The A graphic was an athletic award letter. It was used for men's football,
baseball, track, and tennis from 1900 through 1923.
The A enclosed in a circle was used as an award for women recognizing
athletic ability, good sportsmanship, and leadership. First use occurred in
1909.
Different versions of "Ames" in block letters were used on basketball, tennis,
track, and baseball uniforms from 1910 through 1925. This arc block-serif
version was used first, the mark transformed to a smoother sans serif version
around 1920.
I.S.C. was an acronym for Iowa State College and this graphic was found on
drain covers still being used on campus. We can date this mark back to 1930,
but guess it was used earlier than that. Watch for this on your way to class
– it can be found outside Kildee Hall and Beardshear Hall, also in
slightly different form on railings in Curtiss Hall.
Moving away from the use of the "A" and "Ames", organizations and teams began
to use "I.S.C." again and also just "Iowa State" in the 1930s. This graphic
was used by the spirit squad in 1942.
Again incorporating a megaphone, this graphic was used by the spirit squad in
1948.
Still using I.S.C. but in a more rounded font, this was used on track uniforms
from 1957 through 1959.
Many photos courtesy of the ISU Library Special Collections Department. Information and images also collected from the Iowa State University Bomb Yearbook 1894 through 1995.
