Blackhawks, Bruins Release 2019 Winter Classic Logos

If the logos released today are any indication, the 2019 Winter Classic will be a throwback to the 1930s.

The Chicago Blackhawks were first to announce this morning, and it appears they are *finally* reaching back to their original look for a throwback uniform.

You’d be forgiven for not knowing this, based on how much the era has been ignored by the team, but the Chicago Blackhawks actually first entered the league wearing a uniform lacking any colour and a black-and-white logo on the chest, yes they were the original Brooklyn Nets! Just a white jersey with several black stripes for season one, the black-and-white were reversed for years two through eight… they were also known as the “Black Hawks”, two words, right up until the mid-80s, but that’s a lesson for another day.

The Black Hawks wore black-and-white uniforms from 1926-1934

Chicago Blackhawks 2019 Winter Classic Logo

The logo shown by Chicago is not an exact copy of what was used by the club for those first few seasons although it’s certainly the same idea. The Native American head that was originally used in the 1920s logo has been replaced with the modern Blackhawks logo, re-coloured to match the black-and-white design of the time, they’ve also eliminated the space between BLACK and HAWKS to reflect the de-spacening (not a word) the name underwent in 1986 .

The Boston Bruins followed up about half-an-hour later with their own unveiling, showing a large block “B” in black and gold. Unlike the Blackhawks, this design was not based on one from their first season but certainly from their early years, Boston wore a similar logo as a throwback uniform as part of the NHL’s 75th anniversary celebrations during the 1991-92 season. Boston originally wore the big block “B” in brown and gold beginning with the 1932-33 season, the brown was replaced with black in 1934 and the logo bounced back-and-forth between the front of the jersey and the sleeves right up until 1955.

Boston Bruins 2019 Winter Classic Logo

Oh, and also like the Blackhawks, this is a modern interpretation of the original logo, the “B” used here is from the current Bruins logo rather than what was worn originally in the 30s.

Things worth thinking about — the Boston Bruins also used this logo during a time when they wore giant player numbers on both the front and back of their jerseys, you know, kinda like a football uniform. The 2019 Winter Classic game will be played at the home of the iconic Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team. See what I’m thinking here?

The Bruins wore football-style jerseys with this logo in the late 1930s

Of course, the Bruins didn’t use any of that imagery during their unveiling, opting instead for showing photos from the “B-on-the-chest” design worn from 1932-36. So who knows, really.

We’ll have to wait and see what the uniforms for the game will look like, there’s still another 18-and-a-half weeks until the two face off on January 1, 2019, in South Bend, Indiana