The (Somewhat) Complete Holy Cross Uniform History, Part III

Ya, it's been a while. Time to get back to the Holy Cross retrospecticus. Where did we leave off? 1969? Part III will take us through the 1990s.

Part I Part II

1970: Back on the field after the '69 season was cut short due to a hepatitis outbreak, Holy Cross ditches the stripes on the shirts, but keeps them on the socks, at least for cold-weather games.

1971: The "HC" logo and sleeve numbers vanish, making for a very plain uniform.

1972: The helmets are now white, and a squished version of the "HC" logo is on the sides. 

1976: With a coach in town (Neil Wheelwright), Holy Cross makes its biggest overhaul in years. Purple helmets return, this time with numbers on the side, and a spaced-out "H O L Y  C R O S S" wordmark appears across the front. I always liked this jersey, and I have no clue why.

1979: A crusader logo replaces the numbers on the helmets.

1981: Another new coach (Rick Carter) means more changes. Stripes return to the sleeves, white pants replace the silver models and the numbers return to the helmets. Also note the addition of the Champion logo on the sleeve.

1986: The silver pants return. This was the style The Cross wore when it went undefeated in 1987 and two-way threat Gordie Lockbaum was a legit Heisman Trophy candidate.

1992: A new "HC" logo debuts on the helmets and home jerseys. Curiously, the road jerseys and plants retain the older style.

1994: The road uniform matches the home version.

1996: Helmet numbers and purple pants return, and names on the back are worn for the first time. By this point, we're getting into the era when if you didn't like Holy Cross's uniforms, just hold tight because they'll probably change in the next half-hour.

1998: The full Holy Cross logo appears on the helmet, the silver pants return and the names on the back vanish. A year earlier, the Crusaders started wearing the Patriot League patch on the jersey fronts. The jerseys have a Wilson logo; the pants are from Reebok. Ah, the days before exclusive apparel deals. ...

1999: The 1990s were full of oddball fads, like the swing revival that was a big deal for about a week or people randomly shouting "Who's your daddy?!" Drop-shadow numbers were another fad of that era, although at least they lasted for more than a week. Holy Cross joins the parade in 1999 and keeps them through 2002.