The man responsible for one of the most recognizable logos in all of sports has died at the age of 82 after a battle with cancer.
Jerry Dior designed Major League Baseball's logo in 1968 and, a year later, the red-white-and-blue symbol was adopted to honor professional baseball’s centennial.
Dior received no royalties for his baseball logo, and no public credit — until MLB officially recognized him in 2009 by holding pregame ceremonies in his honor at Citi Field and Yankee Stadium.
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The logo, which wasn't modeled after any one player, has served as the creative inspiration for various other logos, including the NBA's symbol.
“It just came to me,” Dior told The Wall Street Journal in 2008. “I did the rough sketch and cleaned it up a bit, and that was that. I never thought anything about it until I turned on the television and saw it on the New York Mets’ uniforms (in 1969 World Series)."
Dior was born in Brooklyn and was a graduate of Art Students League of New York. He died May 10 at his Edison, N.J., home, The New York Times reported.