The National Football League (NFL) is an American professional sport that is wildly popular in the United States. In fact, football is the most attended sport in the world. With around 67,000 fans watching each game, it’s no wonder that each NFL team is so recognizable just by viewing their uniforms. Professional football began in the 1920’s. Back then they had very basic and plain uniforms, but today the uniform is an important symbol of each team. There are two conferences in the league, the American Football Conference and the National Football Conference. Within them are four divisions with four teams each. This means there are sixteen teams in each conference and thirty-two teams in the whole of the NFL. With thirty-two teams, it might seem that it would be difficult to identify any individual team, but they are easily recognized due to team branding. Their use of symbols and color are strong identifiers. The NFL uniform is an important symbol not only for the players, but also the fans, more so than in any other professional sport. That is why looking into the NFL’s history of uniforms is so interesting.
When professional football began in the 1920s, uniforms were considered unimportant; it was all about the game. Teams changed the look of their uniform on a regular basis and some even bought used uniforms to wear. Football jerseys were most often made of wool or some other thick material and helmets were optional, so many never wore them. As the sport grew, the need for wearing a helmet became evident and in the 1930s became a mandatory part of a player’s uniform, albeit there was no set regulation on what the helmet looked like and most were simple leather coverings of varying color that were slightly padded and resembled aviator caps. The ‘30s were also the decade when players received numbers, which helped to identify individual players. In 1948, a major change was made to helmets when a uniform design was introduced by one of the Los Angeles Rams players. He simply painted the horns of a ram on his leather helmet, and so it grew from there.
The 1940s began the decade of change for team uniforms as teams begin to switch up colors, all looking for the right combinations for their team, each wanting to stand out from the other teams. In the 1950s, the plastic helmet gained popularity and by the end of the decade, became regulation headwear. It was also more common to see facemasks on many helmets, which became the norm in the 1970s. By the 1960s, new teams were being added as football’s popularity grew, but at that time, there were two separate leagues. Eventually both would merge into what is now known as the NFL. With new teams came the introduction of uniform styles, uniforms that were interesting to look at and had more color. The San Diego Chargers donned powder blue jerseys while the Denver Broncos wore brown with mustard colored accents. Even the player’s socks began to show signs of color, with vertical colored stripes that ran up the side of each sock.
Changes continued, with the introduction of varying color combinations and by the 1980s, current uniform designs became pretty much fixed. The 2000s brought new changes to NFL uniforms as another expansion team, the Houston Texans, was added. There was even a new rule enacted in 2003, which declared long hair as part of the uniform. It is called the “Ricky Williams” rule because Williams enjoyed wearing his hair in dreadlocks, which brought the issue to a head. It was now fair play to tackle a player by grabbing his hair. Although teams have set uniform designs, the league now allows for teams to wear what are called “throwback” uniforms three times a year. It has become a tradition to wear them during Thanksgiving Day football games. NFL teams have also sported pink shoes, gloves, armbands and caps in support of breast cancer awareness. Sometimes, they will add a patch or band to honor individuals or memorial events.
Today’s uniforms are a declaration, each team flying its own colors and individual symbols. For instance, the Arizona’s Cardinals have the head of an angry red cardinal emblazoned on the side of their white helmets and bright red jerseys with white accents. Player’s names and numbers are now standards on every jersey. The football uniform is no longer just an afterthought or only a way to identify an individual player. Now they are a statement that has also spawned an entire NFL market in which to serve their many fans. Football enthusiast’s young and old love to adorn themselves with the colors and jerseys of their favorite teams and players, whether attending a game or just out and about. Team colors also show up on items such as bedding, banners, window decals and many other merchandise items. With Nike’s acquiring the contract to make all of the NFL franchise uniforms in 2012, fans are torn. Some look forward to many new uniform design changes, while others cringe at the thought.
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Article written by Janice D. McDonald