Colts unveil 1956 throwback uniforms, will wear special jerseys vs. Buccaneers during 2021 season

Sixty-five years after Johnny Unitas made his Colts debut, setting the stage for a dominant championship stretch in Baltimore, the franchise has ushered his team’s uniforms back into the lineup for 2021. The Colts announced Wednesday that they will wear special 1956 throwback apparel this season, specifically in Week 12 against the defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers. The old-school uniform, headlined by retro helmets and jerseys, is designed to pay tribute to the Colts teams of the late 1950s, when the club won back-to-back titles and featured future Hall of Famers like Unitas, Art Donovan, Raymond Berry and coach Weeb Ewbank.

“The Colts uniform is one of the most iconic and enduring symbols in all of sports,” Carlie Irsay-Gordon, the Colts’ vice chair and co-owner, said in a statement. “Over our 68-year history, our uniform has had subtle changes, but the timeless look and feel remains. We look forward to honoring our NFL roots, as well as the great Colts players who helped build the NFL into what it is today.”

Unlike the Colts’ standard home jerseys, the 1956 throwbacks will feature: Two horseshoe logos on the back of the helmet, the logos’ original location, instead of on the sides; numbers that better reflect the 1950s style, including with higher placement on the shoulder pad area; three shoulder-pad stripes rather than the present-day two; and a single pant stripe rather than two.

The Colts’ classic “bucking horse” logo will also be rolled out on game days for fan merchandise and promotional materials. And Colts cheerleaders, who made up the NFL’s first cheering squad starting in 1954, will wear their own throwback uniforms for the Week 12 matchup, scheduled for Nov. 28 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.