Notre Dame Football: Irish Unveil New Uniforms, Break with Storied Tradition

This season will be remembered for a lot of things, and uniform changes are one of them. There were some horrible-looking uniforms and some interesting changes as well.

One of the schools that chose to switch up their fashion wear was the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Many believe that a school with this much history should stick to what they normally go with and stop trying to become like the other schools. Some liked the changes, others didn't.

But this isn't the first time the Irish have switched up their fashion statements. In fact, they have went through several uniform changes over the years.

Let's take a look at some of the stuff the Irish use to wear.

You can see more of the tradition of the Irish uniforms here.

First Football Uniform

These uniforms were worn in 1887 when Notre Dame had their first ever football game. The Irish ended up losing to the Michigan Wolverines by a score of 8-0. As you can see, these uniforms are all white with blue lettering across the chest.

Personally, I believe these are more baseball uniforms than football. 

1900

Once the baseball-style uniforms didn't work, Notre Dame went with a completely different look. These uniforms debuted in 1900 when Pat O’Dea was the head coach, and they finished the year 6-3-1.

These uniforms were very basic, featuring a very plain Navy top and brown pants. Of course, back then, the helmet was made out of leather as well.

1930s

These uniforms debuted in the late 1930s, and as you can see, they are similar to the ones worn 30 years earlier. But this time they feature the numbers on the front and added some white to the plain Navy blue top. Although, the white stripes across the shoulders did not last long.

You can also notice a blue stripe across the helmet was added as well.

As the uniforms began looking better, the team began to play better as well. They finished the 1938 season with a record of 8-1 and finished in the top five of the AP Poll.

1943

We finally have a uniform that we're somewhat similar with.

The green uniform had been worn before by coaches before the 1940s, but 1943 was the first time players ever worn the uniform. This style of uniform was worn off and on throughout the 1963 season. 

Notice the the metallic gold helmet also. Although it's believed that these debuted during the Frank Leahy era, many players still chose to wear the leather helmets into the 1950s.

1962

Although the Irish didn't have much success this season, finishing 5-5, they sure looked better. These uniforms were huge improvements and a big change from just 60 years prior. They went with more of the modern-day colors and even added a shamrock to the helmet. 

The shamrock had its issues, though, as it used to be upside down on the helmet for a while. Awkward much?

1963

Just to show you all of the changes this program went through to try and get it right, look at these uniforms. In 1963, Notre Dame went from green uniforms to white and removed the shoulder stripes. They also removed the shamrock and added numbers similar to Alabama's helmets.

This was when Hugh Devorce was the head coach, and he only lasted one season after a 2-7 finish. So did these uniforms.

1970s

Another drastic change for Notre Dame came in the 70s as the program switched to blue uniforms. The sleeves included a gold stripe, and the uniforms were plain metallic gold.

These may not look like the traditional Irish uniforms you're use to seeing, but in 1973, they finished undefeated and won the championship wearing these.

1987

Maybe Notre Dame should switch to these uniforms because the last time won the championship was when they wore these. These debuted when head coach Lou Holtz took over. He took the numbers off the shoulder pads and went with these stylish uniforms.

In 100 years, Notre Dame had come a very long way with what their players wore on the gridiron.

Now

These are now the type of uniforms you can catch Notre Dame wearing these days. Nothing too flashy, but they look good at the same time. You can say what you want when it comes to how the Irish play on the football field, but these uniforms aren't that bad at all.

When Adidas Has Their Input

This is how Notre Dame looks when Adidas gets to put their twist on the tradition. The helmets are extremely flashy and bright, with a bright green shamrock on the sides. In fact, they're so bright, it may give the receivers an excuse for why they drop the ball at times.

Many will disagree with the style of the uniforms, but they have to get used to it. This new craze helps recruiting believe it or not, so it is here to stay.

It's also nothing new with Notre Dame. As you can see, they've gone through several uniform changes in their long history.

Randy Chambers is a B/R Featured Columnist that covers college football and the NFL. You can contact him @Randy_Chambers or [e-mail]