Boston Celtics Logo PNG
Founded in 1946, the American basketball club Boston Celtics has an original and fun identity, whose logo reflects the commitment to Celtic-Irish history. The emblem symbolizes tactical cunning, confidence in victory, and the thirst for leadership.
Boston Celtics: Brand overview
| Founded: | 1946 |
| Founder: | Boston Basketball Partners |
| Headquarters: |
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Website: | nba.com |
Boston Celtics are an American professional basketball team based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Celtics started to compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Atlantic Division in 1949. The team was in the Basketball Association of America (BAA). They were founded in 1946.
As said, the league was formed by the merger of the BAA and the National Basketball League. Its first owner was Boston Garden-Arena Corporation President Walter A. Brown. This corporation is considered the official founder of the club.
In its career, franchise used to belong to several legal organizations: Knickerbocker Brewing Company (1965-1968), Trans-National Communications (1969-1971), and Leisure Technology (1972-1975). Its current owner is Boston Basketball Partners LLC.
There are many physical persons in team history too. They include entrepreneurs, businessmen, public figures: Lou Pieri, Marjorie Brown, Ballantine Brewery, Irv Levin, Harold Lipton, Robert Schmertz, John Brown Jr., and Harry Mangurian Jr., Don Gaston, Paul Gaston. After the latter representative, the club was owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC.
The nickname of the franchise was invented by the first owner Walter Brown. The argument in Celtics’ favor was his exclamation “Boston is full of Irishmen.” And they are descendants of Celts, ancient druids. This name was chosen among many others, which included Whirlwinds, Olympians, and Unicorns, etc. That is how the founder put two factors together: team location and the city’s population with Irish/Celtic origins.
Meaning and History
Boston Celtics’ branding appeared in the first season of sports and has always remained connected to Celtic traditions. Therefore, the team chose the Oxalis plant’s leaf from the genus acidic for the role of the logo. According to legend, he brings good luck. In total, the club had six options for the logo, including the debut.
What is Boston Celtics?
Boston Celtics are one of the many Atlantic Division (NBA) franchises. She never moved from her hometown and did not change the original name, which she received in 1946. The CEO and the main owner of the team is the American entrepreneur Wycliffe “Wyc” K. Grousbeck. Home stadium since 1995 – TD Garden.
1946 – 1950
The original logo shows a shamrock – one of the cult signs and a long-standing amulet. This is a classic leaf of oxalis – the so-called clover of happiness, made in white. Half-arc above it is the name of the team, which alludes to Celtic traditions. Both elements are central and placed in a green circle with a red border.
1950 – 1960
In the 1950s, the club management decided to expand the historical side of the emblem and added a jester. Now the shamrock is just a pattern on his vest, in the hands of the main character a bizarrely curved cane, more reminiscent of a curved stick. On the legs of a man (presumably this is the famous patron Saint Patrick), there are shoelaces with huge buckles, a smoking pipe in his mouth, and a crown with the inscription “NBA” on his head. Only a vest with a leafy pattern was painted, all the rest did contour and colorless.
1960 – 1968
The new version of the “leprechaun logo” with orange adds to the background. This design was originally designed by Zang Auerbach, the brother of Celtics head coach Red Auerbach. Squatted down, leprechaun got a dimension and color. Jumping man’s vest is green with a magical shamrock. The leprechaun is on the orange background, which follows his contour. Image of the leprechaun on the logo remained the same: a pipe in his mouth, crown with the inscription “NBA”, cane in his left hand, and white half-boots on his feet.
1968 – 1976
In 1968, the leprechaun image on the Boston Celtics logo was redesigned. Now the leprechaun is standing, leaning on a cane and cunningly smiling and is now spinning a white basketball on his finger. The character is wearing green trousers, green Irish hat, black boots with big buckles, bowtie and white vest with distinctive Irish design – shamrock, a symbol of the northern state. The Boston Celtics logo became more colorful, and the designers changed the background – now it’s a big red basketball with a black outline and club nickname.
1976 – 1996
The Boston Celtics logo, which dates from this period, is green and white, it perfectly emphasizes the Irish origins of Boston. A cheerful guy is smiling and cunningly winking with his left eye. Half-boots, trousers, and shirts are white. There’s a shamrock design on the vest, hat, and bowtie. He is still spinning a basketball on one finger and leaning on a cane. The background basketball is gone and replaced with a green ring with the wordmark “BOSTON CELTICS” in white.
1996 – today
Modern Boston Celtics logo became more colorful and realistic. Now it features new details: internal and external outline with the team nickname, black pants, white knee socks, brown buckles on the boots. Some elements are updated: vest and hatband on the black derby hat of the smiling guy became beige, his cane and basketball became tile red. A pipe projecting from the right corner of his mouth is the only thing that didn’t change.
Font and Colors
Each version of the logo, regardless of the time of creation, closely echoes the name and reflects the Celtic theme. A legendary element unites them – a shamrock, a clover of happiness that brings luck and luck, indicates a white stripe in a sports career. On the debut emblem, the sheet was single – large, although sketchy. For all subsequent ones, it is a pattern on the “gentleman” vest with a stick cane. Since 1968, basketball became another significant attribute. It indicates the team’s affiliation with the National Basketball Association.
The club had two types of typefaces: one on the debut emblem, the other on modern versions. An early version is an individual font, drawn, and the next is from the Sans Serif category. Now the name is made in capital chopped letters. Words are located on the right and left edges of the logo on a wide contour strip. The signature palette traditionally includes green, white, and black. The rest of the colors are constantly changing. Among them are brick red, yellow straw, brown and beige.
Boston Celtics color codes
| Green | Hex color: | #008348 |
|---|---|---|
| RGB: | 0 131 72 | |
| CMYK: | 100 0 91 27 | |
| Pantone: | PMS 356 C |
| Black | Hex color: | #000000 |
|---|---|---|
| RGB: | 6 25 34 | |
| CMYK: | 30 0 0 100 | |
| Pantone: | PMS Black C |
| Gold | Hex color: | #bb9753 |
|---|---|---|
| RGB: | 187 151 83 | |
| CMYK: | 30 40 80 0 | |
| Pantone: | PMS 874 C |
| Brown | Hex color: | #a73832 |
|---|---|---|
| RGB: | 167 56 50 | |
| CMYK: | 40 95 100 0 | |
| Pantone: | PMS 174 C |
| Beige | Hex color: | #fab383 |
|---|---|---|
| RGB: | 250 179 131 | |
| CMYK: | 0 35 50 0 | |
| Pantone: | PMS 472 C |
What is the Boston Celtics logo?
The main Boston Celtics symbol contains the image of a leprechaun, which rests on an Irish club with one hand and twirls a basketball on the index finger of the other hand. His vest, hat, and bow tie are adorned with a three-leaf clover print. The background is a white circle with a green ring-frame, where the franchise’s name is written: on the left – BOSTON, on the right – CELTICS.
Why is Boston called the Celtics?
This name was chosen on the initiative of Walter Brown. The head of the Boston Garden Arena Corporation wanted the new franchise to bear the nickname of the old basketball team, Original Celtics, which existed in New York from 1914 to 1930. He explained his choice because the capital of Massachusetts, where the Boston Celtics are based, lives many people of Irish descent.
Does the Boston Celtics logo have a name?
The leprechaun, which is the main element of the visual identity of the Boston Celtics, is called Lucky. At the same time, the logo itself does not have an official name.
Are the Celtics changing their logo?
This sports team changed their logos very often. The current version, adopted in 1997, features modern graphics and a multicolor design. It has been in use for over 20 years, and, as far as is known, Boston Celtics has no plans to abandon it.
