# Why does the Minnesota Twins logo have a C in it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 10, 2009, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-minnesota-twins-logo-have-a-c-in-it/492639 "2009-04-10T14:15:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-minnesota-twins-logo-have-a-c-in-it/492639/21 "2009-04-10T19:34:20Z")
> [@HubZilla](#): > > Oooh, here’s my chance: > > What’s the “elb” in the old Montreal Expos logo? I wondered that for YEARS! ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-minnesota-twins-logo-have-a-c-in-it/492639/22 "2009-04-10T19:34:44Z")
> [@Bender44](#): > > Ah…but what of the University of Miami football helmets and the U? Surely it doesn’t stand for University, does it?\* > > \*I know its the meteorological symbol for a hurricane or something like that. Still looks silly, IMO. Apparently, it really is [Just a _U_](http://www6.miami.edu/UMH/CDA/UMH_Main/1,1770,2472-1;2671-3,00.html), because too many other schools used the initials “U.M.” ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-minnesota-twins-logo-have-a-c-in-it/492639/23 "2009-04-10T19:36:51Z")
I grew up in Wisconsin and didn’t recognize the hidden MB in the Brewers old logo until I was about 16…I always thought it was just a glove! 🙂 Then again, I grew up in a Cub fan family so I didn’t pay much attention to the American League and most of my logo study was trying to decipher the Expos logo. ---
**Author:** ![Bender44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b487fb/32.png) [@Bender44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bender44)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-minnesota-twins-logo-have-a-c-in-it/492639/24 "2009-04-10T19:49:09Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Apparently, it really is [Just a _U_](http://www6.miami.edu/UMH/CDA/UMH_Main/1,1770,2472-1;2671-3,00.html), because too many other schools used the initials “U.M.” That does makes sense (in a dumb kind of way). But I’ve heard people use the Hurricane symbol explanation before, but it sounded like after the fact rationalizing. Interestingly enough, I took law school classes there and nobody I heard actually refers to it as “The U”. Its always U.M. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-minnesota-twins-logo-have-a-c-in-it/492639/25 "2009-04-10T20:38:19Z")
> [@anson2995](#): > > The Reds were using the wishbone C long before the Bears even existed. It was on their jersies in 1905. The Bears were founded in 1920 as the Decatur Staleys, and didn’t become the Chicago Bears until 1922. They didn’t put the logo on their helmet until 1962. And on top of that, the Bears didn’t even come up with logo on their own. They appropriated the look from the [University of Chicago](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:UChicago_Maroons.svg) (the original Monsters of the Midway) when the school dropped intercollegiate sports in 1939. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f08c70/32.png) [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-minnesota-twins-logo-have-a-c-in-it/492639/26 "2009-04-10T21:08:14Z")
Back to hockey: I always heard that the Canadiens logo was for “Les Habitants Icrieable” (sp?). Closely butchered in English to mean “The Incredible Team (of Residents)”. These are \*\*our \*\* boys. Maybe this was more of a nationalistic name the locals used before they joined the NHL. Like some people refer to the Miami Dolphins as the “Fins”. Or how some sportscasters refer to the Dallas Cowboys as “America’s Team” in a sentence as their name. Maybe even similar to how Redskins fans refer to the team, in almost every example I can think of, as “we”. As in “When \*\*WE \*\* won the Super Bowl…” ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-minnesota-twins-logo-have-a-c-in-it/492639/27 "2009-04-10T21:10:49Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > And on top of that, the Bears didn’t even come up with logo on their own. They appropriated the look from the University of Chicago (the original Monsters of the Midway) when the school dropped intercollegiate sports in 1939. The Wishbone C has been used so many times by so many teams (including the [Chicago Cubs](http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Era-5950-CHICAGO-CUBS-1948-Fitted-Hat-Cap-7-3%2f8_W0QQitemZ140312509674QQcmdZViewItem) and [Cleveland Indians](http://cgi.ebay.com/1948-Indians-fitted-baseball-cap-hat-american-mlb-nwt_W0QQitemZ230333066464QQcategoryZ24651QQcmdZViewItem)) that I don’t think it’s possible to say who was appropriating it from whom. I doubt that the U of C was much of an inspiration in 1962, since they had dropped football 23 years previously, and had never had the logo on their helmet. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-minnesota-twins-logo-have-a-c-in-it/492639/28 "2009-04-10T22:11:24Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I assume it’s short for one of their nicknames, Les Habitants. Maybe you’ve heard commentators calls the team The Habs? I have, but I mentioned it because it seemed on topic for the thread. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Seventh\_Deadly\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6bbea6/32.png) [@The\_Seventh\_Deadly\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Seventh_Deadly_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-minnesota-twins-logo-have-a-c-in-it/492639/29 "2009-04-10T22:22:25Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Apparently, it really is [Just a _U_](http://www6.miami.edu/UMH/CDA/UMH_Main/1,1770,2472-1;2671-3,00.html), because too many other schools used the initials “U.M.” I know it’s not your fault, but that’s really stupid. _Every_ team has the word “university” in their name! It’s like if I had my shirts monogrammed with a “p,” for “person.” ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-minnesota-twins-logo-have-a-c-in-it/492639/30 "2009-04-10T22:53:50Z")
This weekend, Florida goes up against its cross-state rival, University! I also find it precious for universities to refer to themselves as _the University_. No, I’m sorry, “the university” by itself is still just a common noun, even when we know which one you’re referring to. _The U._ is different, because it’s more like a nickname. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-minnesota-twins-logo-have-a-c-in-it/492639/31 "2009-04-11T00:53:21Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > Some people see the letters, not the glove, and others the glove and not the lettes. Wow. I never noticed the letters before. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-minnesota-twins-logo-have-a-c-in-it/492639/32 "2009-04-11T01:16:07Z")
It took me decades to see the letters in the Brewers logo. When I was a kid, I would meticulously draw all the major league baseball cap insignias over and over, and I still didn’t notice the letters. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-minnesota-twins-logo-have-a-c-in-it/492639/33 "2009-04-11T02:11:59Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > The Wishbone C has been used so many times by so many teams (including the [Chicago Cubs](http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Era-5950-CHICAGO-CUBS-1948-Fitted-Hat-Cap-7-3%2f8_W0QQitemZ140312509674QQcmdZViewItem) and [Cleveland Indians](http://cgi.ebay.com/1948-Indians-fitted-baseball-cap-hat-american-mlb-nwt_W0QQitemZ230333066464QQcategoryZ24651QQcmdZViewItem)) that I don’t think it’s possible to say who was appropriating it from whom. I doubt that the U of C was much of an inspiration in 1962, since they had dropped football 23 years previously, and had never had the logo on their helmet. [I’m not the only person](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Bears)who thinks [the U of C was the inspiration.](http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board/message?message.uid=36574714) > [@](#): > > The team acquired the University of Chicago’s discarded nickname “Monsters of the Midway” and their now-famous helmet “C”, as well as a newly penned theme song that declared them “The Pride and Joy of Illinois”. > [@](#): > > The Chicago Bears took their colors from the University of Illinois, they took the logo from the University of Chicago, and some say the name was taken somewhat from the cubs. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-minnesota-twins-logo-have-a-c-in-it/492639/34 "2009-04-11T04:43:38Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > [I’m not the only person](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Bears)who thinks [the U of C was the inspiration.](http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board/message?message.uid=36574714) The Wiki citation does not assert that the “C” was taken from the University of Chicago, only their nickname. The other web page you are offering cannot be taken as authoritative of anything except that someone else is under the same potential delusion you are. You are not, I hope, offering it as a serious citation in support of the truth of the matter? ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-minnesota-twins-logo-have-a-c-in-it/492639/35 "2009-04-11T05:20:44Z")
> [@MikeS](#): > > Actually, it does stand for “hockey”, as in “Club de hockey”. We had a [thread on this subject](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=503561) a few months ago. This is correct. The team’s official name is Club de hockey canadien / Canadian Hockey Club and the ‘H’ stands for “hockey”. (Now what I wonder is if the ‘C’ stands for “Canadien” or “Club”.) They’re celebrating their hundredth anniversary this year, so they’ve been playing a few times with uniforms with ancient designs on them – it makes for more merchandise to sell 😉 – one of them sporting [this logo](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/ab/MontrealCanadiens1913.png), from the time the team was called the Club athlétique canadien / Canadian Athletic Club. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-minnesota-twins-logo-have-a-c-in-it/492639/36 "2009-04-11T16:54:08Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > The other web page you are offering cannot be taken as authoritative of anything except that someone else is under the same potential delusion you are. It is, alas, a common delusion. The most scholarly history of University of Chicago football is _Stagg’s University: The Rise, Decline, and Fall of Big-Time Football at Chicago_, by Robin Lester and published by the University of Illinois Press. After discussing the U of C discontinuation of football, Lester makes the following throwaway assertion: > [@](#): > > Further, the Chicago Bears’ later appropriation of the Maroons’ C emblem as well as the “Monsters of the Midway” description must have denoted a kind of respect for the university’s football tradition. This is what I love in historical writing: “spontaneous attribution”. It _must_ have denoted respect. Why must it have? The Monsters nickname wasn’t “appopriated” by the Bears, it was transferred to them by sportswriters too lazy to think of a new nickname. It never even made much sense, since the Bears never played anywhere near the Midway and didn’t have much of a fan base down there until the Cardinals left town. As for the C, as we have seen, it wasn’t used by the Bears until 23 years later. Given the 23-year time lag, and the fact that the C never appeared on Chicago football uniforms or helmets, and the fact that there was never any particular connection between U of C and the Bears other than playing in the same city, and the fact that _many_ other teams have used a similar logo, any assertion that the Bears C is deliberate homage to the U of C requires substantiation. (Such as, for example, testimony from its creator.) I am aware of no such substantiation. ---
**Author:** ![mattomic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ec8ea/32.png) [@mattomic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mattomic)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-minnesota-twins-logo-have-a-c-in-it/492639/37 "2009-04-11T19:21:59Z")
Back to the Twins, the whole idea of Minneapolis and St Paul coming together is commemorated in their old sleeve patch, [one of the best in sports IMO,](http://www.sportslogos.net/images/logos/53/65/full/0r1e2z52v4sart6hpi9rdpg5j.gif) which has a “M” baseball player and a “StP” baseball player symbolically shaking hands over the Mississippi river, with the whole logo in the shape of Minnesota. More hidden-letter shenanigans: looked closely at a [New Jersey Devils](http://www.fitzgeraldspubnyc.net/images/NJ_Devils_Logo.jpg) logo lately? It’s an “N” and a “J” for New Jersey. ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-minnesota-twins-logo-have-a-c-in-it/492639/38 "2009-04-11T19:43:52Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > any assertion that the Bears C is deliberate homage to the U of C requires substantiation. (Such as, for example, testimony from its creator.) I am aware of no such substantiation. I agree, although I would like to point out there was a link between the Bears and U of Chicago, and that’s probably where the myth originated. The school’s head coach from 1933 to 1939 was Clark Shaughnessy, who had a very close relationship with Bears owner/coach George Halas. Shaughnessy developed a new offense called the Modern-T, which he helped the Bears to implement. He later joined the Bears in an official capacity. But the idea that the Bears logo was an homage to the University is, as you say, unsubstantiated. For what it’s worth, [the Chicago Cardinals were using the wishbone C](http://www.sportslogos.net/logo.php?id=4629) on their uniforms long before the Bears were. The Bears adopted it _after_ the Cards moved to St. Louis and dropped the “C” for a bird’s head. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-minnesota-twins-logo-have-a-c-in-it/492639/39 "2009-04-11T19:53:29Z")
> [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](#): > > This is correct. The team’s official name is Club de hockey canadien / Canadian Hockey Club and the ‘H’ stands for “hockey”. (Now what I wonder is if the ‘C’ stands for “Canadien” or “Club”.) They’re celebrating their hundredth anniversary this year, so they’ve been playing a few times with uniforms with ancient designs on them – it makes for more merchandise to sell 😉 – one of them sporting [this logo](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/ab/MontrealCanadiens1913.png), from the time the team was called the Club athlétique canadien / Canadian Athletic Club. The Canadiens’ anniversary celebration has resulted in some crimes against hockey fashion, [namely the barber-striped-jerseys.](http://www.everyjoe.com/hockeybeat/montreal-canadiens-barber-stripe-jerseys-are-ugly/) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2009, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-minnesota-twins-logo-have-a-c-in-it/492639/40 "2009-04-12T00:33:37Z")
> [@mattomic](#): > > More hidden-letter shenanigans: looked closely at a [New Jersey Devils](http://www.fitzgeraldspubnyc.net/images/NJ_Devils_Logo.jpg) logo lately? It’s an “N” and a “J” for New Jersey. You don’t have to look closely to see that. It’s not like it looks like anything else. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-minnesota-twins-logo-have-a-c-in-it/492639.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-minnesota-twins-logo-have-a-c-in-it/492639.md?page=3)