Skip to content
 
Uni Watch

Browns Reviving White Facemasks for Saturday Tilt vs. Ravens

By

The Browns, via the tweet shown above, announced today that they’ll be swapping out their usual brown facemasks for white ones this Saturday, when they host the Ravens.

According to the Gridiron Uniform Database, the Browns first wore white masks in 1975 and continued wearing them through 2005. They then switched to grey masks in 2006, and changed again to brown in 2015, which they’ve continued to wear since then (notwithstanding a few grey-masked throwback games to mark the franchise’s 75th anniversary last season). So this Saturday will mark the team’s first white-masked game in 17 years.

In addition to the white masks, the Browns will be pairing their brown jerseys with their orange pants on Saturday, creating a very Brian Sipe-esque look (although I don’t think anyone will be wearing hip pads like the ones Sipe is sporting in this photo):

 
  
 
Comments (45)

    Love this! I prefer the gray ones the best but the white is better than brown by a long shot.

    Nice. Anything but grey. Never liked teams using grey face mask unless there’s grey somewhere else on the uniforms.

    I don’t know why, but this whole effort to change the color of the mask bothers me. It seems like a waste…a waste of electricity, a waste of someone’s time who could be doing something more productive for the Browns or society. Putting screws into and out of the helmet might also hasten the need to replace the helmet, leading to more waste. I haven’t totally fleshed out my argument here, but does anyone feel the same?

    Yeah, I think that the 5-10 amps to power a corded drill is negligible, and most of them are battery operated using no electricity. As for a waste of time, the equipment managers get paid for their work so they’re not wasting any time, per se. I respect your comment but also think it’s quite a reach. Go Browns!

    That’s right…and the more times you charge the battery, the quicker it winds up in a landfill. Obviously changing facemasks is not going to destroy the planet, but add up all other unnecessary tasks in the world and it is significant.

    So marketing and sales, as if a face mask color is going to move the needle perceptibly, not aesthetics is likely driving this. I agree.

    Changing out facemasks is literally in the persons job description. Unless you’re trying to put the poor bloke out of work, your comment makes little sense.

    Lee

    That is a strawman argument. Saying it seems wasteful does not mean I am trying to put someone out of work. By that argument, being against uni ads is going to put people out of work or lower their sales commission.

    “being against uni ads is going to put people out of work”

    There’s the only argument for unemployment with which I most wholeheartedly agree!

    I’m gonna make an executive decision here and declare this discussion to be beneath the dignity of Uni Watch.

    There’s nothing “wasteful” about swapping out facemasks (at least no more so than any other alt/throwback uni move), nobody is gonna lose their job one way or the other, and the move is clearly about aesthetics.

    Everyone please go back to discussing brown vs. grey vs. white. Thanks.

    Browns with the white facemask is their best look ever. Only exception maybe the gray. The brown facemask just has no style or pop.

    I’m a browns fan and prefer the brown facemask. For me it’s brown >>white >>>>>>>>>grey

    For those who prefer grey what about it do you like? To me it’s a jarring look because in many instances grey isn’t a team color.

    Prior to the early 70s, practically ALL face masks were grey. Those of us older than dirt prefer the grey look, because it reminds us how teams looked in our childhood.

    Please don’t speak for those of us that are older than dirt. I don’t, nor have I ever, preferred gray facemasks, and I am definitely older than dirt.

    Thank you.

    Lee

    Browns fan and I’ll agree, I prefer the brown mask over the white and both over grey. I saw the white mask on Twitter with the uniform and it looks much better than it used to. I think the new, brighter orange and the darker brown helps. I never cared for the orange pants in the Sipe era but love them the most now.

    Not only does it not make sense for teams that don’t feature gray/silver to have gray facemasks , but on new fangled facemasks, it looks even more out of place.

    Lee

    White over White w white facemask is my favorite Browns look, but the Sipe Brown over Orange era is a close second. Just no Red Right 88!

    The second-most important thing I learned in high school was this maxim from my 10th grade art teacher: “If you are bored, you are boring.” Words to live by.

    (The one thing I learned that was more important than that was how to type.)

    This site is specifically for uniform minutiae. If you find it boring, you might be on the wrong site.

    Literally everything I like (and everything I like about this website) can be preceded by the picture of Peter Griffin in the classroom, saying, “Oh my God, who the hell cares??” It’s practically a compliment.

    I always remembered The Browns appearing in jerseys that actually looked more black than brown. I’d love to see a side by side of the actual jerseys used during the Sipe era vs now. I bet the difference would be significant.

    Good observation and I agree – not just a photographic anomaly. All the press guides of that era referred to the color as ‘Seal Brown’ (the other primary color was called ‘Burnt Orange’) and it did appear nearly black, especially on the old perforated versions that Greg Pruitt ripped to shreds (usually replaced at half-time). Not until the classics returned in ’85 did the more typical brown color become obvious again.

    Brown > White > … > Gray. Facemask is the kind of uniforms/equipment element that if it can be a team color, it should be a team color. White is closer to a team color for the Browns (and most teams, really) than gray.

    Born in Cleveland and watched them my whole life. That in itself doesn’t give me any better opinion than anyone else. Just not a random observer. White facemasks were always my favorite. Wish they’d return to these full time. They just pop.

    Too bad I saw this – it would’ve been a fun surprise on Saturday. It also would have probably been the only thing the Browns do worth cheering on Saturday.

    Over the years I’ve noticed the different styles of face masks but honestly never the color.
    I was always more interested in the color of the fabric making the uniform.

    I’ve always wondered if players prefer certain face mask colors; for instance, is a bright yellow face mask perhaps more distracting in their periphery than say, a black one?

    Anyway, the brown masks have really grown on me, and I prefer them, but the white ones are a welcome way to mix things up.

    White is OK but brown is the best for a team named the Browns. Grey is more suited for the Lions, Raiders, Cowboys or Patriots.

    Lifelong Browns fan here. I grew up in the Sipe-Kosar eras, so I do have an affinity for the white. I also liked the grey. I’m not a fan of the brown, likely because I associate the brown with the debut of the worst uniform set in team history (see link to 2015 in the article to see that travesty). Go Browns!

    Dear Santa,

    I have been a very good boy all year long. If you could please bring a sleighful of white facemasks to the Vikings, that would be great. Thank you so much!

    Happy Holidays,
    Joe

    They need an actual throwback with white helmets.
    if they went alternate, maybe a grey helmet. Kind of shocked it hasnt appeared yet…since Haslam clearly has no soul, why this is some uncrossable line is hard to fathom.

    Hated it in ’75 along with the orange pants. I was 11 then – probably the moment when I knew I “got it” and why I visit this site weekly. I hate the look still today. And the Browns are playing like they did in the ’70’s…

    Overjoyed to see the return of the white face masks! The “Brian Sipe” look was always my favorite for the Browns!

Comments are closed.