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The 1940 NFL in Color


Gothamite

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I just bought a large lot of old newspapers, as research for my blog. Included was this Sunday supplement beauty from the New York Daily News, September 29, 1940:

4458378132_5121325012_o.jpg

Nice color look at the (left to right, top to bottom) Packers, Rams, Dodgers, Redskins, Giants and Eagles. Don't see too many of these - the paper is crumbling, so fragile I was afraid to load it on the scanner.

Some nice little oddities: a center (Hein) wearing #7. Red Giants jerseys. The Packers in blue and gold.

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I just bought a large lot of old newspapers, as research for my blog. Included was this Sunday supplement beauty from the New York Daily News, September 29, 1940:

4454054305_1b4ab72c60_o.jpg

Nice color look at the (left to right, top to bottom) Packers, Rams, Cardinals, Redskins, Giants and Steelers. Don't see too many of these.

Are you sure that last one is the Steelers? The small print says Eagles (and it looks green, too)

Great find, by the way!

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I just bought a large lot of old newspapers, as research for my blog. Included was this Sunday supplement beauty from the New York Daily News, September 29, 1940:

4454054305_1b4ab72c60_o.jpg

Nice color look at the (left to right, top to bottom) Packers, Rams, Cardinals, Redskins, Giants and Steelers. Don't see too many of these.

Are you sure that's Pittsburgh at the bottom right? I'm not sure, but that green and white uniform might be the Eagles.

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I think that last one is Eagles not Steelers.

"The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed."

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Well were they actually called "big blue" back then?

Also, it's funny that most of those "old school" uniforms don't have sleeve or pants stripes, yet many "old school" members seem to show contempt for any uniform that has those qualities today.

"The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed."

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Which '"old school" members' would those be? :rolleyes:

I think the "Big Blue" nickname only goes back to the 1960s.

Here's another look at Mel Hein in the 40s (not my pic):

1917785065_9cf5a7ac5f_b.jpg

I don't know when this pic was taken, but it looks like whoever colorized it might have gotten the pants wrong.

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I just bought a large lot of old newspapers, as research for my blog. Included was this Sunday supplement beauty from the New York Daily News, September 29, 1940:

4454054305_1b4ab72c60_o.jpg

Nice color look at the (left to right, top to bottom) Packers, Rams, Cardinals, Redskins, Giants and Steelers. Don't see too many of these.

Are you sure that last one is the Steelers? The small print says Eagles (and it looks green, too)

Great find, by the way!

Top right also says "Brooklyn Dodgers" and not Cardinals.

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Darn - you beat me to it! :cursing:

I'm having a bad day. Guess I'm distracted by Isbell - a quarterback - wearing #66.

Not just that... but a number that's so thoroughly identified with another one of the Packers all-time greats. It's like seeing John Havlicek in a #33 tank.

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so did michigan copy the giants helmet? or was it acommon design back in the day?

Princeton did it first, actually. Fritz Crisler came up with the design while coaching there, and brought the design with him when he moved on to coaching at Michigan. After that it became a rather popular design, as it was one of the easiest to replicate on the old leather helmets.

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Was Princeton the first to paint contrasting colors on the leather helmet strips? Or just the first to do so on a winged helmet?

By the 1930s, the practice was quite common. The Packers and Cardinals both painted contrasting stripes in 1936:

2759045225_8b6cb82022_o.jpg

Here's a colorful example - this College All-Star Game helmet dates from the 1940s:

4457341486_99335723a6_o.jpg

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:D

You can see why it took so long for the NFL to develop helmet logos - painting the leatgher strips results in a very distinctive and colorful look. Only when you're presented with the blank canvas of a plastic shell do side logos seem necessary.

More credit to Fred Gehrke, then, for his vision. He recognized what could be done even on a leather helmet.

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Was Princeton the first to paint contrasting colors on the leather helmet strips? Or just the first to do so on a winged helmet?

I don't know, to be honest. I just know they were the first to so on the winged helmet.

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