I thought it would be interesting to rank the best baseball logos that no longer exist. It's not only reminiscing, but simply imagining what time in baseball was like when those certain logos were being used. Also a fun way to compare and contrast new logos with the old.
Starting with the 30th best (at the top) and ending with the best (at the bottom), enjoy!
Not quite sure what Ted and co. were thinking with the blue border, but it looks like a Hawaiian Punch Juice Box to be completely honest. However, the Native American as well as the off-red aspect add some spice to the logo. It's about a 40 on the "took-their-time-creating-it" scale.
Not much wrong here at all. The Marlin is still in line with the "M" and the it's simple yet fancy. However, the wider logos tend to be a bit more complicated. The pre-formatted potential Miami Marlins logo looks much worse, so I'll give the creator of this design credit in that aspect. It looks great in general, just could use a bit more modernization to it for a logo that was created in the early 90's. As you'll see below, there were fancier logos created prior to the '80's much less '90's.
Now this is what I'm talking about -- a design relative to the city and surroundings thus begin a more comfortable logo to look at for Seattle fans. Well, in the '70's that is. Any sailor or boat crew member was probably fascinated by this, as the logo consists of something "pilot" related as well as the aforementioned relation to the city. However, the colors don't match with the team colors and that earns you a second half ranking.
Of course, you cannot look at this logo without thinking of the triumphant Jays back in the early 90's. The blue and red are "relaxing," "fun," and of course "Baseball related." When you see a logo as such, you'd expect that there isn't a way the logo can get better. Unfortunately, the later logo was better.
Not much to say about this one except that it certainly consists of colors you'd expect in any Diamondbacks logo if you hadn't seen it before. The purple and aqua match exquisitely but the gold doesn't. The DBackslater used the black hat with the gold and purple "D" which looked great, and this logo was the team logo during that era.
It'son the top 30 because of the Western look it has, but it's set up terribly and looks really "Adobe Illustrator-ish." The "Rangers" shouldn't be tailing off of the baseball, but I guess there's no place for it to go. That's a big problem though. I'm not sure what, but it could much look better.
Ah, Ben Franklin on the Washington Senators logo. But why? Is electricity the most important thing the Nation's Capital boasts? How about Thomas Jefferson, the great general? George Washington, the first President? Warren G. Harding, whodealt with the Teapot Dome Scandal? Still, it looks nice, but looks like a target. As I'd rather see someone else on, why target Ben Franklin? What did he ever do?
The problem with this logo is that it's just too busy. Yes, not only that, but it doesn't really look that great. It's too bright and very complicated -- that's not what a baseball logo is all about. Like others ranked higher, they're simple yet fancy. This is complicated and dirty. Still though, I like the cleats and the seams are nice looking.
Kind of sad to see this logo go, but its snowy aspect and dome familiarity bring Twins fans back to good times.
*Tear*. This is perfect. I'm not sure how, but it exemplifies Canada, France, Baseball, and Olympic Stadium all in one. The stripes, symmetry, and neatness make this a fantastic logo.
Not very logo-looking. But it has the Friar, the Padres theme, and the colors. I'd consider adding more of an outline or border, but it'll still go down as one of the sweetest and most creative logos we've seen.
I guess this is what you call a "Big Red Machine", eh? The figure shows exactly what the Big Red Machine did. That's simply hustling, being gritty, and looking good at the same time. The difference between this logo and others is the lack of a symmetrical shape (vertical wise) but that really doesn't mean much. It's a great logo.
I like this one plenty more than the other Jays logo. It's simpler, more Canada-looking, and Sports-like than the other one if that makes sense. The Maple Leaf exemplifies Canada and Jays fans alike. It's very quiet yet stylish. The throwback look has some advancement to it, which seems to have set a precedent for new logo's, such as the Marlins one up-top.
The "Detroit Tigers" font plays a big role in the decoration of this logo. However, it lacks much else. The Tiger animation looks great and the blue matches the blue border, but as better ranked logo's will show, you can always add more exciting and decorative extras to a logo. Still, it's original and has a retro look to it.
The Mets hada great several years entering the century all the way to 2006, with the exception of one or two dreadful years.But the Piazza era and a World Series occurred as this logo was present. The Mets were more of a gritty team than a fashionable team, which seems to be the case at times now. This logo is really no different from the current one except for the seam colors and the cityscape. This logo matches the hats they wore then, as well as the alternate jerseys they wore but still wear at times.
Perfect. Simply perfect. Everything you would expect when thinking or discussing the great city of Philadelphia and the baseball team's great history is in this logo. The colors match and the picture the bottom is extremely fitting.
Kind of like the Jason Hammel of logo's. Not going to look fancy and exciting, but going to certainly get the job done. An original yet monumental logo.
Something about this logo just has the words "baseball" displayed in the picturesque flip-flop of an image it is. The red hands and the piece-by-piece aspect of it makes it plenty more exciting than it would be if the whole body was connected. Navy blue would be a bit more stylish, but it'll do.
Speaking of navy blue, it goes great with this Tiger and it always has. The new logos seem so...plain and ordinary. This adds history, style, and relativity. The Tiger also exemplifies to me, Ernie Harwell, who is and always has been a Tiger. The new "D" makes you wonder if you're reading a newspaper or actually looking at a baseball logo. Also, the white border on the Tiger (and it's claws) as well as the "D" make it even better. A lot of these logos you can't exactly describe, and this is no exception. One of the truly more remarkable logo's in time shouldn't have been defunct, but was.
it doesn't exactly bring up good times, but the Devil Rays still had one of the more exciting logos in the game'shistory. The Devil Ray along with the rainbow stream of colors in the oval background are stunning as well as the shape of this whole thing. The off-blue border is a bit dull but the logo itself is really nice. Still though, they had to get rid of this logo if they wanted to win. It "just had to be that way."
This is awesome. Again, it has a retro feel to it and you almost can't say "Padres" without picturing this old-school image. It's fanciness isn't what's appealing, but it's colors and timetable are. This is the logo used when the Pads were in the '98 series. Tony Gwynn retired with this logo on his shirt. It's a logo that's fairly missed among many.
This is another truly original and creative logo. The dome and space-like features of it create an extraordinarily fitting idea, which tells a story that most logo's don't. Without knowing anything about the Astros, you can learn a whole lot just by looking at this logo. I wouldn't call myself an Astros fan, but Astros fans can truly relish this logo as it may remind them of the great Astros teams in the 80's.
The hat on the redbird is well, weird. But the rest of it is awesome. The eyelett's are 3-D and the wording is in a fantastic font. The redbird is not only a sign that the Cardinals are the Cardinals, but a sign of baseball, and that's what many think about when they look at this logo.
this is also a truly amazing logo. The bird swinging the bat is quite similar to the Redbird standing on the bat in that it's simply baseball. baseball. baseball. baseball. And more baseball. The black border surrounding the squared yet classy "Baltimore Orioles" font goes great with every aspect of this logo. It's not a logo that you look at and spend 10 or 20 seconds looking AT the logo piece by piece, but one look lets you know it's time for Orioles baseball!
From the late 1800's until the mid-twentieth century, the Giants used this stunning logo. It's shiny, exciting, and feel-good. This logo is Willie Mays. This logo is Willie McCovey. It's baseball. And it';s one of the few logo's you'll see in black and white as well as color when looking at past videos of Willie Mas making a great catch or Willie McCovey crashing in to the aforementioned Mays at the Candlestick wall.You'll even see it on various Giants broadcasts whether or not they were or are in San Francisco or New York
I don't even know where to start with this one. Is it plain? Yeah, it is. But does it prove a point? Does it exemplify and signify the "Chicago Cubbies"? Of course it does. It's just baseball. Cubs fans, Cubs players, beer, peanuts, Mascots...What else is needed? It's a truly fantastic logo, even though it's somewhat plain.
Ah, the Mariners logo of the 80's. The Kingdome should come to mind here, but also Ken Griffey father and son, Gaylord Perry's final days as a big leaguer, and even the early days of Omar Vizquel. It's another sign of baseball. It represents the team and concept of the team itself. There's nothing much else to say except that it's one of the best logo's in history and is 20 times better than their current one.
This is a truly fantastic feel good logo. The diamond, the bird, the colors (the green is the colors of the seats), and the home plate. This logo simply makes you think of Camden Yards and the great career of Cal Ripken Jr. The Orioles have no reason to have discontinued this logo, but for what it's worth, it should still be remembered as one of Pro Sports' best.
The Angels long boasted some of the prettierlooking logos around. This one happens to be the best looking. The dimensional aspect along with the colors display a truly glorious logo. Everything that this logo shows makes one think about not only baseball in general but the beauty of it. The fun of baseball. The game that we all love. It brings us back in time to when we were a childgoing to games with our grandfather and now as an adult still enjoying the great game of baseball we've always loved. The home plate and white wing go hand in hand in making this logo look even better. It's almost like watchingyour favorite cartoon as a child or going to the movies with your best pal. It's just a FUN image/logo more than anything else. And that's the message it should be showing in general. The new Los Angels Angels of Anaheim logo is not nearly as attractive.
Finally, number 1. I don't even know where to start except by saying that this is easily the most creative logo of them all. The "M" and the "B" form a glove holding a baseball. Someone please tell me what's more creative than that? It's perfect. It's the ultimate baseball logo. The new "M" on the Crew's hat is the complete opposite. Not only is it not creative, but there's almost no point.This signifies the best baseball logo of all time, and we'll leave it at that.
All photos courtesy of Sportslogos.net