Penn State legend explains how ‘Generations of Greatness’ uniforms came to be
Penn State’s longtime equipment manager Brad “Spider” Caldwell introduced fans to the new “Generation of Greatness” uniforms Thursday.
Caldwell was the team’s equipment manager from 1983-2014. The team will be wearing the uniforms against UMass Saturday.
The threads honor teams from the past. Caldwell started with the helmets, which feature number designs from the 1950s and 60s as well as the iconic grey facemasks that were worn up until the 1980s.
“Let’s start from the top down. For the 50s and 60s, we had the numbers on the side of the helmet. The iconic grey face mask, we had for years clear up through 1987,” said Caldwell. “A lot of people love it, and they say it gives that retro look.”
Where do each of the elements on the Generations of Greatness uniform come from? 🤔🪡
Longtime Equipment Manager, Brad “Spider” Caldwell, breaks it all down… ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/rfT0qXUKm3
— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) October 12, 2023
Next up were the jerseys themselves.
The Nittany Lions will be wearing the blue jerseys that fans love and know. The block letters will be making a return for the first time since the 50s and 60s. There is also a Lion Shrine on the jersey which honors the class of 1940, who donated the shrine to the university.
“We’d like to go back to the first true block letters that Penn State wore in the 50s and 60s. The other thing I really enjoy about this jersey is the Lion Shrine,” said Caldwell. “It’s honoring the iconic Lion Shrine that was donated by the class of 1940. Finally, this script Penn State design. It’s honoring the 1959 Liberty Bowl in Philadelphia. We played Alabama and won.”
The pants are keeping things simple with a blue stripe down the sides. Those were worn by the teams from 1967-1969 that went 30-0. The socks will be blue with white stripes at the top. White shoes will be on display for the first time since the 1979 Sugar Bowl.
Penn State and UMass kickoff at 3:30 p.m. ET on BTN.