Today's Tidbit... 1969 and the 100th Anniversary Sticker
It could have been a big deal and should have been a big deal, but college football's centennial celebration fizzled. Intended to honor the 100th anniversary of the 1869 Princeton-Rutgers games, the NCAA announced their intention to celebrate the anniversary in March and opened the events with the June Coaches' All America, when they honored Barbara Sprecht, the National Centennial Queen, at halftime.
Perhaps it was the Vietnam War or the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, but the celebration took off like a lead balloon. Centennial flags were to fly at stadiums, and each of the 423 NCAA member schools received 22 medallions to award to varsity players. There was also a commemorative postage stamp, but it all fell flat.
Among the other celebrations announced by the NCAA was that NCAA teams would have their helmets emblazoned with the number 100, typically in the form of a football-shaped sticker. Some did, some didn't. Some wore them all the time, some part of the time, or only for big games.
Nevertheless, here are a few images of how teams used their helmets to honor the 100th anniversary of college football.
Leave it to Navy, however, to sail in a different direction. They don’t appear to have worn the 100 sticker like other teams, but wore their 100s TV number-style on two different helmets that year.
Postscript:
Dave Perry sent an image of 100th Anniversary banner he has in his collection. The banner measures approximately 7 3/4 x 4.75 feet. It’s a thing of beauty!
Special thanks to my brother Steve, who is not quite as good-looking as me, but had the idea for this Tidbit.
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Ugly except for the queen.
I replied to the email, and shared the huge 100 year celebration banner that hung in stadiums. I was able to add it to my collection a number of years ago. I included a photo in the email. Let me know if you don’t receive it for some reason and I can share a different way.