The History of the
Wildcat Uniform
Page Two
 
1932-1933 (White)

JERSEY: The 'Cats added purple shoulders to their white jerseys for two seasons, giving the uniform a look that other teams would commonly use in the 1950s (and today in the NFL Europe league).  The purple uniform remained without the shoulder panels or sleeves (although, strangely, a couple of players did use a purple jersey with the white shoulder panels); however, a purple jersey was only worn once in 1932.

In 1933 the 'Cats instead primarily wore the purple jersey.

HELMET: No change.

1934 (White)

JERSEY: Inexplicably, in 1934 NU reverted to wearing the 1928 style white uniform, with no shoulder panels and no numbers on the front.

HELMET: Same.

PANTS: The team again wore purple pants.

 
1935-1955 (White)

JERSEY: The purple jersey remained the same style as it had since 1929, but late in 1935 the white jersey had regained the front numbers and now had a purple collar.  This white jersey would be a staple for the Wildcats for two decades.  Occasionally, however, some players wore a jersey with a plain white collar.

HELMET: For only the 1935 season the front panel of NU's helmets was painted white.  For the rest of the Thirties NU wore plain dark leather helmets.

 
1937-1939; 1944-1945;
1948-1956(Purple)

JERSEY: Finally, in 1937 NU's purple jersey joined its white counterpart and featured northwestern sleeve stripes.  Along with the white version, this jersey would be a classic, and was used for 20 years.

NU used both the white and purple jerseys during this time except for 1940 through 1943 and 1946 through 1947.  During these years NU wore only white jerseys.  Though he may have worn a purple jersey in practice, NU star Otto Graham never wore one in a game.

HELMET:  NU wore its black leather helmets through 1939.  In 1940 NU switched for the first time to a shell helmet, a dark helmet with a black attached strip running vertically and a strange white strip that ran across the forehead, partially covered by the black vertical strip.  The 'Cats wore the black shell helmets through 1944.

In 1945 NU switched back to leather helmets with the cross-hatch style.  From the late Forties through 1953 NU's players used both leather and dark shell helmets.

The 'Cats switched for good to modern shell helmets in 1954.  The 1954 helmets were white, had no face guards, and had a purple stripe pattern identical to the northwestern sleeve stripes.  This helmet was also worn in 1955.

PANTS: Pants used during this period started with purple in 1937.  In 1938 the team switched to tan, and used tan through 1942.  During 1942, the team wore tan for non-conference games with the service schools and (for the first time) white pants for Big Ten opponents.  The 'Cats added a purple stripe to the white pants in 1943 and used that style through 1951, when, mid season, they switched back to tan.  The tan pants lasted three seasons.  NU went back to white pants in 1954 and added two stripes to the pants in 1956.

 
1956 (White)
 
JERSEY: By 1956, NU's uniform had changed very little in over twenty years.  Parseghian's first four years saw continuous changes to the uniform, starting with the white jersey in 1956.  The jersey numbers changed to a rounded font similar to that used by UCLA.  Strangely, the numbers on the purple jersey did not change.

HELMET: NU's white shell helmet now had a completely rounded, modern shape and also featured a faceguard.  The stripe pattern changed to two stripes, as shown.

1957
 

JERSEY: The purple and white jerseys now shared the same new style.  Not only did they both sport UCLA-style numbers, they featured UCLA-style stripes as well, through the shoulders.  The style lasted just one season.  

HELMET: Same style as 1956, now with players' numbers on the side, in black.

PANTS: Remained white, with two purple stripes.

1958 (Purple); 1959
   

JERSEY: After a year using the same style for its purple and its white jerseys, NU went back to using different styles for each.  It also went back-- way back-- for its jersey style.  The purple jersey was absolutely plain, with white block numbers on the front and back, the same jersey worn in 1929.  The white jersey, however, returned to using northwestern stripes on the sleeves.  For 1959 the white jersey lost its stripes, and both were identical and plain, with plain block numbers.  

HELMET: In 1958 the helmet lost its stripes.  This helmet would last nearly a decade.

PANTS: NU lost the purple stripes on its white pants as well in 1958.



1960-1972

 
JERSEY: Parseghian's final changes to the jersey would last for well over a decade.  For the first time numbers were put on the shoulders, between the shoulder pad and the sleeve. This style would remain throughout Alex Agase's period as coach.

HELMET:  The 'Cats continued to wear plain white helmets with player numbers on the sides through 1967 (the numbers were larger during 1966-1967 than they were during 1958-1965).  In 1968 NU changed to an all-purple helmet that, for the first time, featured a logo-- the connected "NU" design.

PANTS: In 1962 the two purple stripes returned to NU's white pants (for the 1963 season only, NU wore purple pants on the road).  


1973-1975

JERSEY: The Pont administration made one minor change to the uniform during its first year at NU.  Stripes returned to the sleeve for the first time since 1956; however, it was just one stripe, an elastic stripe at the end of each sleeve.

HELMET: No major change. For the 1975 season only, the white faceguard was altered, and NU used an oversized plastic faceguard.
 
1976-1977
 
JERSEY: In 1976 Pont brought back the northwestern striping to the jersey sleeve.  Together for the first time with shoulder numbers (now higher on the shoulders), the striping produced what is THE classic Northwestern jersey.  Classic or not, it was used for just two years.

HELMET: 1976 was the ninth and final year for the plain purple "NU" helmet.  For the 1977 season the 'Cats wore a purple "NU" helmet that featured two white stripes.

  1978

JERSEY: In 1978, as Rick Venturi took over the team, the jersey lost its stripes and reverted to the 1960 style.  

HELMET: Venturi introduced a new helmet: white, with one purple stripe and the "NU" logo in purple.

PANTS: The white pants in 1978 also changed, with just one purple stripe used down the side.  For a couple of games in 1978, including the last two home games, NU wore purple pants with a white stripe.  It was the first all-purple uniform for NU in decades.