The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional
ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They play in the
National Hockey League. Beginning play in 1967-68, the new expansion
teams were hampered by restrictive rules that kept all major talent with
the Original Six. Though they struggled early on, the Flyers would prove
by the early 1970s that they could challenge the Original Six. Center
Bobby Clarke and goaltender Bernie Parent would emerge as the team's
first superstars as the Flyers became the first expansion team to win
the Stanley Cup in 1973-74, defeating Bobby Orr and the Boston Bruins in
a six-game Finals series. The Flyers name was chosen to convey the
motion and excitement that was to be consistent with both hockey in
general, as well as the new Philadelphia club. Despite the idea for the
name being the brainchild of owner Ed Snider's sister, the name was
officially chosen by then nine year old Alec Stockard, among others who
had all unknowingly chosen the winning name in a mail in contest
conducted by Acme Markets. However, Stockard had spelled his entry
"Fliers", as it appears first in the English dictionary. To this day, it
is unknown why the second spelling of the word, replacing the "i" with a
"y" was chosen over the first. Some of the names that were considered
but abandoned in favor of "Flyers" were: Lancers, Raiders, Royals,
Sabres, Knights, Huskies, Blizzards, Ice Caps, Ice Picks, Greenbacks,
Liberty Bells and Quakers.
The Flyers' logo was a creation of artist Sam Ciccone. Like the name,
the idea behind the logo was to convey the motion and speed of hockey,
while referring to both the sport and the city. Ciccone came up with the
now familiar stylized P containing an orange hockey puck, with four
wings coming off the back. This logo was reflective of both the team's
new name and the city of Philadelphia. Although Ciccone created other
designs, the P was almost instantly the clear choice for all involved.