Wilson Football Jerseys of 1964

Wilson Sporting Goods began in 1914, intending to profit from selling the byproducts of slaughterhouses. They mostly sold strings for tennis racquets and violins, surgical sutures, and baseball shoes. In 1915, they acquired a knitting mill to produce athletic uniforms. My earliest Wilson catalog is from 1928, when their jerseys were adorned with friction strips or vertical stripes similar to those officials were beginning to wear.

Jump ahead a half-century from the founding to their 50th-anniversary catalog, which came with the president's "State of the Company" message.

Wilson's feature-rich 1964 jersey offerings aligned with their progressive past and golden future. Their custom jerseys offered nine benefits underappreciated by the average shopper.

Their custom jerseys were available in seven fabrics. The least expensive cotton jersey was about half the price of the top-quality nylon and Wilnit nylon.

The twenty or so jersey colors could be used for UCLA-style armhole striping, sleeve stripes, TV number patches, or contrasting collars and shoulders. This allowed coaches to make terrible design decisions that their players had to live with for several years.

And for those whose pockets were not as deep, Wilson offered stock jerseys in set colors and styles.

Sixty years later, some designs look timeless, while others are dated. Like the UCLA-style jersey, a few will still look good when the 2084 version of Football Archaeology examines today's uniforms.

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