The best logo news to come out in quite a while is the news that the Philadelphia 76ers are going to return to their classic logo and color scheme for the 2009-10 NBA season. The new look will be a return to an old, more familiar look for the 76ers. The return to their classic logo and color roots should help fans reconnect with the great 76ers teams of the past that featured greats like Dr. J, Moses Malone, Maurice Cheeks and many others.
Let's take a quick look at the evolution of the Philadelphia 76ers logo over the years.
The 76ers original look featured the number 76 with a ring of stars over top. The logo portrayed the image of Philadelphia being the birthplace of the United States, and the red, white and blue color scheme reinforced that image. The logo and uniforms were true American classics and their was no doubt what the team was about. The 76ers used this logo from the early 1960's until the mid 1970's.
For the 1978-79 season, the team evolved the logo a bit and added in the "ers" to say 76ers. The logo was also now framed by a basketball. This is the logo that brings back the most memories of the Julius "Dr. J" Erving years and the team's NBA Championship season. In the pre-Michael Jordan era, the 76ers, Celtics and Lakers dominated the game and Dr. J and his Sixers were one of the most entertaining teams to watch. The team used this logo until the end of the 1996-97 season.
The 1997-98 season saw the 76ers make, in my opinion, one of the worst logo and color scheme changes ever. In a rush to be like every other team in the 1990's that added black to their colors, the team went away from their traditional look and introduced this logo that added black and gold to the team's color scheme. The logo was a drastic departure from the team's classic look. This look came to be symbolic of the Allen Iverson era in Philadelphia. Thankfully, this look has gone away with the end of the 2008-09 season, lasting about 9 years longer than it should have.
The 76ers have just announced that they will be returning to their great look of the past for the 2009-10 NBA season. Finally the team will abandon the black and gold and give fans of the Sixers back the classic look the team had in its glory years, with some slight modifications. I know many may think that going back to the simpler more classic look is a step backward, but I for one think this is a great move. I loved the 76ers growing up and Dr. J was by far my favorite player in the pre-Michael Jordan era. When the team switched to the black and gold, I found it hard to keep my affection for the team going. Remember, I'm a logo guy, so this stuff means a lot to me! Returning to the classic 76ers theme is a move I applaud, and it makes me look forward to supporting this favorite team from my past again. From everything you hear, the team will also return to a uniform style similar to those worn back in the day and I can't wait to see those unveiled.
Congratulation to the 76ers for this move, it will at least get one more old school fan to take notice of the team again!
I'm not a basketball guy, but that Dr. J era and those uniforms are easily my favorites. I'm so glad to see this black logo/uniform color craze slowly fade away.
I think teams are starting to realize that you don't have to redesign your logo every 5 or 10 years if you don't make marketing your first priority. Instead of trying to hop on each trendy design bandwagon for jersey sales, why not put some thought into a really good design with staying power? Tradition is key. The Sixers will sell a lot of merch with this new/old design - but not because it's a trendy design, because of it's tradition and impact. Good job, Sixers!
Posted by: johnny griswold | June 26, 2009 at 09:25 AM
The only difference that's noticeable between the "old" old logo and the "new" old logo, is they made the 6 thicker, and the blue seems to be lighter. I think it's a good move, but I think they could've modernized it a bit, like what the Capitals did. The 76ers new uni's will probably be throwbacks but with a modern twist, hopefully. At least the shorts will definitely be longer than they were back in the day, that's for sure!
Posted by: Zubaz is Zu-back!!! | June 28, 2009 at 06:08 PM
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Posted by: logo design | August 07, 2009 at 04:24 AM