Although the tiger has been the highlight of the Detroit Tigers logo for almost half a century since 1957, the team eventually got rid of it.
There were many versions of the logo created for the Detroit Tigers baseball club during its history, but most of the emblem featured different interpretations of the letter “D” in classic blue color. Though there were also several interesting badges with the image of a tiger, the club’s mascot, and finally the modern view on the Tigers’ visual identity, introduced in 1994, which became truly iconic, got replaced in 2006.
The very first logo for Detroit Tigers was introduced in 1901 and featured a red silhouette of a tiger, standing on all four legs. The image was outlined in black and usually placed on a white background for better contrast.
In 1903 the club starts using a completely different concept for its visual identity and makes a blue capital letter “D” its symbol. The letter was executed in a handwritten typeface with two rounded and slightly curved serif on its vertical bar.
The redesign of 1904 brought a slightly renewed color palette and a gothic style to the letter “D” from the club’s logo. The new shade of blue was lighter and more intense, evoking a sense of professionalism and expertise, while the sleek curved lines of the gothic typeface added elegance and confidence.
The contours of the letter were emboldened and refined in 1908. The tails of the “D”s vertical bar were shortened, though the right part of the letter now got a thicker line, which gave a more solid and serious look to the Detroit Tigers emblem.
The emblem, created for the club in 1916 featured another representation of the letter “D” — a medium-weight strict typeface with clean lines and slightly elongated serifs with distinct square cuts. The color palette remained untouched and still was composed of a blue and white combination.
The redesign of 1917 brings back the ornate gothic style of the lettering to the Detroit Tigers’ visual identity, writing its blue “D” in smooth elongated lines again. The color palette was still the same, but the contours of the emblem slightly differed from the two previously introduced gothic badges.
The wishbone “D” was adopted as the club’s logo in 1918 and stayed with the Tigers for two years. It was a boldly and smoothly executed letter with rounded ends of the bars and sharp sort elements in the middle of two verticals. The blue and white color scheme remained the same.
The logo, created for Detroit Tigers in 1921 is one of the most long-lasting visual identity versions of the club, as it was reused twice after its introduction. The refined and cleaned gothic “D” had its palette elevated to a calmer shade of blue, which evokes a sense of royalty and nobility. As for the lines of the letter, they were modernized and looked elegant and stylish, having their ends sharpened and angles softened.
In 1927 the club decided to create something new, and this is when the orange tiger’s head appears in their badges. It was a slightly amateurish drawing with the animal in ¾ and its mouth opened. The color palette of the image featured three shades — muted yet dark orange, deep blue, and white for accents.
The experiment with the tiger’s head didn’t last long, and already in 1929, the club introduced a new version of their logo. It was not completely new, as was fully based on the emblem created in 1921, though some changes were made. The dark blue gothic “D” was outlined in orange, representing the main color of the club’s mascot animal and making the logo more energetic and playful.
In 1930 the outline was removed from the logo and the emblem simply repeated its version from 1921. Clean, strict, and elegant “D” represented Detroit Tigers’ professionalism, confidence, and progress.
From 1931 till 1933 the club used its logo version, created in 1916, a straight geometric “D” with medium-thickness lines and distinct cuts of the edges. It was a good change after so many gothic-style badges, used by Detroit Tigers, and reflected its stability and seriousness.
The redesign of 1934 brought a bright graphical badge to the club’s visual identity. It was a solid black circular emblem with a yellow image of the tiger’s head. The animal was looking straight and had its mouth open, with a bright red tongue. This badge stayed with the Detroit Tigers for almost thirty years.
The club introduced its new emblem in 1961 and this colorful and modern badge stayed with the team for another thirty years. The new logo was composed of an orange and blue drawing of a tiger’s head enclosed into a thick circular frame in blue. The “Detroit Tigers” inscription in white was placed around the frame’s perimeter and executed in a bold and modern sans-serif typeface.
In 1994 Detroit Tigers mixed their mascot image with the iconic gothic “D”. The animal was coming out of the letter and featured a range and blue color palette with some white accents. As for the letter, it had a thin double blue and white outline.
The club brings back its emblem from 1921 in 2006, keeping it for almost a decade. The stylish and professionally executed gothic “D” in a calm yet the dark shade of blue has been a perfect representation of the club’s values and professionalism.
In 2016 Detroit Tigers refine their logo once again, and the gothic “D” gains elongated and pointed lines, which are slightly curved, adding elegance, playfulness, and charm to the sharp team’s visual identity.
The Detroit Tigers logo features a typeface resembling an old English one.
While the official colors of the Detroit Tigers team are midnight navy blue, orange, and white, the logo features only the blue and the white. Orange disappeared from the emblem together with the tiger.