Penn Quakers (1971-78)

In 1971, Harry Gamble took over as the University of Pennsylvania’s head coach, and as often is the case, a new coach means new uniforms. The plain blue helmets and jerseys of the late 60s were discarded in favor of flashy red garb:

The helmet logo was a funky “P” inside a white football, and the jerseys sported “PENNSYLVANIA” across the front; kinda ironic, since I don't think anybody refers to the school as “Pennsylvania.”

Some very minute changes were made to the lettering across the front over the years. For 1971 only, striped socks, similar to those of vintage Penn teams pre-1950, were worn. White shoes were phased in as the decade went on. 

One oddity: For at least the Dartmouth game on Nov. 25, 1972, the Quakers shoehorned player names between the top of the shirt and the number, making them the first Ivy League team to adopt the practice. But just one week earlier, against Columbia at home, the names were absent:

Penn wore no names against Columbia on Nov. 18, 1972. Check out No 19 on the left ...
(photo from Columbia Daily Spectator archives)

... but they magically appeared a week later against Dartmouth. Check out No. 19 on the left again!
(This photo, BTW, is from the incredible Dartmouth College Photographic Files.
Give it a look!)

The road jerseys borrowed from the past, utilizing the awesome sleeve stripes from the Chuck Bednarik era.

In 1976, a different helmet logo was used that year to commemorate the 100th anniversary of football at Penn:

The 1976 Penn uniform, with centennial logo.
This came from the Lehigh University paper,
called the Brown and White. Ivy League foes were (and, I think, still are)
frequently on the Lehigh schedule.

By 1977, blue pants were worked into the equation, and I’m not sure if the red jerseys were even worn in ’77 or ’78. All the Penn “home” photos I’ve seen from those years show the players in white shirts. So for now, I’m just going to show the roadies for those two seasons: 

In 1979 and ’80, a rather amateurish-looking “Penn” was scrawled onto the side of the helmet, which I’ll add to the blog eventually. The red shirts returned and were sometimes worn with the blue pants (ugh!).

After 10 years and a 34-55-2 record, Gamble was gone and new coach Jerry Berndt changed the uniforms to what we profiled a while back. In 1982, the Quakers won their first Ivy title since 1959, and they’ve largely dominated the Ancient Eight since.

Elements of the 1970s Penn uniform can be seen today, from the “PENNSYLVANIA” across the front to the striped “sleeves.”

The 1970s Penn uniform, as shown on a vintage program.
I forget where I swiped this image ... apologies and thanks
to whomever originally posted this.
Note the white tape holding down the player's sleeves.