Creator of city’s favorite logo credits fans for its longevity

Finis Collins has made a name for himself in San Antonio with his watercolors. But few know that the 93-year-old artist’s most famous work comes in silver and black.

That’s right: Collins created the San Antonio Spurs’ world-famous logo.

Collins’ iconic design has been close to players’ chests and fans’ hearts for nearly 50 years, emblazoned on jerseys, T-shirts and just about any other licensed or bootlegged merch you can imagine. And in true Spurs fashion, Collins is proud yet humble about his contribution to the team.

“It happened like it was another day’s work,” he said. “I didn’t know that it would really take off. You don’t think about it as the one I’d be known for.”

A Spurs logo with the heel band of a spur for a “U” has been a constant since the Spurs’ 1973 debut. Even after a new 50th anniversary logo and three new secondary logos were unveiled recently, the team made it clear its “longstanding primary Spurs logo and icon featuring the classic spur design” will remain unchanged, according to a press release.

Collins drew the original Spurs logo in 1973 while working at the Pitluk Group, one of the top advertising agencies in San Antonio at the time.

That year, a group of investors led by B.J. “Red” McCombs purchased the Dallas Chaparrals, and they needed a new logo to go with the team’s new name and new home in San Antonio. One of those investors was Jack Pitluk, who ran the Pitluk agency with his brother Louis.

The Pitluk brothers met with McCombs and his management team, then assigned Collins the job of drawing up a logo. He never spoke with McCombs or other Spurs owners, though he was told they had one request: Try to get a spur somewhere in

Charlie Blalock/Contributor Finis Collins, 93, came up with the beloved Spurs logo in 1973. The entire process took less than four days.