The old Toronto Blue Jays logo could be reincarnated.

Since Wednesday, a leaked version of what might don the jerseys of Toronto’s baseball team has caused a stir on the internet. Reports have suggested that the Blue Jays will embark on a new marketing strategy for next season, although there has been no official announcement from the team and some have questioned whether this latest design — remarkably similar to the logo of the 1977 expansion blue Jays — is an Internet prank.

Blue Jays spokesperson Jay Stenhouse was not immediately available for comment, but Uni Watch’s Paul Lukas, who also blogs for espn.com. claims he has confirmed the new logo “is the real deal.”

There could be more of a Canadian theme to the new design than a baseball one. Gone is the baseball backdrop of the 1977 logo. The blue jay, though a little thinner and darker, looks much the same, and the maple leaf, absent from the current design, returns with more prominence than it had originally.

The throwback logo has been greeted with enthusiasm on Twitter, on Internet blogs and chat sites and, presumably, by the New England Sports Network. The folks at NESN recently listed the team’s current logo, a stylized Jay nicknamed the Angry Bird by many, as the fourth worst in the history of the major leagues.

Via