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Last updated on April 18, 2008

MILWAUKEE -- As the Milwaukee Bucks professional basketball team enters its 41st season (2008-09), owner Herb Kohl celebrates his 24th season as President of the ninth winningest franchise in NBA history (sixth winningest among current franchises). Kohl purchased the team on March 1, 1985, from Jim Fitzgerald, ensuring it would remain in Milwaukee.

The National Basketball Association originally awarded the franchise to a Milwaukee group of investors - headed by Wesley D. Pavalon and Marvin L. Fishman - called Milwaukee Professional Sports and Services, Inc. on January 22, 1968. Pavalon and Fishman were named President and Executive Vice President, respectively, as the franchise was incorporated on February 5, 1968.

An application from Milwaukee Pro was registered with the Wisconsin Department of Securities for the sale of 300,000 shares of common stock to Wisconsin residents at $5 per share. Because the issue caught public fancy, an additional 125,000 shares were offered when the stock opened on the over-the-counter market on April 24, 1968.

On the basketball side of the operation, the team went through both the college and expansion draft under the watchful eye of the team's first head coach, Larry Costello.

A Janesville, Wisconsin, businessman, Jim Fitzgerald served as a member of the Board of Directors of Milwaukee Professional Sports and Service beginning in 1973. He assumed his position as Chairman of the Board and President of the Bucks in November of 1976 and held that position until the sale of the franchise to Kohl in the spring of 1985.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

May 22, 1968 was the day when Milwaukee's second professional basketball team finally got a name - the Milwaukee Bucks. More than 14,000 fans participated in a contest to name the team. Records show that R.D. Trebilcox of Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, was one of 45 persons who suggested the name 'Bucks'. He saw bucks as being spirited, good jumpers, fast and agile. For his efforts in helping Milwaukee's entry into the professional sports world gain an enduring nickname, Mr. Trebilcox won a new car.

LOGO/COLOR HISTORY

On June 28, 2006, prior to the 2006-07 season, the Bucks unveiled an updated logo and a new color scheme. “The historical Bucks forest green and the silver introduced in 1993 remain in the identity, but purple has been replaced by a deep red - more sophisticated than the classic red used in the Bucks’ color palette from 1968 through the mid-80’s,” Vice President of NBA Apparel Christopher Arena said. “The deep red is in line with the team’s history and representative of their renewed commitment to intensity and energy.”

The basic structure of Milwaukee’s primary logo that was introduced in 1993 remains in the identity, but several areas have been enhanced. The wordmark “BUCKS” now includes a more rigid, etched font with a retaining shape that mirrors the structure of the letters. The box that outlines the word “BUCKS” has been altered, as well. A “MILWAUKEE” wordmark, although not used in the primary logo, was created and will be used on various team materials and licensed products.

“We listened very closely to fan feedback and talked with our players. We also consulted heavily with key management, the NBA’s creative staff, and the league licensees to arrive at our new identity,” Bucks General Manager Larry Harris said. “We’re thrilled with the outcome. Forest green has been a staple of our color scheme throughout team history, and we were able to couple that with two other recognizable colors from the past - a striking version of red and the silver from our previous logo.”

The logo was first introduced in May of 1993 when, following the 25th Anniversary season, the club announced that their franchise would be represented by a new logo with corresponding new uniforms. It depicts an aggressive, frontal view of the head and shoulders of an eight-point white tail buck (male deer) on a triangular background atop stylized Milwaukee Bucks lettering. The color scheme featured hunter green, purple and silver. In making the announcement of the new logo, then-NBA Creative Director Tom O’Grady said, “The Bucks logo is an image of strength and focused determination. The solid logo design, incorporating the powerful Buck, portrays a confident, cohesive team. It is one unit, an attribute of any good team. The Buck itself gazes steadily ahead, as if to accept any challenge that may lie in its path. The theme of solidarity is repeated upon through the physique of the muscular buck and the heavy block lettering.”

The 2006-07 changes also were applied to the team’s secondary logo, which was first introduced during the 2001 Playoffs. The secondary logo is a derivative of the primary logo. It retains the existing red triangular base and eight-point silver buck antlers, while adding a silver-outlined green basketball that appears centered at the top of the triangular base.

A search for the team’s initial logo/color identity in 1968 was the responsibility of then-General Manager John Erickson, who commissioned Milwaukee commercial artist Matt Kastelic to develop the team's first logo. The original logo featured a caricature of a buck wearing a sweater emblazoned with the letter 'B' and spinning a basketball on one hoof while sitting atop the words 'Milwaukee Bucks'.

The original official team colors of forest green, red and white were in use since their inception in 1968 through the 1976-77 season. From the 1976 through 1985 seasons, the club adopted various hues of green, including forest, kelly and lime, with a white accent. The changes in color did not affect the logo.