On October 2, 2023, the designer of one of the most iconic logos in sports history passed away. John Gordon passed away at the age of 83 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

John Gordon conceived the idea while attending St. Norbert College as an art student. While attending St. Norbert College, he had a part-time job as an assistant equipment manager in the Green Bay Packers organization under the legendary equipment manager, Gerald Braisher.  Braisher worked for the Green Bay Packers organization for over 20 years.

During John Gordon’s tenure, he drew portraits of the Green Bay Packers as well as their families. One day, the legendary Vince Lombardi approached John Gordon before the Packers' 1961 training camp with an interesting idea. Vince Lombardi wanted the team logo on their players’ helmets. 

Braisher came to John Gordon with specific design instructions. The instructions were that the logo be shaped like a football and that the inner portion of the logo contains a “G” wordmark that is shaped like a football. 

Gordon completed the design within one day. It was approved immediately. This logo absolutely has stood the test of time. 

Reuters

Before John Gordon's iconic logo, the Packers had two other official logos. One consisted of a green "Packers" wordmark with a football behind it. The football contained a yellow trim. There are two orange goalposts on either side of the logo. That logo lasted from 1951 to 1955.

The other logo consisted of a yellow football. Within the yellow football, a geographical depiction of the state of Wisconsin is visible. A football player launching a football while wearing the number 41 is also seen. This lasted from 1955 to 1961. 

Even though John Gordon's iconic logo has lasted over 60 years, there are two distinct versions. From 1961 to 1979, the first "G" logo had a green outline. In 1980, the franchise updated the logo by adding an outer yellow trim over the green outline. 

There is no question that John Gordon's logo is one of the most recognizable in sports, as it is symbolic of the Green Bay Packers' success throughout their history.  

Since 1961, the Packers have made the playoffs 29 times. They won 3 NFL championships (1961, 1962, and 1965) and 4 Super Bowls (1966, 1967, 1996, and 2010).

I don't believe that the Packers will ever deviate from John Gordon's iconic logo.