Atlanta Falcons Archives - The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

May162014 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Pennant Fever #3: 1966 Atlanta Falcons

Since their founding in 1966, the Atlanta Falcons have maintained a fairly consistent brand identity. Sure, colors change and logos are modified, but the basic look has remained intact. So that's why I was surprised to see this pennant on eBay, purportedly from the team's inaugural season. Almost nothing from this pennant seems to have found its way into the team's branding, apart from the shade of red. That makes me wonder if this wasn't produced before the logo and wordmark for the team was ever made public. I don't know what the lead time was for pennant manufacturing but I'm guessing this is the case. Another possible explanation is that this was a prototype logo that lost out to the now-familiar one. Either way, it's another fascinating piece of 1960s NFL memorabilia. ...

Jul262013 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Retired NFL Jersey Numbers: NFC South

Football Friday, Sports

Since it’s the off-season I thought I’d start a fun project involving NFL history. So I’m going to go division by division and post galleries of football cards (when available) featuring all NFL players who have had their jersey numbers retired by their teams. This week it’s the four squads of the NFC South — the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Previous galleries: AFC East, NFC East, AFC North, NFC North, AFC South Atlanta Falcons (0) The Falcons do not retire jersey numbers, but in 2004 they established their own Ring of Honor for former players. The inductees to date are Steve Bartkowski, Deion Sanders, William Andrews, Jeff Van Note, Jessie Tuggle, Tommy Nobis, Mike Kenn, and Claude Humphrey. Carolina Panthers (1) #51 -- Sam M...

Jan42013 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

The 10 Longest Active Super Bowl/Championship Droughts in NFL History

Football Friday, Sports

(Note: Totals are accurate through the end of the 2014 NFL regular season.) It seems like training camp just opened, and we've already put another NFL regular season in the books. But now I want to turn my attention to the unfortunates -- the teams that haven't won a National Football League title since I've even been alive. While there are some pretty good franchises on this list, it's mostly a collection of clubs that have come to represent football futility for most. Unlike the other major American sports leagues, the NFL has seen fit to establish a clear distinction between the pre- and post-Super Bowl eras. I have never bought into that line of thinking, and so I count Super Bowls, NFL championships, and AFL championships equally. If you think that's bunk, I'm not going to try t...

Nov22012 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Football Friday — Vintage NFL Team Media Guides and Yearbooks, Part 1

Football Friday, Sports

Thanks to Hurricane Sandy, there almost wasn't a Football Friday post this week. But I couldn't let that happen to you, my faithful fans and readers. But I will compromise and just give you a gallery of some classic NFL team media guide/yearbook covers. Consider this a preview of the next permanent section of the main site; a sister gallery to my AFL game program exhibit if you will. (more…)

Aug242012 by Chris Holmes2 Comments

The Best and Worst NFL Logos (NFC South)

Sports

With the 2012 National Football League season nearly upon us, now is as good a time as any to obsess once again on one of my favorite topics — logos. So I’m going to offer up my choices for the best and worst NFL logos for all 32 current NFL franchises. Primary, alternate, and helmet logos listed on Chris Creamer’s outstanding logo website are all under consideration. Today I look at the four squads of the NFC’s South division. Previous entries: AFC East, NFC East, AFC North, NFC North, AFC South Atlanta Falcons Best I totally understand why Falcons fans supported the team's image update several years ago. Let's face it, the franchise didn't exactly have a lot of glory years with the old look. But I have to be consistent in my love of tradition and pick the team's original falcon...