A guide to the Valiant numbers (updated)

Submitted by Rasmus on

I hope this is diary-worthy. It took some time! Angelique has published a story about Hackett’s interest in reviving the old 4 and what inspired him to do so, here: Detroit News

EDIT: I hereby propose that the design of new (old) 4 be called the "Winged Four" -- what do you think?
 
So what, exactly, is being revived? The Michigan/Nike site doesn’t say too much about the numbers in the new Valiant font, just this:
 
Design inspiration for the Michigan numerals was fashioned after the typography found on Michigan’s football uniforms from the mid-1930s and worn by the likes of Gerald Ford. The collegiate style* features unique serifs and angles that reference Michigan’s proud history, while remaining true to the Valiant font.
Here they are:
 
Valiant numerals
 
Numbers of note are the 2, the 4, the 5, and the 7. As we’ll see, all have deep roots, including the 2.
 
[* I believe “collegiate style” is a reference to the outline around the numerals.]
 
Michigan wore numbers for the first time in 1915, but only on the back of the jersey. Numbers appear on the front for the first time in 1930, so that’s the first year we can see them all.
 
The 4 was used in 1930, then 1933-1936, then 1946-1967.
The 5 was used in 1930, then 1933, then 1946-1967.
The 7 was used in 1930, then 1933-1937, then 1946-2015.
 
Here are the 1930 numbers on the jersey fronts (click to enlarge):
 
1930 front numerals
 
Note: In 1933, this 5 was simply a reversed upside-down 2. Before 1933 and after 1945 we see the distinctive serif in the middle of the 5. Unfortunately, this element didn't make into the 2016 Valiant font. Here’s a press-release shot (of Tom Maentz and Ron Kramer) from before the 1956 season, used on the November 12, 1956 cover of Sports Illustrated that shows the 5 (and Maize) well:
 
Maentz Kramer 1956
 
The backs of the 1930s jerseys had larger and slightly fancier numbers. For example, see this 1930 jersey:
 
1930 jersey
 
This is the classic Michigan 2. It is clear that in 1946 it was decided to adopt the 1930 numbers in their entirety. Michigan would use the same set for the next 21 years. Most likely they had been used in the years before 1930 -- there's something about them that feels 1920s -- but it would take more research to confirm that, from game photos and surviving examples. After 1946, the numbers are consistent until 1968, with the only exceptions being new Rose Bowl uniforms apparently worn just for that game. See any of the team photos in Bentley. Here’s a nice color shot of the 1962 team:
 
 
Finally, just to drive the point home with regard to the new 4 in Michigan tradition, here’s a great shot of Jim Pace breaking free in 1957:
 
Jim Pace 1957
 
In 1968 (Don Canham’s first year as AD), the jersey numbers began to change to a pretty standard design -- by 1969 they had lost Michigan’s distinctive, old-time 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 9. The 7 was retained. I'm going to guess any serious resistance to the changes from traditionalists was pretty much dead at about 4:30 PM on November 22, 1969:
 
24-12
 
In 2016, we see the 4 and the top part of the 5 being revived. The classic 3, 6, and 9 have not been brought back, but the Nike Valiant numerals do match the 3, 6, and 9 used from 1933-1939 and 1941-1945. To illustrate this, here is the famous Gerald Ford-Willis Ward crop of the 1934 team photo:
 
Ford, Ward 1934
 
Finally, what about the new, angled 2? Where does it come from?
 
I've read that it is Michael Jordan's 2 from the 1990s Bulls, and it is, but it's also a small part of Michigan's early tradition. Michigan used it in 1931-1932, then 1940, then pretty much never again. Anyhow, here is an authentic 1931 jersey, showing the angled 2 (and the classic 3):
 
1931 jersey
 
So we're good, I guess. I'm still not thrilled about the loss of the classic Woodson 2, but at least there is some historical precedent, and I have to admit it looks good!
 
On the history of Michigan's uniforms, see MVictors, here:
 
Football
NIKE
Jersey Numbers

Comments

Rasmus

August 4th, 2016 at 8:50 AM ^

I edited this out, but for sticklers here's a comment on the 1946 team photo. It features Bump Elliot (#42) wearing an angled 2 along with a non-serif 4.

 
My theory is they ran out of the new numbers, so Bump (in his first year at Michigan) got one made from old numbers? There are two others in the photo without the new numbers. One of them is Gene Derricotte (#41), also a newcomer and the first man known to wear a facemask at Michigan:
 
1946 Gene Derricote
 
Both players received new jerseys in 1947, with numbers matching the rest of the team.

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Rasmus

August 4th, 2016 at 2:14 PM ^

Notice the 5 and the 2 in the Ford-Ward crop from 1934. The 5 still has the middle-serif thing I tried to point out in the diary, while the 2 is just a basic 2.

The next year, 1935, they bring back the serif at the top of the 5 and bottom of the 2, but drop the middle-serif thing in the 5, making them upside-down mirror images of one another:

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ST3

August 3rd, 2016 at 6:38 PM ^

that 1930 '9' is whack. All the 1930 numbers look a little odd, like someone cut them out free hand with a pair of scissors.

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Rasmus

August 4th, 2016 at 5:12 PM ^

They don't really match the ones on the back, which are bigger, brighter, more detailed, and better-proportioned. It's as if the jerseys were made with numbers on the back, but then Michigan had to make their own numbers to sew onto the front.

Different material, too, as you can see from difference in how the front and back numbers aged in the two jerseys shown (both from eBay, but likely authentic -- the 1931 jersey had provenance back to the player's family).

The 9, like the 6 and the 3, and even the 2, are great. I can understand why they didn't bring the funky heavy serifs back for those numbers, but it's still awesome.

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Humanity’s Mos…

August 6th, 2016 at 1:47 PM ^

*All the 1930 numbers look a little odd, like someone cut them out free hand with a pair of scissors.*

They did.

They were also eating dandelions.

They made their children live with strangers.

They were robbing banks.

They were jumping off tall buildings.

And they kept their valuables in a hankerchief tied to a stick.

It was the Great Depression.

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Picktown GoBlue

August 9th, 2016 at 11:59 PM ^

shows that the new font is missing something from a sublety in some of the old fonts - the interior spaces are not squares/rectangles, but are octagons - there are small 45 degree edges cutting the 4 corners.  The 8, 0, 3, top of the 9, bottom of the 6, top of the 2, and the bottom of the 5 demonstrate this feature.

In addition, there are hints of external octagons in some aspects with small 45 degree notches - the tops of the 2 and the 6 before they meet the serif, the middle of the 5, and the bottom of the 9 before it meets the serif.

The 1934 team picture shows that most of those octagons were present back then, but as you note, not on spot on the 6 or the 9 where the crossbar meets the vertical with 90 degree angles instead.

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