Then and Now

[BlueSky]

For you blue-pants Lions fans:

Ah, thank you. I know I'm probably only one of about 10 people who thinks this, but I believe that's the best road look the Lions have ever had. And in my uniform-nerd alternate reality, those blue pants made at least one appearance with the black jersey.

You're welcome. Go here for numerous pics of Barry in the blue pants. It's funny 'cause I did a date search and he's the only player I've seen yet in the blue pants, like there was nobody else on the team worth taking a picture of.

Speaking of blue, here are some nice shots of the Cowboys' "unlucky" blues:

And the whites before the shiny pants came along:

[pokecat12]

Ditka in '63. Given the protective gear and the more lenient rules - ever see those old NFL Films highlights and the stuff those guys got away with? - it's tough to understand how players back then didn't get a concussion or broken nose every other play.

Of course they did! Back then football players were MEN! They were tough! They played hard with complete disregard for their bodies. They knew they were going to die by 55 and they didn't care! Nowadays, all these guys are overpaid prima donna pacified pussies who sit out if they have a hangnail or broke a nail or have hurt feelings! Buncha candy asses!

In the "pics they'd rather forget" category, here is...who? This is actually a good trivia question. Who is it, and why is he in this particular getup? Hint: pic is sports-related and is from 1984.

Forget? Oh HELL no! I'd have that :censored: hanging up in my foyer at the crib. That's badass. Black cowboy hustlin'. Straight gangsta!

He was the reason I was an Oklahoma Outlaws fan in '84 back in OKC. And for wearing #12 for any sport.

[Dexter Morgan]

Thanks for demonstrating why the Jets should wear white shoes.

I agree with that...

[infrared41]

The best thing about all these "then" pics? Sleeves. What a difference they make.

[tBBP]

Is anyone else besides me looking at all these "then" photos and marveling at the craftsmanship of those jerseys? I'm especially loving the stitch jobs of the jersey numbers/NOBs.

And oh yeah...the sleeves do make a world of difference.

[oldschoolvikings]

This still makes me so happy....

You make no sense. You hate every football uniform that comes out that looks any different from anything that was in the 1950s, but a baseball jersey that takes a big steamy dump on tradition makes you happy?

See, I don't think its true that I hate all new football uniforms (a misconception that's probably due to my screen name... in my mind, it refers more to an era than a uniform)... just the ugly ones. And I don't love all tradition uniforms. Bills, Bengals, Falcons (sadly, to a degree, my Vikings) all wear trendy, soon-to-be out of date, bad looks. Its not a matter of different... its just not good. When the Broncos broke their new look, it was both different AND good (IMO). Tampa's use of pewter... different AND good. I think New Emgland is currently in their best look ever. And I wouldn't recommend that ANY team go back to their 50's look, as long as the sleeve problem is unresolved.

Actually, after a few early disagreements, you and I have been seeing eye to eye on a lot of stuff receintly. Sad but true...

And I hated that Astros uni when I was a kid. It wasn't til it was gone that I decided I loved it!

[Dexter Morgan]

THEN

[Dexter Morgan]

NOW

[BlueSky]

The more I look, the more I find. The odd thing is how many good pics of different teams come up when you're not searching for them but for someone else. Didn't see this terrific shot of WR John Gilliam under my Cardinals search but it popped up in the Browns search since they're in the pic too. Go figure.

And yes, that's the same John Gilliam who returned the Saints' first kickoff for a TD.

Gee, think this would be penalized today? The Packers LB would probably be indicted under today's rules.

I love the detail and the richness of the color in these pics. You can see blades of grass and even the Browns' old roads look great!

The 'Skins in 1970:

What a fantastic uniform. They really need to go back to the spear helmet:

The proverbial "three yards and a cloud of dust."

Bring your program...this is the '65 Pro Bowl. No team helmets and NNOB = trying to figure out who's who.

Wow! Closeup of my favorite Oilers set!

[BlueSky]

Another shot of the Oilers' metallic blue:

And we even have the elusive Steelers' "cape" jerseys!

Interesting...Jets in what look like practice jerseys during their '69 preseason victory over the rival Giants.

Pregame pageantry at Super Bowl II in Miami featuring an AFL flag:

Good times.

[infrared41]

Bill Nelsen. My first favorite Cleveland Brown. This stuff is great BlueSky. It's a trip down memory lane.

[BBTV]

Well, it only took 5 pages for it to turn from a cool comparison of teams' old and currernt looks, to just post your favorite players from when you were a kid.

OSV - I'd suspect that your reasoning for liking the Astros jersey is the same reason many (if not most) people prefer a lot of these "throwbacks". Nearly everything looks better in hindsight - especially what was around when you were a kid. I see it here all the time - I grew up in the maroon swirl-P era of Phillies baseball. I never heard anyone compliment the uniforms - if anything, I heard people occasionally mention that they were boring and drab (especially once they switched to gray.) However now, everyone loves them. Why? Because they're not around anymore. You're probably right about the Vikes and Falcons changing in a few years (though I don't think the Vikings are nearly as bad as you guys make them out to be). However, a kid who is growing up now will certainly be posting on this site in 20 years about how he yearns for the jerseys they wore when he was a kid.

[The_Admiral]

I'm not crazy about the swirly-P or its corresponding uniform elements, but I love the idea of the Phillies wearing maroon instead of plain old bright red.

Just to prove I'm not in love with everything that is old, those Seahawks jerseys are pretty not good. Not sure about the Gridbirds, either.

[LEWJ]

That site is amazing.

Greatest sports photo site I've ever seen.

[BlueSky]

Well, it only took 5 pages for it to turn from a cool comparison of teams' old and currernt looks, to just post your favorite players from when you were a kid.

Funny you should say that...I was thinking today that I should have posted a lot of this to the other "Treasure Trove of NFL Pics" thread and kept this thread for just the comparisons. So that's a fair point even if slightly inaccurate. I'm the one posting off-topic pics that interest me, one of which just happened to be Infrared's favorite Brown. If I could move 'em, I would. Oh well.

[BBTV]

It's not that I really care, but the concept of showing the evolution of a team through the juxtaposition of historical and current uniforms is really awesome, especially for teams that have evolved, as opposed to revamped. I've always liked those "through the years" lithos (even if some are pretty inaccurate) and always wished they'd have some with real photos. Well here we go.

These things:

[infrared41]

Well, it only took 5 pages for it to turn from a cool comparison of teams' old and currernt looks, to just post your favorite players from when you were a kid.

Vet, I say this with the utmost respect and affection, could you be any more of a jackass buzzkill?

You jumped to an incorrect conclusion there my friend. Not that it matters but I took that pic from Blue Sky's post. It was just an observation on a player I had totally forgotten about. I did not go looking for the picture nor did I post it with the intent of turning this into a "my favorite player" thread. It just happened. Excuse me for ruining your day.

[BBTV]

Not just my day, but my entire year. There goes 2010, right down the drain. How many days until 2011?

[oldschoolvikings]

OSV - I'd suspect that your reasoning for liking the Astros jersey is the same reason many (if not most) people prefer a lot of these "throwbacks". Nearly everything looks better in hindsight - especially what was around when you were a kid.

Oh, I wouldn't deny that for a second. But I don't know why that should be considered a less a valid reason for loving a uniform (not that YOU were saying that).

Looking back, although I hated all powder blue road baseball uniforms at the time, now I think its sad that they are none. It would be nice if there could be a balance between forward thinking design, and traditional design. Unfortunately, what seems to happen is a team will debut something revolutionary (example; Denver Broncos) and a bunch of teams will jump on, making a one-time inovation into an annoying trend.

[infrared41]

Not just my day, but my entire year. There goes 2010, right down the drain. How many days until 2011?

296. And on day 297 I am going to purposely post one of my favorite players in some thread you're reading. I'm also going to spell "there" their and vice versa, and "you're" will be spelled your.