The San Francisco club’s branding includes the San Francisco Giants logo and emblem, linking the team to the sport and the city. The modern visualization is succinct and stylish, demonstrating the club’s commitment to progressive change.
San Francisco Giants: Brand overview
Founded: | 1883 |
Founder: | Larry Baer |
Headquarters: | San Francisco, California, U.S. |
Website: | mlb.com |
The San Francisco Giants is a professional baseball team from the U.S., part of MLB since 2000, and a member of the NL West Division. The team was founded in 1883 and is based in San Francisco, California.
The franchise originated in New York and was initially called the “New York Gothams.” John Day was its owner. After three years, it was renamed the New York Giants. Ten years later, it changed ownership to C. K. Van Cott, who managed the team until 1895. Subsequently, it was owned by Andrew Freedman (1895-1902), John Brush (1902-1912), and Harry Hempstead (1912-1919).
After 1919, the Stoneham family era began: Charles Stoneham controlled the club until 1936, and Horace Stoneham controlled it until 1976. Under their leadership, the pivotal move to San Francisco occurred. This event is dated 1958 and is associated with the search for a more prospective stadium.
Learning about the “Giants'” problem, San Francisco Mayor George Christopher approached them with a lucrative offer. Consequently, the principal owner, Horace Stoneham, despite some shareholders’ objections, began negotiations with the city administration. In the summer of 1957, his franchise was relocated to California.
Subsequent club owners were Bob Lurie (1976-1993), Peter Magowan (1993-2008), and Bill Neukom (2008-2011). Since 2012, it has been managed by the city organization San Francisco Baseball Associates LLC.
Throughout its career, the franchise has had several names. The first name was based on its location – “New York Gothams.” A few years after official registration, it was renamed New York Giants. The third name resulted from changing the location – San Francisco Giants. The name “Giants” spontaneously appeared after a convincing victory over “Philadelphia Phillies.” Then, Jim Mutrie, the manager of “New York Gothams,” rushed into the locker room and excitedly exclaimed: “My giants!”. Since then, the nickname “giants” has turned into the name.
Meaning and History
The team’s history includes 23 logos: 18 belong to the New York period, and 5 to the San Francisco period. All recent versions feature a baseball with the inscription “Giants” in various forms. The color palette used to be more vibrant, including cream, orange, red, blue, brown, and black. After the club’s relocation, it switched to a monochromatic palette.
What is San Francisco Giants?
The San Francisco Giants is a professional baseball team from San Francisco, U.S.A., playing in MLB in the National League (West Division). The team was founded in 1883, initially called the “New York Gothams.” After some time, it was renamed “New York Giants,” and when it changed its location, it took its current name (in 1958).
1883 – 1885
When the team was also called “New York Gothams,” instead of a logo, an embroidered image was used on the club’s uniform.
1900 – 1907
The team was renamed “New York Giants.” The first logo from 1900 featured two large letters, “NY,” in dark blue, symbolizing New York City.
1908
The logo introduced a large classic Old English letter N in dark blue, denoting the team’s location – New York City.
1909
The color of the letter N changed from dark blue to black-brown. The font remained the same.
1910
The classic Old English letter N is now red.
1911 – 1912
The letter’s color changes again, this time from red to black.
1913 – 1914
In 1913, the classic Old English letter N, denoting New York City, became black with barely noticeable purple outlines.
1915
The font of the letter N slightly changes as the lines become thinner.
1916
And again, the letter adopts shades of purple.
1917
The classic dark blue letter N continues to symbolize New York City.
1918 – 1922
For another four years, the New York Giants logo remains the letter N, styled in Old English and now in dark blue.
1923
The letter’s color changes again to red, with a thin black outline added.
1924 – 1927
The thin outline is completely removed from the logo, leaving only the Old English letter N in red.
1928 – 1929
For the next two years, the logo uses a dark blue letter N with a thin red outline.
1930 – 1932
The red color returns to the daily life of the logo with the addition of a thin black outline around the letter N.
1933 – 1935
The classic letter N continues to appear on the Giants’ club logo. This time, it is black again with the addition of a red border.
1936 – 1939
The letter N is rendered in Old English and in blue. The letter denotes New York City.
1940 – 1946
A thin red border is added to the blue letter, enhancing its decoration.
1947 – 1957
The club’s last logo before relocating to San Francisco features a classic white ball with orange seams and gray shades. Above the ball, diagonally, the word “Giants” is in black.
1958 – 1967
In 1958, the club moved to San Francisco and was renamed the “San Francisco Giants.” The new logo’s basis was the previous one, but this time, the baseball was entirely white, and the word “Giants” was positioned slightly higher.
1968 – 1972
Nine years later, the logo changed slightly. The white ball transitions into a light orange hue.
1973 – 1982
The logo changes color again. The orange on the baseball becomes saturated and bright, and the orange seams are replaced with black.
1983 – 1993
The Giants make minor changes to their logo, but the concept remains the same. The ball was turned so that the lines of the seams were directed toward the center of the image, and the ball itself became white again. The word “Giants” was placed in the center but with a different font. The letters’ color is black, with an orange outline added.
1994 – 1999
The baseball in this logo is smaller than in the previous one, as is the word “Giants,” which has a slightly altered font.
2000 – today
The current graphic symbol of the “San Francisco Giants” repeats the previous version. However, unlike it, it has become textured due to the beige shade. It creates a three-dimensional effect, making the logo not look flat. The ball is painted in white and cream with two orange lines above and below. The seams on the ball are now red. The team’s name is brown with an orange border. The letters are styled with angular serifs.
San Francisco Giants: Interesting Facts
The San Francisco Giants are a famous baseball team with a lot of history behind them. They started on the other side of the country and have won many big games.
- How They Started: The Giants first showed up in 1883 as the New York Gothams and got their Giants name in 1885. They moved to San Francisco in 1958.
- World Series Wins: They’ve won the World Series eight times, including in 2010, 2012, and 2014, making them a strong team in recent years.
- Lots of Wins: Over their long history in New York and San Francisco, the Giants have won more games than any other baseball team in the U.S.
- Famous Players: Some of the best baseball players, like Willie Mays and Barry Bonds, have played for the Giants. Bonds hit more home runs than anyone else but isn’t in the Hall of Fame yet.
- Oracle Park: Their current stadium has amazing views of San Francisco Bay and is known for being a great place for fans to watch a game.
- A Famous Home Run: Bobby Thomson hit a super important home run in 1951 that won the Giants the pennant, and people still talk about it.
- Broadcast Pioneers: The Giants were ahead of their time with radio and TV, helping make baseball popular on the West Coast with memorable announcers like Russ Hodges.
- Pitching Greatness: They’ve had pitchers throw no-hitters and even perfect games, with Matt Cain throwing a perfect game in 2012.
- Barry Bonds’ Big Year: In 2001, Barry Bonds hit 73 home runs, more than anyone has in a single season.
- Rivalry with the Dodgers: The Giants and the Dodgers have been rivals for a long time, starting back when both teams were in New York.
The San Francisco Giants have a rich story with many wins, famous players, and a big rivalry, making them a key part of baseball’s history.
Font and Colors
The twenty-five logos of the San Francisco Giants, on one hand, are striking in their diversity, and on the other, they are surprised by their uniformity. The team started under a different name and repeatedly remade its personal symbolism. As a result, many identical symbols with the monogram “NY” (from New York Giants) were produced. In the original version, the letters were printed; then, they became Old English.
Starting from 1947, an entirely different version of the emblem appeared, consisting of a combination of graphic and textual parts. The first half is a drawn basketball with two thin lines stitched in a herringbone pattern. The second is the word “Giants,” placed horizontally and rising upwards. In the current logo, it has acquired an arched form.
The “San Francisco Giants” emblem has several types of inscriptions. At the beginning of the team’s sports career, a block font was used, then Old English, and in the middle years, cursive rounded. Now, a font close to Old English is used – with sharp projections on the sides. The symbols are wide, well-spaced, and easily legible.
The palette of the logo at different times consisted of various colors. Among them were blue, red, brown, purple, and shades. Later, gray, white, orange, gold, and cream appeared, which are included in the official range of the baseball club.
San Francisco Giants color codes
Orange | Hex color: | #fd5a1e |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 241 91 40 | |
CMYK: | 0 66 88 0 | |
Pantone: | PMS 172 C |
Black | Hex color: | #000000 |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 0 0 0 | |
CMYK: | 0 0 0 100 | |
Pantone: | PMS Process Black C |
Gold | Hex color: | #8b6f4e |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 139 111 78 | |
CMYK: | 11 30 55 15 | |
Pantone: | PMS 874 C |
Cream | Hex color: | #e6d8af |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 230 216 175 | |
CMYK: | 04 10 18 05 | |
Pantone: | PMS 155 C |