Rhode Island Rams (1951)

As most fans know by now, college football has become a bizarre fashion show in which teams spend almost as much time preparing for their game day garb as they do for their opponent. I, for one, am waiting for the day when the Oregon Ducks take the field with a different helmet for every player on the roster.

Nos. 88 and 10 in the picture have the striped helmet ...

... while two players here have the leather pinwheel helmets
and another has the plain plastic shell. Pics from the 1952 Grist yearbook.

Actually, the Rhode Island Rams seemed to have that in mind in 1951, as they trotted out three different helmet designs, all used simultaneously -- plain, white stripe and pinwheel, almost like what Dartmouth tried in another era. The pinwheel helmet, which was used more often, appears to be a slightly lighter shade of blue than the other models, and matches the rest of the uniform more properly. Judging from photos, it looks like the pinwheels are older leather helmets, while the others use the newer plastic shells.

Late season action; check out the snowbank in the background.

This photo has everything: one guy's arguing with the ref, another's
hiding his face and another official is making a first-down measurement.
I believe the player on the left is from New Hampshire.

One last thing: check out the racing stripes down the sides and the wide white belts, which seems to more at home in a 1970s tuxedo. All in all, it adds up to one of the more unique uniforms of the era.

There are more uniforms out there from Rhody: 2015, 2014, 2013, 2003-07, 1997-99, 1983-92, 1976-82, 1967-71, 1966, 1963-65, 1962, 1957-61, 1936-39. Rivalry Week: UConn-Rhody.

Two things: 1) This scoreboard rules, and
2) Rhody beating UNH was an upset even then.