Inside the Jersey: Penn Quakers (1993)

 

A while back, I used to do an occasional feature where I'd unearth a jersey from my collection and explore the ins and outs of it. Well, this golden oldie somehow fell through the cracks in the AstroTurf. Let's dig in!

The Jersey: 1993 Penn Quakers throwback, worn for one game only (Nov. 20, 1993 against Cornell, the 100th meeting between the ancient rivals). I discussed the uniform a bit in this post. As far as I know, this was the first throwback uniform in college football history. It was worn with Penn's regular helmet and a set of blue pants slightly different from its usual pants, which had stripes on the sides. (Ironically, the original 1970s blue pants had stripes.)

Penn edged Cornell, 17-14, to wrap up a 10-0 season and the Ivy League championship.

How It Was Acquired: eBay, $35. A steal of a deal.

Who Made It: Rawlings, which also made this great Cornell jersey in the late 1970s. When I was young, Rawlings made all the Major League Baseball jerseys, but the company dabbled in football, too.

The mark of a pro ... or whatever college football players are these days.

Who Wore It: Two different players wore No. 64: Linebacker Tim Gage and offensive lineman Jamie Santiago. It's not uncommon for multiple players to simultaneously wear the same number; usually one player is on offense and the other is on defense. 

Size: The label reads extra large, but it's probably closer to 2XL or even 3XL. I can wear it comfortably with an undershirt underneath. Today's XL jerseys look like they're spray-painted on the players, they're so tight.

Jersey Constriction: Good old-fashioned made-in-the-USA mesh. No PrimeKnit-HeatGear-TechFit blarney going on here.

The Penn throwback jersey in all its glory. I forget where 
this photo came from, but thanks to whomever used it first.

Design: It's based on the excellent style Penn wore from 1971-80. The numbers and "PENNSYLVANIA" wordmark are taller than on the originals. The Quakers have used the alternating dark red-and-blue sleeve stripes off and on since the 19th century, making it one of football's most enduring uniform characteristics. 

Condition: A little yellowed on the top, with some small stains on the front — possibly from game action, more likely from its current owner eating wings while watching a game on TV.

Other Stuff: The dark red on the sleeves is much closer to maroon, but it seems to match what the Quakers were using on the helmets at the time.

Final Verdict: Let's see ... Historic significance, great design, still fits: Yeah, I'd say this shirt rules.

Yale Bulldogs (1954)

The latest pull out of the bag of random brings the 1954 Yale Bulldogs, a team that started strong and finished, er, not strong.

The Team: The Bulldogs roared out to a 5-0-1 start before dropping their last three games to Army, Princeton and Harvard to finish 5-3-1. The Boston Globe account of the Army game noted that the sellout crowd of 73,600 was the "largest to congest this big crater in 24 seasons." Ah, old-time sportswriting. Army's stellar season (No. 7 in both the media and coaches' polls) and proximity to New Haven (about 90 miles) likely explained the big crowd.

You know it's the Ivy League when the starting lineup 
shows up in semi-formal wear. Boston Globe photo.

The Players: Yale was not a team of superstars, but center James Doughan made the Associated Press All-East second team, while teammates Paul Lopata, Philip Tarasovic, Thorne Shugart and Dennis McGill were honorable mentions.

The Coach: Jordan Olivar guided the Bulldogs from 1952-62, going 111-63-8 and winning two Ivy League titles. He resigned after the '62 season when, according a Hartford Courant account, the school wanted him to live in New Have year-round and "give up a thriving insurance business in California." Before Yale, he also coached at Villanova and Loyola Marymount.

I've probably run this photo before, and it's actually from 1955,
but this picture of Yale players on the bench is too good to pass up.

The Uniforms: As noted in this post, Olivar brought his flashy California style to the Ivies, and that included gold pants, which the Doggies wore from 1954-58. As you can see in the photo above, the white helmets, blue shirts, gray trim and gold pants make for a mish-mash design, like when you play Madden and go all random with the uniform selection.

This was the last year Yale did not wear white jerseys, as the Ivy League insisted all teams wear contrasting jerseys by the time formal league play began in 1956. Plastic helmet shells were in use, but facemasks were still a year or two away.

The Fallout: Yale went 7-2 the next year and 8-1 in 1956 to win the first formal Ivy League title. Olivar's best year came in 1960, when the Bulldogs went 9-0 and finished No. 14 in AP poll and No. 19 in the coaches' poll.