NFL jersey question

[RickV]

Wondering if any uniform afficionados know the answer to this question. When and why did the NFL move from durene material to the ubiquitous mesh material now commonly used? Was it strictly for player comfort, or did manufacturing costs figure in as well?

[sj32]

The NFL started moving away from Durene to nylon mesh about the same time MLB started going from flannel to double knit - early 1970's. The thing the NFL couldn't figure out was how to put the sleeve stripes on the new mesh. If you look at pictures or film from 1971 and 1972, you'll notice many teams that had sleeve striping before dropped them during those seasons. Stripes were sublimated (part of the fabric) on the Durene jerseys. Sometime in 1972, they figured out that the stripes could be silk-screened on the jerseys. Later, they started silk-screening names and numbers on these jerseys - a practice which has since died out in the NFL but is still prevalent in college. If you look at film of the '72 Dolphins, you will notice that some players (Griese most notably)wore the '71 jerseys with no stipes while others wore the '72 jerseys with stripes and a slightly different number font.

The main reason for the switch, I believe, is that the nylon mesh jerseys were easier to take care of, cooler in hot weather, cheaper and more durable. Some teams, most notably the Steelers and Cowboys, were slow to shift from Durene to mesh. I own a white Kordell Stewart jersey that I bought in 1996 when Starter was the supplier - it is made of Durene. I don't think the Steelers abandoned Durene until Nike started making their jerseys in the late 90's (although the sleeves and shoulders are still made of a Durene-like material). I think the Browns white jerseys during the Bernie Kosar era were made of Durene, making the Browns the only team to go from Durene to mesh back to Durene.

In the 70's, the Jets would wear the nylon mesh jerseys in the summer and go back to the Durene jerseys in cold weather. I'm not sure how many teams kept some Durene jerseys around for winter.

[Guest robpas]

I believe the San Diego Chargers wore long sleeved Durene jerseys until the early 90's for cold weather games...

[sj32]

I believe the San Diego Chargers wore long sleeved Durene jerseys until the early 90's for cold weather games...

I don't recall the Chargers wearing Durene after darkening the blue in the mid 70's. I don't think anybody has worn long sleeves since the Steelers ditched them in the late 70's. They definitely wore their normal mesh jerseys in the 1981 AFC Championship game at Cincinnati (-60 wind chill). If you have a picture of this, please post it.

[BRice16]

SJ - The Steelers only wore Durene in cold weather games during the 90's. The Packers did the same. I'm gathering this by looking at my collection of NFL Pro Set cards from 94-96.

The material on the present shoulders isn't durene, its a slightly thicker form of the spandex that is under the arms of every team jersey. The Jaguars also go with this material on the shoulders. It was one of Nike's last innovations for NFL Teams, giving slightly better mobility.

Most teams don't use it because it isn't as durable as the dazzle material other teams use and it has become much harder for teams to get replacement jerseys in-season since Reebok took over the NFL contract.

[sj32]

SJ - The Steelers only wore Durene in cold weather games during the 90's. The Packers did the same. I'm gathering this by looking at my collection of NFL Pro Set cards from 94-96.

The Packers wearing Durene wouldn't shock me. Brett Favre every now and then pulls out an old Starter jersey with pockets in the front during cold-weather games. Do you know if it's Durene? It always looks odd when he wears it because it has the old five-stripe pattern instead of the current three-stripe sleeve.

The Steelers had both mesh and Durene black jerseys - wearing the black Durene for cold weather, but I'm not sure they had white mesh jerseys until recently. It would make sense that they would have both in white considering they had both in black, but I don't remember seeing them until Nike became the Steelers' uniform supplier.

I know that NIKE switched the shoulder material about five years ago, but when they first started making the Steelers jerseys (the first year they altered the number font), the shoulders and sleeves were still Durene. I own one of these jerseys.

[BRice16]

Its hard to pinpoint because not every player wore the different style of jersey.That's partly the reason the NFL has cracked down on the "uniformity" of its uniforms in the last 5 years. I know the Steelers had white mesh jerseys in '94 and '95. I'm looking at a card right now that has a Steelers player wearing a white mesh jersey with the "75" patch. They also wore mesh in the Super Bowl after the '95 season. That doesn't mean that all players wore them or that they wore them in all games. I used to have a Rod Woodson '94 authentic jersey with the patch that was made completely of durene, so I know they had both at least that season. I sold it a couple of years back to finance an expansion in my jersey collection.

Farve can't wear his old jersey anymore. Neither can Larry Allen (who used to wear the same Cowboys jersey from '97 or '98 every Thanksgiving, tho with the Thanksgiving Classics program, it became a moot point).

NFL teams were issued a memo at the beginning of last season that said players could only wear in game jerseys issued by the team for that season. They are no longer permitted to wear jerseys, pants, or visable undergarments from previous seasons, even if they were once team-issued. Classmate that interned with the Titans last year told me that. They threw out (and gave away) a ton of Puma and pre "NFLEquipment" Reebok stuff last year that had been leftover from previous seasons.

Simply taping or sewing over old logos is no longer sufficient. Aparantly this was sparked after Mike Vick wore a Nike Falcons mock turtleneck (with a small patch covering the swoosh) in their playoff win over the Packers a couple of years back. The people at Reebok were livid when they saw him wearing the old gear, sparking the memo at the beginning of the next season.

[Guest robpas]

I believe the San Diego Chargers wore long sleeved Durene jerseys until the early 90's for cold weather games...

I don't recall the Chargers wearing Durene after darkening the blue in the mid 70's. I don't think anybody has worn long sleeves since the Steelers ditched them in the late 70's. They definitely wore their normal mesh jerseys in the 1981 AFC Championship game at Cincinnati (-60 wind chill). If you have a picture of this, please post it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...5149829853&rd=1

[robbman21]

I'm glad the old hand-warmer jerseys were mentioned,as I was going to ask about these as I was reading this topic.I saw NFL Films a couple weeks back and noticed John Elway was wearing one during "The Drive".Are these permissable anymore or does it have to be the belt-worn hand warmers and/or gloves now?I do also remember seeing Favre wear his,but it's been a good while since I've actually noticed anyone wearing these so I did not know if they were obsolete or not.

[FiddySicks]

The NFL started moving away from Durene to nylon mesh about the same time MLB started going from flannel to double knit - early 1970's. The thing the NFL couldn't figure out was how to put the sleeve stripes on the new mesh. If you look at pictures or film from 1971 and 1972, you'll notice many teams that had sleeve striping before dropped them during those seasons. Stripes were sublimated (part of the fabric) on the Durene jerseys. Sometime in 1972, they figured out that the stripes could be silk-screened on the jerseys. Later, they started silk-screening names and numbers on these jerseys - a practice which has since died out in the NFL but is still prevalent in college. If you look at film of the '72 Dolphins, you will notice that some players (Griese most notably)wore the '71 jerseys with no stipes while others wore the '72 jerseys with stripes and a slightly different number font.

The main reason for the switch, I believe, is that the nylon mesh jerseys were easier to take care of, cooler in hot weather, cheaper and more durable. Some teams, most notably the Steelers and Cowboys, were slow to shift from Durene to mesh. I own a white Kordell Stewart jersey that I bought in 1996 when Starter was the supplier - it is made of Durene. I don't think the Steelers abandoned Durene until Nike started making their jerseys in the late 90's (although the sleeves and shoulders are still made of a Durene-like material). I think the Browns white jerseys during the Bernie Kosar era were made of Durene, making the Browns the only team to go from Durene to mesh back to Durene.

In the 70's, the Jets would wear the nylon mesh jerseys in the summer and go back to the Durene jerseys in cold weather. I'm not sure how many teams kept some Durene jerseys around for winter.

Just a question. is Durene that polyester type material that some of the cheaper replica jerseys, and i think the replica hockey jerseys are made of?

[FiddySicks]

Its hard to pinpoint because not every player wore the different style of jersey.That's partly the reason the NFL has cracked down on the "uniformity" of its uniforms in the last 5 years. I know the Steelers had white mesh jerseys in '94 and '95. I'm looking at a card right now that has a Steelers player wearing a white mesh jersey with the "75" patch. They also wore mesh in the Super Bowl after the '95 season. That doesn't mean that all players wore them or that they wore them in all games. I used to have a Rod Woodson '94 authentic jersey with the patch that was made completely of durene, so I know they had both at least that season. I sold it a couple of years back to finance an expansion in my jersey collection.

Farve can't wear his old jersey anymore. Neither can Larry Allen (who used to wear the same Cowboys jersey from '97 or '98 every Thanksgiving, tho with the Thanksgiving Classics program, it became a moot point).

NFL teams were issued a memo at the beginning of last season that said players could only wear in game jerseys issued by the team for that season. They are no longer permitted to wear jerseys, pants, or visable undergarments from previous seasons, even if they were once team-issued. Classmate that interned with the Titans last year told me that. They threw out (and gave away) a ton of Puma and pre "NFLEquipment" Reebok stuff last year that had been leftover from previous seasons.

Simply taping or sewing over old logos is no longer sufficient. Aparantly this was sparked after Mike Vick wore a Nike Falcons mock turtleneck (with a small patch covering the swoosh) in their playoff win over the Packers a couple of years back. The people at Reebok were livid when they saw him wearing the old gear, sparking the memo at the beginning of the next season.

yeah i dont think I ever saw jerry rice, or rich gannon for that matter wear a jersey with the new nfl equipment logo on the collar. they still had the old regular NFL logo on the collar

[BRice16]

Jerry Rice with an NFL Equipment jersey...

And Rich Gannon...

[RickV]

Thank you guys, that was excellent information. I for one prefer the old durene jerseys, I also noticed that the sleeve stripes have virtually disappeared and always wondered why. I know it wont happen, but I wish they would go back to the durene, it just reminds me of the old NFL, when defenses dominated. Also I just prefer the older NFL look, I've always thought that less is more, and cant get used to all the crazy looking stripes and other trim on the NFL jerseys and pants.

[sj32]

Just a question. is Durene that polyester type material that some of the cheaper replica jerseys, and i think the replica hockey jerseys are made of?

Durene is actually a specially treated cotton fabric. It's not as thick as a sweatshirt but it does have some weight to it. The treatment gives the fabric a dull shine that's not quite as noticeable as dazzle cloth, but definitely makes it stand out from the cheap polyesters you mention.

Here is a closeup picture from dropthepucks.com that shows an old Penguins durene jersey. NHL teams also used durene until the mid 70's when they migrated to heavyweight polyester. If you ever need good closeups of Durene jerseys, www.dropthepucks.com is the place to go. They also have a couple of excellent examples of Durene NFL jerseys.

robpas - that's an interesting Chargers jersey. I still don't think those ever saw the playing field and I always take "authentic" jerseys on EBay with a grain of salt. The fact that it is a blank makes me believe that this was probably a sample. The main question I have about it is why would the Chargers need cold-weather uniforms in home blue? Looking at the 1990 schedule, the only games in which those jerseys would be worn on the road would be at Dallas and possibly at Cleveland (since those teams wore white at home) - and both of those games were played in September.

This jersey also brings up a question for experts out there with more expertise than I have - would Medalist / Sand-Knit or the Chargers put a year tag on a blank jersey?

BRice16 - Thanks for the information. That's very helpful on both the Steelers and "uniformity" enforcement.

[FiddySicks]

Jerry Rice with an NFL Equipment jersey...

And Rich Gannon...

ok but wasnt there a year where they could wear either?

[BRice16]

There was a year (2001) that Reebok made NFL jerseys before the NFL Equipment tag was established. You're probably thinking of that year. From 2002-on they had the equipment tag. The first Jerry Rice picture is from 2002.

[Discrim]

I'm glad the old hand-warmer jerseys were mentioned,as I was going to ask about these as I was reading this topic.I saw NFL Films a couple weeks back and noticed John Elway was wearing one during "The Drive".Are these permissable anymore or does it have to be the belt-worn hand warmers and/or gloves now?I do also remember seeing Favre wear his,but it's been a good while since I've actually noticed anyone wearing these so I did not know if they were obsolete or not.

I KNEW I wasn't hallucinating! I know for sure he wore his old handwarmer jersey a few years ago against the Vikings (and i'd noticed that it happened to have the old 5-stripe pattern instead of the 3-stripe pattern everybody else had)

I'm thinking he got away with it for the first half of that game, but they made him change for the second half, or something like that.

[63Bulldogs63]

I was wondering. THis may or may not be an NFL Jersey question, But here goes. My Away jersey for H/s is made up of two materials. Not quite sure what they are. It is white but it has alternation white material going down it. a stripe with holes, then a solid one, etc.. I noticed some old Patiot jerseys prior to the new design ones, with this same type material patter. Has the nfl completely ditched this or what? I can try to find some photo evidence if needed.