UMass Lowell (1980-2002)

In the grand tradition of Vermont, Boston University and Northeastern, here's another hockey school that fooled around with football for a while. The University of Lowell Chiefs/UMass Lowell Chiefs/UMass Lowell River Hawks fielded a varsity team at the Division II and III levels from 1980 through 2002. The school was formed in 1975 following the merger of Lowell State College and Lowell Technological Institute (a.k.a. Lowell Textile, which had a football team until about 1950).

One major caveat: I'm uncertain about some of the color combos the Chiefs/River Hawks used, and the 2002 road uniform is just a shot in the dark (thus, the "No Reference" label, which the awesome Basketball Jersey Database uses for a few early NBA/BAA teams). As I think I've said before, once a program dies — especially a small-school program — its history tends to die with it. 

Much of the research comes from grainy black-and-white photos from the Sojourn yearbook, whose quality was rather haphazard. (Hey, at least they had a yearbook, which is more than I can say for my alma mater.) But if anyone out there has any info, feel free to pass it on!

There's also a Facebook page with some vintage photos.

1980: Not long after winning a national club championship, Lowell took the field as a varsity unit for the first time. The unis bear a vague resemblance to those of the nearby New England Patriots. I'm not certain of the color combo on the chief logo is correct, but it's the same combo the hockey team used later in the decade.

By 1982, the chief logo was gone from the helmets.

***

1983: By this time, Lowell worse something that looked more suited for practice than Saturday afternoons. That said, the plain jerseys with the stubby numbers were a mainstay well into the '90s.

The sleep-inducing Lowell uniform of 1983. 

***

1984-85: The helmet becomes silver, with a "Chiefs" script on the side, and better matches the pants than the white lids did.

The silver helmets in 1984.

***

1991: For its finest season as a varsity unit (the Chiefs were undefeated until the NCAA D-III Tournament), the newly rebranded UMass Lowell went all red, with not a trace of blue to be found.

1994: The Chiefs become the River Hawks, and the new logo appears on the helmets. Everything else stays the same.

1999: Sometime in the '90s, the River Hawks elevated their program from D-III yo D-II and blue overtook red as their primary color. The numbers are HUGE, a la the old Seattle Seahawks. The shoulder logos that face each other bring to mind the weird Patriots unis of the Drew Bledsoe era.

2002: For their final season, the River Hawks went with a very plain design, with a number on only one side of the helmet. Sleeve numbers are absent, and the only logo is a Northeast-10 Conference patch on the front. The only trace of red is on the belt, which is strange for a team that wore nothing but red a decade earlier.

Addendum: The spring 1994 name change was a nifty process, as school administrators whittled the options down to four and put them to the students in a (non-binding) referendum. The River Hawks won out, but the logo did not.

The final four candidates are presented in the Connector student paper.
The Lightning and Raging Rapids logos look like they belong on an Arena Football team,
and the Ospreys logo uses lettering out of the 1970s.

The winning name, but not the winning logo.

Colby Mules (1972)

These days, I live about 20 minutes from Waterville, Maine, and Colby College, which, according to the townsfolk, is either singlehandedly leading the revival of downtown Waterville or is "that place on the hill" singlehandedly taking over the city, whether the residents like it or not.

One thing everyone can agree on is this: Colby is not known for football (well, outside of Baltimore Ravens GM Eric DeCosta). From 1962-78, the Mules had only one winning record and have had but two since 2000. Today, we're going to look at the 1972 bunch -- the lone winner in that aforementioned 17-year span. (I should eventually profile the 2000 team that shared the NESCAC title, which is kinda like Columbia winning the Ivy League or Rhody taking the CAA.) More importantly, the '72 Mules answer a question that has been on America's minds for decades: What if you mashed up the Baltimore Colts unis with those of the Detroit Lions?

About five years ago, I profiled the 1962 team that resembled the latter-day Baltimore/early Indianapolis Colts.

Colby players were full of joy in 1972.

The Team: Colby went 7-1, the Mules' best record since the 1940 bunch went undefeated (6-0-1), and their most wins since 1909 (7-0). Colby outscored its opponents 222-150; toss out a 49-0 loss to Hobart, and the margin is 222-101.

The Players: The leader of this team was sophomore Peter Gorniewicz, who set school records with 1,170 rushing yards, 15 touchdowns and 90 points scored. He finished his career with 4,114 yards, which apparently was a New England record at one point. QB Brian Cone, who was named team MVP, handed the ball off to Gorniewicz and also kicked field goals. Cornerback Aubrey Moore led the team in interceptions with four.

The Coach: Dick McGee guided the Mules from 1967-78, going 29-64 (the '72 team was his best, by far), and also was athletic director from 1974-87. He also did quite a bit for community sports in central Maine, as you can read here in this excellent tribute following his death in 2015 (and I'm not just saying that because I work for the Central Maine papers! 😎).

Colby players take in the action, 1973.

The Uniforms: Now, time to answer that question America was debating in '72. The result? Not bad. The blue seems to be a little darker than that used by the Lions or Colts (side rant: I've never liked the term "Honolulu blue" to describe the Lions' jerseys), but it works well. The horseshoe on the silver helmet doesn't look too much out of place; I found it odd only upon first sight. The striping, names and number fonts and pure Champion all the way, very similar to what Boston College had in the 70s. Interesting that the Mules wore names on the back; most teams (at least around New England) still eschewed the practice at this point in time.

True fact: The Maine Legislature outlawed
live animal mascots in the 1960s.

The Aftermath: Gorniewicz had another big season in '73, but the Mules fell to 1-7 and didn't  had another winning season until 1979.

(The bulk of the info on this team, plus the pictures, came from this excellent article from The Colby Alumnus, Fall 1972. Check it out.)

A headline from the Colby Echo describes Colby's lone
win of the '73 season, over Bates. So much for academic schools
having more intelligent humor.

UMass (1930) and Middlebury (1929-30)

In our last post, I promised another bizarre uniform from the late 1920s-early '30s in addition to Vermont's funky garb. Well, I lied: I'll give you two.

While searching through some old Middlebury Kaleidoscope yearbooks for Vermont action photos (Middlebury and UVM were annual rivals in those days), I came across this photo featuring the Panthers and the school that came to be known as UMass:

This might be the most bizarre old-time action photo I've encountered in this project, which is why doing uniform research so much fun and addictive. 

Let's start with the UMass Minutemen -- or the Massachusetts Agricultural College Aggies, as they were known then in the parlance of the time for agricultural schools, or "cow colleges," as they were derisively called. These guys resemble a prison team on the break, anticipating the early Pittsburgh Steelers (nee Pirates) uniforms a few years later. If that wasn't enough, the Aggies (God, that's weird to type) were given matching striped socks, although a couple players wore more conventional hose. 

The 1930 UMass ... Aggies.
I don't know what's more bizarre, the team name or the uniforms.
Better hurry up, the prison guards are coming!
And what's with the guy on the right wearing his shirt like a tank top?

Another oddity to this odd uniform, which was worn only one season: It appears the players wore no numbers on the back, which is kinda ironic for a prison-themed uniform, no? Take a good gander at the blown-up pic below from the 1932 UMass Index yearbook (which covered the 1930-31 school year):

Only stripes cross the back. That might be a relief for embarrassed players who couldn't be identified even with a scorecard. 

Shortly after the season, the school changed its name to Massachusetts State College (a named that lasted only until after World War II), and with it came a new name (the Statesmen) and new uniforms (plain maroon jerseys with numbers on front and back). The Aggies -- and their prison garb -- were never to be spoken of again, except perhaps by Depression-era uni-watchers.

The black helmets on the graphic, BTW, are just a guess on my part. Since UMass wore black helmets in the late 1930s and these lids appear to be a darker hue than the jerseys, I opted to stick with black.

On to Middlebury, which wore some flashy gear of its own in 1930: Big white stripes over a blue jersey. Also note the helmet, which has a white stripe across the sides and the back, but not the front. 

But a little digging shows that might not even be the most oddball uni in Middlebury's arsenal. In 1929, the Panthers used different stripes -- thinner and slightly curved -- on the jerseys. Maybe they were trying to look unique, or perhaps they were getting a jump on Halloween. Hey, football is played in the autumn ...

The inspiration for Middlebury's 1929 uniform?

For at least one game in 1929 (against Williams), Middlebury wore white short-sleeved shirts over the "conventional" jerseys, presumably to prevent confusion on the field since both team were wearing dark uniforms. And it appears these jerseys didn't have numbers, either:

The "skeleton" jerseys were worn from 1928-29, while the, er, less unconventional shirts were worn until the mid-1930s.

On another note, it's hard to believe Middlebury and UMass were once on similar athletic ground. One school wound up in Division III and the other is now playing D-I FBS football. Such was the case in the early years of intercollegiate sports, when teams were just looking for a game against anybody as long as it didn't require a lengthy road trip.

The Middlebury "skeleton" uniforms in action against Vermont, 1929.

Much, much more from UMass: 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2000-02, 1986-87, 1978-84, 1975-77, 1974, 1973, 1972, 1966-68, 1960-62, 1953-54, 1951-52, 1938-39. Tribute: Dick McPherson.

And one other uni from Middlebury: 1978.

Middlebury Panthers (1978)

It's been a while. Vacation is over; it's time to hit the uniforms again.

We'll look at one last Division III uniform before returning to the D-I ranks later this week. Vermont's Middlebury College -- best known as the alma mater of Seattle Seahawks kicker Stephen Hauschka -- has worn Michigan/Delaware-style helmets since 1979, which means the Panthers could wear burlap sacks for shirts and pants and still have awesome uniforms. Well, here's what Middlebury wore in 1978, the last year before switching to the iconic helmet.

The Middlebury uniform fem 1978, the last season before the wings helmets debuted.
 The photo is from the Middlebury Campus newspaper archive.

The jerseys strongly resemble Maine's from the period, while the helmets and pants are plain silver with a blue stripe, which the Panthers retained for a while after the helmet change.

The winged helmet was introduced by head coach Mickey Heinecken, who previously played and coached at -- of course -- Delaware.

Plymouth State Panthers (1985)

Some programs are defined by one player, no matter how many titles or award winners jam the trophy case (Boston College and Doug Flutie come to mind). Plymouth State, a Division III school tucked away in north-central New Hampshire (about a 45-minute drive from my place) is defined by running back Joe Dudek, who in 1985 broke Walter Payton's all-time NCAA touchdown record and became a bit of a nine-days-wonder after he famously received a Heisman Trophy endorsement from Sports Illustrated. C'mon, you remember the cover if you grew up in the 1980s. 

Yup, that cover.

You can read more about Dudek, his unlikely brush with national fame, and the aftermath here.

Like the Bates uniform we profiled earlier, Plymouth State's uniform used to have gold  (closer to yellow) accents before giving way to black some time down the road. Actually, this uniform resembled what Vermont might have used had the Catamounts kept football. Hmmm ... Note the blank helmets, which were unusual by the 1980s.

The one and only, from PSU's The Conning Tower yearbook.

Recent times have not been kind to the Panthers following their off-and-on New England D-III dominance in the 1980s and '90s, but hopefully the glory days of Dudek can make a comeback.

It's time for vacation, but in a couple weeks, we'll wrap up our profiles of New England D-III teams before we make a return to the D-I ranks.

Bates Bobcats (1972)

We complete our NESCAC tour of Maine with Bates, a school with only one winning football team since 1981. In '72, the Bobcats upset American International to snap a 25-GAME losing streak, thus the inclusion of the '72 Cats in our profile of Division III uniforms.

The Bates Student front page from Bates' 17-14 win over AIC that
snapped a 25-game losing streak. If I used "WE" in a headline, I'd be tossed on the street.

The '72 Bobcats home uniform. Also from the Bates Student,
a paper whose layout often resembled a '60s-70s rock fanzie.

The uniforms bear a stringing resemblance to 1960s-70s Harvard, right down to the white belts. The big difference is the white helmets; most (but not all) had a teeny-tiny bobcat mascot on the sides. It's interesting how gold was an integral part of Bates' color scheme for many years, until black took over some time in the 1970s-80s.

The '72 Cats at Colby. Note the SILVER Colts-style helmets on the Mules.
The Bates player doesn't have a helmet stripe, but that appears to be an exception.

We'll scrounge around and profile another D-III school next week.

You get the impression from this picture that football was a
laid-back affair at Bates in the early 1970s. 

Colby Mules (1962)

No, those are not mis-labeled Baltimore Colts uniforms you see, but Colby's early 1960s uniforms definitely hold more than a passing resemblance to the team that had recently won back-to-back NFL championships. 

Taking inspiration from the NFL continues at Colby to this day: The current uniform (which I like) is a fusion of the Chicago Bears (wishbone "C") and Detroit Lions (lightish blue and silver), who are normally hated rivals. There's probably a high school team out there called the Patriots that has the "Flying Elvis" logo on a green and white uniform.

The 1962 Colby road uniform, with the awesome horseshoes on the shoulders,
in action at Maine. From Maine's Prism yearbook. 

There's one thing that separates this vintage Mules uniform from the Colts' version, however -- the big ol' horseshoes on the shoulders, a very unique trait for that era. 

The '62 home uniform, actually taken from the Bowdoin Orient.
Wasn't Binky that clown on the old Garfield and Friends cartoon?

I think the Colts-style helmet continued into the 1970s, but I'm not 100 percent. Time for more research!

We'll dig up another Division III uniform later this week.

Bowdoin Polar Bears (1939)

Coupla confessions before we continue our tour of historic Division III uniforms:

1) Despite growing up just two towns over from Bowdoin's Brunswick, Maine campus, I have never gone between the pines to watch the Polar Bears at Whitter Field. I did watch them play a Middlebury a few years ago. 

2) OK, this isn't really my first Bowdoin post -- a while back, I showed off a 2004 Bowdoin uniform to highlight some of college football duller uniforms. (Thankfully, those generic things have long since been ditched.)

But there's nothing dull about these dandy Bowdoin pre-war unis: Striped helmets, striped shirts and striped socks. I don't think I've ever seen a jersey pattern like this one: 1940s-syle Philadelphia Eagles mixed with shoulder stripes that didn't see widespread use until the 1950s.

The 1939 Bowdoin Polar Bears. Bowdoin's website has an amazing
team photo archive going back to 1890, which will only
encourage me to post more Bowdoin uniforms.

Two '39 Bears. This is from the school's comprehensive Special Collections and Archives
site, which will only encourage me to post more Bowdoin uniforms.

I could be wrong, but I believe this was a one-year style. I guess the rest of the world wasn't ready for these uniforms. 

The '38 Polar Bears, BTW, went 5-1-1 and shared the Maine State Series title (don't laugh, but the State Series was a HY-OOGE deal in those days). Bowdoin scored only 72 points all season, but allowed a paltry 39. Yes, college football was a different beast then.

Bowdoin plays Bates in 1939. The credit reads Portland Press Herald,
but the clipping is from the Bowdoin Orient, whose archives are all online
and will only encourage me to ... ah, you know the rest.

Up next: We'll pay a visit to one of those aforementioned State Series rivals. ... but which one?

This is the only logo I've ever wanted to hug.

Williams Ephs (1957)

Since we showed an Amherst uniform last time, it's only fitting we profile its ancient rival, Williams. Like Amherst, the Ephs (named for founder Ephriam Williams) have worn purple since the 19th century. You can read more about the history of the name, colors and mascot here.

A couple nice shots of the Williams bench in 1957.
Note that not all helmets have numbers on the side.
These are from the delightful Williams College Memory Project.

The uniform above is a pretty snazzy model, with gold pants and unique thicker-than-usual numbers. The helmets are vaguely like Brown's from that era, but not all of them had numbers on the side. Note the use of sleeve numbers on the road shirts -- I think UNH is the only other team in this project that wore sleeve numbers that early.

The '57 Ephs went 6-0-1 and beat Wesleyan and Amherst for the Little Three title.

The '57 Ephs in white.

 Next up in our Division III tour: Another NESCAC school, this time in Maine.