Awesome Sports Logos Blog

The History of the Blackhawks and Bruins Awesome Sports Logos

We are huge fans of the NHL and this year’s Stanley Cup Final, the first between two Original Six teams since 1979 has lived up to all of the hype. We hope it goes all the way to a Game 7. Here at Awesome Sports Logos, our goal is not only to sell our sports logo t-shirts but to also educate and inform you about sports logos which we feel is a lost art. So when you are watching the rest of this series, you can be the smartest person in the room when you tell them about these two teams facing off in the finals.

The Boston Bruins

 

In 1923 grocery tycoon Charles Adams became hooked on hockey. So much so, he convinced the NHL to expand to the United States which they did the following year. His cost to get a franchise, a whopping fifteen thousand dollars! Adams first hire was former player Art Ross as GM whose task was to name the team after an untamed animal that showed speed and agility. Ross came up with the Bruin after the childhood English fable “History of Reynard the Fox”. The colors of brown and gold were already chosen prior to the name because the grocery tycoon’s stores shared those same colors. They changed to black and gold in 1938 and switched to the “B” spoked logo during the 1948-49 season and it’s still worn today.

The Chicago Blackhawks

 

If you say that the Blackhawks are named after Native Americans you would be semi correct but here’s the tidbit that a lot of people don’t know. The team joined the NHL in 1926 thanks to coffee mogul Frederic McLaughlin. He was a commander in the 86th infantry division in World War 1. The division was named, “The Blackhawk Division”. The division was named after Black Hawk of the Sauk nation who played a part in Illinois history. You think today’s owners are hands on? McLaughlin was so hands on he hired 18 different coaches in 18 years owning the team. He once hired a guy he met on a train ride because he was impressed with his hockey knowledge. That coach was fired after two practices. Can you imagine the tweets if that happened today?

Ya see, now you have some fun facts to throw around regarding the two teams that are in the Stanley Cup Final and how their logos were born. Speaking of logos, we have some cool hockey sports logos that we’d love for you to take a look at. The first is the Brooklyn Leg Breakers which I wish the Islanders would change their name to when they make the move to Brooklyn. I just love the mob history involved, the innuendo, the initials N.Y. on the stick tape and the Brooklyn Bridge in the background.

The second hockey team is the Portland Tree Huggers awesome t-shirt. I wouldn’t mess with this mean looking tree. Portland is an awesome city and the Tree Huggers t-shirt is a perfect fit for the Portland lifestyle.

 

This last but not least funny t-shirt is the Texas Roadkill. The home base of Awesome Sports Logos is Texas and we see plenty of road kill on the interstate. I actually got excited when I saw a live armadillo. I love the subtleties of this logo like the tire tracks in the place of the goalie stick tape, the black eye of the armadillo and the fly’s buzzing above.

 

Houston vs New England Preview

If the Houston Texans need any kind of inspiration to pull off what many think would be the upset of the year, they need to look no further than less than 24 hours ago when the #4 seeded Baltimore Ravens took down Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. Denver was coming off a bye week fully rested and winners of eleven straight before yesterday’s amazing double overtime loss.

That’s exactly why you play the game and now both the Patriots and the Texans have further inspiration because the winner gets the AFC Championship on their turf. If the Texans have any chance, their offense has to revert back to its first quarter of the season form where they averaged nearly 32 points per game. They also need to not go away from feeding Arian Foster. In their last showcase meeting, New England dominated the line of scrimmage but the Texans were without Derek Newton and Garrett Graham. Here’s a great statistic to carry into today’s game. When Arian Foster rushes for 100 yards or more, the Texans are 8-0.

Not bad for a t-shirt guy breaking down today’s game. We love the NFL playoffs here at Awesome Sports Logos and this is one of the best sports weekends of the year. We also love the history of sports logos so let’s get into who wins in the sports logo business.

The modern day edge goes to the Texans with their bull logo. It’s slick, clean, with a great color scheme that wears well and is the same colors as the state of Texas which so many Texans take great pride in.

 

The modern day Patriots logo is a bit of a different story. I didn’t realize that Elvis was such a revolutionary war fan?  I was living in New England when this logo came out back in the early 90’s. I didn’t like it then and I’m not a huge fan of it now. I completely understand why the Patriots made the change. Your logo is your image and the face of your franchise. The old Patriots logo, “Pat Patriot” which we will get to in a moment had a lot of bad memories including many “blackout” years, player scandals, constant talk of moving the franchise, an NFL stadium that today’s high school stadiums would rival and attendance that would also rival some Texas high school games as well.

 

Modern day logo winner: Texans

Let’s take a look at Pat Patriot, the old Pats logo. What’s interesting is the Patriots have brought this logo back for one or two games each year and the fans love it. This was a great move by the Patriots marketing arm because you see this logo all over the place whether it’s on back windshields or various clothing. This retro logo has caught the city by storm.

 

We do want to mention that the name Texans has been used in football three times before. The Dallas Texans played one year in the NFL back in 1952 and went 1-11. They actually had the same exact colors that the Cowboys use today.  The Texans re-emerged in 1960 in the AFL and after a couple of years including winning the 1962 AFL Championship, they moved to Kansas City and are the modern day Kansas City Chiefs. There was also a Dallas Texans arena football team that played in the old Reunion Arena. Now that we have that history out of the way, the other old logo that we are more familiar with is the Houston Oilers. The Oilers took Houston by storm especially with the “Luv Ya Blue” Oilers under the coaching of Bum Phillips. Phillips son Wade is currently the Defensive Coordinator with the Texans and was the Defensive Line coach with the Oilers during their “Luv Ya Blue” run to two AFC Championship games. Unfortunately for Oilers fans the “Luv Ya Blue” nickname between 1978-1980 ran into another legendary nickname, “The Steel Curtain” of the Pittsburgh Steelers. I love this logo and the baby blue colors. I think most Texans fans would have loved to see the Oilers logo live on with a new franchise similar to what the Browns did in Cleveland. The NFL should have prevented Bud Adams from taking the logo. He was to seize the records and history to Tennessee. Just not the people that actually created those records and history. I remember talking with Robert Brazile who was nicknamed “Dr. Doom”. Before Lawrence Taylor, there was Robert Brazile and he was the first true outside rushing Linebacker. After playing tennis one afternoon with Robert who is a great tennis player, I asked him if he’s ever been asked to go to a Tennessee game. He replied, “Never once have I received a call”. He then said something that truly resonated. “All of us Oilers players don’t have a home”.  Wow, think of names like Dan Pastorini, Earl Campbell and Billy “White Shoes” Johnson not having a home. That being said, I credit the Texans organization for embracing a lot of these players. Last week before the Texans/Bengals playoff game, the team came out of the tunnel with Earl Campbell leading the way. I do a lot of work with the Houston Texans organization so I understand if you think the next statement might come across bias. The Houston Texans are a first class organization and they deserve a lot of credit for embracing the Oilers of the past and giving them a home they so richly deserve.

 

We actually have four awesome t-shirts in our collection from New England and Houston. Hopefully you’ll support the cause to start 2013. Here are the Cape Cod Scrod, the Boston Accents, The Houston Gushers and the Texas Roadkill.

 

 

Thanks for reading and enjoy the game everyone!!

Gavin Spittle

Founder, Logo Lover and T-shirt Wearer

www.awesomesportslogos.com

Fifty Shades of Grey in an Awesome Sports Logos World

I could tell from that look in her eye and the way that she touched my shoulder that….wait a minute, I can’t do this. I’m not a romance novel writer, I’m a t-shirt guy. Under thousands of Christmas trees will be copies of the book that has sold over 65 million copies worldwide, 50 Shades of Grey by E.L. James. Meanwhile, the number of Awesome Sports Logos funny sports t-shirts under Christmas trees will be one or two fewer.

So curl up, make sure you’re alone as we present 50 shades of Grey T-shirt parody by Awesome Sports Logos. The first thing we want to make sure is that you are properly protected. You can’t be too careful these days. Therefore, make sure you have your rubbers, Akron Rubbers that is. Akron is the rubber capital of the United States.

 

Since we’re talking fantasy, who doesn’t love an older woman who knows what she wants and gets it every time. Those women are known as Cougars, prowling the upscale streets of Boca Raton.

You want your stud to be as big as the state of Texas. And in Texas, there is a ton of Roadkill. You’re right, dead animals are not a turn on but I need to sell some t-shirts here. I stared at my computer for a long time and nothing is sexy about a dead armadillo.

 

Ladies, now that you’ve found your Stud, it’s time to be a Beefeater. OMG, that fit in perfect. Maybe I should write trashy romance novels after all?

 

San Francisco Swallows and Savannah Seamen. You do the math on these two.

 

 

 

Awesome Sports Logos Salutes The Rhode Island School of Design

Originally, this blog’s intention was to bring you offbeat college team names and logos and we’ll bring you that blog soon. In my research though, I have found a college that tops them all and deserves its own blog. As you know, Awesome Sports Logo was created to bring back the fun and creativity in sports logos. Kudos to R.I.S.D and their club teams for joining us in our cause. So on this weekend of epic college football rivalries and week 12 of NFL football, we bring you a college that I have to buy some gear from.

Hockey Team

The Rhode Island School of Design Nads

 

Chants of Go-Nads can be heard during home games which are played at the Brown University Meehan Ice Rink. I just love how the chant of “Go Nads” is emanating from an Ivy League campus. Their mascot which can be seen cheering in the stands is called “Scrotie”. Here are some great pics of “Scrotie”. I promise, we’re not making this up.

 

 

I love their logo with two hockey pucks put in a perfect place.

 

 

Here's a great sign promoting an upcoming hockey game.

 

Women’s Soccer

The Rhode School of Design Jugs

It’s an indoor club league and I couldn’t find any pictures but it’s a great name!

Running team

The Rhode Island School of Design Rhode Kill

This is a great name especially with the spelling of road using “Rhode” from Rhode Island. Now I saw their t-shirts and it seems as though they are in need of a Rhode Kill logo. We can certainly help them with that. Here is our version of the Texas Roadkill.

 

 Not many Armadillos in the “Ocean State” so we’d have to adjust the species a little bit.

 RISD Balls basketball

Apparently Balls basketball draws quite the crowd. I even saw a picture of a lovely lady playing with the Balls. Get your mind out of the gutter, I’m serious, here she is.

Speaking of clever use of words and designs, we bring you two of our designs and begin with the Intercourse Witnesses

 

 

 There is actually an unincorporated village in Pennsylvania named Intercourse. Intercourse is a popular place because of its name and because it’s in the heart of Amish country. The Amish sell crafts and take tourists on horse rides. Visitors also have a knack for stealing signs because of the Intercourse name. This village was the setting for the 1985 movie Witness starring Harrison Ford. The movie was nominated for 8 Academy Awards and won 2. Thus, the Intercourse Witnesses were born on this awesome t-shirt.

This holiday season we also bring you the Climax Fiddlers

 

 

 Each fall, Climax, Virginia hosts the Moonshine Jamboree. Moonshining is big in this area and so is bluegrass music. I wear this funny t-shirt all of the time.

One again props and kudos to RISD for their creativity which we think is awesome!

Thanks for reading and remember this holiday season you don’t need Black Friday or Cyber Monday to get a good deal. Buying a super soft t-shirt from Awesome Sports Logos will bring you lots of holiday cheer.

Gavin Spittle

Founder, Logo Lover and T-shirt Wearer

www.awesomesportslogos.com

Awesome Sports Logos Random Thanksgiving Thoughts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

And last but not least, The Texas Roadkill. I guess you could mess with this Armadillo since Roadkill tends to be deceased as you pass it on the highway.

 

Awesome Sports Logos T-Shirts & Thanksgiving go Hand in Hand

Some of our Awesome Sports Logos t-shirts and Thanksgiving go hand in hand!

 

So how do our awesome t-shirts relate to Thanksgiving? Read on my friend and you’ll see why.