We've now done this twice. Part 1 had the Brewers' glove and the Whalers' H. Part 2 had the Expos' hidden e and b and the Islanders' hockey-stick Y. You kept sending us more, so here are 12 new ones across the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, college sports and soccer.
Same rules as before. Every detail here is backed by the team, the school, the club, the designer or a reputable news outlet. Where a popular story has never been confirmed, we say so, and we label it a myth.
Quick Facts: Hidden Logo Details, Part 3
- Hidden letters: a B in the Ravens' feathers, and a KC the Chiefs' owner drew after seeing the 49ers' helmets.
- Real places: a Cleveland bridge (Guardians), downtown Pittsburgh's Golden Triangle (Penguins), a 500-year-old Austin tree (Austin FC).
- Real people: a cowboy and marshal named Frank Eaton (Oklahoma State), a young woman who decorated a church dinner (Cardinals).
- Real objects: a 1909 rooftop statue (Tottenham), a 19th-century Montreal club badge (Red Wings).
- A court case: the Ravens' first logo was ruled a copy of an amateur artist's drawing.
- Myths busted: the Hawks' "Pac-Man" logo is older than Pac-Man, and nobody has ever proved Sparky has Walt Disney's face.
NFL
Baltimore Ravens: There's a B in the Feathers
Photo: Austin Kirk / CC BY 2.0
Look at the side of the raven's head on the helmet. The feathers wrap around a gold B for Baltimore. The raven head has been the Ravens' primary logo since 1999, and it exists because of a lawsuit.
The team's first logo, a winged shield with a B in the middle, was used from 1996 through 1998. Frederick Bouchat, an amateur artist in Baltimore, said it copied a drawing he had made. In 1998 a jury agreed that the Ravens had taken his idea, NFL.com reported, though it awarded him no damages. The Ravens switched to the raven head the next year. Baltimore Ravens uniform schedule 2026 and every Ravens uniform in history
Kansas City Chiefs: The KC Was Inspired by the 49ers
Owner Lamar Hunt drew the Chiefs' logo himself after he moved his team from Dallas to Kansas City in 1963. KCUR, Kansas City's public radio station, reports that Hunt was inspired by the look of the San Francisco 49ers' helmets, which had the letters SF inside an oval. Hunt's version swapped in a K and a C and put them inside an arrowhead, and it replaced the outline of Texas that the team wore as the Dallas Texans. Kansas City Chiefs uniform schedule 2026
MLB
St. Louis Cardinals: The Birds Started as a Table Decoration
The "birds on the bat" began at a church dinner. In February 1921, Allie May Schmidt was asked to decorate the tables for a Men's Fellowship Club event at the Presbyterian church in Ferguson, Missouri. She had seen a cardinal outside her window, so she cut out red birds and put them on the tables. The speaker that night was Cardinals manager Branch Rickey, and he liked them enough to want them on the uniform.
The birds on the bat first appeared on Cardinals jerseys on April 8, 1922, against the St. Louis Browns. The team told the story itself in 2017 at a presentation in that same church, MLB.com reported. The Cardinals have worn the birds on the bat every year since, except 1956. St. Louis Cardinals uniform schedule 2026
Photo: Johnmaxmena2 / CC0
Cleveland Guardians: The C Comes Off a Bridge
The Guardians' name comes from the Guardians of Traffic, eight stone figures on the pylons of the Hope Memorial Bridge, just outside the ballpark. The logos come from the bridge too. The team says its Diamond C "draws from the ascending diamond motifs at the top of each Guardian pylon," the sharp angles of the script wordmark "mimic the trusses of the bridge's underside," and the winged "Guardians Fastball" logo is based on the statues' helmets and wings. Cleveland Guardians uniform schedule 2026
Photo: NASA Glenn Research Center / Sara Lowthian-Hanna. Public domain.
NBA
Atlanta Hawks: The "Pac-Man" Logo Is Older Than Pac-Man
Fans have called the Hawks' round logo "Pac-Man" for decades, because the hawk's open beak looks like the video game character. The logo came first. Bob Wages, a 24-year-old art director at the Atlanta agency McDonald & Little, designed it, and it was unveiled in July 1972, ArtsATL reported, on the same day as the agency's logo for the NHL's Atlanta Flames. Pac-Man didn't come out until 1980. The Hawks dropped the logo in 1995 and brought back an updated version in 2015, and it's still their primary logo. Atlanta Hawks uniform schedule 2026-27
NHL
Detroit Red Wings: A Montreal Badge, Rebuilt for the Motor City
The winged wheel is older than the Red Wings. James Norris, who bought the Detroit team in 1932, had played for the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association, whose club was known as the Winged Wheelers and whose badge was a wheel with a wing. That club won the very first Stanley Cup. NHL.com says the Red Wings name is "a derivative of the Winged Wheelers," and The Hockey News says Norris and partner Jack Adams used the Montreal wheel as the model, a fit for a team in the Motor City. The team had been called the Cougars and the Falcons before 1932. Detroit Red Wings uniform schedule 2026-27
Photo: Ryan Tanner / CC0
Pittsburgh Penguins: The Triangle Is Downtown
The skating penguin has stood in front of a gold triangle since the team put the logo on its sweaters in 1968. The triangle is Pittsburgh's Golden Triangle, the downtown point where the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers meet to form the Ohio, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette explains. Pittsburgh Penguins uniform schedule 2026-27
Photo: Ian D'Andrea / CC BY-SA 4.0
College
Kansas Jayhawks: The Shoes Are for Kicking
A jayhawk isn't a real bird, so nobody knew what it should look like until 1912. That year Henry Maloy, a cartoonist for the student newspaper, drew one with long legs and big shoes. The University of Kansas says the shoes were for kicking opponents. Maloy's bird ran after a football loss to Drake, and the shoes stuck. Nearly every Jayhawk since has worn them, including the one Harold D. Sandy drew in 1946, which KU still uses today. Kansas uniform schedule 2026
Oklahoma State: Pistol Pete Was a Real Man
The cowboy on Oklahoma State's logo is a portrait. Frank Eaton (1860-1958) was a real Old West cowboy and lawman who went by "Pistol Pete." In 1923, students at what was then Oklahoma A&M saw him riding in a parade in Stillwater and proposed making him the mascot in place of the tiger, Sports Illustrated reported, citing the school's athletic department. Oklahoma State marked 100 years of Pistol Pete in 2023. Oklahoma State uniform schedule 2026
Photo: OakleyOriginals / CC BY 2.0
Arizona State: Sparky's Disney Face Is a Myth
Sparky the Sun Devil really was drawn by a Disney artist. Berk Anthony worked at the Disney studio from 1935 until he was drafted in World War II, according to former Disney chief archivist Dave Smith, and Sparky was first printed in 1947, ASU's student newspaper The State Press found. The story that Anthony gave Sparky the face of his old boss, Walt Disney, is another matter. The State Press found no evidence for it, an ASU history project said there's nothing to back it up, and Smith said Anthony never confirmed it. So the Disney artist is real, and the Walt Disney face is a myth. Arizona State uniform schedule 2026
Photo: Russy11 / CC BY-SA 4.0
Soccer
Tottenham Hotspur: The Ball Is From 1909
Photo: J McFarlane / CC BY 2.0
The cockerel on the Spurs crest is standing on a specific ball. Former player William James Scott cast a cockerel on a ball for the roof of the West Stand at White Hart Lane in 1909. When Tottenham redrew its badge in 2006, the club said "the ball is taken from the original Cockerel and Ball that first sat on the roof of White Hart Lane in 1909," and that because of the ball's style, the design is unique to Tottenham. Tottenham Hotspur kits 2026-27
Austin FC: The Tree Is Two Trees
Photo: Larry D. Moore / CC BY 4.0
Austin FC's crest is the Treaty Oak, a live oak in central Austin that's more than 500 years old. Look closely and it's two trees wrapped together. Someone poisoned the Treaty Oak in 1989, and arborists planted a young oak next to it to help it recover, since live oaks share resources through their roots. Adam Butler of Butler Bros, the Austin studio that designed the crest, said "the intertwining oaks were inspired by Treaty Oak," and the second tree is a nod to a city and a club sharing resources. The club says the four roots stand for all of Austin, north, south, east and west, coming together, The Ringer reported.
Frequently Asked Questions
What letter is hidden in the Ravens logo?
A B for Baltimore, in gold, on the side of the raven's head. The raven head has been the primary logo since 1999.
Why did the Ravens change their first logo?
A jury ruled in 1998 that the team's original winged-shield logo, used from 1996 through 1998, copied a drawing by amateur artist Frederick Bouchat. The Ravens switched to the raven head in 1999.
Who designed the Chiefs arrowhead logo?
Owner Lamar Hunt, after the team moved from Dallas in 1963. KCUR reports he was inspired by the San Francisco 49ers' helmet logo.
Where did the Cardinals' birds on the bat come from?
From table decorations. Allie May Schmidt made red cardinal cutouts for a church dinner in Ferguson, Missouri, in February 1921. Branch Rickey was the speaker, and the birds were on the uniform by April 8, 1922.
What is the Cardinals logo called?
The "birds on the bat." The Cardinals have worn it every season since 1922 except 1956.
What do the Guardians logos have to do with a bridge?
The team is named for the Guardians of Traffic statues on Cleveland's Hope Memorial Bridge. The team says the Diamond C comes from the diamond shapes atop each pylon, and the script letters copy the bridge's trusses.
Is the Atlanta Hawks logo based on Pac-Man?
No. Bob Wages designed it in 1972, and Pac-Man came out in 1980. "Pac-Man" is a nickname fans gave it later.
Why is the Red Wings logo a wheel with a wing?
Owner James Norris based it on the winged wheel of the Montreal Winged Wheelers, a club he had played for, and the wheel fit a team in the Motor City. The logo dates to 1932.
What does the triangle in the Penguins logo mean?
It's Pittsburgh's Golden Triangle, the downtown point where the city's rivers meet.
Why does the Kansas Jayhawk wear shoes?
For kicking opponents, according to the University of Kansas. Cartoonist Henry Maloy gave the bird shoes in 1912, and the 1946 Jayhawk still has them.
Who is the current Kansas Jayhawk logo by?
Harold D. Sandy drew it in 1946, and KU still uses it.
Is Pistol Pete a real person?
Yes. Oklahoma State's Pistol Pete is based on Frank Eaton, an Old West cowboy and lawman who lived from 1860 to 1958. Students picked him after seeing him in a 1923 parade.
Does Sparky the Sun Devil look like Walt Disney?
That's a myth. Sparky was drawn by Berk Anthony, who had worked at Disney, but there's no evidence he modeled the face on Walt Disney, and he never said he did.
What ball is on the Tottenham crest?
The ball from the cockerel statue that William James Scott cast for White Hart Lane in 1909. The club kept it when it redrew the crest in 2006.
What tree is on the Austin FC crest?
The Treaty Oak, drawn as two intertwined oaks because a young tree was planted next to the original after it was poisoned in 1989.
Where can I read Parts 1 and 2?
Part 1 has 23 details, including the Brewers, Maple Leafs and Whalers. Part 2 has 28 more, including the Expos, Islanders and Inter Miami.
The Bottom Line
Part 1 was about letters hiding in negative space. Part 2 was about where logos come from. Part 3 is about the people and things behind them: a young woman setting tables for a church dinner, a cowboy in a parade, a student cartoonist after a football loss, a tree somebody tried to kill and a statue on a stadium roof. That's 63 hidden details across three parts, and we're still taking tips. If your team's logo has a secret we missed and someone official has confirmed it, tell us.
More Logo and Uniform Coverage
- Hidden details in sports logos, Part 1
- More hidden details in sports logos, Part 2
- How every NFL team got its colors
- How every MLB team got its name
- How every NHL team got its name
- Every Rays and Brewers logo, ranked
- Who designs sports logos? Todd Radom on the Nationals, the Angels and peak uniform
Logo details via the teams and clubs (MLB.com and the Cleveland Guardians, NHL.com, TottenhamHotspur.com, Austin FC), the University of Kansas, Oklahoma State University, NFL.com, KCUR, ArtsATL, The Hockey News, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Sports Illustrated, The State Press, The Ringer, KVUE and Butler Bros. Team logos shown are public domain files from Wikimedia Commons; logos are trademarks of their teams, shown for identification.
