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In the past few months, the San Francisco 49ers have unveiled a new jersey scheme for the 2022 season: a red and white classically-inspired jersey, bringing back classic elements such as the Saloon font and the white three-striped sleeve.
These elements have been a fan favorite of 49ers fans, as they brought back memories of the 80s and 90s era when the team’s jerseys and the team became most famous and successful.
Elements of The Current Jersey
The current San Francisco 49ers jersey features the comeback of two beloved classics: the 49ers Saloon Watermark and the Three-stripe sleeves.
The Saloon font logo was released in 1972, and the “49ers” wordmark is currently below the neckline of the franchise’s jersey. It is the 49ers’ primary wordmark in the 80s and 90s era, when they won their five super bowls (1981, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1994). Fans most likely look into this era with nostalgia, which is why the franchise decided to make it return for a classier look.
Meanwhile, the three-stripe sleeves return after being replaced by a two-stripe look for five years. The design dates back to the foundation of the San Francisco 49ers, and is therefore a callback to its olden days.
Colors throughout History
Throughout franchise history, the San Francisco 49ers have donned a classic mix of red, white, and gold. The team would wear cardinal red for home games, and would primarily wear white for away games.
The original uniform of the franchise was a plain red jersey with white text, paired with white pants. The three-striped white sleeve was added with the team’s admission to the NFL in 1950. While this was the base design of their jersey, it would change on a fairly regular basis throughout the 50s. For example, a drop shadow effect was added to the jersey numbers in 1955, and their pants were striped red for the 1956 season.
Gold was first added to the jersey in 1957, through their helmets. While gold had already been part of their logo back then (representing the 1849 gold rush), this was one of the first times they had incorporated the color into their jersey. The color was standardized first in the 1960s when the silver elements of their jersey were changed into a more standard gold color. A standard jersey with red, white, and gold colors would be worn until 1988, representing the “classical” era of the jersey.
The biggest change to the jersey colors would come in 2015, when the team for the first time unveiled an alternate jersey scheme as opposed to a throwback scheme, donning primarily black and red jerseys. It took five years, due to the NFL’s five-year policy on jersey changes, but the San Francisco 49ers did change back the jersey scheme to the classical red and white we see today.
Fans seem to enjoy the change back to red and white, which calls back to that classical era from the 60s to the 80s, with positive sentiment about the jersey being echoed through social media.
Summary
The San Francisco 49ers have unveiled a new red and white jersey scheme for the 2022 season, which features classic elements such as the Saloon font and the three-striped sleeve. This has been a fan favorite among 49ers fans, as it brings back memories of the team’s successful 80s and 90s era.
The jersey also features the return of two beloved classics: the 49ers Saloon Watermark and the Three-stripe sleeves. Colors throughout history have varied, but red, white, and gold have always been at the heart of the franchise’s design. The most recent change came in 2015 when the team switched to primarily black and red jerseys, but changed back to red and white in 2020. Fans seem to enjoy the