Borussia Dortmund Logo History: Every Crest and Its Colors

This page traces every crest Borussia Dortmund has worn, from the blue and white of 1909 to the black and yellow BVB roundel, with each era’s colors as one-click hex values.

Dortmund started in blue and white with a red sash, and the switch in 1913 is why the club is called die Schwarzgelben.

The crest has been a circle almost throughout, and only the ring, the shade of yellow and the placing of the year 09 moved.

Today it runs on yellow and black: #FBE40C #000000. For RGB, CMYK and Pantone, see the current Borussia Dortmund color codes.

Borussia Dortmund logo history timeline

1909-1913

Borussia Dortmund logo 1909-1913

No logo is shown here because none existed yet. BVB played its founding years without a crest, and the first badge was drawn in the 1920s.

Founded 19 December 1909 as Ballspielverein Borussia (BVB); team played in blue-and-white striped shirts with a red sash and black shorts, not yet black and yellow.

1913-1945 (approximate)

Borussia Dortmund logo 1913-1945

Borussia Dortmund crest, 1913-1945. Club trademark, shown to identify the logo of that period.

Per a Dortmund district committee protocol dated 14 February 1913, the club adopted a lemon-yellow shirt with a black "B", switching the club colors to black and yellow; no standardized circular crest is documented for this period.

Why it changed: Approved by a Dortmund district committee meeting on 14 Feb 1913; commercial/cost rationale repeated in secondary sources is unconfirmed folklore.

1945-1964

Borussia Dortmund logo 1945-1964

Borussia Dortmund crest, 1945-1964. Via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (PD-textlogo, below threshold of originality; trademark noted).

First officially documented club crest: a circular emblem with a black outer ring containing the letters "BVB", the founding year "09", and the word "Dortmund".

1964-1974

Borussia Dortmund logo 1964-1974

Borussia Dortmund crest, 1964-1974. Via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (PD-textlogo, below threshold of originality; trademark noted).

Circular crest variant of the classic BVB/09/Dortmund design, current during the 1966 European Cup Winners' Cup win.

1974-1976

Borussia Dortmund logo 1974-1976

Borussia Dortmund crest, 1974-1976. Via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (PD-textlogo, below threshold of originality; trademark noted).

Continuation of the circular BVB/09 crest, largely consistent with the prior era's format.

1976-1978

Borussia Dortmund logo 1976-1978

Borussia Dortmund crest, 1976-1978. Club trademark, shown to identify the logo of that period.

A lion's-mouth motif (Löwenmaulkorb) was added to the crest, tied to new shirt/main sponsor Samson, a pipe-tobacco brand whose branding used a lion.

Why it changed: Sponsorship-driven: introduction of shirt sponsor Samson prompted the lion element.

1978-1993

Borussia Dortmund logo 1978-1993

Borussia Dortmund crest, 1978-1993. Club trademark, shown to identify the logo of that period.

Lion element dropped; reversion to the traditional circular crest with BVB, 09, and Dortmund lettering.

Why it changed: Reversion after the Samson sponsorship-driven lion crest ended.

1993-present

Borussia Dortmund logo 1993-present

Borussia Dortmund crest, 1993-present. Via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (PD-textlogo, below threshold of originality; trademark noted).

Introduction of the flat, spade/shield-shaped yellow-and-black badge with black "BVB" lettering and stylized ball, the basis of today's widely recognized crest.

2012-present

Borussia Dortmund logo 2012-present

Borussia Dortmund crest, 2012-present. Via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (PD-textlogo, below threshold of originality; trademark noted).

Same 1993 shield design but with two stars added above the badge after the club's fifth Bundesliga title, per the Bundesliga's star-award convention (one star per 3 titles, two per 5).

Why it changed: Two stars added to reflect five Bundesliga championships under the Bundesliga's star system.

Borussia Dortmund logo colors by era

Era	Colors
1909-1913	white `#FFFFFF`
1913-1945	Lemon-yellow `#E0B74B`* black `#000000`
1945-1964	black `#000000` yellow `#EFD849`
1964-1974	black `#000000` yellow `#E6D048`
1974-1976	black `#000000` yellow `#FEE900`
1976-1978	black `#000000` yellow `#FEED2E`
1978-1993	black `#000000` yellow `#F3E855`
1993-present	yellow `#FEF200` black `#000000`
2012-present	yellow `#FBE40C` black `#000000`

Things worth knowing

The club's original 1909 colors were blue and white with a red sash, not black and yellow; black and yellow was adopted per a district committee protocol dated 14 February 1913.
From 1976-1978 the crest briefly carried a lion's-mouth motif because of shirt sponsor Samson (tobacco); reverted to the traditional design in 1978.
The crest displays two stars, awarded under the Bundesliga's star system (1 star per 3 titles, 2 per 5) after the club's fifth championship.
Wikimedia Commons hosts the current crest as public domain on grounds it 'does not meet the threshold of originality' for copyright, while separately flagging that it may still be a protected trademark.

Values marked * were measured from the logo artwork of that period. Brand color standards did not exist for most of these eras, so no official hex value was ever published for them. Treat them as an accurate reading of the artwork rather than as an official brand value. Unmarked values are the club’s own published colors.