The Evolution of the Boston Bruins Sweater

BOSTON – The Bruins are fit for a Centennial.

On Saturday night, the Bruins debuted their three new uniforms for the 2023-24 season during the Centennial Takeoff event inside the JetBlue hangar at Logan Airport. Per the club's press release, the sweaters pay "homage to the club’s 100-year history with both unique and nostalgic highlights. The home and away jerseys carry elements of recent black-and-gold sweaters, but with a festive twist, featuring sparkling “Centennial gold” in place of the traditional Bruins gold. Meanwhile, the alternate jersey, which features brown and gold, is inspired by vintage sweater designs from the club’s origins."

Here's a look back at the evolution of the Bruins' uniform, which has included the most iterations in the history of North American professional sports.

(Editor's note: this story was orginally published following the debut of the Bruins' new ADIZERO jerseys in 2017. The article has been updated to include the five added jerseys Boston has worn since then.)

1924-25

The Bruins are founded in 1924 and open their existence donning brown uniforms, with a turtleneck-type collar. The primary logo is a bear in between the words 'Boston' and 'Bruins,' and remains the same until 1932. This iteration of the B's sweater lasted just one season.

1925-26

In their second season, the Bruins go with a flashier white sweater that contains gold and brown stripes. Once again, these jerseys survived just one season.

1926-33

Boston switches things up again in 1926 and dons the sweaters during their first Stanley Cup title in 1929. This white sweater features gold and brown stripes along the entirety of the sleeves and a wider brown stripe towards the bottom of the jersey.

1932-35

The Bruins' primary logo changes to a brown, blocked 'B' with a gold outline. The striped pattern also becomes less intense, as two brown stripes sandwich a gold stripe on each sleeve around the elbow, surrounding the neck, and at the bottom of the sweater.

1934-36

The jersey remains the same, with one major change: all of the brown changed to black.

1935-40

In 1935, another major change is made as the primary logo is replaced with the player's number. The 'B' transitions to the sleeves, making it the first time the Bruins' jersey had a secondary patch. The black stripes also become thinner and the gold stripe expands.

1938-41

The Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 1939-40 donning a slightly new sweater. The three-stripe pattern along the elbows, neck, and torso is switched out for a two-stripe pattern - one black and one gold.

1940-41, 1943-44, 1944-45

Boston debuts its first alternate jersey, an all-gold sweater with Bruins written across the front. It lasts until 1944. The lettering of the numbers on the primary jersey changes from black to gold.

1948-49

In honor of the team's 25th anniversary, the numbers on the front of the sweater are switched out for a Spoked-B, the logo that has now become synonymous with the franchise. The numbers '24' and '49' are inserted on each side of the 'B'. A secondary black jersey is also introduced with the blocked B as the primary logo.

1949-51

The Spoked-B becomes more of a block. The black sweater has its stripes tweaked and gold added around the neck.

1951-55

More stripes are added to the sleeves of the white sweater.

1955-58

The primary sweater is switched to gold. The black sweater has its blocked 'B' switched out for the Spoked-B and is used until 1958.

1958-59

Numbers are added to the sleeves of both the gold and white sweaters. The gold jersey has its sleeve stripes reduced.

1959-67

The stripes on the gold sweater are thinned considerably. A black jersey is re-introduced in 1959-60 with two large, gold stripes outlined by black and white along the bottom of the sweater - it lasts just one season.

1967-74

As the league prepares to expand, the Bruins switch up their sweaters. The gold jersey is eliminated, while black and white sweaters take over. Two gold stripes sandwich a white stripe with a black outline along the bottom of the sweater and around the elbows. There is one white stripe below the gold shoulder yoke, where laces are also added. Slight variations to the stripes and laces are made in 1968-69 and 1973-74.

1974-76

The gold shoulder yokes go away, as do the laces. A V-neck style collar is introduced.

1976-77

A secondary logo - a bear's head - is added on the shoulders.

1977-95

Nameplates are added to the backs of the jerseys for the first time in 1977-78. Only slight changes to the numbers are made over nearly a 20-year stretch.

1995-2006

New uniforms debut in 1995-96 as the Bruins move from Boston Garden to the FleetCenter (now known as TD Garden). These sweaters include a thicker gold outline along the Spoked-B, as well as a black Spoked-B on the black sweaters. The stripes at the bottom of the jersey, as well as around the elbows also change. An updated bear's head is added to the shoulders.

Boston also premieres a third jersey - affectionately known by some fans as the 'Pooh-Bear' sweater. It is gold with the bear's head as the primary logo and Bruins written on the shoulders. (We know you remember this one.)

2006-07

The gold bear sweater is retired, in favor of a new third jersey - a vintage black sweater based off Boston's traditional 1970s uniform.

2007-08

Reebok takes over as the NHL's uniform partner and Boston adds a serif to its Spoked-B. The bear shoulder logos are also replaced by a play off the Bruins' inaugural primary logo - a bear surrounded by the words 'Boston' and 'Bruins.' The stripes at the bottom of the sweater and around the elbows are switched from white-black-gold to gold-black-white.

2009-10

Boston also wears a gold jersey for the 2010 Winter Classic at Fenway Park. The sweater has a rounded Spoked-B, reminiscent of the inaugural Spoked-B from the 1948-49 season.

2008-16

The primary black and white jerseys remain the same, but a third sweater is added. The 'Men in Black' jersey, as many fans called it, featured a V-neck collar with no laces. The logo from the shoulders of the black and white sweaters is placed on the front of the third jersey, while the Spoked-B is moved to the shoulders. There are no stripes along the bottom of the jersey.

2016-17

Boston switches up its third jersey, replacing the 'Men in Black' sweater with its jersey from the 2016 Winter Classic at Gillette Stadium. The sweater, with Boston Bruins and the team's original bear across the front, is based off of the Bruins first uniform.

2017-23

The National Hockey League and adidas debuted their partnership by unveiling the league's new ADIZERO jerseys. The Black & Gold's new threads contain only subtle variations from the sweaters they have worn since 2007, when Reebok took over the NHL's uniform design. The biggest difference was the removal of the extra outline in between the letters and numbers.

2019

The Bruins, set for yet another outdoor game, debut another specialty jersey for the 2019 NHL Winter Classic at Notre Dame Stadium. Similar to the sweaters from the 1932-36 seasons, the brown and gold uniform featured heritage materials and striping. Highlighting the throwback look, the crest featured the classic "B" logo from the team's home and away sweaters during those years, created with a carpet-like, two-layer felt application. To complete the theme, the player names and numbers also featured two-layer felt materials.

2019-23

The Bruins unveiled the sixth alternate jersey in team history, an homage to the uniforms of the 1940s and 50s. The jerseys were Boston's first permanent alternates since the 2016-17 season when the 2016 Winter Classic sweater was adopted as the team's third.

The all-black alternate, which was highlighted by a gold block-B as its centerpiece, featured single gold and white stripes around the elbows and bottom of the sweater, and an all-gold collar with gold lettering that matched the Bruins' primary jersey.

The sleeve and hem stripes were inspired by the Bruins unique numbered front jerseys from 1940-48.

2021

For the fifth time in team history, the Bruins went gold. Boston's first-ever Reverse Retro sweater was a remix of its home uniforms worn at Boston Garden from 1981-1995 during the Ray Bourque-Cam Neely era. It featured the non-serifed Spoked-B and the fan-favorite bear crest on the shoulders with a gold base instead of the traditional white. The Reverse Retro marked the first gold Bruins jersey in nearly 15 years.

2022-23

The Bruins' second Reverse Retro jersey focused on the original 1995 gold third jersey, which was worn in the first NHL third jersey game. The hem, sleeves, and stripes stayed authentic to the 1995 jersey, with the current NHL shield logo remixed in vintage orange and black colors. The original color of the third jersey, a gold base, was instead featured in a bright white.

2023

For the Bruins’ fifth outdoor game, their second NHL Winter Classic at Fenway Park, the team paid tribute to a number of different eras in club history all at once. The black jersey with bold, gold trim and stripes also included touches of "Vintage White" throughout, chiefly on the numbers, name plate, and 'Boston' lettering.

The light beige was "meant to evoke aged textile as if this garment was found in a trunk deep in the back of an old skate shop. The numbers, letters, and crest are a "vintage felt" with "decorative top stitch."

2023-24

The Bruins will celebrate their Centennial with three new jerseys, a home, an away, and an alernate. The full details on each, as well as on-sale information, can be found here.

(Some information from nhluniforms.com was used in this report.)