The Saginaw Spirit are a major junior ice hockey team based in Saginaw, Michigan, competing in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The team’s primary logo depicts an American bald eagle with the colors of the Stars and Stripes along its neck, positioned above the words “Saginaw Spirit.”[1]
Design and History
The Saginaw Spirit joined the OHL in 2002. The team’s original color scheme is documented as Midnight blue, red, silver, white, and yellow.[2] The uniform scheme has been described as similar to that previously used by the U.S.A. national team.[1]
In 2011, the team unveiled a special logo for its 10th-anniversary season. Spirit President and Managing Partner Craig Goslin said in a press release that the logo was the fifth incarnation of the Spirit brand, and was in addition to the three primary logos the team had used.[3] The anniversary logo featured the Spirit eagle backed by wings forming the Roman numeral “X” to signify ten years of Spirit hockey.[4]
For the 2016-17 season, the Spirit revealed a 15th-anniversary logo. The design incorporated the team’s original color scheme of Midnight blue, red, silver, white, and yellow, with Roman numerals: the blue crossing sticks created an “X” and the red background conveyed a “V,” spelling out 15. The inaugural year of 2002 appeared in white on the left stick and 2017 on the right stick.[2] The team displayed the anniversary logo on their helmets for the 2016-17 season.[5]
Meaning and Symbolism
The eagle in the primary logo carries stars-and-stripes patterning, reflecting the team’s American identity as one of the OHL’s U.S.-based franchises. In 2012, when the Spirit unveiled a new third jersey, the shoulder patch featured a variation of the team’s 5th-anniversary logo from 2007-08. That logo combined the eagle from the Spirit primary logo, complete with stars-and-stripes, with a maple leaf in the background, honoring both the United States, where the team plays its home games, and Canada, where the league is based.[6]
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