Kansas City Royals (KC Royals) Logo PNG
Professional baseball players always emphasize their noble heritage. The royal spirit and imperial grandeur are what the Kansas City Royals logo reflects in the form of a medieval flag with a crown. The noble palette of gold and dark blue also conveys high prestige.
Kansas City Royals: Brand overview
| Founded: | 1969 |
| Founder: | John Sherman |
| Headquarters: | Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. |
| Website: | mlb.com |
The Kansas City Royals are a professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The club competes in the Central Division of the American League of Major League Baseball. The franchise was founded in 1969.
The franchise’s history began when the previous team – the “Kansas City Athletics” – left the city after the 1967 season. As a result, the city was without a Major League Baseball team for the first time since 1883. An infuriated Senator, Stuart Symington, threatened MLB officials with sanctions if Kansas City did not receive a franchise in the next expansion. They promised him a team would appear in 1971, but the city authorities were not satisfied with such a decision and insisted on the franchise being established sooner. Their wish was fulfilled in 1969.
Pharmaceutical magnate Ewing Kauffman won the bid for the new Kansas City franchise. Moreover, he was the one who approved the team’s name. He held a contest for the team’s name, inviting Kansas City residents to submit their ideas. Ewing Kauffman chose the name from 17,000 proposed options.
After Kauffman’s death on September 23, 1993, the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, the official administrative body, appointed David Glass as the interim CEO and chairman of the board of directors of the Kansas City Royals. Seventeen years later, on April 18, 2000, David Glass became the sole owner of the franchise, purchasing it for 96 million dollars.
The “Name the Team” contest received over 17,000 entries. The winners were the “Royals,” but this name has nothing to do with royal authority. The team’s name came from the world-famous American Royal livestock and horse show, which has been held annually in Kansas City since 1899.
When it came time to make a logo, Ewing Kauffman turned to the design company Hallmark Cards. The team owner’s task was to combine the city, local features, and the franchise’s name. Unfortunately, the original logos did not satisfy him, as most of them featured livestock since Kansas City was a leading cattle ranching hub and a venue for rodeo competitions. At the same time, Ewing Kauffman wanted to distance the club from the reputation of a “cow town.”
Then Hallmark Cards announced a competition among fifteen artists involved in the project. In the first stage, works by three artists – Shannon Manning, Carl Woods, and Peter Smokoroski – were selected, after which each of them was asked to develop several more versions of their original sketches. The winner was artist Shannon Manning, who received a prize of 100 dollars. The winning Kansas City Royals logo design had no resemblance to classic emblems of that time. It was modernistic and minimalistic. The original emblem of the Kansas City Royals was so well-chosen and balanced that it underwent changes over the years, and “KC” took the central place. Only minor changes were made, but they did not significantly impact the debut logo.
The modern Kansas City Royals logo is extremely simple, clear, and comprehensible. The crown places the main emphasis on the concept of royal authority, American royal cattle, and the traditional occupations of Kansas City residents. The shield with two letters resembles the heraldic coat of arms of a noble family. The geometrically balanced emblem includes a gold crown over a light blue shield with the white inscription “KC” inside.
Meaning and History
The Kansas City Royals are a baseball team that, from the very beginning of their sports career, was completely satisfied with its logo. Over half a century of existence, it has hardly changed – only making minor adjustments that did not affect the shape or elements. The successful variation was developed by the Hallmark Cards studio and, in particular, artist Shannon Manning. His concept proved to be winning, although unusual for the late 60s of the last century.
What is Kansas City Royals?
The Kansas City Royals are a baseball team formed as a franchise of the American League in the late 1960s and started playing in 1971. It has participated in the World Series four times, showing excellent results, winning two “Commissioner’s Trophies.” In 1994, the club moved to the AL Central.
1969 – 1978
The original logo belongs to Hallmark Cards, which was founded in Kansas City in 1910. Variants of the emblem were presented by 15 artists, who each developed their unique concept of the logo that was to appear on uniforms, jackets, promotional products, etc. The winning emblem was proposed by Shannon Manning, a fan of the “Chicago White Sox.” The image was simple and understandable and very reminiscent of the style popular in the 1960s. It featured a blue shield topped with a minimalist golden crown. Inside the blue shield were a large and ultra-white capital letter “R” and the initials “KC” in gold. The full name “Royals” was located under the main logo. Manning’s modern and minimalist work became an excellent prototype for subsequent franchise emblems.
1979 – 1985
In 1979, the “Kansas City Royals” made minor changes to the emblem. The word “Royals” at the bottom was highlighted with a font, underlined, and written in lowercase letters. The color of the emblem was changed from gold to blue.
1986 – 1992
In the 1986 version, the word “Royals” became larger compared to the shield, which, conversely, became smaller. These changes gave the Kansas City Royals emblem a more expressive and memorable look.
1993 – 2001
The “Kansas City Royals” team made another minor change to its emblem. This time, they changed the bright yellow color to a brighter golden color.
2002 – 2018
In 2002, the capital letter “R” on the shield was removed, and the focus was on the initials “KC,” written in white font. The inscription “Royals” at the bottom of the logo remained the same.
2019 – today
The modern version remains the same as at the dawn of the team’s history – in 1969. The only change was the replacement of the letter “R” with “KS.” Also, a couple of minor details were corrected, but the scheme remained unchanged. Now, the emblem looks like a knight’s flag or shield, on which the abbreviation of the franchise’s name is written: white symbols are visible on a blue background. At the top is the main monarchical attribute, indicating noble beginnings.
The figure has strict geometric lines and consists of five straight sides, forming a sharp angle at the bottom. The golden crown is slightly removed and includes four peaks with roundings at the ends, resembling baseballs.
Kansas City Royals: Interesting Facts
The Kansas City Royals baseball team started in 1969 in Kansas City, Missouri. They’re famous for their excited fans, great players, and big moments in baseball.
- Winning the World Series: The Royals won in 1985 and 2015. In 1985, they made an amazing comeback in Game 6, thanks to a famous mistake by the umpire Don Denkinger.
- The Pine Tar Game: On July 24, 1983, George Brett hit a home run that was taken back because his bat had too much pine tar. This decision was changed later, causing much talk.
- George Brett: Brett is one of the best players to have played for the Royals. He played for 21 years, got over 3,000 hits, won an MVP, and entered the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999. He’s also the only one to win batting titles in three decades.
- Kauffman Stadium: Their stadium, “The K,” is famous for its pretty water fountains. It opened in 1973 and has been their home since then.
- The I-70 Series: The 1985 World Series was called this because they played against the St. Louis Cardinals, another team from Missouri. The name comes from the interstate connecting the two cities.
- A Tough Year: In 2005, the Royals lost 106 games, the most they’ve ever lost in a year. But they got better, and by 2015, they won the World Series again.
- A Big Comeback: The team got good again in 2014 and 2015, making it to the World Series. They lost in 2014 but won in 2015, showing they could return from tough times.
- Bret Saberhagen: He was an amazing pitcher for the Royals, winning the Cy Young Award in 1985 and 1989. He played a big part in winning the 1985 World Series.
- Smart Scouting: The Royals are good at finding new players, especially in Latin America. This helped them build a strong team.
So, the Royals have had some ups and downs, but they’ve always been a team with heart, fighting back and staying close to their community.
Font and Colors
In the debut version, the knight’s flag had all the letters conveying the club’s name: in the center was a large letter “R” with a curved end of the leg protruding forward and above it on the right – “KS.” They meant the words “Royals” and “Kansas City”. The royal symbol was bright yellow, and beneath it was the second part of the team’s name, executed in a strict style. Later, priorities shifted, and the inscription became handwritten with rounded letters. Its placement also changed: if previously the word was strictly horizontal, it later became vertical with an upward shift.
In the earliest version of the logo, a classic geometric font is used, with minimal inter-letter spacing and distinct serifs at the ends. It was then transformed into handwritten text with a dense set of characters, except for “R”: the capital letter is supplemented with a round cap and is separated from the lowercase letters, so it stands separately from them. “S” has no upper clearance.
The official palette of the team consists of royal blue #004687, powder blue #7AB2DD, golden #C09A5B, and white #FFFFFF. Of these, only blue is absent from the emblem.
Kansas City Royals color codes
| Royal Blue | Hex color: | #174885 |
|---|---|---|
| RGB: | 23 72 133 | |
| CMYK: | 100 65 0 30 | |
| Pantone: | PMS 288 C |
| Gold | Hex color: | #c0995a |
|---|---|---|
| RGB: | 192 153 90 | |
| CMYK: | 30 40 70 0 | |
| Pantone: | PMS 872 C |
| Powder Blue | Hex color: | #7bb2dd |
|---|---|---|
| RGB: | 123 178 221 | |
| CMYK: | 60 19 1 4 | |
| Pantone: | PMS 542 C |
FAQ
What does the “Kansas City Royals” emblem represent?
The “Kansas City Royals” emblem is renowned for its stability. Over half a century, it has hardly changed: the current version, like the very first, contains a quadrangular heraldic shield with a pointed base. Royal blue is used in this product. Inside is a monogram of white handwritten letters KC and a dark gold crown at the top.
Why is Kansas City the Royals?
Contrary to tradition, the Kansas City team is called the “Royals,” not because of its connection to the royal family. It’s a tribute to the local event American Royal, which has been held in the city since 1899. It features rodeo, barbecue competitions, horse shows, and other domestic livestock exhibitions. The name of the baseball club was chosen in 1968 from 17,000 entries submitted to a contest.
Are the Royals in Kansas or Missouri?
The “Kansas City Royals” are based in Kansas City, Missouri. The club has been based there since 1969 and has never moved, unlike its predecessors. Note that Kansas City and Kansas State are not the same. These two terms should not be confused, as they refer to different territories.
Where did the Kansas City Royals come from?
The Kansas City Royals team is based in the largest city in the state of Missouri. It appeared after its predecessor, the Kansas City Athletics team, moved to Oakland and became known as the Oakland Athletics.
