Will, determination, and invincible strength are the key themes of the emblem of the “New York Rangers.” To emphasize this concept, the designers proposed a heraldic-style emblem for the team. It is directly associated with knightly bravery: a shield featuring elements of a fortress wall, with the team’s name written on it.
Tex Rickard founded the New York Rangers in 1926, owning Madison Square Garden and seeking to expand hockey in the city. The initiative followed the arrival of the New York Americans, whose early seasons showed that the market could support the sport.
The National Hockey League approved the franchise in 1926. From the first season, the Rangers attracted larger crowds than the Americans and quickly became the dominant team in Manhattan. Media attention reinforced that shift, turning the new club into the city’s main hockey brand.
The name came from the phrase “Tex’s Rangers,” referencing Texas law enforcement units and Rickard’s nickname. The team adopted blue, white, and red as its colors, reflecting a national theme. The original uniform introduced a diagonal “RANGERS” wordmark across the jersey, a feature that remained central despite later refinements.
In 1928, the Rangers won their first Stanley Cup, defeating the Montreal Maroons. The result marked the first championship for a U.S.-based NHL team and confirmed the club’s rapid rise.
Through the following decades, the franchise maintained a stable identity. The shield crest appeared early and changed only in detail, while the core name and color scheme stayed intact. The Rangers continued to build their position in the league, with Madison Square Garden serving as their permanent home.
Meaning and History
“New York Rangers” is one of the oldest professional hockey teams, and it carries the aura of an “Original Six” franchise. However, their logo remains surprisingly unchanged throughout their more than 90-year history. George Lewis Rickard proposed a logo closely related to the symbolism of the New York Americans, which had begun playing at the same arena a year earlier. The version adopted in 1927 is still in use: it has undergone few changes, or rather, almost none. In shield form, it still looks that way. The franchise has eight logo versions.
What are the New York Rangers?
It is an NHL team in the Metropolitan Division that competes in the Eastern Conference. The club was founded in 1926 and was the first to win the Stanley Cup. It went on to win the main prize three more times, for a total of four cups, awarded in 1928, 1933, 1940, and 1994. It is the league’s senior team and plays home matches at “Madison Square Garden.”
1927 – 1935
The club’s first owner was George Lewis Rickard, a boxing promoter and president of “Madison Square Garden.” The designer made the “New York Rangers” logo very similar to that of their rivals, the “New York Americans.” It took the form of a shield and was executed in red, blue, and white. The inscription “New York” was located above the horizontal blue stripe at the top of the shield. The team name, “Rangers,” appeared on a diagonal stripe. A red triangle sat in the top-left corner of the emblem, and a white field in the bottom-right corner.
1936 – 1947
In 1936, the team updated the color palette, making the shades of red and blue slightly darker and more noble. The inscription “Rangers” was written in red, not white. The logo was framed with a white outer border. Otherwise, this logo was identical to the first.
1947 – 1952
The 1948 redesign was more profound. The shades changed, and the shield took on a different shape; its base was now a rectangle. The “New York Rangers” logo was outlined in blue.
1953 – 1967
In 1954, the “New York Rangers” logo became even more rectangular. Unlike the previous version, the rectangle was positioned horizontally. The outer blue frame became thinner and bolder. However, the design made no significant changes.
1968 – 1970
During the 1968-1978 period, the emblem’s wordmark was set in a thinner font, the white space in the outer frame was reduced, and the overall shield appeared slightly narrower; these were the only noticeable differences. The team’s name, “New York Rangers,” was written in white font and remained in the same places.
1971 – 1977
In 1971, the “New York Rangers” emblem was updated again. Here, the font height in the words “New York” and “Rangers” was reduced. The color palette remained the same. The red triangle’s edging was replaced with white lines.
1978 – 1998
The “Rangers” logo remained unchanged for thirty years. The 1978 design changes were minor. The color palette was changed to lighter shades of red and softer blues. The shield and word symbols remained untouched.
1999 – today
In 1999, the “New York Rangers” emblem was slightly updated. Its configuration became more like a wide rectangle, with elements of a medieval fortress wall. The “defensive structure ” features ornate recesses known as the “swallowtail” (an architectural term). This element highlights the club’s connection to history and antiquity, as well as its inaccessibility to rivals.
The main part of the logo is divided diagonally into three zones. At the top is a red triangle, in the middle is the word “Rangers,” and at the bottom is a white element that closely resembles a triangle. Above them, the inscription “New York” is punched out in white. Two stripes run along the sign’s perimeter: a wide white stripe and a thin blue one.
Font and Colors
The first two versions of the “New York Rangers” logo resembled a knight’s shield with a royal crown atop. However, in 1947, the designers altered its shape, making it much wider and resembling the heraldic sign of a famous dynasty. The emblem’s structure remained standard for several consecutive decades. Its content does not change; any changes concern the evolution of the “fortress wall” at the top and shifts in red and blue shades.
The inscriptions are executed in a sans-serif font series. The letters are chopped, smooth, and grotesque. They are spaced at an optimal distance; the gap between them is neither narrow nor wide, just right for reading the name. In addition, the word “Rangers” is positioned diagonally, reading from top to bottom.
The logo contains all the team’s official colors. One of them is white. It appears in the bottom triangle, inscription, and border. The other two are red (#C8102E; top triangle) and blue (#0038A8; background for words and outlines).











