What is the backstory behind your NFL team's name/colors/mascot/etc.?

[Goodsport]

Much of the San Francisco 49ers' formation can be read about in this article about the team's co-founder and original majority owner Tony Morabito.

Perhaps the most relevant portion of that article for this thread is:

[Co-owner Allen E.] Sorrell suggested the team be named “49ers” after the voyagers who had rushed the West for gold. It is the only name the team has ever been affiliated with and San Francisco is the only city in which it has resided.

The original team logo depicted San Francisco’s wild beginnings. It was a goldminer in boots and a lumberjack shirt, firing a pair of pistols. One shot just missed the miner’s head, while the other missed his foot. The logo was taken from a design seen on the side of railway freight cars.

I'd been asked before why the San Francisco 49ers chose the team colors that they did.

From what I'd heard, the main reason the 49ers went with red from the outset was that, for whatever reason, red seemed to be the most popular shirt color (followed closely by blue) among the original California gold miners.

As for their helmet and pants colors: from 1946 to 1963, the team would vacillate between white, silver and gold until they finally settled on gold colored helmets and pants in 1964. Ultimately, the reason for the gold color should be obvious considering the aforementioned gold miners.

That also explains the team's gold miner themed mascot Sourdough Sam (and as it turns out, San Francisco sourdough bread does have a history with the gold miners).


Do at least some of the other NFL teams have backstories for their team names, colors and mascots, or were they simply chosen because they looked cool (or both?)?


-G

 

[R_J_K75]

All I know is the Buffalo Sabres/Bills better kick ass today or were burning this city to the ground; or just getting super drunk and fighting. Budweiser pregame starts in T minus 25 minutes. After all we are a drinking town with a sports problem!

 

[R_J_K75]

Much of the San Francisco 49ers' formation can be read about in this article about the team's co-founder and original majority owner Tony Morabito.

Perhaps the most relevant portion of that article for this thread is:




I'd been asked before why the San Francisco 49ers chose the team colors that they did.

From what I'd heard, the main reason the 49ers went with red from the outset was that, for whatever reason, red seemed to be the most popular shirt color (followed closely by blue) among the original California gold miners.

As for their helmet and pants colors: from 1946 to 1963, the team would vacillate between white, silver and gold until they finally settled on gold colored helmets and pants in 1964. Ultimately, the reason for the gold color should be obvious considering the aforementioned gold miners.

That also explains the team's gold miner themed mascot Sourdough Sam (and as it turns out, San Francisco sourdough bread does have a history with the gold miners).


Do at least some of the other NFL teams have backstories for their team names, colors and mascots, or were they simply chosen because they looked cool (or both?)?


-G

You do know that the 49ers colors used to be Silver and Red right?

Logos and uniforms of the San Francisco 49ers - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Goodsport]

You do know that the 49ers colors used to be Silver and Red right?

Logos and uniforms of the San Francisco 49ers - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Sometimes it was prior to 1964, as I already wrote.


-G

 

[Goodsport]

All I know is the Buffalo Sabres/Bills better kick ass today or were burning this city to the ground; or just getting super drunk and fighting. Budweiser pregame starts in T minus 25 minutes. After all we are a drinking town with a sports problem!

Is there any particular story as to how Buffalo's AFL (later, NFL) team was named the Bills and/or how it chose its colors?


-G

 

[R_J_K75]

Is there any particular story as to how Buffalo's AFL (later, NFL) team was named the Bills and/or how it chose its colors?


-G

Im not certain but I believe that both the Sabres and Bills held contests to name the teams, colors Im not sure about. Sure Wikipedia can shed some light on it. I do know the Bills changed their helmets from white to red around 1984 because the QB Joe Ferguson was color blind and had trouble finding receivers as every team in the AFC East at the time except the Jets all had white helmets. They changed them back to white sometime about 10 years ago. Another interesting thing is the Bills are the only New York NFL team based in NY. The Jets and the Giants both play in New Jersey.

 

[Nutation]

My team, the Minnesota* Vikings were obviously named in reference to the Scandinavian heritage in the area. It is the kitsch version of Viking history with horned helmets, Gjallarhorn calls in the stadium (itself shaped like a longboat), and so on.
I assume the purple color and gold secondary hearken back to the Minnesota Minneapolis Lakers who had moved to Los Angeles, but I don't really know.

*Are the Vikings the first pro sports team to associate themselves after a state rather than a city (New York doesn't count)? I thought it normal in the 60s, but it wasn't. (The Twins followed suit despite putting "TC" on their caps.) For a long time when young, I assumed the Washington Redskins played in Seattle...

 

[R_J_K75]

Only consolation to the Bills losing Saturday is that so did the Patriots.

 

[Goodsport]

​

 

[Goodsport]

Bumping this thread up as a new NFL season has finally arrived (snuck up on us?) and there are still more teams' names & colors origins still unaccounted for.


-G