Year of creation for Block M?

Submitted by umich1 on

After reading about all of the response to MSU's proposed and rejected new Spartan logo, I was curious when the block M became an official logo of the school?

I read Sparty started the 'chickenhead' back in the 70s.

aaamichfan

February 7th, 2010 at 2:08 PM ^

Has anyone ever noticed the M's on he high corners of the exterior of Yost? I think those are the best(other than the traditional block M), and they should put those exact ones on the exterior of all new construction.

Does anyone have a picture of that M design?

SAvoodoo

February 7th, 2010 at 2:32 PM ^

The better question is what day? And the answer is 1...I think the quote is "Let there be Michigan, the Block M, and all else that is good. Oh, and light." Something like that, I'm no scholar...

Yostal

February 7th, 2010 at 2:34 PM ^

If you ever get a chance to read Don Canham's autobiography ~From the Inside~, you get a tremendous amount of insight into how Canham turned Michigan's athletic program into a money machine. One of the things he looked at was merchandising and licensing. He said that we they applied for a number of trademarks in the late 1970s, they were shocked to learn that they were able to get the Block M trademarked without a fight. So, as a trademarked logo, it's history dates back to the 1970s. In it's use, that's a different issue.

The Split M (the Block M with Michigan through the middle), likely dates back to the 1980s.

umich1

February 7th, 2010 at 2:35 PM ^

You are all very funny, but at least the Yost example proves the Block M in principle existed back in 1923...that narrows the timeframe somewhat.

Section 1

February 7th, 2010 at 4:56 PM ^

slender M that is in the center of the Diag and on Yost.

I saw the early architects' detail plans for the football stadium additions, and they featured that more-slender "M"; in fact, it was surprising to me how prominent it was. It is going to be interesting if it goes ahead per the plans. It is kind of elegant on something like architecural details. I don't think it is an accident, and some architect might know more about it.

Wisconsin has a whole hodgepodge of "W's." They call the slender one "the crest," or "the academic W." The one that Alavarez stole/purchased/copied and put on their football helmets is "the motion W." They have had a bunch of other funky logoing on their helmets and the band uniforms over the years:
http://www.nationalchamps.net/Helmet_Project/

(Go to BIG TEN link on the left margin, and then scroll down to Wisconsin.)