Logo of the Las Vegas Locomotives, who play in the United Football League. They are coached by former New York Giant coach Jim Fassell, and have won both of the young league’s championships, in 2009 and 2010. The “Locos” are also the only “charter” franchise of the league still playing in their original city.
Logo of a charter franchise in the WNBA, the New York Liberty. They have played in the league since its’ inception in 1997, and are one of the winningest teams in league history. The Liberty, however, also have gained a reputation as one of those pro teams that “can’t win the big one”, as they have been a playoff team almost every year, been to the WNBA Finals 4 times, and never won the title in the women’s pro league. Notable players for the Liberty over the years include Rebecca Lobo, Teresa Weatherspoon and Becky Hammon.
Logos of the Spokane Indians, a minor league baseball team that has played in the “short season” Class A Northwest League since 1983. They are currently affiliated with the Texas Rangers. Of course, there have been many different versions of the “Spokane Indians” minor league team at many different levels over the years, since 1903 in fact. In 2006, the Spokane Nation contacted the franchise about officially supporting the team. In order to pay homage to the team’s history and new connection with the tribe, a new secondary logo was created, written in Salish, the traditional language of the tribe (on the right above).
Logo of an old National Hockey League franchise, the Brooklyn Americans. This franchise played as the Quebec Bulldogs and the Hamilton Tigers before locating in Brooklyn. The club played only one year in Brooklyn, however, finishing in last place. The team disbanded when the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred, as ownership expected its’ players to enlist in the service. There were plans to revive the franchise after World War II ended, but they never panned out.
Logo of the Florida Tuskers football team, which played in the United Football League for 2 seasons before moving to Virginia and becoming the Destroyers. The team was successful on the field, advancing to the UFL title game both years of their existence, but losing to the Las Vegas Locomotives both times. They were coached by Jim Haslett in their inaugural year, but he left to take an NFL defensive coordinator job and was replaced for the second season by Jay Gruden, brother of Jon Gruden. The team’s owner is former NFL quarterback Joe Theismann.
Logo of a team from the defunct American Basketball Association, the Miami Floridians. The franchise began as a charter member of the league in 1968 as the Minnesota Muskies, but relocated to Miami after one season. They played in Miami until 1972, making the ABA playoffs 3 of their 4 years of existence there, but never drew well at the box office. In the 1970 season, the team marketed itself as a “regional” franchise, playing home games in Tampa, Jacksonville, and West Palm Beach as well as Miami, and were known as “The Floridians”. There weren’t many notable players in the team’s history, but they did have ball girls clad in bikinis and go-go boots, and at one time did what a lot of fans wish their home teams would do – they “fired” (traded or released) all of their players, and kept the coach.
Logo of the Yomiuri Giants of Japan’s Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball, the highest pro league in that country. The Giants, one of Japan’s oldest franchises, are considered the “New York Yankees of Japan” as they are the most highly regarded and historic team. Former Mets’ manager Davey Johnson once managed the Giants, and Hideki Matsui played for them before signing with the Yankees. Their most famous player is Sadaharu Oh, the “Babe Ruth of Japan”, who hit an amazing 868 home runs in his 22 year career.
This is another unfortunate attempt to “modernize” a team’s logo – the infamous “Buffaslug” logo used by the National Hockey League’s Buffalo Sabres from 2006 until 2010. Reacting to fans’ wishes, new Sabres owner Terry Pegula is phasing out this logo after the current season. It is a testament to why “designers” who have no understanding of the fan base’s love of a team’s tradition shouldn’t be allowed to tinker with sports logos and uniforms.
Logo of the Birmingham Stallions football team, which played in the United States Football League from 1983 until 1985. The Stallions were one of the USFL’s more successful franchises, posting the second most wins in the league’s short history. They were the first pro football team to draft Jerry Rice, but never signed him. The Stallions had a Pittsburgh Steeler flavor, as their head coach was former Steeler assistant Rollie Dotsch, who served with the NFL club during their Super Bowl years, and their quarterback was former Steeler Cliff Stoudt. Stoudt had replaced Terry Bradshaw as Steeler QB, but fell out of favor with fans and decided to sign with Birmingham. The next year, Pittsburgh’s USFL team, the Maulers, had their only sellout when Stoudt and the Stallions played there, and the fans pelted their former QB with snowballs. Another notable Stallion was former Bills’ running back Joe Cribbs.
Logo of the American Basketball Association Memphis Tams, who played in the old league under that name from 1972 until 1974. The franchise started out in New Orleans in 1968 as a charter member of the ABA, and moved to Memphis in 1971 and became the “Pros”. They were purchased in 1972 by the flamboyant owner of baseball’s Oakland A’s, Charlie Finley, and renamed the Tams. Some of the players from the “Tams” years include Larry Kenon, George Thompson, Johnny Neumann and Larry Finch.
