Home and Away colours

McGuillicuddy

Registered User
Sep 6, 2005
1,296
198
I remember when I was a kid the home team always wore white, and the visiting team wore their darks/colours. Somewhere along the line that has changed (2003-2004 according to Wikipedia, but I thought it was earlier than that) so now the home team wears their colours and the visitor is in white.

Does anybody recall why the system was set the way it was, and why they bothered to change it? I always liked it better with the home team in white but I don't have a logical explanation for the preference :).
 

MountainHawk

Registered User
Sep 29, 2005
12,771
0
Salem, MA
I thought historically, it was the way it was now, somewhere along the way it got switched, and now it is switched back.

Realistically, the only reason for the light/dark split was for black and white photos and TV. Now that it's no longer really an issue, there is no reason to not have the Flyers play in orange and the Rangers in blue, and save the white jersey for the road team when there is a conflict. (No reason, other than to make sure you can sell more jersey colors, I guess)
 

heutZe

Registered User
Sep 15, 2010
1,401
0
Norway
Completely agree that white jerseys look more home-ish in the NHL.

Several teams simply look out of place with dark home jerseys:

Avalanche
Penguins
Bruins
Sabres
Stars to name a few.
 

mrhockey193195

Registered User
Nov 14, 2006
6,512
1,997
Denver, CO
Completely agree that white jerseys look more home-ish in the NHL.

Several teams simply look out of place with dark home jerseys:

Avalanche
Penguins
Bruins
Sabres
Stars to name a few.


For me, the most jarring one is the Red Wings...which seems odd, since they are an O6 team and obviously played through the era of colors at home...but for whatever reason (probably because I grew up in the 90s with the Red Wings on ESPN), they look so strange in red at the Joe.
 

arrbez

bad chi
Jun 2, 2004
13,352
261
Toronto
I thought historically, it was the way it was now, somewhere along the way it got switched, and now it is switched back.

Realistically, the only reason for the light/dark split was for black and white photos and TV. Now that it's no longer really an issue, there is no reason to not have the Flyers play in orange and the Rangers in blue, and save the white jersey for the road team when there is a conflict. (No reason, other than to make sure you can sell more jersey colors, I guess)

Back in the day I think they switched to colours for away games so they didn't have to wash them as much when they were travelling.

I can't imagine they'll ever get to a point where both teams are wearing their darks though. It's a cruel trick to play on the colour-blind. And I think white jerseys look great on a lot of teams, especially my Maple Leafs. I wish they still wore whites at home.
 

MountainHawk

Registered User
Sep 29, 2005
12,771
0
Salem, MA
I just find whites boring, I guess. Maybe I just don't like the Flyers whites compared to the orange, and it's affecting my opinion of the others.
 

scribe114

Registered User
Jul 12, 2005
98
23
Detroit, Michigan
The O6 NHL initially went to home dark sweaters during the 1956-57 season (They also added numbers to the sleeves of the sweaters in 56-57 probably for TV purposes as well as painted on the skates) through the 1969-70 season. As mentioned NHL went back to darks at home in 2004.
 

MiamiScreamingEagles

Global Moderator
Jan 17, 2004
71,036
48,005
The switch to home whites was approved at the 1970 annual meetings. There were two expressed reasons: to reduce cleaning expenses and to give home fans more variety. The latter reason was partly because the NHL planned to expand to two cities every other season (two in 1970-71, two in 1972-73, etc.) and the paying customer would see the more colorful jerseys.
 

heutZe

Registered User
Sep 15, 2010
1,401
0
Norway
Here's my opinion of what jersey the team looks best wearing:

Anaheim Ducks = White
Atlanta Thrashers = White
Boston Bruins = White
Buffalo Sabres = White
Calgary Flames = White
Carolina Hurricanes = White
Chicago Blackhawks = Colored
Colorado Avalanche = White
Columbus Blue Jackets = Colored
Dallas Stars = White
Detroit Red Wings = White (love those jerseys)
Edmonton Oilers = Colored
Florida Panthers = White
Los Angeles Kings = White
Minnesota Wild = Colored
Montreal Canadiens = Colored
Nashville Predators = White
New Jersey Devils = Colored
New York Islanders = Colored
New York Rangers = White
Ottawa Senators = White
Philadelphia Flyers = Colored
Phoenix Coyotes = White
Pittsburgh Penguins = White
San Jose Sharks = Colored
St. Louis Blues = White
Tampa Bay Lightning = White
Toronto Maple Leafs = White
Vancouver Canucks = Colored (But it will easily be white if they make a white version of the stick-in-rink jersey)
Washington Capitals = White
 

Loto68

Registered User
Aug 12, 2006
861
3
Boston
I much prefer home colors. As a Rangers fan, I find it quite awkward when the Broadway Blueshirts don't wear blue on Broadway (not that they litteraly play on broadway, or at Madison Square for that matter).
 

SealsFan

Registered User
May 3, 2009
1,713
500
This is what I always thought. Under the current system the home fan always sees the same 2 colours: their home colours and white. The old way you had different colours in the building every night.

Right, and I don't see why on earth they had to change it. Since you know you're going to see the same jersey on your home team every night, doesn't it make sense to have a parade of colors coming through with the visiting teams, rather than white jerseys every night?!

It was even more appealing as a kid going to games in the 70's at MSG and Nassau Coliseum, when team colors weren't muted with black tones - the thrill of seeing Kings' purple, Seals' and Northstars' green, Flyers' orange, the different shades of blue from Toronto, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, etc.
 

garnetpalmetto

Jerkministrator
Jul 12, 2004
12,476
11,841
Durham, NC
Right, and I don't see why on earth they had to change it. Since you know you're going to see the same jersey on your home team every night, doesn't it make sense to have a parade of colors coming through with the visiting teams, rather than white jerseys every night?!

It was even more appealing as a kid going to games in the 70's at MSG and Nassau Coliseum, when team colors weren't muted with black tones - the thrill of seeing Kings' purple, Seals' and Northstars' green, Flyers' orange, the different shades of blue from Toronto, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, etc.

Travel costs associated with bringing two sets of jerseys on the road after the advent of third jerseys. Since the rules dictate that one team has to wear white and the other has to wear colors, teams were running into the issue of having to bring both sets when they traveled if they were playing an opponent who was wearing their third jersey at home, which was usually a colored jersey.

Personally I like colored jerseys at home. I think my home team should wear their colors at home, not on the road. Beyond that, most fans prefer to purchase the colored jerseys (look at the stats on jersey sales to back that up) and who doesn't like to feel that they're a part of the team even if they're nowhere near to being able to play the game and are sitting in the upper bowl?
 

Alpine

Registered User
Oct 28, 2005
2,150
2
Moncton, NB
I like the way the Q does it.
White untill the New Year. Dark untill the playoffs and White in the playoffs.
Gives you both.
 

garnetpalmetto

Jerkministrator
Jul 12, 2004
12,476
11,841
Durham, NC
I like the way the Q does it.
White untill the New Year. Dark untill the playoffs and White in the playoffs.
Gives you both.

The ECHL also did/does that. Unfortunately you still run into the third jersey problem when you're in the "white" portion of the schedule.
 

MiamiScreamingEagles

Global Moderator
Jan 17, 2004
71,036
48,005
This is what I always thought. Under the current system the home fan always sees the same 2 colours: their home colours and white. The old way you had different colours in the building every night.

We should start a petition :).

In the age of third jerseys, there are probably different interests among the Board of Governors. I prefer home whites, too, FWIW.
 

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