out to be one of the NFL’s most iconic franchises. Their most notable achievement as the Pirates was signing Byron “Whizzer” White, the future Supreme Court Justice, in 1938.
Logo of the Oakland Raiders football team, used in their first three seasons of existence in the old American Football League, from 1960 until 1963. The Raiders are a franchise that values continuity and tradition, and both their logo and uniforms have changed very little over the years. The team’s famous silver and black color scheme, however, wasn’t used from the beginning. The Raiders wore gold and black in the early years. The Raiders were a losing club in the years when they used this particular logo, and didn’t turn their fortunes around until they hired Al Davis as coach in 1963. Some notable Raider players from the first 3 years include Tom Flores, Clem Daniels, Jim Otto, Cotton Davidson and Fred “The Hammer” Williamson.
Logo of a minor league baseball team, the Iowa Oaks, who existed from 1969 until 1981, when they became affiliated with the Chicago Cubs and were renamed the Iowa Cubs. The Oaks were affiliated with the Chicago White Sox at the time this logo was used, and were a AAA club who played in the defunct American Association. Some notable Oaks alumni are Vida Blue, Pat Tabler, Harold Baines and manager Tony LaRussa.
Logo of the Houston Texans football team, but not the current NFL franchise. These Texans played almost a single season in the old World Football League, in 1974. “Almost” because after going 3-7-1 in their first 11 games of existence in ’74, they were relocated to Shreveport, Louisiana to finish the season. The Texans raided the NFL for a couple of veterans, QB Craig Morton and DT John Matuszak, who was involved in a strange incident. In a game against the New York Stars, he recorded a sack, then was removed from the game because his old NFL team, the Houston Oilers, obtained a restraining order barring him from playing in the WFL.