Awesome Sports Logos Blog

Sports Logo Spotlight on the Frederick Keys

In today’s Awesome Sports Logos spotlight, we shine the light toward Maryland and the Single A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, the Frederick Keys.

Lets begin with the history. Frederick is the Key capitol but not the key that lets you in the door. Frederick County is the former home of Francis Scott Key. Not familiar with this famous poet’s work? You would be if you heard the song that always gets a standing ovation. Begins with “O Say Can You See”, ends with “And the Home of the Brave”.  That’s right, this team is named after the author of the Star Spangled Banner, our nations National Anthem.

So lets take a look at the logo.

 

Logo courtesy of sportslogos.net 

This is one of those rare minor league logos that hasn’t changed. Frederick has kept the same logo since The Keys made Frederick their home back in 1989. The colors of Black and Orange are also the primary logo colors of their parent club. That said, when you think of such a historic song, Red, White, and Blue does the trick for me.

I do like the explosions in the logo although they look a bit too similar to fireworks. That’s a nice tie in to the song where it says, “The bombs bursting in air.”

Other than that, the logo is just there. I would love to see them bring in patriotic colors and possibly a character of Francis Scott Key.

Love the name and the history behind it. Just hope they come up with a different design in the future. Go Keys!

We love baseball here at Awesome Sports Logos. Here are some of our favorite teams.

The Idaho Taters

 

This is the first sports logo that we created and its still one of our favorites. I’m still surprised that a minor league team hasn’t grabbed this name. Idaho is potato country and what better name for that region that also doubles as a great Home Run nickname.

The Middleton Fingers

 

This is one of our best sellers and for good reason. Huge props to our logo designer who jumped for joy when he heard this name. Love the creativity of the middle bat rising from the bunch. Very subtle but that’s what we’re all about.

The Boca Raton Cougars

Cougars are vicious, especially these Cougars who go after their prey at night. They love hitting Home Runs, that’s for sure. Love the double meaning of this sports logo.

Remember, if you buy three of our shirts, you get the fourth t-shirt for free. Just use our coupon code, 3thenfree at checkout.

You can also include these t-shirts as part of our T-shirt of the Month Club. Discounts and free shipping! Now that’s a deal that’s hard to pass up.

Thanks for reading and supporting Awesome Sports Logos!

Gavin Spittle

Founder/T-shirt guy

Sports Logo Spotlight on the Joliet Slammers

We have a first of its kind here at Awesome Sports Logos. We’ve blogged about animals, mythical creatures, and various other unique sports logos. That’s why we are excited to tell you about a sports logo named after a prison.

The Joliet Slammers play in the Independent Frontier League. They are named after the well known Will County Correctional Center as well as the Stateville Correctional Center. The name has double meaning of course because baseball uses the term “Slam” in various forms. A grand slam or even a pitching “Slamming the door”.  The Slammers have been around since 2010 and won to division crowns, one in 2011 and just last year in 2016.  They even have some creative mascots. J.L. Bird short for Jailbird wearing the black and white pinstripes and the other is named Spikes.

So how do you create a logo out of a prison? Let’s take a look.

I thought that Dan Simon of Studio Simon who created this logo did a nice job of making a prison look similar to a ballpark. It’s open like a prison yard yet it takes that diamond shape like a ball field. You also have the guard tower and the barbed wire. The font on both Joliet and Slammers really sticks out.

 In an interview with the great sportslogos.net last year, Simon pointed out how proud he was of the alternate logo which he felt should be the primary. “They opted not to go with this direction because they wanted the primary logo to focus on the law side of the Joliet prison story, not the lawless side.”  Once again kudos to sportslogos.net for digging up an interesting aspect of this sports logo.

 

Personally, I’m with Dan Simon, I love the Jail Bird logo but I understand their philosophy. They need to cater to their fans, many of which work in the prison system on a daily basis.

Overall, I’m a fan of the name and their logos. It’s creative and it embraces a huge aspect of Joliet and that is so important when creating a sports logo.

Opening Day is Tuesday for Joliet. Go Slammers!

Opening Day is everyday here at Awesome Sports Logos. We’re always open and trying to bring a smile to your face with our awesome t-shirts.

Let’s look at a few of our baseball t-shirts.

 

We just talked about featuring what the area is known for in a sports logo. That’s why we are so proud of our Idaho Taters baseball logo. A “tater” is a long home run. It’s also a huge export for the gorgeous state of Idaho.

The Boca Raton Cougars

 

Okay, Boca Raton is known for a lot and maybe Cougars isn’t at the top of the list but we hear they roam the streets of Boca at night. They know what they want and they usually get it. Go Cougars!

We also feature some other cool baseball t-shirts like the Boston Accents, The Dallas Doughboys and the Decorah Trolls. Check em’ out and support the cause if you can. Our T-shirt of the Month Club is a great way to pick out a couple of them and enjoy savings and free shipping.

Thanks as always for reading,

Gavin Spittle

Founder, Logo Lover, T-shirt Fanatic

Awesome Sports Logos

The United Shore Professional Baseball League has Awesome Logos

Here at Awesome Sports Logos, our promise to you was to bring you cool logos from all over the world. We especially like to bring you sports logos that aren’t as well known but are just as impressive. This is the case with the four teams in the United Shore Professional Baseball League.

About one year ago the league was formed in Utica Michigan. The goal of the league is to get young kids noticed and ready for Major League Organizations. In fact, nine USPBL players were signed by MLB organizations in just the first year. That is truly impressive. The league started as 3 teams and has since expanded to 4 with more to come. Two cool aspects of the league to point out before we look at the logos. The first is all teams play in the same stadium. While they may have different names from the area, they all play at Jimmy Johns Field in Utica Michigan. This to me is a terrific idea. No travel required and less expense. They also play all of their games Thursday through the Weekend. Prime time baseball watching in a gorgeous new ballpark and it’s so much easier to attend a game on these days rather than a Monday or Tuesday night.

One other note, the USPBL streams all of their games live on YouTube. It’s pretty awesome to see a league not afraid to lose box office draw by showing their games. I think it attracts people to the ballpark and I also love how family members of these young pros get to watch their relatives in action.

 The Utica Unicorns

 

The red, purple and grey colors work really well. I love how the red mane of the unicorn also acts as an underline to the team name. A cool feature is the unicorn horn coming from the U in Utica. You don’t notice it at first glance. The horn going through the baseball ties in the sport perfect. In fact, from all four of these logos, they do a great job incorporating baseball.

The Eastside Diamond Hoppers

 

This is an awesome original name. Double meaning with Diamond Hoppers as a frog and also as someone speedy on the bases. Great touch with the frog catching a baseball with fly wings. You could even say that the Hopper is catching a “fly ball”. If that’s the case, then A+++ for that double meaning.

The Birmingham Bloomfield Beavers

 

Beavers make such great mascots and this is no exception. This Beaver looks like he is ready to launch one. My favorite part of this logo is the chipped wood bat that he is swinging. It’s those little touches that make a great sports logo.

We saved the newest member of the United Shore Professional Baseball League for last.

The Westside Woolly Mammoths

 

 This logo has some terrific details. I love the lettering especially the bottom of the lettering. That little touch throws you back 10,000 years ago like a caveman chiseled it. You didn’t need a baseball cap on the Mammoth but it’s a great little touch. As is the ball curled up in the trunk. To top it off, the Mammoth is stepping on a base. Even their team saying, “Go Big or Go Home” is a great tribute to the ice age era beast. There is also some history here. A Woolly Mammoth fossil was actually unearthed in Michigan back in 2015 so it’s a perfect tie in.

I can’t say enough about the coolness of this league and their logos. Four for four with sports logos with some terrific baseball in a cool stadium.

Awesome job USBPL!!

We have some awesome baseball logos to choose from on our super soft t-shirts. If you like a few of our shirts then save some money by joining our T-shirt of the Month Club. Discount prices with free shipping. It’s an awesome deal to take advantage of. 

Thanks as always for reading,

Gavin Spittle

Founder, Logo Lover, T-shirt Fanatic

The Lowell Spinners Have a New Logo

Today’s Sports Logo Review takes us to Lowell Massachusetts, home of  the Lowell Spinners of the Single A New York Penn League.

The Spinners recently unveiled a new logo so lets take a look.

 

The name and logo have great history in this region, a history that many may not know. You may have never heard of Lowell but back in the 1800’s Lowell was a textile giant. Cotton was grown in the south and shipped to Lowell. At one point there were more cotton spindles in Lowell than anywhere else in the United States. That’s why this logo makes so much sense. Many of the plants are now historically preserved and turned into museums. I love the name Spinners.

Here’s what team owner Dave Heller had to say. "Our new logos better reflect exactly who we are," said team owner Dave Heller. "The old logos did not even mention the word 'Lowell.' We are proud not merely to be from Lowell but of Lowell; the canals that run through this great city are a big part of our DNA, and we are proud to put the Lowell name back on our logo, jerseys and caps. We also wanted to incorporate our affiliation with the Red Sox as well as the factories and mills that define Lowell. Like the Spinners, they are an integral part of Lowell's past, present and very bright future."

 Great explanation by Mr. Heller. The factories and mills are a nice touch to the logo and I also like the Red Sox formatted lettering. It’s a great way to tie in the parent MLB club without calling it the Lowell Red Sox which happened in the past with many big league teams.  One explanation left out is the Gator. As a guy that grew up in the Bay State, I can tell you, Alligators in Lowell, MA are few and far between.  A bit too chilly in the channels of Lowell but I don’t mind the Gator touch. In fact, the club has named it a Canaligator after the six miles of Lowell canals.

Great job Spinners. You have an awesome logo and you run a fine organization packing the house year after year. Well done Lowell!

At Awesome Sports Logos, we feature two Massachusetts baseball logos on our t-shirts.

The first is the Boston Accents

 

Baseball has such a rich tradition in Boston and Bostonians also have a distinctive Accent. You’ll certainly hear it if you ever take in a game at historic Fenway Park. We put the two together and created this tribute to the great baseball city of Boston.

Our other awesome t-shirt pays tribute to one of the best collegiate leagues in the country. Each summer, many of baseball’s top prospects descend upon Cape Cod. Just like the Majors, only wood bats are used in the Cape Cod League and the best part, there is no admission to the games. They pass around a hat in the stands and everything is paid for in donations. It’s a great league and a great way to see the stars of tomorrow. We love it so much that we came up with our own Cape Cod baseball logo, the Cape Cod Scrod.

 

What exactly is a Scrod? Now that is a great question. A Scrod is a Cod or Haddock used mainly in New England dishes. Cape Cod is know for it’s awesome fishing and this logo shows this fish swinging for the fences. Cape Cod is an amazing place and we’re so proud to have a t-shirt that represents the Cape.

You can get both of these closet favorites as part of our T-shirt of the Month Club. Free shipping, discounts and a smile on your face when you pick up your mail. Now that’s awesome!

Thanks as always for reading.

Gavin Spittle

Founder, Logo Lover, T-shirt Fanatic

Awesome Sports Logos

Check out the Frisco RoughRiders Awesome Logo

Major League Baseball has officially begun. And what’s one of the best things about that? Minor League Baseball is starting as well! There’s nothing like watching the future superstars of the big league clubs. Fans go to MiLB games and get a glimpse of the talent that is bound for their Major League club. And while these prospects are battling it out, they are sporting some of the most awesome logos in the sports industry. One Minor League Baseball logo that we love, belongs to the Frisco RoughRiders.

In fact, the RoughRiders garnered a lot of viral attention today offering Phil Simms a position in their broadcast booth now that the Super Bowl MVP has been moved aside by CBS to make room for Tony Romo.

The RoughRiders are the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. Unlike some MiLB teams that are a long distance from their MLB parent organization, Frisco’s stadium is just 35 miles from Globe Life Park in Arlington. This allows the RoughRiders fans to get a look at Major League players, as the Rangers often send players to Frisco on rehab assignments, since the club is so close. In 2002, the RoughRiders unveiled their team name and logo. "The Rough Riders" was the name bestowed by the American press on the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment during the Spanish–American War, headed by to-be American President Theodore Roosevelt. The team was named after a historical division in order to comply with the tradition of the major league affiliate, the Texas Rangers, who were named after the Texas Ranger Division.

Let’s take a look at the original Frisco RoughRiders logo.

The image represents the club’s namesake very well. Here, we see a cowboy riding a horse, with the team name scripted above. I’m not a big fan of the font here. It seems like it could have been styled to be read easier. I love the horse. It’s charging forward, reared up. The display is an obvious sign of strength and fortitude. The redesign for the 2015 season looks even better than what we see here.

And here is a close up of the new logo

 

This logo is awesome! We mentioned how the RoughRiders got their name, and here we see Teddy Roosevelt himself! Teddy has a great look and he’s swinging away with a fine piece of wood. Next to Roosevelt, we have the team name scripted in a much improved font. It is way easier to read, now that the lettering is a bit more spaced out. “Frisco” is donned in blue, and the cursive style seems to flow quite nicely. “RoughRiders” is show in red, and flows just as easy as the city name. One important thing to notice here, is how “Rough” flows right into “Riders” seamlessly. That’s by no mistake. RoughRiders is written as one word, even though it is often mistakenly split into two words. I love the detail of using stars to dot the letter “i” in each of the words. It’s fitting for a team located in the Lone Star State.

Overall, the Frisco RoughRiders have a well-built, solid logo.

Now that baseball season is in full-swing, you need a new t-shirt to represent your love for America’s Pastime. There is no better look than that of our most awesome baseball tee, the Middleton Fingers!

 

This was our contest winning entry sent in by Lee B. in California. This is an awesome name Lee! We proudly present the Middleton, Mississippi Fingers. There are many Middleton’s in the United States. We could give you a fancy explanation and try to spin it but let’s just say if we did an alternate logo of the Fingers, it would be for the birds.

 

Middleton is actually an extinct town and has been for a while. We think this logo is so creative yet so simple. Huge props to our designer Matt on this one! This is one funny Middleton, MS sports logo t-shirt that will have people laughing when they see it! Add this super soft tee, and any of our other awesome shirts, to your wardrobe today! If you sign up for our t-shirt of the month club, you can have a new tee on your doorstep at the first of every month!

I really appreciate your support!

Thanks for stopping by!

You are AWESOME!

Blake Cole

Sports Logo Lover

T-Shirt Wearer

Awesome Sports Logos

The Lake Erie Crushers Unveil an Awesome Logo

The Lake Erie Crushers of the Independent Frontier League have a new logo and boy do we love it. Not only is the actual logo cool, this logo pays tribute to the local community, which is equally important. Let’s dive into the Crushers with their logo unveil video.

Now lets give you a better look at the logo.

 

A couple of details I really like about the logo. The stem coming out of the cap along with the curly vine remnants is a real nice touch. Those little details really gives the grape that realism. The primary grape has some buddies in the logo at the end of the bat which is also cool. The lettering is a perfect fit as well keeping the purple theme which is a big color in their uniform scheme.

When you think of wine grapes, you probably think this baseball logo should be for a team in Napa or Washington State but Ohio has a bunch of wineries and is ranked as the 7^th top producing win state according to Wine America.

Here’s what co-owner Jaqueline Kramig said of the logo decision according to Cleveland.com. "Most of the community believes it has to do with crushing the baseball," "It really doesn't. ... It's Ohio history. We would like to take it back to the vineyards of northern Ohio with a new logo and new uniforms to capture an old story."

The old owners of the club thought of Crushers more as a home run reference but that’s the thing about sports logos, sometimes the best ones have double meaning. That’s why we created our Idaho Taters awesome logo.

 

 Idaho is the potato capital of the United States and hitting a “Tater” is a monstrous home run.

 I will also add that I love food sports logos. Tigers, Lions or any other animal have facial features so you can make them cartoonish or ferocious by showing teeth. Food has shape and that’s it so you are essentially beginning from scratch giving it eyes, a mouth and body parts. Your creative thoughts really have to flow when working with food. We had this challenge with both the Taters and our other food sports logo, the Dade City Kumquats.

 

This logo celebrates the yearly Kumquat festival in Dade City. My two favorite parts of this logo are the Kumquat leaves which double as muscular arms holding the bat and the spots on the face. Just like a real Kumquat, it’s not a perfect color.

 I promise you, our Taters and Kumquats baseball t-shirts will become super soft closet favorites. Actually a great way to get discounts on these shirts is to try out our T-shirt of the Month Club.

Congrats to the Crushers and their new logo. I think it’s awesome!

Gavin Spittle

Founder, Logo Lover, T-shirt Fanatic

Awesome Sports Logos