When the Denver Broncos take on the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50 on Sunday night, the players will be decked out in the latest technology: super-lightweight pads, moisture-wicking jerseys and radio-equipped helmets. That wasn’t always the case. As these photos show, football uniforms have come a long way from the heavy sweaters and baggy pants of the sport’s early days.
Some of the evolution has been driven by innovation: In the 1920s, one new idea was to have players wear silk pants, on the thought that they were lighter than other options—or, on the other side of the spectrum, to have players wear shoulder pads reinforced with sheet metal, an innovation of the famed Jim Thorpe. In the 1940s, walkie-talkie-type helmets were patented, to let coaches speak directly in players’ ears. And, for the lastfewdecades, protecting players from head trauma has been the top priority—not that early football games weren’t dangerous too.
The NFL on the Cover of TIME
Nov. 29, 1954: Bobby Layne, Detroit LionsTIMENov. 30, 1959: Sam Huff, New York GiantsTIMENov. 26, 1965: Jimmy Brown, Cleveland BrownsTIMEJan. 17, 1972: Roger Staubach, Dallas Cowboys, and Bob Griese, Miami DolphinsTIMEOct. 16, 1972: Joe Namath, New York JetsTIMEDec. 8, 1975: Ernie Holmes, Joe Green, L.C. Greenwood and Dwight White, Pittsburgh SteelersTIMEJan. 25, 1982: Joe Montana, San Francisco 49ersTIMEJan. 27, 1986: "Refrigerator" Perry and Walter Payton, Chicago BearsTIMEPrinceton University championship football team. Circa 1885.Sports Studio Photos—Getty ImagesGlenn "Pop" Warner was a famous college football coach who had 319 major NCAA wins during his 44 year long career. Here he is seen wearing his football uniform during the time he was a player on the Cornell University football team. Circa 1894.Bettmann/CorbisUniversity of Minnesota football players standing outdoors in the Hyde Park community area of Chicago, circa 1904. Chicago History Museum—Getty ImagesTwo offensive lineman from Columbia University, Healy and Brown, run straight at the camera, Sept. 21, 1916.CorbisFootball Players Red Grange and Earl Britton, 1925. Bettmann/CorbisGeorge Halas, player/coach of the Chicago Bears, 1933.AS400 DB—CorbisNotre Dame's Angelo Bartelli, 1943.Bettmann/CorbisNew York Giants quarterback Charlie Conerly (right), attempts to assist his teammate, halfback Kyle Rote, by untangling the back of his jersey that has gotten caught in his shoulder pad, circa 1950s.Robert Riger—Getty ImagesDallas Texans Dick Szymanski, 1965. William Greene—Sports Studio Photos/Getty ImagesUniversity of Toledo QB Chuck Ealey (16) putting on shoulder pads in the locker room before practice at Glass Bowl. Toledo, Ohio, Oct. 1, 1971.
Tony Tomsic—Sports Illustrated/Getty ImagesMike Webster of the Pittsburgh Steelers adjusts his shoulder pads during a practice in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, circa 1989.Hank Young—The Sporting News/Getty ImagesNY Giants Michael Strahan, 1998.Kimberly Butler—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty ImagesMatt Moore of the Carolina Panthers readjusts his shoulder pad during a game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on December 13, 2009 in Foxboro, Mass. Jim Rogash—Getty ImagesCloseup view of RFID player-tracking technology chip on shoulder pads from Zebra Technologies, in Holtsville, N.Y., Sept. 30, 2015.
Michael J. LeBrecht II—Sports Illustrated/Getty Images
