NFL

Designer of Patriots' iconic logo dies, team announces

Phil Bissell created the logo for his job as a cartoonist at The Boston Globe, according to the Patriots Hall of Fame

This 2009 photo shows Patriots logo creator Phil Bissell outside his home studio in Rockport, Massachusetts, posing with his car, adorned with the logo and a vanity plate reading, "PATSPA."
Patrick Whittemore/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images, File

The cartoonist who created the beloved original logo of the New England Patriots has died, the team announced Thursday, saying they were "deeply saddened" to learn the news.

Phil Bissell's design for Pat Patriot, a red-white-and-blue minuteman ready to hike a football, was established as the logo on April 19, 1960, ahead of the team's inaugural season, according to the Patriots.

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Bissell created the logo for his job as a cartoonist at The Boston Globe, according to the Patriots Hall of Fame.

"Upon seeing the drawing in publication, then Patriots owner Billy Sullivan reached out to Bissell to secure the revolutionary soldier hiking a football as the team’s logo," the website says.

He went on to create covers for game programs over the years.

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