Michigan Football Uniforms, 1879-1979
A Michigan Uniform Timeline
Created by Dunham and Barr for the 2004 season poster, marking 125 years of Michigan football.
The Maize and Blue, the Winged Helmet, the Block M -- the iconic symbols of Michigan football are recognized by fans and non-fans around the world. The familiar modern symbols evolved over time, reflecting both general trends in the development of football and some specifically Michigan customs and innovations. And the changes, both subtle and not-so-subtle continue. Follow the above links for a more detailed look at the evolution of the Michigan uniform.
The site was prepared using photos and other material from the Bentley Historical Library's resources, including records of the Athletic Department, Rentschler Photography Studio, U-M News and Information Service, U-M Alumni Association, the Michiganensian and other collections. The site does not pretend to be an exhaustive chronicle of changes and variations in the Michigan football uniform and some of the conclusions presented are tentative. There are, we're sure, individuals with more detailed knowledge of the uniforms of a certain era or of a particular piece of of the uniform. We would welcome comments and suggestions. Above all we hope the site proves entertaining and instructive for both the casual and serious Wolverine fan.
Uniform Timeline Caption
L-R: David DeTarr*, 1879; James Hooper, 1895, Clayton Teetzel, 1899; Tom Hammond, 1905, 1900; David Allerdice, 1908; Adolph "Germany" Schulz, 1907; Albert Benbrook, 1910;
Archie Weston, 1918; Harry Kipke, 1923; Bennie Oosterbaan, 1927, Gerald Ford, 1934, Willis Ward, 1934, Tom Harmon, 1940, Alvin Wistert, 1948; Ron Kramer, 1956; Ron Johnson, 1968; Reggie McKenzie, 1971, Rick Leach, 1978, Anthony Carter, 1982, Erick Anderson, 1991; Desmond Howard, 1992: Brian Griese, 1997; Charles Woodson, 1997, Jon Jansen, 1997, Tom Brady, 1999, Chris Perry, 2001
--------------------------------------------
* The graphics firm of Dunham and Barr produced game program covers, team posters, tickets and other artwork for the Athletic Department for many years. This graphic was created for the 2004 team poster and was used on the home game tickets. All of the player images, with one exception, are from original photographs-- though some black&white originals ware colorized. The exception is David DeTarr, captain of the 1879 team, at the far left. There are no known individual photos of any 1879 team members in uniform and in the 1879 team photo all players are sitting or partially obscured. To get a suitable image, a Dunham and Barr employee modeled one of the replica uniforms Millie Schembechler had made for the 1979 football centennial celebration. DeTarr's head was "cut and pasted" from the team photo into a photo of the model.