The History Behind NHL Jerseys

NHL jerseys have been around much longer than Lobster tennis ball machines; in fact, the earliest jerseys were made almost 100 years ago. NHL fans have long been known to show their support of their teams through donning one of their jerseys and wearing them two games. Originally, an NHL team only had one jersey not several as many teams now have.

Early Days Of the NHL

The NHL began in 1917. To begin with there were only five teams playing. Their uniform was not really very nice looking initially. In order to keep players on their uniform was made from wool and cotton. Initially each team only had one uniform which they wore for all games no matter where they were playing.

The distinguishing features of NHL jerseys were there long sleeves and their striped appearance. Only one of the five teams, the Toronto Arenas, wore a solid colored jersey. This was blue with a white trim.

United States Team Joins The NHL

In 1924 the NHL also included a team from the USA, the Boston Bruins. This team also wore a solid colored jersey, it was brown and had a gold trim. The Hamilton Tigers jersey was gold with lines of black on their sleeve.

The First "Away From Home" Jersey

During 1927, the Toronto Maple Leafs introduced to different jerseys. They wore a blue and white logo on their striped jersey for their home team games, while they wore a white jersey with a blue logo for games played away from home.

Different teams gradually introduce different jerseys as time went by. During the 1930s you saw many teams that wore striped jerseys, including the New York Americans which sported a red white and blue jersey.

World War II Period

During the period of World War II, the NHL was reduced to only having six playing teams. During this time, these teams suddenly began sporting colored pants and most teams also introduced both a home and away from home NHL jersey.

Many Changes In Teams Jerseys Post WWII

As each decade passed, teams changed their jerseys until eventually most team settled on a color scheme and pattern that they were happy to wear.

One change that seem to happen fairly frequently from 1951 on was the decision made by the NHL that their home teams should wear white jerseys. This rotated back and forth several times during the next decades, alternating between colored and white jerseys worn while playing at home.

Modern Day Jerseys

In 1967 the NHL was comprised of 12 teams. Of course every team that was added had their own style of Jersey; both home and away jerseys. This was well received by fans, many of whom start buying different jerseys to add to their NHL collections.