SC Telstar, the Dutch professional football club based in Velsen-IJmuiden, carries one of the more distinctive visual identities in Dutch football. Founded on 17 July 1963 through the merger of the professional sections of local rivals VSV and Stormvogels, the new club was named after the recently launched communications satellite Telstar 1.[1] The club’s official website confirms the club went by the name Stormvogels Telstar between 2001 and 2008, after which the merger was dissolved and the club returned to the Telstar name.[2]
Design and History
The Telstar crest was designed by Jack Zwart, whose father Henk Zwart, a board member, commissioned him to create the emblem.[3] The design depicts the Telstar satellite merged with a flaming torch, set against a background that incorporates the colors of both founding clubs: red for VSV and blue for Stormvogels.[3] A regional Dutch newspaper report confirms that Jack Zwart designed the logo roughly 63 years ago and that his design remains the exact emblem worn on the club’s white shirt more than six decades later.[4]
The current badge is a tall diamond-shaped crest split into blue on the left and red on the right, with a large golden sunburst at the center whose rays extend across both halves. Rising out of the sun is a stylized golden torch with a red flame, while a white diagonal banner across the middle bears the word “TELSTAR,” with the numerals “19” and “63” at the lower corners.[5]
Meaning and Symbolism
The club’s name and emblem both reference the Telstar communications satellite, which was launched in 1962 and enabled the first live transatlantic television transmission.[3] The founders saw the satellite as a fitting symbol of connection between two continents, mirroring the union of VSV and Stormvogels into a single club.[3] The torch and sunburst elements reinforce themes of signal, light and transmission associated with the satellite that gave Telstar its name.[5]
The red and blue halves of the crest preserve the colors of the two founding clubs, with red representing VSV and blue representing Stormvogels.[3] The club’s all-white home uniform, which gave rise to the nickname “De Witte Leeuwen” (the White Lions), was first worn on 7 August 1963 in a training match against DWS.[3]
Logo Index is an independent educational archive covering logos, visual identities and graphic design history. All trademarks and brand assets remain the property of their respective owners.
