Cornell Big Red (1961-64)

I discovered this old-school gem of a helmet (shown below) at the Quechee Antique Mall last week. It may be plain, but the classic two-bar face mask reeks of 1960s goodness. 

This helmet's been through some wars.
And yes, the "16" is  the price tag.

Of course, I started racking my brain for any teams in our little project that wore a helmet like this that I could profile this week. Whoops, already happened.

So I'll profile the next best thing -- the early-1960s Cornell teams, whose helmets were similar, but not quite the same as our little antique treasure. As Harvard did in the early '60s (profiled in our last post), the Big Red wore "smooth ear" helmets, which gave the plastic shell a leathery shape, and they also wore white plastic face masks that were in vogue for a few years in the '60s.

The '61 home uniform utilized white pants and helmet numbers.
From the Cornell Daily Sun.

The uniforms were a little different, by Cornell standards. The jersey's trademark two sleeve stripes were moved to the shoulders (this happened again in the 2000s) and gray pants were worn at home -- which surprised me, as I thought the Big Red were breaking new ground when they wore them in 2012. Striped socks were worn, but for many games Cornell wore low-cut white socks.

A 1965 Cornell program shows off the gray pants from '64.
I wonder if the Big Red landed the Beatles or the Stones for Band Day?

One of the most famous players in Ivy League history wore this uniform: Quarterback Gary Wood (1961-63), who in '63 led the nation in all-purpose yards with 1,395 (155.0 per game). Just to show how much football has changed since the suffocating, grind-it-out '60s, Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon led in all-purpose yards in 2014 with 2,740 (195.1 per game). Gordon, of course, played in 14 games and Wood only nine.

The one and only Gary Wood. That is one strange helmet.
Note the lack of a facemask, a common sight for publicity photos.

Wood went on to play in the NFL with the New York Giants during their dark ages and in the CFL with the Ottawa Rough Riders.

The young Gary Wood with the Giants ...

... and the grizzled veteran with the Rough Riders.

Can get enough from the Big Red? Check out these uniforms: 2013-14, 1999-2001, 1994, 1977-82, 1967-75, 1965. Rivalry week: Cornell-Penn.

By '64, the helmets were more rounded.