An era · 1960–1979

The 60s–70s,

thrifted.

In the 1960s and 1970s, NFL fan apparel was a much smaller business than it later became. The league created NFL Properties in 1963 to control the league's and teams' marks and to license official merchandise. The American Football League ran as a rival until the two leagues merged before the 1970 season.

On-field jerseys came from athletic-uniform makers. Mitchell & Ness supplied the Eagles through the 1963 season. Champion, then based in Rochester, New York, made jerseys for some NFL teams from the 1970s, and Sand-Knit supplied others by the end of the decade. Champion was also the best-known sweatshirt maker of the day. Its Reverse Weave construction was patented in 1938 and refined with side panels in 1952.

These designs have been reissued many times, starting with the league's own NFL Throwbacks Collection in 1991. A period look alone does not date a garment. Check the tag, the maker and the team's logo history before you trust a 1970s label in a listing title.

ADMIT ONE

60s–70s

EVERY TEAM · 1960–1979

ARCHIVED

SECTION

60s–70s

SEAT

vol. 60s–70s

NO. 01 · HOW TO DATE IT

Names on the back: AFL teams already used them, and the merged NFL put names on every team's jerseys from 1970, so an older NFL jersey may have none.
Old team names: Boston Patriots (renamed New England in 1971), Dallas Texans (moved to Kansas City as the Chiefs in 1963), Baltimore Colts and Houston Oilers.
Short-lived logos: the Bills' standing buffalo (through 1973), the Giants' lowercase "ny" (1961-74), the Bears' white wishbone C (orange from 1974) and the Broncos' pre-1968 bucking horse.
Champion labels crediting Rochester, N.Y. The company was based there until Sara Lee bought it in 1989, so the address fits this era but does not prove it.
Fiber content on the tag. U.S. law has required it on garments since 1960, so a 60s or 70s piece should still show one if the tag survives.
Throwback caution: the 1991 NFL Throwbacks Collection reissued old designs (Nutmeg Mills sweatshirts, Tiedman & Company jerseys), so a 60s look on a 90s tag is a reissue.
Mitchell & Ness began recreating vintage jerseys in 1983, starting with baseball and later adding football, so read the maker label on any "70s" jersey.
TV numbers on the sleeves were already common by the late 1950s (the Lions added them in 1956), so they do not date a jersey by themselves.

NO. 02 · WHO MADE IT

Mitchell & Ness — Philadelphia Eagles jerseys and equipment through the 1963 season
Champion — sweatshirts and hooded sweatshirts throughout the era; on-field jerseys for some NFL teams from the 1970s (the Jets' warm-weather jerseys from 1972)
Sand-Knit — on-field jerseys for some teams by the late 1970s (the Jets' cold-weather jerseys from 1978)

League moments that date gear

1960: the American Football League begins play, and the Dallas Cowboys join the NFL.
1963: NFL Properties is founded to license league and team marks; the AFL's Dallas Texans move and become the Kansas City Chiefs.
1966: the AFL and NFL announce their merger on June 8, and the Falcons and Dolphins play their first seasons.
1970: the two leagues formally merge into one NFL with two conferences.
1971: the Boston Patriots become the New England Patriots.
1976: the Giants move into Giants Stadium in New Jersey.

Tag-dating guide →

NO. 03 · BUYING GUIDES FOR THIS ERA