11 Forgotten 90s Jerseys That Need to Make a Comeback
Here are 11 jerseys from the 1990s—like the 1996 Team USA Basketball jerseys—that deserve a comeback.
Anfernee 'Penny' Hardaway from USA during a game against Croatia at the 1996 Olympics. (Photo by Dimitri Iundt/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)
Everybody loves 90s jerseys now.
Nostalgia has looked favorably on the cartoonish ridiculousness of many jerseys from the 1990s. They are popular thanks to a general wave of nostalgia, and brands like Mitchell & Ness deal almost exclusively with throwback jerseys. If you’re a sports fan, chances are you or someone you know owns at least one.
Several such jerseys are more widespread and popular than they were even while they were being worn—Vince Carter Raptors jersey is a popular one at music festivals.
Other 90s jerseys, however, have fallen by the wayside. Some haven’t been used in a while, others aren’t sold online and a lawsuit even held up one logo on this list from production. So these aren't the throwbacks you see people wearing. These are jerseys that you probably forgot about, or in some cases didn't even know existed.
But it’s time that they got some recognition. Here are 11 '90s jerseys that deserve a comeback, in no particular order.
Jets, 1990-97
These bright green suckers were probably the only thing the Jets had going for them in the early and mid-90s. The jerseys, along with the old Jets logo, gave the worst team in football one of the game’s best looks. But Bill Parcells wasn’t a fan.
One of the Hall of Famer's first moves when he took over the Jets was to switch the team's logo and uniforms to ones similar to the Namath-era Jets unis. These debuted in 1998. And save for the occasional AFL throwback and Color Rush, the Jets’ jerseys have remained largey unchanged ever since.
The 90s jerseys will probably never make a comeback since they're associated with one of the worst periods of Jets history (which is saying quite a bit, considering they’re…the Jets.). But they are by far the best jerseys in franchise history.
Jaguars, 1995-96
A lot of people forget just how great the Jags were in their early days.
Jacksonville made the playoffs in four of their first five seasons of play—including two AFC Championship Games and a 14-win 1999 season. It looked for a while like the Jags would be the next great NFL franchise.
That obviously hasn't happened.
As their performance declined, so did their jersey game. The Jags ditched their inaugural jerseys in 1996, and have changed their look a few times since—never matching the original uniforms (or coincidentally, same playoff success). The 1995-96 jerseys bring back fond memories of Mark Brunell, Jimmy Smith, and Tony Boselli—-as opposed to memories of Blake Bortles, Blaine Gabbert, and Chad Henne.
Bring 'em back.
Patriots, 1993-99
These jerseys seem like a distant memory. Then again, the entire history of the Patriots before Belichick & Brady seems like a distant memory.
Five Super Bowl victories later (and two other appearances), it's hard to imagine that the Patriots spent three-and-a-half decades as one of the NFL's worst franchises. The Pats made the postseason just six times from 1960-1993, and made it out of the first round of the playoffs just twice.
That said, the memory of these jerseys deserves to live on for two reasons. The first of which is that they're awesome. They incorporate the then newly-minted "Flying Elvis" logo on the shoulder pads, and feature perfect amounts of red, white, and blue.
These jerseys also deserve recognition for an era that established the Patriots as a legitimate NFL franchise. Things started to move in the right direction when they put these jerseys on. They drafted quarterback Drew Bledsoe first overall. Bill Parcells came to town. The team made it to the Super Bowl in 1996, and to the playoffs four times in five seasons from 1994-98. They deserve at least a one-game comeback, so the internet can go crazy seeing Tom Brady wearing one of these.
Ravens, 1996-98
The Ravens’ original look is actually the subject of a decades-long legal battle. Amateur artist Frederick E. Bouchat drew the original “Winged B” logo in 1996, and the Ravens used it without crediting him or asking his permission. He sued, and a federal court ruled in his favor in 1998—although he has never been compensated for it. The Ravens abandoned their old uniform and logo the following year, switching into the jerseys they’ve worn ever since.
Although they probably won’t be using that original logo anytime soon, it would be nice to see these jerseys hit the field again.
Mighty Ducks "Wild Wing" Alternates, 1995-96
When you think of iconic hockey logos, the ones that come to mind are probably those of the Canadiens, Red Wings, or Penguins. Franchises whose looks are synonymous with legendary players and winning championships.
A cartoon duck flying out of a sheet of ice probably doesn't come to mind.
These Mighty Ducks jerseys are...unique, to put it mildly. The entire front is a cartoon, the lettering style looks penciled in, and the color scheme is louder than an airhorn. They're unlike any jersey made before or since.
Because Disney owned the team at this time—when the "Mighty Ducks" movies and TV series were at the height of their popularity—it's safe to say the jerseys were probably part of a marketing ploy gone awry. They were panned at the time, and were discontinued after just one season. Look up any list of "worst hockey jerseys of all time," you'll find these at or near the top of the list in just about every single one.
While the "Wild Wing" jerseys are far from a seriously designed, the pure unadulterated "90s" makes them way cooler in hindsight. These should never see the light of day again as far as a regular pro jersey in concerned, but they should absolutely make a comeback on the consumer market. Nothing would say "I Love the 90s" like rocking one of these.
Gordon Bombay would approve.
USA Basketball, 1996
Hot take: These jerseys are cooler than the 1992 "Dream Team" ones.
USA Basketball wore these jerseys for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, where they unsurprisingly took home the gold. That roster featured "Dream Team” alumni like Charles Barkley, David Robinson, and Karl Malone, along with the next generation talents like Shaquille O’Neal, Grant Hill, and Reggie Miller. This team was surely a dream in its own right.
But despite the gold medal—and the amount of talent on this team—these jerseys drifted into obscurity after the Summer of '96. The only attention they seem to get now comes from the occasional eBay listing.
This should change. These jerseys deserve a comeback. If Mitchell & Ness started selling them, you could totally see hipsters rocking these at Coachcella. M&N would make a killing.
NBA Houston Rockets #BASKETBALLSHIRT JERSEY CHAMPION #4 Charles Barkley pic.twitter.com/wrpTePN225
— ClassicFootballShirt (@Classic1Shirts) November 25, 2017
The change of the Rockets' logo was awesome. Perhaps because this was the only Rockets logo since 1972 to feature an actual rocket on it.
Houston gave their unis a makeover after winning their second straight title in 1995, and wore these throughout the Charles Barkley/Scottie Pippen/Clyde Drexler days. The unique lettering gave these jerseys a unique look, as did the navy color scheme. They returned to the traditional red scheme back in 2003, and haven't looked back since.
It would be cool if they looked back, though. These jerseys would go great with James Harden’s beard.
#1995-96 atlanta hawks game worn #shooting shirt #jersey - with loa, LINK:http://t.co/hSmFsr1tCQ pic.twitter.com/li6DGZm1kP
— zeppy.io shooting (@zeppy_shooting) June 10, 2015
Even by 90s standards, these jerseys were excessively cartoonish and over the top.
And that's what makes them so awesome.
A lot of 90s jerseys designs were cartoonish, but this entire design was literally a cartoon. The cartoon hawk featured on the front is far larger than most team jersey designs — and its wings even extend to the back of the jersey. Peak. 90s. Look.
You could totally see The Fresh Prince rocking one of these.
The Hawks wore these from 1995-1999, and made the postseason every year they wore them. Once they stopped wearing them, they went eight years without a playoff appearance. Coincidence? I think not.
Brand New NBA Joe Dumars 1996 Detroit Pistons Teal Jersey, Stitched Size M https://t.co/E1x5YfKPWf pic.twitter.com/oLcQP1FMrT
— Fantastic SportCards (@FantasticSportT) September 8, 2016
The horse jerseys were sandwiched in between the two most memorable periods in Pistons history: the "Bad Boys" era of the late-80s, and the Ben Wallace era of the 00s. This has left them as somewhat of an obscure Pistons memory.
The only thing keeping the teal horse era alive is the greatness of Grant Hill. Hill played his best basketball in these jerseys, so they're mostly associated with him. But they should be remembered for far more than just the jersey that Grant Hill wore -- they should be remembered as one of the most 90s looks ever to hit the court.
Astros, 1994-99
The Astros are always changing. Since coming into the league in 1962, they've changed names once, color schemes and logos seven times, and moved from the NL to the AL in 2013.
Of all the looks Houston has had over the years, these are by far the most underrated—and easily the most forgotten. They've mostly gone by the wayside since they were abandoned in 1999.
But if they’re going to bring back those God-awful “Tequilla Sunrise” jerseys as an alternate, the team can definitely make room for these. They bring back fond memories of Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell, and even Randy Johnson playing for the team.
Angels, 1997-2001
The Angels’ 1997 re-brand might be the biggest non-relocation re-brand in sports history.
The team changed its name from the California Angels to the Anaheim Angels, and switched their primary color from red to blue. Now, of course, they're absurdly called the Los Angeles Angeles of Anaheim. But those turn of the century jerseys were awesome for the five seasons that they were used. Although the Angels obviously made the right move switching back to red in 2002, considering they won the World Series that season.