Aesthetics are a subject of friendly debate within the baseball fanbase. Uniforms have been hit-or-miss (no pun intended), and so have logo designs — which certainly play a part in the overall looks.
Some franchises rarely, if ever, have tweaks or overhauls (see Yankees, Dodgers, and Cardinals). But for teams that make branding changes, we’ve critiqued the beauty behind their choices.
We’ve taken a look at teams like the Orioles, Brewers, Astros, Angels, and most recently the Mariners. We continue with one of the oldest franchises whose current logo has been a staple of the sport but is just one of many in their long history.
5. Bear with a Game Face (1941-45)
Not sure about you, but I’d be pretty intimidated if I’m playing against the Cubs with this being the image that represents them. It’s unclear if this or a variation on the logo we know now was the actual primary image used by the team back then. But what would you tell this bear?
It can’t be a pure coincidence that as soon as they dropped this logo, the Cubs went World Series-less for the next 71 seasons.
Who wore it best: Bill Nicholson, Stan Hack, Phil Cavarretta, Claude Passeau
4. Bear with a Bat (1927-36)
A more docile bear was the look a couple of decades ago. This one appears to be stepping up to the plate, undoubtedly with a tall strike zone. The only issue is not with the imagery but with the ‘C’, which looks way too much like the font we see for the Cincinnati Reds.
Who wore it best: Hack Wilson, Billy Herman, Lou Warneke, Gabby Hartnett
3. Walking Bear (1916)
We go from what the bear looks like with a bat in its hand to what it looks like after it takes four pitches and heads to first base. Again, the way the ‘C’ looks makes it seem like it’s a Reds/Cubs mash-up, but there’s still a lot to like about this
Who wore it best: Hippo Vaughn, Cy Williams, Heinie Zimmerman
2. The Classic (1979-present)
Many of the Cubs’ logos have followed this trend since 1957. The current one is the only one that got it right. Too many of the previous logos had the ‘C’ either being too thin or enclosed so that it seemed like the team was the “Ubs” rather than the Cubs. But the evenness here of the letters and the dark blue circle makes it a really good look that doesn’t need changing.
Who wore it best: Ryne Sandberg, Andre Dawson, Mark Grace, Sammy Sosa, Jake Arrieta, Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant
1. Bear with Bat in Blue (1911-14)
An earlier Cubs logo had this same design with the color of the bear being a more natural brown. So why does this one not only get ranked above that but get ranked above all others?
It’s in the eye of the beholder (or at least the one writing this), but the consistency of the dark blue just looks better. There’s nothing wrong with a logo being primarily (or entirely) words. But when it’s between text and animals, it’s animals all the way.
