Super League clubs that have changed their logo
The talk of Leeds this week has been the decision of the city’s football team to change their club logo, to much derision from fans.
So we’ve had a look at Super League clubs who have done the same since the start of the summer era.
Warrington Wolves
In July 2015, Warrington made a change from their old wolfhead logo to something a little more modern that also captured a desire to make the club’s traditional “The Wire” nickname more prominent. Led by then chief executive Roger Draper, it was introduced as part of a major re-branding exercise throughout the club which involved fan consultation.
The only problem was, as it was introduced mid-season, all kits and merchandise still carried the old logo for a good six months afterwards. Plus, given the success the Wolves had enjoyed since their move to the Halliwell Jones Stadium in 2004, a lot of free promotion around the town became out of date overnight.
Widnes Vikings
After rescuing the club from administration at the end of 2007, Steve O’Connor launched an ambitious future for the Vikings by scrapping their old Viking head logo, which had been designed by a fan at the start of the summer era, and replacing with a modern but generic Viking boat style logo, initially carried without the club name.
It signified the start of a new era for Widnes, and although it started with disappointment as they missed out on a Super League licence in 2008, they have at least been able to build back towards being a stable top flight club within a decade.
Hull FC
More of an enforced change this one. Having adopted the Hull Sharks moniker from the start of the Super League era in 1996, a merger with Gateshead in 1999 meant a return to the traditional Hull FC name, and of course a new logo which has stuck ever since.
Catalans Dragons
You may have forgotten the first Catalans Dragons logo which barely lasted more than a season after the club entered Super League in 2006. It carried reference to the two clubs which merged to form the club back in 2000 – XIII Catalan and AS Saint Esteve. The Dragons were initially called Union Treiziste Catalane before they entered the process for a Super League franchise.
Salford Red Devils
Salford are now on their third club logo of the new era, adopting a new brand for the 2018 season having previously already changed in 2013. That change was brought about by a decision to change name from Salford City Reds to Salford Red Devils.
The most recent change, following the departure of Marwan Koukash, ditches the angry devil and includes many features relevant to Salford as a city and the community, signifying a new start.
Wakefield Trinity
Another club with three different logos in recent memory is Wakefield, who adopted the first of the above in 1999 when they rebranded to Wildcats. In 2012, it was modernised and the name Trinity, with the symbol, was added and then when the club did a rebrand to drop the Wildcats from their name at the start of 2017, a new logo was introduced once again.
There are of course plenty of logos from prior to the summer era that represented clubs above and beyond.
What club logos do you miss? And are the clubs above better off having changed? Let us know in the comments below.
