When the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers take the field Sunday, their jerseys will feature something we now take for granted: a Super Bowl logo patch. As has been the case for the past few seasons, this year's version is being produced by FiberLok, a Colorado company (so you know who they're rooting for) that uses a technology called Chromaflex. The result is a patch that looks much more modern than traditional embroidered cloth patches:
Close-up look at the Super Bowl 50 logo patch (h/t @roblmo). pic.twitter.com/11B9CX5GPY
— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) January 26, 2016
Good view of Super Bowl patch on Peyton Manning's jersey. pic.twitter.com/QJRxwxFJVx
— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) February 2, 2016
Here's the Panthers Super Bowl jersey with Super Bowl 50 patch #KeepPounding https://t.co/y5MAKqd138 pic.twitter.com/LMKCp1OUeu
— Cat Scratch Reader (@CatScratchReadr) January 29, 2016
We're used to seeing the Super Bowl having its own logo patch, but it wasn't always that way. The game's first logo patch didn't appear until Super Bowl XXV, and logo patches didn't become a standard part of the game until seven years after that. In fact, of the 100 teams to have participated in the first 50 Super Bowls, 53 of them -- mostly in the Super Bowl's early days, but also as recently as 1997 -- have worn no patches of any kind. Looking at photos or highlights from these games, there was no visual cue to indicate that it was anything other than a regular-season game.
With that in mind, here's a timeline of patches worn in the Super Bowl's first half-century -- team-related, league-related, Super Bowl-related and otherwise -- that should make you the most knowledgeable (or maybe just most annoying) person at your Super Bowl party:
Super Bowl IV, 1970
The last Super Bowl before the NFL-AFL merger is also the first one to feature jersey patches, as the Vikings and Chiefs wear patches marking their respective leagues' anniversaries -- 50th for the NFL (all NFL teams had worn this patch throughout the 1969 season) and 10th for the AFL (the Chiefs added this patch specifically for the Super Bowl).
First patches of any kind to be worn in a Super Bowl: The AFL and NFL league anniversary patches from SB IV. pic.twitter.com/ad6bHTqAIS
— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) January 29, 2016
Super Bowl X, 1976
With the Super Bowl serving as the first major sporting event of America's bicentennial year, the Cowboys and Steelers wear patches commemorating the occasion -- on the sleeve for Dallas and on the upper chest for Pittsburgh:
Super Bowl X was played in January of 1976, so the Cowboys and Steelers added bicentennial patches for the game. pic.twitter.com/eh5ZQzf0Ts
— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) January 29, 2016
Super Bowl XXI, 1987
After 10 patch-free years, jersey patches return to the Super Bowl thanks to the Giants' memorial patch for former defensive back Spider Lockhart. It is the first memorial patch in Super Bowl history, and one of only three such patches to appear in the game's first half-century:
First memorial patch worn in a Super Bowl: the Giants' Spider Lockhart patch in SB XXI. pic.twitter.com/VrHOq72fc8
— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) January 29, 2016
Super Bowl XXV, 1991
The game featuring the most famous missed field goal attempt in Super Bowl history also marks the debut of something we now assume as a given: a Super Bowl logo patch. What took them so long, right? The patch is to commemorate the game's 25th anniversary (sound familiar?) and is just a one-year thing, as the Super Bowl returns to patchless status the following season. It will be seven more years before teams once again wear the game's logo on their jerseys.
First Super Bowl logo patch didn't come until SB XXV in 1991, to mark the game's 25th anniversary. pic.twitter.com/VdHwgXslxW
— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) January 29, 2016
Super Bowl XXIX, 1995
In the 1994 season, all teams wear the NFL's 75th anniversary patch, with the 49ers and Chargers wearing it all the way to the Super Bowl. (Footnote: Many teams marked the league's anniversary by wearing throwback uniforms for several games -- the first throwbacks in NFL history, incidentally -- and the 49ers requested and received permission to keep wearing their throwbacks throughout the postseason. They remain the only team to have worn a throwback or alternate uniform in a Super Bowl.)
Chargers and 49ers wore NFL's 75th-anniversary patch in Super Bowl XXIX. (And Niners wore throwbacks!) pic.twitter.com/ybJBXOFu9v
— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) January 30, 2016
Super Bowl XXXII, 1998
The Super Bowl logo patch returns, this time for good. From here on, the game's logo is worn as a patch, almost always on the upper-left chest, every year.
Surprising but true: Wearing the Super Bowl logo as a patch didn't become a regular thing until SB XXXII in 1998. pic.twitter.com/vwQztOky3Y
— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) January 30, 2016
Super Bowl XL, 2006
The Steelers present a Super Bowl patch problem, because they already wear a team logo patch in the traditional upper-left chest slot. So they wear the Super Bowl patch on the other side, becoming the first team to do so, and the Seahawks keep their patch in the usual spot. (The Steelers will continue to wear the patch on the "wrong" side in Super Bowls XLIII and XLV.)
SB XL: Steelers already had team logo in traditional upper-left chest area. Wore SB patch on upper-right instead. pic.twitter.com/lYwaz9konm
— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) January 30, 2016
Super Bowl XLII, 2008
After the NFL institutes an optional system of captaincy patches for the 2007 season, the Giants become the first team whose Super Bowl patch has to share space with a captain's patch. The Patriots opt not to participate in the captaincy patch program:
SB XLII: Giants become 1st team w/ captaincy patches in Super Bowl. The patches are optional, Pats don't wear them. pic.twitter.com/SIXQooXous
— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) January 30, 2016
Super Bowl XLV, 2011
The era of distinct Super Bowl logos comes to a close, as the NFL introduces a standardized logo template featuring the Lombardi Trophy, which will be used for all subsequent Super Bowls. In addition, the league moves away from embroidered cloth patches, switching to a plastic, heat-sealed product. The Packers and Steelers become the first teams to wear the new design and the new patch format:
Super Bowl XLV: 1st year of plastic heat-sealed SB patch *and* 1st year of generic SB logo template. pic.twitter.com/ugqBw1Hrik
— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) February 1, 2016
Super Bowl XLVI, 2012
The second memorial patch in Super Bowl history appears, as the Patriots wear one honoring the late Myra Kraft, wife of team owner Robert Kraft. It's worn on the upper-left chest, forcing the Pats to move their Super Bowl logo patch to the opposite side:
Pats wore Myra Kraft memorial patch in Super Bowl XLVI, so SB logo patch moved to other side of jersey. pic.twitter.com/1By8Aafw7X
— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) February 1, 2016
Super Bowl XLVII, 2013
Another memorial patch appears, this time for former Ravens owner Art Model, once again pushing the Super Bowl logo patch to the right side of the jersey:
Most recent memorial patch worn in a Super Bowl was the Ravens' Art Modell patch in SB XLVII. pic.twitter.com/UWKfVgwUK1
— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) February 1, 2016
That brings us up to date, but here are a few footnotes: In Super Bowl XXXI, one season before Super Bowl logo patches became a standard thing, the Packers wore the game's logo on their neck bumpers. ... In that same game, the Packers and Pats both wore memorial helmet decals for former NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle, who had died about a month and a half before the game. ... Speaking of memorial helmet decals, the Dolphins wore "20" on their helmets during the 1984 season for former running back David Overstreet and continued wearing it in Super Bowl XIX.
Would you like to nominate a uniform to be showcased in a future Friday Flashback installment? Send your suggestions here.
Paul Lukas likes to ponder the patch pileup that would have happened if the 2014 Jaguars had made it to the Super Bowl. If you liked this column, you'll probably like his Uni Watch Blog, plus you can follow him on Twitter and Facebook. Want to learn about his Uni Watch Membership Program, be added to his mailing list so you'll always know when a new column has been posted or just ask him a question? Contact him here.