We all love some retro College Football apparel. One common theme you may notice is that many of these vintage College Football mascots have sailor hats. In fact, multiple schools with the same mascot share the exact same designs, with different colors or name on the hat. Why is this? Well, the answer is an artist named Arthur Evans.
Arthur “Art” Evans was the head artist at a company named Angelus Pacific Co. (a company that makes designs and decals to this very day). Art went school to school on behalf of Angelus Pacific, offering to designs the mascots for their bookstore. This was a common practice at the time, as university branding (especially for athletics) was not nearly as important or restricted as it is now. When a university accepted Art’s deal and commissioned a mascot logo, he’d save the design to utilize with any schools that shared the same mascot.
Art and Angelus Pacific Co. were prolific designers – in fact, Art Evans is credited with designing the logos of over 90% of schools from between 1932 and 1977. Thus, many of the retro logos you see were in fact designed by Art Evans himself, often recycling the same designs.
Article continues below
So, what about the sailor hats? The history of the sailor hat in Art Evan’s college mascot designs is less clear. In fact, it’s not known for sure. Most assume it is because college freshmen wore beanie hats at many colleges in the early 20th century, and these “sailor hats” often mimic those designs.
Looking to get your own retro College Football apparel? Check out Homefield, and get 15% off your order with code CFBSELECT!
Did your school utilize an Art Evans vintage mascot design? Which one is your favorite? Let us know in the replies or on Twitter @CFBSelect!
Subscribe to our blog for College Football News and Updates!
CFB Select 