Today's Tidbit... Alternate Jerseys in 1935
Today, football teams wear different jerseys for home and away games—many wear alternate jerseys, too—and we don't think much of the expense of these frequent changes.
Back in the day, even big-time football programs pinched pennies, often replacing a dozen or twenty jerseys yearly, so it took a few years to get every team member wearing the latest style.
The slow jersey turnover became apparent when Purdue’s 1935 team took the field with three jersey styles. Four players still wear friction strip jerseys, twenty-nine have plain fronts, and thirty-eight have numbered jerseys.
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Did they wear old and new jerseys or was there a purpose as when teams had linemen wear helmets in different colors than their eligible receivers?
I know as late as ‘78 Clemson had players wearing different editions, at least at home.