Cardinals Primary Logo
The St. Louis Cardinals have a long and storied history, which is reflected in their primary logo. The team has used the same basic design since 1922, making it one of the most iconic logos in all of the sports. Over the years, there have been some subtle changes to keep up with changing times and styles but overall it remains largely unchanged from its original form over 90 years ago.
The current version of the logo was introduced in 1998 as part of an effort to modernize both their uniforms and branding identity for a new generation of fans while still maintaining loyalty to tradition by keeping many elements that had been present for decades prior. It features two birds perched atop a baseball bat set against an oval shape representing home plate; this symbolizes how closely intertwined baseball is with St Louis’s culture and heritage as well as honoring its past successes on the diamond through the use of colors such as red & white (the official colors) along with navy blue accents throughout each element within the design itself.
Although there are minor variations between old & current versions, they are easily recognizable due to the classic font style employed which dates back nearly a century; this helps maintain consistency across different eras so that no matter what year or decade you look at, you can always spot familiar Cardinals iconography without difficulty. As result, even though small tweaks may occur periodically; the core essence will remain the same forever - something truly remarkable when considering how much the world has changed since its inception!
1999 - Present
In 1998, the “birds on the bat” was updated for the first time in 30 years with more detailed bird and bolder letters. The new single red with navy blue outline cardinal has a yellow beak with white eyes. The scripted wordmark “Cardinals” in red with a navy blue trim is a much bolder lettering, continuing with the letter “C” locked up over the baseball bat.
1998
A cardinal perched on a yellow bat with wordmark “Cardinals” scripted below.
Color of the beak and eye were adjusted following the 1998 season.
1966 - 1997
In 1967 the logo consists of a cardinal perched on a yellow bat wearing a red baseball cap with a white baseball background, inside a red circle reading “ST. LOUIS CARDINALS” in white.
1965
A cardinal perched on a yellow bat inside a red circle with a baseball pattern inside and the team name “ST. LOUIS CARDINALS” in white.
1948 - 1964
Two red cardinals perched on a silver bat and a wordmark “Cardinals” team name below in red.
1927 - 1947
Two red cardinals perched on a silver bat and wordmark “Cardinals” team name below in red.
1922 - 1926
In 1922, the Cardinals reveled for the first time a logo that featured the two familiar cardinal birds perched on a baseball bat over the name “Cardinals” with the letter “C” of the word hooked over the black bat. Colloquially referred to as the “birds on the bat.”
Read the story of the history of the Cardinals’ logo “Birds on a Bat: The Evolution of the Cardinals Franchise Logo”
1920 - 1921
Wordmark “ST. LOUIS” arched in red.
1900 - 1919
The first logo associated with the Cardinals was an interlocking “STL” in red that appeared on the team’s caps and or sleeves as early as 1900. Two small white diamonds are located on the letter “S.” The letters “STL” represent the city of St. Louis.
