Indianapolis colts to make a color change...

[RedSoxMLB14]

I don't think anyone has posted this change. Came across this article while surfing the web today...

It's darker shade of blue for Colts

Associated Press

January 22, 2004

Indianapolis Colts fans can still believe in blue next season -- but it will be a darker shade of royal blue.

The team will sport darker uniforms next season, Indianapolis television WISH reported Wednesday.

The team wants to make the color closer to the shade it was when the Colts came to Indianapolis from Baltimore in the 1980s, said team executive Pete Ward.

"Over the last 10 years or so our jersey has become lighter and a lighter shade of blue unintentionally through manufacturing by the manufacturers, so all we are doing is correcting it back to the original Colts blue," Ward said.

Colts merchandise will reflect the change, he said.

"We've been told by people who seem to know that it will be a more popular color in terms of retail, but that's not why we're doing it," Ward said. "We're just trying to get back to the original Colts blue and if it means more retail sales, then that's great."

Link for article

--RedSoxMLB14

[puckcool22]

thats too bad, i like there royal blue, i mean not many teams will use a not navy or carolina blue these days

[waggie]

EDIT maybe I should read it thouroughly next time and not scan it. I though it said tey were doin navy blue, but I still like what they have now, I wonder how much darker it will get.

[X-Man]

Weird - I suggested they do just this, for just those reasons, on here a few weeks ago (a general "NFL uni changes we'd like to see" board). Good move - that way, when Manning waits to throw his annual 4-INT game in the Super Bowl, they'll look tougher and more trad at the same time.

[Lee.]

To me, though, the last sentence is the telling one:

"

"We're just trying to get back to the original Colts blue and if it means more retail sales, then that's great."

Hmmmmmm...

[yh]

This sounds like good news so long as they don't go back to the white facemasks they had when the Mayflowers first pulled up to the Hoosier Dome.  That blue certainly did seem to lighten up over the years, especially on the helmet and facemasks.

[Avenger]

Have the Colts ever used two thin black stripes on either side of their blue helmet stripe? I have a friend who insists that they have, but I've never seen it.

[TruColor]

By my count, the Colts have had three different Pantone colors representing their Royal Blue...however, the one they used with the Silver/Gray pants and trim was a little bit lighter than the one they currently use.

Oh, and I'm 99.9% sure they've never had Black trim anywhere in their uniforms...

[STL FANATIC]

So long as this isn't gonna be navy this will be a good change...like I said though, if they would just double up the helmet stripe, they would border perfection.

[mac]

i got no problem with the color or the helmet, the helmet is a classic and should never be changed. The only thing wrong is that the damn shoulder stripes don't go all the way around the shoulder. They should fix that before they fix the color. I mean would it be so hard reebok.

[NJTank]

Why is everyone darkening their blue. I dont think the Colts need to do anything at all their shade fits them well.

[sc49erfan15]

I don't think the Colts WANT the sleeve stripes to go all the way around. I don't think they ever have, even before Reebok. Neither do LSU's...

[TruColor]

Between 1987 and 1988 - when the Colts dropped the infamous Gray from their uniforms - the shoulder stripes were moved up slightly, and the "disconnectedness" started.

I've got both style guide sheets, and a letter from the NFL explaining the Colts' late notice to the NFL regarding the change.

[rtrich11]

Avenger, your friend may have seen an old BYU helmet from a few years ago and been confused. They had the same royal blue and white, then added black. Then of course, they dumped it all to go navy and tan.

And the colts had the bands go all the way around the arms for quite some time. I'm looking at a photo right now where they form a little "V" at the bottom of the armpit.

Looking forward to the darker blue, but you couldn't lose with either.

[sc49erfan15]

Oh. Well then. They obviously don't want them to though, or they'd have them go all the way around. Not Reebok's fault...

[Avenger]

From my understanding, as uniform cuts have evolved, It's become increasingly more difficult to have striping completely encircle the sleeves. If you look at a bunch of teams that either had striping completely encircle their shoulder (Colts, Jets, Bengals, LSU) or their sleeve (Packers, Steelers), they now don't connect.

[STL FANATIC]

The Rams don't always conect, but they go down farther than the other teams for some reason...

[sj32]

On the stripes not going all the way around, the Colts and Jets have moved the stripes from the top of the sleeve to the end of the shoulder. The offensive linemen's jerseys were the first to be redesigned so that the sleeves didn't come down so far on the arm. The Jets changed the design so that all jerseys were like this a couple of years ago while last season was the first year for the Colts' redesign. Now, the stripes are the length of the shoulder seam whereas in the past they ran the length of the sleeve with a blank space under the arm, where there was either a gusset or a piece of spandex that ran down the side and under the arm. I'm not sure if the Jets have been selling the new cut, but this year the Colts were still selling the old cut with the longer stripes.

Here's the 2002 redesign:

This is an old 1998 Logo Athletic Manning rookie with the stripes as part of the sleeve:

[Avenger]

I definetely like the '98 Colts striping better, but I don't mind the newer Jets striping. I think it works better with the color-blocking on the sleeves.

[Le Suisse]

Bring the Colts back to Baltimore! That's the only solution for all their troubles of every kind including colors!