This morning, they posted their Top 10 NHL logos of all time:
1. Hartford Whalers
2. Minnesota Wild
3. Montreal Canadiens
4. Colorado Avalanche
5. St. Louis Blues
6. New Jersey Devils
7. Boston Bruins
8, Chicago Blackhawks
9. Colorado Rockies
10. Philadelphia Flyers
I like most of the choices, but my point here is not to quibble. Their selection of the Hartford Whalers logo as the best of all-time due to the subtly of the logo and the use of every inch of negative space reminded me of my first and only experience with logo design.
It was entirely by accident.
It was the Summer of 1980. I had just finished my rookie season as a hockey writer at the Binghamton Sun-Bulletin, covering the American Hockey League's Broome Dusters.
The Dusters franchise had been purchased by Howard Baldwin and the Hartford Whalers, and the big discussion publicly and behind the scenes was what to call the new team.
Binghamton, NY first got a hockey team in 1973-74, when Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena was built and the blue-collar city that sat on the Southern Tier of NY State joined the North American Hockey League. They named their team the Broome Dusters. Professional cartoonist Johnny Hart created the first logo using the character from his caveman comic strip, B.C., which many people thought stood for the prehistoric calendar but also stood for the initials of Hart's hometown Broome County.
Anyway, the Dusters' name and logo were iconic in minor-league circles, and the city was torn. Should the new owners of the team keep the name, or create a new National League identity by going with Binghamton Whalers?
Being young, although I had lived in Binghamton through four years of college and my first year in the business, I thought the team deserved a fresh identity. I also thought the city of Binghamton needed a little name recognition. I wrote that in the paper.
A few of the veteran reporters, including my competitor on the rival Binghamton Press, a great guy named Charlie Jaworski, hoped the team would maintain tradition and stay named the Broome Dusters. The city, the Whalers' ownership and the two papers all agreed to hold a public Name The Team contest, allowing fans to cast ballots.
On the day both papers began printing the ballot, I had a brainstorm. I won't deny I had a little help from someone I can't remember. The brainstorm was to flip the Hartford Whaler logo on its side. By rounding out a few of the angled edges, the H became a B, the whale tail remained and ... Presto ... identifiable logo with a link to the parent club, but a fresh and original look.
The town went for it. The new name won in a landslide. And I still have a home and road game-worn jersey from the only team for whose logo I am partially responsible.
Wow...you did this? I remember we held that variation on the original in very high regard when I was in high school.
ReplyDeleteConsidering I couldn't even draw a straight stick figure growing up, and I have no eye for art, I'm surp4rised, too.
DeleteBut thanks for the kind words.