The CFL has a rich history worth celebrating, so we’ve decided to do just that by ranking all 70 primary team and league logos in a four-part series.
12 persons – 11 3downnation The contributors – along with CFL podcaster Greg McCulloch, a professional graphic designer – graded each logo separately on a scale of 1 to 10. These scores were averaged to create final rankings that we will unveil over time. Each of the CFL’s nine markets was represented by at least one voter.
Most of these photos came courtesy of SportsLogos.netHowever others were obtained directly from the teams or elsewhere online. An attempt was made to obtain a high-resolution image of each logo, although this proved impossible for some older logos. To keep things neutral, all logos were presented on a plain white background.
Please note that these rankings only include primary logos – not secondary logos, specialty logos, or wordmarks. We’ve only included teams that have actually played CFL games – sorry, Atlantic Schooners and Miami Manatees.
Without further ado, here are all 70 primary CFL logos: Ranked.
70. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1959–65)
The golden boy was visible from Osbourne Stadium, the former home of the Blue Bombers, although this logo was not revealed until after the venue was demolished, which is strange timing. This early symbol looks less like a logo and more like poorly preserved frescoes from Pompeii. Simply put, it deserved to be burned in lava rather than represent a historic franchise.
69. Ottawa Rough Riders (1950–60)
Congratulations to the grade four student whose absent-minded doodle became Ottawa’s primary logo for a decade! Despite being full of flaws and looking like it was created on Microsoft Paint decades before this was possible, this logo’s biggest crime is ambiguity. Are these considered pure shields, leaves, footballs, or something else? We hope we never find out.
68. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1936–58)
A word of advice to mid-century Winnipeggers: When designing a winning logo, you need to do more than slap your city’s coat of arms on a football. This old school icon is simultaneously too busy and too dull, with no creative talent to make it memorable. Finally, it’s strange that this logo had been representing the Blue Bombers for over 20 years.
67. Toronto Argonauts (1989–90)
It’s more of a wordmark than a logo – and it’s not a particularly good one either. Harry Ornest, who owned the team for this two-year period, unofficially changed the club from “Argonauts” to “Argos” before reversing this decision in 1991. For a team with some of the best logos in the league, this is complete and utter bullshit.
66. Ottawa Rough Riders (1992–93)
What do flames have to do with the Rough Riders? Your guess is as good as ours. This logo is an unmitigated disaster, reminiscent of something a lame hot sauce brand would put on one of their labels. Unless you’re selling ‘Rectum Reaper’ bottles, less is more with double the bucks. This logo was one of several disastrous missteps for Ottawa during the 1990s.
65. BC Lions (1967–77)
When asking someone to design your logo, you should probably make sure that they have actually seen the animal you use as a mascot. While many fail to recognize that BC is depicted by a mountain lion, most people looking at this image would have to squint their eyes to recognize it as resembling any type of feline. At first glance, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s a wombat with a face tattoo.
64. Saskatchewan Roughriders (1951–65)
We’re sorry, Plains people: wheat is boring. A few stalks of stuff placed behind a strange colorless football are particularly boring. This logo made everyone yawn for 15 years – which is probably why riders never won anything using it.
63. Sacramento Gold Miners
The Gold Miners had one of the boldest color schemes ever seen in the CFL, but their primary logo was somewhat bland. Uniformly aqua with splashes of gold, this logo would have benefited from a lot more contrast and a team name that wouldn’t partially interrupt the action.
62. Ottawa Rough Riders (1994)
An almost identical version of this logo was created in 1995, replacing the dark purple with black. Although those changes did not popularize the symbol, they were an improvement over this overwrought mess.
61. Montreal Alouettes (1946–69)
After a few real disasters to start this list, we’re officially starting to reach respectable territory. That said, the logo looks like something a charity would use to raise money for newborn care. It’s not bad but it’s too cartoonish and delicate to strike fear in the hearts of opponents.
60. Edmonton football team (1930–69)
More wheat! what a joy. This time, at least, it’s been transported to the back seat of an oil derrick and has some wordmarks draped over a sharp shield. This logo doesn’t live up to modern standards but it’s better than most of the vintage logos on this list.
59. Calgary Stampeders (1987–95)
Someone should have told the Stampeders that having your logo on the helmet is completely unnecessary. It is the first of six different Calgary emblems depicting the same horse – two of which have it placed on a helmet.
58. Ottawa Rough Riders (1995–96)
This is the second version of the logo that the Rough Riders debuted in 1994, and while it’s certainly an upgrade from the first, it’s also a symbol of a franchise that was in danger. The fanatical log driver was braving his death over white water.
57. Calgary Stampeders (1972–86)
Another horse on the helmet. Great. This time, the helmet is a little more vintage, which was appropriate for the time. Anyway, this logo is nothing to write home about.
56. Edmonton Football Team (1996–97)
For a short time, Edmonton changed its logo to depict its polar bear mascot Nanook wearing a green and gold poncho-like suit. Looking back, it is easy to see why this change did not last long. At least the punter anthropomorphic football wasn’t stuck at the top either.
55. Montreal Alouettes (1996–99)
The Alouettes debuted a bold new design when the team relocated from Baltimore. This symbol is definitely more intimidating than Montreal’s first logo but it’s still awfully cartoonish. If it were on a cereal box, it wouldn’t look out of place in the children’s aisle.
54. Ottawa Rough Riders (1961–74)
We’re only a quarter of the way through this list and it’s already Ottawa’s fifth logo. However, it raises many questions, as it depicts a “raw rider” – a ranchhand capable of breaking horses. This makes no sense since it is generally accepted that the Rough Riders were named after a unit of the Spanish–American War.
53. Montreal Concordes (1982–85)
The colors here are bright and bold – and very reminiscent of the Montreal Expos – but the proportions of this logo are very different. Why is this logo twice as wide as it is tall? Your guess is as good as ours.
52. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1966–67)
This short-lived symbol marked the first use of blue and gold in a Winnipeg logo, which looks crazy. Colored printing was not always what it is now, but this team had the word “blue” in its name for 30 years before the color appeared in its logo.
51. Ottawa Renegades (2002–05)
This logo is essentially two in one: a giant wordmark at the top and an actual logo at the bottom. The problem is that none of the components are very good. The wordmark looks like a template that came stock with PowerPoint, while the bandit carrying the football looks like something that belongs in the XFL.
Tune in again tomorrow for Logos 50 to 31.
Post Ranking every primary CFL logo of all time (70-51) first appeared on 3downnation,
