The MLB logo visionary
Jerry Dior’s design of a hitter awaiting a pitch is the universally recognized symbol of Major League Baseball, as well as one of the most visible and influential graphic images of our time.
Dior was an illustrator and graphic designer for a New York marketing and design company, Sandgren & Murtha, when it received a contract from Major League Baseball in 1968. He was assigned to create an image to commemorate baseball’s 100th anniversary, to be observed in 1969.
In a single afternoon, sketching with Magic Markers, Dior came up with one of the most enduring brand designs in marketing history — but he would wait decades to gain recognition for his work.
His image of a batter awaiting a pitch stands in white silhouette between a field of blue on the left and an angled slice of red on the right. The words “Major League Baseball” appear at the bottom in Helvetica capital letters.
“That design looks every bit as contemporary today as it did then,” said Paul Lukas, who writes a column for ESPN.com and runs a website, Uni-Watch.com, devoted to athletic uniforms and imag- ery. “Although it was a pre-digital design, it transcends the era in which it was created. I don’t think Jerry was out to create something that outlasted him, but he absolutely did create a masterpiece.”
The logo was intended for just a single season, but in the years since, it has become the lasting trademark of Major League Baseball. It is emblazoned on every cap, uniform, helmet and jacket worn on the field by players, managers and umpires. It appears on all officially sanctioned merchandise, the MLB.com website and on anything having to do with its corporate identity.
Dior died recently at his home in Edison, New Jersey. He was 82. The cause was colon cancer, said his wife, Lita Dior.
During his career, Dior created designs and packaging for Kellogg’s, Nabisco and Howard Johnson’s. The baseball logo was just another assignment done on contract; when it was done, he moved on to the next job.
“Every other design I’ve done has been dropped or changed or updated over the years,” he said in 2008. “This is the only thing I can point to that hasn’t changed in 40 years. It’s the proudest I’ve ever been of my work.”