1965-66 Broncos Jersey

[darkhaha]

I finally received my long-awaited vintage Broncos jersey from Home Run Derby, and for the most part I really love it.

Two small quibbles: I'm not sure why the manufacturer truncated the top white stripes on the sleeves, as they should actually go all the way over the way the bottom stripes do. Also, the collar is a bit too thick; it should be approximately the same size as the white sleeve stripes (as you can see from the first pic in my sig).

One of the things I love about the original jersey design is the proportions of all the elements. These little flaws in the HR Derby jersey mess with that somewhat. Aside from those small complaints (it's hell being a uni geek sometimes), I think it's a pretty killer addition to my collection.

[roxfan00]

Cool, nice jersey. I've always liked those 65-66 uniforms

[darkhaha]

Cool, nice jersey. I've always liked those 65-66 uniforms

Me, too (I guess that's obvious by now). I know a lot of people don't like the "drunken donkey" on the helmet, but the rest of the uni design was the best the Broncos ever had, IMHO. The set was just doomed because the Broncos were so bad back then, and Lou Saban wanted to change their image when he came in in '67.

Semi-interesting historical footnote: the very first Bronco game I ever saw was in August, 1967 when they played the Lions and became the first AFL team to beat an NFL team. In that game the Broncos wore their '66 pants and jerseys with the new blue helmets (no decals, reddish-orange/white/reddish-orange stripes).

[roxfan00]

Cool, nice jersey. I've always liked those 65-66 uniforms

Me, too (I guess that's obvious by now). I know a lot of people don't like the "drunken donkey" on the helmet, but the rest of the uni design was the best the Broncos ever had, IMHO. The set was just doomed because the Broncos were so bad back then, and Lou Saban wanted to change their image when he came in in '67.

Semi-interesting historical footnote: the very first Bronco game I ever saw was in August, 1967 when they played the Lions and became the first AFL tram to beat an NFL team. In that game the Broncos wore their '66 pants and jerseys with the new blue helmets (no decals, reddish-orange/white/reddish-orange stripes).

Where was that game played at? I don't recall seeing buildings near the field like that at Mile High/Bears Stadium, even in old pics.

[darkhaha]

Cool, nice jersey. I've always liked those 65-66 uniforms

Me, too (I guess that's obvious by now). I know a lot of people don't like the "drunken donkey" on the helmet, but the rest of the uni design was the best the Broncos ever had, IMHO. The set was just doomed because the Broncos were so bad back then, and Lou Saban wanted to change their image when he came in in '67.

Semi-interesting historical footnote: the very first Bronco game I ever saw was in August, 1967 when they played the Lions and became the first AFL tram to beat an NFL team. In that game the Broncos wore their '66 pants and jerseys with the new blue helmets (no decals, reddish-orange/white/reddish-orange stripes).

Where was that game played at? I don't seeing buildings near the fild like that at Mile High/Bears Stadium, even in old pics.

It was played at the University of Denver Stadium, which was located just southwest of University and Buchtel, approximately where Magness Arena and the Barton Lacrosse Field are today.

[bulldogbarks55]

I've always liked those Bronco jerseys because Orange & Royal are the colors of my high school. HRD didn't use the correct number font. The original jerseys used Liebes Pro Style Plain Block numbers (Dodgers). The numbers HRD used on your shirt look like Stahls Varsity Block. Your 2s look to me like a Stahls "5" turned upside down and backwards. And the "3" is definitely from Stahls.

What material is the jersey made from?

[darkhaha]

I've always liked those Bronco jerseys because Orange & Royal are the colors of my high school. HRD didn't use the correct number font. The original jerseys used Liebes Pro Style Plain Block numbers (Dodgers). The numbers HRD used on your shirt look like Stahls Varsity Block. Your 2s look to me like a Stahls "5" turned upside down and backwards. And the "3" is definitely from Stahls.

What material is the jersey made from?

You obviously have more knowledge of the font styles than I do (I rarely know the names), but it looks pretty close to me:

If that were an upside down 5, it would be a 5 with a middle bar that rides lower than any one I'm aware of.

The jersey material is another small disappointment -- it's 100% nylon, even though HRD claimed it would be Durene, which is 50% cotton and 50% nylon. I now have four jerseys from HRD (with one on the way), and only one (a powder blue Chargers) is the 50-50 mix; the rest are all 100% nylon. To be honest, when I touch them I can't tell a HUGE difference, but it would be nice to have the right material.

[RickV]

I love HR Derby, would rather have one of theirs than M&N.

[robpas]

These are made by Southland Athletic, right? Does it have knit in stripes? I wonder if I could order a custom Southland hockey jeresy through HR Derby...

[PittsburghSucks]

I'd like to see the Broncos use that jersey with their current colors & logo.

[darkhaha]

These are made by Southland Athletic, right? Does it have knit in stripes? I wonder if I could order a custom Southland hockey jeresy through HR Derby...

Yes, the jerseys are made by Southland, and HRD does the numbering and lettering. You can try contacting them about a custom jersey, although I have never seen anything about hockey stuff on their site.

My experience with the football jerseys is that they can do a "custom" job, but they still have to wait for enough orders to come in to do a production run, which means it can take a really long time.

[darkhaha]

I'd like to see the Broncos use that jersey with their current colors & logo.

I think that would look really cool, too, although I've always loved this particular shade of royal blue the Broncos used back in the day.

[bulldogbarks55]

These are made by Southland Athletic, right? Does it have knit in stripes? I wonder if I could order a custom Southland hockey jeresy through HR Derby...

Looked up Southland's web site. They offer their #74 cloth- it's 50% Stretch Nylon/50% Durene Cotton. Their 50% Nylon/50% Durene Cotton cloth which used to be #54 cloth is no longer shown. When we still had our store in Rochester, NY in the early 1980s I tried to have Southland (we were a dealer) make up some hockey sweaters in #54 cloth. They wouldn't do it then.

That #54 cloth was what Southland used to use for the Dallas Cowboys jersey sleeves because they could knit the stripes right in. The body of the Cowboys jerseys was Nylon Mesh similar to today's ProBrite. They still used jerseys made of 100% #54 cloth when they played in colder climates. They added the pockets for either Dandy Don or Staubach to use to keep their hands warm.

And has anyone ever noticed that the Cowboy jerseys numbers put on by Southland have the extra serifs on the 2,3,6 and 9 while the sleeve numbers don't have them? Those numbers were Southland's regular Full Block fonts.

[darkhaha]

These are made by Southland Athletic, right? Does it have knit in stripes? I wonder if I could order a custom Southland hockey jeresy through HR Derby...

Looked up Southland's web site. They offer their #74 cloth- it's 50% Stretch Nylon/50% Durene Cotton. Their 50% Nylon/50% Durene Cotton cloth which used to be #54 cloth is no longer shown. When we still had our store in Rochester, NY in the early 1980s I tried to have Southland (we were a dealer) make up some hockey sweaters in #54 cloth. They wouldn't do it then.

That #54 cloth was what Southland used to use for the Dallas Cowboys jersey sleeves because they could knit the stripes right in. The body of the Cowboys jerseys was Nylon Mesh similar to today's ProBrite. They still used jerseys made of 100% #54 cloth when they played in colder climates. They added the pockets for either Dandy Don or Staubach to use to keep their hands warm.

And has anyone ever noticed that the Cowboy jerseys numbers put on by Southland have the extra serifs on the 2,3,6 and 9 while the sleeve numbers don't have them? Those numbers were Southland's regular Full Block fonts.

I LOVE nearly any jersey with the stripes knit in. As far as I'm concerned, screen-printing on mesh was a giant step backwards. I remember noticing the difference between the 2 on Roger Staubach's front and back and the one on his sleeves.

[NJTank]

Good god was that an ugly jersey. I guess thats what makes it a classic in the same vein as the Astros Rainbow guts.

[darkhaha]

Good god was that an ugly jersey. I guess thats what makes it a classic in the same vein as the Astros Rainbow guts.

Thanks for sharing.

[Spearhead]

Great jersey. Splashy orange and a vivid blue. The Broncs would have done well to have kept the look all these years.

Also, Goose Gonsoulin was a great player from my old stomping grounds on the Texas Gulf Coast.

[robpas]

The reason I was asking about knitted stripes was because I was wondering if HR Derby could get Southland to make a replica of this:

The teal 75-76 Seals jersey was basically the same as an old school long sleeve football jersey with UCLA shoulder inserts... the only difference were the 2 color stripes at the bottom hem, and the cuffs. I know that football jerseys are longer, but so were the Mitchell & Ness hockey jerseys...

[andrewharrington]

I've always liked those Bronco jerseys because Orange & Royal are the colors of my high school. HRD didn't use the correct number font. The original jerseys used Liebes Pro Style Plain Block numbers (Dodgers). The numbers HRD used on your shirt look like Stahls Varsity Block. Your 2s look to me like a Stahls "5" turned upside down and backwards. And the "3" is definitely from Stahls.

What material is the jersey made from?

You obviously have more knowledge of the font styles than I do (I rarely know the names), but it looks pretty close to me:

If that were an upside down 5, it would be a 5 with a middle bar that rides lower than any one I'm aware of.

The jersey material is another small disappointment -- it's 100% nylon, even though HRD claimed it would be Durene, which is 50% cotton and 50% nylon. I now have four jerseys from HRD (with one on the way), and only one (a powder blue Chargers) is the 50-50 mix; the rest are all 100% nylon. To be honest, when I touch them I can't tell a HUGE difference, but it would be nice to have the right material.

I don't know, those numbers are an awfully close match to the photo, bulldog. I'd be ecstatic with that kind of attention to detail. More importantly, darkhaha, you say you were puzzled by the truncated upper sleeve stripes, but there they are on the photo, truncated exactly how they are on your jersey.

[LuvTheNats]

i agree with darkhaha...it is hell being a jersey geek and collector...but damn fun too