What Makes This Logo Great? The Story Behind the Milwaukee Brewers’ Classic ‘Ball In Glove’ Logo

What Makes This Logo Great? The Story Behind the Milwaukee Brewers’ Classic ‘Ball In Glove’ Logo

nearly 50 years ago the Milwaukee Brewers introduced one of the greatest sports logos of all time the iconic ball and glove logo the design quickly became a modern classic and a symbol for the Brewers the community around Milwaukee and Baseball fans alike so why after almost two decades was the logo replaced and why did it take so long for the team to bring the logo back in today’s video we’ll take a look back at how this Legendary logo came to be and why it’s remained so popular to this day before we get started I just want to say welcome to All Sports history this is a channel where you’ll find many sports documentaries on sports leagues like the NFL MLB NBA NHL and much more so please consider subscribing and hitting the notification Bell if you don’t want to miss any of those okay let’s get back to today’s [Music] video the Milwaukee Brewer story actually begins in Seattle when in 1969 Major League Baseball expanded and added four new teams to the league the San Diego pandre and Montreal Expos joined the National League while the Kansas City Royals and the Seattle Pilots joined the American League after only one season the Seattle Pilots found themselves in deep financial trouble and were heading for bankruptcy immediately following the conclusion of their first season Pilots owner dwe Sorano met with car salesman and former Milwaukee Braves minority owner but seelig about selling the team to seelig both sides met over the course of several weeks and during game one of the 1969 World Series the two men agreed on a deal for $1.8 million though the sale wasn’t finally approved by MLB until a week before the season began in 1970 so that year on April 1st the Seattle Pilots officially relocated to Milwaukee and changed their name to the Brewers the team decided on the name Brewers as an homage to the defunct minor league baseball team the Milwaukee Brewers who played from 1902 to 1952 by adopting the name Brewers the MLB team not only connected with the city’s Brewing history but also embraced the legacy of the earlier baseball team creating a sense of continuity and Nostalgia for longtime Baseball fans in the area because the approval for the sale of the team happened so late the club had little time to do a major overhaul of the team’s colors and logos originally buds League wanted the Brewers to wear blue and red jerseys much like the Braves did when they were in Milwaukee but due to time constraints the Brewers were forced to use the same blue and gold jerseys that the pilots wore the season before just with updated naming as for the logo the Brewers opted for a simple M logo on their caps which was also a nod to the Block M logo that the Milwaukee Braves used during this time the Brewers also introduced the barrelman logo which was inspired by a similar barrelman logo that the minor league Milwaukee Brewers had also used the Block M and barrelman logos would remain as the primary branding for the Brewers for their first eight [Music] seasons by the late 1970s the Brewers were looking to update their branding and phase out the barrelman logo since the move to Milwaukee the club had become the definition of mediocrity finishing each of their eight seasons just below 500 so Bud seelake looking to make wholesale changes decided to fire many of the top people in the organization to shake things up during this time the team also held a design contest for a new logo a 30-year-old College Arts student named Tom mindle submitted what would become the winning design in mind’s original concept the now iconic ball and glove logo had brown and yellow colors and featured hidden elements the fingers on the baseball glove portion of the logo when isolated makes an m shape for Milwaukee the thumb and pocket area of the glove form the letter B for Brewers with a baseball in the middle when all put together it forms the letters MB for Milwaukee Brewers mindel allegedly was in a psychology class one day and was drawing on the margins of his notebook when he came up with a logo idea in his design process mindel had this to say about coming up with the balling glove concept I remember working with the m&b and I was stuck I wasn’t going anywhere then I decided to start using lowercase letters the obvious thinking was to put them side by side but I thought let’s stack it one on top of the other it was very crude drawing but all of a sudden Boom the light bulb came on it reminded me of a baseball glove mindel received $2,000 for the winning design roughly the equivalent of just over $10,000 today though he did not receive any royalties for the logo the new branding proved to be a hit and the Brewers also improved their play on the field they finished the 1978 season with a 93 and 69 record which which earned Bud seelik the major league executive of the Year award the Brewer’s Newfound success would carry on into the following Seasons with the team clinching the American League pennant in 1982 earning them their first ever World Series appearance with that the club continued to use the ball Club logo for the rest of the 1980s and into the early 1990s I just want to pause real quick to ask if you’re enjoying this video so far please hit the like button and don’t forget to subscribe as well okay let’s get back to the video the 1994 season marked the 25th anniversary of the team relocating the Milwaukee from Seattle to honor the occasion the club thought it would be a good idea to retire the ball and glove design for an updated more contemporary logo for the times the new logo showing interlocking letters m b in front of two baseball bats and a baseball diamond introduced the color green to the club for the first time the team also switched from their classic yellow and blue to a more muted gold and navy blue the Brewers would use this logo for for the rest of the 1990s until the year 2000 when they introduced an updated logo to Mark the final season of the club playing at Milwaukee County Stadium the new logo featured the word Brewers in front of a baseball with two stems of barley underneath as barley being the key ingredient to beer making the team would use this logo and a simplified letter M version of it until the club’s 50th anniversary in 2020 as with the 25th anniversary the team wanted to celebrate the major Milestone of 50 years in Milwaukee by rebranding with new logos this time the club decided to use feedback from its fans who overwhelmingly wish to bring back their most beloved icon the ball and glove logo once more a new design was introduced that updated the classic look for the 2020 version the m and b parts of the logo were connected for the first time in mind’s original design the two letters had always been separated the colors were also updated to reflect the Brew’s continued use of navy blue rather than royal blue that the team had used before however for the club’s primary logo a circular version of the logo uses a royal blue outline that underscores the words Milwaukee Brewers as a nod to those successful years during the late 1970s and early 80s in another homage the yellow outline and circular text is also a nod to the classic Baran logo that also used a similar design throughout the club’s history the iconic balling glove logo holds a Timeless Legacy deeply ingrained in the team’s history and beloved by fans worldwide it serves as a beacon of unity for fans and a reminder of fun memories on the diamond and a symbol of the team and City’s unique past in 2011 Bleacher Report ranked the 50 best baseball logos of all time and placed the Brewers ball and glove logo number eight on their list while surprisingly placing the barrelman logo at number two in any case whether the logos adorning merchandise banners or the players’s uniforms the ball and Globe logo remains a cherished emblem of the Brewers Legacy connecting generations of fans and players alike and their shared love for the game so what did you guys think about bleer report ranking the Brewers logo is number eight on their all-time baseball logos list would you place it higher or lower on the list let me know in the comments below if you guys enjoyed this video check out my video on what happened to the Seattle Pilots which goes further into the Pilot’s time in Seattle before they moved to Milwaukee and became the Brewers also you could now support the channel by leaving a super thanks anytime you want to comment this would be greatly appreciated and would go a long way in helping the channel out so thanks for supporting the channel and thanks for watching y

In this All Sports History video, we’ll take a look back to the late 1970’s when the Milwaukee Brewers in one of the greatest sports moments of all time, introduced the iconic “Ball-In-Glove” logo. The design quickly became a modern classic and a symbol for the Brewers, the community, and baseball fans alike. So why after almost two decades was the logo replaced, and why did it take the team so long to bring the logo back? In today’s video we’ll take a look back at how the legendary Milwaukee Brewers logo came to be and why it has remained so popular to this day.

What this “Milwaukee Brewers documentary” video includes:

The Milwaukee Brewers history actually begins in Seattle, when in 1969 Major League Baseball expanded and added four new teams to the league. The San Diego Padres and Montreal Expos joined the National League, while the Kansas City Royals and Seattle Pilots joined the American League. After only one season, the Seattle Pilots found themselves in deep financial trouble and were heading for bankruptcy. Immediately following the conclusion of their first season, Pilots owner Dewy Soriano met with car salesman and former Milwaukee Braves minority owner Bud Selig about selling the team to Selig. Both sides met over the course of several weeks, and during game one of the 1969 World Series, the two men agreed on a deal for $10.8 million dollars.

On April 1, 1970, the Seattle Pilots officially relocated to Milwaukee and changed their name to the Brewers. The team decided on the name “Brewers” as a homage to the defunct minor league baseball team, the Milwaukee Brewers. Originally, Bud Selig wanted the Brewers to wear blue and red Milwaukee Brewers jerseys, much like the Braves did when they were in Milwaukee. But due to the time constraints, the Brewers were forced to use the same blue and gold jerseys that the Pilots wore the season before (just with updated naming). As for the logo, the Brewers opted for a simple “M” logo on their caps, which was also a nod to the block M logo that the Milwaukee Braves used. During this time, the Brewers also introduced the “Barrel man” logo which was inspired by a similar Barrel man logo that the minor league Brewers had also used. These logos would remain as the primary branding for the Brewers for eight seasons.

By the late 1970’s, the Brewers were looking to update their branding and phase out their older logos. During this time, the team also held a design contest for a new logo. A college student named Tom Meindel submitted what would become the winning sports logo design. In Meindel’s original concept, the now iconic, “Ball-In-Glove” logo had brown and yellow colors and featured hidden elements. The fingers on the baseball glove portion of the logo, when isolated, makes an “M” shape for Milwaukee. The thumb and pocket area of the glove form the letter “B” for Brewers, with a baseball in the middle. When all put together, it forms the letters “M-B” for Milwaukee Brewers. The new branding proved to be a hit, and the Brewers also improved their play on the field. They finished the 1978 season with a 93-69 record, which earned Bud Selig the MLB executive of the year award. The Brewers new found success would carry on into the following seasons with Milwaukee Brewers playoffs appearances. The team clinching the 1982 ALCS, earning the first ever Milwaukee Brewers World Series appearance. With that, the club continued to use the Ball-In-Glove logo for the rest of the 1980’s and into the early 1990’s highlighting some of the brewers best moments.

Despite the Milwaukee Brewers highlights of the 80’s, a new logo in 1994 for the 25th anniversary of the team. They’d used it for the rest of the 1990’s, until the year 2000, when they introduced an updated logo to mark the final season of the club playing at Milwaukee Brewers Stadium (County Stadium). The new logo featured the word “Brewers” in front of a baseball, with two stems of barley underneath (as barley being a key ingredient to beer making). The team would use this logo, and a simplified letter “M” version of it introduced in 2017, during most of the Milwaukee Brewers Ryan Braun era. As with the 25th anniversary, the team wanted to celebrate the major milestone of 50 years in Milwaukee by rebranding with new logos. A new design was introduced that updated the classic “Ball-In-Glove” look, that thrilled Brewers fans. In 2011, Bleacher Report ranked the 50 best baseball logos of all time and placed the Brewers’ Ball-In-Glove logo number 8 on their list, while surprisingly placing the Barrel man logo at number 2.

So what did you guys think about the Brewers logo ranked number 8 on BR’s all time baseball logos list? Would you place it higher or lower on the list? Let me know in the comments below!

What Makes This Logo Great? The Story Behind the Milwaukee Brewers’ Classic ‘Ball In Glove’ Logo