Semi-Obscure Old School NFL Uniform Details

[Sport]

I do find it interesting that helmets used to get little to no aesthetic touchup attention as the season wore on. Anyone who watched the Jaguars' or Chiefs' Hard Knocks would have noticed that both teams wrapped their helmets in some kind of protective plastic that they players wore over their helmets during practice. I assumed this was so the helmets would keep their shine for when they actually played in a game. Times have changed indeed.

I think that colored helmet-cap is the NFL equivilant of the gym-class pinney, so that "teams" of players can be organized, kind of like how lines have their own colored practice jerseys in hockey. Could be wrong though. It's mostly used for special teams practice IIRC, since it's made up of guys who would be wearing both offensive and defensive jerseys.

My mistake, I wasn't clear. It wasn't the colored elastic cap. It was a clear plastic material almost like shrink wrap that covered the front, back, tops, and logos of the helmets. It didn't extend down past the logos. You could still see the color of the helmet and logo through it, but there was definitely something covering the helmet shell.

[bulldogbarks55]

Cards-Dallas, 1979. Definitely appears to be an armband.

I wish Dallas would wear that blue jersey again, or at least a modernized version of it.

Agreed. The metalic silver-blue and royal blue combo is SO much more interesting and unique than navy and silver.

What I like about those Cowboys jerseys is the mostly one-color trim. Blue and white look great and it's great that there's no visible trim around the numbers and nameplates. I can't remember whether there is black trim around those stripes, but it's not easily visible and that's also a plus.

Yes, there was. Here's a vintage Staubach jersey that was recently up for auction.

The Staubach jersey was made by Southland Athletic of Terrell, Texas. Southland supplied the Cowboys uniforms from Day One in 1960 until the NoFunLeague went to a single manufacturer in the 1980s or thereabouts. If you look closely you'll discover that the sleeves are a different fabric than the body and yoke. The sleeves are made from Southland's #54 cloth-a Nylon/Durene Mercerized Cotton plaited knit fabric. Southland did it this way because you can't knit stripes into Nylon Mesh. And the dark feather-edge on the White sleeve stripes is Navy Blue, not Black. I was a Southland dealer so I know what I'm talking about.

[BBTV]

so the stripes aren't just printed on like on the modern jerseys?

[slats7]

Cards-Dallas, 1979. Definitely appears to be an armband.

I wish Dallas would wear that blue jersey again, or at least a modernized version of it.

Agreed. The metalic silver-blue and royal blue combo is SO much more interesting and unique than navy and silver.

What I like about those Cowboys jerseys is the mostly one-color trim. Blue and white look great and it's great that there's no visible trim around the numbers and nameplates. I can't remember whether there is black trim around those stripes, but it's not easily visible and that's also a plus.

Yes, there was. Here's a vintage Staubach jersey that was recently up for auction.

The Staubach jersey was made by Southland Athletic of Terrell, Texas. Southland supplied the Cowboys uniforms from Day One in 1960 until the NoFunLeague went to a single manufacturer in the 1980s or thereabouts. If you look closely you'll discover that the sleeves are a different fabric than the body and yoke. The sleeves are made from Southland's #54 cloth-a Nylon/Durene Mercerized Cotton plaited knit fabric. Southland did it this way because you can't knit stripes into Nylon Mesh.

Vintage Dallas pants from that era were also made of two different materials, with the back and crotch areas much bluer than the front. For some reason, they couldn't match the colors up correctly. Only when they adopted the "spandex" look in the early to mid 1980s were the colors the same, front and back.

And the dark feather-edge on the White sleeve stripes is Navy Blue, not Black. I was a Southland dealer so I know what I'm talking about.

Looks pretty darn black to the naked eye, but I'll defer to your expertise. One thing that bugs me about the modern Dallas jersey (and there are several) is that they use cheap blue plastic for the sleeve stripes. IMO, the stripes should be made of the same material used for the jersey numbers.

[andrewharrington]

Willie Lanier's helmet padding is a strip of foam adhered to the top of the helmet and covered with a vinyl-like material that was then painted the same color as the shell. While theoretically reducing the force of the impact itself, the contraption was not effective because the surface, when contacted, would momentarily 'grab' or latch onto the other helmet or pad and transfer a greater percentage of the force of the blow to the head and neck area of the player. The slick, hard surface of the traditional plastic helmet, when contacted, hits and quickly deflects away much of that force, thus reducing the impact and strain on the players head and neck. This is the reason helmets are polished so often today, moreso than the aesthetic reasons, that is.

[andrewharrington]

so the stripes aren't just printed on like on the modern jerseys?

Nope. They were knit into the fabric (much like stripes are knit into a sock), which was then cut and sewn into sleeves, which were then applied to the jersey body (or they could also have been attached to the jersey body before the side seams were sewn together).

The Steelers and Browns, for example, make their jerseys this way even today (though both teams went through a printed stripe phase as well).

[andrewharrington]

Cards-Dallas, 1979. Definitely appears to be an armband.

I wish Dallas would wear that blue jersey again, or at least a modernized version of it.

Agreed. The metalic silver-blue and royal blue combo is SO much more interesting and unique than navy and silver.

What I like about those Cowboys jerseys is the mostly one-color trim. Blue and white look great and it's great that there's no visible trim around the numbers and nameplates. I can't remember whether there is black trim around those stripes, but it's not easily visible and that's also a plus.

Yes, there was. Here's a vintage Staubach jersey that was recently up for auction.

The Staubach jersey was made by Southland Athletic of Terrell, Texas. Southland supplied the Cowboys uniforms from Day One in 1960 until the NoFunLeague went to a single manufacturer in the 1980s or thereabouts. If you look closely you'll discover that the sleeves are a different fabric than the body and yoke. The sleeves are made from Southland's #54 cloth-a Nylon/Durene Mercerized Cotton plaited knit fabric. Southland did it this way because you can't knit stripes into Nylon Mesh.

Vintage Dallas pants from that era were also made of two different materials, with the back and crotch areas much bluer than the front. For some reason, they couldn't match the colors up correctly. Only when they adopted the "spandex" look in the early to mid 1980s were the colors the same, front and back.

And the dark feather-edge on the White sleeve stripes is Navy Blue, not Black. I was a Southland dealer so I know what I'm talking about.

Looks pretty darn black to the naked eye, but I'll defer to your expertise. One thing that bugs me about the modern Dallas jersey (and there are several) is that they use cheap blue plastic for the sleeve stripes. IMO, the stripes should be made of the same material used for the jersey numbers.

See my above post. If the stripes are not printed on, they would be knit into the sleeve. I don't know if, historically, teams ever applied tackle twill stripes to their sleeves, but nowadays, because of the stretch and abuse that a sleeve undergoes, sewing a strip of fabric all the way around the arm is not a viable option. You can see how even the tight fit of some linemen jerseys can seemingly bust the thread off a uni number. Imagine what could happen to an applied stripe bulging around a huge bicep.

[TruColor]

The Staubach jersey was made by Southland Athletic of Terrell, Texas. Southland supplied the Cowboys uniforms from Day One in 1960 until the NoFunLeague went to a single manufacturer in the 1980s or thereabouts. If you look closely you'll discover that the sleeves are a different fabric than the body and yoke. The sleeves are made from Southland's #54 cloth-a Nylon/Durene Mercerized Cotton plaited knit fabric. Southland did it this way because you can't knit stripes into Nylon Mesh. And the dark feather-edge on the White sleeve stripes is Navy Blue, not Black. I was a Southland dealer so I know what I'm talking about.

When did it change from Navy to Black? Because it certainly is Black now, and has been for quite a while now.

[slats7]

The Staubach jersey was made by Southland Athletic of Terrell, Texas. Southland supplied the Cowboys uniforms from Day One in 1960 until the NoFunLeague went to a single manufacturer in the 1980s or thereabouts. If you look closely you'll discover that the sleeves are a different fabric than the body and yoke. The sleeves are made from Southland's #54 cloth-a Nylon/Durene Mercerized Cotton plaited knit fabric. Southland did it this way because you can't knit stripes into Nylon Mesh. And the dark feather-edge on the White sleeve stripes is Navy Blue, not Black. I was a Southland dealer so I know what I'm talking about.

When did it change from Navy to Black? Because it certainly is Black now, and has been for quite a while now.

Here's Staubach's pants (again, note the different colors front and back) and socks from the early 1970s. If you look at it closely in 100% mode, it appears to be black trim on the socks. Would they really use a different color (i.e. navy) for the trim on the sleeves?

[bulldogbarks55]

The Staubach jersey was made by Southland Athletic of Terrell, Texas. Southland supplied the Cowboys uniforms from Day One in 1960 until the NoFunLeague went to a single manufacturer in the 1980s or thereabouts. If you look closely you'll discover that the sleeves are a different fabric than the body and yoke. The sleeves are made from Southland's #54 cloth-a Nylon/Durene Mercerized Cotton plaited knit fabric. Southland did it this way because you can't knit stripes into Nylon Mesh. And the dark feather-edge on the White sleeve stripes is Navy Blue, not Black. I was a Southland dealer so I know what I'm talking about.

When did it change from Navy to Black? Because it certainly is Black now, and has been for quite a while now.

Here's Staubach's pants (again, note the different colors front and back) and socks from the early 1970s. If you look at it closely in 100% mode, it appears to be black trim on the socks. Would they really use a different color (i.e. navy) for the trim on the sleeves?

Gentlemen, the Southland sales rep used to carry Cowboys uniform samples around with him. Upon first glance the feathering looked Black to me too. But upon asking the rep he said it was Navy. Navy, by its very nature is extremely dark and when it butts up against the Royal Blue on this Cowboys jerseys it does appear Black.

And as to Andrew Harrington's question-No team has ever used tackle twill for striping that I know of. It would not have made any sense to use it for stripes since standard old Tackle Twill is a woven fabric with no stretch properties whatsoever. The only team to use it for decoration on a jersey insert were the Chargers. Spanjian sewed the lightning bolts with a second-color swiss-stitch onto the UCLA-shoulder insert. They didn't stretch either. Many hockey manufacturers cut-and-pieced in sleeve and hem stripes but these had to be cover-stitched for the pros which added weight and bulk to the garment. Athletic Knit of Toronto knits stripes into their AK Knit mesh and it's the best knitted-in striping I've seen for the fabric.

[TruColor]

Gentlemen, the Southland sales rep used to carry Cowboys uniform samples around with him. Upon first glance the feathering looked Black to me too. But upon asking the rep he said it was Navy. Navy, by its very nature is extremely dark and when it butts up against the Royal Blue on this Cowboys jerseys it does appear Black.

I have style guide sheets for the Cowboys from 1972, 1977, 1987, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, and all digital files since 2004, and in every one of them the sleeve striping was Black. Sometimes it was designated as 100% Black, sometimes Process Black, sometimes Black 6, but always Black. Even the official On-Field guides (which have extremely detailed specs on each aspect of every uniform) has them as Black.

Now, I acknowledge that the official specs don't always match up with what's being actually used, but could it be that the rep was incorrect?

[BBTV]

Wow - the immovable object of all things color vs. the irresistible force of uniform production and sales.

This is like Bird vs Magic, Ali vs Frazer, Hulk vs Andre...

[TruColor]

Wow - the immovable object of all things color vs. the irresistible force of uniform production and sales.

This is like Bird vs Magic, Ali vs Frazer, Hulk vs Andre...

Oh, uniform production and sales will always win...I mean, what is actually used is what is "real"...I'm just trying to get to the bottom of this completely unimportant-in-the-grand-scheme-of-things bit of trivia.

[bulldogbarks55]

Gentlemen, the Southland sales rep used to carry Cowboys uniform samples around with him. Upon first glance the feathering looked Black to me too. But upon asking the rep he said it was Navy. Navy, by its very nature is extremely dark and when it butts up against the Royal Blue on this Cowboys jerseys it does appear Black.

I have style guide sheets for the Cowboys from 1972, 1977, 1987, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, and all digital files since 2004, and in every one of them the sleeve striping was Black. Sometimes it was designated as 100% Black, sometimes Process Black, sometimes Black 6, but always Black. Even the official On-Field guides (which have extremely detailed specs on each aspect of every uniform) has them as Black.

Now, I acknowledge that the official specs don't always match up with what's being actually used, but could it be that the rep was incorrect?

I'm not doubting you, but remember I saw one of the earlier versions of the Cowboys jersey with the knit-in sleeve stripes for 1968 or 1969. I remember that the rep told us it was Navy and I had no reason to doubt him. He did work for the manufacturer after all and didn't say that the shirt was a prototype. That fact that he called the stripe "Navy" has always stuck in my mind. You know how it is where one point will stay with you forever. The Cowboys apparently made a jersey trim change in the 1970 or 1971 season. And look at the inconsistency of Dallas' pant colors. Knowing what we know about the pants the fact that the jersey stripes were once Navy is not that much of a stretch.

[Gothamite]

Good point about the Cowboys' rather casual attitude towards color consistency.

But all things being equal, I have to side with the team guides. No offense to the rep, but this being the InterWeb, one must always approach personal anecdotes with a somewhat cautious eye. Even granting his truthfulness, memory does tend to be a notoriously unreliable narrator.

[BlueSky]

I do find it interesting that helmets used to get little to no aesthetic touchup attention as the season wore on. Anyone who watched the Jaguars' or Chiefs' Hard Knocks would have noticed that both teams wrapped their helmets in some kind of protective plastic that they players wore over their helmets during practice. I assumed this was so the helmets would keep their shine for when they actually played in a game. Times have changed indeed.

I think that colored helmet-cap is the NFL equivilant of the gym-class pinney, so that "teams" of players can be organized, kind of like how lines have their own colored practice jerseys in hockey. Could be wrong though. It's mostly used for special teams practice IIRC, since it's made up of guys who would be wearing both offensive and defensive jerseys.

My mistake, I wasn't clear. It wasn't the colored elastic cap. It was a clear plastic material almost like shrink wrap that covered the front, back, tops, and logos of the helmets. It didn't extend down past the logos. You could still see the color of the helmet and logo through it, but there was definitely something covering the helmet shell.

Those always give me a chuckle when I see them at a pro practice. Here are the Falcons in a special teams drill:

[John in KY]

so the stripes aren't just printed on like on the modern jerseys?

Nope. They were knit into the fabric (much like stripes are knit into a sock), which was then cut and sewn into sleeves, which were then applied to the jersey body (or they could also have been attached to the jersey body before the side seams were sewn together).

The Steelers and Browns, for example, make their jerseys this way even today (though both teams went through a printed stripe phase as well).

Just a brief point on this - while the Browns used screened on stripes from whenever they switched to mesh jerseys (not sure - sometime in the 1970-1973 time frame) until they changed to their current version in 2005 (not counting the players who cut their jerseys down to having only two small stripes as a "cuff" in the 1990s right before the owner/players moved to Baltimore and became the Ravens). However, the Steelers never went to screened on stripes for their actual gamers; like that vintage Cowboys jersey they kept the cotton/durene sleeves. I do think they switched to a less shiny fabric though before the Starter era; of course the Nike/Reebok versions have lighter weight knitted sleeves.

One team for a while did use sewn-in sleeves - when the Jets switched uniforms in 1978 the two sleeve stripes were either sewn on or sewn-in to the sleeves. However, the Jets did eventually switch to screened-on stripes when the jerseys started having the spandex/"dazzle" fabric sleeves and shoulders in the 1980s.

[bulldogbarks55]

I do find it interesting that helmets used to get little to no aesthetic touchup attention as the season wore on. Anyone who watched the Jaguars' or Chiefs' Hard Knocks would have noticed that both teams wrapped their helmets in some kind of protective plastic that they players wore over their helmets during practice. I assumed this was so the helmets would keep their shine for when they actually played in a game. Times have changed indeed.

It wasn't plastic. It was a polyester knit cover for helmets that was called "Scrimmage Hats" by the manufacturer. They were available in all helmet colors. The knit "cap" had a spongy inside coating that helped the cover stay on the helmet during scrimmages. They were another "gimmick" that faded out as fast as they appeared.

[Gothamite]

Tackle-twill doesn't make any sense for stripes, since (as noted) it has no give at all. But the numbers on the new NFL jerseys are made out of super-stretchy material, giving me hope that if any teams persist in the polite "sleeve" fiction, they might use it instead of screen-printing. I'm looking at you, Packers and Cowboys.

[bulldogbarks55]

Willie Lanier's helmet padding is a strip of foam adhered to the top of the helmet and covered with a vinyl-like material that was then painted the same color as the shell. While theoretically reducing the force of the impact itself, the contraption was not effective because the surface, when contacted, would momentarily 'grab' or latch onto the other helmet or pad and transfer a greater percentage of the force of the blow to the head and neck area of the player. The slick, hard surface of the traditional plastic helmet, when contacted, hits and quickly deflects away much of that force, thus reducing the impact and strain on the players head and neck. This is the reason helmets are polished so often today, moreso than the aesthetic reasons, that is.

It was the same type of foam that a wrestling mat was made from. MacGregor made these helmets. Cornell University wore them in the early 1960s-a White helmet with a Red pad. It was difficult to get certain types of paint to adhere to plastic helmet shells and in this case, the foam. Cracking of paint was not an uncommon sight in those days. I know of one of our competitors who took plain White helmets to an automobile repair shop to have them painted. Looked great-until they started contact. The paint had eaten into the plastic making it brittle. It broke like glass when it was hit. Cost the dealer a few bucks to replace all of the helmets.