Navy Football All-Gold?

[vicfurth]

I was doing some research for my NCAA Football Project and found an interesting tidbit that came up in Google.

Supposedly, that's Roger Staubach from his Navy days. As you can see, it's an all-gold uniform. Can anyone confirm this is real?

[Brave-Bird 08]

I doubt this is a photoshop. there are a lot of unknown old uniforms that go unnoticed, especially in college. for instance, most Georgia fans don't know Georgia wore black shirts with red numbers in the 1930s-40s, though it's obvious in this image.

[andrewharrington]

I doubt this is a photoshop. there are a lot of unknown old uniforms that go unnoticed, especially in college. for instance, most Georgia fans don't know Georgia wore black shirts with red numbers in the 1930s-40s, though it's obvious in this image.

It's very possible that this is a red shirt with silver numbers and stripes on it.

[Mingjai]

Here's a different gold set--looks like Navy changed sleeve patterns and number styles during Staubach's tenure:

[tBBP]

GFGS!!!

[Mingjai]

GFGS!!!

or YFYS depending on who you ask...

[MJWalker45]

I think the first pic was from a bowl game, but until I saw this in color I never realized they wore gold jerseys. Another interesting thing is that watching the old big ten highlight reels on their network, I saw one game where Illinois played a team that had all white lids except for one player who wore a black lid. Not sure what school it was because it wasn't another Big Ten team

[Brave-Bird 08]

@andrewharrington

Nope. Black with red numerals. This is from 1942. My link

[Chapeeko]

I doubt this is a photoshop. there are a lot of unknown old uniforms that go unnoticed, especially in college. for instance, most Georgia fans don't know Georgia wore black shirts with red numbers in the 1930s-40s, though it's obvious in this image.

It's very possible that this is a red shirt with silver numbers and stripes on it.

You can tell it's black because the middle red sleeve stripe is lighter than the jersey.

[BlueSky]

Some nice color shots of the two different jersey styles. Unfortunately, in the photo catalog these pics all carry the same date from 1963, so either the pics of one stripe style are misdated or Navy changed jerseys during the game. Assuming the latter is unlikely, where opponents are visible I checked their sked and used the most likely date I could find.

Thought the first pic looked like Notre Dame in green jerseys and gold helmets. Pic is dated 11/1/63; Navy played in South Bend on 11/2/63 so that was one sign that's when this was taken.

Note player at far left with # 76 on his helmet. Didn't think Notre Dame ever had helmet numbers, but found this on an ND uni history site, confirming it's the '63 Irish-Midshipmen game: During Huge Devore’s one year stint in 1963, the Irish removed the shoulder stripes, and replaced the shamrock on the helmet with white Alabama-style numbers.

Check out the turf, which is the epitome of what a grass football field should look like.

Unsure of date/opponent (though may be same game as above):

At Penn State, 9/19/64 (note "charging goat" logo on helmet, worn for the first 5 games in '64):

Goat helmet, from the excellent helmethut.com:

This one was correctly dated, @ Michigan (Wolverine helmets visible at far right), 10/5/1964. No more goats for Navy.

uspresswire.com is a great source for vintage pics. Go to the upper right and click 'Advanced Search,' then fill in the team or player's name and the date range (if applicable). Some of their old stuff is fantastic. Looked for that Georgia set but UGA appears to be one of the holes in their collection.

A brief aside...here's a shot from US Presswire's collection that is one of the most iconic I've ever seen when it comes to the NFL in the '60s. December 12, 1965 at the Coliseum. The players (Merlin Olsen is #74 at left and of course it's Jim Brown running), the teams, the unis, the slight blur of action and something so rare these days, a sunny afternoon game played outdoors. Sometimes nostalgia is valid. Just fantastic.

I checked the Rams' all-time roster and there's no #64 listed for 1964,'65, or '66, so I have no idea who that is at right. Found him on another site, #64 is rookie DE Tim Powell from Northwestern.

[gueman]

I wouldn't mind seeing Navy match those up with blue pants. Keep the Bears font numbers and UCLA stripes. The triple stripes are great but would not work with a modern jersey.