# Cities and their Colors **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 2, 2012, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-and-their-colors/623838 "2012-06-02T03:00:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-and-their-colors/623838/1 "2012-06-02T03:00:53Z")
What cities (worldwide) have two or more teams with the same color scheme? I know Pittsburgh has their black and gold (Steelers, Pirates, Pens) and NY has blue and orange (Knicks, Mets, Isles). What others? I suppose if one was a major college’s colors, as long the matching other is a professional team in the same city, that would count, too. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-and-their-colors/623838/2 "2012-06-02T11:42:04Z")
I don’t know any other cities, but as someone who loves Pittsburgh, I wanted to point out that the black and gold are the colors of the city’s flag, and ultimately come from the coat of arms of William Pitt the Elder, for whom the city was named. It’s history! ---
**Author:** ![davidw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c4cdca/32.png) [@davidw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidw)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-and-their-colors/623838/3 "2012-06-02T13:09:27Z")
Yeah, similar deal in New York. The city’s flag is orange, blue and white. It comes from the Dutch flag used by the original settlers of New York. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-and-their-colors/623838/4 "2012-06-02T18:10:40Z")
Boston: Red, White, and Blue (Red Sox, Revs, and Patriots) ---
**Author:** ![Blkshp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blkshp/32/7135_2.png) [@Blkshp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blkshp)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-and-their-colors/623838/5 "2012-06-04T00:15:45Z")
When the NFL Cardinals were in St. Louis… ---
**Author:** ![BigNik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/73ab20/32.png) [@BigNik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigNik)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-and-their-colors/623838/6 "2012-06-04T00:16:51Z")
I think this sort of thing is more common outside the U.S. than it is within it. Not only cities, but suburbs (equivalent to neighbourhoods in the US) will typically have their own colours, as will cities and states. For example, my suburb - Newtown - dresses its teams in royal blue and white, whether they’re playing rugby league, cricket or miscellaneous. The city, Sydney, has representative teams in royal blue and gold and the state, New South Wales, plays in sky blue and royal blue. Typically, the first team in the area - usually rugby union or cricket, but sometimes a high school - chose their colours and newer sports fit in behind them. Of course, with so many suburbs close together, there’s a lot of duplication. Canterbury, which is a bit less than four miles away (or six suburbs over), also plays in royal and white. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-and-their-colors/623838/7 "2012-06-04T03:19:50Z")
Montreal Canadiens and Alouettes (and Stars) share colours (close enough shades, anyways), and the Expos also used to dress in the bleu-blanc-rouge colour sheme. The Impact buck the trend, wearing only blue and white. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-and-their-colors/623838/8 "2012-06-04T03:26:36Z")
Most Toronto teams are blue - the Blue Jays, Maple Leafs, and Argonauts, the city’s senior franchises, are all blue. The University of Toronto’s sports teams are actually called the Varsity Blues. The basketball team bucked the trend, going with, initially, purple. Now they’re red; the soccer team, if you count them, are also red. I have a feeling they’ll both end up blue. ---
**Author:** ![JessMagic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c0e974/32.png) [@JessMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JessMagic)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-and-their-colors/623838/9 "2012-06-04T08:14:43Z")
London has loads of professional football (soccer, whatever) teams, so there’s some colour sharing going on: QPR, Millwall and Chelsea all wear blue and white. Arsenal, Charlton Athletic, Brentford and Leyton Orient wear red and white. Fulham and Tottenham both wear white shirts, although Fulham go for black shorts and Spurs wear dark blue (I think). ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-and-their-colors/623838/10 "2012-06-04T08:26:12Z")
Real Madrid and Barça manage to give their respective cities several teams with the same colors just by themselves, by the method of having teams in more than one sport. If you open the limits to “sports where players are usually amateurs” and to “low-level soccer divisions”, then one of the easiest methods to equip your team is to pick a pro team to copy. Barcelona has the largest amount of soccer teams in Spain, there have to be repeats simply from lack of available colors. ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-and-their-colors/623838/11 "2012-06-04T08:49:49Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Real Madrid and Barça manage to give their respective cities several teams with the same colors just by themselves, by the method of having teams in more than one sport. This for Israel as well (replace with Maccabi, Hapoel or Beitar \) – Sports “clubs” historically had teams in more than one sport, and each club, rather than each team, had their own livery and their own insignia. These have usually been retained even as the various teams gained more independence from the “club.” E.g., Maccabi Tel-Aviv ([football](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/he/2/24/MACCABI_NEW_3_LOGO.png), [basketball](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/he/thumb/7/77/Maccabi_Electra_logo.png/200px-Maccabi_Electra_logo.png), [handball](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/he/thumb/e/ed/Mtlv_hb_logo.png/130px-Mtlv_hb_logo.png), [volleyball](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/he/thumb/1/15/MaccabiTA.jpg/180px-MaccabiTA.jpg), and there are others) – all Yellow and Blue with a similar shield. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-and-their-colors/623838/12 "2012-06-04T09:58:19Z")
A former example… LA’s basketball and hockey teams - the Lakers and Kings, respectively - used to both be purple and gold, but the Kings changed to black and silver in 1989. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-and-their-colors/623838/13 "2012-06-04T13:42:40Z")
Miami’s city flag is orange and green, and the U. of Miami has the same colors. The Dolphins are a slight variation, using aqua color instead of green, and the Marlins now have orange. ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-and-their-colors/623838/14 "2012-06-04T14:06:43Z")
I see that the Atlanta Braves (MLB) and Atlanta Hawks (NBA) have similar colors these days (Braves’ red looks darker than Hawks’ - officially listed as “scarlet”). Also, the long-gone California Golden Seals (NHL) and Oakland A’s (MLB) had the same green/gold combo, matching Oakland’s flag. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-and-their-colors/623838/15 "2012-06-04T14:34:37Z")
> [@flodnak](#): > > I don’t know any other cities, but as someone who loves Pittsburgh, I wanted to point out that the black and gold are the colors of the city’s flag, and ultimately come from the coat of arms of William Pitt the Elder, for whom the city was named. It’s history! > [@davidw](#): > > Yeah, similar deal in New York. The city’s flag is orange, blue and white. It comes from the Dutch flag used by the original settlers of New York. I think these point out the more interesting question than the one the OP is asking, which _Cities_ have a clearly defined color(s) irregardless of sports. Pittsburgh is the most obvious example with the Black and Gold that is on the flag, all the bridges and all the sports teams. The NYC connection to the Dutch flag is obvious in retrospect but not something I’d realized before and it’s interesting that the Mets, Isles and Knicks all use it, though the Met’s thing was always said to have more to do with the blending of the Dodgers and Giants colors. Whether those two colors were originally chosen due to the Dutch think is a greater mystery and might be sheer coincidence. I once thought of starting a thread asking which other cities have clear color palettes. Sports teams would be one clear manifestation of it but the associations should run a little deeper. The Red-White-Blue Boston thing probably counts when you factor in the whole revolutionary aspect, but it’s a somewhat generic palette used by a ton of cities, plus there’s nothing really in Boston that’s overtly red white and blue outside of that. The most recognizable colors for a lot of people for Boston would be the green of the wall at Fenway and the dark red and navy of the Red Sox, neither of which is really close to the colors of the flag. The Green and Gold of Green Bay is apt. This all circulates around the Packers obviously, but when you’re in the city EVERYTHING is done up in Green and Gold. Buildings, street signs and even the exterior of the stadium. Don’t know if this had any significance before the Packers, but even if it didn’t the town is really owning the colors. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-and-their-colors/623838/16 "2012-06-04T14:42:40Z")
[Colorado Avalanche](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Colorado_Avalanche_logo.svg) and [Colorado Rapids](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Colorado_Rapids_logo.svg) have similar coloring (burgundy and blue), but it otherwise looks like Crayola [threw up](http://forums.denverbroncos.com/image.php?u=360949&type=sigpic&dateline=1246596525) on our state. I guess you could say that the [lacrosse team](http://www.starlightchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Mammoth-Logo-on-White.gif) fits in with the burgundy thing, but Colorado isn’t nationally known as the ‘burgundy’ state. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-and-their-colors/623838/17 "2012-06-04T14:56:19Z")
Seattle Mariners and Seahawks have blue, green and grey, though the green is a bit different. Their soccer team also has the same colors. ---
**Author:** ![nudgenudge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9f8e36/32.png) [@nudgenudge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nudgenudge)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-and-their-colors/623838/18 "2012-06-04T19:21:25Z")
> [@JessMagic](#): > > London has loads of professional football (soccer, whatever) teams, so there’s some colour sharing going on: > > QPR, Millwall and Chelsea all wear blue and white. > Arsenal, Charlton Athletic, Brentford and Leyton Orient wear red and white. > Fulham and Tottenham both wear white shirts, although Fulham go for black shorts and Spurs wear dark blue (I think). Those are more “clubs from the same city that happen to have the same colours”, though. There are no particular London colours. In terms of British cities, it is difficult to come up with examples, because soccer is dominant and other sports are either not centred in the same cities or are county-based, such as cricket. There is the case of Leeds, which has noted clubs in both soccer and rugby league. The blue/yellow combination is associated with both clubs, although Leeds United, the soccer club, adopted all-white many years ago, some say in imitation of Real Madrid. But they have retained blue and yellow in their trim and in the badge, and have often played in yellow too. So that’s one example. ---
**Author:** ![Disheavel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@Disheavel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disheavel)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-and-their-colors/623838/19 "2012-06-04T19:48:03Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Seattle Mariners and Seahawks have blue, green and grey, though the green is a bit different. Their soccer team also has the same colors. The neat one here is that the Sounders’ fluorescent green has been incorporated into the new [Seahawks jersey](http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/gallery/Nike-launches-new-line-of-NFL-uniforms-040312#photo-title=Here+they+are&photo=30861634). So it really seems that the green is becoming more and more Seattle’s color. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-and-their-colors/623838/20 "2012-06-04T22:13:47Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > I think these point out the more interesting question than the one the OP is asking, which _Cities_ have a clearly defined color(s) irregardless of sports. The Montreal flag is red and white, as is the Canadian one. The provincial flag is blue and white. I think _le bleu-blanc-rouge_ is pretty much tied to the city at this point; saying it in English, though, isn’t as much. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-and-their-colors/623838.md?page=2)