Vermont Catamounts (1928-30)

I've been on a leatherhead kick lately, as much of my research lately has been from the pre-World War II era. Some of these uniforms are as wacky as the current models ... almost. But there were some unique ones during the 1920s and '30s, as we'll see here and in our next post. First up, a Vermont uniform right up there with the 1973-74 uni (the program's last) in the uniqueness department. 

Much as Maine's jersey from the same time exhibited a big "M," the Catamounts' jersey bore a big ol' "V" to let everyone know where they're coming from. (Today, they'd probably put an "802" on the front -- seriously, those stickers are on every other vehicle around here, since you can get them at every convenience, grocery and discount store in the state.) The "V" is done in a friction-strip pattern, which was all the rage then, and is surrounded by more friction strips on the sides and sleeves.

The 1928 Vermont uniform, shown in the 1930 Ariel yearbook,
which covered the 1928-29 school year.

The 1928 Catamounts. Some players have the "V," while
others sport a blank jersey.

UVM in action, 1929. In the background is Centennial Field,
which still stands today as the home the Class-A Vermont Lake Monsters.
UVM dropped baseball around 2009.

For 1930, the "V" (in a slightly narrower, taller form) is placed on ... a yellow jersey, which would be the Depression-era version of Oregon placing white names on white jerseys. (I mean, how pretentious is that? That truly makes the Ducks the prog rock of football uniforms.) This style lasted one year before the Catamounts returned to green jerseys.

The 1930 Catamounts. Gold meets gold.

A few more oddities: First, not all the jerseys have the "V" and the friction strips. I wonder if those were optional, or were the fancier jerseys reserved only for seniors/upperclassmen? 

Also, check the helmets. Honestly, I'm not 100 percent on the helmets, but I'm pretty certain the Cats wore a dark helmet in '28, a light helmet in '29 and a two-tone helmet in '30 similar to what Rhode Island wore in the 1940s. 

I'm not 100 percent about the striping pattern on the gold jerseys, either (gold on gold will do that), but I think I've got it as close as possible. I can't imagine better photos existing beyond what we have from the Ariel yearbooks.

The team -- not shocking, because after all, this is UVM we're talking about -- is far less memorable than the uniform. The '28 team went 1-7-2, with the one win going against someone called the "Medics," who I suspect are students from the UVM medical school (called the Robert Larner College of Medicine these days). The 1930 Ariel notes that the game was not on the original schedule and was added to fill an open date before Thanksgiving. UVM went 2-7 in '29 (no Medics on the schedule) and 1-6-1 in '30, when it was outscored 265-27.

The team may not have been worth the price of admission, but the uniforms sure were.

The 1928 UVM results. Who were those mysterious medics?

UVM faces Middlebury, 1928. Check out the officials' gear!

Want more uniforms from the ol' 802? Of course you do! 1940-42, 1946-48, 1958-61, 1962-63, 1964-67, 1968-69, 1970-74.

The 1930 Ariel yearbook contains little notes scrawled
next to some of the player profiles. Some went to med school,
others ... did not. I'm not certain what happened to Mr. Sirois,
but World War II wasn't far away.