Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

Here are a couple things I stumbled across...

1) Bum Phillips would typically wear a cowboy hat for road games but never for home games. The reason for this was that Bum felt it rude to wear a hat inside, and the Oilers and Saints played in domes, so no hat for home games. I never made that connection before.

2) The Raiders had designed a gadget play for the last down of the 1975 AFC Championship. Ted Kwalick was the key guy, as Stabler was supposed to throw downfield to Branch, who would then lateral to Kwalick. Apparently Lambert sniffed the play out and followed Kwalick downfield, although I'm not sure if Branch would have had time to lateral as he was tackled immediately. Still, I always thought it was weird that Kwalick was in for that last play, as I'm not sure he played any other down in that game.

Bryan wrote:1) Bum Phillips would typically wear a cowboy hat for road games but never for home games. The reason for this was that Bum felt it rude to wear a hat inside, and the Oilers and Saints played in domes, so no hat for home games. I never made that connection before.

I was aware of the reason he didn't wear it inside but I also never took it to the logical step of that being home/away games.

Bryan wrote:Bum Phillips would typically wear a cowboy hat for road games but never for home games. The reason for this was that Bum felt it rude to wear a hat inside, and the Oilers and Saints played in domes, so no hat for home games. I never made that connection before.

I seem to remember he made a quote (when he was coaching the Oilers) to the extent of "My mama taught me never to wear a hat inside the house, and the Astrodome is my house." Now, I wonder if he wore a hat if he was coaching the Oilers and they were playing the Saints in the Superdome?

Another possibility is that the poor lighting in indoor stadiums would make it difficult to wear a big ole cowboy hat (or even a ballcap) and read those typed out papers or see those instant photos of alignments without taking his hat off every two minutes. The Silverdome is the only dome I've ever been to and the lighting was not good indoors. Just a theory.

Bryan wrote:
Bum Phillips would typically wear a cowboy hat for road games but never for home games. The reason for this was that Bum felt it rude to wear a hat inside

When did that custom change? When I was was in elementary school (1950s) wearing a hat indoors (for a boy) was
the worst thing you could do. My wife still gets upset if our grandson wears his indoors.

John Grasso wrote:

Bryan wrote:
Bum Phillips would typically wear a cowboy hat for road games but never for home games. The reason for this was that Bum felt it rude to wear a hat inside

When did that custom change? When I was was in elementary school (1950s) wearing a hat indoors (for a boy) was
the worst thing you could do. My wife still gets upset if our grandson wears his indoors.

I still automatically take my (Packer) cap off when I enter a building.

John Grasso wrote:When did that custom change? When I was was in elementary school (1950s) wearing a hat indoors (for a boy) was the worst thing you could do. My wife still gets upset if our grandson wears his indoors.

I'm not sure it was a custom for my generation (born 1983) but I learned it through football. Our DC in high school explained it to us and the upperclassmen reminded players all the time, too. Never think too much of it but kind of funny now thinking about when we get together and go in somewhere how all of us take off our hats -- and if we're with someone who didn't play football they probably stand out since they likely don't know what we're doing. Ever since I was 14 years old I take off my hat when I enter a building. Not something I think about, natural/automatic to me.

Namath was also drafted by the Cardinals. Well known but...I sort of came upon that late

When I was a little kid, that it was FRAN Tarkenton. Not Frank.

Reaser wrote:

John Grasso wrote:When did that custom change? When I was was in elementary school (1950s) wearing a hat indoors (for a boy) was the worst thing you could do. My wife still gets upset if our grandson wears his indoors.

I'm not sure it was a custom for my generation (born 1983) but I learned it through football. Our DC in high school explained it to us and the upperclassmen reminded players all the time, too. Never think too much of it but kind of funny now thinking about when we get together and go in somewhere how all of us take off our hats -- and if we're with someone who didn't play football they probably stand out since they likely don't know what we're doing. Ever since I was 14 years old I take off my hat when I enter a building. Not something I think about, natural/automatic to me.

I am the same way about not wearing hats inside my house, with the exception of watching the Super Bowl and World Series. As far as in public, I will wear a hat if I am in a grocery store or mall or someplace like that, but in a restaurant I will of course take it off. I suffer from migraines which are triggered by sunlight, so I have to wear a cap and sunglasses to protect my eyes whenever I go outdoors. I don't wear a hat while riding in a car but always have to wear sunglasses when riding in a car in the daytime, even in the wintertime.

I was born in Pittsburgh, Pa. and was weened watching the Steelers and the Pirates on TV.

We left Pennsylvania and moved to California when I was a wee lad of only four years old.
But I remember being very confused by the local sports teams not wearing the same colors.
All the Pittsburgh teams wore black and "gold" (yellow). Even St. Louis' teams all wore red and white (and they were both named Cardinals, too). Likewise the Dodgers and Rams (blue and white), etc. etc.

So I was quite perplexed when I saw the A's wearing green and gold and the Raiders wearing silver and black.

Dad finally explained it to me.
But I was convinced, a few years later when the Penguins came along (also wearing Yellow and Black) that Pittsburgh was correct and the rest of the sports world was wrong.

I still think it would be kind of cool if all the teams in a particular city wore the same colors.
It gives the locale a real feeling of identity.

JuggernautJ wrote:I was born in Pittsburgh, Pa. and was weened watching the Steelers and the Pirates on TV.

We left Pennsylvania and moved to California when I was a wee lad of only four years old.
But I remember being very confused by the local sports teams not wearing the same colors.
All the Pittsburgh teams wore black and "gold" (yellow). Even St. Louis' teams all wore red and white (and they were both named Cardinals, too). Likewise the Dodgers and Rams (blue and white), etc. etc.

So I was quite perplexed when I saw the A's wearing green and gold and the Raiders wearing silver and black.

Dad finally explained it to me.
But I was convinced, a few years later when the Penguins came along (also wearing Yellow and Black) that Pittsburgh was correct and the rest of the sports world was wrong.

I still think it would be kind of cool if all the teams in a particular city wore the same colors.
It gives the locale a real feeling of identity.

The Penguins started out wearing blue white and black (maybe a little yellow in the logo too) and did so for many years. They changed to Black and Gold (yellow) exclusively some years later when it was sort of realized that the other two teams wore those colors and they could make it a city-wide practice. Might have been fan or civic encouragement to do so, don't recall now all these years later.

It would be interesting to know what colors the old ABA basketball teams the Pipers (1st League Champions) and Condors wore during their Pittsburgh days.