Cubs or MLB May Have Made Minor Change to Logo on Home Unis
This is what it’s come to, folks, we’re covering the possibility that the Cubs may have done away with the tiny trademark symbol on the bullseye logo of their home jerseys. This comes from Paul Lukas of Uni Watch, who did a deep dive into the potential removal of the “circle-R” mark that’s been just to the lower-right of the big C since 1979. That addition was a choice by the Cubs as a means by which to protect their brand, according to team historian Ed Hartig.
The absence of the symbol was first noticed by eagle-eyed fans in an ad for the 2024 Nike Vapor Limited jersey, so Lukas felt obliged to do some research. While he was not able to arrive at a definitive conclusion, the resultant information is fascinating even if it’s a bit esoteric. If you go through updates to the original piece, you’ll find that the trademark symbol has not appeared on the Cubs’ holiday uniforms because those colorways are not covered by said trademark.
So was this something the Cubs opted to change for the sake of aesthetics or something else?
“Think you should go through the league on this one,” media relations rep Jason Carr told Lukas. “Sounds like the league worked directly with Nike/Fanatics. If I get any more clarity in the meantime, I’ll let you know.”
I’m not much of a traditionalist when it comes to other league-mandated changes like adding the Nike Swoosh to the right breast or putting the New Era logo on caps. Though I do cheer for laundry, it’s only so much as the uniforms represent the team. That said, I’m with Lukas on the idea of what the little symbol sort of represented in a weird way.
In the abstract, yeah. Trademark symbols are obnoxious and unattractive, and I certainly wouldn’t want to live in a world where every team used them on their uniforms. But there was something endearing about the Cubs’ symbol — a little glitch in the matrix, sort of like the Tigers’ mismatched cap and jersey logos. Even though we’re better off without it, a certain part of me will miss it.
The Cubs were alone when it came to having a trademark symbol directly on their uniform logo, so that’s kind of a cool little badge of honor. Literally. And maybe they still will have it because this could just be a digital snipe hunt in which a bunch of uber-nerds got a little riled up over nothing, which is kind of par for the course this offseason.
Jerseys worn by the coaching staff and players at Cubs Convention all had the symbol, though perhaps those were all based on the 2023 style guide. We should know one way or the other soon enough because official team photos will be happening in about three weeks.
