So just who did create the ubiquitous MLB logo? Jerry Dior, as per The Wall Street Journal? Or James Sherman, as in this ESPN piece?
Seems like a no-brainer after this exchange between Sherman and ESPN’s Paul Lucas, who writes the always-entertaining and observant Uniwatch blog.
Then I asked an innocuous question that changed everything:
Uni Watch: Just out of curiosity, how old are you?
James Sherman: Sixty.
UW: Wow, so you were just 20 years old when you designed the logo.
JS: No, I had to be at least 30.
UW: But the logo was designed in 1968. It had to be, because it debuted in the 1969 season. It was worn on every major league uniform that year.
JS: Really? Then I didn’t do it. I couldn’t have. Are you sure about this?
To show Sherman what I meant, I e-mailed him a few images from 1969, including the cover of the Mets’ yearbook (note the MLB logo at lower-right) and photos showing players wearing the logo on their sleeves or elsewhere. He called me back a few minutes later.
“That’s not my logo, and I was totally unaware that it existed,” he said. “The logo I created was very similar, but I designed it in the early 1980s. All I can say is that I was so sports-unaware that I didn’t know about the earlier logo. I feel like a total idiot now that I didn’t know about it. I’m flabbergasted.”
That should be the end of it, but Lucas continues the investigation.
What happened to the logo Sherman designed? Was it really so similar to the familiar MLB mark? If so, why would MLB pay him a hundred grand — or even a hundred cents — for a design so similar to something they already had?
Those questions are still unanswered, although an MLB spokesman is checking to see if there are any records of Sherman’s work. Meanwhile, Sherman is doing his best to set the record straight. He’s updated his portfolio and is trying to correct any published accounts that tie him to the MLB logo. He’s also sought out Dior (“We had a pleasant, quite amiable conversation”), who says he has no hard feelings.
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