76 (ConocoPhillips) - The Orange Ball

The Orange Ball

Union Oil (for many years based in El Segundo, California, near Los Angeles) first introduced "76" gasoline in 1932. The name referred to the 1776 United States Declaration of Independence, and was also the octane rating of the gasoline in 1932.

76 signs are orange balls with '76' written in blue on them. Many stations had the 76 ball rotate when the signs were lit up. The first such sign was designed in 1962 by advertising creative director Ray Pedersen for the Seattle World's Fair.

In 2005, new corporate owners ConocoPhillips began a rebranding campaign to unify the design elements of each of the merged brands (76, Phillips, and Conoco). As a part of this re-branding, there was an initial decision to pull down all the Orange Ball signs and replace them with monument-style signs in the red orange and blue color scheme. In response to overwhelming negative publicity generated by a grassroots Save The 76 Ball campaign, ConocoPhillips backtracked on this decision in January 2007, agreeing to donate several of the classic orange 76 balls to museums and to erect approximately 100 balls in the new red orange and blue color scheme.

Urge Overkill used the sign's likeness for the cover of their 1990 album Americruiser, as well as naming a track for it.

The 76 ball is a very popular logo in the "Cult Style" of European car tuning (especially on VW Golf Mk 1 GTIs due to the debut year of 1976), and is also used on many clothing items in Japan as of 2005.

The 76 Ball also made a brief appearance in the 1991 film Point Break during the final airport escape scene, and in 1997's The Lost World: Jurassic Park during the t-rex chase in San Diego.

Until the end of 2003, 76 balls were located at the Daytona International Speedway. They were used as scoring points, had portholes, and were capable of holding a few people inside. One of these "balls" was given to the owner of Brumos Motor Cars in Jacksonville, FL, and now sits atop a building on the premises after ConocoPhillips terminated its NASCAR sponsorship. Similar balls had been placed near pit entrances at most NASCAR circuits until the sponsorship ended.

The 76 ball is also a landmark at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, where the only gas station on the premises of a major league ballpark is visible from the park beyond the outfield stands. Union Oil was a longtime sponsor of the Dodgers baseball team beginning with their relocation to Los Angeles from Brooklyn in 1958, and the sponsorship by the 76 brand continues to this day.

Union 76 invented the antenna topper concept. Beginning in 1967, Union 76 distributed tens of millions of orange 76 antenna balls made out of styrofoam and other materials. These were extremely popular, primarily in the Greater Los Angeles area, where they are still seen.