Awesome Sports Logos Blog

Sports Logo Review of the Houston Astros

The Houston Astros entered into existence in 1965. Formerly of the National League, the Astros migrated to the Junior Circuit to begin the 2013 season. 

History has not been kind to the Astros, who have never won a World Series. As a matter of fact, they've had just one World Series appearance. It came in 2005 versus the White Sox during a magical playoff run led by outfielder, Carlos Beltran. However, the Astros, who have train tracks and a train inside Minute Maid Park, lost steam against the Pale Hose, getting swept out of town. 

When the Astros moved to the American League, they evened out both sides at 15 teams a piece. With the new scenery, the Astros showcased a new look and a change of color. 

And you know what? Not too shabby, Houston. Not too shabby...
 
 
 
Logo pictures courtesy of sportslogos.net
 
 
Their new look circa 2013 has a retro-future look to it. The coloring and the shaping combines a retro motif with a new-school movement. More importantly, it is a major upgrade over their most recently extinct logo, which was flat out boring. It was an unfinished star with "Astros" is cursive script underneath. The coloring was mediocre at best, but the more I frequently I looked at it, the more I became bored by it. 
 
 

Some movies are great when you see them for the first time. Then when it is on TV a few months later, you enjoy it once more, but you end up changing the channel prematurely or waiting for it to end. It doesn't draw you enough to re-watch. Then there are some movies you can watch over and over and over and over and over. I think the true test for a great comedy is becoming timeless. 

One test for a great logo is having that same timeless look if you will. The old logo just didn't have that.

The new Astros design? Yah, I can dig it. There's nothing too remarkably flashy about it.

I'm a big fan of a logo having some representation of the city, region, or state. Maintaining the star preserves the "Lone Star State" pride. 

I like the colors: navy blue, orange, and white. They mix well with one another. I've always been a fan of the orange and navy blue and wish more teams would give it a shot. Having blue as the primary color helps illuminate the orange without having to make it an obnoxious neon shade.

I think the "H" in the middle is okay. Nothing too sexy about it. The flat tops and bottoms to its limbs give it a sturdy, pillar feel to it and I like what that adds. 

As far as the "Houston" and "Astros" text, there's nothing too fancy about that, which, once again, isn't necessarily a bad thing. It is pretty standard. 

Overall, this is a solid logo. It isn't amazing. Some movies are just solid, but have that re-watch factor. This logo is solid that will stick around for a while.

At Awesome Sports Logos, we have our own Houston baseball t-shirt, the Houston Gushers.
 
 
Houston is big time oil country, and at one time was our world headquarters. H-Town is the fourth largest city in the United States, and the largest in Texas. It was in 1901 that oil gushed for the first time in Houston, and because of the port, the city has become a petrochemical leader, as well as the leading city for building oilfield equipment. Did we just use petrochemical in a sentence? The bottom line, we love this retro logo with a wood derrick that is also the letter “H” gushing with oil. We hope you love this cool Houston t-shirt as well!

And remember, you can get the Gushers and a whole bunch of other awesome t-shirts at a big time discount with free shipping by joining our T-shirt of the Month Club!

Thanks as always for reading,

Jared Sandler
Awesome Sports Logos Columnist
Posted in Baseball by Gavin on 8/4/2015 at 7:38:22 pm.

Reviewing the Houston Astros Sports Logo

The Houston Astros have been in the news a lot recently, both for good, bad, and neutral. Whatever the case, they're a team on the rise so it makes sense for us to check out their logo. 
 
 

I'd characterize the Astros logo as simple, but certainly complete. It doesn't "pop", but it stands out. It's not fancy, but there's focused detail. 

The logo isn't loud with shapes and colors flying everywhere. It's circularly founded with the "H" at the center and the relevant information arched around it. Throw in a star and it's got all that you need for a good logo. It might be a little too flashy to be a part of the minimalist family, but not by too much. That's ok, though. Those logos lack focus and purpose. This one does not and that's what makes it effective. 

Houston's image doesn't feature an attacking animal or some ambiguous creature. The centerpiece is a letter and a star. But what I like most about the logo is it's color scheme. Blue and orange isn't a commonly used combo and that helps the freshness of the logo and allows it to stand out, even if it isn't the first thing you notice in the room. I also like the decision to use white text and not orange text. It helps value the orange and also makes the meat of the logo standout. If they'd have switched the two main colors and highlighted orange as the main color, I wouldn't have totally objected, but it would be too loud for the rest of its personality. It would be like a tatted up nun...

The final check mark is a personal requirement for every logo and that's some cultural personality. A famous Houston rapper once said, "Rep yo state." Houston reps it's state with the star--a subtle cap-tip to "The Lone Star State," a source of pride for all Texans. 

This logo more than passes the test. I'll give it a B. Awesome Sports Logos doesn't have Bs--just As. Check them out, like the baseball team that the team at ASL made up, the Houston Gushers. Houston is big time oil country so this logo provides great regionalism and history. The other cool element that is cool is the creation of the H with an old wooden oil derrick. This to me is an awesome baseball t-shirt. 
 
 

Thanks as always for reading,

Jared Sandler
Awesome Sports Logos Columnist
Posted in Baseball by Gavin on 7/29/2014 at 9:29:54 pm.

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