NFL 100 Throwback Concepts (32/32 COMPLETE)

[Chawls]

On 6/6/2019 at 10:53 PM, packerfan21396 said:

Carolina Panthers:

 

1975 Throwback: The Surprisingly Late Beginning To Pro Football In North Carolina

Pro football took until 1974 to come to North Carolina, and it happened mid-season.  The Charlotte Hornets of the World Football League lasted from the middle of the 1974 season to the end of the 1975 season.  So thus, this lovechild of the Packers and Steelers exists.

 

1993 Throwback: The Uniform That Could've Been

Before they stepped on a field, the Panthers had a quite different uniform planned and even a slightly different color scheme.  However, come the 1995 season, the Panthers took the field wearing essentially the same uniform we see today.  So behold, in what could've been.

 

 That blue looks really dark. Also did you change your template? 

[packerfan21396]

Just now, Chawls said:

 

 That blue looks really dark. Also did you change your template? 

The blue is dark because it was supposed to be that dark; I used the color codes from the 1993 logoslick.  And the template I use is dependent on the team; Packers and Panthers are Reebok hold outs; Ravens, Colts, Bucs, and Browns are Nike Elite 81 hold outs; and the rest of the NFL uses the new Nike Vapor Untouchable template.

[packerfan21396]

1920 Muncie Flyers Throwback: One Of The Smallest Tenures Of The APFA

One of the founding members of the APFA, the Muncie Flyers didn't play a lot in the APFA (only 3 games against AFPA teams over 2 years, to be exact) but were one the first Indiana teams (the other being the Hammond Pros, but the Pros barely called Hammond home).  Due to this being the only uniform picture out there from their APFA days, the numbers and logos are based off of the 1915 Congerville Flyers' "C" and the Cleveland Indians' Tribe Type.

[WBeltz]

On 6/8/2019 at 3:41 PM, packerfan21396 said:

Indianapolis Colts:

 

1924 Throwback: The Beginning Of A Road Trip

The Indianapolis Colts can trace their roots to the Dayton Triangles, technically.  As a result, the most iconic Triangles jersey gets the Colts throwback treatment.

 

I need this to be a reality ASAP. The helmet alone is worthy of a throwback design.

[GrayJ12]

I love those Colts throwbacks! I especially find the Dayton Triangles one unique.

[packerfan21396]

Tennessee Titans:

 

1960 Throwback: The First Oilers, The Last Champions

The Oilers franchise started off hot, winning 2 straight AFL championships.  Those two being the only championships this franchise would even win, coming as close as a yard away from a third franchise championship almost 4 decades later.  The Titans have thrown back to these before, most notably during The Worst NFL Blowout, so hopefully this iteration captures the early 60s better.

 

1978 Throwback: Peak Oilers

The Oilers never reached the Super Bowl, but did almost got there twice at the end of the 70s, where this baby blue Oiler look has reached its peak of uniform evolution.  When you think Oilers, this is the uniform that usually comes with it.

[packerfan21396]

Jacksonville Jaguars:

 

1926 Throwback: The First Attempt at Jacksonville Football

Going back to the Bears Barnstorming tour of early 1926, Stanford star and soon to be Duluth Eskimos star Ernie Nevers decided to create a team for Jacksonville.  However, even less was found about the 1926 Jacksonville All-Stars than the 1926 Tampa Cardinals.  What was found, though, was presumably the plain Jacksonville uniforms, a program that is the basis of the color scheme and wordmark, and some action shots from one of Nevers' later barnstorming all-star teams.

 

1993 Throwback: The Copyright Infringement Prototype

The first logo and look of the Jaguars would never see their time on the field on Sundays, but did land a brand deal with the car company Jaguar via Ford over a potential copyright infringement lawsuit, and is a special kind of weird.  What could have been the league's first asymmetric uniform, this set featured an offset spaghettified jaguar that acts as a one-sided skinny yolk in addition to one-sided TV numbers and sleeve stripes, and bright colors.

 

1995 Throwback: The First Of Many

The Jaguars are the NFL's equivalent of the Arizona Diamondbacks; a relatively young team that likes to make a new look every half-decade even if the old set was decent. Contrary to the Panthers, the Jaguars look quite different now than they did in their inaugural season with a classic, conservative but distinct uniform.  Given the evolution of the Jaguar uniform, it's obvious that the organization is realizing that they only downgraded at every uniform change, leading to a classic, conservative but distinct 2018 rebrand that hints at bits and pieces of this time in Jags history.

[mjrbaseball]

It's too bad the Titans couldn't compromise with the rights to the Oilers identity. I'd like to see both teams wear Oilers gear when the Titans play the Texans. (Each from a different era, of course.)

[packerfan21396]

17 hours ago, mjrbaseball said:

It's too bad the Titans couldn't compromise with the rights to the Oilers identity. I'd like to see both teams wear Oilers gear when the Titans play the Texans. (Each from a different era, of course.)

Indeed, it'd be like the Braves vs. Braves game that happened after the Milwaukee Brewers switched leagues; the Brewers threw back to the Milwaukee Braves while playing the Atlanta Braves to celebrate Milwaukee (as a city) coming back to the NL.  However, the one-helmet rule has to be abolished in order for either team to hit the field as the Oilers, now that the Titans also have navy blue lids.

[packerfan21396]

Houston Texans:

 

1974 Throwback: That Looks A Bit Familiar

The first time a football team was named the Houston Texans, it was in the WFL for the first half of the 1974 season.  Of all the non-Oilers Houston teams, the Texans I seem to be the best choice for the Texans II as a throwback since all the teams didn't have much impact, but the Texans I at least have the name connection going for them.  As a result, here's a set that I bet J.J. Watt wouldn't mind wearing.

 

2000 Fauxback: The Fauxtotype

I took the 2000 prototype helmet, the 2002 pants stripe, and the fact that the 2002 uniform has shoulder stripes to create a better guess at a generic Texans uniform than Madden 02.

 

1976 Fauxback: The Texan Oilers

There's plenty of fan support for the Texans to wear baby blue Oilers uniforms, but if you recolor it with Texans colors to avoid some flack from the Titans, it could be an interesting fauxback.

[JH42XCC]

Those Texans fauxbacks are simply fantastic!

 

And the Jaguars have some decent throwback options, though I would've loved to see the USFL's Jacksonville Bulls (or at least a fauxback based on that) as one of the options.

 

Plus, with the NFC West and AFC West wrapping up the series, I wonder what you have planned for the Raiders since they've basically worn the same uniforms since 1963.

[heavybass]

That is true... The Raiders have literally been the same look for nearly 50+ years.

[simtek34]

5 hours ago, heavybassX said:

That is true... The Raiders have literally been the same look for nearly 50+ years.

Well, there was the Gold era in the early 1960s.

[Htown1141]

Give the Texans the Oilers throwbacks and I'll care.

I would genuinely scratch the idea of all the Texans throwbacks, save for the Oilers one to be honest. I don't really know the actual fanbases of other teams (except for the Lions), but I know that no one in Houston would give a :censored:. I understand the WFL choice, as their name was Texans, but a MUCH better non-NFL choice would've been the Gamblers. If the Texans store sold Gamblers stuff, It would sell like crazy compared to anything else (except for Oilers uniforms). The prototype set doesn't work, either. The intention was good (and the execution was fine), but if just serves no value. It doesn't add anything, but instead takes up another home game slot. Lastly, the mashup set looks good, but I don't think it goes far enough. I wanna see some columbia, my guy. Houston would go nuts, and it would be a win-win for the fans and the team (:censored: the Titans. I've literally never met a Titans fan.)

[packerfan21396]

15 minutes ago, Htown1141 said:

Give the Texans the Oilers throwbacks and I'll care.

I would genuinely scratch the idea of all the Texans throwbacks, save for the Oilers one to be honest. I don't really know the actual fanbases of other teams (except for the Lions), but I know that no one in Houston would give a :censored:. I understand the WFL choice, as their name was Texans, but a MUCH better non-NFL choice would've been the Gamblers. If the Texans store sold Gamblers stuff, It would sell like crazy compared to anything else (except for Oilers uniforms). The prototype set doesn't work, either. The intention was good (and the execution was fine), but if just serves no value. It doesn't add anything, but instead takes up another home game slot. Lastly, the mashup set looks good, but I don't think it goes far enough. I wanna see some columbia, my guy. Houston would go nuts, and it would be a win-win for the fans and the team (:censored: the Titans. I've literally never met a Titans fan.)

I admire the passion here, and I was kind of hoping I'd get your attention to hear your two cents.

 

I did admit the all the WFL Texans had going for them was the same name, and the Gamblers probably are the better non-Oiler option to the Houston fan, so I'll probably swap that out.

 

However, the protoype fauxback does serve the purpose of invoking the excitement of a new expansion franchise and the 2000 logo reveal ceremony that came with passing around a white helmet to commentators and media, just like the Panthers and Jaguars prototypes do.  And arguably all throwbacks don't add much other than a home game in different colors/styles and more merchandise, but its a great way to at least acknowledge the history of the team or city during the centennial of NFL football.

 

Lastly, I agree that the best part of the Oilers is the columbia blue, and that can be seen with the response I got from the Titans' Oilers throwbacks I made.  However, the Texans' identity comes from the Texas state flag and culture, and I wanted to keep the Texans' deeper state flag color scheme.  But I bet to you they look wrong, and I get that.  When I look at the Milwaukee Brewers wearing their y mashup alternates as a fan of the ingenious nature of the ball-in-glove and the royal and yellow of the Brewers' heyday, and of the classy beer label nature of the M wheat and navy and gold I grew up with, separately, it makes me a bit angry too.  Much to my dismay, though, the navy and gold ball-in-glove sells.  To you, would you prefer a columbia and red bull or a navy and burgundy derrick, or is it columbia derrick or bust?

[Htown1141]

11 minutes ago, packerfan21396 said:

I admire the passion here, and I was kind of hoping I'd get your attention to hear your two cents.

 

I did admit the all the WFL Texans had going for them was the same name, and the Gamblers probably are the better non-Oiler option to the Houston fan, so I'll probably swap that out.

 

However, the protoype fauxback does serve the purpose of invoking the excitement of a new expansion franchise and the 2000 logo reveal ceremony that came with passing around a white helmet to commentators and media, just like the Panthers and Jaguars prototypes do.  And arguably all throwbacks don't add much other than a home game in different colors/styles and more merchandise, but its a great way to at least acknowledge the history of the team or city during the centennial of NFL football.

 

Lastly, I agree that the best part of the Oilers is the columbia blue, and that can be seen with the response I got from the Titans' Oilers throwbacks I made.  However, the Texans' identity comes from the Texas state flag and culture, and I wanted to keep the Texans' deeper state flag color scheme.  But I bet to you they look wrong, and I get that.  When I look at the Milwaukee Brewers wearing their y mashup alternates as a fan of the ingenious nature of the ball-in-glove and the royal and yellow of the Brewers' heyday, and of the classy beer label nature of the M wheat and navy and gold I grew up with, separately, it makes me a bit angry too.  Much to my dismay, though, the navy and gold ball-in-glove sells.  To you, would you prefer a columbia and red bull or a navy and burgundy derrick, or is it columbia derrick or bust?

I think the main difference between the prototype Texans set and the fauxbacks for the Panthers and Jaguars is that those teams unveiled their uniforms a year ahead of time, and the Panthers ended up tweaking theirs a little bit and the Jags got sued by Jaguar. All the Texans had at that point was their logo on a helmet. I'd actually hit up the design firm who made the Texans logo and uniforms and ask about some ideas left on the cutting room floor if you want to come up with a true fauxback/prototype design. As for the bull/ navy derrick/ columbia derrick question, I actually did a concept not seen here for my madden series where I used the columbia and red bull without an outline. The outline helps a little bit to distinguish between the columbia and white in certain lighting situations but ultimately it could go either way.

[packerfan21396]

Houston Texans Redux:

 

1984 Throwback: The Best Of The Non-Oilers

Despite the WFL Texans having the same name, the USFL Houston Gamblers were actually decent at football and had a great negative space logo.  Also, the Gamblers featured Jim Kelly before he lost 4 Super Bowls.

 

2000 Throwback: The Throwback Prototype Throwback

Taking @Htown1141's suggestion, I reached out to Mark Verlander, designer of the Texans logo, on insight into the original vision for the Texans and he said this:

Quote

The original colors I wanted to do for the Texans were meant to be dirty, battle worn colors, Steel Blue, Battle Red, Storm White.

The logo was just blue and red on a white background, to be very simple compared to typical sports logos.

The first uniform study was based on uniforms of the 20’s and 40’s, very simple, to evoke the pure ruggedness of football.

and sent me this rendering, which I modernized.

 

1978 Throwback: Some Columbia

'78 Oilers. Recolored bull. 'Nuf said.

[_DietDrPepper_]

That rendering is fantastic! It’s awesome you were able to get inside the mind of the original creator, Verlander, and look at some prototypes. While I do like the navy and red better, that color scheme is awesome!

[heavybass]

I haven't seen that before for the fauxtype... and it's given me ideas for when I do the Texans eventually.

[Chawls]

So the Texans almost used a color similar to Texas’ burnt orange. Very interesting.