A Familiar-Looking Lions Logo
May 17th, 2011 | Published in Football Card Trivia, Uniforms | 3 Comments
I recently put some 1969 Topps football cards up for sale, including this one, Tom Vaughn of the Lions. The Lions logo that Topps used in this set has always looked familiar to me, so yesterday I did some searching. I believe I found what I was thinking of: a Ford Mustang logo from around that time. This might be obvious to Detroit fans, but it appears to me that the designer of the Lions logo gave a nod to the city’s main industry. (The image of the Mustang logo is from motortopia.com.)
This card happens to show Vaughn in my favorite football card pose, where the player is about to put on his helmet. For more examples, see My Favorite Pose, More of My Favorite Pose, and Still More of My Favorite Post.
May 17th, 2011 at 10:03 AM (#)
Is it true? Do you have a confirmation from the Lions or from Ford about the logo?
Why this year? Ford produced the Mustang since mid 1964…
May 17th, 2011 at 12:19 PM (#)
No, I haven’t tried contacting the Lions or Ford about the logo. Why 1969? My guess is that the Lions decided that year that they wanted a new logo. I don’t know for certain, but it looks to me like the logo artist thought, hmm, it’s for Detroit, how about something that hints at cars?
November 8th, 2011 at 9:49 AM (#)
The Lions have been owned by the Ford family for a long time. This may have something to do with it.
That logo started in 1961, and William Clay Ford, Sr. purchased the team in 1963.
The first Mustang was a 1964 and 1/2, so maybe the logo’s were inspired in the opposite order…
I have not found any information confirming or denying that however, just was interested for the same reasons and came across this site.