The Washington Redskins logo indicates patriotism and respect for their roots. Football is not just a job for each club player; it’s a personal hobby they do with joy. The emblem hints at the team members’ agility, accuracy, and speed.
The Washington Redskins are an American professional football club in the National Football League. The team represents the NFC East Division, which was formed in 1932. The club is located in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.
The franchise began as the Boston Braves. A year later, it was renamed the Boston Redskins, reflecting its location. Then George Preston Marshall, founder and first owner, moved it to Washington. This happened in 1937.
In 1969, Marshall passed away, and Edward Bennett Williams bought a controlling stake, becoming the club’s majority owner until 1974. Then, Jack Kent Cooke acquired part of his shares, which automatically gave him equal co-owner status. This was made possible because he already had a 25 percent share of the Washington Redskins: he received it through a deal with George Preston Marshall during Marshall’s lifetime, when he suffered a stroke and was unable to conduct business.
From 1985 to 1997, Cooke led the club and created his foundation. In 1999, Daniel Marc Snyder, who currently heads the franchise, acquired the controlling interest.
Interestingly, Redskins are the first NFL team with a personal marching band and sports anthem (Hail to the Redskins song). The first name came from the eponymous baseball club, the Braves. After moving to Washington, she kept the Redskins name, simply changing the location from Boston to Washington. Now, around the name associated with the image of the native Indian, scandals do not cease since “red-skinned” is considered a politically incorrect, derogatory, and insulting word.
Meaning and History
Although the brand logo has changed several times over its nearly 90-year history, it has remained visually rooted in an Indian theme. The franchise’s official colors are brown, yellow, white, burgundy, and black. At the same time, not all of them appear in every version of the graphic symbolism.
What is the Washington Redskins?
The Washington Redskins were the previous name of the Washington Football Team, a member of the NFC East. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority renamed the franchise in 2020. It is one of the top teams in the National Football League, with over 600 wins.
1932
At the beginning of its sports career, the team adopted the Boston baseball team’s logo. It was used until 1933. It depicts the red head of a representative of America’s indigenous population in a traditional feather headdress. The element is shown in profile, facing left. Facial features and details are formed from white lines. All parts have a double edging in the colors of the base palette.
1933 – 1936
The emblem of this period is associated with the group’s renaming to the Boston Redskins. She repeats the previous version, but with some differences. First, the drawing style is more realistic. Secondly, the details include a yellow circle covering the central element, small strokes on the face, a white background, black hair, and two feathers. Moreover, the Indian’s head is already turned to the right.
1937 – 1951
Moving the franchise to Washington brought her an updated logo. A Native American head profile is circled in yellow. The hair is now dark brown, with a white garter in the braid. The feathers have changed shade; now they are brownish-red. The Indian’s face and neck are tanned, with a light red hue: strict features, a serious look.
1952 – 1959
In 1952, the team began using different symbolism, featuring a more realistic image of the authentic American population. Designers removed the yellow circle, leaving a free white space. Her hair was jet-black, her skin was brown, and her feathers were a mix of yellow and red.
1960 – 1964
The logo of these years directly echoes the debut version in red and white. In 1960, the club returned to the head of an Indian, sketched in a loose silhouette, facing right. It has no exact outlines, only the general lines of the face, neck, two feathers, and hair tied into a bun. The background is a red substrate. There is also a white border.
1965 – 1969
During these years, the franchise attempted to significantly alter the logo, leaving only feathers from the usual image. Everything else has been removed. The result is a concise graphic sign featuring a sharp spear with two feathers hanging from it. The color scheme also changed: yellow is now combined with white.
1970 – 1971
Vince Lombardi, a Washington Redskins coach, insisted on a radically new logo. The logo of that period shows the capital “R,” reflecting the team’s name. The sign sits on a white background at the center of the circle. Like the graphic symbol’s edging, the letter itself is painted in dark red. On the right are two white feathers with yellow tips, referencing the Native American theme.
1972 – 1981
In 1972, the club returned to the logo used from 1933-1936 and replaced the “R” with a symbol representing the indigenous population. A yellow ring reappeared on the logo, inside which is the head of an Indian looking to the right. He has dark brown skin with a red tint and charcoal-black hair with white feathers. Two side feathers on the edging line remained unchanged.
1982
This version resulted from a marketing requirement. The developers pressed the side feathers against the ring because the round helmet stickers did not fit. The designers also turned the Indian to the left.
1983 – 2020
In 1983, the sticker manufacturer began using more flexible material, so the feathers returned to their hanging look. The current version is a simplified, repetitive take on the 1972 logo, with minimal amendments. These include dark gray shadows instead of black on the nose, in the corner of the mouth and cheekbones, thicker lines on the face, and even shadows under the chin and neck. It also changed skin color by a couple of tones. This version is under development and was approved by former National Congress of American Indians headWalter “Blackie” Wetzel.
2020 – 2021
2021 – today
Font and Colors
The Washington Redskins Football Club logos live up to their name. They depict either a representative of America’s indigenous population or cultural attributes, such as spears and feathers. The modern version resembles a portrait of an Indian turned in profile. Developed in 1972, the designers made only slight color changes in 1983. Walter “Blackie” Wetzel, former head of the National Congress of American Indians, endorsed this emblem.
The logo’s composition is simple. The center is the head of a dark-skinned man with a distinctive hairstyle and two white-and-black feathers. This element is inside a white circle surrounded by a yellow ring and decorated with two more feathers, the same, but only with yellow edges.
The logo creators did not use the standard typeface or the Washington Redskins’ proprietary font because the team’s logo contains no lettering. It features only the head of a brown-faced Indian with black hair. The dark palette is complemented by light shades, such as yellow and white. This contrast makes the main character, with their characteristic skin color, immediately visible.















