Revolutionary Football Uniforms

[LimeGuy]

For a lack of a better place to put this, I decided that this forum was best.

What would you consider a revolutionary move for an NFL uniform? Say, for example, that one of the teams was going to put out something wildly different in an attempt to revamp their look... take any team. What would you say would be revolutionary?

Now, along that same line, what would you say has been revolutionary since the late 1980s? Which uniforms have really gone out on a limb and did something different?

My question relates to more than just the NFL, too... I guess.

What would you say to a team going neon (like the Orlando Thunder from the WLAF did)? What about a team using camouflage for their home uniforms or their pants? How about something along the lines of the Bengals's stripes, but taking it far enough to put stripes ALL OVER their uniforms?

Any samples would be appreciated. And, I didn't just start this for the sake of starting this... I am a writer (hopefully by trade) and having a very revolutionary look is something I need for a backstory on a team.

Thank you.

One more addition, sorry.

What about revolutionary helmets? Plexiglass replacing bars? See through bars? Anything?

[STL FANATIC]

I have to think the biggest recent revolution in football uniforms was Nike's update of the Broncos.

It took into account shrinking jersey and sleeve sizes even before it completely happened. moved the striping to the sides, numbers to the shoulders, and left the sleeves empty.

The logo was not the first, but helped solidify a trend of side facing animal headshots for helmet logos.

Side striping tieing into pants striping was quite revolutionary, and having pants striping that was not just straight down the sides was quite revolutionary.

The helmet stripe being tapered, again, was not the first (though tapering in that direction was I believe), but it helped solidify a mini trend.

While unique designs have happened before, the Broncos look was clearly revolutionary in the number of designs that followed that borrowed elements, as well as the number of high schools and colleges that adopted similar styles.

[BJ Sands]

I have to think the biggest recent revolution in football uniforms was Nike's update of the Broncos.

It took into account shrinking jersey and sleeve sizes even before it completely happened. moved the striping to the sides, numbers to the shoulders, and left the sleeves empty.

The logo was not the first, but helped solidify a trend of side facing animal headshots for helmet logos.

Side striping tieing into pants striping was quite revolutionary, and having pants striping that was not just straight down the sides was quite revolutionary.

The helmet stripe being tapered, again, was not the first (though tapering in that direction was I believe), but it helped solidify a mini trend.

While unique designs have happened before, the Broncos look was clearly revolutionary in the number of designs that followed that borrowed elements, as well as the number of high schools and colleges that adopted similar styles.

Completely agree.

For me, the second most revolutionary would be the Seahawks' monochromes. Before those, I don't know how many other teams did that.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

I was also going to say the Broncos. To me, that's a no-brainer.

I would add to that list, however, the current 49ers uniforms. They showed that a very attractive update of a traditional uniform was possible without sacrificing any integrity of the original.

[leopard88]

Add me to the Broncos list. That was the first team that came to mind as I was reading the initial post.

As for the facemasks, clear masks were used fairly extensively in the '50s, but didn't hold up. See Y.A. Tittle's 49ers helmet below.

[BlueSky]

What about revolutionary helmets? Plexiglass replacing bars? See through bars? Anything?

Like this? ;-)

From the outstanding helmethut.com :

The story. Note the italicized sentence; surely more advanced materials are available today?

"Prior to the mid 1950s most players would only wear a face mask after suffering a facial area injury. By the end of the decade face masks were worn primarily to prevent facial injuries and used by almost every player. In the early 1950s Riddell introduced this clear Lucite face mask bar. The mask was securely attached to the helmet by three bolts on each side of the helmet, one of which also served as the snap to buckle the leather chin strap. Unfortunately the mask would occasionally shatter upon direct impact causing Riddell to replace it with the tubular plastic mask which was almost indestructible.

In 1954 the trainer for the Forty Niners was counted on to keep Y. A. Tittle in the lineup after the legendary quarterback suffered a severely broken jaw against the Pittsburg Steelers. The trainer modified Tittle's standard Riddell "RK" helmet by adding interior padding, a custom fabricated handle type stabilizer bracket and the Riddell clear Lucite face mask."

Also from that site: if you're interested at all in the Chargers or their helmets, check this out.

Ref the thread subject, the Bengals striped helmets/uni's were revolutionary, especially for that franchise since their previous set was, well...plain.

As for an entire uni, agree about the Broncos though IMHO their uni's are hideous. The old 'horse in a D' logo was one of the best in the league and an update would have been a lot better than what they ended up with.

Disagree ref Seattle because, as has been documented elsewhere on this board, their monochrome look was unintentional.

To get "revolutionary," I think you have to go outside the NFL. I always thought the XFL's Birmingham Bolts helmet was pretty cool, though in a warped way it kind of reminds me of serious forehead trauma:

Add me to the Broncos list. That was the first team that came to mind as I was reading the initial post.

As for the facemasks, clear masks were used fairly extensively in the '50s, but didn't hold up. See Y.A. Tittle's 49ers helmet below.

I took my time on my post, thinking no one else will be up posting to this board at 0645 on Thanksgiving morning...WRONG!

[OB33]

I'd say Oregon's uniforms are pretty revolutionary, maybe not good looking, but definitely revolutionary.

[powersurge]

I'm going to make a case for the Falcons circa Jerry Glanville era simply because of the color change from primarily red to black.

I remember watching the draft that year and all of a sudden they showed the Falcons table and there was this all black helmet with black logo. I couldn't believe my eyes. I still think that helmet,logo, and jersey style are classic. I almost cried when I saw the new encarnation of the Falcons unis and helmets. Just horrible.

[Jezus_Ghoti]

Everyone else's answers are great. I will just add a few smaller details. To me, the Titans introduced some revolutionary (or, I would argue, devolutionary) elements. They are the first team, to my knowledge, to wear solid-colored socks that match their pants. They just didn't bother to create light blue or white striped socks to go along with their navy pants. Today, we see a lot of teams wearing solid dark socks with the same color dark pants (the most recent example being the new Vikings uniforms). The Titans also introduced shoulder yokes, which we soon saw on the Bills, Cardinals and Bengals. There seems to be a trend today to have as much color on a white jersey as possible.

*EDIT: I know you can make a case that socks and yokes like this existed at some point in the past (i.e. the Cowboy's throwbacks), they weren't common at the time the Titans used them so I am considering it acceptable to credit the Titans with them. Just wanted to prevent anyone from jumping down my throat there.

Things that I would consider revolutionary for the NFL would include:

- a team daring to return to the infamous Broncos-style vertically-striped socks

- horizontal stripes on pants (perhaps forming rings all the way around the leg) or on a jersey (like the Montreal Canadiens)

- pants with a single stripe, running down only one leg (likewise for a side panel or sleeve on the jersey)

- half-and-half colored anything (be it a left-right jersey or maybe top-bottom pants)

- a logo of any substantial size on a jersey or pants (i.e. the CFL's failed experiment to put large logos on the front of the jerseys in the mid-90s... maybe someone can post a picture)

- a logo centered on the front or back of the helmet (i.e. the XFL's Bolts)

[hawk36]

I'd have to say Broncos too. To me, revolutionary means something new that changes things from that point on, which the Broncos look did.

The Bengals change in the 80s was great, but you didn't see other teams like the Lions or Panthers or Jaguars, etc. using animal skin/stripes instead of the logo on the helmet in the years to come. So, while very cool, it didn't change design the way the Broncos did.

[wman]

I think the Jags used a different color side panel on the jersey in 1999--correct me if I'm wrong, but I remember being kinda shocked by it at the time.

Agree with everyone on the Broncos-it was a ground breaking change, probably the most significant in the last 10-15 years.

Here's one that hasn't been mentioned--Carolina was the first to have an odd stripe and logo (not counting the Bengals) vs the traditional straight down the middle of the helmet.

[T-nerb02]

How about the Cardinals putting their logo above the player's names. I think that's revolutionary.

[LimeGuy]

Things that I would consider revolutionary for the NFL would include:

- a team daring to return to the infamous Broncos-style vertically-striped socks

- horizontal stripes on pants (perhaps forming rings all the way around the leg) or on a jersey (like the Montreal Canadiens)

- pants with a single stripe, running down only one leg (likewise for a side panel or sleeve on the jersey)

- half-and-half colored anything (be it a left-right jersey or maybe top-bottom pants)

- a logo of any substantial size on a jersey or pants (i.e. the CFL's failed experiment to put large logos on the front of the jerseys in the mid-90s... maybe someone can post a picture)

- a logo centered on the front or back of the helmet (i.e. the XFL's Bolts)

This is actually what I was after here. What kinds of things WOULD be revolutionary from here on out? I do like the recap options, but I was hoping for a little more trudging into the future.

Thanks for posting that helmet pic... the face shield one. That doesn't look very good and the technology has to have evolved to the point they don't explode anymore... hasn't it?

Vertical stripes on the socks? I don't even know how to imagine that.

So, I'll highlight what I'm looking for again (since we've looked back already):

What would you consider a revolutionary move for an NFL uniform? Say, for example, that one of the teams was going to put out something wildly different in an attempt to revamp their look... take any team. What would you say would be revolutionary?

I personally liked the Orlando Thunder uniforms. If they still existed today, I doubt the neon would still be used as the primary color, but they sure stood out and caught attentions.

Thinking of the Bengals specifically, again... the uniform using orange as the primary color and putting black tiger stripes all over the jersey (with white numbers?) would be something revolutionary in my mind. Jaguars following suit with spots. How about a "watermark" logo wrapping around the jersey?

Just some ideas. Sparking some convo.

[T-nerb02]

How about having a team with claw marks or flames on a jersey?

[rainmaker17]

Memphis Pharoahs. I'm not sure if it looks 'good', but I'll give the designer a gold star for creativity.

[IceCap]

How about having a team with claw marks or flames on a jersey?

It's not the NFL, but I'm pretty sure they're the only pro team to currently have flames on their jerseys:

The AFL's New York Dragons:

[TFoA]

I'm thinking that any uni design that is started at the U of Miami is revolutionary, because you know that as soon as you see what Miami is wearing, then there's going to be a kojillion of copycats everywhere. And how do I know this? My high school football team will be looking like the black, green, and gold Miami next year. So yeah, when a 2-8 high school football team can afford to invest in a unifrom design that a team such as the Hoover Bucs or Miami Hurricanes can wear, then yeah, it's revolutionary.

[Diablo de Tejas]

I suppose Tampa Bay using pewter as a color could be considered revolutionary. I mean, I can't think of any other team that uses that color.

[IceCap]

I suppose Tampa Bay using pewter as a color could be considered revolutionary. I mean, I can't think of any other team that uses that color.

Which is why it isn't revolutionary. If it was, more teams would use it.

[ahub]

The early 50's 49ers uniform seems pretty ahead of it's time. I couldn't find an original pic, but here is the 1994 throwback version.

http://www.weirdwolf.net/ffp/images/1990/SanFransisco75.gif