Memphis Redbirds Unveil New Logo

The Memphis Redbirds are taking it back to Beale Street.

That was the message delivered on Wednesday at the team’s press conference announcing its new, reimagined logos for 2017. The team’s owner, Peter Freund, introduced the new artwork and merchandise on the concourse of AutoZone Park.

“Upon purchasing the Redbirds, our first priority was to reconnect as a local business operating in downtown Memphis,” said Freund, who purchased the team from the Cardinals in 2016. “In doing so, we felt we needed an authentic brand that represented not only the storied history of Memphis, but the heart of the city itself.”

Freund is also a minority owner of the Yankees, and his group, Trinity Baseball Holdings, also owns the Charleston RiverDogs and Williamsport CrossCutters.

Along with the new primary logo, which features neon sign-styled fonts and Rockey Redbird peering out from the top, Memphis also showed off its three jerseys at the press conference. Most notable was the powder blue alternate jersey, complete with Rockey--a lefthander--peering in to an unseen catcher waiting for the sign.

“Throughout this process, we wanted to create a brand that we could activate,” Memphis president Craig Unger said. “The new, more modern look pays homage to Memphis’ rich baseball heritage while keeping the connection to our St. Louis Cardinals affiliation. We have achieved this balance by maintaining the Redbirds name and color scheme, but also bringing back elements such as the music note ‘M’ from the 1970s.”

The musical note ‘M’ to which Unger referred was featured on the uniforms of the Memphis Blues, a Mets affiliate in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The redesign was the first the offseason to be helmed by Studio Simon, the group behind many minor league logos. Some of the firm’s other work includes the RiverDogs, Trenton Thunder, Tennessee Smokies, Hickory Crawdads and Bradenton Marauders.

The group’s head, Dan Simon, was on hand for the unveiling in Memphis.

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“We were tremendously excited when the Redbirds came to Studio Simon and asked us to work together with them to create a brand identity that celebrated Memphis in a manner that evoked the unique flavor of such an incredible city, one that is a destination in and of itself,” he said. “And to be able to marry that look with a nod to, and update of, one of the St. Louis Cardinals’ wonderful heritage logos was certainly delicious icing on the branding cake.”