Today's Tidbit... Football Jerseys and the Wizard of Odd

The uniforms of the 1930s had stripes in every direction and every color of the rainbow. Most were added for decorative purposes, while others were functional since the game had not yet developed its conventions for numbering players by position and having the away team wear white or light-colored jerseys.

After stumbling across a mention of a 1930s monstrosity the other day, I searched for a few more; finding them took little time.

1928 Centenary's Stripes

Our story begins in 1928, close enough to the 1930s for our purposes, and down in Shreveport, Louisiana. Shreveport is the home of Centenary College, which ended varsity football in 1947 before bringing it back in 2023. Their 1928 team went 6-3-2, likely aided by their innovative use of friction strips on their jerseys. Most teams, including Centenary, placed friction strips on the front of their jerseys to reduce fumbling and for styling purposes.

(1929 Centenary yearbook)

However, offensive linemen were allowed to go downfield on passing plays back then. That helped with blocking on screen plays but also made it difficult for passers to figure out which downfield teammates were eligible receivers and which were not. Centenary's solution was to place friction strips on the backs of their ends' and backs' jerseys.

The players wearing 45 and 41 likely were pulling guards, while the three backfielders and the left end wore stripes. (1929 Centenary yearbook)

1937 Michigan State's Stripes