"AFL Legacy Weekend" games

[darkhaha]

My problem with the brown/mustard uniforms for the Broncos isn't the alleged ugliness of the designs. Aside from the vertical stripped socks I have to agree with Goth, it's a pretty nice colour scheme and the uniforms aren't bad by any stretch if the imagination.

My problem with the Broncos using it is brand recognition. Your casual fan will be able to tell who the Chargers are when they wear their throwbacks. Same for the Raiders and the Bills. Even with the Titans, Chiefs, and Pats, the throwbacks are either widely known to be associated with that team, or the colours/logos are close enough to make a connection.

Most casual fans, however, won't be able to identify the Broncos at first glance when they wear those throwbacks. Thus why I think it's a mistake for them to wear them over either of their past orange/blue throwbacks.

FTR, I also dislike the Jets' NY Titans throwbacks for the same reason*

I respectfully point out that because a fan born in 1987 doesn't recognize a uniform doesn't mean that nobody recognizes it. Many AFL fans are "seasoned citizens" who don't have e-mail or use the 'net. But they'll recognize the Broncos' unis, and the Titans', too.

For better or worse there are more of us who don't remember the Broncos ever wearing mustard and brown. Sure, some old timers will notice it, but realistically, they aren't the ones buying most of the merchandise these days.

I have to agree with Icecap here. Of course the seasond AFL vets will recognize the uniforms. But even here in Colorado most people don't know the Broncos wore the brown and yellow. If your just a casual fan of the NFL when you hear Broncos you think Orange and Blue. Brown and Yellow are probably some of the last things to come to mind. Sure history was made in the uniforms, but as far as people recognizing that this uniform is the Broncos, a lot of people will have some trouble. I think as far as fan recognizability and marketing goes it would be better for the Broncos to go with the orange and blue set showed a couple posts up. Not to mention those uniforms as beautiful.

They were beautiful. Look at it this way: with the resurgence of interest in the AFL, the Broncos may make it their "third jersey" one day.

Thanks a million for posting this fantastic color photo of Cookie Gilchrist! I am an avid collector of any 1960 color Broncos pics, and I had never seen this one before.

Thanks also for the Raiders info from Wayne Hawkins and his wife. It's really great to have you onboard here at Sportslogos.net, as you have so much great stuff on the AFL years!

[John in KY]

Does anyone besides me recall that the Raiders' uniform pants used to appear as though the front (forward of the leg stripe) was a lighter color than the back? This seemed to give them a metallic appearance.

Yes. I always thought the Packers pants of the early 70s had the same effect.

It was the fabrics used in the 1970s - the fabric used on the front of some pants from some suppliers, particularly the silver and yellow pants, would really fade out and look like a different color. The Cowboys of 1977 were particularly bad, as they looked somewhat purplish under some lighting. I also remember the Steelers yellow being faded as well.

It switched around in the the early 1980s when the metallic fabric came out; the first generation of these pants had metallic fronts but regular knit material on the back. By the mid-1980s the pants were all metalic fabric for most teams.

[darkhaha]

Here's an action photo of Cookie:

I like how they truncated the stripe on the back of the helmet and centered the "2".

[Captain Poncho]

I have to agree with Icecap here. Of course the seasond AFL vets will recognize the uniforms. But even here in Colorado most people don't know the Broncos wore the brown and yellow. If your just a casual fan of the NFL when you hear Broncos you think Orange and Blue. Brown and Yellow are probably some of the last things to come to mind. Sure history was made in the uniforms, but as far as people recognizing that this uniform is the Broncos, a lot of people will have some trouble. I think as far as fan recognizability and marketing goes it would be better for the Broncos to go with the orange and blue set showed a couple posts up. Not to mention those uniforms as beautiful.

I couldn't agree more. The Broncos are not associated with the brown and yellow, period. There are two superior uniform sets available, and the fact that the Raiders aren't wearing their very first set gives precedence for the Broncos to jump on a set that everybody will easily identify as a Broncos uniform, even if they're not one of the very few stalwarts of the old AFL.

The assertion by the Broncos that the league made the choice for them rankles me to no end.

[darkhaha]

I have to agree with Icecap here. Of course the seasond AFL vets will recognize the uniforms. But even here in Colorado most people don't know the Broncos wore the brown and yellow. If your just a casual fan of the NFL when you hear Broncos you think Orange and Blue. Brown and Yellow are probably some of the last things to come to mind. Sure history was made in the uniforms, but as far as people recognizing that this uniform is the Broncos, a lot of people will have some trouble. I think as far as fan recognizability and marketing goes it would be better for the Broncos to go with the orange and blue set showed a couple posts up. Not to mention those uniforms as beautiful.

I couldn't agree more. The Broncos are not associated with the brown and yellow, period. There are two superior uniform sets available, and the fact that the Raiders aren't wearing their very first set gives precedence for the Broncos to jump on a set that everybody will easily identify as a Broncos uniform, even if they're not one of the very few stalwarts of the old AFL.

The assertion by the Broncos that the league made the choice for them rankles me to no end.

Totally agree. The Bills, Chargers, Patriots and Raiders are all going with non-1960 unis, so the assertion that the league mandated the 1960 set appears to be patent nonsense.

[TurnTwo]

SI posted a nice photo slideshow today on the AFL teams.

Link

[BlueSky]

SI posted a nice photo slideshow today on the AFL teams.

Link

Wow...awesome slideshow. That silver-blue metallic Oilers helmet in the inset photo is one of the best helmets ever. And check out the Raiders pic - two guys, one wearing the original helmet and the other in the silver helmet with logos.

[RemembertheAFL]

Below are the Original Eight AFL teams' 50-year patches, with my version of the 50th Anniversary AFL patch. The Chiefs have asked me to withhold their patch until it's officially released, and it's not clear whether the Oilers' patch will be as shown below, or whether that's a logo they'll use elsewhere. Here's the backstory on the "Celebration of the AFL"

[Sabrejeff]

Below are the Original Eight AFL teams' 50-year patches, with my version of the 50th Anniversary AFL patch. The Chiefs have asked me to withhold their patch until it's officially released, and it's not clear whether the Oilers' patch will be as shown below, or whether that's a logo they'll use elsewhere. Here's the backstory on the "Celebration of the AFL"

Isn't the Chiefs one the one shown in this thread?

[Gothamite]

I thought so - the one leaked by their own website.

[Pharos04]

leaked not only by their website but also for their season ticket holders. Still waiting on the Titans/Oilers 50th anniversary logo to come out to complete the octet

[RemembertheAFL]

leaked not only by their website but also for their season ticket holders. Still waiting on the Titans/Oilers 50th anniversary logo to come out to complete the octet

The hi-res Chiefs patch looks much better, but they'd all look better with an AFL logo included.

, etc.

[Gothamite]

Ugh. I couldn't disagree more.

If you were talking about incorporating one along the lines of what the Patriots did with Pat, or the Chiefs did with their Texas logo, then I might be with you. But to slap it underneath the logo? Awful.

I'm sad that they never updated the AFL logo - there are elements of it are nothing less than stunning even today - the eagle on the ball - but the A is just amateurish even by the standards of the time.

[Pharos04]

I'm sad that they never updated the AFL logo - there are elements of it are nothing less than stunning even today - the eagle on the ball - but the A is just amateurish even by the standards of the time.

To be honest i always thought that this was a good stylized version of the AFL logo

and maybe would've been an intriguing element to have stayed on the right arm of all the AFL teams to always remember their lineage. I dunno. just a random ramble

[IceCap]

Yeah, that ^ logo's the perfect AFL update. I wouldn't say it should be incorporated into the unis of all AFL teams, but it might make for a neat AFC logo.

[apeman33]

Until today, I had never known that the Oilers had a blue helmet with five stripes (white-red-white-red-white, seen better in the top photo). Now, I've seen it twice on this thread.

Now I know why I love this site so much.

[RemembertheAFL]

Ugh. I couldn't disagree more.

If you were talking about incorporating one along the lines of what the Patriots did with Pat, or the Chiefs did with their Texas logo, then I might be with you. But to slap it underneath the logo? Awful.

I'm sad that they never updated the AFL logo - there are elements of it are nothing less than stunning even today - the eagle on the ball - but the A is just amateurish even by the standards of the time.

The "A" is basically Rockwell font, a font that is used widely today in NFL ads, etc. I don't think it's amateurish, I think it's a classic. What's amateurish is the logo below! The colors are wrong, the eagle is lopsided, the ball looks like a rugby ball, not the AFL's J5V, and the stars and the classic circle are missing.

"De gustibus non est disputandum!"

[darkhaha]

Until today, I had never known that the Oilers had a blue helmet with five stripes (white-red-white-red-white, seen better in the top photo). Now, I've seen it twice on this thread.

Now I know why I love this site so much.

Here's some info from HelmetHut.com on how Ridell made those Oilers' 1964-64 helmets.

[larrypep]

I read on the Chargers website there will be road white uniforms as well. And both the home and roads will be on sale sometime during the Summer. Can't wait.

[DGivens87]

I read on the Chargers website there will be road white uniforms as well. And both the home and roads will be on sale sometime during the Summer. Can't wait.

Oh man, if that's true, my wallet's gonna take a beating this summer. In addition to the aforementioned white Chargers throwback, I'm gonna have to buy every player model of the white Patriots throwback jersey. Brady. Moss. Welker. Whoever. I'm gonna horde those things like jars of peanut butter.