1965-66 Broncos Jersey

[darkhaha]

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.

Yes, I see what you're saying about the sleeve stripes in the vintage photo, but they still extend a lot farther than the ones on my jersey. I also think it's possible that this truncated effect is the result of the fabric from the sleeve sort of hiding the rest of the stripe. Here are some other closeups:

Note the sleeve on the lower left in the photo above.

Of course, it's possible that some jerseys had the truncated stripe, and some didn't...

[Gothamite]

Yeah, your sleeve stripes might well fall in the parameters of the team's customization.

Looks great. Going to order my 1944 Packers jersey from them soon.

[darkhaha]

Yeah, your sleeve stripes might well fall in the parameters of the team's customization.

Looks great. Going to order my 1944 Packers jersey from them soon.

I've had some minor quibbles with them because I'm a geek, but the overall quality and attention to detail of the jerseys I've gotten from HR Derby have been exemplary.

As I recall, Gothamite, you're more a fan of the blue and gold era, but HR Derby has a pretty killer early '60s Paul Hornung jersey up for auction on their eBay site. It's got the old-style super-serif font and everything.

[Gothamite]

I've seen their auctions - beautiful jersey.

But you're right - I have a strict limitation on my collection, to keep it from getting out of hand. I'm not buying anything after 1949 anymore, haven't for years. I'm probably the only Packers collector who has no interest in Lombardi.

I've spoken with him about making the Don Hutson jersey:

But haven't yet had room in my budget.

[darkhaha]

I've seen their auctions - beautiful jersey.

But you're right - I have a strict limitation on my collection, to keep it from getting out of hand. I'm not buying anything after 1949 anymore, haven't for years. I'm probably the only Packers collector who has no interest in Lombardi.

I've spoken with him about making the Don Hutson jersey:

But haven't yet had room in my budget.

I know what you mean about concentrating on specific eras. I am primarily fixated on the 1965-66 Bronco unis, although I like the '62-64 set (which featured a lighter orange), too:

I was never a fan of the unis from '67 on... I like the colors of the current set; if they were to de-Nikefy them and make the side panels straight rather than swooshes, I think they would be pretty killer.

[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?

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.

I don't know guys, but look at #87's LEFT sleeve. The white stripe appears to go all the way around while his right sleeve seems to be truncated. Could all of the truncated stripes be caused by the way the players wore the jersey, and HRD used those photos when they ordered from Southland? Inquiring minds want to know.

In my 41 years of selling uniforms I've seen and sold just about every company. One thing has always amazed me. In the days before screenprinted stripes and now sublimation how innovative the manufacturers were in creating unique jersey features. They took the look that the team wanted and made it happen with the materials and machinery they already had on hand. Good old-fashioned American ingenuity at its finest! Too bad the manufacturers of today don't use their heads for something besides a place to put their fashion caps on!

Like the Chargers lightning bolt UCLA insert was done by Spanjian Sportswear (now DeLong) at their Pasadena plant by sewing a tackle twill-shaped lightning bolt onto the insert and going over it with a contrasting-colored swiss-type stitch. The lightning bolt pant stripes were applied in the same way. The finished product didn't strech at all but it worked.

We used to get samples of various pro uniforms that the different companies made. We'd use them to show our customers for a while and then sell them off piece-meal like at an outlet store. Who knew? I had at one time a complete Atlanta Hawks basketball uniform by Russell in the pinstriped motif of 1973 and a set from the Red & Gold look of the late 1970s. We also had the Atlanta Braves feather jersey from SandKnit. From Spanjian we had a complete set of the Los Angeles Stars of the ABA. They had hand-cut tackle twill and stars on the jersey and shorts. They then moved to Utah and got the uniforms from SandKnit.

We also had a complete 10-uniform set of the infamous SandMark basketball uniforms that debuted in 1969-70. They included the "Race Car" design that Marquette wore and the Seattle Super Sonics horizontal striped shorts. From Coane in Philadelphia we had the Sixers jersey with the horizontal knit-in chest stripe. If only I had kept any of these for posterity!

[bulldogbarks55]

I want to clear something up. The term "Durene" has been used to refer to a fabric. Durene itself is not a fabric but is a coating applied to a fabric or yarn. It is most commonly associated with cotton and acted as a strengthening agent. In the 1950s and 1960s most all of the football, hockey and basketball jerseys sold in the United States were made from a 50% Nylon/50% Durene Cotton PLAITED fabric. A plaited fabric has all of one component yarn on the front or face side and all of the other yarn on the inside.

The Nylon/Durene fabric used had all of the Nylon on the face side with all of the Durene-coated Cotton fabric on the inside. The finished fabric had the bright Nylon colors on the outside with the duller Durene Cotton on the inside. The cotton acted to absorb the persperation.

We used this fabric in countless high school and college basketball and football uniforms and for the Rochester Americans hockey sweaters. We sold the football and basketball jerseys from Russell Southern (Athletic), MacGregor, Powers and Spanjian. The Amerks sweaters were by General Athletic of Greenville, Ohio- still the finest hockey sweaters ever made. Period. Many NHL teams used General Nylon/Durene Cotton sweaters. The Leafs, Red Wings, Black Hawks and possibly the Rangers (private labeled by Gerry Cosby) used General. The Bruins and Habs used Wilson.

Just wanted to clear this up. It's tough being a uniform geek, ain't it. I've been hooked on uniforms and their design, lettering and manufacturing since 1958 when I was 11-years old. I'm hopeless!

[Spearhead]

Buldog, thanks for that explanation about Durene. It's the simplest I've come across.

As a high school freshmen we wore 10-year-old or more Durene jerseys for games.

[darkhaha]

I want to clear something up. The term "Durene" has been used to refer to a fabric. Durene itself is not a fabric but is a coating applied to a fabric or yarn. It is most commonly associated with cotton and acted as a strengthening agent. In the 1950s and 1960s most all of the football, hockey and basketball jerseys sold in the United States were made from a 50% Nylon/50% Durene Cotton PLAITED fabric. A plaited fabric has all of one component yarn on the front or face side and all of the other yarn on the inside.

The Nylon/Durene fabric used had all of the Nylon on the face side with all of the Durene-coated Cotton fabric on the inside. The finished fabric had the bright Nylon colors on the outside with the duller Durene Cotton on the inside. The cotton acted to absorb the persperation.

We used this fabric in countless high school and college basketball and football uniforms and for the Rochester Americans hockey sweaters. We sold the football and basketball jerseys from Russell Southern (Athletic), MacGregor, Powers and Spanjian. The Amerks sweaters were by General Athletic of Greenville, Ohio- still the finest hockey sweaters ever made. Period. Many NHL teams used General Nylon/Durene Cotton sweaters. The Leafs, Red Wings, Black Hawks and possibly the Rangers (private labeled by Gerry Cosby) used General. The Bruins and Habs used Wilson.

Just wanted to clear this up. It's tough being a uniform geek, ain't it. I've been hooked on uniforms and their design, lettering and manufacturing since 1958 when I was 11-years old. I'm hopeless!

Bulldogparks55, thanks for this explanation! One of the reasons I love this site is that I get to have a conversation with people like you who have so much knowledge and actual experience in the field of uniforms and their design and manufacture. It's nice to have found a community in which people share my concern about whether some stripes on a jersey are truncated or not -- 'cause my wife just thinks I'm kind of goofy for caring about such minutia...

Speaking of which, I do believe that the stripes went all the way around, and that the truncated effect occurred when the blue panel would fold over part of the white stripe. In the picture of #87 you reference, for example, if you look closely at his right sleeve you can see a clump of the blue material extending out and up a bit, thus obscuring part of the white stripe. Of course, in the same photo, on #23's sleeves the top white stripe definitely seems to just taper off, so I guess the mystery lives on.

For reference, #87 in the photo is Lionel Taylor, who led the AFL in receptions 5 out of the league's first 6 years, and was the first person to ever have 100 catches in a season (which was just 14 games back then). #23 in the photo is Austin "Goose" Gonsoulin, who was a 3-time All-AFL safety.

[bulldogbarks55]

darkhaha- I still think that the stripes go all the way around. In the 1960s designers and manufacturers lived within the limits of the materials and machinery on hand. I don't think that Rawlings (who made the 1965 and 1966 jerseys) would be so sophisticated as to make the upper White stripes truncated on 60-plus jerseys in each set (home and away) for the Broncos.

Have you ever gone onto Patrick Scoggin's site "The Broncos Endzone"? The site has a complete history of the Broncos uniforms year-by-year in pdf form. There's a picture on the site of a player named A. Denson that clearly shows the upper stripe going ALL THE WAY AROUND. The web address is http//endzone.pscoggin.com/index.htm

It's quite a facinating place. Check it out.

[darkhaha]

darkhaha- I still think that the stripes go all the way around. In the 1960s designers and manufacturers lived within the limits of the materials and machinery on hand. I don't think that Rawlings (who made the 1965 and 1966 jerseys) would be so sophisticated as to make the upper White stripes truncated on 60-plus jerseys in each set (home and away) for the Broncos.

Have you ever gone onto Patrick Scoggin's site "The Broncos Endzone"? The site has a complete history of the Broncos uniforms year-by-year in pdf form. There's a picture on the site of a player named A. Denson that clearly shows the upper stripe going ALL THE WAY AROUND. The web address is http//endzone.pscoggin.com/index.htm

It's quite a facinating place. Check it out.

Yes, that is a great site. That's where I got the close-up shots of the Jacobs #83 road jersey that validates our "all the way-around" stripe theory.

[darkhaha]

Just exchanged some e-mails with Terry from HR Derby. They're still working on my 1965-66 Broncos road jersey, and he said he had already contacted Southland to change the specs and make the top stripe go all the way around. He's also going to see if it's not too late to have them make the collar thinner.

Terry said that the photos they were using as a guide on the orange jerseys all looked like that top white stripe was truncated a la the USC style, but he realizes now that the stripe should go all the way around.

Now I can hardly wait until they do another run of more historically accurate home jerseys -- which I suspect won't be for awhile. Oh well... I have to say I really love the one I have, warts and all, as I've been wanting a jersey of this style for about 40 years. A bit pathetic, I know, but I guess there are a few of you out there in Logoland who can relate...

[sappy13]

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.

I like your photos that pay homage to the Denver sports scene of the 60's and early 70's, but can't you find a photo of a Denver Spurs player to replace the one of DU's Keith Magnusson?

[darkhaha]

I like your photos that pay homage to the Denver sports scene of the 60's and early 70's, but can't you find a photo of a Denver Spurs player to replace the one of DU's Keith Magnusson?

Do you mean the minor league Spurs of the Western Hockey League, or the Spurs of the WHA? I'd love to have a photo of either one, so feel free to send 'em my way if you find any. Just curious about why you think I need to change the photo, though.

[albanian]

This thread is worthless without links. What is the website that is selling these jerseys? I've looked all over the net and on ebay for this Home Run Derby company.

[darkhaha]

This thread is worthless without links. What is the website that is selling these jerseys? I've looked all over the net and on ebay for this Home Run Derby company.

Well, I suppose that's one way to ask for some information.

Home Run Derby

HR Derby eBay

[albanian]

This thread is worthless without links. What is the website that is selling these jerseys? I've looked all over the net and on ebay for this Home Run Derby company.

Well, I suppose that's one way to ask for some information.

Home Run Derby

HR Derby eBay

Thank you

[DGivens87]

Oh well... I have to say I really love the one I have, warts and all, as I've been wanting a jersey of this style for about 40 years. A bit pathetic, I know, but I guess there are a few of you out there in Logoland who can relate...

Not pathetic at all...in fact, your quest for that sweet Broncos jersey has inspired me to restart my efforts to get a 1994 royal blue Patriots jersey of none other than former WR Michael Timpson, my favorite player as a kid.

[darkhaha]

This thread is worthless without links. What is the website that is selling these jerseys? I've looked all over the net and on ebay for this Home Run Derby company.

Well, I suppose that's one way to ask for some information.

Home Run Derby

HR Derby eBay

Thank you

No problem. They have some pretty cool jerseys up on the eBay site right now. If you order a custom one from the regular store it will most likely take a long time, but the quality is first rate.

[darkhaha]

Oh well... I have to say I really love the one I have, warts and all, as I've been wanting a jersey of this style for about 40 years. A bit pathetic, I know, but I guess there are a few of you out there in Logoland who can relate...

Not pathetic at all...in fact, your quest for that sweet Broncos jersey has inspired me to restart my efforts to get a 1994 royal blue Patriots jersey of none other than former WR Michael Timpson, my favorite player as a kid.

I say, Go for it!