Toronto Blue Jays Logo

Toronto Blue Jays LogoToronto Blue Jays Logo PNG

The Toronto Blue Jays logo demonstrates a commitment to the region’s history and idiosyncrasies. The color palette, elements of state symbolism, and the mascot on the emblem reflect national identity and, valuing origin, show respect for their roots.

Toronto Blue Jays: Brand overview

Founded:1977
Founder:Rogers Communications
Headquarters:
Toronto, Canada
Website:mlb.com

The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team playing in the Eastern Division of the American League of Major League Baseball. Their hometown is Toronto, Ontario. The club plays its matches at the Rogers Centre on the northern shore of Lake Ontario. The team was named after the blue jay, a passerine bird native to North America and Canada. Historically, blue has been one of the traditional colors of various Toronto sports teams.

The Toronto Blue Jays emerged in 1977 as an expanded franchise to participate in Major League Baseball. They became the second MLB club located outside the United States.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Toronto Blue Jays went through the hurdles predictable for an expansion team, usually finishing last in their division. 1983 marked their first winning season. Two years later, in 1985, they became the champions of the Eastern Division. From 1985 to 1993, the Toronto Blue Jays were a powerful force in the Eastern Division of the American League. Over nine seasons, they won five division championships. In 1992 and 1993, the team became the World Series champions, defeating the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies.

The Toronto Blue Jays are the first (and, to date, the only) franchise outside the United States to have won the World Series. Unfortunately, after 1993, the team did not make the playoffs for 21 consecutive seasons until 2015, when they achieved a playoff spot, ending the longest drought in baseball history. In 2016, the club won second place in the playoffs but lost to the Cleveland Indians in the AL championship series. Over two years, the Toronto Blue Jays won the AL Division Series but lost the AL Championship Series.

Toronto Blue Jays Emblem

Initially, the team played at Exhibition Stadium, but in 1989, they began to host their matches in SkyDome (the original name of Rogers Center). Since 2000, the Blue Jays have had new owners – the Canadian communications company Rogers Communications. In 2004, the company acquired SkyDome and renamed it the Rogers Center.

The official color palette includes royal blue, dark blue, red, and white colors. The Toronto Blue Jays’ uniform combines these colors. The team enjoys immense popularity in Canada and the USA. They are warmly welcomed at both home and away matches.

Meaning and History

Toronto Blue Jays Logo History

The history of this team’s logos began with the blue jay. The bird was proposed by the Toronto company Savage Sloan Ltd. Over the years of the club’s existence, it has undergone several transformations but has always been present on the corporate logo. Realistic, fragmentary, anthropomorphic – only parts of its image are captured in each of the six original emblems.

What is Toronto Blue Jays?

The Toronto Blue Jays are a Major League Baseball team that joined the American Eastern League in 1977 when they played their first game. Currently, it is the only league participant belonging to a city outside the USA. It appeared in Canada because Toronto was very eager to get an MLB franchise and even tried to lure the San Francisco Giants to itself.

1977 – 1996

Toronto Blue Jays Logo 1977-1996

During this period, the Toronto Blue Jays were the only Canadian team in Major League Baseball. They appeared as part of MLB’s expansion in 1977. The first Toronto Blue Jays emblem was designed by the design company Savage Sloan Ltd. It was classic in every way, with iconic inscriptions and images. The logo featured a baseball with red stitching, sprouting a red maple leaf, and on top of it – a stylized profile head of a blue jay. Including the red maple leaf in the emblem was a crucial design element to ensure the Blue Jays’ status as “the Canadian team.” Around the baseball was the word mark “Toronto Blue Jays” with blue lettering.

1997 – 2002

Toronto Blue Jays Logo 1997-2002

A new modified logo was introduced in 1997, twenty years after the team’s entry into MLB. It featured a blue jay on a white baseball with red seams. The emphasis was on the red maple leaf as a background. The jay was given texture, and a new dark blue font with the inscription “Blue Jays” was used as the word mark.

2003

Toronto Blue Jays Logo 2003

In 2003, the team added another logo. It featured an animated version of the team’s mascot, Ace, who was wrapping a poorly stylized letter “T” and holding a white baseball with red seams and a yellow bat. The red letter “T” obviously stood for “Toronto.” The blue jay’s maple leaf tattoo on the left bicep seems like a matter of course.

2004 – 2011

Toronto Blue Jays Logo 2004-2011

This was the period of angry birds. In 2004, Brandid, another Toronto company, developed a new Toronto Blue Jays logo. It featured a three-dimensional but very angry Blue Jay, positioned to the left of “Jays.” This design completely abandoned the maple leaf and red color. A metallic scheme of blue, gray, and white colors was balanced. Additionally, the word “Blue” was removed from the team’s name.

2012 – 2019

Toronto Blue Jays Logo 2012-2019

Returning to a simplified design and capitalizing on nostalgia for the team’s glory years, add a new modern emblem to the Toronto Blue Jays. The current Toronto Blue Jays logo was developed with the assistance of the MLB design service headed by Vice President of Design Anne Occi. Like the original 1977 logo, it features blue and dark blue Blue Jays heads with a red maple leaf on the right on a baseball with a split font of the team name, surrounding it within a blue double contour. The “jays” themselves have more distinct features, and the red leaf no longer protrudes from the baseball’s red line. The words “Toronto” and “Blue Jays” are solid dark blue and are arranged in a semicircle on the inner white circle. This design signals to fans and the league that the Blue Jays are focused on winning in the long game.

2019 – today

Toronto Blue Jays Logo 2019-present

Today, the franchise uses a version introduced at the very beginning of its sports career and reworked in a modern way in 2012. In the previous version, developed by the MLB Design Services Department under the leadership of Anna Occi, only the blue jay with the maple leaf, which was previously located in the center of the rondel, remained.

In the current logo, the bird’s head is turned to the left. One horizontal line connects the upper part of the beak and the eyes. The lower half of the beak harmoniously blends into the contour outlines, forming a neck. The blue jay has a raised crest, and next to it is a strict red maple leaf.

Toronto Blue Jays: Interesting Facts

The Toronto Blue Jays are Canada’s only Major League Baseball (MLB) team since the Montreal Expos moved in 2005. They started in 1977 and have some cool things to know about them:

  1. World Series Wins: They won the World Series in 1992 and 1993, making them the first team outside the USA to win.
  2. Rogers Centre: This is where they play. It was the first stadium with an open-and-closed roof. There’s even a hotel with rooms that look out onto the field.
  3. Only Team in Canada: They were the second MLB team in Canada, but now they’re the only one since the Expos left.
  4. Famous Players: Players like Roberto Alomar have played for the Blue Jays and are in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
  5. A Big Home Run: Joe Carter hit a super important home run in 1993 that won the World Series. It was a big deal and is very famous.
  6. Retired Numbers: They’ve retired Roberto Alomar’s #12 and Roy Halladay’s #32. Roy Halladay was an amazing pitcher who sadly died in a plane crash.
  7. Mascot: Their mascot is Ace, and they used to have another one named Junior.
  8. First Game: Their first game was in 1977, and they won against the Chicago White Sox.
  9. First Division Title: They won their first division title in 1985 and were strong in the late ’80s and early ’90s.
  10. Famous Bat Flip: Jose Bautista did a famous bat flip in 2015 after hitting a home run that helped win a playoff game. It became a big talk point.

The Toronto Blue Jays have a long history, with two World Series wins, famous players, and memorable moments that fans in Canada and around the world love.

Font and Colors

Toronto Blue Jays emblem

Almost all emblems supplement the bird with a ball, reflecting the club’s sports orientation and its connection with baseball. The only exceptions are the modern version and 2004-2011, where there is a blue jay but no ball. The same can be said about the maple leaf, which is missing only in one logo. In the other five cases, it is present as a background, on the hand of an anthropomorphic character, or on the head.

Having changed several options, the team’s management recognized that the debut emblem turned out to be the most successful. They returned to it in 2012-2019, later developing a minimalist version. The most sensational logo belongs to 2003, where an anthropomorphic blue jay with a bat in its hands peeks out from behind a huge letter “T.”

Toronto Blue Jays Symbol

The font used in the Toronto Blue Jays branding is similar to ITC Elan Bold, a glyphic font with serifs proposed by Albert Boton. Despite the difference in proportions of some characters, the similarity is traced in the design of the serifs. In other years, the font was double, chopped, and italic.

The official palette of the baseball club is stable, so all versions contain two shades of blue (Royal and Navy), white and red. Yellow color also appeared in 2003.

Toronto Blue Jays color codes

Royal BlueHex color:#134a8e
RGB:18 75 141
CMYK:100 81 13 3
Pantone:PMS 293
Navy BlueHex color:#1d2d5c
RGB:30 46 92
CMYK:100 68 0 54
Pantone:PMS 282 C
RedHex color:#e8291c
RGB:231 44 37
CMYK:0 100 63 12
Pantone:PMS 485 C

FAQ

Who developed the original Blue Jays logo?

The graphic studio Savage Sloan, Ltd developed the first Blue Jays logo. But all ideas came from Richard Walker, who was an employee of the Labatt Brewing Company. He insisted that the symbol be round, contain a maple leaf, and have a red-white-blue color palette. Artist Paco Belsue helped him develop the concept. Don McDougall and Dave Savage also contributed to the logo’s development.

When did the Blue Jays change their logo?

The Blue Jays received a new logo in 2020. Before that, it had changed its graphic symbol several times: in 1997, 2003, 2004, and 2012. Most versions were similar, as they contained the head of a blue jay, a maple leaf, a baseball, and the team name.

Did the Toronto Blue Jays change their logo?

Yes, the Toronto Blue Jays franchise recently updated its visual style. In 2020, the main and alternate logos were swapped, and now the team depicts a minimalist jay head and a maple leaf icon.

Who owns the Toronto Blue Jays?

Originally, the sports team was owned by the Belgian brewing company Labatt Brewing Company (45%). Since 2000, the owner of the Toronto Blue Jays has been Rogers Communications Inc., the Canadian media company.