Everyone seems to be loving the articles about uniforms, so here is another one for you to chew on. Like the previous two, this is all opinion once again, and I encourage you to share your own list with us. This is a very wide-ranging topic and is entirely opinion, so please don’t get upset if the uniform you think is a team’s best isn’t what I have listed.
Please note the teams are listed in alphabetical order. The order of the teams is not a ranking.
British Columbia Lions
The B.C. Lions look good in orange. The orange jersey with the white numbers really pops for me. One of the things that makes this stand out among other Lions uniforms, particularly the newer ones, is that the amount of black used is very limited. The less black involved with a Lions uniform the better.
The white pants and helmet round out this uniform. The logo on the helmet looks good, and the black facemask fits right in. If I had one complaint about this uniform it would be the size of the stripes on the pants, but even that isn’t enough to turn this sweet looking uniform sour.
B.C. doesn’t have the richest of uniform histories, but this one tops the list for me. They do need to go back to these uniforms and stop using so much black! Orange and white is what the B.C. Lions are all about.
Calgary Stampeders
The ‘outlaw’ uniform sat in this spot for months before I decided to change it very recently. It changed because I really think that, like the Lions, the Stamps look better in the absence of black.
The red white and silver is sharp and there were rumours that it would be returning in the 2020 season. That has unfortunately been robbed from us. Here’s hoping that we still have the chance to see the red white and silver make a return at some point.
To be able to overtake the outlaw uniform for my favourite is an accomplishment in and of itself. These are just so good looking. The Calgary Flames have also taken black out of their uniforms and gone back to a retro look and it’s time for the Stamps to join them.
Edmonton Football Team
Related: Ranking the CFL Home Uniforms
I have never been a big fan of the uniforms worn by the Edmonton Football Team, but these Warren Moon era uniforms are something I can get behind.
You might wonder what the difference between these and the ones Edmonton stopped wearing after the 2015 season, and you have to look close to find the answer. The first thing is the numbers. They don’t have any black in them and they are simple. Gold looks good. The logo on the helmet is the old school, more curvy design of the ‘EE’ and looks really good. Finally, the white facemask. Not a big deal to most, but for me, that’s the biggest factor as to why this is better than the Reebok era jerseys.
Edmonton, it’s time to revive these bad boys and stop wearing those ugly uniforms you have been wearing since Adidas took over.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The whole time I have been preparing this ranking, I have been going back and forth between this uniform and the current New Era all-black look. Ultimately, I sided with this one for a couple of reasons.
One of those reasons is how iconic these are. These things are sewn into Hamilton Tiger-Cats history. The second reason is the yellow helmet. While my less black the better the uniform cant be applied to a team like the Tabbies for obvious reasons, the yellow helmet is really cool.
These have been spruced up and modernized in concept uniforms in the past and it would be cool to see the Cats wear a uniform like the one below a couple of times each season.
There is a good reason to bring back this historic look. Please make this happen, Ti-Cats.
Montreal Alouettes
This uniform is by far my favourite the Als have ever worn. The red, blue, and white scream Montreal and the whole thing looks sharp. The Als have worn a uniform similar to this one for years but it was always done with silver pants and silver helmets.
This beauty only existed for a short period of time in the 2018 season when the Als wore throwback helmets for the entire season. The wings are truly unique to them in the CFL. They looked cool and made sense. This whole uniform from head to toe is awesome.
When I ranked home and away uniforms a while back, I ranked the Als relatively low. Had they have kept this look, they would have been much higher. Potentially even the number one or number two spot. Instead, we have those off-putting uniforms with the logo on the top of the helmet. I fully expect these to make a return within the next 20 years.
Ottawa Redblacks
This Redblacks uniform is special in so many ways. Just by looking at it, you might not think that it’s all that great, and to a certain extent, you would be right. These Redblacks uniforms don’t have some crazy eye-popping things like some of the other looks on this list, but as a whole, this thing works really well.
First and foremost, these replaced the uniforms worn by the team for the first two seasons that had impossible to read numbers. You could finally read the numbers from the stands now. Some will think that having #RNation on the pants is stupid, but I love it. It’s something Redblacks fans have grabbed and gone with even when the team tries to introduce a new hashtag.
The Redblacks don’t have a long jersey history and I’m not counting the Rough Riders or the Renegades in this. They have their own section. But I think most Redblacks fans will agree that these are the best uniforms the team has worn in their short history.
Saskatchewan Roughriders
Related: Ranking the 2019 CFL Away Uniforms
Behold, one of the two uniforms done by New Era on this list. Why the Riders haven’t switched to these full time is beyond me. If it was up to me, this would be the home jersey and I would invert the colours and have a white version of this as my away jersey.
Everything from the helmets logo, to the stripes on the jersey, to the font that is used, is perfect. There isn’t a single thing about this uniform that I would change other than making it the primary home uniform.
As great as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers home look is, this jersey would have been number one on my home uniform rankings if this was their home look. It wouldn’t have been a contest. Make these full time.
Toronto Argonauts
The Argos are another team that had a good thing going only to replace it with something worse. These will be back. I can assure you that the next time the Argos update their uniforms, it will be a move to bring these back from the dead.
The double-blue and white is an iconic look in the CFL. These uniforms captured what that was all about perfectly. These were replaced with something I ranked dead last in the home uniform rankings. These would have scored much higher.
The white numbers pop and the sleeves look great. It screams Toronto. The ones they have now scream practice to me. The oversized logo on the helmet with the baby blue stripe looks amazing and the blue pants to go with it really pull the look together. It looked tough.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The Bombers are the only other team to have their current jersey on this list. These are just the best look the Bombers have ever had. Let’s just insert the same thing I said in the home uniform ranking article.
“The tan pants, although weird, help to keep them easy to look at. The jersey itself is great with that giant ‘W’ on the arm, and the helmet looks great in gold with that massive ‘W’ on it again.”
“The Bombers made the right choice to ditch those terrible navy and gold uniforms they had earlier, and a gold away jersey is just about the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen, but these are perfect. They couldn’t have done a better job if they tried again.”
Ottawa Rough Rider + Renegades
I wasn’t alive to see the Rough Riders play and I was way too young to see much of the Renegades (thankfully), but this still wasn’t a tough decision to make.
Just looking at this thing, it just works. Not often does an old style of uniform work for me, but this really does. From the ‘R’ on the helmet to the logo on the sleeve and down to the big stripes on the pants, this thing looks amazing.
Wouldn’t you love to see a modernized version out of the field when the Redblacks eventually get back to playing in front of 24,000+ fans at TD Place? It probably won’t happen, but we can dream.
Combined American Teams
Many of the American expansion uniforms were awful. If I do this again and talk about the worst uniforms in the history of the CFL, it’s going to be tough to find just one of the American expansion teams to use.
That being said, the Baltimore Stallions, already famous for being the only American team to ever win the Grey Cup, also had the best uniforms of the American expansion teams. The logo was okay and the jerseys looked good even by today’s standards.
The pants kind of continue the pattern seen in the mane of the stallion in the logo. Continuity is cool, kids. Overall, these are sharp. The stallion in the logo looks a little bit dopey to me, but that doesn’t change the fact that this is still the best uniform from the American expansion.
So that does it. You’ve heard what I have to say on the topic, now let’s hear what you think! Be sure to let us see your list by tweeting @13thManPod on Twitter and by tagging @13thManPod on Facebook.