0402 - Todd Radom
Todd Radom is a legendary graphic designer, sports branding expert, and writer who is responsible for the visual identities of multiple MLB teams and All-Star Game logos. During our conversation, he referenced a handful of things and people upon which you may want to do more research. Consider this page to be your “liner notes” for the episode so you can follow along.
Me and Todd Radom after recording our interview at his home in Philadelphia
1924 Negro League World Series Card Set
This episode is brought to you by historian Jay Caldwell and his 1924 Negro League World Series card set. Featured artists in the set include Graig Kreindler, Brian Kong, Jeff Suntala, Mike Kupka, and Darryl Matthews, who is the son of Negro Leagues player Fran Matthews.
Graig Kreindler was our guest for Episode 3 of Season 1. You can listen to that episode HERE.
Five members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame participated in the 1924 Negro League World Series, with Biz Mackey, Judy Johnson, and Louis Santop playing for Hilldale, while Bullet Rogan and José Méndez played for the Monarchs.
Phil S. Dixon
Negro Leagues historian and author Phil S. Dixon and I spoke about the panoramic photo of the 1924 Negro League World Series shown above.
Phil was our guest for Episode 4 of Season 1. You can listen to that episode HERE.
Super Bowl XXXVIII
Todd Radom designed the logo for Super Bowl XXXVIII.
The New England Patriots defeated the Carolina Panthers 32-29 in the game, which was played at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas on February 1, 2004. At the time, this was the most watched Super Bowl ever with 89.8 million viewers.
2009 NBA All-Star Game
Todd designed the logo for the 2009 NBA All-Star Game.
The Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference 146–119 in the game, which was played at the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona on February 15, 2009. The West's Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal were named joint winners of the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award.
2014 MLB All-Star Game
Todd designed the logo for the 2014 MLB All-Star Game.
The American League defeated the National League 5-3 in the game, which was played at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota on July 15, 2014. Mike Trout was named the winner of the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award.
2016 MLB All-Star Game
Todd designed the logo for the 2016 MLB All-Star Game.
The American League defeated the National League 4-2 in the game, which was played at Petco Park in San Diego, California on July 12, 2016. Eric Hosmer was named the winner of the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award.
2018 MLB All-Star Game
Todd designed the logo for the 2018 MLB All-Star Game.
The American League defeated the National League 8-6 in the game, which was played at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. on July 17, 2018. Alex Bregman was named the winner of the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award.
Washington Nationals
Todd designed this logo for the Washington Nationals.
Los Angeles Angels
Todd designed this logo for the Los Angeles Angels.
Winning Ugly
Winning Ugly is Todd’s loving homage to some of the most “questionable” MLB uniforms ever worn. It’s a tribute to the sheer chutzpah of whomever it was that decided that the Pittsburgh Pirates should wear a dizzying combination of black and gold uniforms that made them look for all the world like a swarm of bumblebees.
Winning Ugly is also a history of the baseball uniform, beginning with the ones that the Cincinnati Red Stockings first wore on July 15, 1867.
Fabric Of The Game
Fabric of the Game is the result of a three year collaboration between Todd and Chris Creamer which started in earnest with a 2017 visit to visit to the Hockey Hall of Fame’s D. K. (Doc) Seaman Hockey Resource Centre, located in Toronto.
The two examined vintage sweaters and dug deep into the history of every NHL team, surrounded by ghosts and legends, with the Conn Smythe Trophy close at hand. The book contains more than 50 original illustrations and 100 photos that span the century-long history of the NHL.
BIG3
Todd is also the man behind the league and team identities, as well as the branding, for Ice Cube’s BIG3 basketball league.
The league was founded in 2017 and consists of 12 teams whose rosters include both former NBA players and international players. The rules of BIG3 games contain deviations from the official rules of 3-on-3 basketball as administered by FIBA.
1975 Boston Red Sox
Despite living close to Yankee Stadium, Todd became a Red Sox fan growing up. The first team he remembers loving - and, unfortunately, the first team to break his heart - was the 1975 Red Sox.
The 1975 team finished first in the American League East with a record of 95 wins and 65 losses. Following a sweep of the Oakland Athletics in the ALCS, the Red Sox lost the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds in seven games.
1978 Boston Massacre
The 1978 Boston Massacre was the name given to a four-game series between the Red Sox and Yankees in September of 1978. The Yankees won all four games in the series by a combined score of 42-9, leaving the teams tied with identical records at the end of play on September 10.
They were the first games Todd attended in person at Fenway Park, and this ticket was Todd’s from the fourth and final game of the series, which the Yankees won 7-4.
The series was named after the Boston Massacre of 1770, which was a violent confrontation between colonists and British soldiers.
Favorite Players
Todd’s favorite players growing up were members of those 1970s Red Sox teams:
Carl Yastrzemski - Read his SABR Biography HERE
Dwight Evans - Read his SABR Biography HERE
Artistic Family
Todd’s comes from an artistic family. His father was a graphic designer and photographer. His father was a painter. And his father was a painter, too.
Here is Todd’s dad in late September of 1973, sweeping home plate at the old Old Yankee Stadium during a photo shoot for the Empire Sporting Goods catalog (Mets catcher Duffy Dyer stands at left). Demolition of the stadium began October 1, 1973, making this one of the very last things which happened before the renovations.
Not Pushed Toward The Arts
Despite coming from such a long line of artists, Todd wasn’t necessarily encouraged to pursue a similar career. He wasn’t discouraged from becoming an artist, either.
Here is a photo of Todd (at left) and his brother (at right) with their grandfather, Ial, at Central Park Zoo in the late 1960s. Todd’s grandfather was the most dapper man Todd ever knew. He was a fine artist by trade who painted in a collared shirt and tie.
September 24, 1971
Todd attended his first baseball game in person on September 24, 1971 at Shea Stadium. In front of 35,936 fans, he watched the Pirates beat the Mets 3-2 in just under two hours. Within a month, the Pirates went on to win the World Series and the World Series MVP would be Clemente.
Clemente was the honoree that night in a pre-game ceremony at Shea. With his beloved wife, three sons and parents in attendance, he stood proudly alongside a contingent of Puerto Rican civic and community leaders from the New York area.
Todd attended the game with his Great Uncle Gus, sitting in the press box.
Don Mattingly
Don Mattingly played his entire career before interleague play was introduced, and he never appeared in a World Series. In fact, he is the only player with more than 1,250 games played for the Yankees without a World Series appearance.
As such, despite playing for 14 seasons from 1982 through 1995, he only played against a total of 13 different teams in his 1,785 career games.
Bumblebees
Another formative memory for Todd was seeing the Pittsburgh Pirates and their black and yellow “bumblebee” uniforms in person at Shea Stadium on July 16, 1977.
Here, Pirates LF Mike Easler bats against the Mets in Shea Stadium.
1977 Old Timers Day at Shea
July 16, 1977 also just happened to be Old Timers Day at Shea Stadium, as well. And, oh yeah, this historic moment happened that day, too. All four of the great New York center fielders walked onto the field together. No big deal.
Milton Glaser
One of the graphic designers Todd looked up to as he was coming up was Milton Glaser, who is best known for the creation of the I Love NY logo.
Glaser was born on June 26, 1929, and passed away on his 91st birthday in 2020. He is recognized for numerous designs, including the logos for for DC Comics, Stony Brook University, and Brooklyn Brewery, as well as his graphic work on the introduction of the iconic 1969 Olivetti Valentine typewriter.
Among his other famous works is this 1966 psychedelic art style poster of Bob Dylan, which was commissioned by CBS Records for Dylan’s forthcoming album, Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits.
Todd studied design at New York City’s School of Visual Arts. His senior thesis was this triptych painting on the visual history of baseball.
The Sloane House YMCA
Before SVA had official dorms, some students stayed in one of the 1600 rooms of the Sloane House YMCA, located at 356 West 34th Street, just below Hell’s Kitchen, near 9th Avenue in New York.
The building, which was the largest residential YMCA building in the nation, also had floors that functioned as a hostel and a notorious 5th floor that was a long term S.R.O. (Single Room Occupancy).
Keith Haring
One of the opportunities afforded to Todd thanks to living in New York at the time, was being able to attend Keith Haring’s first gallery show in September of 1982 at the Tony Shafrazi Gallery, shown here.
The show was attended not just by collectors in suits and ties but also by Haring’s contemporaries and friends from different cultures, from street artists to college students.
Road Trips
Todd and his buddies started going on road trips in college. Seeing the country and attending baseball games at the various stadiums essentially wound up being background research for his future career.
Here he is (at right) in September of 1988 with his friends Vincent and Jim, while their friend Bill is behind the camera.
Comiskey Park
Todd remembers this game he saw at Comiskey Park September 20, 1987 between the White Sox and the Seattle Mariners. There was an Ozzie Guillén Burger King Growth Chart giveaway that day, for those of you keeping score at home.
James Bennett
Jim is one of Todd’s buddies from SVA. They are still friends to this day. Todd has some of his work hanging in his home.
Here is a piece he did for The National Pastime Museum of Shoeless Joe Jackson.
Immaculate Grid
Immaculate Grid was developed by Brian Minter, a software developer from Atlanta, who named it after the immaculate inning, in which a pitcher strikes out three batters on three pitches each. The first grid appeared on April 4, 2023.
Each of the grid's three rows and columns corresponds to a professional team, statistical achievement, or award, and players must fill each square by selecting an athlete who meets both criteria. Since players get only one guess per square, each one must be correct for the result to be "immaculate". Correctly guessed players cannot be used elsewhere in the grid.
Steve Jeltz
Immaculate Grid has bottled an intense desire for any sports fan, repackaged it, and given it right back to us: to just sit around and name some guys.
We are given opportunities to remember guys we otherwise might not have a reason to think of very often, such as Milt Thompson, or Steve Jeltz, who is pictured here.
1995 World Series
Todd was able to see the country when it was a very different place than it is today. While it has only been a few decades, much has changed.
Here he is at a decently big game in Cleveland in 1995.
Been There, Done That
Todd’s travels have allowed him to understand fan bases in ways which many other designers never could. Here he is at Milwaukee County Stadium after the game on September 11, 1988, with his friends (left to right) Vincent, Bill, [Todd] and Jim.
Exhibition Stadium in Toronto
Originally built in 1959 for football and then modified in 1975-76 for baseball, the Canadian National Exhibition Stadium - as it was originally called - was the home stadium of the Toronto Blue Jays for 968 games from April 7, 1977 through May 28, 1989.
Todd was able to see a game there in 1988 before the new stadium was built. Here he is, enjoying a hot dog in the upper deck.
Globe Life Field
Todd designed the logo for Globe Life Field, which is the retractable roof stadium in Arlington, Texas where the Texas Rangers have played their home games since 2020.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 National League Championship Series and the 2020 World Series were played exclusively at Globe Life Field.
Drinking Beer
Beer goes down like water when you’re drinking outside in the Texas heat in the summer. One of the reasons why Globe Life Field was built with a retractable roof was to keep the fans and players safe and comfortable during extreme temperatures.
Todd and his buddies have never had an issue putting beers back, as is evidenced by this photo of the group at the Canadian border in 1988.
Todd’s first jobs after SVA was in the publishing industry, designing book jackets. He has done over 1,000 book cover designs in his career, many of them baseball related.
Lawrence Ritter
Lawrence Ritter wrote the The Glory of Their Times (1966, updated 1984), and collaborated with another baseball historian, Donald Honig, on The Image of Their Greatness (1979) and The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time (1981).
In researching The Glory of Their Times, Ritter travelled a total distance of 75,000 miles (121,000 km) to interview his subjects, allowing them to reminisce freely.
John Thorn
John Thorn has been the Official Historian of Major League Baseball since March 1, 2011.
He, along with Pete Palmer, first compiled a baseball encyclopedia known as Total Baseball in 1989. The encyclopedia contains seasonal and career statistics in numerous categories for every Major League player, as well as historical, opinion, and year-by-year essays.
John also served as the publisher of Total Sports Publishing throughout its existence from 1998 through 2002, during which point he and Todd worked closely together on a number of books.
Todd’s Grandmother
These pages are from a journal that belonged to Todd’s grandmother, Pearl, who was born in 1910. It contains her childhood collection of her father’s cigar bands - tiny pieces of art that speak to a distant place and time.
Pearl went to Parsons School of Design in the 1920s and 1930s. Parsons was founded in 1896 and is one of the oldest schools of art and design in New York. Parsons was the first school to offer programs in fashion design, interior design, advertising, graphic design, transdisciplinary design, and lighting design.
Letraset
Letraset was a company known mainly for manufacturing sheets of typefaces and other artwork elements using the dry-transfer lettering method.
The dry rub-down transfer technique was used by the punk movement because of its ease of manipulation, its low price and the quality of the rendered layout. Letraset's ease of use and widespread availability aligned with the do-it-yourself value of this movement by allowing punks to create designs independent from printers and publishers.
Doing Things By Hand
Todd came up before everything was done digitally, meaning he had to learn how to do everything by hand. From drawing and lettering, to coloring. Those skills helped him understand the basics of design, and allowed him to flourish when the transition to digital began.
Drawing, lettering, rubber cement, x-acto knives, registration marks, etc.
Macintosh Quadra 700
When Todd made the transition to digital, he purchased a tricked-out Macintosh Quadra 700, along with a flatbed scanner and a black and white laser printer. At the time, that equipment was state of the art.
Todd’s Office
The leap in technology over the past 30 years is astounding. Now, Todd can work off of a laptop from anywhere in the world, and with the help of iCloud and Dropbox, he can pull up any file from the past 3+ decades and work on it wherever he is.
Alexander Julian
Alexander Julian designed the uniform for the Charlotte Hornets when they joined the NBA.
“I wanted everything to represent the little details and design aesthetic that had popularized my brand. And I know this is difficult to believe, but I designed the first vertical striped polo shirts. That’s the reason the vertical stripes were in the jerseys, and they’re actually knitted, not printed. I didn’t want the shorts to be striped, because I wanted it to look like sportswear, so I did the stripes on just the top, not on the shorts. I added the multicolor trim, the kind of thing I was always putting on my sweaters and knits. They were the first basketball shorts—and maybe the last—to have pleats.”
Julian also re-designed the University of North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball uniforms. He created the trademark argyle pattern down the sides of the uniform, added bolder trim, and used different fabrics for the 1991-92 season upon Dean Smith's request.
White Sox and Hip Hop
The new White Sox logo was created in 1991 to usher in a new era for the franchise as they moved into a new ballpark. It’s a simple and clean look and was immediately embraced by West Coast Hip Hop Culture - most notably by Dr. Dre’s former group N.W.A.
Despite the rap group famously being from South Central Los Angeles, N.W.A. embraced the new White Sox logo. It was Dr. Dre specifically sporting the White Sox hat in the “Nothing But A ‘G’ Thang” music video that helped cement the Sox place in Hip Hop Culture.
Ice Cube says he made the White Sox cap popular in hip hop, but credits Frank Thomas for putting it on the map in general: "I think the Big Hurt played more in that than me. I put it on the hip hop map."
Watch the documentary “Fitted In Black: How Hip-Hop Fueled The Greatest Rebrand In Sports” HERE.
Mitchell & Ness
Todd makes a pretty ridiculous claim during our interview that Mitchell & Ness was making throwback jerseys for 35-year-old men who grew up idolizing Mickey Mantle. Well, I am here to remind you that I am 37 years old, not 35. Get your facts straight, Todd!
Here I am wearing my 1951 Mickey Mantle throwback jersey - made by Mitchell & Ness - inside the Yankees Museum at the New Yankee Stadium before Game 4 of the 2024 World Series.
Former owner of Mitchell & Ness, Peter Capolino, was our guest for Episode 3 of Season 3. You can listen to that episode HERE.
Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers, the King of the Cowboys, was the midwife of national sports team marketing. When the original NFL Enterprises - now called NFL Properties, the division of the NFL that licenses team logos - was created in 1959, it was a division of Roy Rogers Enterprises. Before Rogers came along, each of the 12 NFL teams took care of its own licensing. Some teams even gave away their rights, thinking the team was getting free publicity.
In 1958 the Los Angeles Rams, the first team to put its logo on the side of its helmets, started selling a bobblehead doll of a Rams player. The doll was a hit. "This is the first we can identify of team logos being applied to a product," says Roger Atkin, former vice president of retail sales at NFL Properties.
Anne Occi
Anne Occi was hired as MLB’s first creative director in October 1990, with a mission to build the league’s design capabilities from scratch.
Her formative design work appeared on the original uniforms for expansion teams like the Colorado Rockies and the then-Florida Marlins (both born in 1993), and the Arizona Diamondbacks and the then-Tampa Bay Devil Rays (both of which debuted in 1998).
Tigers Alternate Jerseys
“As alternate jerseys go, this one is not bad,” Todd Radom wrote, “but it represents a strange departure from the Tigers’ tried-and-true uniform routine.”
The fan reaction was less than enthusiastic.
“It didn't go over very well,” Trammell said. “The Olde English D, it’s been there forever, and we don’t want to change.”
They were supposed to be worn for Sunday home games, but management decided they didn't like them, so they were scrapped after one game and one game only, a 12-1 defeat to the Red Sox on May 7, 1995.
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola’s brand history began when John Stith Pemberton, the inventor of the beverage, turned to his book accountant, Frank M. Robinson, to help him brand his creation.
Frank immediately suggested the simple and mark-hitting ‘Coca-Cola’. The marketing strategy created a boom, and one year later Frank came up with the first logo – the handwritten name of the company.
IBM
The saga of IBM began in 1911, conceived by Charles Ranlett Flint, and officially adopted the name International Business Machines Corporation in 1924, a move that signaled its ambition beyond mere computing tasks. This era heralded the evolution of IBM from a modest beginning into a titan of the technology industry.
Yankees Top Hat Logo
This New York Yankees logo was designed by Lon Keller and unveiled on March 1, 1947. It featured a patriotic Uncle Sam-style tophat on a red and white baseball bat, with the bat also forming part of the letter k in the scripted Yankees across with a red and white baseball behind.
This version differed slightly from the mark used today, the stars on the hat are different and the lighter blue has been eliminated. The Yankees used this logo as a co-primary logo from 1968-80.
Toronto Blue Jays logo
One of the few things hanging on the wall in Todd’s office is this envelope addressed to him from the Toronto Blue Jays, featuring the original logo designed by Richard Walker, and signed by him.
Blue Jays Logo History
The Blue Jays made their primary logo color red at one point, completely dropped the word “Blue” from their team name and went with black as their primary logo at another point, and have seemingly finally righted the ship by embracing the “Blue” in Blue Jays again.
The Yankees’ “NY”
The interlocking “NY” of the Yankees’ logo is arguably the most recognizable in all of professional sports.
Injured NYPD patrolman John McDowell was awarded the NYPD’s Medal of Valor, which prominently featured the interlocking “NY” symbol above a silver shield, depicting a woman placing a laurel wreath on a policeman’s head.
It was designed by Louis Tiffany of Tiffany & Co., and survives at the New York City Police Museum.
The baseball team arrived in 1903 as the Highlanders, not yet called the Yankees. In 1909, the interlocking “NY” made its first appearance on the Highlanders' uniform caps and left sleeves.
It is believed that the design was adopted by William “Big Bill” Devery, one of the club’s owners and a former chief in the NYPD.
While the Yankees have barely changed their look in more than 100 years, the White Sox have gone a different route.
NBA Jerseys
The NBA has lost its way when it comes to which team wears which jerseys in games. This photo was taken during Game 1 of a First Round playoff series on April 16, 2023. The Miami Heat were the #8 seed, playing on the road, but wearing white uniforms.
The Milwaukee Bucks were the #1 seed, playing at home. Though their primary color is forest green, the court for this game was blue, and their uniforms were black. Make it make sense, NBA.
In Modern Use
Todd poses here at an empty Yankee Stadium in August of 2000 next to Don Zimmer, who proudly displays the interlocking NY on both his Yankees hat and uniform.
Tigers Mismatched Ds
The Tigers’ uniform Old English "D" made its debut in 1896, when the club played in the Western League. Its first appearance took place on April 28 of that year, during the club’s home opener at Bennett Park, located at the corner of Michigan Street and Trumbull Avenue.
The club first wore an Old English "D" on their caps in 1905, though the “D” on the cap and the “D” on the uniform didn’t perfectly match. Todd has written about this a number of times, including HERE, HERE, and HERE.
The Tigers' “D” has been a staple of the team's visual identity since 1904, when it was first featured on their road uniforms. The D morphed and sometimes disappeared entirely in the early 20th century.
The 1930-33 clubs wore a script "Detroit," both at home and on the road. These four seasons represent the longest continual stretch that the franchise did not sport an Old English "D" in its history.
Todd Lukas of Uni Watch has also written about teams with mismatched cap and uniform logos. You can read one such article HERE.
Bill Clinton
Todd and the former President, chatting it up about the St. Louis Cardinals. Clinton was born in 1946, the same year that the Cardinals bought shiny red satin uniforms to be worn during night road games. It would appear that Hillary would have approved of those uniforms (note her jacket in this photo), but Manager Eddie Dyer decided they were too flashy and scrapped them. The team did end up wearing satin uniforms in 1948, though they were not red.
Todd’s First MLB Design
On October 29, 1993, the Los Angeles Dodgers began a three-game Friendship Series against the newly formed Taiwanese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) All-Star team.
The Dodgers roster for the exhibition series consisted of 25 players, including Cy Young Award winner Orel Hershiser, future Cy Young Award winner Pedro Martínez, former Rookie of the Year winners Eric Karros, Mike Piazza and Raul Mondesi.
The Dodgers were managed by future Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda, and hitting coach Ben Hines and pitching coach Ron Perranoski also made the trip to Taiwan. Vin Scully additionally traveled with the team to be the commentator of the series and Dodgers photographer Jon SooHoo was on the trip as well.
Knoxville Smokies
The first baseball logo of any kind that Todd did was for the minor league Knoxville Smokies, who just recently announced that a quarter century after leaving Knoxville, the now-Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs is returning home and reprising their former name.
Milwaukee Brewers
Todd was the mastermind behind the Milwaukee Brewers’ so-called Motre Bame logo. As the team celebrated their 25th anniversary in Milwaukee, they introduced this new look. Green was incorporated as a color for the first time in franchise history.
This logo, which was first introduced in 1994 and used until the end of the 1999 season, resembled an industrial stamp, paying homage to Milwaukee's industrial history, and gave the team a modern yet old-fashioned look.
"Ball-In-Glove" Logo
The "ball-in-glove" logo was introduced in 1978 after a contest which was open to the public drew more than 2,000 entries. An art history student at UW-Eau Claire, Tom Meindel, designed the logo that went on to be the winner. The design of the logo was meant to be recognizable on items as small as a button and as large as a billboard.
The logo, which arranges the letters M and B together to form the shape of a baseball glove with a baseball inside, was retired after the 1993 season. An iconic design, the Brewers brought this concept back nearly thirty years later as its full-time design in 2020.
Todd’s Original Drawings
Todd lent his original drawings for the Brewers redesign to the Worcester Art Museum for their 2021 exhibition “The Iconic Jersey: Baseball x Fashion” which was the first exhibition solely devoted to the baseball jersey in an art museum.
Hand Drawings
This was the last job Todd did before computerization, and he felt it was too important to attempt it on Adobe Illustrator, a program with which he wasn’t entirely comfortable yet.
Wearing His Own Work
It must be really awesome to be able to wear a hat with a Major League Baseball team’s logo on it which you designed. Here is Todd doing just that at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore in 1994, with his friends Bill, Vincent, Joe, and Jim.
Fitted hat collectors would kill for this hat now. “It’s about fashion. It’s about drip.”
Todd’s Office
Todd really doesn’t have too many things on display in his office, so you know that the things he does choose to display are incredibly special to him.
Hartford Whalers Logo
Graphic designer Peter Good created the Whalers logo as a work-for-hire gig for Jack Lardis Associates, an ad agency that was working with the Whalers at the time.
Good was not a hockey fan and in fact had never designed a sports logo before (nor would he ever design one again), but he ended up creating one of the sports world’s most beloved logos. He was paid $2,000.
Todd was lucky enough to spend some time with Peter Good before he passed away, and Peter gifted Todd this original logo sheet, which he signed for Todd. It is hanging in Todd’s office.
Sports Logo Tattoos
Todd says “sports fans are the most ardent brand loyalists on earth” because what other logo would someone willingly tattoo on their body?
Sacramento Kings 100th Anniversary
Todd designed the very first 100th anniversary logo for any NBA franchise.
The mark draws upon several easily-defined visual touchstones that help bridge the entire history of the franchise, starting with the ribbon in the center, which echoes the one that was utilized by the team when it was based in Rochester and won the NBA championship in 1950-51.
Red and blue have been the team’s colors in every city that the Kings have called home, and the team’s current uniform script is included at bottom. Finally, five cities have hosted the team, and all are represented by five jewels in the logo’s crown.
Fascinated By Architecture
Many of Todd’s designs, especially for commemorative logos, include architecture. This logo commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the Seattle Mariners is a perfect example, showcasing the city’s skyline in the background, highlighted by the iconic Space Needle.
Old Yankee Stadium
Todd designed the commemorative logo for the final season at Old Yankee Stadium.
New Yankee Stadium
Todd designed the commemorative logo for the first season at New Yankee Stadium.
Busch Stadium II
Todd designed the commemorative logo for the final season at Busch Stadium II.
Busch Stadium III
Todd designed the commemorative logo for the first season at Busch Stadium III.
Fenway Park
Todd designed the commemorative logo for the 90th Anniversary of Fenway Park.
Red Sox
Todd designed the commemorative logo for the 100th Season of the Boston Red Sox.
The Green Monster
Here is that previous logo, enormously displayed on the Green Monster at Fenway Park.
Here are some of the other stadium logos which Todd has created over the years
SSG Landers
Todd partnered with the KBO’s SSG Landers Baseball Club to create a new brand identity for the franchise. The new program includes primary, secondary, and tertiary logos, wordmarks, uniform and headwear designs, apparel designs, and activation resources.
SSG Landers Uniforms
Todd was at the annual winter fan convention in Incheon, Korea, where he unveiled the new visual identity & uniforms for the Korean Baseball Association’s SSG Landers in front of 1,500 cheering fans.
Scalability
Todd and I went to the Phillies game together on April 16, 2024. The Phillies beat the Colorado Rockies 5-0 thanks to home runs by J.T. Realmuto and Bryce Harper.
While walking around Citizens Bank Park, we noticed this sign, which was a logo Todd designed to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the stadium.
The sign was about 4’ tall and 6’ wide, but thanks to Todd’s design, it could have been scaled up much bigger than that, or scaled down much smaller.
You wanna talk scalability? Check out the size of the scoreboard at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, which hosted the 2010 NBA All-Star Game.
Tiger Stadium
Todd designed the commemorative logo for the final season at Tiger Stadium.
Shea Stadium
Todd designed the commemorative logo for the final season at Shea Stadium.
Bricks
Todd may not be from Chicago, but he knows a couple important bricks when he sees them. Some of the items he has on display in his office are these bricks from Chicago’s Wrigley Field and Old Comiskey Park.
Mets Lettering
Todd created a script font for the Mets, where the end of every letter had to meet the beginning of the next letter.
Humor, Whimsy, and Joy
Individual teams each printed their own programs up until 1974 when Major League Baseball Promotion Corp took over with a single, unified vision. That seems to be a kind of turning point in the aesthetics of the game, from the whimsical 50s and 60s, into a new era where teams and the league tried to be more serious.
World Series Logos
There was no official World Series logo until 1978. But in 2003 for the 100th anniversary of the first modern World Series, Major League Baseball commissioned Todd to imagine what logos of the un-logoed past might have looked like.
Hometown Collection
For over a decade, Todd has worked with Minor League Baseball’s “Hometown Collection” to revive, and in some cases re-envision, obscure identities that might have otherwise been lost to time. You research defunct, often obscure brands to create authentic renderings of headwear marks, logos, and uniform lettering.
Here is his take on a logo for the Hollywood Stars, who played at Gilmore Field.
You can buy official merchandise from the Hometown Collection HERE.
Time Traveling
Todd likes to look through old newspapers while doing this type of research so he can truly immerse himself in the time period and get a better understanding for what things might have looked and felt like in that bygone era.
He likes to set aside time for himself to fall down those rabbit holes.
Cooperstown Collection
These are some of Todd’s original drawings from 1992 when he started working on the Cooperstown Collection.
Winning Ugly
In Winning Ugly: A Visual History of the Most Bizarre Baseball Uniforms Ever Worn, Todd says that the line of demarcation in terms of what baseball uniforms look like is the year 1987.
You can buy Todd’s book HERE.
Uniforms of the Past
Here is Todd with some players of the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings.
Peter Ueberroth
After the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics were such a financial success, Peter Ueberroth was brought in to become baseball’s next commissioner. He had just been named Time’s Man of the Year.
However, he was also known as a “miser with a Midas touch.” The perception that Ueberroth spent more time trying to turn the Olympics into exclusively a business, taking its soul, marred his success. The reputation followed him into baseball.
Naked Red Sox
The Red Sox uniforms of the early 1970s didn’t have piping around their necks the way later uniforms did. Todd feels these uniforms look naked in comparison.
Here, Carl Yastrzemski, Reggie Smith, and Tony Conigliaro pose in 1970.
High Socks
Todd thinks players should wear high socks to allow for an extra pop of color, like Hunter Pence did when he played for the Phillies.
Teams could even get creative with adding logos on the socks, as the Phillies did here with their Liberty Bell mark.
Pullover Uniforms
Todd doesn’t think every team can necessarily pull off pullover uniforms, but it’s hard to argue with how good the 1982 Cardinals looked wearing theirs.
1977 Blue Jays
When the first nine Toronto Blue Jays stepped on the snow-covered field of Exhibition Stadium on April 7, 1977, they wore white pullovers with "BLUE JAYS" in split-lettering and the logo centred in the front, and the player's number in split-lettering in the back.
To accent the uniform, triple stripes of light blue, white, and dark blue surround the sleeves, neckline, and down the side of the legs.
The history of the team’s powder blue uniforms is very interesting and aesthetically beautiful, too.
Something Is Off … Center
When the Blue Jays moved their logo from the center of the uniform under either TORONTO on the road uniforms, or BLUE JAYS on the home uniforms, Todd thinks it lost something.
Dodgers Uniforms
With a small handful of exceptions, the Dodger uniform has been a steady and familiar presence, both home and away, with its blue underscored script lettering. The primary team color is blue - Dodger Blue - and it's hard to imagine that it's ever been anything otherwise.
Baseball innovator Larry MacPhail is responsible for making the Dodgers who they are today, at least in terms of aesthetics.
Orioles Hats
The Baltimore Orioles’ "smiling bird" - or, alternatively, the "cartoon bird" - was originally introduced just in time for franchise's first World Series victory in 1966.
This logo was used for 23 seasons, then fell into disuse for another 23 seasons. The origins of the original 1966 logo involve legendary baseball executive Frank Cashen, a 7 Up cartoon character named "Fresh-Up Freddie," Baltimore's National Brewing Company, and the Orioles' desire to successfully compete for marketing dollars with the National Football League's Baltimore Colts.
Here, Eddie Murray and Cal Ripken, Jr. are seen wearing the logo on their hats.
Athletics
The Old English “A” on the Athletics’ caps dates all the way back to their days in Philadelphia. They wore it in Kansas City. They wore it in Oakland.
While the team has officially dropped any city attachment from their name as they prepare for an interim stay in Sacramento before potentially moving to Las Vegas, it appears as if they are bringing the Old English “A” along with them.
Here, Reggie Jackson smiles in his bright yellow Athletics uniform. Todd has written about the unique history of the Athletics uniforms, which you can read HERE.
2008 Blue Jays
During the few years when the Toronto Blue Jays were trying to just call themselves the “Jays” and made their primary color black instead of blue, they wore a hat with a stylized “T” on it for some games. Roy Halladay’s facial expression says it all here.
1971 Phillies
According to the official MLB rules, a player's uniform cannot include a pattern that resembles a baseball:
Rule 3.03(g): No part of a player's uniform can have a pattern that suggests or imitates the shape of a baseball.
The Chicago Cubs protested the Philadelphia Phillies uniforms in 1971 because they felt the uniforms included such a pattern. Pitcher Rick Wise is seen here wearing the offending threads.
Negro Leagues 75th
Todd designed the Negro Leagues 75th Commemorative Year logo in 1995. The Seattle Mariners wore it on their right sleeve all season.
Edgar Martinez Statue
The Seattle Mariners have two statues at their ballpark. The Edgar Martinez statue features the Negro Leagues 75th Commemorative Year patch that Todd designed.
Todd also designed each of these Jackie Robinson logos. The one on the left was worn on each team’s uniform for the duration of the 1997 season, commemorating the 50th Anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking baseball’s color barrier in 1947. Todd created a new logo for the 75th Anniversary, shown on the right.
Ken Griffey, Jr. Statue
The other statue the Seattle Mariners have at their ballpark is, naturally, of Ken Griffey, Jr.
The Griffey statue features the Jackie Robinson 50th Anniversary patch that Todd designed.
Todd said, “to be cast in bronze, literally… it’s pretty cool that it’s going to be around for a long, long time.”
Super Bowl XIX
Todd didn’t create this logo, but it is very much of the time. Super Bowl XIX was played on January 20, 1985, at Stanford Stadium, on the campus of Stanford University in California, the first Super Bowl played in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Joe Montana and the 49ers defeated the Miami Dolphins by a score of 38–16 to win their second Super Bowl.
MLB All-Century Team
In 1999, the Major League Baseball All-Century Team was chosen by popular vote of fans. To select the team, a panel of experts first compiled a list of the 100 greatest MLB players from the 20th century.
Todd created 100 illustrations of the 100 nominated players. Over two million fans then voted on the players using paper and online ballots. Preceding Game 2 of the 1999 World Series, the members of the All-Century Team were revealed. Every living player named to the team attended.
Todd’s illustrations for the All-Century Team were also featured on the ballot, as well as all around Fenway Park during the 1999 All-Star Game.
Todd’s Work On A Hall Of Fame Plaque
Vladimir Guerrero was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2018, and upon his induction, it was announced that the hat he would be wearing on his plaque in Cooperstown would be his Angels hat, bearing the logo Todd designed for the team.
Cuba
Todd went to Cuba in December of 1999 with authors Peter Bjarkman and Mark Rucker, friends who knew the place, knew people there, and knew how to navigate the unique dynamics of visiting the country. That year, Todd designed Smoke: The Romance and Lore of Cuban Baseball, the definitive pictorial history of Cuban baseball.
World Baseball Classic
Todd’s original sketches from 2005, as well as the eventual finished product of his logo for the World Baseball Classic.
Baltimore Orioles In Cuba
The Baltimore Orioles played a series of two exhibition games against the Cuba national baseball team on March 28 and May 3, 1999.
The Orioles won the first game, which was held in Havana, by a score of 3–2 in extra innings. The Cuba national team defeated the Orioles 12–6 in the second game, which was held in Baltimore.
Cooperstown Collection
Todd’s process for the development of the Cooperstown Collection logo, from August 1997 to February 1998.
Perks Of The Job
One of the great things about having friends like Tom Shieber at the National Baseball Hall of Fame is that sometimes you get to hold one of Lou Gehrig’s bats.
Before it was possible to digitally reproduce artwork, there would be irregularities, rough edges, and often times image degradation from copying an original multiple times.
Brooklyn Cyclones
The Brooklyn Cyclones logo is a navy blue diamond with CYCLONES across it in gold. The Coney Island Cyclone roller coaster (the inspiration for the team name) is referenced by the light blue patterning at the bottom of the diamond.
The Cyclones became the first professional sports team in Brooklyn since the Dodgers left in 1958. Todd created their logo.
Research
Sometimes doing research is fun. Here is Todd and his buddies at The Cyclone on Coney Island.
Yankees
The Yankees’ rich tradition, in addition to the fact that their players don’t change as often as a college team or a minor league team’s players change, makes it very difficult for them to take chances with rebranding or logo and design changes.
Here are a handful of the player-specific logos Todd has made for Yankees over the years.
Charlotte Hornets
When I tell you the absolute stranglehold this Charlotte Hornets Starter Jacket had on every kid in the 90s.
Washington Nationals
Todd created the logo and visual identity of the Washington Nationals. Here is his original art from 2008, which turned into the script lettering the Nationals used on their road uniforms.
Allen Iverson
The Philadelphia 76ers pivoted completely away from their red, white, and blue color scheme in the late 1990s and early 2000s, opting instead to make black their primary color, with gold and red accents.
They were ushering in a new era with Allen Iverson as the star of the team, and trying to distance themselves from the underachieving teams of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Iverson led the Sixers to the 2001 NBA Finals, where Philadelphia lost to Kobe and Shaq’s Lakers.
The 1906 New York Giants, 1906 Philadelphia Giants, 1921 Indians, and 1927 Cardinals all wore WORLD (or WORLDS) CHAMPIONS on their jerseys.
Houston Colt .45s
The Houston ball club became the Astros in December of 1964. When the team flirted with the idea of playing a throwback game wearing the old Colt .45s jerseys which featured a gun on them, MLB stepped in and, well, shot the idea down.
Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies have never worn the fully written form of “Philadelphia” across the front of their uniforms in team history. There have been “Phillies” and “P” and “PHILA” and even “Phils” and now “Philly” with the recent City Connect uniforms, but the full city name has never appeared.
1905 Washington Nationals
The first club to wear a team nickname on their jersey was the 1905 Washington Nationals (aka Senators), which they did on their home uniforms. Their road uniforms that year simply had a block W on the left chest.
1954 Athletics
In their final season in Philadelphia, the A’s wore their full nickname “Athletics” on the front of their uniforms for the first time in franchise history.
Until that point, their uniforms either displayed their famous Old English “A” (for both home and road sets), or their nearly-as-famous White Elephant.
Phillies City Connect Uniform
“We wanted to do something outside the box, but something that connected to the city,” Phillies vice president of business affairs Howard Smith said. “We’re honoring the city through the lens of the city flag.”
The Phillies cap and helmet are midnight blue. The helmet has a matte finish, which the players requested and said they love. The logo on the cap and helmet features the Liberty Bell with two yellow stars. Inside the bell is a midnight blue city skyline and a light blue sky.
Inside the jersey’s letters are subtle markings meant to represent the cracks in the Liberty Bell. There are 13 of them to represent the 13 original colonies.
Red Sox City Connect Uniform
The Red Sox switched from wearing blue to rocking a giant red sock on the front of their jerseys in 1908.
Ever since 1933, when the Red Sox first put a red 'B' on a navy cap and added "Red Sox" in their distinctive font on the front of their jerseys, Boston hasn't changed its uniforms much.
The city connect uniform, however, is made up of the Boston marathon's distinctive yellow an blue. The front still says "Boston," and there will also be a racing bib on the left sleeve with "617" printed on it for the area code where Fenway Park resides.
The yellow uniform won’t replace the Red Sox’ customary look. Its purpose is to honor Patriots Day through a fresh lens.
Padres City Connect Uniform
The Padres uniform is a nod to their binational fanbase, with colors that highlight the vibrancy of the region's coastal community.
The colorful uniforms feature sleeves of pink and mint, with "San Diego" emblazoned across the chest in those same hues. They feature outlines of yellow, and -- taken as a whole -- the uniforms are meant to match the vibrant colors of San Diego's fabled pink and yellow sunsets beyond the Pacific Ocean.
They're also a nod to the landscapes and artwork of San Diego and the nearby Baja peninsula. A sizeable portion of the team's fanbase hails from Tijuana, Mexico, and the surrounding areas in Baja California.
Cubs City Connect Uniform
The Cubs uniform is dark navy with powder trim. The word “Wrigleyville” takes center stage. The patch on the sleeve is the Chicago “Y” logo with the city’s iconic stars highlighted. That patch is brilliant and a step beyond just incorporating the logo generally.
“One of the pillars of the Cubs organization is to ‘be a good neighbor,” said Cubs Vice President of Marketing Lauren Fritts. “We’re aware of the impact we have not only on the neighborhood surrounding us, but on all of Chicago’s 77 neighborhoods.”
The Wrigleyville front has the text shaped like the marquee outside the stadium. On the bottom of the jersey is the phrase “respect our neighborhood,” which adorns signs at Wrigley Field. The hat features a white “C” with a light blue outline and a star from the Chicago flag in the middle.
Miami Floridians
The Floridians existed for only four ABA seasons (from 1968-69 through 1971-72). They moved to Miami from Minnesota (where they were the Muskies in 1967-68), and stayed in Florida until they folded in May 1972. The team had two color schemes: their original red, blue, and white, and their later black, magenta, and orange.
Why were they called simply "The Floridians"? Because during the later years of their existence, the team played games all over Florida. Most games were in Miami, some were in Tampa/St. Pete and Jacksonville, and a small number were in West Palm Beach.
During the 2011-2012 NBA season, the Miami Heat wore throwback uniforms on several occasions which were modeled after the magenta and orange uniforms.
Throwback Uniforms, Modern Helmets
Most teams have gotten way better at this, but when throwback uniforms were still seen more as kind of a one-off thing and less as a way to really generate interest and sell merchandise, teams would often simply wear their modern batting helmets with their otherwise throwback uniforms, creating a disjointed look.
The White Sox hosted the first “Turn Back the Clock Day” in MLB history when they played in 1917 style uniforms at Comiskey Park on July 11, 1990.
Field of Dreams Game
On August 12, 2021, the Chicago White Sox played the New York Yankees in a game at the Field of Dreams movie site in Dyersville, Iowa.
The game had everything. Star power up and down the Yankees and White Sox rosters. A three-time Oscar nominee in Kevin Costner, watching from the stands. A wild, walk-off ending that capped a perfect night. And rows and rows of corn that made the ballpark scene different from any other in history.
Flocked Insignia
The Pirates were the first team in the Major Leagues to wear batting helmets. The first helmets were fiberglass miners’ caps covered in wool. Flocking was originally done because Pirates General Manager Branch Rickey wanted to simulate the appearance of the wool material of a baseball hat instead of just having the outside of a fiberglass helmet.
Pictured here is Pirates star Manny Sanguillén wearing a flocked batting helmet in 1973.
Roberto Clemente Award
The Roberto Clemente Award is given annually to the Major League Baseball player who "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team", as voted on by baseball fans and members of the media.
Todd designed the logo for the award.
May 6, 1989
Todd and his buddies attended the Red Sox game at Fenway Park on May 6, 1989. The Red Sox defeated the Rangers by a score of 7-0, and later that evening, Sunday Silence won the Kentucky Derby.
2002 Angels
Troy Percival, Troy Glaus, and Bengie Molina of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim celebrate after defeating the San Francisco Giants to win the 2002 World Series.
Todd was able to watch a team celebrate winning a World Series while wearing a logo and uniform that he designed. Kind of cool.
Bengie Molina’s SABR Biography
Photo courtesy of Ron Vesely
1994 Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers played at Yankee Stadium for only one series during the strike-shortened 1994 season, but Todd’s new designs saw the field on June 17, June 18, and June 19.
Here, B.J. Surhoff takes a swing during that series while grass and dirt stain the front of his uniform. The Brewers beat the Yankees 2 games to 1 in the 3-game set.
When it comes to celebrating a milestone, one size most definitely does not fit all. Here are some of the celebration logos Todd has designed over the years.
1917 White Sox
The White Sox wore all of these uniforms at different points of the 1917 season. A dark blue road uniform was a staple of their set since 1902, but supply chain issues during World War I made it too hard and too expensive to keep importing the blue dye necessary to make them.
Starting in the War-shortened season of 1918, the Sox ditched their dark blue road uniforms, and they wouldn’t appear again for nearly a decade. The Sox would wear dark blue on the road in 1925, 1926, 1930, and 1931, then again from 1976 through 1981.
1979 Burgundy Phillies
In 1979, the plan was that the team would wear them for every Saturday night home game. But, they only ended up wearing them once after players objected on the grounds that they looked ridiculous in them.
The fact that the team couldn’t get all of the components of the uniform (pants, jersey, hat, stirrups, and undershirt) to all be exactly the same shade of dark red probably didn’t help. Here, Mike Schmidt gets ready to field a ground ball during the game on May 19 against the Expos.
Once it was decided the uniforms were “one and done,” the Phillies received calls from fans around the country wanting to buy them. The Phillies decided to sell them for $200 (jersey, pants, cap) with proceeds going to special needs children in the Delaware Valley.
Using Pants As A Design Element
The Chicago White Sox utilized some of the blank canvas on their pants to display uniform numbers from 1982-86 (seen here), and then again from 1987-88 with a different uniform design.
The Astros became the first team to wear uniform numbers on their pants when they did so from 1975-79.
Taking A Cue From Football?
Maybe a way to make baseball pants more interesting would be to use thicker stripes down the sides, like the New York Football Giants wore in the 1980s.
2017 White Sox Season Tickets
The Chicago White Sox commissioned Todd to create their 2017 premium season ticket package which consisted of 81 little pieces of art that depict the club's rich history, from 1901 right up to the present time. Original illustration and lettering, a nod to vintage design elements and club logos, combined with photography and depictions of artifacts make up the whole deal.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum selected the project for inclusion in its permanent collection.
2018 Detroit Tigers Season Tickets
The Detroit Tigers 2018 season ticket package celebrates the beloved World Championship team of 1968, a golden anniversary worthy of commemoration every single home game.
Tiger favorites such as Al Kaline, Mickey Lolich, Denny McLain, Gates Brown, and others are celebrated here with a combination of original illustration, photography, and era-inspired typography. Seat and game information is delivered via a bespoke series of letterforms that duplicate the club's uniform numbers and player name lettering.
This ticket features Tigers left fielder Willie Horton.
Janet Marie Smith
Janet Marie Smith joined the Dodgers in 2012 as Senior Vice President, planning and development and has overseen the large-scale improvement and expansion projects at Dodger Stadium and Campo Las Palmas, the club’s home in the D.R.
Prior to her time with the Dodgers, Smith worked for the Orioles (VP of planning and development from 1989–94, 2009–12), Braves (VP of planning and development from 1994–2000) and Red Sox (Senior VP of planning and development from 2002–09).
She oversaw the design and construction of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the preservation and improvements at Fenway Park, and the transformation of the 1996 Olympic Stadium into Turner Field in Atlanta.
Dodger Stadium
Todd has seen parts of Dodger Stadium many others have not seen, from angles most people don’t have access to, thanks to his friendship with Janet Marie Smith.
Todd based his design for the Cleveland Browns’ secondary logo on his bulldog, Casey, pictured here.
Tattoo
While Casey crossed over the rainbow bridge in 2002, she lives on forever as a tattoo on many people in Cleveland and around the world.
Marc Okkonen
One of the most underrated writers and researchers in baseball history, Marc Okkonen spent years creating a database for every uniform change in the history of Major League Baseball for every team.
The Hall of Fame has scanned Marc’s original drawings and incorporated them into a searchable database titled Dressed to the Nines: A History of The Baseball Uniform.
Photo taken by Tom Shieber, courtesy of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Paul Lukas
Paul Lukas is a journalist, storyteller, cultural critic, and media artist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, GQ, Esquire, Fortune, Fast Company, Bloomberg Businessweek, Gourmet, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Spin, The New Republic, The Financial Times, Slate.com, and many other publications and websites.
He is best known for creating “Uni Watch,” the sports world’s foremost column devoted to uniform design, which has appeared on a variety of different platforms since its inception in 1999. Lukas retired from uniform writing in 2024 but still serves as Uni Watch’s publisher.
Phil Hecken
Phil Hecken first encountered Uni Watch as a reader, when the column ran at Slate.com in 2003 and ’04. After the daily Uni Watch blog launched in 2006, Phil became a prolific commenter, which caught the eye of Uni Watch founder Paul Lukas. Paul then tapped Phil to become his “bench coach” and weekend editor in 2008.
Phil’s hard work and dedication to Uni Watch eventually led to him being named the site’s Deputy Editor. When Lukas retired from uniform writing on May 26, 2024, Phil was the obvious choice to take over the site’s daily editorial operations.
Chris Creamer
Chris Creamer is a writer, historian, and world-renowned expert on sports logos and uniforms based in the Toronto area. His passion for logos resulted in the creation of SportsLogos.net, an ongoing 20+ year project dedicated to the history of team logos and uniforms. Photos from and links to dozens of pages on SportsLogos.net fill the liner notes you’re reading right now.
In November of 2020, Chris and Todd published Fabric of the Game: The Stories Behind the NHL's Names, Logos, and Uniforms, a book they had been working on since 2017.
You can buy that book HERE.
Peter Capolino
Peter Capolino is the founder and former owner of the Mitchell & Ness Nostalgia Co. in Philadelphia.
Peter is one of the main people responsible for the emergence and subsequent rise in popularity of “throwback uniforms” thanks to his work at Mitchell & Ness.
Peter was our guest for Episode 3 of Season 3. You can listen to that episode HERE.
1939 Baseball Centennial Patch
The myth of Abner Doubleday's alleged invention of baseball in Cooperstown in 1839 has long been discredited, but the centennial celebration in 1939 featured a sophisticated and extensive marketing campaign. The official dedication of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown took place on June 12 of that year, part of the yearlong festivities.
A contest was held to create the official logo — the winner was New York artist Marjori Bennett. Let's pause to consider the fact that the first logo to be featured on the uniforms of every MLB club in a single year was created by a woman, a noteworthy item given the dynamics of the profession (and America) in 1939.
Basketball Hall of Fame
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and preserving the history of basketball. Dedicated to Canadian-American physician James Naismith, who invented the sport in Springfield, the Hall of Fame inducted its first class in 1959, before opening its first facility on February 17, 1968.
Todd designed the logo seen here.
Ice Cube Impact Award
On January 15, 2024, The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame introduced the inaugural Naismith Hall of Fame Ice Cube Impact Award, an honor celebrating Ice Cube’s remarkable contributions to professional basketball and his dedication to community service.
This groundbreaking award symbolizes the acknowledgment of individuals who, like Ice Cube, leverage the basketball to create positive change in their communities. More than just a sports honor, this award recognizes those who score points not only in games but in making a lasting impact beyond the court.
Todd designed the entire visual identity of the award, including the trophy Ice Cube is holding.
Powder Blues
The 1941-42 Cubs wore blueish-gray colored pants and vest, with royal blue sleeves. The world wasn’t ready for that level of beauty yet, so they went back to traditional gray by 1943. But by the 1970s and 80s, powder blue had taken over.
Nike Uniform Controversy
The new Nike-designed and Fanatics-produced uniforms were billed as having lighter materials for the players on the field, but the pants — especially ones that are white — have a see-through quality to them, and that was evidenced in a picture shared by NBC Sports Bay Area reporter Alex Pavlovic of Giants infielder Casey Schmitt, which went viral for what one could see in the groin region.
Fanatics, the producer of the new MLB uniforms for this season, and Nike, who designed the new threads, have left players and fans everywhere upset with the changes to a new fabric and the decreasing sizes of player names and jerseys. The jerseys are extremely easy to sweat through and sometimes the jerseys and pants don’t match.
Atlanta Braves
As Todd writes in Winning Ugly:
The Atlanta Braves’ 1972 visual reboot represented a bold, colorful departure from their previously sedate appearance.
Uniform collector Bill Henderson notes that the uniforms were cheaply constructed. “They began to shrink rapidly with the first washing, until after a few washings they had become unwearable,” he says. “The club then decided to have the uniforms dry-cleaned after each game. Surviving examples are shrunken and puckered and many are stained.”
Henry Aaron is seen here in the blue jersey.
Who knows what the future of MLB uniforms holds…?
Chris Stapleton
Todd designed a series of baseball-inspired posters for country music artist Chris Stapleton.
You can buy them HERE.
Follow Todd Online
World Series Games
Todd has been to many World Series games over the years, starting with Game 1 of the 1977 World Series.
Yankees Stadium Old Timers Day 1978
Just five days after “quitting,” Billy Martin was rehired to take the reins again with the start of the 1980 season at Old-Timers Day on July 29, 1978.
The theme of this game was the silver anniversary of the amazing run of five straight World Series wins (1949-1953). According to John Sterling, announcing from the radio booth, this may have been the greatest assemblage of former players. The game marked Roger Maris’ first Yankee Old-Timers event.
Doc Gooden
Todd was lucky enough to have seen 20 year-old Dwight Gooden strike out 16 Giants on August 20, 1985. He was smart enough to have commemorated it.
Todd has been to 28 straight MLB All-Star Games after attending the 2024 game at Globe Life Field, but the 1999 event at Fenway will always hold a special place in his heart.
Opening Day 1978
Todd was there on Opening Day in the Bronx in 1978 when 44,667 fans threw their Reggie bars onto the field (Todd ate his). Memorably and hilariously remembered in his book Winning Ugly.
Wrigley Field
Todd was sitting in the bleachers at Wrigley on September 21, 1987 when he took this incredible shot of Darryl Strawberry blowing a bubble with his gum.
Todd Radom
Designer • Baseball Historian
My First Logo
While I had played organized sports before and been on teams with names, the first team I ever played on which had a real logo was the Indians in 1994 with my friend, Matt Corning.
Young Todd
If I post a picture of myself as a youngster, it’s only fair that Todd gets one, too. Here he is playing ball, circa 1970.
Traveling For History’s Sake
Todd’s long list of stadiums visited has helped him in his art career, but the experiences and memories helped shape him as a person, too. Here are memories from a game he saw at Tiger Stadium in Detroit on September 19, 1987.
Just Bein’ A Guy With His Buds
Here is Todd with his buddy, Jim, at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto on September 12, 1988.
Destination U.S.A.
Todd has an entire series of prints like these that he has made for different cities. It is clear that he understands the soul of each place because he has been there to experience it himself.
You can buy an 11" x 17" high quality art print of this Detroit image by clicking HERE.
You can also purchase any of the other cities Todd has done by clicking HERE.
The Crescent City
Original art with vintage flair. 10 color printing with archival pigment-based ink. Digitally printed on heavy natural white, museum-grade archival, 100% acid-free matte art paper.
You can buy an 11" x 17" high quality art print of this New Orleans image by clicking HERE.
City Of Brotherly Love
Original art with vintage flair. 10 color printing with archival pigment-based ink. Digitally printed on heavy natural white, museum-grade archival, 100% acid-free matte art paper.
You can buy an 11" x 17" high quality art print of this Philadelphia image by clicking HERE.
Richie Allen
Dick Allen was one of the most feared hitters in baseball in the 1960s. In an era dominated by pitching, he slugged some of the most prodigious home runs and quickly become one of the most exciting players in the game.
Shoeless Joe Jackson
Shoeless Joe Jackson is widely hailed as the greatest natural hitter in the history of the game. A left-handed batter and right-handed thrower, Jackson stood 6-feet-1 and weighed 178 well-built pounds. He belted sharp line drives to all corners of the ballpark, and was fast enough to lead the American League in triples three times. He never won a batting title, but his average of .408 in 1911 still stands as a Cleveland team record and a major-league rookie record.
Frank Thomas
Frank Thomas was a five-time All-Star and is the only player in major league history to have seven consecutive seasons (1991–1997) with at least a .300 batting average, 100 RBI, 100 runs scored, 100 walks, and 20 home runs.
Thomas also won the AL batting title in 1997 with a .347 mark. He was a two-time AL MVP and won a World Series in 2005.
Frank Thomas is widely considered one of the greatest right handed hitters in MLB history.
Uniform Changes
I understand that the White Sox have a history which dates back more than 120 years, but I believe the amount of times they have changed their uniforms in their history, especially from the 1930s through the 1970s, is one of the reasons why they don’t have the same fanbase as teams like the Cubs, Yankees, or Red Sox, who have been around for similar amounts of time.
Pinstripes
George Steinbrenner once tried to trademark pinstripes, but the Yankees were not the first team to wear pinstripes on a uniform. New York briefly added pinstripes to their uniforms in 1912, then re-added them on a permanent basis soon after Jacob Ruppert bought the team in 1915.
However, the Chicago Cubs' had pinstripes as early as 1907 when they wore them during the World Series, and it is the Cubs who are recognized as the first Major League Baseball team to incorporate pinstriping into a baseball uniform.
What Is The Best Tool?
“Whatever tool I need to get the job done.”
Gary Cieradkowski
This was the original sketch I sent to Gary Cieradkowski, who had reservations about the amount of detail I was wanting to end up in a piece of art that would be viewed at such a small scale.
For some unknown reason, Gary put his trust in me anyway.
Scroll down THIS PAGE to see some of the other reference photos I sent Gary to show him my vision.
Finished Product
If you’ll pardon the pun, Gary Cieradkowski knocked it out of the park. I was blown away when he sent me the finished artwork for the show.
When it’s shrunk down small on your phone, you still get the concept. But when it’s blown up bigger like this, it’s a truly amazing piece of art.
If you’d like to read about what it was like to create the artwork from Gary’s perspective, he wrote about it HERE.
Todd’s Proposed Update
The New York Mets' time-honored skyline logo was created in 1961 and has been utilized by the franchise—with a few tweaks—ever since then.
The visual landscape of New York has evolved over the past half century, the result of both development and of tragedy.
Todd took a swing at updating the Mets logo to more accurately reflect the New York that exists today, and wrote about his choices HERE.
1939 Baseball Centennial Patch
Every team in Major League Baseball wore these patches on their sleeves during the 1939 season.
Since the St. Louis Browns already had a patch on their left sleeve, they wore this one on their right sleeve. Every other team in MLB wore it on their left.
Todd wrote about the patch HERE.
Commemorative Game Tickets
A trend I hate, but if we’re going to embrace it as a concept as we stray further and further from physical printed tickets as the norm, can we please stop making these things $50+?
Buy Todd and Chris’ incredible book, Fabric Of The Game, HERE.
Anaheim Angels
Mo Vaughn looks disgusted at something. While it may be related to a recent at bat, it’s possible an opponent was taunting him because of these uniforms, which were not very well received by adults at the time.
Coincidentally enough, it was this era of the Angels which Todd was brought in to help the team move on from. The Disney Angel Wings era lasted from 1997 through 2001, with Todd’s designs taking the field starting in 2002. The Angels promptly won the World Series in 2002. Coincidence???
Arizona Diamondbacks
These purple and teal uniforms fell out of favor for a while, but it seems like there is a pretty large group of fans who wouldn’t mind seeing them make their return.
It’s possible they’re not as in love with the uniforms, themselves, so much as they are nostalgic for the success the team had while wearing them, thanks to pitching from Randy Johnson to help the team win the 2001 World Series.
The Infamous White Sox Shorts
Maryfrances Veeck was the original publicist for the Ice Capades, and used her experience in that capacity to help Bill run and market his baseball teams over the years.
She even helped design the shorts that the White Sox briefly wore during the 1976 season.
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Marc Okkonen
Before Todd Radom became one of the world’s leading historians and experts on baseball uniform designs and logos, Marc Okkonen exhaustively cataloged major league uniforms dating back to 1900.
A Keen Eye
In 1984, Marc was watching the movie “The Natural” starring Robert Redford as Roy Hobbs, when he spotted what he thought were flaws in the uniforms of the opponents of the fictional New York Knights in the film. Marc noticed that the uniforms of the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Chicago Cubs (seen here, as depicted in the flim) were not precise replicas of the originals from 1939, when the movie takes place.
Baseball Uniforms of the 20th Century
Marc spent five years poring through books, microfilms and archives, including those at the Library of Congress and the Baseball Hall of Fame, to find images of every home and road uniform worn by all major league teams, starting in 1900. His research turned into a groundbreaking book, Baseball Uniforms of the 20th Century: The Official Major League Baseball Guide.
A Difficult Task
Marc’s mission was more than just finding and drawing the uniforms and hats for each team exactly as he saw them depicted in old photos.
Okkonen also had to figure out the precise colors of those early twentieth century uniforms, a task made considerably more difficult by the lack of color photography from those years.
The shade of blue that the Cleveland Naps wore was slightly different from the shade of blue that his Detroit Tigers wore, for example.
Dressed To The Nines Template
Okkonen’s investigations took him to a sports library in Los Angeles, the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, and the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. To facilitate his work he moved to upstate New York for a time to be closer to the Hall. Okkonen’s artistic ability vividly enhanced his findings.
He envisioned a two-dimensional faceless mannequin on which to illustrate each uniform: standing, with his left hand on his hip, and his right hand holding the bat a couple inches above the knob and slung over his shoulder. That pose allowed the entire uniform to be highlighted and compared to others, from the cap to the socks.
Photo taken by Tom Shieber, courtesy of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Marc’s Original Drawing Of 1914 Chi Feds Home Uniform
Marc continually revised and updated his work based on additional research and his book serves as the basis for the Baseball Hall of Fame’s online exhibit on baseball uniforms.
In fact, The Hall of Fame has scanned Marc’s original drawings and incorporated them into a searchable database titled Dressed to the Nines: A History of The Baseball Uniform.
Photo taken by Tom Shieber, courtesy of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Tom Shieber is responsible for locating and correctly identifying the oldest baseball team photograph in existence: this one of the New York Gotham club.
Original Federal League Drawings
Shieber said, “I started working at the Hall of Fame in 1998. I was hired to do the website, not to be a curator. And I wanted to do “Dressed to the Nines” from the minute I was working here. We used to have a physical exhibit on uniforms at the Hall, and then we took it down. So I thought we could do a really good job of having a web exhibit.”
Photo taken by Tom Shieber, courtesy of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
2,000 Cups Of Coffee
Marc Okkonen also wrote and illustrated several other baseball books, including The Ty Cobb Scrapbook, The Federal League of 1914-1915: Baseball's Third Major League, and 2,000 Cups of Coffee, which contains images of players whose major-league careers lasted for 10 or fewer games from 1900-1949.
In 2014, Marc won the Henry Chadwick Award from the Society for American Baseball Research, which honors baseball’s great researchers — historians, statisticians, analysts, and archivists — for their invaluable contributions to making baseball the game that links America’s present with its past.
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Special thanks to Chris Creamer / sportslogos.net, whose logos and graphics were used often in these liner notes.