Number and letter fonts are a fun way to assert your team identity, and NHL teams have led the way giving us some pretty wild hockey jersey typefaces. This week me and the team take a look at the history of custom hockey jersey fonts. We’ll show you the most interesting fonts to have ever come from the NHL, and we’ll show you how you can have fun with fonts for your custom team jerseys.
Early hockey Jersey Numbers: 1911-1976
Here’s a front and back look of the Bruins’ first multi-coloured number look. It doesn’t look like much now, but this was a groundbreaking style at the time.
A Maurice Richard 1959-69 jersey with straight stitching. Stitches go through the number to keep the felt from ripping apart under the stresses of hockey.
There is some debate as to who started putting numbers on the backs of jerseys, but hockey teams started wearing numbers back in the early 1900s, — around 1911 when the National Hockey Association began requiring players to wear numbered armbands so that fans could identify the players on the ice. The armbands were a little tough to see from the stands, though, so the league soon did away with them and began placing numbers on the front of jerseys, eventually moving them to the back, where they’ve remained ever since.
The first hockey jersey numbers were rudimentary block numbers usually only one solid color. It wasn’t until the 1925-26 season that we saw two-coloured numbers in the NHL — that was the year the Boston Bruin began wearing brown numbers with a yellow outline. A revolutionary idea!
The most unique lettering in the league during the early years of the NHL belonged to the New York Rangers who began wearing a drop shadow on their numbers in 1947, a style which they still use today. An effect the Minnesota North Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins would adopt for their own jerseys for a period of time.
In 1956, another jersey revolution occurred, The Red Wings put numbers on their sleeves! This time it was to help officials identify players for goals and penalties. It wouldn’t take long for this to catch on with other teams and for the NHL to make it mandatory on all jerseys. Now the fundamentals of the modern jersey are in place, except one thing was still missing.
The Modern hockey Jersey Takes Shape: 1977-92
Player names on the backs of jerseys were the last piece added. This became mandatory to start the 1977-78 season — a policy that Toronto Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard protested at the time, worrying that jersey names would reduce game program sales (game programs listed which player wore which number). In response to the new rule, Ballard ordered that the Leafs player names be made to match the color of their jerseys making them virtually invisible. Ballard eventually relented, changing the player name colour to contrast with the base jersey colour.
From the late 1970s to the early 1990s all NHL teams used a classic block letter font for numbers and names with their color pattern, that is except for the 1982-83 Red Wings.
For one season the team went to elegant rounded numbers featuring an arched name. The numbers only lasted one season but the arched name was well received by the fans so the team kept the look. In fact, many of the more historic teams in the league continue to use block letters and numbers. Every Original Six franchise still uses the classic font. Of the six, only the Maple Leafs have veered away from the timeless typeface, donning rounded numbers from 1997–2000. Designed to match the Leafs crest font they used at the time. The Leafs ditched the round numbers in 2001 but kept the crest-matching name font until 2010.
Harold Ballard, Leafs former owner, eventually relented to change the name bar colour- but only because the league threatened to fine him.
Leafs rounded numbers and letters that match the crest.
A look at the Tampa Bay Lightning kits between 1992-96.
hockey Jersey fonts gone Wild: 1992-present
It wasn’t until 1992 that teams really started to get creative with their fonts, beginning with the Tampa Bay Lightning who joined the NHL in the 1992–93 season. The first-year Florida team used a block font with a drop shadow for their numbers but opted for a custom look for their name bars — basically a 3-D block letter with a top serif. Tampa was the first team with the idea that the name and number font could change from year to year. They went through 4 different font styles from 92 to 96!
Many teams followed the Lightning’s lead, and with the NHL’s Third Jersey program that began in 1995-96, teams really got creative. Franchises were experimenting with new letter and number designs, new fabrics such as glitter and glacier, and even new layering techniques such as Kiss Cut. This burst of creativity brought us some unique jerseys that were ahead of their time. Here are some of the most interesting fonts we’ve seen.
Washington Capitals
From 1995 to 2007, the Caps wore a hockey jersey that I think is one of the nicest in NHL history! The Caps blue with copper and black was such a unique compliment. Bold, 3 colour Times Romanesque letters and numbers that reminded me of American money. They used this font until Ovechkin’s second year with the team. You may remember this jersey from Tikkanen missing the WIDE open net in the 98 finals and Ovechkin’s on-his-back goal in 2006.
$$ Cha-ching, a close-up of the Washington Capitals money font.
The Kings with, fittingly, the most regal font in sports!
LOS ANGELES KINGS
Keeping with their Medieval motif, the Los Angeles Kings wear a kit that appears to be forged from iron with edges that mimic the blade of a battle axe. It’s cool to see how a simple font can be the perfect finishing touch to a team’s identity.
Nashville Predators
In 1998, the NHL found its way to the Music City, and the Nashville Predators were born. Their first uniforms featured an italicized name font with similarly italicized racing numbers, all of which gave the Preds the illusion of speed. It was so popular, the NHL used a similar look for their all star jerseys from 2002 to 2003. Then in 2011, they changed things up, using a custom number font featuring sublimated guitar strings across the bottom of each digit as a nod to the city’s musical heritage. If you own a Preds jersey, you might have noticed the piano keys on the inside neckline, guitar pick shoulder patch and guitar strings on the numbers, this hockey jersey is it’s own band!
Take a look at this Nashville-themed All-Star kit.
The back of Don McSween’s Wild Wing Jersey.
MIGHTY DUCKS OF ANAHEIM
COLORADO AVALANCHE
The first edition of the Colorado Avalanche jerseys from the 1995-96 season sported a number font that appeared to have icicles hanging off of them, this is glacier twill. A few other teams used this material. It’s interesting that glacier twill was only used by teams that have names that could be associated with being cold. Penguins, Islanders, Avalanche and Ducks all sported the new twill. Devils and Flames did not as they should be using fire twill (not yet invented). The team was also one of the first to use glitter twill and definitely the first to win a cup using both these fabrics.
Joe Sakic donning the icy font on his now-retired #19 jersey.
The Islanders wave font, spot the difference.
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
Maybe the most unique hockey jersey font we’ve ever seen is the 1994-98 . Hated at the time but loved today. Those hockey sweaters featured unique striping that crossed the shoulders and the waist in a wave-like pattern. The player’s name and number followed along the waves, so every letter and number had to be cut individually to follow the wave pattern of the jersey. It still stands as the most difficult uniform for a jersey maker to replicate, but the uniqueness of these hockey jerseys is off the charts. Doesn’t help that every season had small changes to the numbers.
MINNESOTA WILD
Minnesota returned to the NHL in 2000, and the Wild made their mark immediately, albeit maybe not in the most fashionable way. The Wild chose a condensed font with elongated letters for their name bars, which looked nice, but their jersey numbers featured an affectation which gave their digits the look of a thick and scruffy fur coat. Kind of a grizzly number to match the grizzly logo. Even though the team doesn’t specify, that’s a bear on the crest. Check out the round ears!
Ah, the vintage Wild jerseys- certainly a one-of-a-kind design.
Get Creative With Your Custom Team Jersey Numbers!
So, there you have it folks. From the Leafs to the Lightning, and the Kings to the Wild, we’ve covered fonts from all across the continent today.
Fonts are what can really make your team stand out and have personality. So, next time your team is looking for jerseys, switch it up! Maybe consider a font that’s a little bit more outside the box… or don’t, I can’t tell you what to do.
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See you again next week!
