1971 Oilers - preseason uniform

It all started with this photo of Roy Gerela kicking against the Rams (with no name on his back)...



WTF... what jerseys are the Oilers wearing?

OK... Gerela was an Oiler in 1969 and 1970 while in 1971 he was with the Steelers, the Oilers played the Rams in a 1970 preseason game (09/05/70) in Pasadena, so it's 1970... Not that fast. You better double check, Mako

So I searched on Getty...


http://www.gettyimages.it/detail/78532917/Getty-Images-Sport


http://www.gettyimages.it/detail/78532918/Getty-Images-Sport

Houston Astrodome on August 29, 1970 in Houston, Texas

According to profootballarchives.com the Oilers played the Cowboys that day, so it's 1970... Wait a minute, Lynn Dickey was drafted in 1971!

New search: "Oilers 1971"


http://www.gettyimages.it/detail/78533006/Getty-Images-Sport


http://www.gettyimages.it/detail/78533005/Getty-Images-Sport


http://www.gettyimages.it/detail/78532919/Getty-Images-Sport

Houston Astrodome on August 26, 1971 in Houston, Texas

And what about the Rams?
The Oilers played the Rams in Canton in 1971 and this article has a photo that shows the three-striped white jersey
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ll8sAAAAIBAJ&sjid=XM0EAAAAIBAJ&pg=2386,63473&dq=oilers+rams&hl=en

and Gerela was there
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=V9deAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JlMNAAAAIBAJ&pg=722,215235&dq=oilers+rams&hl=en

-----

undated


http://www.gettyimages.it/detail/109030777/Getty-Images-Sport

Gerela was cut by the Oilers on 9/2/71, with the Steelers soon picking him up.

They appear to be the 1965 jerseys with
A) TV numbers moved to the shoulders and
B) as pointed out, no nameplates

I saw an article from this era that said Bud Adams was cleaning house after the Wally Lemm era ended, with a new coach, new uni's, and obviously, new players. Lemm's first year (in his second stint) with the team was '66, so I get the feeling Bud must have doing a Soviet-style whitewash of Lemm's time while waiting to unveil the new duds. It's obvious they didn't bother putting on NOB's for these temporary uni's, and the shift of the TV numbers must have been to conform to changed uniform rules.

BD Sullivan wrote:waiting to unveil the new duds

According to the database they didn't change the uniforms in 1971

1970


http://www.gettyimages.it/detail/80031260/Getty-Images-Sport


http://www.uspresswire.com/image/4378093

1971


http://www.uspresswire.com/image/4788546

As an aside, do the Oilers changed to gray belts in 1971?

Mako Mameli wrote:

BD Sullivan wrote:waiting to unveil the new duds

According to the database they didn't change the uniforms in 1971

Which makes the use of the old uniforms for the whole preseason even more nonsensical.

Maybe they just wanted a more breathable jersey for the preseason