Origin of Boston Patriots in red?

[cranium]

I did a quick search of the boards and didn't see an obvious answer. If it is there, I apologize. My question: Why was the original New England/Boston Patriots color red even though the British wore red in the American Revolution? I suspect the owners didn't make the connection and saw the whole uni color combination as red, white, and blue, but I'd rather know the real story as I teach US history and like to flash photo of the Patriots in red on the screen and ask the students what is wrong with this uniform (all in fun).

[missouri tigers]

You say that you want an explanation that goes beyond the fact that they where red white and blue because those are the official colors of the USA, but I'm not sure that it actually goes beyond that.

I could be wrong though.

Either way, you brought up an interesting point.

[texfischer]

I did a quick search of the boards and didn't see an obvious answer. If it is there, I apologize. My question: Why was the original New England/Boston Patriots color red even though the British wore red in the American Revolution? I suspect the owners didn't make the connection and saw the whole uni color combination as red, white, and blue, but I'd rather know the real story as I teach US history and like to flash photo of the Patriots in red on the screen and ask the students what is wrong with this uniform (all in fun).

You sound like an awesome teacher.

[John in KY]

I did a quick search of the boards and didn't see an obvious answer. If it is there, I apologize. My question: Why was the original New England/Boston Patriots color red even though the British wore red in the American Revolution? I suspect the owners didn't make the connection and saw the whole uni color combination as red, white, and blue, but I'd rather know the real story as I teach US history and like to flash photo of the Patriots in red on the screen and ask the students what is wrong with this uniform (all in fun).

Aside from red, white and blue being the USA's colors, I've always assumed the Patriots went with a red jersey because the other 3 teams in their division had already chosen to wear some shade of blue. They were the next-to-last team in the league; the Oakland Raiders were the last team to join, getting the eighth spot when the Minneapolis ownership group took the NFL's franchise offer instead. Here is the original AFL Division lineup with jersey colors:

AFL East:

Boston Patriots - red jerseys

Buffalo Bills - blue jerseys (pretty close to the Lions honolulu blue back then)

Houston Oilers - Columbia blue

New York Titans - navy blue

AFL West:

Dallas Texans - red

Denver Broncos - yellow (with brown pants)

Los Angeles Chargers - pacific blue

Oakland Raiders - black

Of course the Bills changed to more of a royal blue by 1962.

[MJWalker45]

Another thing to remember is each state had a different uniform color during the Revolution. I'm not sure what Massachusetts' colors would be. One state officially had brown jackets with yellow trim and even more confusing, certain fields like infantry had a different color in place of the trim color. The only reason we actually associate blue with the USA is France provided uniforms after 1777. After that the state trim color remained until the 1830's.

[JTernup]

Yeah but 1777 to 1783 is most of the war, so we should associate blue with the continental army.

Obviously militias weren't apart of the CA so they could wear just about anything, usually frontiersmen clothing.

John in KY's explanation seems the most logical to me.

[hockey week]

I did a quick search of the boards and didn't see an obvious answer. If it is there, I apologize. My question: Why was the original New England/Boston Patriots color red even though the British wore red in the American Revolution? I suspect the owners didn't make the connection and saw the whole uni color combination as red, white, and blue, but I'd rather know the real story as I teach US history and like to flash photo of the Patriots in red on the screen and ask the students what is wrong with this uniform (all in fun).

Aside from red, white and blue being the USA's colors, I've always assumed the Patriots went with a red jersey because the other 3 teams in their division had already chosen to wear some shade of blue. They were the next-to-last team in the league; the Oakland Raiders were the last team to join, getting the eighth spot when the Minneapolis ownership group took the NFL's franchise offer instead. Here is the original AFL Division lineup with jersey colors:

AFL East:

Boston Patriots - red jerseys

Buffalo Bills - blue jerseys (pretty close to the Lions honolulu blue back then)

Houston Oilers - Columbia blue

New York Titans - navy blue

AFL West:

Dallas Texans - red

Denver Broncos - yellow (with brown pants)

Los Angeles Chargers - pacific blue

Oakland Raiders - black

Of course the Bills changed to more of a royal blue by 1962.

I have also heard this as the explanation. I don't remember where from (it was probably either on this board or something on uniwatchblog, but idk), and it made perfect sense to me. there were simply too many blue teams, so they were asked to wear red. No more thought went into it, apparently.

[cranium]

Great point about 3 teams in their division already in blue. That makes so much sense, it almost has to be the answer. You'd think some history of the AFL video or book would mention why they chose red. I just haven't ran across any, although I haven't looked too hard.

I show a slide of the Eagles in those blue and yellow unis earlier in the semester. No students get that historical connection until I start dropping hints.

[powersurge]

Great thread.

I've always hated the Pats in red because of the historical significance of the color during the Revolutionary War. It now makes sense why they probably chose it. Never realized the fact that most of the other teams in their division wore blue jerseys.

I know that a great deal of people on this board hate their current jerseys, but I think they are not only a great design but they also utilize a much a more appropriate color scheme for a team using the nickname "Patriots". They totally work for me.

[Pizzaman7294]

on a side note, do you think people in great britain rooted against the patriots when they played there a couple years ago?

[Gothamite]

I think they're probably over it.

FWIW, Ralph Wilson is a Detroit native and owned a piece of the Lions when Lamar Hunt started the AFL. That's why his Bills wore a copy of the Lions' 1950s uniforms in the first years.

[UnclearInitial]

on a side note, do you think people in great britain rooted against the patriots when they played there a couple years ago?

No, because ManUtd fans hate the Glazers and everybody else hates ManUtd

[poser]

on a side note, do you think people in great britain rooted against the patriots when they played there a couple years ago?

I went to the Niners games in London last year. I asked one of the locals and he said they started to get football in Mid 80's so a lot of people are fans of the teams that were good back then because that's who they saw on TV. He was a huge Dolphins fan and we ran into some "native" 49ers fans on the tube.

[Mitch B]

I know that a great deal of people on this board hate their current jerseys, but I think they are not only a great design but they also utilize a much a more appropriate color scheme for a team using the nickname "Patriots". They totally work for me.

I agree that the current unis are superior, but I would bring back the original patriot in the three-point stance...great logo.

[RedSox44]

I know that a great deal of people on this board hate their current jerseys, but I think they are not only a great design but they also utilize a much a more appropriate color scheme for a team using the nickname "Patriots". They totally work for me.

I agree that the current unis are superior, but I would bring back the original patriot in the three-point stance...great logo.

IMO that's combining the worst of both worlds. Pat Patriot is a classic, but wouldn't look good at all on the current uniforms (not like anything looks good with the current uniforms, they're among the worst in the NFL).

The AFL Legacy throwbacks are exactly what they should be wearing today. I don't care that the British wore red in the Revolutionary War. It's actually aesthetically pleasing as opposed to the current set, which isn't.

[Gothamite]

The AFL Legacy throwbacks are exactly what they should be wearing today. I don't care that the British wore red in the Revolutionary War. It's actually aesthetically pleasing as opposed to the current set, which isn't.

That's pretty much how I feel about them. The red doesn't bother me nearly as much as the current uniforms do.

[powersurge]

I know that a great deal of people on this board hate their current jerseys, but I think they are not only a great design but they also utilize a much a more appropriate color scheme for a team using the nickname "Patriots". They totally work for me.

I agree that the current unis are superior, but I would bring back the original patriot in the three-point stance...great logo.

IMO that's combining the worst of both worlds. Pat Patriot is a classic, but wouldn't look good at all on the current uniforms (not like anything looks good with the current uniforms, they're among the worst in the NFL).

The AFL Legacy throwbacks are exactly what they should be wearing today. I don't care that the British wore red in the Revolutionary War. It's actually aesthetically pleasing as opposed to the current set, which isn't.

If I could play Devil's advocate of design for a second...is the Pat Patriot logo REALLY a great football helmet logo?

Shouldn't a great football helmet logo be simpler and not so detailed as he his? Doesn't the logo get kind of lost from a distance? Pat Patriot seems like it was stolen from the front page of an 1880's newspaper and colored over with a bunch of crayons. Maybe a modernization would work best. Also, isn't it funny that the guy in the logo is wearing quintessential Revolutionary War era garb (which happens to be mostly blue) and the team wears all red???? I had to point it out because maybe I'm being ultra picky here but there seems to be so many inconsistent elements in their classic identity. I know that you don't care that the British wore red in the war but they did and it was a huge part of history that can't be ignored. After all, The Russian sports teams didn't wear BLUE in all of those movies did they? Isn't color kind of important in a historical sense?

[winghaz]

I, too, prefer today's uniforms over the past uniforms because the Patriots are wearing blue for home uniforms. But what does silver have to do with a team called the Patriots?

[Gothamite]

I had to point it out because maybe I'm being ultra picky here

Unless your next sentence is about how the Bears and Lions have to drop blue for various shades of brown, yes, you are.

[Saintsfan]

on a side note, do you think people in great britain rooted against the patriots when they played there a couple years ago?

I went to the Niners games in London last year. I asked one of the locals and he said they started to get football in Mid 80's so a lot of people are fans of the teams that were good back then because that's who they saw on TV. He was a huge Dolphins fan and we ran into some "native" 49ers fans on the tube.

Loads of Bears jerseys at the game yesterday.

The Patriots are reasonably popular in the UK, partly a bandwagon thing, partly lots of people with links to Boston, partly they recognise Tom Brady as a name.