Black Out! History of black Rutgers uniforms from 1920-2015.

[Scarlet_Scourge]

Not sure how many people know this or not, but Rutgers was the 1st school to ever wear black alt jerseys way back in 1920 when we played Nebraska. Rutgers went on to wear black jerseys for special games for the years afterwards until this tradition was dropped.

Rutgers tried black pants with a red jersey in the 1990's, but didn't go full black jerseys and black pants until the 2000's. It was during this time that the annual black out game was created.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

Not sure how many people know this or not, but Rutgers was the 1st school to ever wear black alt jerseys way back in 1920 when we played Nebraska. Rutgers went on to wear black jerseys for special games for the years afterwards until this tradition was dropped.

Rutgers tried black pants with a red jersey in the 1990's, but didn't go full black jerseys and black pants until the 2000's. It was during this time that the annual black out game was created.

That uniform was beyond awful.

 

[Source]

Not sure how many people know this or not, but Rutgers was the 1st school to ever wear black alt jerseys way back in 1920 when we played Nebraska. Rutgers went on to wear black jerseys for special games for the years afterwards until this tradition was dropped. Rutgers tried black pants with a red jersey in the 1990's, but didn't go full black jerseys and black pants until the 2000's. It was during this time that the annual black out game was created.

Rutgers only wore black jerseys in the 1920 Nebraska game at the Polo Grounds as a courtesy to the Cornhuskers who showed up in their red jerseys. Not really sure if that was a first in college football. The black jerseys were Rutgers practice jerseys. Rutgers also thought of them as a "jinx" and only wore black for a game in 1928 and 1932 and talked about breaking the "jinx" (which they did). There was nothing traditional about it.

And they also wore scarlet jerseys and black pants in the mid-1930s. It was also not a good look and changed a season or two afterwards.

 

[Scarlet_Scourge]

Rutgers only wore black jerseys in the 1920 Nebraska game at the Polo Grounds as a courtesy to the Cornhuskers who showed up in their red jerseys. Not really sure if that was a first in college football. The black jerseys were Rutgers practice jerseys. Rutgers also thought of them as a "jinx" and only wore black for a game in 1928 and 1932 and talked about breaking the "jinx" (which they did). There was nothing traditional about it.

And they also wore scarlet jerseys and black pants in the mid-1930s. It was also not a good look and changed a season or two afterwards.

I couldn't find any other story about a team wearing a black jersey when that wasn't their normal color before that game, so I am just going with us being the 1st until proven otherwise.

It depends on how you define traditional, I was being very loose with the term

I didn't know about the black pants to in 30's.

 

[Scarlet16e2]

I say who cares how it came about. Since we wore black jerseys prior to anyone else. Let's own it!
Makes our blackout game tradition more meaningful than the johnny come lately's like Oregon and even tOSU now.

 

[Scarlet16e2]

Truth is, because we have been playing so long we have done nearly everything before everyone else:
- First Game
- First Win
- First colored headgear (scarlet bandannas)
- First numbers on shirts
- First night game
- First indoor game (old MSG)
now we add - First to wear black alt jerseys.


What am I missing?

 

[Bagarocks]

So yer sayin we got another first on sumpthin. First Game first to wear black jerseys yada yada yada

I'd much rather see, be, say, first in the B1G or in the Country and give back all those #1's

 

[e5fdny]

Truth is, because we have been playing so long we have done nearly everything before everyone else:
- First Game
- First Win
- First colored headgear (scarlet bandannas)
- First numbers on shirts
- First night game
- First indoor game (old MSG)
now we add - First to wear black alt jerseys.


What am I missing?

Helmet stickers?

 

[Source]

Maybe I'm confusing it with something else, but didn't Rutgers follow someone else (perhaps WVU or others?) in that "black uniforms" look? Was Rutgers really the first to do that in the last 25 years?

 

[PiscatawayMike]

That uniform was beyond awful.

 

[Scarlet16e2]

Maybe I'm confusing it with something else, but didn't Rutgers follow someone else (perhaps WVU or others?) in that "black uniforms" look? Was Rutgers really the first to do that in the last 25 years?

No, several others have done the black uni thing before us in recent times.
But if we wore black jerseys for a game 90-100 years ago, then we invented it.

 

[e5fdny]

Not sure what I hate more....

the shadow lettering (I loathe that on anything) or the RU on the sleeve.

Never really had an issue with the Rutgers with the sword for the "t". And I liked the black facemask along with the black stripe on the helmet.

 

[Scarlet_Scourge]

Truth is, because we have been playing so long we have done nearly everything before everyone else:
- First Game
- First Win
- First colored headgear (scarlet bandannas)
- First numbers on shirts
- First night game
- First indoor game (old MSG)
now we add - First to wear black alt jerseys.


What am I missing?

- First tailgate
- First night game
- First school have game recorded. Thomas Edison was involved.

 

[RUMcMahon]

I always liked the Rutgers with sword T helmet. Uniform isn't that bad, RU on the sleeve was bad.