The Uniform Project – Football

Posted on July 24, 2014 by sportsinfo

Now rush the ball up the field Muhlenberg!

We’ll win, we’ll win, we’ll win.

The passing is breezy, the touch downs come easy

Now watch our brave boys rush them in.

For Muhlenberg College is here with the goods

And other schools must, “Skiddo to the woods,”

Now rush the ball up the field , Muhlenberg !

We’ll win, we’ll win, we’ll win.

It’s no surprise that the uniforms of the first Muhlenberg football team in 1900 looked more like rugby jerseys. The game probably more resembled rugby than what has evolved into football. And just like the sport, the uniform designs have evolved.

For a good portion of the sport’s history at Muhlenberg, the uniforms were pretty generic and free from distinguishing markings. In the 1922 picture below, both teams are wearing dark jerseys and dark helmets. That must’ve been rough for the TV and radio announcers of the day. Muhlenberg is the team with stripes on its sleeves. We think.

Big numbers on the jerseys first showed up around 1935. The 1958 helmets had numbers on them, the first time they had any elements other than stripes.

In 1977, the kicking Mule logo first appeared on the helmets, and it has remained there for most of the last 37 years. Since 1997, the helmet design has remained unchanged except for a change from flat grey to metallic silver and the number and width of the stripes (the Mules went with the “Ohio State” look for a period before switching back to a single red stripe).

As for the uniforms, the word “Mules” first appeared on the front of the jerseys in 2003. And last fall, 113 years after Muhlenberg first fielded a varsity football team, the word “Muhlenberg” made its debut on the uniforms.

Let’s “skiddo” back in time to take a look at Muhlenberg football uniforms through the years. Previous sports featured in the Uniform Project were track and field, field hockey, men’s soccer, baseball, women’s soccer and volleyball.

The Uniform Project – Volleyball

Posted on July 17, 2014 by sportsinfo

The Muhlenberg volleyball team had a very successful season in 2013, winning 20 matches and reaching the Centennial Conference championship match. The Mules also had a noteworthy season from the standpoint of uniforms, sporting at least five different uniform types during the season (“old” black and red jerseys, new black jerseys and red and white libero tops).

The players on Muhlenberg’s first varsity volleyball team in 1979 wore jerseys with pinstriped sleeves. The program has been through multiple style changes since, ranging from collared shirts to mesh shirts to long-sleeved shirts, from the name on the front to the name on the back, and from loose-fitting running shorts to tight-fitting biker shorts.

Volleyball is the latest sport to be highlighted in the Uniform Project. Previous sports were track and field, field hockey, men’s soccer, baseball and women’s soccer. Next Thursday we’ll have the latest in the series.

The Uniform Project – Women’s Soccer

Posted on July 10, 2014 by sportsinfo

Women’s soccer is one of the youngest varsity sports at Muhlenberg. How young? We have color pictures of the very first uniforms they wore.

Women’s soccer was elevated to varsity status in 1991 and won a postseason tournament (ECAC Mid-Atlantic) in just its eighth season. The Mules have had only three head coaches in their 23-year existence – and not many more uniform styles. From 1994 to 2005, the Mule logo appeared on the left side with the number either on the right or centered, and since 2006, it’s been the word Muhlenberg, in various styles, across the top.

Previous projects have featured the sports of track and field, field hockey, men’s soccer and baseball. What team should we dress up next Thursday? Leave a comment below or tweet us at @Muhl_sports.

The Uniform Project – Baseball

Posted on July 3, 2014 by sportsinfo

Two summers ago, we started The Uniform Project with a look at how Muhlenberg’s uniforms have evolved in the sports of track and field, field hockey and men’s soccer over the years.

After a year off, The Uniform Project is back this summer. And what better sport to start with on this July 4 weekend than our national pastime?

Baseball is often criticized for its slow pace of play, but how about the slow pace of uniform change? Baseball made its debut at Muhlenberg in 1914, and more than a half-century later, although the caps changed every few years, the uniforms looked pretty much the same, with “Muhlenberg” in an arc across the chest of a button-down shirt.

Proof that a classic look never really goes out of style – the new uniforms worn by the Mule softball team in 2014 are very reminiscent of those early baseball unis (though not flannel).

The most significant uniform development until the 1970s was the presence of a bird in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Yes, for a few years the men in Cardinal & Grey were known, at least informally, as the Cardinals. “Mules” was not adopted as the official nickname until later on.

As if making up for lost time, the uniform changes have been numerous in the last 40-plus years. The buttonless, beltless uniforms that came into vogue in the 1970s found their way to Allentown. Color tops – and bottoms – were introduced too. Sam Beidleman, head baseball coach from 1970 to 1992, loved to tell the story of visiting the mound during a game while wearing a red pullover uniform top and red uniform pants. “Hey, there goes The Great Tomato!” remarked one heckling fan.

Buttons came back in the 1990s, and there has been an explosion of new uniforms in the past few years. Like many college teams, the 2014 Mules had three options for gameday tops: red, gray (rarely worn) and the popular digital camo.

What team should we feature next Thursday? Leave a comment below or tweet us at @Muhl_sports.