No matter the color of the jersey – blue, gold, red, white – one symbol has remained constant on the St. Louis Blues jersey…the Blue Note. One could say the logo is the heart of the team and being a fan of the Blues gives us a sense of belonging, we’re family, so we belong. It’s on the jerseys, hats, t-shirt, cups and every other branded item we might sport our love for the team. It took 52 years to get St. Louis etched on Lord Stanley’s Cup in 2019 - we finally had our historic moment to proudly display the Note in all its glory or is that, Gloria!
Where did the St. Louis Blues name and logo come from?
First, let’s understand where the name “Blues” came from. Back in 1966 nicknames such as the Mercurys or Apollos were discussed in a brainstorming session with the leadership group, and then the idea of the St. Louis Blues came up.
When the Saloman’s (father and son) and their partners were awarded the expansion franchise for the season of 1967-1968 Sid Saloman Jr. said “The name of the team just has to be the Blues. It’s part of the city where W.C Handy composed his famed song while thinking of his girl one morning.”
At their first game on October 11, 1967, a gala pre-game show was held with Guy Lombardo and the royal Canadians performing “The Birth of the Blues,” “Rhapsody in Blue,” “St. Louis Blues” and other appropriate tunes. The name was set and now a logo was needed.
Music in general and the genre of the Blues music are synonymous, so having a musical note as the symbol seemed easy. But how did the Blue Note come to be what it is today, a flying musical note from its early days in 1967 as an eighth note (a single wing on the staff) when it was originally modeled on jerseys worn by Sid Salomon III and General Manager Lynn Patrick?
Team colors needed to be selected - blue and gold were determined to be the colors to represent the team despite a recommendation of a local ad agency to use black and gold. As legend has it, even the water fountains at the old Arena were flowing blue water for a period of time.
The logo itself would be refined over the months prior to the inaugural season and the common eighth note would become a more powerful symbol. Sid Salomon III was the designer of the flying musical note which was ironic as the Blues did soar all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals in their first two seasons.
Game one on October 11, 1967, was against the Minnesota North Stars expansion team and players debuted their home blues and the flying blue note in a 2 -2 tie. The Blues were the toast of the town and as they say, the rest is history.