Yale Bulldogs (1978)

To the untrained eye, Yale appears to have the easiest uniforms to research. Blue shirts, white pants, a big ol' "Y" on the helmet ... Heck, it should take about 10 minutes to get the Bulldogs' history completed.

Ah, but it's not that easy. Yale's (and Delaware's) unis offer plenty of of minutiae (awesome word) to keep you on your toes for a while. A thicker sock stripe here, a change in number font there -- the subtleties have been a constant to this day.

For 1978 only, Yale made one of the more noticeable (or is that less unnoticeable?) changes to its look: The trademark "Y" on the helmet looked as is if it had spent the offseason at Weight Watchers and was considerable skinnier. Obviously, the streamlined logo was not well liked on the streets of New Haven, because it beefed up to its former self in '79 and stayed that way until 1997, after longtime coach Carm Cozza had retired.

Both white and black shoes were worn during this time period.

Yale goes for a lean and mean "Y" against Rutgers and Dartmouth in 1978.
Hard to believe Rutgers, now in the Big Ten, used to play Ivy League teams on a regular basis.
All pics here are from the Yale Daily News archives.

For comparison, the 1977 Yale uniform, with the fatter "Y."

Want more from the sons of old Eli? Look here: 2014, 2013, 1997-98, 1994, 1996, 1974-77,  1967-68. Rivalry Week: Harvard-Yale.