Puck Prose
Fansided

NHL Power Rankings: Remembering the ugliest jerseys in history

By Jeremy Tuch

CALGARY, AB - MARCH 31: Mike Smith #41 of the Calgary Flames skates against the Edmonton Oilers during an NHL game on March 31, 2018 at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Gerry Thomas/NHLI via Getty Images)
CALGARY, AB - MARCH 31: Mike Smith #41 of the Calgary Flames skates against the Edmonton Oilers during an NHL game on March 31, 2018 at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Gerry Thomas/NHLI via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 18
Next
Illustration by Andrew M. Greenstein, The unofficial NHL Uniform Database
Illustration by Andrew M. Greenstein, The unofficial NHL Uniform Database /

1919-1920 – Quebec Bulldogs

In 1919, the NHL arrived for their first of two forays in Quebec City, with the Bulldogs. This added a fourth option for ugliest uniform, and Quebec took the cake by just dressing in blue and white stripes. No logo, no lettering, just blue and white stripes. Another yawn. After the 1919-20 campaign, the team succumbed to the financial trouble that kept it out of the league during the first two NHL seasons and moved to Hamilton. Speaking of which…

Illustration by Andrew M. Greenstein, The unofficial NHL Uniform Database
Illustration by Andrew M. Greenstein, The unofficial NHL Uniform Database /

1920-1925 – Hamilton Tigers

Sunglasses may be required here, fair warning. The Bulldogs left their blue and white duds behind in favor of these yellow and black striped sweaters with a tiger on the front. I personally have a couple of issues with this look, but the main one is that tigers aren’t yellow. Look at any famous tiger, such as Tony the Tiger, Tigger, or Hobbes, or real life tigers, they’re orange, not yellow.

Now, I get the idea that while the color is off, the stripes are enough to represent the tiger effectively. Fine, I’ll give them that. The design of their jersey changed over the few years they were in existence, with their last jersey not actually looking awful, but they were still easily the worst looking jersey in each season.

The Tigers actually were good in that last season, but due to the players striking for more money, the entire team got suspended, and almost immediately thereafter, folded. This paved the way for one of the kings of the ugly sweater.

Home/All-Time Lists