Founded in 1946, the emblem of the New York Knicks represents a sporting profile, strategic characteristics, and reverence for the establishment of the city – setting apart American basketball teams with captivating and educational symbols.
After tallying the votes cast by the staff members in a meeting held to decide on a new nickname, the franchise was named Knickerbockers. However, they initially wanted to choose another nickname. That’s how the owner, who led the club with the participation of Madison Square Garden, became known as the Irish Company.
The term “Knickerbocker” refers to trousers that were tucked beneath the knee, which were an integral part of the image of the settlers of the New World. This name became applied to the descendants of the original Dutch settlers, who later became the inhabitants of New York. The name “Knickerbocker” comes from the pseudonym used by Washington Irving in his History of New York.
The shares of The Madison Square Garden Company are held by James Dolan, who assumed ownership of the team in 1999. The team is more commonly known as the Knicks, and this moniker was once again proposed. Additionally, in 1845, there existed a local baseball association referred to as Knickerbocker Nine.
Meaning and History
The sports club had a total of eight logo choices throughout its existence. The emblem’s entire history showcases a progression from simplicity to complexity, highlighting both the ball and the name it represents. The basketball-centric criteria are completely fulfilled, and the team debuted in the same year when the New York Knicks logo was authorized.
What is New York Knicks?
New York Knicks is an abbreviation for the New York Knickerbockers, the National Basketball Association’s sports franchise. This team has existed since 1946 and plays its home games at Madison Square Garden. Madison Square Garden Sports Corp owns it.
1946 – 1964
The team’s name, “Nix,” has mostly been forgotten and reduced to a hundred percent of cases. This word now refers to a particular style of pants worn by settlers, known as “Pantaloons” or “breeches,” which were rolled up below the knee. Most of the settlers who arrived in the New York area, now known as New York, originated from the Dutch settlers, who were the first to use the logo of the club called “Knickerbockers.”
The cartoonist responsible for the appropriate drawing style is Willard Mullin. Willard Mullin is the author of the cartoon version. The main character has large buckles on his boots and wears a camisole of the same color, blue pants, a red-orange vest, and a black cocked hat. He runs forward in an attempt to catch the ball with both hands. It depicts a player nicknamed Knickerbocker Father. The emblem was designed for the official debut of the basketball competition in the 1946/47 season.
1965 – 1979
The New York Knickerbockers unveiled a legendary emblem, which would remain prominent for the following thirty years. The logo, crafted by Bud Freeman from the advertising firm J. C. Bull, showcases a brown basketball. The New York Knicks emblem is enhanced by the wordmark “KNICKS,” featuring orange characters and a shadow beneath them to create a three-dimensional illusion. Furthermore, the letters are outlined in black.
1980 – 1983
The designer enhanced the 3D effect, making the lower part of the “KNICKS” word appear deeper and wider. The color scheme of the letters transformed from burgundy to blue and white, with only the font being the thing that changed. Additionally, black seams and a blue outline were added. The designer also made the color of the basketball in this version of the New York Knicks logo much lighter.
1984 – 1989
The seams of the New York Knicks logo have a blue outline, just like its outline for a basketball. The details of the logo are all in blue, with the letters becoming light below. The Knicks made slight changes to the logo, with the basketball changing from brown to dark brown seams again. The color scheme of the logo had shades of pastel, which is why the aggressive elements don’t seem to be present. The size, position, and shape of the logo were the same, but the colors were different during this period of the New York Knickerbockers logo.
1990 – 1992
The 3D shadows of the letters appeared in a shade of bluish-gray. All key elements had a blue outline. The basketball wordmark “KNICKS” had the same orange hue. Designers enhanced the fogginess effect and reduced the depth. The colors have been altered in this version of the logo for the New York Knickerbockers.
1993 – 1995
Orange serves as the main hue. The border and stitching on the basketball are a pale shade of blue. The letters go beyond the triangle and are shaded darker at the bottom. The bluish-grey geometric shape intensifies the three-dimensional illusion on a slightly slanted background with the word “KNICKS”. Tom O’Grady was responsible for designing the remaining elements. Michael Doret proposed the idea of incorporating a triangle. The Knicks revamped their logo in 1992.
1996 – 2011
The outlines of the elements, such as the seams and basketball triangle, fonts, S.” “K” and letters in between, are exactly the same – the wordmark “YORK NEW” is on top of the team’s nickname. The logo has very slight changes to the colors in the 1996 version.
2012 – today
Everything else remained the same. The intensity of the color brick was reduced and it was replaced by a grayish-gray shade, removing the black shadows created by the designers. Although it is a remake of the previous logo, the emblem underwent a more complex evolution process, receiving more intricate details than its initial version. They are only connected by basketball: the current version is fundamentally different from its debut.
The team’s name draws attention to the good-looking case in which the city’s big team matches, emphasizing the confidence and shine. It is quite rare for the current logo of the Knicks to have the color orange, which stands out as a white font and border. In any sport and any team, the neutral blue color looks very appealing. The official colors of New York City are white, blue, and orange. Many fans of the Knicks were delighted with the return to the blue color scheme, which was previously used by the club in its history.
It is somewhat unserious for such a history-rich and level of enterprise, but of course, this is not very bad. The logo on the chest of some superhero would be appropriate, and it somewhat resembles the label of a second-rate detergent, the New York Knicks.
Font and Colors
The developer of the 1993 version of the emblem in the basketball background is Michael Doret, who used a triangle in the design. The prototype proposed by Bud Freeman from J.C. Studio Advertising became the subsequent option, which combined the name and ball in a simplified design. The first significant changes occurred in the years 1993 and 1965, where a transition to a 3D format took place. Over half a century, several stages of visual team identification went through significant changes.
The main feature of this logo is the typeface’s volume, which was specifically created for this logo. The style of the letters is not similar to any well-known commercial fonts, as it is individual. Artists used the technique of shadows to obtain a 3D effect, narrowing and tilting the visually centered colon-shaped signs.
Additionally featured in the roster were silver and black. During certain time frames, it comprises of white, blue PMS 293, and orange PMS 165. The team’s color scheme mirrors the authorized palette of New York City.
