1973-74 Rams James Harris?

[Eric]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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)

[G1X]

aeneas01,

I also thought that they switched to solid numbers on their blue jerseys shortly into the 1973 season, but I ended up finding a few photos where it looks like they were probably wearing both the solid numbers and the trimmed style on their blue jerseys at times during the regular season. See Getty Image #76069624 from the 11/11/73 game against the Saints as Jim Bertelsen's jersey appears to have the white trim on the gold sleeve number.

I assumed that they were wearing only the solid gold number on their blue jerseys by 1974, but then I found a photo of reserve QB Don Milan in Getty Image #76095039 that is supposedly from the 12/9/74 Monday Night Game against Washington. Maybe it's just one of those unusual situations where they didn't have a #15 in the solid gold style, so they pulled out the style with the white trim.

Like you, I never recall the Rams white jerseys in that era having blue numbers with gold trim, and I have never found evidence of them wearing that style in either game photos or publicity pictures. Reviewing a Rams 1973 highlights video or searching the LA Times archives might be the only way to positively substantiate this belief.

Mark Hayne
Gridiron Exchange
gixc@verizon.net

[aeneas01]

aeneas01,

I also thought that they switched to solid numbers on their blue jerseys shortly into the 1973 season, but I ended up finding a few photos where it looks like they were probably wearing both the solid numbers and the trimmed style on their blue jerseys at times during the regular season. See Getty Image #76069624 from the 11/11/73 game against the Saints as Jim Bertelsen's jersey appears to have the white trim on the gold sleeve number.

I assumed that they were wearing only the solid gold number on their blue jerseys by 1974, but then I found a photo of reserve QB Don Milan in Getty Image #76095039 that is supposedly from the 12/9/74 Monday Night Game against Washington. Maybe it's just one of those unusual situations where they didn't have a #15 in the solid gold style, so they pulled out the style with the white trim.

Like you, I never recall the Rams white jerseys in that era having blue numbers with gold trim, and I have never found evidence of them wearing that style in either game photos or publicity pictures. Reviewing a Rams 1973 highlights video or searching the LA Times archives might be the only way to positively substantiate this belief.

Mark Hayne
Gridiron Exchange
gixc@verizon.net

i believe that what you are seeing in the bertelsen and milan photos is nothing more than a reflection caused by the raised edges of the fabric numbers - this reflection, causing a "trim-like " effect, is even more pronounced in b&w photos such as the milan & bertelsen photos you referenced.

as far as the actual "trim-numbered" jerseys are concerned, i believe that only the front and back numbers were trimmed in white, not the sleeve numbers. looking at the mccutheon media photo posted above i think two things are apparent - that the sleeve numbers do not have a white trim (looking at lc's left sleeve number) and that the sleeve numbers do cause a reflection giving the appearance of some sort of trim (looking at lc's right sleeve number).

there are quite a few photos in circulation from the rams' 1973 and 1974 regular seasons in which even the front and back numbers appear to be trimmed in white - especially in b&w photos. but the "trim-like" effect in these photos is caused by the rams' use of fabric numbers during those years, not by actual trim - both the raised edges of the numbers and the sheen of the fabric contribute to the effect. i have not seen any evidence that the rams used the "trim-numbered" jerseys other than in media photos and the first couple of 1973 preseason games. looking at post-1974 photos of the rams, after they quit the use of fabric numbers, the "trim-like" effect is no longer evident.

here's a good example of the the reflection at work as far as the sleeve numbers concerned - the rams' tackler on the left appears to have sleeve numbers trimmed in white but the tackler on the right does not.




another good example of reflections caused by the sheen and raised edges of the fabric numbers.



and another.



here's a better photo, without the watermark, of the milan image you mentioned.



and a 1975 photo from when the rams stopped using fabric numbers.

[commando]

So, no pictures have been found (so far) for these kinds of trimmed numbers on a white jersey with yellow sleeves. If this were a common lineman's jersey, I'd be scratching my head. But being that it's a quarterbacks jersey, I'd tend to believe that it is a unique salesman's sample. Sand Knit loved using quarterbacks on their samples.

[RKGIBSON]

Here is a couple of photos of a '73 John Hadl jersey that I had years ago.


Where can I find 1986 preseason game photos or videos? It has been impossible for me to even find who played who.


Great stuff here.

Roger

[G1X]

aeneas01,

Thanks for the insight. Your McCutcheon photo and Roger's photo of his Hadl jersey clearly show that the trim was only on the front and back numbers, and not on the sleeve numbers as I had previously believed.

You make a good point about the reflection of the raised edges of the solid gold numbers creating a "trim-like" effect in certain photos. I was always fooled by this perception when observing certain photos such as the one you posted of #32 and others that we referenced. The stitching probably lends to the "trim-like" effect as well, especially if the thread is a lighter shade of gold.

Thanks for your postings to set me straight on this issue, and thanks to Roger for posting the Hadl photos which was also helpful.

Mark Hayne
Gridiron Exchange
gixc@verizon.net