Semi-Obscure Old School NFL Uniform Details

[darkhaha]

It seems like the "Then and Now" thread was becoming mostly about "Then," so I thought I'd start a new thread to address this topic on its own. Please be sure to memorize every single post on that 10+ page thread before commenting here, or you risk being flamed by one of us disgruntled old farts who have nothing better to do than ponder uni minutiae from 40 years ago

When the Cowboys moved away from their "big-shoulder-star" unis, the first set had three stripes on the jersey sleeves and socks, and a single white outline around the blue star on the helmet:

I know it's hard to make a totally accurate assessment based on old photos, but it seems that back then they at least TRIED to match the metallic silver-blue of the pants and helmets more closely (re-open smelly old can of worms here)...

The shot below was supposedly taken in 1979. I don't recall the Cards ever having a black outline around the numbers on the red jerseys until the current set, but it sure looks like it here:

Here's a relatively rare color shot of the Steelers in their white pants:

[andrewharrington]

The shot below was supposedly taken in 1979. I don't recall the Cards ever having a black outline around the numbers on the red jerseys until the current set, but it sure looks like it here:

It was actually taken in 1970, which was the only year this happened (the black outline on the red jerseys) until the current set. the numbers were also a really strange skinny block numeral that I've had trouble tracking down in my endeavor to catalog the uniform histories of NFL teams. My sample number is 34, so I'm halfway to figuring it out. Any other 1970 Cardinals pics would be great help. I think the '4' is without a serif at the bottom, but that's just a guess based on the '2' that I've already seen.

EDIT: Note the copyright on the photo: confirms 1970, not 1979, but I'm assuming you just hit the wrong key.

The Cowboys wore that for a few seasons, maybe 64-66 or thereabouts, and it looks a ton better than the current trash, though I don't like the black outlines on the stripes. I would prefer silver or no outline.

[andrewharrington]

Actually, I think I can see a little tiny sliver of the black outline forming a serif on the bottom right, and I think this confirms the serif '4' on the 1970 unis.

One additional Cardinals mystery: In 1979, they wore a black armband over the sleeve stripes on their white jersey. I've yet to locate a photo of them in their red jersey that year to see if it was the same. Anybody know? or Anybody know where a picture might be found? No luck @ Getty or US Presswire.

[darkhaha]

EDIT: Note the copyright on the photo: confirms 1970, not 1979, but I'm assuming you just hit the wrong key.

The Cowboys wore that for a few seasons, maybe 64-66 or thereabouts, and it looks a ton better than the current trash, though I don't like the black outlines on the stripes. I would prefer silver.

Yes, meant to say 1970... As for the Cowboys, they wore the three-stripes set from '64-65, and switched to the two-stripe version in '66. I had always remembered/assumed that they added the blue outline to the star at the same time, but the two pics below show otherwise:

[Harmening]

I think that star definitely looks better with the extra blue outline.

[Spearhead]

The outline on the Cowboy star came in 1967.

As for further obscurity, the Dallas sleeve stripes were outlined in black or navy, which has likely been discussed here.

The Cardinals went to this striping pattern on their away jerseys and on their pants sometime about 1964 or 65 under coach Wally Lemm:

In 1966 Lemm moved back to the Houston Oilers, who soon after adopted the same pattern:

Oilers GM Don Klosterman was responsible for the switch to "space age" metalic helmets and pants in 1966, but did he get the idea from Dallas? Lemm obviously influenced the striping pattern on the sleeves and pants. That sleeve pattern was very popular for about four or five years.

Hows that for obscure?

[darkhaha]

The outline on the Cowboy star came in 1967.

As for further obscurity, the Dallas sleeve stripes were outlined in black or navy, which has likely been discussed here.

The Cardinals went to this striping pattern on their away jerseys and on their pants sometime about 1964 or 65 under coach Wally Lemm:

In 1966 Lemm moved back to the Houston Oilers, who soon after adopted the same pattern:

Oilers GM Don Klosterman was responsible for the switch to "space age" metalic helmets and pants in 1966, but did he get the idea from Dallas? Lemm obviously influenced the striping pattern on the sleeves and pants. That sleeve pattern was very popular for about four or five years.

Hows that for obscure?

Yes, the Cowboys' jersey stripes have always been outlined in black, to my knowledge. Not sure why, though. As for the Oilers, they wore the following set from '66-67:

In '68 they went to this:

In '69 and/or '70, it looks like they went with the pants from the '66-67 set and the helmets and jerseys from the '68 version (although the TV numbers migrated from the sleeves to the shoulders):

In '71, they wore these (changed to fewer sleeve stripes and back to the '68 pants):

[BlueSky]

I've always been intrigued by the 1967 Saints having two number fonts on the field, Jim Taylor and everybody else. I don't recall ever seeing anybody but Jim Taylor (and Gary Cuozzo on the SI cover) with the block font though I may be wrong on that. Just seems very odd. I've noted my best guess as to when each pic was taken based on the 1967 schedule. Unfortunately, I can't find their preseason sked for that year.

8/14/67 issue

9/17/67 home opener vs L.A. Rams

10/1/67 home vs Cleveland

So there's that, yet here's Taylor wearing the same font as everybody else.

Unk vs. Atlanta. This is the one that really puzzles me. At first I thought maybe Taylor's font was an early season thing that they corrected later. This pic would support that - they played Atlanta on 11/26/67 - except that it clearly appears to be a night game, which would make it the preseason (the NFL did not play regular season night games in '67). So I have no idea why he'd have the everyone else font in preseason and the block font in the opener.

At first the pic below seemed like another Taylor mystery...1967 was his only season in New Orleans, but here he is in the black jersey with the "everyone else" font but with the 'reversed' white-black-white helmet stripes the Saints only wore for part of 1968. The '68 roster shows no #31.

Turns out Taylor announced his retirement on 9/10/68, so this must be from the '68 preseason.

[BlueSky]

Which brings me to more early Saints inconsistencies, this time the helmet stripes. None of this is earth-shattering of course, but it's fun to talk about, and sadly, the Saints' early uni history reflects the "chickens with their heads cut off" atmosphere that seemed to characterize their front office back then.

In 1966, Dave Boss did a series of paintings used as cover art for programs. Obviously the Saints uni wasn't quite finalized although this is pretty close to what they ended up wearing. Notable exceptions are the FDL, the sleeve stripes (reverse of the final design) and the single black helmet stripe:

Not that it's concrete proof, but it's reasonable to conclude the Saints at least considered the single black stripe because they made bobbleheads that way:

Then there's the aforementioned SI cover, where the helmets have a single white stripe. One might think they just grabbed some helmets for the shoot and the equipment guys hadn't finished striping them...

...but bobbleheads were made in that style too:

We know they ended up with blk/whi/blk for '67...

...only to change the helmet and pants stripes to whi/blk/whi for the first 12 games of the '68 season (though some players, like the right tackle here, got stuck wearing the old pants):

In '69 they were back to the original blk/whi/blk and the helmets have been that way ever since. However, notice that in just their 3rd season, the Saints had already abandoned the gold numbers and had changed the number font and sleeve stripes...and not for the better by any stretch. Good grief.

[TruColor]

The shot below was supposedly taken in 1979. I don't recall the Cards ever having a black outline around the numbers on the red jerseys until the current set, but it sure looks like it here:

It was actually taken in 1970, which was the only year this happened (the black outline on the red jerseys) until the current set. the numbers were also a really strange skinny block numeral that I've had trouble tracking down in my endeavor to catalog the uniform histories of NFL teams. My sample number is 34, so I'm halfway to figuring it out. Any other 1970 Cardinals pics would be great help. I think the '4' is without a serif at the bottom, but that's just a guess based on the '2' that I've already seen.

EDIT: Note the copyright on the photo: confirms 1970, not 1979, but I'm assuming you just hit the wrong key.

I can also confirm the 1970 date. Years and years ago, I had a long phone conversation with the head trainer of the Cardinals - a guy who had been with the team throughout the '60s and '70s. He brought up the Black trim on the 1970 Red uniforms - it was a one-year experiment where they had added Black trim to the numbers on both jerseys (Red and White), but dropped the Black trim from the Reds once it was determined that the trim was too hard to see against the dark Red uniforms.

Here's another pic of them - although the Black is a little hard to see in this scan (in the original, it's easier to see):

[oldschoolvikings]

Man, I love this stuff.

As for old NFL mysteries, does anybody have either a pic or maybe information (or both!) about an obscure Vikings jersey from the early 70's? I can't find a pic online, but I remember as a kid seeing the Vikings wear (in the same season) their normal purple home jerseys with the northwestern stripe, but also a stripeless purple jersey. I've never read anywhere what possible reason there could be for this in-season switch. Also, if it was just a one year thing, or what.

[BlueSky]

Man, I love this stuff.

As for old NFL mysteries, does anybody have either a pic or maybe information (or both!) about an obscure Vikings jersey from the early 70's? I can't find a pic online, but I remember as a kid seeing the Vikings wear (in the same season) their normal purple home jerseys with the northwestern stripe, but also a stripeless purple jersey. I've never read anywhere what possible reason there could be for this in-season switch. Also, if it was just a one year thing, or what.

This one?

Good timing! We're actually discussing that very subject in the Treasure Trove of Old NFL Pics thread.

[Buster]

The '82 Redskins' curled-feather logo is one we all probably know about.

[John in KY]

Man, I love this stuff.

As for old NFL mysteries, does anybody have either a pic or maybe information (or both!) about an obscure Vikings jersey from the early 70's? I can't find a pic online, but I remember as a kid seeing the Vikings wear (in the same season) their normal purple home jerseys with the northwestern stripe, but also a stripeless purple jersey. I've never read anywhere what possible reason there could be for this in-season switch. Also, if it was just a one year thing, or what.

This one?

Good timing! We're actually discussing that very subject in the Treasure Trove of Old NFL Pics thread.

I'm pretty sure the Vikings had the same deal as the Dolphins of that say 1969-1972 era - mesh jerseys without stripes and durene jerseys with stripes. I suspect the Vikings wore the stripeless mesh jerseys for the warm weather games (pre-season, September, October) and the durene jerseys with Nortwestern stripes in November/December/playoffs. For the Vikings the adoption of the stripeless jersey coincided with the changes of the road jerseys to the LSU-style jersey. Also, the Vikings no-stripe jerseys have plain numbers as do the white (LSU-style) jerseys while the durene purple jerseys have the yellow trim on the numbers.

If I'm remembering correctly from childhood the Vikings just dropped the durene jerseys in 1970 or 1971 and only wore the stripeless mesh jerseys until 1974 when they got mesh purple jerseys with the Northwestern stripes (and plain numbers).

I think that is also why there are those photos of Billy Kilmer with the Saints in 1969 with both mesh jerseys and smaller Green Bay-style stripes and later in the season with the durene jerseys with the wider stripes that was the Saints "standard" style through 1974.

And we all have seen plenty of photos of the Dolphins from 1970 through 1972 with a mish-mash of stripeless mesh and striped jerseys in both durene and mesh; not until 1973 did they standardize to everyone wearing mesh jerseys with stripes.

[TruColor]

Here's another pic of the Oilers' Silver-helmeted unis:

[oldschoolvikings]

Man, I love this stuff.

As for old NFL mysteries, does anybody have either a pic or maybe information (or both!) about an obscure Vikings jersey from the early 70's? I can't find a pic online, but I remember as a kid seeing the Vikings wear (in the same season) their normal purple home jerseys with the northwestern stripe, but also a stripeless purple jersey. I've never read anywhere what possible reason there could be for this in-season switch. Also, if it was just a one year thing, or what.

This one?

Good timing! We're actually discussing that very subject in the Treasure Trove of Old NFL Pics thread.

I'm pretty sure the Vikings had the same deal as the Dolphins of that say 1969-1972 era - mesh jerseys without stripes and durene jerseys with stripes. I suspect the Vikings wore the stripeless mesh jerseys for the warm weather games (pre-season, September, October) and the durene jerseys with Nortwestern stripes in November/December/playoffs. For the Vikings the adoption of the stripeless jersey coincided with the changes of the road jerseys to the LSU-style jersey. Also, the Vikings no-stripe jerseys have plain numbers as do the white (LSU-style) jerseys while the durene purple jerseys have the yellow trim on the numbers.

If I'm remembering correctly from childhood the Vikings just dropped the durene jerseys in 1970 or 1971 and only wore the stripeless mesh jerseys until 1974 when they got mesh purple jerseys with the Northwestern stripes (and plain numbers).

I think that is also why there are those photos of Billy Kilmer with the Saints in 1969 with both mesh jerseys and smaller Green Bay-style stripes and later in the season with the durene jerseys with the wider stripes that was the Saints "standard" style through 1974.

And we all have seen plenty of photos of the Dolphins from 1970 through 1972 with a mish-mash of stripeless mesh and striped jerseys in both durene and mesh; not until 1973 did they standardize to everyone wearing mesh jerseys with stripes.

Thanks!

[Harmening]

In '69 they were back to the original blk/whi/blk and the helmets have been that way ever since. However, notice that in just their 3rd season, the Saints had already abandoned the gold numbers and had changed the number font and sleeve stripes...and not for the better by any stretch. Good grief.

Nice chinstrap.

[BlueSky]

Man, I love this stuff.

As for old NFL mysteries, does anybody have either a pic or maybe information (or both!) about an obscure Vikings jersey from the early 70's? I can't find a pic online, but I remember as a kid seeing the Vikings wear (in the same season) their normal purple home jerseys with the northwestern stripe, but also a stripeless purple jersey. I've never read anywhere what possible reason there could be for this in-season switch. Also, if it was just a one year thing, or what.

This one?

Good timing! We're actually discussing that very subject in the Treasure Trove of Old NFL Pics thread.

I'm pretty sure the Vikings had the same deal as the Dolphins of that say 1969-1972 era - mesh jerseys without stripes and durene jerseys with stripes. I suspect the Vikings wore the stripeless mesh jerseys for the warm weather games (pre-season, September, October) and the durene jerseys with Nortwestern stripes in November/December/playoffs. For the Vikings the adoption of the stripeless jersey coincided with the changes of the road jerseys to the LSU-style jersey. Also, the Vikings no-stripe jerseys have plain numbers as do the white (LSU-style) jerseys while the durene purple jerseys have the yellow trim on the numbers.

If I'm remembering correctly from childhood the Vikings just dropped the durene jerseys in 1970 or 1971 and only wore the stripeless mesh jerseys until 1974 when they got mesh purple jerseys with the Northwestern stripes (and plain numbers).

I think that is also why there are those photos of Billy Kilmer with the Saints in 1969 with both mesh jerseys and smaller Green Bay-style stripes and later in the season with the durene jerseys with the wider stripes that was the Saints "standard" style through 1974.

And we all have seen plenty of photos of the Dolphins from 1970 through 1972 with a mish-mash of stripeless mesh and striped jerseys in both durene and mesh; not until 1973 did they standardize to everyone wearing mesh jerseys with stripes.

Based on this I searched further on the Vikes in the early 70's and the evidence supports this. Granted there aren't pics from every game (or even close) but the striped purple do seem to have gone away during the period you mentioned. The stripes reappear in Dec 1973 (see below).

8/8/71 (Preseason)

12/5/71 @ San Diego

12/30/71

12/22/73 - No stripes on Alan Page but stripes on #23?

11/17/74

[Gothamite]

The Jets wore solid green mesh jerseys in the same period. This Maynard example came up for auction a couple years ago.

[Spearhead]

Nice chinstrap.

Bobby Douglass wore a chinstrap only occasionally with the Bears: