rayonsports.com

Logo of  basketball’s New York Knickerbockers, used by the NBA franchise from their inaugural season in the Basketball Association of America (predecessor of the NBA) in 1946 until 1963. the Knicks, along with the Boston Celtics, are the only 2 original NBA teams still located in their original city. During the years this logo was used, the Knicks made the NBA finals three straight years (1951-1953) and were the first team to sign an African American player, Nathaniel “Sweetwater” Clifton, in 1950, although Clifton wasn’t actually the first to play in an NBA game – that honor went to Earl Lloyd of the old Washington Capitols. The Knicks of this era were involved in one of the NBA’s most historic games – in 1962, Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points against them in a game played in Hershey, Pa.

Here is another logo of a team from the old World Football League, the Birmingham Americans. They were the league’s most successful franchise, winning all 13 of their home games in the league’s two year existence, and winning the 1974 “World Bowl”, the WFL’s championship game. It turned out to be the only title game for the league, as it folded before the ’75 season was completed. The Americans drew well at the box office, but ran into money troubles by signing NFL players to “future” contracts that included huge bonuses. Some of the players paid bonuses who, of course, never played for the team were Ken Stabler, Jethro Pugh, Rayfield Wright, Ron Jessie and L.C. Greenwood. After the team’s World Bowl victory, Jefferson County Deputy Sheriffs came into the locker room and seized the players’ uniforms and equipment due to the massive debts owed by the team’s ownership.

One of the most iconic logos in all of sports, the logo of the National Hockey League’s Montreal Canadiens. The franchise is one of the NHL’s “original six” teams, but is the only team that actually pre-dates the founding of the NHL. They are one of the oldest professional sports franchises in North America, and also one of the winningest, having captured 24 championships in their long and storied history. “Les Habitants” have had a lot of legendary players over the years, including Maurice “The Rocket” Richard, Jean Beliveau, Toe Blake, Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion, Jacques Plante, Guy Lafleur, Ken Dryden, Larry Robinson and Patrick Roy. There is a misconception about the “C” and “H” on the team’s logo. Most people think the “H” is for “Habitants” in tribute to Canada’s bilingual culture in the province of Quebec, but the “H” actually stands for “Hockey”, and the “C” for “Canadien”, as the team’s official name is “le Club de Hockey Canadien”.

Logo of the Southern California Sun, a franchise in the short-lived World Football League in the 1970s. They were coached by former L.A. Ram legend Tom Fears and had winning records in their 2 years of existence in 1974 and ’75. They played their home games at Anaheim Stadium, and produced some quality quarterbacks in their short existence. In ’74 their signal caller was league Co-MVP  Tony Adams, then in ’75 they signed former Raider Daryle Lamonica, the “Mad Bomber”, and former USC Trojan Pat Haden, who is currently the athletic director at the school.

This is the logo of basketball’s Milwaukee Bucks, used by the NBA franchise from their inaugural season in 1968 until 1992. The Bucks, like every typical expansion team, struggled in that first season but then won a coin flip with fellow expansion team Phoenix to get the first draft choice. That choice turned out to be a lanky rookie center from UCLA named Lew Alcindor, who amazingly not only improved the team’s fortunes but helped them win the NBA title in their third season, the fastest any expansion team in any major sport ever took to win their league’s title.  That team was coached by Larry Costello and also included Oscar Robertson, Jon McGlocklin and Bob Dandridge. Alcindor, of course, eventually changed his name to Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Logo of the National Lacrosse League’s Buffalo Bandits, a very successful indoor lacrosse franchise that was born in 1992 as an entry into the Major Indoor Lacrosse League (MILL). The Bandits, hugely popular at the box office, won the MILL championship in each of their first 2 seasons in the league and 3 titles in their first 5 years. The team has been in the league championship game 4 other times also, winning another title in 2008. Key players over the years for the Bandits are Darris Kilgour, John Tavares (uncle of NHL New York Islanders star of the same name) and Mark Steenhuis.

This simple logo of an early major league baseball team, the 1901 Baltimore Orioles, is a very significant and important historical logo in the history of the sport. The Orioles only played 2 seasons in Baltimore before being moved to New York, where they became the Highlanders, and ultimately, the Yankees, the sport’s most successful franchise. Baltimore returned to baseball again after the 1954 season when the St. Louis Browns moved there, and the new team adopted both the Orioles name and the black and orange color scheme of their old ancestors.

The New York Islanders’ infamous “Gorton’s Fisherman” logo used by the National Hockey League team for 2 seasons, 1995 and ’96. It was introduced in ’95 as the team attempted to update its’  look, but was so unpopular with fans, who loved the team’s original logo from it’s proud championship years, that the team changed the logo back to a modified form of its’ original as soon as the league allowed it. It also didn’t help that the team was struggling on the ice at the time. Sometimes teams go through periods when the whole organization is making bad decisions.

Logo of the Philadelphia Bell football team, a member of the old World Football League in 1974 and ’75. The team drew well at their home games, but mostly because they distributed thousands of free tickets. The team was owned by a group headed by businessman John B. Kelly, Jr., brother of actress and Princess of Monaco Grace Kelly. Vince Papale, who later was a special teams ace with the Philadelphia Eagles and was the subject of the movie Invincible, played for the Bell, and for their second and final season before folding they were coached by former Green Bay Packer Hall of Famer Willie Wood.

Logo of the American Basketball Association’s Los Angeles Stars, who played in the league from 1968 through 1970. The franchise entered the ABA as the Anaheim Amigos, but they weren’t successful on the court or at the box office, and made the short move to L.A. after one season. They were coached by long-time NBA coach Bill Sharman, and their roster included ABA legends Mack Calvin and Willie Wise, along with Wayne Hightower and Billy “The Hill” McGill. The team lasted only 2 years in Los Angeles, and a year after owner Jim Kirst declared “we are in L.A. to stay!”, relocated to Utah.