1969 (and 1973) Miami Dolphins corrections

Two corrections on the '69 Dolphins...

First of all they wore solid aqua upper-socks, not the striped ones of previous years, definitely visible here...



Secondly, in 1969 they wore the helmet logo with the Dolphin head inside the sun. Visible in the video above and also here...

Nice find, dirwuf.
The Dolphins have given us fits up through the early 70s - as you can tell - with their inconsistant uniforms. Getty was able to yield me these images also from the 1969 season.


One shows a September game at Houston and confirms your aqua socks, The other is a November game at the Jets where not only are they wearing striped socks but also the 'out of the Sun' helmet model. We're definitely going need to do some more digginf on this batch.
Thanks, again.

Regarding the above Dolphins/Jets photo...Getty Images apparently isn't infallible, that picture is actually from the October 1, 1967 game at Shea.

I was suspicious when I first saw it because I have the 1969 Dolphins highlight film and it was quite overcast when the Dolphins played at Shea, not the sunny day pictured. Obviously this isn't proof enough, but more evidence wasn't hard to find.

Note the player on the ground, whose last name appears to be "Hayes" or something similar...the 1969 Dolphin roster has no player with a name remotely close to that. This eliminates the 1969 game; 1968 is not possible because #11, Rick Norton did not play in that contest. That brings us to 1967 where not only did Norton play, but so did Dolphin running back Abner Haynes.

But the most obvious reason this couldn't be 1969 is plain as day...look at the referee. The AFL refs stopped wearing the red striped shirts after the 1967 season.

So I'm pretty certain my above corrections hold for the entire '69 season...thanks again for putting this site together, I am very fluent in the Dolphins 66-73 variations and may have some more tweaks for you down the line (I was quite impressed that you noted the 1970 pre-season logoless helmet, I was the person who first noted this...and have pictures to prove it).

dirwuf,

Thanks for checking in!!

I definitely recall you on the Helmet Project with your tremendous insight on the Dolphins. I tried to recall what you had from then and I see I did miss a couple of things. Your help on the Dolphins will be invaluable.

Since I have you here, a couple of things...

1) Do you know when the in game variations on the white jerseys (some striped, some stripeless) started in 1972? I seem to remember the early season game in Minnesota where all the Dolphins seemed to have their stripes on, but when they got to the postseason, a lot of the players started going back to the 70-71 jerseys.

2) In 1973, the Dolphins started going with the orange socks and also by Super Bowl VIII, players had in game variations of the helmet logo (fully in the sunburst, half out of the sunburst). Might you have a timetable on the sock change and the helmet variations?

Again, we are all about being spot on with the changes. So any additional help is most appreciated!!

Thanks to the game-by-game color photo books the Dolphins published after '72 and '73 seasons, these changes are easy to pinpoint.

1) Do you know when the in game variations on the white jerseys (some striped, some stripeless) started in 1972? I seem to remember the early season game in Minnesota where all the Dolphins seemed to have their stripes on, but when they got to the postseason, a lot of the players started going back to the 70-71 jerseys.

It started opening game at Kansas City (the first game ever at Arrowhead)...and some players changed from game to game, but there was no game where all players wore the same jersey.

2) In 1973, the Dolphins started going with the orange socks and also by Super Bowl VIII, players had in game variations of the helmet logo (fully in the sunburst, half out of the sunburst). Might you have a timetable on the sock change and the helmet variations?

The orange socks were first worn in the October 21, 1973 game vs. Buffalo...



And the helmet logo variation (mostly worn by lineman) was first worn during the final regular season game, December 15, 1973 against Detroit...

Good stuff, dirwuf. Thanks!

....and since the logo variation didn't occur until after they went to orange socks, the 1973 versions you list having both aqua socks and the 'out of the sun' logo never existed...

So putting it in layman's (SP?) terms, if you were me editting what we have for 1973

with combos... 1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8

as you are looking at them, I should get rid of...?

2 & 4

The '69 helmet logo is still incorrect, here is the correct one from the 12/7/69

Fixed.
Hopefully for the last time!