Alabama Crimson Tide White Helmet 1950s - 1971 (so

A Break From Tradition: The White Helmets The University of Alabama football team is almost universally known for having long standing traditional uniforms. Crimson helmets, crimson jerseys, and white pants for home games. Crimson helmets, white jerseys, and white pants for away games.One variation, of which there are very few, is the white helmets. The Crimson Tide donned white helmets with crimson numbers at various times from the late forties through the 1960s. The White helmets first became part of UA’s uniform in 1949 and continued to be the standard throughout the 50s. The Crimson helmets we all recognize today were not even used until a Bowl game on December 17, 1960 vs. Texas. At times during the 1960s, Alabama used white helmets on eligible receivers in games at night or when another team’s helmet matched or resembled ours in color to avoid any kind of mix up. The helmets were also used in the 1971 season opener against USC and would be the last time they would be worn until 1983. Coach Ray Perkins brought back the white helmets in 1983 and were used alongside the traditional crimson ones. In 1984 Alabama wore Crimson helmets for home games and white helmets for ones for away. White helmets were again used for some games in 1983 and 1984 - the following is apparently a complete list of these games: September 24, 1983 at Vanderbilt, October 29, 1983 vs Mississippi State, November 5, 1983 at LSU, November 12, 1983 vs Southern Mississippi, November 25, 1983 at Boston College, September 15, 1984 at Georgia Tech, November 3, 1984 at Mississippi State, and November 17, 1984 at Cincinnati.