Awesome Sports Logos Blog

For the Good of Hockey, Root for New York and Chicago

We feel we’ve neglected our hockey fans as of late at Awesome Sports Logos. Hockey is one of our favorite sports and some of our best selling t-shirts are hockey based like the Portland Tree Huggers and the Texas Roadkill.

Hockey fans are about to be spoiled. To me there is no better payoff as a sports fan than watching a Game Seven. This year we have two primetime Game 7's. New York hosts Tampa Bay and the Chicago Blackhawks travel to Anaheim.

I will be watching the Stanley Cup regardless of who is in it but for the health of the league, a New York/Chicago Original 6 brawl would garner a lot more attention nationally. Remember when Carolina won the Stanley Cup? You are in the majority, not many do.

Since we are a logo company, lets give you some history on the two Original Six teams. Both teams were founded in 1926, and have hardly changed their logos at all over a long history.

First, let’s look at the Rangers. Their original owner – George “Tex” Richard – wanted to name them the Giants. That would have proven highly unoriginal, as New York already had TWO teams with Giants as a nickname. The New York baseball Giants had held the nickname since 1883. And the New York football Giants had been founded just a year before (1925). Sensing how lame it would be to have 3 teams named the Giants (at least we hope), the New York press nicknamed the team “Tex’s Rangers”.

The Rangers logo hasn’t changed much over time:

The shape of the shield has slightly changed. And so has the font. But the colors? And color scheme? It’s been exactly the same for nearly 90 years. Hockey loves tradition.

But why not break tradition with another New York Hockey team? Ladies and gentlemen, Awesome Sports Logos proudly presents the Brooklyn Leg Breakers!

A New York team named after soldiers in Texas? There’s nothing wrong with that. It just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. If you really want a nickname with local history, why not use New York’s mafia as inspiration? When the New York Islanders announced their move to Brooklyn, we patiently waited for the phone to ring to use the Leg Breakers logo. Okay, we didn't and technically Brooklyn is part of Long Island so they are still cool in our book.

Let’s shift over to the other “Original Six” team still standing: The Chicago Blackhawks. Their logo has seen more changes than the Rangers over its history:

A little more variety, but the main concept has always remained the same.

Their nickname has a much more interesting backstory than the Rangers. Frederic McLaughlin – the Blackhawks original owner – served in the 86th Infantry “Blackhawk” Division in World War I. That service inspired his hockey teams’ eventual nickname.

Want some more history? That army division was named after Chief Black Hawk, a Native American who refused to yield his land to American settlers pushing West (into what is now Illinois) in 1832.

Enjoy your Game 7's hockey fans and remember, you get great discounts on our awesome t-shirts by subscribing to our t-shirt of the month club. Thanks as always for reading.

Paul Gallant

Awesome Sports Logos Columnist

Posted in brooklyn leg breakers by Gavin on 5/28/2015 at 9:44:50 pm.

The Original Six Montreal Canadiens Logo Review

The Montreal Canadiens franchise is one of hockey’s most storied. Founded in 1904, the Canadiens have won the coveted Stanley Cup a record 24 times with legends like Maurice Richard, Jacques Plante, and Patrick Roy, among others, donning their classic jersey.

Logo courtesy of sportslogos.net

The Montreal Canadiens’ logo has evolved over time, but the foundation of their current look was established in 1916, according to the team’s website. The change, according to the site, is linked to the team’s purchase by then-owner, George Kennedy. Prior to the change in 1916, the Canadiens jersey was altered seven previous times over a seven-year period.

Ultimately, the logo they settled on is pretty neat, very simple, a little mysterious, and very recognizable.

The nickname is a direct source of pride, especially for a team in a league now dominated by American teams, and there's something cool about that. But it's only the second coolest part of this whole deal.

In the middle of the 'C' is an 'H.' This provided much confusion for me before I stopped being lazy and searched its meaning many moons ago. Unfortunately, that search did me no good because for years I bought into a logo myth that the “H” stands for “Habs,” or, “Les habitants.” That’s the informal name given to New France, a region of Canada colonized by the French in the 16th century. Thus, the myth suggests the “H” pays homage to their French roots.

However, it isn’t that complicated. Thanks to the logo don himself, Gavin Spittle, I learned the much simpler reality: the “H” stands for hockey. And, had my fancy google search included the Canadiens’ web site, I would have learned that earlier.

Prior to the “H,” older renditions of their logo actually had an “A” inside the elongated “C,” which is a staple of their modern and historical look.

The 'C' is the main element of the logo and it's pretty simple. While I'm not sure if this has any intent, the stretched shape resembles a rink. The coloring and lining avoids clutter but looks sharp. The red bounces off well with the touches of blue and white.

In past posts I've identified the importance of winning to a good logo. It doesn't make or break a look, but it helps add something. When we see a logo from one of the most successful franchises in sports, it evokes that winning thought. The Canadiens fit into that category and thus, so does their logo.

While it lacks anything particularly lavish, it is simply, yet detailed, and helps tell a story important to the team. I give this “Original Six” logo an 8.5 out of 10.

As always, thanks for reading. A reminder so Awesome Sports Logos can continue to pay their bills, support us with a t-shirt purchase or better yet, think of our t-shirt of the month club for a creative gift. Whether it’s for a birthday, a groomsmen gift or if you want to treat yourself, this VIP club will send you a cool t-shirt each month. You get great savings and free shipping. Now that’s awesome!!

Jared Sandler

Awesome Sports Logos Columnist

Posted in Hockey by Gavin on 1/21/2015 at 7:32:42 pm.

The History of the Toronto Maple Leafs Awesome Sports Logo

The Toronto Maple Leafs organization is one of professional sports’ most iconic and historic franchises. Think a ticket to Fenway Park is tough? Try lining up a ticket to a Maple Leafs game inside the Air Canada Centre. The Maple Leaf, which dons the Canadian flag, is, to some, just as much a symbol of Toronto’s hockey team as it is the country. But, did you ever wonder how the Maple Leaf became attached to Toronto?

Late ice hockey executive, legendary Frank Calder, led a group of owners in the National Hockey Association (NHA) to start their own league in 1917. The new group froze out the Toronto “Blue Shirts,” winners of the 1914 Stanley Cup. It wasn’t because of a lack of success, but because the rest of the owners did not fancy Toronto’s owner, Eddie Livingstone. While the “Blue Shirts” were out of the league, that did not necessarily mean that Toronto was out of the league.

A new Toronto franchise with a different ownership joining the new league former by the group led by Calder. While it might seem inconceivable to those dying to add a hashtag to every proper noun possible, the new skaters from Toronto did not really have a nickname. Some called them the “Blue Shirts,” a carryover from the NHA, while others simply referred to one of the league’s top teams as the “Torontos,” #nocreativity.

The Toronto squad finished tied for first with the Montreal Canadiens at the end of the new league’s first season. Incidentally, the only reason the Canadiens achieved a record strong enough to tie Toronto’s is that they won two games by forfeiture charged against the Montreal Wanderers, whose stadium was destroyed by fire. After depositing the Canadiens for the NHL Championship, Toronto advanced to the PCHA victors, the Vancouver—wait, cue the theme show music—Millionaires. While Regis Philbin wasn’t hosting, Toronto put a twist on the former famed show, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? by playing, Who Wants To Beat The Millionaires? The answer: Toronto, taking the series in 5 games and winning the 1918 Stanley Cup.

Despite their recent fortunes, however, Toronto filed for bankruptcy in 1920, only to be rescued by Charles L. Querrie. Still without a nickname, this “lucky” franchise was named the “St. Patricks,” in honor of the growing Irish population in Toronto. With a fresh start and a new image, Toronto’s colors became green and white. Rebounding from a disastrous 1919 season, the fighting Irish barely missed out on the playoffs, taking big strides towards improvement. It was only two years later when they hoisted the Cup again, once more defeating the Millionaires in 5 games.

Unfortunately, their success once again hit a snag. After their 1920 Cup, the St. Patricks missed out on the playoffs or fell short of expectations for a handful of years consecutively.

The Conn Smythe Trophy is awarded to the MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Conn Smythe, himself, was arguably the MVP of Toronto’s hockey franchise in the 1920’s. With the team’s struggles, there was talk of removing the team from Toronto in favor of Philadelphia. However, Smythe, who headed a group of investors who purchased the team, decided to keep the team in Toronto. Smythe also took control as the team’s General Manager and Coach. With plenty of controlling interest, Smythe didn’t have too many people get in his way when he decided to change the team’s name. It was in February of 1927 that Toronto’s hockey franchise entered into a marriage with the nickname: Maple Leafs.

After once scouting a team in East Toronto known as the Maple Leafs, Smythe took a liking to the name. He also felt that it made sense and was appropriate as a World War I veteran to choose a logo that demonstrated patriotism like the Maple Leaf did symbolically for Canada. Along with the adoption of the Maple Leaf nickname, Toronto went back to its traditional color scheme of blue and white, which remains their identity today.

While Awesome Sports Logos might not have a century’s worth of history, it does have sports t-shirts that pay homage to history like, the Dallas Doughboys, a term that dates back all the way to the Mexican American War.

Maybe that’s not your thing? The New York Zouaves t-shirt is a smooth looking choice that recognizes the historic Zouaoua tribe and its French-Algerian ties. The New York Zouaves fought during the civil war with tremendous success. Their unorthodox tactics produced highly successful results which included re-loading their guns lying down as well as spacing themselves further apart than most regimens which created tougher targets for the south.

These are just a few examples of how Awesome Sports Logos incorporates history to go along with awesome, sports, and logos!

Thanks as always for reading,

Jared Sandler

Awesome Sports Logos Columnist

Posted in Awesome Sports Logos by Gavin on 4/19/2014 at 1:55:10 pm.

Awesome Sports Logos Blog

For the Good of Hockey, Root for New York and Chicago

The Original Six Montreal Canadiens Logo Review

The History of the Toronto Maple Leafs Awesome Sports Logo

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