There’s a nice piece in the Wall Street Journal on the origin of the MLB logo. WSJ reporter David Davis interviews the logo creator Jerry Dior.
Dior dispels the common myth that the silhouette man in the logo is modeled after Harmon Killebrew:
His son once heard a radio broadcaster say that Minnesota Twins slugger Harmon Killebrew served as his model for the logo. Mr. Dior’s response: "That’s completely untrue. It’s not Harmon Killebrew. It’s not anyone in particular."
No doubt the logo has a great presence. We see it on printed material, the MLB web site, pretty much anything that’s branded by the organization. Dior’s doesn’t collect royalties on the logo nor does he expect any. He would like some public recognition from the organization, though.
Mr. Dior says that he would be grateful for official credit, if only to share his hardball legacy with his four children and four grandchildren. "Just to be recognized as the person who came up with the logo," he said, "that would be great. It’s what I’m most proud of in my entire career as an illustrator."
Considering the prominence of the logo (I mean I click on that sucker countless times a week), that’s the least they can do.