The "Golden Era" of (insert sport) Uniforms

[OnWis97]

My apologies if this has been done...

What is the "best time" (Single season, decade, general time frame, whatever) for uniforms? Some of us traditionalists get accused of being that way because of "sentiment". So I thought about that in regards to myself and I don't think that fits me in most sports. I am just going to focus on the "big four" pro team sports here.

I am 40 years old and my earliest memories are of about 1981. My "nostalgia" period is more like the mid-1980s. And the results of the "nostalgia" test are kinda disappointing...

• Major League Baseball
  • My Pick: 1993
  • Why: Because that is the first year that MLB was rid of powder blue and pullovers. It's not perfect; the Padres had ditched the Brown and the Reds, while finally dumping the 70s look, looked goofy with the front number on the wrong side of the road uniform, etc. I almost picked 1992, but the Reds were still in pullovers. 1993 has the advantage of the Mariners in their current look as opposed to their previous soul-less look. And, of course, while alts were creeping in, they had not taken over. Too many alts worn too often now...1993 is only four years before the Twins "DQ" jersey, so this is a good time right between the bucking of tradition and the explosion of too many looks.
  • Nostalgia? No. Nostalgia would have been me loving pullovers and powder blue.

• NBA
  • My Pick: Late 1980s/early 90s:
  • Why: Tough call...the shorts were still too short but not as bad and it's before the trend of logos on the front (e.g., Houston). Miami, Charlotte, Orlando, and Minnesota were entering the league with nice uniforms overall (I like all but Orlando) and teams like the Lakers and Celtics still only had two jerseys.
  • Nostalgia? Maybe. There is evidence, though it's a bit newer than my earliest memories, but still before things started changing in a way that bugged my "get off my lawn" persona. But pure nostalgia would have been to balk at the Hornets uniform.

• NFL
  • My Pick: Mid/Late 1990s:
  • Why: When I look back at photos of the 1980s, the jerseys do look a bit like pop warner. In the mid-90s, they had a better fit, but still had sleeves and a decent palette for stripes and sleeve logos. Teams like the Bengals, Falcons, Cardinals, and Vikings still looked like they ought to. The Bengals once-risque helmet was a modern classic but nobody was trying to top it. We had several manufacturers yet they were not trying to "out-clown" each other. A few teams had taken bad steps (the Eagles), but the real craziness had not started.
  • Nostalgia? Maybe. I clearly miss the days where (it seemed like) the teams had a hand in designing the uniforms.

• NHL
  • My Pick: 1987-88:
  • Why: We still had the North Stars, Nordiques, Whalers, and original Jets. The Flames had yet to add black. The Devils still had a great, unique scheme. I picked it over any later years because the Kings were still in Forum Blue (purple?) and yellow. The 1980s iteration of that look, while very Flyers-like, was beautiful. We had 21 teams and almost all looked great. The only nitpicks are that the Caps logo was growing stale and the Blues had some red (which I hate for the Blues) but there is not a bad-looking team there. I suppose some will criticize the lack of non-horizontal stripes, but I love it. They all look like hockey teams should.
  • Nostalgia? Absolutely. Times change and I tend to accept that, but this is the NHL I grew up with and loved. No North Stars (Obviously this hurt most), Nordiques, and Whalers is tough to swallow. When I was checking year-by-year on the uniform DB, I was getting quite nostalgic for the good ol' days and there is probably a connection to why hockey was my favorite sport in the 80s and is not now (though going to Wisconsin at the same time the North Stars were starting in Dallas was the real key).

So it looks like I go to my mid-late youth for most of these...and baseball's the only one that does not have at least a hint of nostalgia. There is not much variation in time frame; before I started the post, I figured all but the NHL may end up being well into the 1990s but not so much. The NHL ended up a few years later than I'd guessed and the others ended up being earlier.

What is your favorite time?

[Jungle Jim]

I agree with you on the NFL. The Oilers, Buccaneers, Lions, Patriots, Bengals, Broncos, Eagles, Rams, and Seahawks all looked better with their previous uniforms from the early 90s, before navy, black, and dark green took over. I don't watch the NBA or NHL, so I have no opinion.

As for baseball, I'd go with the late 60s - early 70s era. Teams were traditional but yet you had some with nice colors, such as the Astros with orange caps, Pirates with mustard, Padres classy brown and yellow, and A's kelly green. The Reds looked the best in their history 1968-71, the Yankees hadn't added the awful armbands to their road jerseys, and teams like the Cardinals, Tigers, Dodgers, Yankees, and Red Sox had their typical nice looks. It was still before the dreaded pullover / waistband era, before the Padres, Pirates, A's, and Astros went crazy, before powder blue, and before black-for-black's-sake.

I will add that I think MLB has returned to a golden era of sorts today, with the Astros, Blue Jays, Orioles, and Mets returning to beautiful looks, and other teams getting rid of the BFBS and getting rid of vests. My biggest complaint about today is the alternates, which I wish did not exist.

[Phils Phan]

1969 for baseball. The Twins, Yankees, Senators, Reds, Astros, Dodgers, Expos, Mets, Phillies, Pirates, Padres, Giants and Cardinals were all essentially wearing their best look. The Orioles, Red Sox, Angels, Tigers, Royals, Pilots and Cubs all looked awesome as well. The White Sox were solid but far from their best, the A's unis were a little gaudy but I love how bold they were with their colors (we had more non-RBB teams that year, two along with the Padres, than we do now), the Braves were fairly solid but a little bland and the lack of tomahawk is criminal. The Indians were the only stinker (they had an awful hat that was literally the Red's hat with some navy in the middle of logo), but even they didn't look all that bad otherwise.

Before the alternate saturation and pullovers, but after the era where every team seemingly wore navy and red and half the road unis were just the city name in block text.

[BrandMooreArt]

speaking for football, as for uniform production and tech, we're in it now. the uniforms have never been lighter or better designed for performance. i also believe the materials aesthetically (and overall fit) look great. when it comes to the decoration its a tie for me between the 1960s and 1998 - 2011 when Reebok designed the Jets (throwback), Giants (throwback), Falcons, Bengals, Cards, Bills, and maybe we can count the minor tweaks to others.

[WideRight]

Gotta disagree with the idea that today's uniforms look better. They may fit better, be lighter and high performance but the sweatstain guts & pits are horrific. The see-through pants are also a major failure.

I am going to go with the mid 1980's. Not all of the designs were great, but there was consistency and the sins of the present had not hit yet (unitards, stripeless pants, sleeveless jerseys, shoulder stripes that don't wrap around, 1990's teal obsession, 2000's BFBS, chrome, matte, Chrome & matte on the same helmet, and the marketing BS that accompanies every new monstrosity)

Plus with the mid 1980's you get not only classic looks from a lot of NFL teams, but you get the full USFL as well, the best-dressed alternative football league ever.

[Jungle Jim]

Plus with the mid 1980's you get not only classic looks from a lot of NFL teams, but you get the full USFL as well, the best-dressed alternative football league ever.

The USFL was a beautiful league, helmets and all.

[Harmening]

Plus with the mid 1980's you get not only classic looks from a lot of NFL teams, but you get the full USFL as well, the best-dressed alternative football league ever.

The USFL was a beautiful league, helmets and all.

I also enjoyed the WLAF. Particularly, the San Antonio Riders.

[Spearhead]

I liked the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s in football. The coming of the American Football League with it's splashy colors and interesting uniform designs breathed new life into the look of the game. The era had a nice conservative balance that complimented some of the innovative new uniform patterns. It was the decade when helmet decals became standard and when more emphasis and thought was placed on logos. The arrival of things like the Dungard facemask made that era the best looking in football history.

[mad43dog]

The best was the big Dungard linemen cages

I liked the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s in football. The coming of the American Football League with it's splashy colors and interesting uniform designs breathed new life into the look of the game. The era had a nice conservative balance that complimented some of the innovative new uniform patterns. It was the decade when helmet decals became standard and when more emphasis and thought was placed on logos. The arrival of things like the Dungard facemask made that era the best looking in football history.

[VikWings]

I'm extremely nostalgic and because that's when I grew up I like some of the so called "90s crap" but I'm still going to try to be objective as I can with such a subjective topic.

MLB is definitely in looking great right now other than atrocious Marlins, the bland Padres and the fact the DBacks aren't in purple and teal. But if I had to pick a year/period I'd say early 00s. DBacks still in Purple and Teal and we still had the Expos.

**Unpopular opinion alert**: I'll add that I actually liked the baby blue 80s. Thought the Cardinals, Phillies and Royals especially looked great in it.

NHL, I wasn't alive then but late 80s-early 90s was probably the best. We're getting their now as their are only a handful of teams who need an overhaul (Avs, Ducks, Sens, Pens, Flames) and everyone else is either looking great or just needs a few tweaks. Beside lost teams like the Whalers I really miss the old Mighty Ducks and Picasso Coyotes unis though.

NFL. Probably the late 90s-01. Starting in 02 when Rebook came along we seen the Bills (prefer what the Bills were now to their Kelly era set though) and Seahawks get ruined. Then down the line the Bengals, Cardinals, Vikings and Jaguars were all also downgraded.

NBA. Hard to say. Would probably have to agree with the OP. Short shorts ruined anything basically pre 90s and from the mid-90s to now there's so much variation between nice, meh and atrocious.

[Tigers6884]

Baseball: 1968

Why: It was the last year of flannel uniforms. The Tigers had beautiful road uniforms, expansion hadn't brought pullovers with it yet, the Astros didn't wear Tequila Sunrise uniforms yet, and, my personal favorite, no brown Padres!

Hockey: early 1990s

Why: The Mighty Ducks were established, the Sharks didn't have a BFBS alternate, and the Lightning still wore black and silver along with a creative logo. The Whalers, Nordiques, and North Stars were still around. In the very early 90s, the North Stars wore, in my opinion, the best uniforms in their Minnesota days.

Football: 1980s

Why: The Houston Oilers were still around, Nike wasn't ruining any teams' classic look, and the Rams were still in Los Angeles. If you want to toss in the USFL, the Michigan Panthers had some pretty sweet helmets.

Basketball: 1980s

Why: The Pistons hadn't messed with their classic color scheme yet, pinstripes were still reserved for baseball uniforms, and, everyone's favorite reason for any past era, no sleeved jerseys!