It is strange to think that in February of 1991, just a few weeks following the Giants victory over the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game before their Super Bowl XXV triumph over the Bills, the 49ers significantly altered their helmets and logo.
This story is relegated to serious obscure status nowadays, because the switch lasted all of six days.
Yes, that’s right. The new logo and helmets did not even last one full week.
Frankly, it is almost strange that this was the case, because usually, when a sports franchise commits to altering their logo and/or uniform in some significant way, it is considered a big deal. Also, usually, these changes last some time. At least one full season.
But that was never the case with this change. It was just one small item on the list of 49ers-related news on the day it was announced, and it was kind of pushed to the back of the sports pages the next day. Yet, there was such an outcry from the fans, who made it clear in no uncertain terms that the new logo and helmets were not welcome.
It seemed that the upper brass within the organization were not expecting such a backlash. The reaction was so strong and vehemently opposed, that San Francisco 49ers owner Ed DeBartelo decided to scrap the whole thing and return the franchise to their old logo and uniforms just six days later.
That’s right: the 49ers never played a single down with those new helmets and logos, because the idea was scrapped almost as quickly as it was brought up in the first place.
Looking at the projected new design (at the time) for the helmet, you have to wonder what management was thinking. It looks weird, and not really in a good way. The team would change their uniforms just a few years later. It began with a return to their throwback uniforms, which was not unique to the 49ers, as every team did this for the 1994 season. But for the Niners, the change stuck for the entire season, as they either liked the way that the uniforms looked, or liked the good luck that it seemed to bring, or perhaps a bit of both. In any case, they would go on to the win the Super Bowl following the 1994 season, in what was the final title for that great era of the 49ers. A couple of seasons later, they altered their uniforms again, making tweaks with the original logo and helmet design, as they implemented red face guards. Their uniforms were modernized, as well.
They changed back to a design that was much closer to their older style of uniform for the 2011 season. It was a move that, frankly, suited them.
Truthfully, I am no fan of the 49ers, as most people who know me know well already. There are plenty of issues that I had with that franchise at the time, but the uniforms and logos were not among them. Frankly, I always felt that the 49ers looked sharp in their uniforms. And the old/new logo and uniforms are reminiscent of the era of greatness for the franchise, harkening back to some immortal names and faces and moments. When you look at the team now, you think of the days of Bill Walsh, Joe Montana, Dwight Clark, Ronnie Lott, Jerry Rice, Charles Haley, Steve Young, George Seifert, and John Taylor. You think of those Super Bowls that they won, and some truly great moments that rank among the most defining moments in NFL history, particularly “The Catch” and Montana’s throw to John Taylor against the Cincinnati Bengals to win Super Bowl XXIII.
Yes, the 49ers once again have uniforms very similar to the ones from their glory days. They joined other teams who went back to older style uniforms, such as the New York Jets and New York Giants, as well as the Buffalo Bills. Frankly, there are some other teams that I wish would do the same in the NFL, including the Atlanta Falcons Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Los Angeles Rams (I mean permanently switching back to both the home and away uniforms that they had in the 1980’s and 1990’s), the Philadelphia Eagles, and especially the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who’s so-called creamsickle uniforms both looked great and stood apart from the rest of the league.
Some other teams that should seriously consider changing their uniforms? How about the Tennessee Titans, who may have the most boring uniforms in the league? Why not switch to red helmets, since there is a shortage of those in the NFL currently? Or better yet, why not that light shade of blue, to make them truly stand out in the league as the only team with that color for their helmet? The dark blue bordering on black look is really overdone, and it does not look especially great on them, truth be told. Maybe the Ravens? Jacksonville also seems to have more problems than not with their uniform designs. I also wish the Lions and Vikings could simply go back to the unis that they had back in the 1980’s and 1990’s. Just like with the 49ers, the problems in those two places were not with the uniforms, and the changes that both teams have made since were not really for the better, although they also do not have awful looking uniforms.
Again, I am no fan of the 49ers. But I am a fan of the uniforms that they have right now, which look better than the ones that they had from 1996-2010, and which also look much better than the proposed helmet switch idea that they had for six days back in February of 1991.
Here is the link to the article that I used in writing this particular blog entry:
25 years ago, the 49ers briefly switched to hideous helmets,Michael David Smith, February 20, 2016:
https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/02/20/25-years-ago-the-49ers-briefly-switched-to-hideous-helmets/
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