Now that they finally get to play their 75th season, the Canadian Football League’s Calgary Stampeders are marking the occasion with a special throwback jersey.
The team unveiled the jersey on Friday, June 18. It is manufactured by New Era and features a red base with red and white stripes on the shoulders, reminiscent of what the team wore from 1948 to 1952. It also includes the logo the team wore from 1945 to 1971 on the sleeves.
The front and back numbers, as well as the nameplates on the back, are set in a classic varsity font. The collar and sleeve cuffs are solid red.
Images posted to the Stampeders’ Twitter account show quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell modeling the jersey with a pair of white pants with two red stripes down the sides along with red socks.
The Stampeders’ social media team also hinted that a new helmet may be on the way to go along with these jerseys.
According to Stampeders.com, the driving force behind the jersey was veteran equipment manager George Hopkins. He has been employed by the club since 1972.
“As part of the celebrations of our 75th season, it’s fitting that we’re wearing jerseys inspired by the early Stampeders teams including the undefeated 1948 Grey Cup champions,” Hopkins said on the website. “These are the iconic jerseys that made the Stampeders the Red and White and were worn by legendary players including Keith Spaith, Normie Kwong and Sugarfoot Anderson. The unveiling of this jersey has been a long time coming and we have to take a moment to acknowledge the hard work of former Stampeders employee Jessica Littel in the early days of this project to help it come to life.”
After the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the 2020 season, the CFL will get back on the field starting Aug. 5, 2021. Calgary’s first game is on Saturday, Aug. 7, when they host the Toronto Argonauts, and the new 75th season jerseys will be worn for the first time in that game. They will then be worn for another five of the team’s remaining six home games in the 2021 season.
In January 2020, the Stampeders had released a 75th anniversary logo, with the years 1945 and 2020 at the top. That has now been slightly tweaked to reflect 75 seasons; the top now reads “Est. 1945”. The new version of the anniversary can be seen in the video above, while the previous version is below.
Photos courtesy Calgary Stampeders
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