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| Updated graphic |
After wearing numbers on their helmets in the late 1950s and most of the '60s, the Princeton Tigers burned through quite a few logos over the next several years: A college football 100th anniversary decal, some weird squiggly lines, a CFL-style logo and blank helmets.
In the middle of the 1979 season, Princeton replaced the blank helmets with an anthropomorphic running tiger that looks more at home in minor league baseball or hockey than Ivy League football. Well, it's different, although you can barely decipher what's on the helmet. The socks, as you can see above, also underwent a period of instability.
Amid all the changes, other elements of Princeton's uniform remained downright conservative. The Tigers continued to wear long-sleeved jerseys (complete with awesome tiger stripes) long after short sleeves had become the norm, and black shoes were frequently worn well into the '80s.
In the middle of the 1979 season, Princeton replaced the blank helmets with an anthropomorphic running tiger that looks more at home in minor league baseball or hockey than Ivy League football. Well, it's different, although you can barely decipher what's on the helmet. The socks, as you can see above, also underwent a period of instability.
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| Princeton and ... what is that on the helmet? From the Daily Princetonian, 1981. |
Amid all the changes, other elements of Princeton's uniform remained downright conservative. The Tigers continued to wear long-sleeved jerseys (complete with awesome tiger stripes) long after short sleeves had become the norm, and black shoes were frequently worn well into the '80s.
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| Princeton takes on Maine in 1980. That's a random matchup ... |
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| A 1981 Princeton program. It appears as if No. 78 is wearing a bib or a cut-off practice shirt over his regular jersey. I wonder what that's all about. Is he wearing a jersey with a different number underneath and had to change, perhaps? |
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| Princeton battles Penn in 1981. Note No. 32 still wearing black shoes, a rarity for this time period. |
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| Princeton, minus striped socks, takes on Brown in '83. |
And this was the last helmet logo in Princeton history to date. In '84, the Tigers reverted to blank helmets, and have worn "Michigan"-style helmets since '98, although as any Princeton diehard will tell you, Princeton wore Michigan-style helmets before Michigan.
"No. 78 is wearing a bib or a cut-off practice shirt over his regular jersey. I wonder what that's all about. Is he wearing a jersey with a different number underneath and had to change, perhaps?"
ReplyDeleteThere was a rule that required the five offensive linemen to wear a jersey number between 50 and 79, including punts. As teams were using more non-linemen on punt teams, it was common practice to have players use a "bib" jersey between 50-79 for punt coverage.