With new jerseys in 2020, heres a detailed look at Falcons uniform history

It has been a while since the Falcons decided to change their primary uniform design — 17 years to be exact.

But in 2020, Atlanta will wear a different uniform, which was unveiled earlier in April. This change has been two years in the making, with owner Arthur Blank sending a letter to season-ticket holders in January to let them know such a change was coming.

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“Time and again, we’ve heard you ask for new uniforms over the years,” Blank wrote. “We’ve listened to your feedback and worked closely with Nike and the NFL over the past two years to create a look that represents you and reflects Atlanta’s culture, pride and unity. I hope you’re as energized as I am about this new chapter for our team.”

The team colors have remained consistent since the franchise’s beginning. And all the way up until 2003, there weren’t a lot of wholesale changes in the overall on-field design.

Here’s a look at the history of the Atlanta Falcons’ uniform.

1966-67

The Atlanta Falcons’ first uniform featured the colors the team still incorporates today — red, black and white. Those colors also happen to be the same for the University of Georgia, located 72 miles east in Athens. Fans of Georgia’s rival, Georgia Tech, weren’t too happy about the city’s new NFL team’s choice of colors. It’s also probably not a coincidence that the original team owner, Rankin M. Smith, happened to be a UGA graduate. But as they heard the anger from the local Georgia Tech fans, the Falcons appeased these folks by incorporating some gold on the first helmet.

The helmet itself was red, with the original black Falcons crest logo. There was a black stripe that separated the two sides of the helmet, with white stripes creating a border. To pay homage to Georgia Tech, two thin gold stripes were positioned next to the white ones. The home facemask was gray, the away facemask was white.

The home jersey was black, with white block numbers outlined in red. Numbers were also positioned on the shoulder pads with the Falcons logo beneath those on the sleeves. This came with white pants, with a red stripe outlined in black down the side. The away jersey was white with black numerals outlined in red.

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Team record in this design: 4-23-1.

1968-70

After two seasons, the Falcons tweaked their uniform slightly. They got rid of the Falcons crest logo on the sleeves and moved the numbers there. The area of the jersey on top of the shoulder pads became bare. Under the numbers, a big red stripe bordered in two white stripes was added. The road white jersey had a black stripe bordered in red stripes.

Team record in this design: 12-28-2

1971-77

In 1971, the Falcons’ uniform underwent its first major change, at least when it came to the color scheme.

After wearing black jerseys at home for the franchise’s first five seasons, Atlanta switched to red. The red jersey featured a bold black stripe on the sleeves under the numbers, with white stripes bordering it. The red helmet stayed intact. For seven seasons, the Falcons wore the same white pants with the red stripe outlined in black.

Team record in this design: 41-56-1.

1978-89

The Falcons continued to wear red but switched up the pants. Gone were the white pants and in were new silver pants that featured similar stripes down the side. The lone difference had to do with some space in between the red-striped border around the long black stripe. Quite honestly, this is the closest the Falcons ever came to looking like UGA on the field. In 1979, the Falcons crest logo was added back to the sleeves, which was moved to different spots throughout the remainder of this particular uniform combination. It sat above the stripes in some years and on top of the stripes in others.

Prior to 1984, the Falcons used either gray or white facemasks. This year, they switched to black facemasks.

Team record in this design: 72-111-1.

1990-96

For their 25th anniversary season, the Falcons decided to go back to black being their primary color. But for the first time in team history, Atlanta went with black helmets instead of red. The home uniform featured white block numerals outlined in red. The road whites saw black numbers outlined thinly in red. The pants remained silver with a red stripe with two black and white stripes around it.

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These seven years made the color red as secondary as ever. While the numbers sat on the shoulder pads again, the 1990 season saw a 25th-anniversary commemorative patch located on the left shoulder.

Team record in this design: 46-66.

1997-2002

The home jersey remained the same in 1997. But the team underwent a redesign for the away uniform, which added red back to the forefront. Numbers and names were red again and bordered in black. The road uniforms also featured red socks.

The Falcons wore the home combination during Super Bowl XXXIII.

Team record in this design: 46-49-1.

2003-08

Blank bought the franchise from the Smith family in December of 2001. On March 19, 2003, Blank announced major uniform changes. Up to this point, Atlanta’s uniform had been fairly simple. But before the 2003 season, the Falcons unveiled a more modern design. The Falcons crest logo was updated and incorporated red into it. This new logo was now featured on a black helmet. The team name “Falcons” became present on the front of the jersey over the numbers on the front. The home combination for 2003 was a black top with white pants. The away uniform was a white jersey with white pants. While the white pants were the primary ones, the Falcons also had black pants available. The team also designed a red jersey, which was designated as the alternate and worn twice that season. The white pants that went with the red alternate were slightly different, as they featured red trim as opposed to black.

But in that 2003 season, quarterback Michael Vick broke his leg in the home black jersey and white pants during a preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens. Superstition may have set in as the team changed its original plan a year later.

Beginning in 2004, the Falcons decided to go with the red alternates as the primary home jersey. The new alternate would be to wear a black jersey and black pants. From this season and until 2009, the uniform design didn’t change. But the franchise did have other combinations, such as red jerseys with black pants and white jerseys with black pants.

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Team record in this design: 46-50.

2009-19

In 2009, the Falcons kept the home and away uniforms intact. But the alternates were changed to be throwbacks reminiscent of the 1966 team — black jersey and white pants and the original red helmet. The Falcons also wore the throwback jersey and pants combination with a 1990s-era black helmet.

For 10 years, there were no changes made to the uniform. The only deviation from the uniform during this period was when the team wore a color rush combination for a 2017 game against the New Orleans Saints. This game saw Atlanta wear a red jersey, red pants, red socks and red shoes. The red jersey was designed like the black throwback, with the black and red colors swapping. The red pants featured a white stripe bordered in black. The team wore the regular black helmet with this uniform.

Team record in this design: 98-78.

Present day

In April, the Falcons revealed their new uniforms, albeit a little earlier than expected due to an online leak.

All of the jerseys, not including the throwback, are designed similarly. All have the airport code “ATL” stitched over the numbers. All of the new designs have a red stripe down the side that leads onto the pants.

The home combination will be a black top and black pants. The road uniform will be white on white. The main alternate will be a red and black gradient jersey with black pants. The team also will have red and black pants available for the white jerseys. The black jersey can also be worn with white pants. The helmet now features a Falcons crest logo that is 30 percent larger. The helmet also will feature a silver facemask.

The team also has a throwback uniform that resembles the 1966 look, but with a black helmet instead of a red one. This helmet will have a black facemask.

The decision to go with a home black jersey and black pants came with the result of research collected by the organization.

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“We took a fan-first approach in gathering feedback and design input and have modernized the look of our team and our brand,” Falcons team president Rich McKay said. “Black has been a part of our organization since we took the field in 1966 so we’ve stayed true to our roots and have given our fans and players what they’ve been asking for over many years.”

(Top photo: Courtesy of Atlanta Falcons)

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