Jets

Row 1: 1960 and 1961-62
Row 2: 1963, pre-season helmets
Row 3: 1964, 1965-77, 1978-89, 1990-97
Row 4: 1998-2018
Row 5: 2016-18 alternate, 2016 color rush
Row 6: 1993 and 1994 alternates, 2007-11 throwback/alternate
Row 7: 2019-present

1960-62

Riddell manufactured a New York Titans helmet for the Throwback AFL 50th Anniversary set. The Jets wore this helmet as a throwback at various times between 2007 and 2011.

The Titans wore two different helmets in this era:

  • 1960 – Blue helmet, goldenrod-yellow stripe, grey facemask
  • 1961-62 – Navy helmet, royal-yellow stripe, grey facemask
Custom pocket pros

I believe the pocket pro manufactured for the AFL 50th Anniversary set and the helmet the Jets wore as a throwback between 2007 and 2011 is a combination of the two helmets the Titans actually wore and with a darker shade of blue and different shade of gold. In other words, the Jets adopted the 1961-2 helmet color and 1960 stripe.

The photos below substantiate this. Note how the 1961-62 helmet is navy blue, but the 2007-11 throwback blue is darker (what I call denim blue). Also, note how the 1961-62 stripe is brighter, royal shade of yellow, as opposed to the darker goldenrod color of the 2007-11 helmet.

I cannot find a photo of the 1960 helmet. However, according to the Gridiron Uniform Database, the helmet was a brighter blue with a goldenrod-yellow stripe.

1961-62
2007-11 Throwback
1962 Titans photo from SportsPaperInfo (Twitter). 2007-11 Throwback from ESPN Radio 104.5. 1962 Titans from Uni Watch.

Left to Right: 1960, 1961-62, 2007-11 throwback
Image from Gridiron Uniform Database © 2011 – 2020 Tim Brulia, Bill Schaefer and/or Rob Holecko

1963

In 1963, the Titans changed their name to the Jets. The used the jet-plane logo for this year. It’s in the Throwback Series 1 and Throwback 2-bar sets.

The Jets also wore a plain white helmet with a green stripe and grey facemask in 1963, apparently for only one game and in various pre-season games. The Jets also wore a white helmet with two green stripes during the pre season in the 60’s. Riddell did not manufacture a pocket pro for these helmets.

1964-77

In 1964, the Jets transitioned to a white/green “NY Jets” logo. Riddell did not manufacture a helmet in the 1964 style. This was a precursor to the white helmets with the green NY logos superimposed over a football.

In 1865, the Jets made the logo green. This helmet is only available in the Throwback AFC 1969 2-bar set.

1978-89 and 1990-97

Between 1978 and 1997, the Jets had two green style helmets. The first green helmet (1978-89) had a new “Jets” logo and is green. It is available only in the Throwback Series 2 set.

The 1990-97 helmet had a black facemask and included a black outline around the Jets logo. It is hunter green. It was only made available in the traditional 1997 pocket pro set.

1998-2018

The Jets went back to the 1965-77 helmet in 1998. Riddell made four versions of this helmet: traditional, chrome, revolution, and speed. The only difference between the 1998-2018 and 1965-77 helmets are the facemask colors (green and grey, respectively).

The Jets wore a variation on this helmet in their color rush scheme in 2015 and 2017-18. While the regular helmet green is hunter, the color rush helmet is a metallic green. The Jets also wore an alternate version of the helmet with a white facemask between 2016-18. Both are pictured below.

2019-present

The Jets updated the helmet in 2019. This green is known as “Gotham Green.”

1993, 1994, 2007-11 Alternates & Throwbacks

The Jets wore a throwback helmet for one game in 1993 and 1994. The 1993 helmet is hunter green with a green jets logo, black facemask and no stripes. The 1994 helmet is the same, except it has two stripes. The denim-blue helmet was a 2077-11 throwback.

Riddell did not manufacture factory helmets for the 1993 and 1994 helmets. Riddell did manufacture a helmet for the 2007-11 throwback. It is in the Throwback AFL 50th Anniversary set.

Jets Super Bowl Pocket Pro

Custom Jets Pocket Pro Helmets

Checklist

References

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