I've limited this uni search to as late as 1960, nothing before then. I've noticed lately that most of the classics from prior to 1960 have been a bit too much––note the Steelers' 1930s "bumblebee" throwbacks (below) that are being used in tomorrow's game against the Redskins.
A little too much(^), wouldn't you agree?
Here's a short list of the best post-60s NFL uniforms:
Denver Broncos "D" logo--orange jerseys: 1968-1996
Before Jake Plummer, Jay Cutler, Kyle Orton, Tim Tebow and Peyton Manning, it was Hall of Famer John Elway who quarterbacked these Broncos. And before the current uniforms donned by Denver, it was the classic "D" logo uniforms that Elway made so famous. The "D" logo with a Bronco in the middle is the epitome of old school logos. The light blue helmets with the orange jerseys are more Bronco-esque than the current dark blue/orange jerseys. It's unfortunate that we only see these when the Broncos play on Thanksgiving.
New England Patriots "hiking Patriot" logo: 1961-1996
Luckily for us, the Patriots sport these throwbacks quite often, not just on Thanksgiving. Why wouldn't they? The logo is another very simple concept, not to mention it's on a white helmet. Why do more teams not have white helmets? As of right now, only five teams have primarily white helmets (Dolphins, Jets, Colts, Titans, Cardinals), but I happen to think white helmets look the best. Perhaps that's a personal preference in style but either way the simpler the logo, the better the overall uni turns out. At least that's what history has pointed out to me.
Houston/Tennessee Oilers baby blues: 1981-1998
Baby blue jerseys are always the way to go, as history has taught us, and the red outlining on the Oilers' uniforms of the '80s and '90s was enough to crack the list. Especially those red facemasks. The overall concept of the oil rig hadn't changed from the 1960s through the late '90s, but it did however receive numerous tweaks over the years before the franchise finally settled on a final product in '81.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers "Creamsicle": 1976-1996
A lot of people would probably disagree with this selection and call me crazy, but you gotta love these tacky throwbacks. As an expansion team in '76, the Bucs wore these creamy orange-colored unis with an un-intimidating Buccaneer logo nicknamed "Buccaneer Bruce." After reading the description, you're probably thinking 'why on earth would you like a logo that isn't intimidating?' especially for football. But in this case, it just works. It's classic Buccaneer football. You know, the Bucs that went 0-14 in the franchise's first-ever season? We've already gotten to see a glimpse of the uniforms once or twice this season. They're just fun to look at.
San Diego Chargers powder blues: 1960s-80s
It's tough to put exact dates on San Diego's powder blues, because they were tweaked and changed so often, but the general concept stayed relatively the same. One thing is certain, however. It'd be tough to find a football fan out there that would argue against San Diego's powder blues being the NFL's best uniforms of all-time. They worked so well, especially with the white helmets––you all knew that one was coming. The Chargers clearly cherish these unis because they've brought them back so many times and, in fact, still wear them quite regularly to this day.
Additional noteworthy unis:
Most of the unis pictured above have in fact been "brought back" in recent seasons by their respective teams as sort of a tribute from teams in the past. It's a great thing that teams are doing in honoring the franchise's history.
Any classic unis from the 1960s-90s that you believe we missed? Feel free to let us know in the comments section.
Note: We do not own any of the above images. No copyright infringement intended.
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