Does the name Jerry Dior ring a bell? For most of you; probablly not. I had never heard of him until I read a blog entry by Zack Hample. As I found out in Zack’s entry, Jerry Dior was the creator of the well known MLB logo of today. After reading the entry, I couldn’t stop the flood of questions that entered my mind. How was he chosen to design the logo? How long did it take to design it? Was there a logo before his? The questions went on and on. So I decided to email him, to find out the answers first hand, from the man who created it.
I recieved a reply the next day.(This all occured in December.) All of my questions were finally answered:
HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO DESIGN THE LOGO?
“I did the sketch in one afternoon.”
DID YOU DESIGN THE LOGO WITH THE RED, WHITE AND BLUE COLOR SCHEME?
“I did 2 color concepts. One in blue and green for the sky and ground and one in red, white and blue to represent the national game of baseball.”
HOW WERE YOU CHOSEN TO DESIGN THE LOGO?
“I worked for a design company as one of their graphic designers. As the projects came in they assigned an available designer. It just happened that I was available to work on that MLB project.”
WAS THERE AN MLB LOGO BEFORE YOURS?
“There was an MLB logo used from 1960 to 1968.”(CLICK HERE….If you want to see the logo used from 1960 to 1968.)
WHY DID MLB WANT A NEW LOGO?
“MLB wanted the design to celebrate the 100th anniversary of baseball in 1969.”
I was VERY happy that I finally had the answers to my questions. But wait! There’s more. As I finished reading the email, a certain sentence caught my eye. The sentence read as follows… “I would like your address so that I can send you something.” What? I hadn’t asked for anything and yet he was offering me something? But what? I came home one afternoon, to find a large yellow, bubble lined envelope; lying on the porch. I opened it up, and to my surprise, found three items signed by Jerry Dior. There was an index card with the words, “Matt-Best wishes for a Happy Holiday-Jerry Dior.”
I then found a business card sized logo signed by Jerry.
(I saved the best for last.) Also inside was an 11X14 inch cardboard logo signed, “To Matt-Jerry Dior.”
I was extremely excited to recieve the items. (I still am.) Not only did Jerry Dior take the time to answer my questions, but he also sent me a package of goodies. WHAT A NICE GUY!!!!
(And for those of you who are wondering, Jerry told me that the Logo is NOT, I repeat, NOT, Harmon Killebrew.)
The Unbiased MLB Fan 
Great background blog post.
Iloved that you got a reply, plus got some definite answers to the evolution and creation of the MLB logo.
This is one of the reason I love this site. People who do not have any monetary reward get information like this interview that far outweigh playing $ 3.00+ for a slick magazine.
Seriously, awesome job.
Rays Renegade
http://raysrenegade.mlblogs.com
Thanks for the kind words. I’m glad you liked it.
Nice post, and it’s cool that he sent you a signed card. I have a friend that swears the logo is Harmon Killebrew. I think I read an interview once that said Harmon is not the logo. But when you look at it, and remember that Killebrew was coming off one of his best seasons in ’67 during the height of his career, it sure does look like Killebrew.
http://wrigleyregular.mlblogs.com/
Sorry to disapoint your friend. But one of the things Jerry told me in the email was that it was NOT Harmon Killebrew; like most people think. I didn’t include that bit of information in this entry, because it was not a question *I* had asked him. It was just something extra I was told by Jerry. But I can see why people think that it is Killebrew.
Wow… that is really cool, and a true sign of a class act. I had never heard of Jerry Dior, nor did I know any of the history behind the MLB logo, but I have a lot of respect for the guy now. Thanks for sharing this story!
Cockroach
http://ledzeb99.mlblogs.com/
You’re welcome for the story of the man behind the MLB logo. He does indeed seem very much like a class act.
I want to encourage my friends here to visit this very cool blog!
Thanks. Spread the word.