The successful “Dallas” football club is represented by star-spangled symbolism, which is a tribute to the state’s past. The “Dallas Cowboys” logo features a symbol that earned Texas its nickname, “The Lone Star State,” reflecting its belonging to a unified national community.
Dallas Cowboys: Brand overview
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional football team based in Arlington, Texas. The team entered the National Football League in 1960, competing in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference. The team was founded by a group of investors who jointly owned shares: John Murchison (45%) and Clint Murchison Jr. (45%) were significant shareholders, while William Hawn, Bedford Wynne, and Toddy Lee each held 5%.
Before the establishment of the “Dallas Cowboys” franchise, there were no NFL teams south of Washington. Lamar Hunt, an American businessman known for his efforts to develop sports in the country, tried to bring a National Football League club to Dallas but was denied. In 1959, he created a new football league called the American Football League and founded the “Dallas Texans.” The presence of an AFL club in Dallas was the main reason NFL officials quickly approved Clint Murchison’s proposal for a franchise in Dallas. The owner of the Washington Redskins, George Preston Marshall, openly opposed this decision, as he aimed to keep the Redskins the southernmost member of the NFL.
Clint Murchison required the approval of all team owners to join the League. Marshall’s resistance forced Murchison to devise a sinister plan to help his competitor reconsider and agree to Dallas receiving an NFL franchise. Coincidentally, around this time, Marshall fell out with Barney Breeskin, the leader of the “Redskins” band and the owner of the rights to the team’s official fight song, “Hail to the Redskins.” Knowing about Clint Murchison’s problems, Barney Breeskin secretly sold him the rights to Washington’s fight song, meaning Marshall could not perform it during games. The new franchise blackmailed Marshall and agreed to return the rights to the song if Marshall voted for the Dallas club. Thus, the “Dallas Cowboys” were born.
January 28, 1960 – the official birth date of the “Dallas Cowboys.” Initially, the team was called the “Dallas Steers,” but Tex Schramm, the franchise’s general manager, rejected this name, explaining that “steers” refers to castrated male cattle. Then the club was named “Dallas Rangers,” but shortly before the start of the first season, Tex Schramm announced that the club would be called “Dallas Cowboys” to avoid confusion with the baseball team “Dallas Rangers.” In 1984, due to the collapse of oil prices, Murchison was forced to sell the team to an investment group led by Bum Bright. During the 1989 crisis, the franchise was transferred to the FSLIC insurance company and later acquired by Jerry Jones for $140 million.
Meaning and History
The Dallas Cowboys team once updated its first logo, which was created in 1961. However, the transformations did not bring significant changes – the artists approached the task conservatively and retained the original drawing, adding just two outlines. This happened in 1964, after which the club owners considered the redesign complete and no longer returned to the issue of modernizing the style. From the very beginning, the club used only two logos. Both emblems feature a blue five-pointed star, which pays tribute to Texas’s past, nicknamed “The Lone Star State.” It symbolizes Texas’s struggle for independence from Mexico and national unity.
What is Dallas Cowboys?
The Dallas Cowboys are a football team from Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, part of the NFC East since 1970. It was formed in the early 1960s and then joined the National Football League. Currently, it is the only NFL team to have won 20 consecutive seasons. It’s also the most expensive sports team in the world. At least, as of 2015, it was valued at $ 4 billion.
1960 – 1963
For three years, “Dallas Cowboys” players wore helmets with the image of a five-pointed star. It resembled the white five-pointed star on the official state flag, which represented all of Texas and symbolized unity between God, the state, and the country. The only difference was the color: the dark blue star of the “Dallas Cowboys” was created to contrast with the original palette.
1964 – today
In 1964, equipment manager Jack Eskridge ensured that the logo had a white outline with a dark blue contour. All because players had recently started wearing blue helmets, and the team management urgently needed to distinguish their graphic sign, which merged with the monochromatic background. Now, the distinctive symbol of the Dallas Cowboys is not just a star, but a star with an unusual double frame. The scale and overall proportions of the figure haven’t changed. The Dallas Cowboys logo is becoming increasingly iconic and recognizable.
Font and Colors
When choosing the main motif for the logo, the developers invested it with deep meaning. The blue five-pointed star, so diligently depicted by the artists, reflects Texas’s historical heritage – the state is often referred to as the “Lone Star State.” Most likely, it is copied from the Texas flag, where it denotes the unity of the United States, the state, and God. In the current version, the star represents all of Texas and is positioned as a symbol of the national community.
On the Dallas Cowboys logo, there is nothing but the main element – no other graphics or inscriptions. The creators decided to focus on the five-pointed star, borrowed from the state flag. But if it was white in the original, they made it dark blue to play up the contrast. Until 1964, the color white was not used at all. After the redesign, it was added as an additional feature in the form of a wide line running along the inner contour.