Dartmouth Indians/Big Green (1955-56)

My computer remains on the DL, but I do have several Dartmouth files untouched, thanks to this Valley News blog post I wrote pre-crash on the history of the Big Green uniforms. There are plenty of styles that have never been featured here, so check it out!

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When Bob Blackman became Dartmouth coach in 1955, he gave the uniform a dramatic overhaul: The green-and-gray leather helmets of the Tuss McLaughry era were ditched for white, plastic shells. The gray pants became white, and the jerseys featured larger numbers -- and more stripes, especially on the roads.

In 1956, the second and final year of the design, Dartmouth achieved its first winning season since 1949 ('55 and '68 were Blackman's only losing seasons in his 16 years in Hanover). By '57, curved, UCLA-style numbers were creeping onto the jerseys and the helmets featured numbers on the side.

The cover of the 1956 Dartmouth media guide, taken from an eBay listing.
Fifty-six also marked the debut of formal Ivy League play.
The Big Green players are in white.

The '55 Big Green in action at Memorial Field.
This picture is from the incredible Dartmouth Digital Library Collections,
and also appears in the  '56 Aegis yearbook.
It's guaranteed to subsist any Ivy League fan through the long off-season.

A special thanks to the very patient folks at the Baker-Berry Library, who let me pore through several Aegis yearbooks on a rainy October afternoon.