Throwback Uniforms: Boston Patriots (1963)
In a 2009 AFL legacy game, the New England Patriots came out in their old uniforms from back when they played in Boston -- and not in Foxborough as they do now. The Pats looked pretty out of place against the Buffalo Bills, and it wasn’t just the red jerseys; Buffalo actually had them on the ropes with less than 2:30 to go in regulation. They had a seemingly-insurmountable 24-13 lead, but thanks to a pair of late touchdowns by Tom Brady and a huge botched kickoff reception by Leodis McKelvin, New England somehow escaped with a 25-24 win.
How good did the Pats look in their old school duds? Click on the jump to find out...
The Patriots, one of the original AFL teams, played all of their games in the 1960's in Boston. When they merged into the NFL, the Patriots spent just another year in beantown before moving to Foxborough. With the move, the team renamed itself the "New England Patriots."
There are several aspects of the old Pats jerseys that are very, very retro. For one thing, you almost never see a team in a red outfit with blue trim -- in fact, the Patriots' modern uniforms have the exact opposite scheme. Red is such a strong color that it stands out better as an alternate color with blue as the main.
The other vintage aspect is the logo on the helmets -- the Pats' mascot: "Pat Patriot." Teams simply do not use human beings as their logo, not unless they have a circle or something around it. A standalone human just doesn't cut it anymore.
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This game was the first one Tom Brady had played in in over a year, when he suffered a season-ending injury against the Kansas City Chiefs. Brady looked fine, completing 39 of 53 passes while passing for 378 yards. Most importantly, Brady stepped it up when he had to. He went 12-14 on the final two drives and recorded his 29th career comeback victory.
Overall:
New England’s old uniforms stuck to the red-white-and-blue theme that they had to have with a name like the Patriots. Currently, their main colors are dark blue and gray, so it’s pretty odd seeing them in bright red. Nonetheless, the old stuff wasn’t bad at all -- they’re certainly not as awful some of the other ones out there.
Final Grades:
Classic Patriots home uniform: B
Photos taken by Jim Rogash, Getty Images
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