Sunday, February 06, 2011

Archival Football Uniforms

Lawson Fiscus (one of the first professional football players)

Here's a quick survey of exemplary historic football uniforms from the late 19th and early 20th century. The photos sum up my ideal of the perfect sports uniform: basic solid or striped tunics, all wool knit cardigans or pullovers and knickerized canvas duck trousers. Belts, lacing systems and leather boots complete the look. Although the uniforms are over a 100 years old, I propose they be adopted for modern use--by athletes and non-athletes alike. All the figures below could exit the field, ditch their metal cleats, and wear their outfits to work or campus. With a few rotating layers, one could have a single, signature uniform made from long wearing, best quality materials.








All images courtesy Library of Congress' Flickr Photostream.

2 comments:

andrea.at.the.blue.door said...

I picked up a photo of a young man wearing a beautiful, fairly early football sweater. The sweater is intriguing because it shows the use of both color and a knitted pattern. You can see it here:

https://picasaweb.google.com/andrea.at.the.blue.door/EarlyFootballSweater?feat=directlink

I think this sweater is about due for a revival.

bright lights, big cities said...

I with the above comment on this one.

I'm constantly inspired by sports wear such as this.