LOGO POLL: We grade the Toronto Blue Jays logos through the ages
LOGO POLL: We grade the Toronto Blue Jays logos through the ages
Logos are like personalities, and the Toronto Blue Jays, in their short history, have had as many as Charlie Sheen mid-meltdown. With the launch of its latest logo rendition last week, we look back at the evolution of the club’s branding over the years and figure out which current Jay best personifies each era.
1. 1977–1997
An understated, simple, confident image that doesn’t try too hard. In other words, the Jays’ first baseman Adam Lind, a soft-spoken country boy from Indiana who wields surprising home run pop and who made the transition from designated hitter to the field look easy.
Grade: A
2. 1997–2000This logo is stiff, noticeably Canadian and forgettable, and its lettering is uneven—just like Mark Teahen’s swing. Zing!
Grade: C+
3. 2000–2002Thankfully, this one didn’t last too long. It’s messy, inconsistent and confusing, much like Edwin Encarnación, who couldn’t catch a beach ball with a fishing net. (There’s also an element of Brett Lawrie here: tattooed, young and cartoonish, with plenty of energy.) Still, it’s the worst logo in the history of logos—even worse than the Toronto Raptors’ dribbling dino.
Grade: D-
4. 2002–2011Metallic, austere and intimidating, this look was supposed to be badass—it’s too bad the team at that time wasn’t. We’d liken the logo to neck-tatted Jon Rauch, who looks like an ex-con, but as of this month he’s no longer a Jay, so we’ll have to stick with resident slugger José Bautista.
Grade: B-
5. 2011The new logo is retro-cool, clean and confident, with some new-school flair. In other words, ace Ricky Romero, who rocks an old-school zero-curve on his brim, has a surplus of swagger and is as fiery a competitor as any of the back-to-back champs from ’92 and ’93. Hopefully, that’s a good omen.
Grade: A-
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 Still, it’s the worst logo in the history of logos—even worse than the Toronto Raptors’ dribbling dino.
Grade: D-
4. 2002–2011
Metallic, austere and intimidating, this look was supposed to be badass—it’s too bad the team at that time wasn’t. We’d liken the logo to neck-tatted Jon Rauch, who looks like an ex-con, but as of this month he’s no longer a Jay, so we’ll have to stick with resident slugger José Bautista.
Grade: B- 5. 2011
The new logo is retro-cool, clean and confident, with some new-school flair. In other words, ace Ricky Romero, who rocks an old-school zero-curve on his brim, has a surplus of swagger and is as fiery a competitor as any of the back-to-back champs from ’92 and ’93. Hopefully, that’s a good omen.
Grade: A-
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love it!
<3
I think the new logo would be better without the surrounding lettering or double pinstripe. Basically, a cleaned up, updated version of the original. Otherwise, looks good.
@ BobL
The original logo actually had the lettering around the baseball as well, they just didn’t use that image for this poll for whatever reasons.
Aside from streamlined tweaks and resizing, a different font with Toronto in solid print, the only entirely new addition is the double circles/pinstripes encasing the logo, which really helps tie it all together for me.
Bringing back memories of Devo White, Robby Alomar, Kelly Gruber, Jimmy Key, Candy Muldanado, and Joe Carter…the DREAM TEAM
The dribbling dino was amazing and still is. The 2000-2002 is indeed the worst logo ever and should not be in the same sentence as the dribbling dino!
I actually loved the 1997-2000 logo. It was awesome.
kiwi married to a long time jays fan. i actually like the 2000-2002 one the best and the 2002-2011 next. GO JAYS AND CANUCKS