The oldest baseball team, St. Louis, has a strong modern identity. St. logo Louis Cardinals is a successful demonstration of the connection between brand features, sports profile, name, and a reflection of the team spirit and its philosophy.
St. Louis Cardinals: Brand overview
Founded: | 1882 |
Founder: | Bill DeWitt Jr. |
Headquarters: |
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
Website: | mlb.com |
St. Louis Cardinals is a professional baseball club that is part of MLB. Represents the Central Division NL. Located in St. Louis, Missouri. Formed in the 1882nd.
The team’s career began a year earlier – in 1881 when it was called Brown Stockings. Then it was acquired by businessman Christian Friedrich Wilhelm and renamed St. Louis Browns. In 1899, the entrepreneur sold the franchise to the Robison family – brothers Frank and Stanley. Then it was inherited by Helene H. Britton and belonged to her almost until the beginning of 1918.
The next club owner was Sam Breadon, who laid the foundation for a quick change of owners: R. Hannegan (1947-1949), F. Saigh (1947-1953). Anheuser-Busch acquired St. Louis Cardinals in 1953 and managed for a long time – until 1995, inclusive. William DeWitt Jr currently owns the team.
The club officially registered the current name in the 1900th year. He received it through chance. Once Willie McHale, a columnist for St. the Louis Republic, saw one of the fans point to the players’ red leggings and said that this was a shade of the cardinal. McHale noticed a comparison and included it in his column. Naturally, this mention scattered and became a nickname that Christian Friedrich Wilhelm liked.
Meaning and History
With the name change to Cardinals, the team immediately changed the logo. At first, it was in the form of connected “StL.” The idea to associate athletes with the image of birds of the same name originated in the 1920s. The first graphic sign with cardinals is dated 1922. All subsequent versions are his alterations. Designers experimented with the birds’ emotional mood, with their character, color, size, and number. Moreover, this emblem was to the liking of the fans: according to ESPN, it was recognized as the best among all the logos of baseball teams.
What is St. Louis Cardinals?
St. Louis Cardinals is a Major League Baseball team and has played in National League Central since 1994. He is known for his numerous victories: he won the 11 World Series and received 19 NL pennants, thus taking third place in the ranking of all franchises. It is also one of the oldest baseball clubs in the United States since founded in 1882 based on Brown Stockings.
1900 – 1919
The first logo of the St. Louis Cardinals club was the red STL team name’s initials, which were intertwined. The letter “S” is decorated with two small white rhombuses. For the first time, this logo appeared on the team’s caps and sleeves back in 1900.
1920 – 1921
The second logo depicted the name of the city of St. Louis in red, placing the letters in an arc.
1922 – 1926
For the first time, two red cardinals immediately appear on the logo, which sits on both ends of a wooden brown baseball bat. Under the bat is the word “Cardinals,” where the letter “C” is hooked on a baseball bat.
1927 – 1947
A modified version of the previous logo. By adding different shades of red, the birds look more voluminous. The baseball bat changed from brown to silver. Below is the name of the team.
1948 – 1964
Another revised version of the image of two cardinals sitting on a silver baseball bat. Black breasts and sharp crests were added to the birds. The red letter “C” in the team name is circled in black.
1965
The sixth St. Louis Cardinals club logo features a red cardinal sitting on a small yellow baseball bat. The whole picture is shown inside a red ring with the full name of the team. Inside the ring is a classic white baseball ball.
1966 – 1997
The same red bird sitting on the yellow baseball bat is now depicted in profile. On her head is a classic red baseball cap. The font in the title “St. Louis Cardinals” has also been modified. Throughout the logo, the red color has acquired a lighter and brighter shade.
1998
Comparing several logos of previous years, the 1998 logo depicted a dark red cardinal sitting on a yellow baseball bat. Under the picture is the word “Cardinals,” where the letter “C” is hooked over the edge of the bit.
1999 – today
The logo received an updated stylization: the bird not only stands on a baseball bat but grabbed hold of it. The letter C gives the impression that it is hanging on a bit. The handwriting is more powerful than before, although it remains in the form of calligraphic handwriting. The form is semi-connected, because the first character is separate, and the rest are connected.
The word “Cardinals” is located under the bat on which the cardinal is located. The contours of all elements are outlined in blue. Red color (birds and names) has become more saturated in comparison with previous versions. The baseball bat and beak are lemon yellow; the eye is white.
Font and Colors
The first two versions of the St. Louis Cardinals were text, all of the following were with a bird perched on a baseball bat. Over the entire evolution, the cardinal appearance has constantly changed, as has its number. For example, from 1922 to 1964, there were two birds, and they were on opposite ends of a baseball bat with the letter “C” hanging from it.
The image of the cardinal ranged from cartoonish to realistic. Now the most believable style is used – withdrawing small details like a tuft, plumage, beak. Only the corporate palette remained unchanged in the emblem.
The earliest version contains a monogram composed of the letters “S,” “T,” “L” from the words “St. Louis “. It is based on a typeface reminiscent of the Old English alphabet. Although the signs are superimposed on each other, they are visible and readable. In 1992, the hook-shaped “C” and lowercase spelling of the word “Cardinals” appeared. In the current version, the letters are italic, and the capital “C” has an elongated bottom.
The logo uses the corporate colors: Cardinal red, Midnight Navy blue, white and yellow. Silver was also present in the 1927-1964 variants, which the designers later replaced with gold.
St. Louis Cardinals color codes
Red | Hex color: | #c41e3a |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 196 32 59 | |
CMYK: | 0 100 63 12 | |
Pantone: | PMS 200 C |
Midnight Navy Blue | Hex color: | #22205f |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 34 32 95 | |
CMYK: | 100 64 0 60 | |
Pantone: | PMS 289 C |
Yellow | Hex color: | #fdda00 |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 253 218 0 | |
CMYK: | 0 6 95 0 | |
Pantone: | PMS 108 C |
Did the Cardinals change their logo?
This statement is not entirely true because the team still uses the logo adopted in 1999. On the other hand, it changed very often until the final version appeared at the turn of the century. Designers experimented with birds, lettering, and baseball bats. But the ‘ST’ monogrammed emblem that adorns players’ caps was updated in 2020 for the first time in 56 years.
What is the St. Louis Cardinals logo?
The centerpiece of the St. Louis Cardinals is a baseball bat. A red bird sits on it – the cardinal, after whom the team got its name. The word “Cardinals” is written at the bottom. The first “C” wraps around the bat, making it appear to be hanging in space. For the inscription, a handwritten italic font is used.
What is St. Louis Cardinals font?
St. Louis Cardinals is unidentifiable because it was custom designed specifically for the baseball franchise. Rather, it is a collection of individual glyphs. The letters are handwritten and slanted slightly to the right.
How did the St Louis Cardinals get their logo?
St. Louis Cardinals have come a long way from a monogram to a bird perched on a baseball bat. At first, there were two birds, but then their number was reduced to one. The bat that used to be black is now golden.