ROCHESTER AMERICANS UNIFORM HISTORY
-
- ROCHESTER AMERICANS HOCKEY CLUB
- Uniform History 1956-57 through 1981-82
- The first 26 years
- by Terry Proctor
-
- Visit the Amerks Team Photos Page to see the
uniform evolution
- Return to Amerks Booster Club Home
- The Sale
of the Rochester Americans to Vancouver by Terry Proctor
-
-
- Season 1- 1956-57
- The Rochester Americans enter the American Hockey League for this
- season as a new franchise to replace the Pittsburgh Hornets. The Hornets'
- arena was razed as part of an urban renewal project forcing team owner
- John H. Harris to suspend operations until the Pittsburgh Civic Arena
- opened in the fall of 1961. The new Rochester team was the joint farm
- team of the National Hockey League's oldest and bitterest rivals, the
- Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens. The Rochester club
- chose "Americans" as their nickname at the suggestion of Montreal
- General Manager Sam Pollock. Pollock pointed out that the Rochester
- nickname would indicate that this was an American-based team with
- Canadian parents. The choosing of the nickname also paid homage to the
- former New York Americans of the N.H.L. which ironically had been the
- parent team of Rochester's first professional hockey team, the 1935-36
- Rochester Cardinals of the original International Hockey League. The
- International Hockey League and the Canadian-American Hockey League
- joined forces in 1936-37 to become the International-American Hockey
- League. In 1940 the name was shortened to the current American Hockey
- League.
-
- The Rochester Cardinals went into receivership at the end of that 1935-36
- season. Rochester could have been a charter member of the I.A.H.L. but
- because no new owner could be found to run the team it folded. Rochester
- would have to wait 20 years for a team.
-
- The fact that the name showed no favortism to either Canadian parent, the
- English-Canadian Maple Leafs or the francophone Les Club de Hockey
- Canadien pleased everyone. Members of the Rochester media quickly
- shortened the sobriquet to "Amerks" so that it would fit better in newspaper
- headlines.
-
- The new team naturally chose Red, White and Royal Blue as its colors. The
- official team logo was a patriotic shield consisting of five alternating Red
- and White stripes with a Royal Blue field containing three White stars, the
- center one being larger. The script team name "Americans" with a tail-
- sweep ran through the center of the logo in White with a Black outline. With
- their identity set the "Amerks" now had to design the uniforms they would
- wear into A.H.L. action.
- For its first-year uniforms the team chose Champion Athletic and
- Sportswear of St. Paul St. in downtown Rochester as their supplier.
- Champion Athletic was not affiliated with Champion Products of Rochester.
- They were the uniform supplier to the N.B.A. Rochester Royals during their
- twelve-year history from 1945-57.
-
- The Amerks' first sweaters were manufactured from a Wool-Blend fabric by
- Hardin Knitwear of New York City.
- Sweaters were made in a pattern that resembled the American Flag. The
- body and sleeves of the sweater consisted of alternating Red & White
- stripes approximately 2" wide. The shoulders and upper sleeves were solid
- Royal Blue. The round lace-neck was White. A 4" White horizontal stripe
- located above the body stripes and below the shoulders on both the front
- and back of the sweaters. A 3" solid Royal Blue hem stripe was used along
- with solid Royal Blue knit cuffs.
-
- The sweaters were lettered using all sewn-on tackle twill. An 8" rounded full
- block "R" in Red w/White outline was placed high on the center front of the
- sweater touching part of the Royal Blue shoulders and the Red & White
- body stripes. 2" plain-block team name "AMERICANS" in Royal Blue w/Red
- outline was sewn over the large "R" in the center stripe. 2" White stars
- covered the upper shoulders both front and back. A White badge-type
- shield with a Royal Blue "R" in the same font as the front letter were on
- each upper sleeve. 10" Red w/Royal Blue outline numbers in Stahls Varsity
- Block font were used on the back.
-
- The Amerks did not have a White sweater for the first year. But they did
- wear White socks for their home opener. These socks featured either a
- Royal Blue or Red patch on the knees and two 1" Red or Royal stripes
- around the calf area. Since only Black & White photos of these socks exist
- we list both combinations.
-
- For the rest of the season the Amerks wore Red Montreal-style socks with
- the narrow White/wide Royal Blue/narrow White stripes.
-
- Pants were also in Montreal-style of Royal Blue body with 1"
- White/Red/White braid down the sides and around the bottom.
-
Gloves were of natural leather color.
-
[left to right] Mike Nykoluk and Tommy Williams
- Click above pictures for "colorized" images, courtesy of
www.uniwatchblog.com
- Season 2- 1957-58
- For their second year the Amerks switched their supplier to Leo Ruby of
- Ruby's Sporting Goods located at 853-857 Clinton Ave. S.
-
- The Amerks' Wool-Blend flag-style sweaters were still made by Hardin
- Knitwear in the same basic style but featured a few cosmetic changes to
- the lettering and numbers. The large "R" on the front was removed with the
- same style and color team name team name "AMERICANS" made 3" tall.
- The sleeve shields were removed and replaced by 4" Royal Blue numbers
- in Stahls Varsity Block font on the left sleeve only.
-
- A Cream-White Wool-Blend sweater, also made by Hardin Knitwear
- appeared this season. It featured a Red lace-neck, a 5" Royal Blue band
- aroud the chest and back, a solid Royal Blue hem stripe and solid Royal
- Blue knit cuffs.
-
- All tackle twill lettering included 3" White team name "AMERICANS" in
- stripe on front, 2" Red stars covering the upper shoulders and back, 4"
- Royal Blue numbers in Stahls Varsity Block font on the left sleeve only and
- 10" Red numbers in Stahls Varsity Block font on back.
-
- With the "flag sweaters" the Amerks wore Red socks with the Chicago
- pattern of equal 1" White/Royal Blue/White/Royal Blue/White stripes.
-
- White socks were in the Montreal pattern of narrow Red/wide Royal
- Blue/narrow Red stripes.
-
- The same pants style as 1956-57 are worn.
-
- Same glove style as 1956-57 are worn.
-
1957-58 Amerks uniform. Click above images for larger sizes
-
Stan Smrke 1957-58 & 1958-59
- Click above picture for "colorized" image, courtesy of
www.uniwatchblog.com
- Season 3- 1958-59
- Same uniforms as 1957-58 used
- Season 4- 1959-60
- The Amerks' uniforms undergo a complete re-design for 1959-60. The Wool
- Blend material is replaced by a modern Nylon/Durene Cotton plaited fabric.
- Ruby's continues to be the team's official uniform supplier. The new
- uniforms are manufactured by the King-O'Shea Knitting Mills of Chicago, a
- subsidiary of Wilson Sporting Goods, also of Chicago.
-
- The new White home sweaters featured a lace-neck and were plain except
- for Montreal-style sleeve stripes of narrow Royal Blue/Wide Red/narrow
- Royal Blue. The sweaters were decorated in all tackle twill. Four 2" Royal
- Blue stars adorned the shoulders and upper body on the front. Four 2"
- Royal Blue stars were placed in a straight line above the numbers. The
- Amerks team crest, minus the team name, appeared on the sweaters for
- the first time in history. It would remain on both the home and away
- sweaters through the 1968-69 season. Red with Royal Blue numbers in
- Wilson's standard Full Block font were used on the sweaters. 3" numbers
- were used on each sleeve with 10" numbers on the back.
-
- Red road sweaters were in the same pattern as the home version and had
- narrow White/wide Royal Blue/narrow White sleeve stripes. The stars were
- White in the same pattern and the numbers White with Royal Blue.
-
- Red Montreal-style socks were worn both at home and away. New hockey
- pants were satin-finish Royal Blue with Montreal-style striping of 1"
- White/Red/White braid down the sides and around the bottom.
-
- Red gloves with Royal Blue padding across the back of the hands complete
- the uniform.
-
1959-60 and 60-61 Amerks uniform. Click uniforms above for larger size
- Season 5- 1960-61
- Same uniforms as 1959-60 used excapt for the introduction of White home
- socks to match the sleeve stripes.
- Season 6- 1961-62
- New uniforms again purchased from Ruby's and manufactured by King-
- O'Shea. Only change to the sweaters is that the lower portion of the
- sleeves on the White sweaters was made Royal Blue. Red sweaters and
- socks now worn at home. White sweaters and socks worn on the road.
- Pants again have satin finish and only have a 1 1/2" White/Red/White stripe
- down the sides.
-
- Solid Red gloves worn.
-
1961-62 Amerks Program
- Season 7- 1962-63
- Same uniforms as 1961-62 used. Gloves are now Light Tan w/Black
- padding across the back of the hands.
- Season 8- 1963-64
- New uniforms again purchased from Ruby's and manufactured by King-
- O'Shea. Sweater and socks remain the same style as used in 1962-63.
- Hockey pants are Royal Blue with a single 1" stripe down the sides-Toronto
- style. Some players wear all-Red gloves. Others wear Light Tan w/Black
- gloves.
-
1963-65 Amerks uniform. Click above images for larger sizes
- Season 9- 1964-65
- Same uniforms as 1963-64 worn. Entire team wears all-Red gloves.
- Season 10- 1965-66
- New uniforms purchased from Ruby's but now they are manufactured by
- General Athletic of Greenville, Ohio. An A.H.L. directive states that White
- sweaters will be worn at home. Colored sweaters worn on the road. The
- Amerks' new General athletic sweaters are made from Nylon/Durene
- Cotton plaited fabric using the same striping pattern as before. The only
- changes to the appearance of the sweaters are to the Amerks' crest which
- now has wider Red stripes on both the home and away versions. Numbers
- now use General athletic's stock Full Block font.
-
- New hockey pants have a 3" stripe down the sides in White/Red/White.
- Solid Red gloves used.
- Season 11- 1966-67
- Same uniforms and gloves as 1965-66 used.
- Season 12- 1967-68
- New uniforms purchased from Ruby's and manufactured by General
- Athletic. Sweaters use same striping pattern as previous years but their are
- some slight alterations to the graphics on both sweaters. All logos, stars
- and numbers are applied in tackle twill by Holley-Messmer Corp. at 165 N.
- Water St. Amerks' crest stripes are made all equal width. Numbers on
- home White sweaters are done in Stahls Varsity Block font using Red
- w/White and Royal Blue outlines. The White outline effect is achieved by
- sewing the top Red number to the base Royal Blue number with a heavy
- layer of White swiss embroidery.
-
- The Red sweaters are lettered by Holley-Messmer but do not have the
- three-color treatment on the numbers.
-
- Royal Blue pants worn at home have a 3" Red/White/Red stripe down the
- sides. Red pants with a 3" White/Royal Blue/White down sides.
-
- Same sock styles as 1966-67.
-
- Royal Blue gloves w/Red & White inserts worn at home. Red gloves
- w/Royal Blue & White inserts worn on the road.
- Season 13- 1968-69
- Same uniforms as 1967-68 are worn.
- New materials and a new design for the new decade-
- For the first time since 1957-58 the Amerks used a different supplier for
- their sweaters and socks. The new sweaters, now purchased from
- Champion Products of Rochester and manufactured at Champion's
- Geneseo plant. The sweaters were now made of a mesh material and
- included several design changes. From all that is known the Rochester
- Americans were the first professional hockey team to wear mesh jerseys. In
- 1969 mesh materials designed for use in athletic garments were just
- starting to appear. Being one of the first manufacturers to use such
- materials put Champion Products at the forefront of the coming mesh era.
- And like with any new product there were some problems with the first
- examples of the material. After only a few games of use the Amerks new
- mesh sweaters had many rips and tears from contact with hockey sticks
- and the "chicken wire" screens that still surrounded most A.H.L. arenas.
- Champion Products realized there was a problem with the strength of their
- first mesh cloth and eventually replaced it with their Number 53 Nylon Tricot
- Mesh that would in time become the standard for all levels of football
- jerseys and many hockey jerseys made by Champion Products. There was
- also a "bleeding" problem with the early mesh fabric that did not allow
- printed graphics and stripes to be opaque on dark colors. Therefore the
- Amerks' first Red mesh sweaters featured all sewn-on stripes and graphics.
- With this overview of the situation we now can describe the Amerks' 1969-
- 70 uniforms in a more-accurate fashion.
-
- Season 14- 1969-70
- White home sweaters made from Champion Products' first mesh material.
- Sweaters have a Red V-neck and solid Red knit cuffs. Players found the
- cuffs too tight and cut many of them off. All stripes, stars, team logo and
- numbers applied with Champion's Lastone silkscreen process. A 5-star
- pattern in Red adorned each shoulder cowl. Sleeve stripes were in a
- narrowRed/White space/wide Royal/White space/narrow Red two-color
- Northwestern pattern. The "Americans" Red, White and Blue shield logo
- with the team name in Royal Blue adorned the front. The Champion-style
- numbers were done in Royal Blue w/Red outline with 4" on the sleeves and
- 10" on the back. Conventional knit White hockey socks with the same
- striping pattern as the sweaters were used.
-
- Red road sweaters made from Champion's first mesh material. Sweaters
- have Royal Blue V-neck and solid Royal Blue knit cuffs. All stripes and
- graphics sewn on. Four White stars on each shoulder. Sleeve stripes done
- in Montreal pattern of White/Royal Blue/White. "Americans" shield logo on
- front with team name in Royal Blue. The numbers done in Champion-style
- are White w/Royal Blue outline with 4" on the sleeves and 10" on the back.
- Conventional knit Red hockey socks with Montreal stripes are worn. For
- some unknown reason the dark colors of mesh held up better than the
- White. The Red sweaters worn throughout the season.
-
- As a cost-saving move the frugal parent Vancouver Canucks had the
- Amerks wear the Red 1967-68 road pants both home and away. Red,
- White and Royal Blue Gloves in the New York Rangers pattern used both
- home and away.
- Season 15- 1970-71
- New White sweaters purchased from Champion Products. They are exactly
- the same style but now are made from the heavier Nylon Tricot Mesh. A
- solid Red stripe appears on the hem about 3" from the bottom.The back
- numbers are now 12" high. Same socks as last year.
-
- The same Red sweaters from the previous season are worn. Same socks
- as last year.
-
- New hockey pants are Royal Blue w/White/Royal Blue/White braid down
- sides. Ranger-style gloves again worn.
-
1970-71 Amerks uniform. Click above images for larger sizes
- Season 16- 1971-72
- Vancouver's decision to replace the Amerks' shield logo with a version of
- their own stick-in-a-rink logo was the most unpopular thing that the
- Canucks did to Rochester. The home White sweaters were basically the
- same as last year, except for the new crest. The Red road sweaters were in
- exactly the same style as the home Whites. All stripes, numbers and
- graphics are imprinted. The five-star pattern on the shoulders was White
- the sleeve stripes were narrow White/Red space/wide Royal Blue/Red
- space/narrow White. The hem stripe is White. Numbers are White w/Royal
- Blue outline. Team now uses Polyester Knit hockey socks with imprinted
- stripes matching the sleeve stripes. Sleeve and sock stripes on the Red
- road uniforms are now narrow White/Red space/wide Royal Blue/Red
- space/narrow White.
-
- The same pants and gloves from 1970-71 are worn this season.
-
1971-72 Amerks uniform, Amerks logo, Vancouver logo. Click above uniform image for larger size
- Season 17- 1972-73
- In the summer of 1972 a group of eight Rochester businessmen purchased
- the franchise from Vancouver and appointed former Amerk defenseman
- Don Cherry as Coach and General Manager. The first action the new
- owners took was to restore the team's iconic shield logo as the club's
- identity.
-
- Team sweaters and socks once again purchased through Champion
- Products. Champion president Joe Fox was one of the team's new owners.
- Both home and away sweaters made from Champion's No. 53 Nylon Tricot
- Mesh. Hockey socks made from Champion's Heavyweight Doubleknit
- Polyester fabric. All striping, graphics and numbers on the sweaters and
- socks done using Champion's Lastone process.
-
- White home sweaters have a Red V-neck and Red knit cuffs. Sleeve
- striping is done in a two-color Northwestern pattern of narrow Red/White
- space/wide Royal Blue/White space/narrow Red. Because the stripes are
- imprinted a star pattern is cut into the wide Royal Blue stripe thereby
- showing the stars as White. A five-star pattern in Red appears on both
- shoulders. Three small Red stars are placed horizontally on the front of the
- sweater with the center star just below the "V" of the neck. The solid Red
- hem stripe is used again.
-
- The Amerks' traditional logo is back in its rightful place and now has the
- team name "Americans" in solid Royal Blue. 4" numbers on the sleeves
