Cornell Big Red (1938-42; 45-50)

Let's burn through another chunk of uniforms, shall we? This time, it's the Cornell Big Red of the late 1930s and '40s, when they were a legitimate national powerhouse (Syracuse,  Army, Penn State and Ohio State were just a few of their victims) and even finished first in a couple of minor/retroactive polls in 1939. Again, a few of these unis have been profiled previously.

1938-40: Cornell's final AP ranking for this period: 12, 4 and 15 -- and the Big Red went on an 18-game undefeated streak before the infamous "fifth down" loss to Dartmouth in 1940. 

The big thing with the Big Red of this era is the helmets: Rather than have one set design, Cornell had several styles that weren't exactly alike, but good enough for government work. Check the helmets above; some have the red limited to the ears and back (likely following the helmet's leather pattern), others have a straight red bottom, with the white top made in a dome shape. Gold-tan pants were used with friction strips on the back.

1941-42: In addition to the two helmet styles described above, a winged pattern was used. Again, Cornell likely painted the helmets based on the leather patterns. Striped socks, used in 1938-40, were dumped.

1945: I have no data from 1943-44 (pesky war years), but 1945 sees another helmet added (with stripes, much like Dartmouth's from the 1930s; the only thing missing is a spinner on top) and the winged helmet adds Michigan-style stripes. That's four different helmets, if you're keeping score. And you thought the multiple helmet madness was a 21st-century thing. By this time, white pants had replaced the tan-gold versions.

1946: Some sanity prevails (well, until the 1950s), as one four-stripe helmet (much like Dartmouth's from this era is employed. The uniform numbers grow larger, and striped socks return.

1947: Gray alternate pants debut (they would go on to be used off-and-on into the 2010s), the sleeves add stripes (last used in the 1930s) and the striped socks vanish again. Still one helmet. The gray pants have a stripe, while the whites don't.

1948: Gray pants are used exclusively at home and whites are worn on the road.

1949: The pants mix and match, with both versions worn home and road. The number font changes slightly.

1950: The white pants are worn only on the road.

Cornell (in white) mops up against Army in 1940. The Big Red won, 45-0.

Cornell (still in white) faces Navy in 1942. Notice No. 83 on the left;
his helmet has a slightly different pattern from those of his teammates.

Cornell (yes, still in white) faces Syracuse in 1945.

The Big Red (dark jerseys) battle Columbia in 1945.
The Cornell player on the left has the "straight across" red pattern,
but the other players have the painted "ears."