Almost two years ago, I wrote about football’s first helmet logos adorning the noggins of the boys playing for UChicago in 1921 and 1922. As shown in the linked article, Chicago positioned their logo on the back of the helmet, likely to help passers differentiate friend from foe as the receivers ran downfield.

Besides being the first to have helmet logos, UChicago was likely the first and only team to position their logo atop their helmet rather than the front, side, or back. I have yet to figure out why they did so in 1938. Perhaps it helped fans or coaches in the press box distinguish Chicago players down on the field when the other team also wore red jerseys. The NCAA finally mandated contrasting home and away jerseys in 1949, ten years after Chicago dropped football.

Football Archaeology

Football's First Helmet Logos

Several recent posts have covered aspects of football history discovered during a review of 2,000+ old college yearbooks. One post showed Texas invented the whiteout in 1920. Another included the only known image of a puntout being executed, while a third showed the…

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2 years ago · Timothy P. Brown