Bentley Library | MGOBLUE | UM Football History | Uniforms, 1879-1899 | Uniforms 1900-1949 | Uniforms 190-1979
Michigan Football Uniforms, 1879-1899
The Michigan Chronicle of May 31, 1879 reported that "On Wednesday evening the eleven appeared on campus for the first time in their new suits. They presented quite a neat appearance. The uniform is of white canvas, close fitting, with blue stockings and belt."
The team's uniform's remained essentially the same for the next several years, though there were some differences in the way the shirt laced up or buttoned and in the type of collar. Each team did have different style of hat.
The 188 team was the first to pose in a "letter sweater" with a M monogram. One of the players is wearing a jersey with the monogram drawn on it, while one of the sweaters has a mystery logo (or could it be a sweater turned inside out to hide a different monogram.) There is no known 1886 team photo, but the 1887 photo shows stitched on ' U of M" lettering on the canvas shirt, except for the two with the hand drawn "U of M"
The 1888 uniform included a simple "M" monogram that would be used for several years and for the first time several players posed in striped sweaters. In later years some players would wear these sweaters under a sleeveless canvass vest.
it might be stretch to say the 1889 team had "uniform", since four distinct variations appear in the team photo. The quilted, padded pants made their first appearance in the 1889 photo.
1890 captain William Malley wore one of the sleeveless vests that would be a standard part of uniforms for the next 20 years. Others wore a mix of uniform styles, some dating back several years, with at least four different versions of the "M".
In the 1891 team photo the varsity letter winners wore a white sweater bearing an early version of a Block M.
1984, Bert Carr
By 1892, the sleeveless vest over a dark jersey (blue?) was the most common uniform, though there is some variety within that style. Striped socks were an innovation in1892, along with a dark letter sweater with a maize (or white?) M and collar and cuffs. .
The 1894 team's letter sweater sported an oversize version of a Block M.
James Hooper, 1895
Jesse Grant Yount, 1895
Giovanni Villa,1895
.Three variants of uniforms from 1895. The quilted pants and sleeveless vest were now standard. It is not clear if the monogrammed jersey was typically worn under the vest. The vest itself usually did not contain any type of monogram or marking.
1895 Henry Senter
1896, Giovanni Villa
1898, William Cunningham
The 1895 letter sweater had a block M that was beginning to look like the modern "M", but variants were still in use, as Villa, Cunningham, Michigan's first All-American, and the 1897 team photo the attest.
Fred "Pa" Henninger, captain of the 1896 team, modeled the classic end-of- the-century uniform in an 1896 team photo, complete with cap with stylized UM logo. Two early examples of shoulder pads from 1896 and 1898 team photos foreshadow changes that were to come in the new century.
Football Shoes, 1879, 1887
[crops from team photos]
/Football Shoes, 1881, 1894
By the late 1890s a variety of primitive head gear had begun to be used. The 1898 Alumni Team photo includes several examples. The football helmet is said to have been invented by George Barclay of Lafayette College in 1896, Similar in design to the helmets pictured above, it made its debut in Lafayette's game against Penn on October 28, 1896.
The 1879 team sported a rather stylish shoe, but the next year the more familiar black high-top appeared. It would be the basic model for years, but there were some variations and a few players wore footwear that was more boot-like. Judging from team photos, most shoes remained smooth-soled into the early 1890s, although a few players wore shoes with exaggerated tread or a sort of proto-cleat.
Another piece of optional protective gear appeared in the late 1890s--the rubber nose guard.. Patented in 1891 by the Morrill company, it was touted in the 1902 Spalding catalog as being "made of the finest rubber" and providing "absolute protection for the nose and teeth" The guard was never widely adopted by Michigan players. The bottom image is a player from the famous Carlisle Indian School team that played the Wolverines in Detroit in 1901. [Good game action photos of payers wearing the nose guard are hard to come by. The linked picture, with the 1901 Carlisle Indians on offense, shows at least two Wolverine defenders wearing a guard.]