1973-74 Rams James Harris?

[Eric]

I was looking at the Bricol listing for
JAMES HARRIS LOS ANGELES RAMS 1973-1974 GAME USED ROAD JERSEY
Couple of things caught my eye. When did the rams use two toned numbers like this.





I will post photos of the white jerseys the rams wore in 73-74

Also, the Lampson description is odd.
HARRIS and 12 on the back of this white mesh jersey. 12 on the front and each sleeve. Bottom tail has been cut. Royal blue and yellow tackle twill. Has a small repair mark on the right upper chest. Designed & Tailored Exclusively for the Los Angeles Rams NFC Medalist Sand-Knit tag from slightly later period has been reapplied to front left tail. Show solid game use. Lou Lampson LOA!

[Eric]

Re: 1973-74 Rams James Harris?

73-74 rams



not saying it is fake, just can't find this style...

[mvandor]

Re: 1973-74 Rams James Harris?

Old L.A. Rams fan and I honestly do not recall those two tone numerals ever being worn. Sleeves and collar don't matchup with Eric's pics either, and the tag looks darned fresh and new to me.

[both-teams-played-hard]

Re: 1973-74 Rams James Harris?

I've never seen sewn-on tackle twill numbers on any Sand Knit Rams jersey. I've never seen 2-tone numbers in a post-70s Rams jersey.
This Sand Knit tag is newer than 1973 or 1974. I didn't think it was used until 1976.

The 70s Rams have heat-pressed vinyl numerals.

[both-teams-played-hard]

Re: 1973-74 Rams James Harris?

Designed & Tailored Exclusively for the Los Angeles Rams NFC Medalist Sand-Knit tag from slightly later period has been reapplied to front left tail.

I did not notice this line when I first read the description. Tag has also been re-applied incorrectly. Tag should be sewn on left and right sides ONLY; not top and bottom. Note to readers...if a tag has EVER been re-sewn...then the deal is blown...

[jdr3]

Re: 1973-74 Rams James Harris?

I agree with the fact that I cannot recall the Rams using two tone numerals. The other thing about this jersey is that I have a few football and basketball related items with this type of tag, which was used from roughly 1976- the early 80s, and on each item the tag is glued on.

[both-teams-played-hard]

Re: 1973-74 Rams James Harris?

The other thing about this jersey is that I have a few football and basketball related items with this type of tag, which was used from roughly 1976- the early 80s, and on each item the tag is glued on.

I have seen the tags (size/exclusive) glued on and some, sewn on.

[jdr3]

Re: 1973-74 Rams James Harris?

Warren,

Good to know for future reference.

Thanks.

[G1X]

Re: 1973-74 Rams James Harris?

Gentlemen,

I have no comment on the particular James Harris jersey in question, but I would like to shed some light on Rams jerseys from that era.

The Rams first changed to the ram-horn insert style in 1973. The blue jerseys originally had two-toned "sewn-on" numbers that were gold trimmed in white. This can be seen in numerous photos of the era in magazines, Getty Images, TOPPS football cards, etc.




This style seems to be very short-lived as they can be seen wearing the solid gold numbers by 1974.

Logic would dictate that the Rams would have had a white jersey style that correlated with the blue jersey style. In other words, a white jersey with blue sewn-on numbers trimmed in gold. However, I have researched this issue in the past and have never been able to find a photograph that substantiates the Rams wearing a white jersey with blue numbers trimmed in white.

Perhaps they had a set and never wore them. This wouldn't be the first time this happened. In 1968, the Falcons had a black jersey with trim on the sleeve cuffs (no sleeve stripes and no Falcon logo) that can be seen in plenty of TOPPS photos but not in any game action photos. Then there are the infamous 1984 Cleveland Browns white jerseys with orange numbers that were never worn (documented in several articles including USA Today).

Perhaps the Rams had a set and wore them, but the gold trim simply does not show up in photographs. Or, maybe they never had a set and only salesmen samples exist. Who knows without concrete photo evidence. Perhaps there are Rams collectors out there or someone with knowledge of the Rams equipment staff who can provide facts, photos, or details.

Mark Hayne
Gridiron Exchange
gixc@verizon.net

[G1X]

Re: 1973-74 Rams James Harris?

Sorry for the bit of confusion. In the last sentence of the third paragraph from the bottom, I should have said "blue numbers trimmed in gold".

Mark Hayne
Gridiron Exchange
gixc@verizon.net

[Eric]

Re: 1973-74 Rams James Harris?

Mark-
Good info as always. Question- on that rare style, what do the sleeve numbers look like on that style? do they have the trim as well?

[G1X]

Re: 1973-74 Rams James Harris?

Eric,
The sleeve numbers are the typical block style, and they appear to be gold trimmed in white. I have never owned this particular style of Rams blue jersey, and I've always had difficulty finding a good photo of the sleeve numbers.

Regarding the questioned Doug Williams jersey, it wouldn't make sense to have gold trim on the sleeve numbers as it would "disappear" into the gold sleeve fabric.

Upon further research, it looks like the Rams were still wearing solid gold "sewn-on" numbers in 1974, and perhaps some of the players were wearing the white trim style as well. I found a photo where it looks like Harris is wearing "screened-on" numbers while others in the photo have "sewn-on" numbers. Making matters even more confusing, there appears to be photo evidence that the Rams were wearing the solid gold numbers ("sewn-on" numbers with no trim) at times during games in 1973.

jdr3,
If you have photos or video of the 'Skins December 9, 1974 Monday Night game at LA or the playoff game against the Rams later that month, check it out and let us know your thoughts. Photos I have seen show Rams players in sewn-on numbers, and it looks like some have the trim.

Rams collectors or vintage jersey collectors, please help us out if you have any '73 or '74 Rams jerseys, or have background information on them.

Thanks,

Mark Hayne
Gridiron Exchange
gixc@verizon.net

[genius]

Re: 1973-74 Rams James Harris?

This was mentioned in this thread...the infamous 1984 Cleveland Browns brown-with-orange-numerals jerseys WERE worn one time, in the preseason opener against the Steelers at Cleveland Stadium. I remember it vividly.

[G1X]

Re: 1973-74 Rams James Harris?

genius,

Yes, you are correct, Cleveland wore brown jerseys with orange numbers and off-set white trim in their opening 1984 preseason game at home against the Steelers on August 4 (see photos below). As mentioned in my previous post, the white jerseys with orange numbers were never worn.

The Browns made the decision to change styles in 1984 and wear orange numbers on both their home and road jerseys. There was also a change in the sleeve stripes as well. Because the orange numbers were difficult to read from the pressbox and stands in that opening preseason game, the Browns quickly decided to can the orange number scheme before the white jerseys were ever worn.

The Browns ended up wearing a one-year style that season in which the brown jerseys had white numbers trimmed in orange, and the white jerseys had brown numbers trimmed in orange. They stuck with the sleeve stripe design that were on the ill-fated jerseys. See Getty Image #73843821 for a good shot of the regular-season brown jersey, and Getty Image #76519090 for a look at the white regular-season jersey.

Below are photos of a notorious one-game brown jersey that used to be in my collection. I don't have any photos of the never-worn white jerseys, but they can be found in the hobby.

Mark Hayne
Gridiron Exchange
gixc@verizon.net

[aeneas01]

Re: 1973-74 Rams James Harris?

i've been a lifelong rams fan and, fwiw, here are my thoughts on the jersey:

1) harris joined the rams midway through the '72 season and wore number 11, not 12, in '72 & '73. from '74 on he wore 12.

2) i believe that the "outlined number" jerseys were introduced in 1973 when the rams switched from blue & white to blue & packer gold. i also believe that these jerseys were only worn for 1973 media photos and just a couple of preseason games and then shelved forever.

3) if i'm correct in that the rams only wore the outlined number jerseys during '73 media photos and a couple of '73 preseason games, then the jersey most likely didn't belong to harris because he didn't wear number 12 at the time. further, as can be seen in the photos below, it doesn't appear that the rams ever wore "road" (white) jerseys with trim which makes it even more unlikely that the jersey in question once belonged to harris.

4) the rams' '73 preseason schedule was: h/dal, h/cle, a/oak, a/mia, h/sdg and h/sfo.


1973 media guide photo of harris (number 11)


1973 media guide photo of mccutcheon


first preseason game of '73 season - in l.a. vs cowboys (trim)


second preseason game of '73 season - in l.a. vs browns (trim)


another photo of second preseason game of '73 season vs browns (trim)


third preseason game of '73 seasons - on the road against raiders (no trim)


another photo of third preseason game of '73 season against raiders (no trim)


final preseason game of '73 season - in l.a. vs niners (no trim)