Portland Pirates Celebrate 20 Years

Over the weekend, I wrote up a post outlining the variety of theme jerseys the AHL will see this season. During my research, I discovered the that Portland Pirates have already worn their share of creative sweaters for this season.

Pirates mark 20th anniversary with special logo and jersey

The Pirates were actually founded in Pennsylvania in 1975 as the Erie Blades. In 1982, they moved to Maryland and became the Baltimore Skipjacks. Then in 1993, the club arrived in Portland, Maine. That's the anniversary the Pirates are celebrating this season.

So they needed a logo. But the final version you see above didn't just happen. As with any logo, a lot of options were created and considered. In fact, a member of the team that designed the mark has given us a peek inside the process. Scott Lyle posted these photos on his blog.

Photos by Scott Lyle

Lyle also lists these other members of the design team: Adriana Warner, Alyssa Harvey, Christopher Moore, Kelsey Raymond, Lucy Henson, Paige Wojcukiewicz, Rachel Carter, and Sheyenne Rivers.

That project also included designing this colorless 20th anniversary sweater.

Rendering from Portland Pirates (official Facebook)

I'm not sure why they decided to drop the red — a key part of the Pirates' color palette for all of its 20 years. Might've made this jersey stand out a little bit more.

Throwback and Pink in the Rink theme night jerseys

Earlier this season, the Pirates held a couple of theme nights that saw them wearing special uniforms.

On Sat., Oct. 27, it was Pink in the Rink, their sixth annual Breast Cancer Awareness Night. Naturally, the players had their pink-infused jerseys on. What's funny is it also happened to be Boy Scout Night.

Photo credits: AHL official Facebook page (left); Pirates official Facebook page (right)

Then a week later, on Fri., Nov. 2, it was Throwback Jersey Night. The Pirates brought back the 20-year-old sweaters from their inaugural season in Portland. I kind of miss the simplicity of old logos like that.

Happy Holidays from the Pirates

That about wraps up today's coverage of the Pirates. Now I'd just like to leave you with this.