The Chicago Cubs logo is one of the most recognized marks in all of professional sports. It’s been around, in one form or another, since the early 1900s. And it still works.
That’s the thing about this particular emblem. While other MLB franchises have gone through total brand overhauls every decade or so, the Cubs have kept the same basic concept for over a century: a bold red “C” with “UBS” tucked inside it, sitting in a blue circle. Simple. Clean. Familiar.
The current version has been the team’s primary mark since 1979, making it one of the longest-running logos in baseball team logos history. The franchise itself traces back to 1870 as the Chicago White Stockings and was a charter member of the National League in 1876. Across all those years and name changes (White Stockings, Colts, Orphans, Cubs), the club has used 16 primary logos. Some featured bears. Some were just text. But most of them came back to that “C.”
Within the larger picture of MLB brand identity, the Cubs logo sits alongside a handful of other timeless marks, like the New York Yankees logo and the Los Angeles Dodgers logo, as examples of how restraint and consistency build long-term recognition.
What Is the Chicago Cubs Logo?
The Chicago Cubs logo is a red “C” wrapped around blue “UBS” letters inside a royal blue ring, so one mark spells both the city’s initial and the team name. The current version dates from 1979, a bolder update of the 1957 roundel, and no individual designer has been publicly credited for it.
| Symbol | Red “C” with “UBS” inside, framed by a royal blue circle (the “bullseye” roundel) |
| Designer/agency | Not publicly credited |
| Current version since | 1979 |
| Colors (hex) | Blue #0E3386, red #CC3433, white #FFFFFF (widely cited reference values) |
| Typeface | Custom lettering, not a retail font |
| Previous major version | 1957–1978: the same “C-UBS” design inside a thinner blue circle |
The mark is a registered trademark of the club, owned by the Ricketts family since 2009 and licensed through Major League Baseball. You’ll see it on caps, uniforms, Wrigley Field signage, merchandise and broadcast graphics.
How Has the Chicago Cubs Logo Evolved Over Time?
SportsLogos.net, the most complete public record of team marks, lists 16 Cubs primary logos since 1903, plus one for the Chicago Orphans before that. The club started with an Old English “C,” added a bear cub in 1908, tried a plain wordmark, and in 1918 hit on the “C” with “UBS” inside that fans know today.
The journey from that first mark to the current one is actually pretty wild when you lay it all out.
The Chicago Orphans Era (1898-1902)
Years Active: 1898-1902 (logo recorded for 1900-1902)
Before they were the Cubs, the team went by the Chicago Orphans. The nickname came after the club let go of its longtime star and manager Adrian “Cap” Anson following the 1897 season, leaving a team without its leader.
The Orphans’ recorded mark was a simple letter “C.” Nothing fancy. Just a letter, and more of a functional identifier than a designed brand mark.
It set the tone, though. That “C” would become the foundation for nearly everything that followed.
Early Cubs Logos (1903-1907)
Years Active: 1903-1907
Chicago newspapers started calling the young team “the Cubs” in 1902, and the name stuck from 1903. The first Cubs logo (1903-1905) was a blue Old English “C,” and the next few seasons only changed the font style of the letter.
In 1906 the home uniforms carried a black serif “C.” In 1907 it became a black Tuscan-style “C.”
These were small refinements. But the 1907 version is notable because the Cubs won their first World Series that year. So there’s some sentimental value there, especially in vintage memorabilia circles.
The Bear Mascot Arrives (1908-1916)
Years Active: 1908-1916
This is where things got interesting. In 1908, for the first time, a bear appeared in the logo: a brown and beige bear cub holding a baseball bat inside a navy blue “C.”
The Cubs won back-to-back World Series titles in 1907 and 1908, so the bear became tied to the club’s golden era. By 1911, the bear had turned navy blue to match the “C,” creating a cleaner, more unified look.
Then in 1916, the year the Cubs moved into the ballpark now called Wrigley Field, the design flipped. A blue bear cub was drawn walking inside a red “C” with blue trim. The red-and-blue palette showed up here in a serious way.
Wordmark and the First “C-UBS” Concept (1917-1940)
Years Active: 1917-1940
1917 stripped everything back. No bear, no frame. Just “CHICAGO” arched in blue serif typography above “CUBS.” It lasted a single season.
The real turning point came in 1918. That’s when the team first put “UBS” inside a large “C” to spell out “CUBS.” It sounds obvious now, but this was the concept that would stick around for over a hundred years.
The 1918 version used a tan, squarish “C” with blue trim, worn on the road uniforms during that year’s pennant season. From 1919 to 1926 it became a red wishbone “C” with blue trim and “UBS” inside. Between 1927 and 1936 a blue cub replaced the letters inside the red wishbone “C.” In 1937 the “UBS” lettering returned.
The Angry Bear Interlude (1941-1945)
Years Active: 1941-1945
OK, this one was different. In 1941, the Cubs dropped the letter concept and made an aggravated brown-and-white bear cub face the primary logo. No “C,” no “UBS.” The uniforms, oddly, stayed blue and red.
Fans have mixed feelings about this era. Some love the raw energy of the bear. Others connect it with bad luck: the Billy Goat Curse dates to Game 4 of the 1945 World Series, the last season this logo was used, and the Cubs didn’t win another title for 71 years.
Coincidence? Obviously. But try telling that to Cubs fans who lived through the drought.
In 1946 the red “C” with “UBS,” now trimmed in white and royal blue, came back, with a small revision in 1948.
The Modern Foundation (1957-1978)
Years Active: 1957-1978
In 1957, the Cubs placed the red “C” and blue “UBS” inside a thin royal blue circle for the first time. Red, white, and blue. Clean lines.
This was the template. The circle gave the mark a more complete, finished quality compared to earlier versions, and it established the look that would carry the franchise forward.
The Current Chicago Cubs Logo (1979-Present)
Years Active: 1979-present
The 1979 update didn’t change the concept. It mainly made the blue ring much thicker, which gave the whole mark more weight.
And that was it. That version has been the primary logo for more than four decades. It was there through the lean years, through the Sammy Sosa era, through the 2003 heartbreak, and through the 2016 World Series win that broke the 108-year championship drought.
The fact that it has survived this long without a major revision says a lot about how well the basic design works.
What Do the Design Elements of the Chicago Cubs Logo Mean?
The club has never published an official explanation of the mark, but the structure is easy to read. The red “C” stands for Chicago. The “UBS” letters complete the team name. The blue circle frames it all, holding the composition together and giving it a badge-like quality that works on everything from caps to stadium signage.
But there’s more going on beneath the surface if you look closely.
What Are the Chicago Cubs Logo Colors?
The Cubs’ colors are blue, red, and white. The club hasn’t published official color codes, so the values below are the ones most widely cited by color references such as Team Color Codes.
Cubs Blue
- Hex: #0E3386
- Blue has been on Cubs uniforms in some form since 1901, when the team was still the Orphans, apart from a couple of early seasons. Fans searching “Cubs blue” usually mean this deep royal shade.
Cubs Red
- Hex: #CC3433
- Red became a lasting part of the logo in 1916. The color psychology usually attached to red (action, intensity) fits a sports brand, though the club itself has never framed it that way.
White
- Hex: #FFFFFF
- White fills the space inside the circle. It gives the red and blue room to breathe and keeps the mark from feeling heavy. Compared to teams that use black logos or darker schemes, the Cubs’ palette feels approachable.
The red, white and blue combination naturally reads as American, like many older MLB palettes, but there’s no record of the club choosing it to echo the flag.
Reference sites also list RGB, CMYK and Pantone matches for these colors (commonly PMS 294 C for the blue and PMS 186 C for the red), but those are third-party matches, not values published by the Cubs.
What Font Is Used in the Chicago Cubs Logo?
There’s no retail font behind the Cubs logo. The “C” and the “UBS” are custom-drawn lettering, and so are the blue “Cubs” script on the home jersey and the uniform numbers. Fan-made fonts named after the team exist, but they are imitations, not files released by the club. No exact free alternative is widely accepted either.
The letterforms are thick and compact, with no decoration, so they hold up whether they’re printed on a ticket stub or a scoreboard. In typeface terms, they sit closer to bold block capitals than to any delicate serif.
The “C” itself is nearly a full circle, with the opening on the right side just wide enough to fit the “UBS” inside. That tight spacing is part of what makes the mark so compact and recognizable from a distance.
What Are the Hidden Meanings in the Chicago Cubs Logo?
There’s no buried arrow like in the FedEx logo. But there’s a clever bit of wordplay built into the structure that most people take for granted.
The “C” does double duty. It stands for “Chicago” and it’s also the first letter of “Cubs.” Placing “UBS” inside completes the name while keeping the city reference. One letter, two meanings. That’s efficient design.
The circular frame gives the whole thing a seal-like quality, the kind of shape you’d see on a coin or an official stamp. Once you see it, the mark feels even more intentional.
How Does the Chicago Cubs Logo Compare to Competitor Logos?
In the National League Central, the Cubs logo holds its own through sheer simplicity. While the Milwaukee Brewers logo uses a clever glove-shaped monogram and the St. Louis Cardinals logo leans on its birds-on-bat image, the Cubs mark doesn’t try to be tricky. It just states the name and gets out of the way.
Across the broader MLB, the Cubs logo falls into a category with other letter-based marks like the Cincinnati Reds logo and the Minnesota Twins logo. These teams rely on strong logo typography and color rather than detailed illustrations.
What separates the Cubs from most of these is longevity. The “C-UBS” concept dates to 1918, and apart from the bear years it has led the identity ever since. Most competitors have gone through complete rebrands in that same window. The Houston Astros logo, for instance, has been through several totally different designs since the 1960s.
Even Chicago’s crosstown rival, the Chicago White Sox logo, has gone through more dramatic changes over the same period.
For anyone working with the logo digitally, the practical point is simple: a circular badge like this scales cleanly, so it reads well both as vector graphics for print and as a small JPEG or PNG measured in a few dozen pixels.
What Cultural Impact Has the Chicago Cubs Logo Had?
The Cubs logo goes well beyond baseball. It’s a Chicago identity marker. You’ll see it across the North Side, on murals in Wrigleyville, on tattoos, on bar signs, and on clothing worn by people who may not even follow the sport.
When the Cubs won the 2016 World Series after 108 years without a championship, that circular blue-and-red mark became a symbol of perseverance for an entire city. It showed up everywhere. News broadcasts, magazine covers, social media posts from people around the world.
The logo also carries weight in the vintage sportswear market, where older Cubs pieces are popular with collectors. The bear-era logos especially have a cult following.
Compared to other cultural sports marks like NBA logos or NFL logos, baseball logos tend to lean more traditional. The Cubs emblem is a strong example of that tradition holding real cultural power.
How Does the Chicago Cubs Logo Fit Into the Overall Brand Identity?
The primary logo doesn’t exist alone. It sits at the center of a larger visual system that includes the “C” cap insignia, the walking bear alternate mark, the jersey script, commemorative logos, and the City Connect designs. Each piece connects back to the main emblem’s colors.
Whatever internal brand guidelines the club uses aren’t public, but the result is visible. The same blue-red-white color palette runs through uniforms, Wrigley Field signage, the Marquee Sports Network broadcasts, and licensed merchandise. The brand feels consistent whether you’re watching on TV or walking through the stadium gates.
The alternate bear logo gives the Cubs flexibility for casual merchandise and younger fan outreach without diluting the primary mark. That kind of visual hierarchy between primary and secondary logos is something a lot of sports teams struggle with.
How Should the Chicago Cubs Logo Be Used?
This is general guidance, not rules published by the Cubs. The logo is a registered trademark, and MLB and the club actively protect team marks.
For commercial products, you need a license, which runs through MLB’s licensing arm. Editorial use, such as news coverage or an article like this one, is treated differently, but it still shouldn’t suggest the club endorses you.
If you do show the logo, use a clean, unaltered version: don’t stretch it, recolor it, or redraw it. Fan sites offer PNG and SVG copies, but they vary in accuracy.
FAQ on the Chicago Cubs Logo
What does the Chicago Cubs logo look like?
The current Cubs logo is a large red “C” with “UBS” in blue placed inside it, framed by a thick royal blue circle on a white background. The color palette is red, white, and blue, and this version has been in use since 1979.
Who designed the Chicago Cubs logo?
No individual designer has been publicly credited. The “C-UBS” concept first appeared in 1918 and was refined by the club over the decades, with the circle added in 1957 and thickened in 1979.
When was the first Chicago Cubs logo created?
The first Cubs logo, used from 1903 to 1905, was a blue Old English letter “C.” The franchise used a “C” before that as the Chicago Orphans, and the “C” with “UBS” inside dates to 1918.
How many times has the Cubs logo changed?
SportsLogos.net lists 16 Cubs primary logos since 1903. Some changes were small, like thickening the blue ring in 1979. Others were major, like replacing the letters with an angry bear cub face from 1941 to 1945.
What did the old Cubs logo look like?
The best-known old logo, used from 1957 to 1978, was nearly identical to today’s but had a much thinner blue circle. Earlier versions included a bear cub inside a “C” (1908-1916 and 1927-1936) and a brown bear face (1941-1945).
What font does the Chicago Cubs logo use?
The Cubs logo uses custom lettering, not a commercial sans-serif font or any other retail typeface. The jersey script and numbers are custom too. Fan-made “Cubs” fonts online are imitations.
What are the Chicago Cubs colors?
Blue, red, and white. The most widely cited hex values are #0E3386 for Cubs blue and #CC3433 for Cubs red. The club hasn’t published official color codes, so treat these as reference values.
Why is there a bear in some Chicago Cubs logos?
The bear first appeared in 1908 as a cub holding a baseball bat inside the letter “C.” It represents the team’s nickname directly. The bear left the primary logo after 1945 but lives on in the team’s walking bear alternate mark.
What is the difference between the Cubs primary logo and alternate logo?
The primary logo is the red “C” with “UBS” inside a blue circle. The best-known alternate logo is a walking bear cub. Both use the same Cubs blue and red, a complementary color scheme in practice.
Is the Chicago Cubs logo trademarked?
Yes. The logo is a registered trademark of the Chicago Cubs, licensed through Major League Baseball. Commercial use requires an official license.
Did the Cubs change their logo after winning the 2016 World Series?
No. The primary logo stayed the same after the 2016 championship. The team used commemorative World Series marks, but the 1979 roundel remained untouched.
Conclusion
The Chicago Cubs logo has earned its place among the most lasting marks in MLB history. Sixteen primary logos, a bear mascot, wishbone lettering, and decades of refinement all led to one clean circular emblem that fans at Wrigley Field recognize instantly.
It works because it never tried to do too much. A red “C,” blue letters, a white background. That’s it.
From vintage Cubs merchandise to modern jerseys, the logo design principles behind this mark show what happens when a team commits to simplicity and sticks with it. Few blue logos in sports carry this kind of history.
Sources
- SportsLogos.net, Chicago Cubs Logo History – https://www.sportslogos.net/logos/list_by_team/54/Chicago_Cubs/
- SportsLogos.net, Chicago Cubs 1941-1945 Primary Logo – https://www.sportslogos.net/logos/view/5490481941/Chicago-Cubs-Logo/1941/Primary-Logo
- SportsLogos.net, Chicago Cubs 1979-Present Primary Logo – https://www.sportslogos.net/logos/view/q9gvs07u72gc9xr3395u6jh68/Chicago-Cubs-Logo/1979/Primary-Logo
- Team Color Codes, Chicago Cubs Color Codes – https://teamcolorcodes.com/chicago-cubs-color-codes/
- Wikipedia, Chicago Cubs – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Cubs
Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients.
His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8.
He also wrote in the past years on sites like Design Your Way, WebDesignerDepot, WPDean, Designmodo, Speckyboy, Slider Revolution, and more.
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Bogdan Sandu is a seasoned designer who has been designing websites since 2008. Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients. His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8. He also wrote in the past years on sites like Design Your Way, WebDesignerDepot, WPDean, Designmodo, Speckyboy, Slider Revolution, and more.
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