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Logo of a minor league baseball team that plays in the AA Texas League, the San Antonio Missions. They are affiliated with the San Diego Padres, and have been in existence since 1988. The city has actually had a AA team since 1888, and there have been a number of versions that used the “Missions” nickname. In those earlier incarnations, they were affiliated with the Baltimore Orioles, and their roster included Brooks Robinson, and also with the Chicago Cubs, with Billy Williams and Ron Santo playing for them. The current franchise won Texas League titles in 2002 and 2003 while affiliated with the Seattle Mariners.

Logo of a National Hockey League team that, as of the start of the 2011/12 season will cease to exist – the Atlanta Thrashers. The Thrashers entered the NHL as an expansion team in 1999 as the city’s second attempt to sell the sport in the Georgia city. Atlanta had previously lost the Flames to Calgary, Alberta, and the Thrashers will now be relocated to Winnipeg and become the second incarnation of the Jets. Some notable players in the franchise history include Kelly Buchberger, Ilya Kovalchuk, Dany Heatley, Marian Hossa, Marc Savard and Kari Lehtonen.

An “alternate” logo of the old Houston Oilers football team, used in 1964 and ’65, when the team was a charter member of the American Football League. The team, after winning the first 2 AFL titles, was in a downward spiral during these 2 seasons, finishing 4-10 both years under coaches Sammy Baugh, the legendary QB, and Hugh Taylor. The team had some of the more memorable  players in its’ history on the roster, including George Blanda, Sid Blanks, Charley Tolar, W.K. Hicks and split end Charley Hennigan, who had a then-record setting 101 catch season in ’64.

Logo of an old National Basketball Association team, the Cincinnati Royals. This logo was used from 1957, when the team relocated from Rochester, NY, until 1971, when the team was moved to Kansas City and became the Kings. The team was competitive in its’ years in Cincinnati but never won any titles. Some of the most legendary players in NBA history played for them, including Oscar Robertson, Maurice Stokes, Jack Twyman, Wayne Embry, Jerry Lucas and Sihugo Green. Boston Celtic legend Bob Cousy coached the team in the late ’60s, but the franchise declined after trading Lucas and Robertson and eventually moved to Kansas City. The franchise currently exists as the Sacramento Kings, after moving there from Missouri in 1985, but may be in danger of relocation again.

Logo of baseball’s Detroit Tigers used in 1927 and 1928. This is a pretty sad looking tiger that appears to have a severe overbite. The two seasons in which this logo was used were very different in that in 1927, despite finishing fourth in the American League, the team had an 82-71 record. They won only 68 games in ’28 and wound up sixth in the eight team AL. Maybe that’s why the logo tiger looks so sad. Two Hall of Famers played for Detroit in this era – Charlie Gehringer and Heinie Manush, while another, Ty Cobb, retired prior to the ’27 season. That would be another reason for the tiger to be sad.

Logo of an old hockey team that played in the National Hockey League from 1925 until 1930, the Pittsburgh Pirates. Although they are barely remembered among the city’s pro sports teams today, the team was the first in Pittsburgh to use the black and gold color scheme that is prevelant today in the Steel City. The most prominent player for the team was captain Lionel Conacher, and their coach, Odie Cleghorn, was an innovator, as he was the first NHL coach to change players on the fly, and also the first coach to use 3 set forward lines, in an era where most teams just kept their best players on the ice for as long as possible.

Logo of the National Football League’s Chicago Bears, one of the league’s iconic franchises, used from 1940 until 1953.  The club was led during this era by team founder George “Papa Bear” Halas, as they were for most of their storied history. The team won the NFL title in the first year this logo was used, 1940, throttling the Washington Redskins 73-0 in the title game while using a new wrinkle to befuddle the ‘Skins during the game, the T formation. The team won 4 NFL championships during the era of this logo. Key Bear players during this era include Clyde “Bulldog” Turner, Sid Luckman, Bronko Nagurski, George McAfee, Joe Stydahar, George Musso, George Blanda and Bill George.

Logo of the Chicago Stags, who played in the Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball Association from 1946 until 1950. They had a fairly successful team in their short existence, compiling a winning record in each season. Some of their notable players were Max Zaslofsky, Gene Vance and Stan Miasek. They also once owned the draft rights to Bob Cousy, but never signed him.

Logo of baseball’s Philadelphia Phillies, used from 1950 until 1969. This era included the 1950 “Whiz Kids” team that won the National League pennant, led by stars like pitchers Robin Roberts and Curt Simmons and hitters like Del Ennis, Willie Jones and Richie Ashburn. It also included the infamous 1964 season when the club, managed by Gene Mauch, held a 6 1/2 game lead in the National League with 12 games to play, then proceeded to lose 10 in a row in a historic collapse known as “The Phold”. That team, despite the collapse, included some of the Phils’ best players in their long history, such as Dick Allen, Jim Bunning, Chris Short, Tony Taylor, Bobby Wine and Johnny Callison. The pitching staff also included a man who would go on to manage the Phils to a World Series title – Dallas Green.

This is a special logo of one of the National Hockey League’s “original six” franchises, the Boston Bruins, who are currently competing in the Stanley Cup Finals. It signifies the 25th anniversary of the team – in 1949. The team’s original colors were brown and yellow, patterned after owner Charles Adams’ grocery store chain colors, and was changed to the current black and gold in 1939. The Bruins are without a doubt one of the NHL’s most storied teams, and in their first quarter century of existence had some of the game’s most historic figures associated with them. Their original general manager was Art Ross, whose name is on the league’s trophy for annual scoring champion. Hall of Fame players from this era include Dit Clapper, Babe Pratt, Milt Schmidt, Tiny Thompson, Harry Oliver, Eddie Shore, Bobby Bauer, Roy Conacher and Frank Brimsek.