A Christmas Message from the Gridiron Uniform Database

A Christmas Message from the Gridiron Uniform Database
by Tim Brulia

This is our first Christmas at the Gridiron Uniform Database.

I have been doing the serious research on NFL Uniforms for nearly 10 years.

Bill Schaefer and I connected in September of 2009.

Rob Holecko made contact with Bill and me on May 14th. So the research man, the graphic artist and the web-meister all came together. And, with Rob working feverishly, we were able to officially launch gridironuniforms.com on June 12th. That is our Christmas gift to all of you, the fans of pro football, history and uniforms.

Since our launch, we have numerous corrections, made even more discoveries, and have put up, literally as they trot on the field, the uniform matchups for the 2011 season.

For 2012, we hope to maintain the same standards that we have set for 2011. We will do all we can to continue to be as accurate as possible on uniform detail.

We want to thank those of you who have made contributions to that accuracy with your finds and discoveries. We may ask some of you to help contribute to our blog in the coming weeks and months. We also wish to thank those of you for simply visiting our site and hope you find it of value and enjoyment.

We also take this time and opportunity to give special thanks to our friends at Uni Watch, namely Paul Lukas and Phil Hecken for their help and support, first to send the word out to help with the graphics in 2009 and then earlier this year for the call to enlist help for the website. It goes without saying that without Bill and Rob answering those "calls," I would still be sitting on a pile of valuable historical information, without anyone to share it with. I owe them every morsel of gratitude.

So, on behalf of Bill and Rob, we'd like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and the Best of the Holiday Season.

Peace on Earth.

The Gridiron Uniform Database

Now here's Rob with today's "On This Day..."

~ ~ ~

"On This Day..."

by Rob Holecko

On Christmas Eve 1977, like yesterday's Immaculate Reception game, the Raiders and Colts played another memorable AFC Divisional Playoff game.  This game is fondly remembered as "Ghost To The Post."  In 1977, Christmas fell on Sunday, so the NFL played the two AFC Divisional Playoffs on Christmas Eve, and the two NFC games on Monday.  The Raiders were the defending champions, coming off of  Super Bowl XI victory, and the Colts were an aging team seven years removed from their Super Bowl V victory, and were looking to bring a championship during the Bert Jones years to Baltimore.  The Wikipedia write-up is as follows:

Ghost to the Post is a significant play in NFL history. It refers specifically to a 42-yard pass from Ken Stabler to Dave Casper, nicknamed "The Ghost" after the cartoon character, that set up a game tying field goal in the final seconds of a double-overtime playoff game played between Casper's Oakland Raiders and the then-Baltimore Colts on December 24, 1977. Casper also caught the last pass of the game, a 10-yard touchdown pass. The game is currently the fourth-longest in NFL history, and has become synonymous with the play that made it famous.

To this date, the game is still the fourth-longest in pro football history. The game marked the last playoff appearance for the Baltimore-based Colts. The Raiders would go on to lose the AFC championship game that year to the Broncos 20-17. Hall of Fame coach John Madden has called the moment one of the most memorable of his coaching career. Dave Casper has been named one of the best Tight Ends in NFL History and is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and this catch is cited as the most memorable in his career.

The Raiders won the game, but lost the following week in the AFC Championship to Denver.  Ken Stabler would not see another championship, as the Raiders, in the coming years, would go on to win Super Bowl XV and, after moving to Los Angeles, XVIII, but they would be with Jim Plunkett under center.  The Colts would never again play a playoff game or have another winning season in Baltimore, posting records of 5-11 (twice), 2-14 and 0-8-1 in the following years, before leaving in the middle of the night for Indianapolis in 1984.

You can see the NFL Films show on this game on Hulu here.

We are proud to add this game to Gridiron Uniform Database's collection of randomly added single-game matchups.

You can view other randomly added past games here.

The Immaculate Reception

Today for our "On This Day..." feature, we are taking a look back at the December 23, 1972 Immaculate Reception of Franco Harris:

In this memorable game, after forty years of being a perennial loser, the Steelers trailed 7-6 in the final minutes after a Ken Stabler touchdown run.  On fourth-and-ten from their own 35, Terry Bradshaw's pass down the field for Frenchy Fuqua was deflected by either the Raiders' DB Jack Tatum or Fuqua, and it was "caught out of the air" by Harris, who raced down the sideline for the winning score.  (See above video.)  After some debate by the officials, (had the pass only touched Fuqua it would have been a foul, as NFL rules at the time did not permit an offensive player to catch a forward pass that had been touched only by another offensive player.  That rule was rescinded after 1978) the play was ruled a touchdown and Pittsburgh won 13-7.  They went on to lose to the undefeated Miami Dolphins in the AFC Championship Game, but this was the beginning of their dynasty, as they went on to win four of the next seven Super Bowls.

The game was not broadcast in Pittsburgh.  1972 was the last year that all home games were blacked-out in home cities, and since the beginning of the 1973 season, every Steelers game has sold-out and has been televised locally.

The NFL Films footage of the play may have led
to speculation -- was the play legal?

The clip you see above was from when NBC re-aired the original footage at halftime of the 1997 AFC Championship on January 11, 1998.  When they aired this, I believe they promoted this at the time as being the first time that the footage had been aired since the game.  Many people, including Gene Upshaw and John Madden, believed that the play should have been nullifed for being an illegal catch.  The NFL Films version of the highlight (this still to the right is from that footage), which had been seen repeatedly over the previous twenty-five years, did not show the collision, and that may have added fuel to the fire.  This NBC footage, which many people were seeing for the first time in 1998, however, I believe ended the speculation.  It is clear that Tatum must have touched the ball, for I don't see how, with the direction that Fuqua was running, his momentum alone would have caused the ball to ricochet back that far to Harris.  It doesn't matter if Fuqua touched it or not, only that had Tatum not touched it would it have been illegal.  (Unless, of course it was Tatum's momentum into Fuqua that caused Fuqua to hit the ball hard enough.)

The only remaining dispute was whether or not Harris cleanly caught the ball before it touched the ground.  Again the NFL Films version of the replay doesn't show that clearly, either.  But upon viewing the NBC replay, it is fairly clear that the catch was clean as well.

We are proud to add this game to Gridiron Uniform Database's collection of randomly added single-game matchups.

You can view other randomly added past games here.

Week 15 Uniform Rankings

Week 15 Uniform Rankings

by Tim Brulia

Week 15 and we start to separate the men from the boys, on the field and on the body (er, uniform wise!)

Jaguars-Falcons: Jag rock white/black and the Falcs go red/white. Lot of blackness here. Falcons red saves this from being total blah from my standpoint.

Cowboys-Buccaneers: Cowboys in the standard white/green-blue-silver and the Bucs go red-pewter. This may be just a bit of metallic color overload for me. I think had the Bucs worn the white pants here, it would have made the red jerseys pop a little more. But, this is not really all that bad.

Panthers-Texans: Panthers in the white-white get up and the Texans go with navy-white. A lot of white, but the Texans navy jerseys just look good and make this one a pretty good feature.

Redskins-Giants: OK, I accept that the Skins yellow pants are mothballed for 2011. And doing that, I can deal with this matchup well. Much more traditional and a heaping amount of color, with white, blue, burgundy and gray, trimmed with yellow and red. Soothing to the football eyes.

Dolphins-Bills: Dolphins in white/aqua, Bills in blue/white. White helmets aside, I'm not sure why, but whenever the Dolphins rock an aqua jersey or aqua pants, I get fired up. And the Bills in their very sharp blue jerseys, I find myself quite attracted to this matchup. Satisfaction.

Seahawks-Bears: Hawks in all white with the Bears in navy/white. For whatever reason, this matchup appeals to me. Normally I'd hanker for the Seahawks to go white/seahawk blue here, but not now. I'm quite pleased with this on field look.

Saints-Vikings: Saints go white/gold and the Vikes in standard purple/white. Another time where I might said, gee, I wish the Saints would've black pants here. But the gold works, with black as a nice accessory color. Vikes purple goes well with the color mixture. May not be one of the better uni matchups, but not a yucky one, either.

Bengals-Rams: Bengals go white/black and the Rams in their second time in throwback blue/yellow. Oh do I like this one. Color abounds. Orange, black, blue, yellow, white all come together in fine fashion. It's all good in my neighborhood.

Titans-Colts: Titans in white/columbia blue and the (winning!) Colts in blue/white. There once was an instrumental hit (when I was a kid, hundreds of years ago) called "Love Is Blue," and such is the case here. columbia (light) blue, royal blue, navy blue with a wisp of red on the Titans helmet logo. Somehow, this all comes together in fine form.

Packers-Chiefs: Packers in white/yellow with the Chiefs in red/white. A little seasonal as the Packers green trim goes up against Chiefs red. But a little heavy on the white and yellow for it to be truly Christmasy. Traditional looks by these two. But I'm to be Scroogeish and say it's not working for me today.

Lions-Raiders: Lions in white/silver, Raiders in black/silver. "Silver Bells" anyone? Silver helmets and silver pants for both squads. silver on both jerseys, too. Some contrast with the black and honolulu blue, but I'm not feeling it.

Patriots-Broncos: Pats in white/navy and for the third home game in a row, Broncs in all navy. Loads of navy here. Perhaps too much? Remember, while a home team has to let the NFL know by July 1st what color jersey they will wear, they don't have to tell anyone about what color pants they will wear. Perhaps the Broncs on their hot streak with the all blue decided to give one more shot.

Jets-Eagles: Jets in white/green, Eagles in green/white. Much of a role reversal here, from head to foot. Jets white lid, Eagles green lid. Jets white jersey, Eagles green jersey! Jets green pants, Eagles white pants! Jets white socks, Eagles - um - black socks! For that alone, I give this a plus!

Browns-Cardinals: Browns heading for a full season of WAY (white all year). Cardinals, just like the Broncos, with a hat trick of all dark at home, going red/red. This so deep a contrast (all white vs all red) that I happen to dig this, man.

Ravens-Chargers: Ravens in all white and the Chargers with their second showing in powder blue/white. Ravens haven't worn black pants since week 7 and I think they would have played nicely off of the Bolts POWder blues. As always, the Chargers ratchet up the chart whenever they break out these babies. Just a thought...powder blue tops and navy blue bottoms??? Shock factor: HIGH!

Steelers-49ers: Steelers in white/yellow and the Niners in red/gold. Niners are so hot this season that the transformer blew at Candlestick! This is actually a sharp looking matchup here and shows beyond the shadow of a doubt when we talk about the difference between yellow and gold.

Summing up, I think Week 15 was one of the best weeks for uni matchups for 2011, even if all 16 games featured all dark at home.

Here's the hit parade:

1) Bengals-Rams

2) Browns-Cardinals

3) Dolphins-Bills

4) Ravens-Chargers

5) Steelers-49ers

6) Jets-Eagles

7) Patriots-Broncos

8) Titans-Colts

9) Saints-Vikings

10) Redskins-Giants

11) Packers-Chiefs

12) Panthers-Texans

13) Seahawks-Bears

14) Cowboys-Buccaneers

15) Lions-Raiders

16) Jaguars-Falcons

Check in next week for further review!

~ ~ ~

Thanks, Tim.  And now for our new regular feature, "On This Day..."

On December 21, 1974, thirty-seven years ago yesterday, the two time defending Super Bowl Champion Miami Dolphins played an AFC Divisional Playoff Game in Oakland, losing on the final play, a miraculous pass from Ken Stabler to Clarence Davis.  

We are proud to add this game to Gridiron Uniform Database's collection of randomly added single-game matchups.

You can view other randomly added past games here.

According to Wikipedia:

With 24 seconds left in the game, Raiders RB Clarence Davis somehow caught the game-winning touchdown pass among "the sea of hands" of three Dolphins defenders. This game eliminated Miami from the playoffs after they had made it to the Super Bowl in each of the last 3 seasons. Also known as the "Lost Game" due to both NBC and NFL Films losing their English copies of the broadcast. It was thought until recently that the only remaining copy was NBC's Spanish version, when NFL Films found their copy buried deep in storage, which they thought was lost in a move in the early 80's.

Back When A Bucs' Primetime Game Was Exciting

For those of you who watched the Bucs dismal performance on NFL Network against the Cowboys last night (not talking to those of you who have Time Warner or Bright House) it may seem like a long time since the Bucs played an exciting primetime game.  Earlier this year the Bucs beat the Colts on Monday Night Football, and while a win is a win (and was much better for Buccaneers' fans than the historical 2003 MNF collapse to the same Colts) it was a boring game.  But if we go back eleven years to a Monday Night game between the Bucs and the Rams, you will recall one of the most exciting primetime games in recent memory, as we go... "On This Day..." back to 2000:

"On This Day..."
On December 18, 2000, the Bucs and Rams played a thrilling Monday Night game, so good in fact, the fact that Dennis Miller was announcing it didn't even detract from it.  In the crowded NFC playoff chase, the two teams from the previous year's NFC Championship met in a game they both needed.  The winner would clinch a spot, while the loser would be in danger of missing the playoffs altogether.   Trailing 35-31, with under 2:00 to play, RB Warrick Dunn caught a screen pass and was wrapped up fifteen yards behind the line of scrimmage on a key third down and it seemed like the Bucs hopes were dwindling.  Just before being whistled down, however, Dunn lateralled the ball back to QB Shaun King who improbably ran thirty yards for a first down, and the Bucs drove down the field for the winning score.

The Bucs went on to miss a field goal on Christmas Eve at Lambeau Field the following week and had to settle for a wild card, where they lost to the Eagles, and the Rams beat the Saints the next week and made the playoffs anyway, but then lost to the Saints in the first round.  The Rams made it back to the Super Bowl the next year, losing to the Patriots, while the Bucs (after another wild card loss to the Eagles after the 2001 season, fired Tony Dungy and hired Jon Gruden and got their Lombardi trophy the following year.)  But for one exciting December night in 2000, these two teams played an epic MNF battle.

To read a complete recap of the game, click here.

We are proud to add this historic Monday Night football game from eleven years ago today to our matchup database.

~ ~ ~

Speaking of yesterday's dismal Bucs-Cowboys game (well, dismal if you are a Bucs' fan anyway), what was up with the bias on the NFL Network's coverage?  While this was the fourth consecutive year that the Cowboys have been on NFLN's Saturday Night special broadcast, this was the first time the Bucs have ever been on NFL Network, I believe.  It would have been a perfect time for them to showcase the Bucs.  I know they are playing awful -- in the midst of a seven-game (now eight-game) losing streak, but that was no excuse for the bias-ness of the NFL Network's coverage.  Yesterday on their network they aired, leading up to the game: "America's Game: 1992 Cowboys", "America's Game: 1995 Cowboys", a replay of the Cowboys-49ers game from earlier this year, "Tom Landry: A Football Life", and Top Ten Dallas Cowboys of All-Time.   C'mon, is this a national network, or am I watching a local Dallas-Fort Worth station?  They could have at least mixed in an "America's Game: 2002 Buccaneers" instead of 10 straight hours of this Cowboys-love fest.  The game was all-Cowboys, at least they could have shown the Bucs a little love during the programming all day leading up to it.  Even FOX News thinks that violates equal time guidelines!  Even ESPN is less biased when showing a Red Sox-Yankees game!

And then to top it all off, they rubbed salt in the wound at halftime, the Bucs were trailing 28-0, and they put the Bucs' score not just as "0", but "00":

What, one "zero" wasn't enough?

The Problem With The Internet

The Problem With The Internet

by Rob Holecko

The problem with the internet is you can't always believe everything you see, even when the source is somewhat reputable.  Yesterday we unveiled a new feature here at The Gridiron Uniform Database called "On This Day..." where we will feature past games played on this calendar day from now through the Super Bowl.  In researching today's December 17 game, we were preparing the head-to-head matchup of the 1933 NFL Championship game, and in stumbling upon the Pro Football Hall of Fame's website we came upon this picture and caption to the right, purported to be the 12/17/33 NFL Championship game between the Giants and the Bears at Wrigley Field.

Not "On This Day..."

Not so fast, my friends!  After consulting with the other two-thirds of the staff, our Bill Schaefer and Tim Brulia told me that this picture is indeed not from that game.  The grandstands, they told me, indicates that that game appears to be at the Polo Grounds, therefore is it probably from the 11/19/33 regular season game between the same two teams.  After further research, I came across this contemporary picture from the Pittsburgh Press via Google News, that indicates that yes, the Bears did wear white in that game:

But what about the other picture?  Well apparently the folks at the Hall of Fame believe it is from the Championship Game, and because of that other people on the internet believe that it is true, and they blog about it, and the error gets compounded.  (Note: after the publishing of this article, Keith Yowell, author of 'Today In Pro Football History,' whose comment you can read below, updated his site and corrected the picture to the above actual image from the 1933 NFL Championship Game. Special thanks also to Tom Farley for bringing our research to Keith's attention. All any of us want is accuracy. Now if only the Pro Football HOF can correct their information, we'll be all set!).  

Nonetheless, as our research shows, the Bears did wear white in that game, and the picture from the HOF (and elsewhere) on the internet was not from that game.  It just goes to show that you shouldn't assume anything on the internet is entirely accurate without double-checking it yourself, no matter what the source is, even if it is the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  Here at the Gridiron Uniform Database, we'll always strive to bring you the most accurate facts and whenever we do uncover new information, we'll bring it to you and update accordingly.

Speaking of which, sometime in the new future, we'll be bringing you some new discoveries about these mid-1930s Giants, thanks to our head researcher Tim Bruilia, working with "bigbluelarry", our friend Larry Schmitt.  Without further ado, the "On This Day..."

On This Day...

The NFL split into Eastern and Western divisions in 1933 and the Chicago Bears and the New York Giants were the division champions and met in the first ever scheduled Championship game on December 17.  These teams met in November, the aforementioned game at the Polo Grounds, which the Giants won 3-0.  This rematch was an exciting game full of trick plays and exciting action with players such as Bronco Nagurski and Red Grange, and the Bears held on to win 23-21 and claim their third NFL title.  You can read in-depth write-ups of the game here, here and here (just remember the pictures may not be from the correct game!)

Both of these 1933 Giants-Bears matchups have been added to our 'matchups database,' and if there is a game you'd like to see in there that hasn't been added yet, let us know and we'll get to it. We'll be back tomorrow with another past NFL matchup, another game with an exciting memorable lateral and what a surprise, it features the Buccaneers again! 

Week 14 Uniform Rankings

While there are still three weeks left in the NFL regular season (which is unfortunate if you are a Buccaneers fan like some of us around here) we have reached the end of the academic year, which for me at least, means I will have more time to devote to the Gridiron Uniform Database.  So check back more often to this blog, as we may, for the time being return to the "daily update" format that was so popular and successful during the summer.  Hopefully in the coming weeks, we'll be able to make a huge dent in the past years head-to-head matchups.  If you have any particular past year matchups you'd like to see, like for instance this one, post a reply or in post it in the forum and we'll add it.  In the meantime, we'd also like to debut a new feature today called "On This Day..."   Every day, from now through the Super Bowl, we'll be featuring a past NFL matchup that occurred on this calendar day.

On This Day...

Today, in the first of this series, we'd like to feature the December 16, 1979 matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs.  This was the Bucs' Cinderella season, after going 0-14, 2-12, and 5-11 in their first three seasons of existence, the Bucs started out 5-0 behind the play of second-year QB Doug Williams, RB Ricky Bell and a great defense led by Lee Roy Selmon and Richard Wood.  After 12 games they were 9-3 and needed one more win to clinch their first ever playoff spot.   With three straight losses, however, to Minnesota, Chicago and the 1-13 San Francisco 49ers, the Bucs' playoff hopes came down to this final game.  A win would mean the NFC Central title, a loss would mean the Bears would take the division and the Bucs wouldn't even make the playoffs.  A torrential downpour caused a sloppy game and a defensive battle against the Chiefs.  One Neil O'Donoghue field goal was the only scoring, and the Bucs prevailed 3-0.

This game was featured on NFL Networks' Top 10 Bad Weather Games of all time, and you can watch the segment on this game here.

We'll be back tomorrow with a great game from a past December 17, and now here's Tim with this week's uniform rankings:

 ~ ~ ~

Week 14 Uniform Rankings

by Tim Brulia

Welcome to the blog for Week 14. No less than 8 games involving all white in the mix:

Browns-Steelers: Browns in looks like a run of the table in white/white this season. Steelers with their second and last game in the black/white throwbacks. Picture yourself at Forbes Field in the 1960-1962 era. Jim Brown and Ernie Stautner. Kind of the same feeling in 2011.

Chiefs-Jets: Chiefs rocking all white for the second straight week while the Jets go green/white. Somewhat of a Holiday feel, but the Chiefs would look so much better in red pants here.

Buccaneers-Jaguars: Battle of Upper Florida. Bucs go white pewter and the Jags with the teal/white. This one I like because the Jags go teal and the Bucs bless us everyone with pewter pants. Thumbs up to these two.

Patriots-Redskins: Pats go white/navy and the Skins, apparently ditching yellow pants for good this season, go burgundy/white. Lotsa color here; silver, red, burgundy, yellow, navy. Like this one a lot.

Falcons-Panthers: Falcons all white and the Panthers go black/silver. The nicest colors, red and Carolina blue, are merely trim colors in this matchup. Alas, a few knockdowns on the list for that.

Colts-Ravens: Colts return to their onetime home in all white and the current Charm City residents go purple/white. A normal but not that exciting matchup.

Eagles-Dolphins: Eagles in the green/white and the Fish in the all white. Again, I am not that worked up over this uni matchup.

Vikings-Lions: Vikes are another team going all white with the Lions in standard Honolulu blue/silver. The purple and yellow trim save this game from being a rather meh affair. Lions still looking good.

Saints-Titans: NO back in the gold pants complimenting the white jersey while the Titans roll with the columbia blue/navy blue look. I happen to think this matchup works well.

Texans-Bengals: The Tex rocking white/navy and the home Bengals go with the black/white get-up. Another combo that fits rather well.

Bears-Broncos: Bears in the white/navy standard and the Broncos show off the all blue look again. Oddly, a little too much dark blue for me. Broncs should've gone with white pants here. Intriguing nonetheless.

49ers-Cardinals: Niners go with standard white/gold and the Cardinals, after keeping the red pants on the shelves all season long suddenly get a case a scarlet fever two weeks in a row. And, the red pants would gone so well earlier, now pose too much red in this matchup. Should've stuck with white pants here.

Bills-Chargers: Bills do the all white thing, but it looks like the white socks are out for the season as they keep with the blue socks. Chargers with their navy/white look. Just once, I'd love to see the Bolts go all navy. Here, it would have been fantastic.

Raiders-Packers: Classic, yet - well - classic. Raiders in white/silver, Packers in green/yellow. Very nice, lads.

Giants-Cowboys: Giants in the blue/gray and the Cowboys in white/quasi-silver. BUT, these are not your normal Giants' blue/grays. They are the G-Men's blue/AWAY grays, where the side stripes are separated and a wee bit thinner than the HOME gray pants, with the blue/red/blue stripes. A nice occasional kink to the standard fare.

Rams-Seahawks: Rams in all-white and the Seahawks, who have never stained a home game in their entire history with a white jersey, go the usual all Seahawks blue. For the horned sheep, I think the gold pants would have been the way to go here. But white - to me - goes better than blue pants for this occasion.


So the Week 14 lineup goes as follows:

16) Eagles-Dolphins
15) Colts-Ravens
14) Chiefs-Jets
13) Bills-Chargers
12) Falcons-Panthers
11) Vikings-Lions
10) 49ers-Cardinals
9) Rams-Seahawks
8) Browns-Steelers
7) Bears-Broncos
6) Buccaneers-Jaguars
5) Giants-Cowboys
4) Saints-Titans
3) Raiders-Packers
2) Patriots-Redskins
1) Texans-Bengals

~ ~ ~

Tim will be back next week with the Week 15 sartorial review, and we'll see you tomorrow with another "On This Day..."

Week 13 Uniform Rankings

 

 

Week 13 Uniform Rankings

by Tim Brulia

 

Week 13 brings a bit of a monochrome outbreak and a throwback. So, let's get to it.

Eagles-Seahawks: Eagles bring us the white/green combo and the Seahawks in standard monochrome quasi-blue. It seems to bring out the green tincture in the Seahawks combo. Seasick, perhaps?

Panthers-Buccaneers: Panthers in white/white and the Bucs in their homage to the creamsicles, the orange-peach/white throwback combo, including white cleats. This is the third year in a row the Bucs have rocked their pre-1997 look. And that's just about right. It was a rather unique - and fun - look for its day, but they sport red and pewter now. Nicely done, but the hint of peach in the throwbacks is a little odd.

Bengals-Steelers: Bengals in white/white against the Steelers in standard black/yellow. Good that the Bengals didn't choose to rock their black slacks with the white jersey. Nice look.

Falcons-Texans: Falcons in mono-white and the Texans in mono dark blue. Nice for the change of pace Texans, but just a little touch of red (socks) would have really brightened the occasion.

Jets-Redskins: Jets go white/green and the Skins look like they've put the yellow pants back in the trunk as they rock the burgundy/white look. This is a nice batch of colors, though.

Titans-Bills: Titans in white/columbia blue and the Bills go with blue/white. Lotta blue at play here. But since there are the three shades (light, royal, navy) working, it does blend rather well.

Colts-Patriots: Colts in mono-white with the Pats in navy/silver. A rather common sight in recent years, so I'm not that worked up about this uni-matchup.

Raiders-Dolphins: Raiders in black/silver and if the Dolphins are going mono-white instead of white/aqua, it must mean Miami is at home this week. Correct. And alas, this one slips down the pole.

Broncos-Vikings: Another mono-white team (Denver) going against a purple/white side. The slivers of orange (Broncs) trim and yellow (Vikes) trim help some, but not enough to keep this uni matchup from the lower rung.

Chiefs-Bears: Took awhile, but the Chiefs rocked mono-white for the first time this season. Blah. The Bears in their conventional navy-white home duds help, but not enough.

Ravens-Browns: Ravens take charge in purple/white against the Browns in white/white, which they will likely wear all season long, unless - out of the...um...brown they shock us all with brown pants.

Rams-49ers: Somehow, I find this matchup as nice as any this week. Rams go white/blue while the Niners wear red/gold. For the Rams, who have a choice of three pairs of pants at all times in 2011, they made the right choice this week. Bleds well with the Niner red and gold. I actually think it makes the red much brighter.

Cowboys-Cardinals: Cowboys in standard white/quasi-silver and yes, friends, Big Red goes all red! First time for the red pants this season and I guess it's better late than never. I like this one.

Packers-Giants: Classic look for classic teams. Pack in white/yellow and G-Men in blue/home gray. A lot of colors here and I always love me some colors; green, yellow, white, red, blue, gray. Sweet.

Lions-Saints: Lions in white/silver and the Saints go marching in mono black. And that makes more of a contrast than had NO gone black/gold on us. This matchup isn't for the faint of heart, but I dig it, mama.

Chargers-Jaguars: Chargers in white/navy and the Jags in teal/white. Somehow, this one works for me. Nothing splashy, but enough variance to be enjoyable.

So then, I rank them from bottom to the top this week like so:

16) Colts-Patriots

15) Broncos-Vikings

14) Raiders-Dolphins

13) Eagles-Seahawks

12) Chiefs-Bears

11) Ravens-Browns

10) Titans-Bills

9) Bengals-Steelers

8) Chargers-Jaguars

7) Falcons-Texans

6) Jets-Redskins

5) Panthers-Buccaneers

4) Lions-Saints

3) Cardinals-Cowboys

2) Rams-49ers

1) Packers-Giants

Before I close, just thing to keep in mind. Teams MUST submit jersey color to the Commissioner's Office by July 1 each year for all preseason and regular season games. There are no rules regarding pant colors, so while we may know what team will wear what color jersey ahead of time, we don't necessarily know about the pants.

Take care and see you next time.

Week 12 Uniform Rankings

 

Week 12 Uniform Rankings

by Tim Brulia

 

Couple of notes:

1) I guess the word that there would be no alternates or throwbacks after week 10 proved to be bogus. There were three such games this weekend.

2) As we get late into the season, there will be some matchups that were seen earlier in the season. What may have been eye candy for me earlier may now be a serious eye sore today. So, if you say to me, "Gosh, you had this (uni) matchup at #2 in Week 3, and this week you have the same exact uni at #14 this week???," I do say that these are decisions made on the cuff. It's all in fun and it's just my opinion. No more, no less.

3) For the second time this season, it's all dark at home. And considering at least one of the teams involved, that's a bit of big news.

So let's not waste any more of your time.

Packers-Lions: Ahh, yes. The traditional Thanksgiving Day lid lifter. Normally the time (in recent years, anyway) when the Lions show off the plain, vintage and popular throwbacks from the early 50's. But today, the Lions and their opponents keep the 2011 look. Packers in white/yellow and Lions in honolulu blue/silver. And while the current look may have sent a few groans out to the turkey-fed masses, it really wasn't a bad thing.

Dolphins-Cowboys: Well, for the second game of the Turkey Day tripleheader, the Cowboys went to their once or twice annual homage to the 1960-1963 Cowboys, the dark blue/white throwback combo. A nice little break from the constant white at home. Which means the visiting Dolphins sported white/aqua, which as you may know, is a look that suits the Fish better than the all white they wear at home. Winning!

49ers-Ravens: The third of three on T-Day. The Harbaugh Bowl to most, but to me, a Uni matchup. Niners in white/gold and the Ravens in the alternate black jersey, with white pants this time. The black works here and the Niners red trim on the jersey and pants provides a subtle, but pleasant contrast. Not bad.

Texans-Jaguars: White/navy for the Tex and teal/white for the Jags. I'm glad the teal is showing in its glory here. This is nice, but I'll say it again, wish the Texans would bring back the red socks for this combo. OK, but could be better.

Bills-Jets: A few weeks ago, the Bills wore white at home against the Jets and started to wear the blue socks with the white. They continue that trend here. And the Jets wore all green for that game. Here, they are in green/white at home. Looks like something from the 1963-1972 years, sorta. Lots of AFL white to go around.

Browns-Bengals: The battle of Ohio is loaded with orange and white and black/brown. The trend continues. Browns in the ever present white/white and the Bengals in the black/white. It's good that the Bengals didn't break out the orange jerseys, would've been too much. But it would have been neat if Cincy tore out the black pants and/or the orange socks. But it is what it is (Haven't heard that 2006 mantra in awhile!).

Vikings-Falcons: Vikes in white/white and the Falcons in red/white. Man, if - just if - the Vikes would have resurrected the grape pants, this would've skyrocketed into an awesome uni matchup. But still, it's a good contrast of red, black, purple, yellow. I like it.

Cardinals-Rams: Big Red continue to go white/white and the Rams revert to blue/gold. In this case, probably the best look for Saint Lou against an all white squad. The Rams combo helps what could have been big Meh into hmm, not bad.

Panthers-Colts: Panthers in white/white with the Colts in blue/white. This one doesn't work for me much. I know it can't be helped, but maybe the Panthers calling out the silver pants would have sent a slight jolt to the system.

Buccaneers-Titans: Bucs go for white/pewter and the Titans in the two-tone blue (light/dark). And this one is very nice. Contrasting jersey and pants from both teams will please these coke-bottle enhanced eyes every time.

Bears-Raiders: Two of the more traditional look teams in the NFL. Bears in white/navy and the Raiders in black/silver. Boy for some reason, even though this is a familiar look for both clubs, I think when paired together, it's a dandy sight.

Redskins-Seahawks: Skins again leave the yellow trousers behind nad that actually helped this matchup with the Seahawks in their perpetual all quasi-blue, which they have worn 7 out of 11 games so far this season. I do think it's time to trot out the white pants with these jerseys.

Broncos-Chargers: Broncos in the white/white and the Chargers, at last, rock the powder blues! The jerseys that virtually the whole world wants, but will probably never get. So, I guess that makes their rarity all the more special. So, on that alone, in spite of the rather yawn inducing Bronco togs, this matchup gets style points aplenty.

Patriots-Eagles: Reminding one of their Super Bowl XXXIX encounter, this is a very nice looking matchup. Pats in the white/navy and Birds in the green/white. It's a fine game of contrasts.

Steelers-Chiefs: Very much the traditional look. Steelers in white/yellow, Chiefs in the red/white. No surprises whatsoever here and truthfully, none needed. Black, red, yellow and white working well together.

Giants-Saints: Giants in the white/road gray and the Saints, for the first time in '11, rock the New Zealand rugby look (all blacks). Hated by some, the all-black look of the Saints is simply, a heckuva lotta fun for this observer. It just delivers. And the G-Men in the white/gray offsets the sleekness of NO's combo nicely.

So then, the lineup from top to bottom for Week 12:

1) Dolphins-Cowboys

2) Broncos-Chargers

3) Buccaneers-Titans

4) Giants-Saints

5) Bears-Raiders

6) Packers-Lions

7) Patriots-Eagles

8) Steelers-Chiefs

9) Vikings-Falcons

10) Cardinals-Rams

11) Redskins-Seahawks

12) 49ers-Ravens

13) Bills-Jets

14) Texans-Jaguars

15) Browns-Bengals

16) Panthers-Colts

See ya next week!

Happy Thankgiving & Week 11 Uniform Rankings

Here at The Gridiron Uniform Database, we hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving.  In a moment, Tim's review of last week's uni-matchups.  Speaking of Thanksgiving matchups, we we're all disappointed that the Lions didn't wear their throwbacks yesterday, but the Cowboys made up for it by wearing their throwbacks, proving once and for all that the "no throwbacks or alts after Week 10" rule hasn't been adopted by the NFL (unless there is a "Thanksgiving Day exception")  As far as we know, however, the Bucs are still planning on wearing the Creamsicles on December 4 against Carolina, and we also wouldn't mind seeing "Pat the Patriot" once more this year. 

   

The Cowboys did wear the Thanksgiving throwback they have been sporting in recent years, however I personally would have rather seen this throwback featured to the left.  Also we're thankful that the Ravens went with white pants with their Black alts, choosing to eschew the "head-to-toe" black look that doesn't look good on the Saints, let alone the Ravens.
 

Our Bill Schaefer came up with a "What If..." tweak -- what if the Lions used the darker shade of Blue in their logo on their uniforms instead of the Honolulu blue?  Bill writes, "How much better would the Lions look if they used the same blue of their field logo and end zone script?  (Maybe if they were playing outdoors on grass it would even look better yet! -RH) This is a quick mock-up done on spur of the moment using dark blue like the Lions used back in late 60s and into the 70s." Here's what Bill came up with:

And one more thing, the 2010 head-to-head matchups are all on the website!  You can easily view them by going to the new 2010 past season index page in the index (linked on the front page to the right of the 2011 weeks listed below the web counter) There you will now find "Weekly Indexes", "Past Team Indexes" and the recently added "Past Season Indexes."  While we do intend on eventually having all of the 'Weekly' and 'Team' indexes completed and on the website, as we've said before, our priority is first getting all of the head-to-head matchups on the site.  So we will be adding "Past Season Index" pages in order to make it easy to find all past season matchups.  So next onto 2009...  (We plan on doing them in reverse chronological order, i.e. 2009, 2008, etc, however if there is a particular past matchup [like this, this, this or this] you would like to see the artwork for, just let us know - either in the comments below, in the forum or by email or twitter.)

Also in the next day, some major database updates, including some AAFC revamps and some other recent changes involving two of our favorite words here at The Gridiron Uniform Database: socks and durene.  

Now onto the Week 11 Uniform Rankings:

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Week 11 Uniform Rankings

by Tim Brulia

It's time to review the Week 11 uni matchups. If sources are correct, we may not be seeing any more alternates or throwbacks this season. We definitely didn't see any this week. Having said that, we may still see off the cuff combos as the pants hold the key to what could be some rarely seen combos. Stay tuned.

Jets-Broncos: What I said. Jets in white/white, BUT with green socks. Something we haven't seen in four years! Broncos in the rare navy/navy combo. Score one for the unexpected! A very nice and colorful look.

Buccaneers-Packers: Bucs trot out the white/pewter garb and the Pack in the normal and effective green/yellow. Bucs go to the pewter and it works well against the Packer fare. A fine matchup.

Panthers-Lions: A battle of the felines that is also a bit of a battle of the silvers and blues. Panthers go with the white/white and the Lions rock the Honolulu blue/silver. A slightly underwhelming matchup.

Jaguars-Browns: Jags in the teal/white combo and the Browns in the ever present white/white. This nice as the Jags wearing teal, no matter how stretchy and bland the design is, always score style points when the teal is used. Browns keeping the all-white streak perfect thus far for the 2011 regular season.

Raiders-Vikings: Raider in standard white/silver with the Vikes going purple/white. Nothing exciting, but it's actually a decent looking matchup.

Bills-Dolphins: The slumping Bills in blue/white and the Dolphins in the home white/whites. Oh, how I yearn for the Fish to bust out and flash those aqua trousers at home! Too much white (helmet, pants) for my fancy.

Cowboys-Redskins: In the Joe Gibbs days, we would've seen the Cowboys in their blue jerseys and it would have been one of the nicer looking games. But this is 2011 and the Skins wear burgundy for the home games. And they also wore the white pants, too. Cowboys in white/silver blue green. It does remind me of those old Cowboy-Redskin shootouts...in Irving. I would've preferred the Skins in yellow pants (or possibly burgundy?), but this is a nice one anyway.

Bengals-Ravens: Aha! Bengals go with the white over black and the Ravens go with purple/white. Nice! Loads better than had Cincy broke out the white/white look. Kudos to the Bengals for making this one better.

Cardinals-49ers: And again the Big Red fail us with the white/white look. Niners in the usual red/gold. Might have been a lot of red if the Cardinals had indeed wore red pants, but it would have a bold and better move.

Seahawks-Rams: Seattle in white/white, with the Rams in blue/blue, making this their most worn combo so far this season. I do like this one. But it's not grabbing me like it did when StL wore all blue last week. Too much blue, when the Seahawks are included, maybe?

Titans-Falcons: This one leaves a good taste in my mouth. Titans in white/columbia blue and the Falcs in red/white. A lot of nice and different colors in the palette here. Thumbs up!

Chargers-Bears: Bolts in white/navy and the Bears in navy/white. Another one where, for whatever reason, 2 + 2 = 5. These are nice unis worn by both teams, but when they are united, just aren't working for me. We'll see how they stand when I rank them. They might get away with it!

Eagles-Giants: Another NFC East matchup. Gotta say this about this division. They all wear quite colorful unis. Eagles in white/green and the Giants in blue/gray. Simple, yet effective.

Chiefs-Patriots: Chiefs, thankfully, resisting the temptation to go all white so far in 2011. KC keeps the very nice white/red combo intact and the Pats in their normal blue/silver combo. Nice looking matchup.

And with that, here's how I rank the above from top to bottom:

1) Titans-Falcons

2) Jets-Broncos

3) Bengals-Ravens

4) Eagles-Giants

5) Cowboys-Redskins

6) Buccaneers-Packers

7) Chiefs-Patriots

8) Seahawks-Rams

9) Jaguars-Browns

10) Chargers-Bears

11) Raiders-Vikings

12) Cardinals-49ers

13) Panthers-Lions

14) Bills-Dolphins

Week 10 Uniform Rankings

Week 10 Uniform Rankings
by Tim Brulia

(ed. note: we apologize for the delay in not getting this Uniform Rankings Post up sooner -RH)

We now enter the second half of the season, punctuated by the start-up of the Thursday Night games. If what the NFL said before the season is true, then we are likely not to see the Chargers' powder blues this season. We also had a slight surprise with white at home this week...then again, maybe not. Anyway,

Raiders-Chargers: No surprises, though as we mentioned, it is now not too likely that we'll see SD in the powder blues for 2011. Traditional matchup with the Raiders trotting out white/silver and the Chargers in navy/white.  (Yes if they can't wear powder blues for a prime-time home game, they I don't see it happening. -RH)

Cardinals-Eagles: Again, a couple of NFL old-liners and again, a missed opportunity by the Cardinals to rock red pants with the white jerseys. So they elect to go white/white and the Eagles stay true with green/white. Meh, could have been more.

Bills-Cowboys: Bills looking good in the blue/white with Big D staying true to form in white/quasi-silver. Actually a nice matchup.

Broncos-Chiefs: Another traditional one, with the Broncos going white/white against the Chiefs in the bright red/white uni. Just a little too much white for this old soul to deal with.

This combo is Rob's favorite
Bucs' combo as well.

Texans-Buccaneers: The Texans rock the white/navy while the Bucs sparkle with the red/white. My flavor today is that red/white works better than red/pewter. I think it brightens up the red.

Jaguars-Colts: White/black go the Jags and blue/white go the Colts. The Jags black pants help this matchup more than had they dressed up in all white. Still, not a real eye pleaser.

Saints-Falcons: Saints going white/black and the Falcs rock the black/white throwbacks. Hmm. I think from a color viewpoint, I would have stayed with the red/white look if I were the Falcons. And normally I would have preferred NO's black pants, but I think the gold pants might have worked a little better here. Not a bad matchup, but I think less might have actually been better here.

Steelers-Bengals: Steelers working the white/yellow get up with the Bengals in black/white. Yes, this works. No black/black for Cincy and I'm glad. Would have been just a little too strong if they had.

Rams-Browns: Rams all blue and Browns all white. I actually like this matchup of extremes. Rams did the right thing with the all blue, more than offsets the Browns all white. Plus the orange helmet just adds a spike of contrast that makes this games work,

Titans-Panthers: Titans in white/columbia blue and, for the first time this season, the Panthers bring out the black/silver look. And ya know what? it works! Had the Panthers brought out carolina blue or white, it would have been a little too blue for me. Winning, in my opinion.

Redskins-Dolphins: We know the Fish like to go all white at home. But, we didn't know that the Skins would go white panted instead of yellow. Too much white and drops this matchup significant notches.

Ravens-Seahawks: Ravens go white/white (Steeler success??) as the Seahawks go with standard quasi-blue/quasi-blue. It is a plus that the Ravens went all white as I think the black pants would not have added anything here. (Muttering) Just wish the 'Hawks would show us the almost never worn navy pants here. I would've given Seattle extra credit!

Lions-Bears: Lions with standard white/silver and the Bears dress up in alternate orange/white. Bears get a lot of groans from rock hard traditionalists for the orange jerseys, but I happen to dig them. Plus you keep the navy helmet and socks, and really, what's the problem? I like it!

This didn't get higher than #8?

Giants-49ers: NY goes white/away gray and Niners of course in red/gold. Somehow, I like this one. Just a little too much red for me, maybe the G-Men in blue socks would have been the spark that would really worked for me. As it is, it is still a nice matchup.

Patriots-Jets: The Jets go white at home (white at home), a nice - er - surprise? Then again, maybe not. The Jets breakout white at home maybe once or twice a season. But, per our white at home research, this makes 4 of the last 5 years that the Patriots (blue/silver) have been the opponent for the Jets' white at home efforts. Had the Jets gone with green trousers, the bonus points would have added up. Too bad.

Vikings-Packers: Vikes go all white and the Pack in the standard green/yellow. Vikes seldom trot out the purple pants anymore and boy, this would have added some big style points. But, no. The Packers' green just adds notches no matter who they play.


So, here are the rankings from the bottom to the top for Week 10:

16) Jaguars-Colts (Boy, 0-10 and worst uniform rankings of the week, too?!)
15) Raiders-Chargers
14) Broncos-Chiefs
13) Redskins-Dolphins
12) Ravens-Seahawks
11) Cardinals-Eagles
10) Saints-Falcons
9) Patriots-Jets
8) Giants-49ers
7) Steelers-Bengals
6) Bills-Cowboys
5) Texans-Buccaneers
4) Vikings-Packers
3) Lions-Bears
2) Titans-Panthers
1) Rams-Browns

Week 9 Uniform Rankings

Before we get to Tim's rankings, we here at The Gridiron Uniform Database want to unveil a new feature that we told you about earlier this week, and that is the beginning of the addition to the database of the yearly week-by-week uniform displays.  If you'll notice on the main front page, the team names are now clickable, and you can click on them and see the teams uniforms for the year on a week-by-week basis.  You can also access this page by clicking on the "Index" link to the right of the weeks, where you'll see a new section entitled "Historical Teams Week-by-Week Index."  When looking at the 2011 teams, you'll notice that the AFC teams have a little more information than the NFC teams.  As were putting in the information, we decided to eliminate that part of it for now, as our goal is to get the information onto the website as fast as possible.  We intend on adding the 2010 weekly team schedules next week, and adding a year each week as we go forward.  We hope you enjoy this new feature of our website!

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Week 9 Uniform Rankings
by Tim Brulia

Hi, all. My apologies for the tardiness of this week's installments. Without further adieu...

Falcons-Colts: Falcons in the white/white look and the (now) hapless Colts in the normal blue/white get up. Nothing unusual or really exciting about this one. I think the Falcons still have black pants in their closet. That would have helped here.

Browns-Texans: Browns continue to go white/white as the Texans whip out their dark blue/white kit. Again, nothing exciting, but it's not all that bad.

Dolphins-Chiefs: Again, no surprises. But, this is a nice one. Shows what a nice little boost a pair of dark pants provides a uni matchup. If this game were at Miami, it would have been much more dull. With the Fish in white/aqua and the Chiefs in red/white, this is a goody.

Jets-Bills: This one was a pleasant surprise. The Bills decided to go white at home for the first time since October 19, 1986. A span of 25 years. Why? Who knows and who cares? It was an interesting change for sure, and the Jets made the occasion a little better by including their green pants for a green/green combo. While it was rumored in uni circles that the Bills would show off some blue pants, they stayed with a white/white look. But the Bills put a twist on the occasion with the blue socks that are normally worn with the blue jersey. It worked well.

49ers-Redskins: Niners in the white/gold combination while the Redskins went with the yellow pants to go with the burgundy tops. Interesting variations on a burgundy/red and a yellow/gold basis. Not flashy, but I like it.

Seahawks-Cowboys: Of course, with the Cowboys at home, they go white/quasi-silver which make the Seahawks go quasi-blue/quasi-blue. Not really a bad uni match up, but it's one I can't get all that worked up over.

Buccaneers-Saints: Bucs go with white/white here, but they story is that the Saints breakout the 1967 throwbacks for aseconf time this season and the "metal" colors compliment each other. The pewter, the (various shades of) gold, the black, etc. with a hint of Buccaneer red. It works nicely.

Bengals-Titans: In the mid-2000's, these teams would mix and match so often, that this encounter could have been a whole explosion of color. But these have toned it down a little, so what was worn (Bengals in white/white, Titans in columbiablue/navy blue) was not an unexpected jolt. And actually, the Bengals going all white probably worked better than had they worn their black pants for this one.

Broncos-Raiders: Absolutely no surprises here. Broncos in white/white with the Raiders in black/silver. Not bad, but not the best, either.

Packers-Chargers: Chargers going back to dark at home (navy/white). Not a good time to do so as it forced the Packers to go with white/yellow. Always a tad disappointing when the Chargers nix the powder blues, but this is what we have and it's just OK.

Giants-Patriots: Hearkens back to that Super Bowl XLII matchup. Giants in white/gray and the Pats in dark blue/silver. Lots of silver/gray, lots of blue and lots of red. 

Rams-Cardinals: Rams with about every combo possible this season. Their 7th. In the white/gold look and the Cardinals rocking their black alternate jersey with the white pants. Would have been quite interesting and amusing if the Big Red would have trotted out their red pants for the occasion. This was still a nice little matchup here.

Ravens-Steelers: Ravens keep the black pants at home, which did surprise me, to go white/white while the Steelers pulled out their early 1960's throwbacks. I do like to see them once in a while, the yellow helmet/black jersey with 100% yellow trim and the white pants. Alas for the Steelers, the throwbacks did not faze Flacco and his crew as they pulled out a thriller.

Bears-Eagles: Nice color matchup provided by two of the NFL's old guard. Bears in white/navy and the Eagles in the green/white. Smart look by both teams without even trying.

And so, the countdown:

14) Falcons-Colts

13) Seahawks-Cowboys

12) Giants-Patriots

11) Broncos-Raiders

10) Browns-Texans

9) Packers-Chargers

8) Ravens-Steelers

7) Buccaneers-Saints

6) Rams-Cardinals

5) 49ers-Redskins

4) Bengals-Titans

3) Bears-Eagles

2) Dolphins-Chiefs

1) Jets-Bills

If You Hear Hooves, It May Be Zebras After All

NFL Game Officials Uniforms

by Tim Brulia

In most every single team sport (volleyball and water polo are the only exceptions I can think of), there are not two but THREE teams on the playing surface. The two competing teams, and the officials.

In every historical uniform database that I am aware of, no description or graphic portrayal exists of the uniform history of a sport's officials' uniform through the years...until now.

The Gridiron Uniform Database is pleased to present the newest addition to our research findings, a descriptive chronological history of Game Officials uniforms of the National Football League, All-America Football Conference and American Football League from the very beginning (1920) to today. You can find the chronology under the research tab at the top of the Gridiron Uniform Database's main page.

The chronology lists the years when major changes occurred to the unis as well as when any change, however minor, occurred to the uniform. We also include the details of the AFL's officials and the AAFC's officials uniforms as well.

We also include the four occurrences of memorial armbands that were worn by NFL officials.

We even include special patches and special occasion uniforms by the refs over the years.

A couple of "Did You Know's?" to whet your appetite...

1) Did you know that for the first 27 years of the NFL, a ref didn't have to wear a cap if he didn't want to?

2) Did you know that for Super Bowls I and II, the combined NFL-AFL officiating crews wore a special uniform?

There's many more little tidbits like that throughout the research. Please take a look!

And as always, please alert us at the Gridiron Uniform Database if you spot any errors or something else we may have missed, either by email or on our forum.

Enjoy!