Jake, Hibbing, MNSubj: Who is that shadowy figure?
Hey Ryan, there’s something that’s been mystifying me for years. Whose silhouette is it that appears in Major League Baseball’s logo? Is it just some random model or was it a former player?
That depends a lot on whom you ask, Jake. According to many old-timers the silhouette belongs to none other than Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew, a former AL MVP and a member of the 500 homerun club. In fact, even Killebrew himself claims as much, although he doesn’t recall specifically posing for the image. Although there may be a grain of truth in his assertion, Major League Baseball has repeatedly refused to play along, claiming in no uncertain terms that “No one player has ever been identified as the model of the Major League Baseball batter logo.” What we do know for certain is that the logo was originally introduced in 1969, at which point Killebrew had been named to eight All-Star teams and was unquestionably one of the most recognizable faces in the game. That alone makes it very likely that an artist may have found inspiration in the man they called “Killer.”
