Okay, so today I was digging into something pretty cool and I just had to share it with you guys: the history of the Hershey Bears jerseys. You know, the minor league hockey team affiliated with the Washington Capitals? Yeah, those guys. They’ve been around since 1938, so you can imagine they’ve got some stories to tell, and their jerseys are a big part of that.
First off, I started by looking into when the Bears actually started playing. Turns out, they’ve been in the American Hockey League since the 1938-39 season. That’s a long time! And they’re the winningest team in the league, which is pretty awesome.
Then I got curious about their early jerseys. I found out that back in 1935, they had this orange jersey with black stripes on the arms. It sounds kinda wild, but I bet it looked pretty cool on the ice. Imagined players wearing this jersey playing games at that time.
I also learned about this thing on their current jerseys, “GSH”. It stands for George Stanley Halas, the founder and original owner of the Chicago Bears. I know, it’s a bit confusing since we’re talking about the Hershey Bears, but it’s a nice little tribute to a hockey legend. Then I spent a lot of time to search about this guy, I found that he also played for the team and served as the team’s head coach four different times!
I found some resources about the team’s logo and uniform history. There’s a sports logos page online that’s basically a virtual museum of this stuff. It’s not super detailed, but it gave me a good overview. I spent about 2 hours reading that page and made some notes.
Then I stumbled upon something really cool. Apparently, the Bears did a throwback night where they wore special 1980 jerseys to celebrate the 35th anniversary of winning the Calder Cup that year. They even had a reunion for the ’80 team! I saw some photos from that night, and those retro jerseys looked amazing. I wish I could have one for myself!
So, after spending a good chunk of my day diving into this, I realized how much history is packed into these jerseys. It’s not just about the colors or the logos. It’s about the players who wore them, the games they won, and the legacy of the team. It made me appreciate the Hershey Bears, and hockey in general, even more. And you know I’m a big fan of hockey. Hope you guys enjoyed this little trip down memory lane as much as I did!
