You may have a soft spot for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ throwback, “bumblebee” jerseys but not everyone feels the same way. Radio.com ranked them in the top ten ugliest jerseys in NFL history, coming in at 6th ugliest on the list.
Here’s what author Tim Kelly had to say:
“You ever see something so ugly that it almost becomes endearing? That’s how we feel about the bumble bee alternate uniforms that ths Pittsburgh Steelers wore from 2012-2016, a modern take on one of the uniforms that the team wore in 1933, their inaugural season. The jerseys themselves are bad, but it’s the matching bumble bee socks (and then modern cleats that don’t begin to match) that really put this look over the top (or bottom).”
Little point of clarification here. These jerseys weren’t worn in 1933 but the year after, their ’34 edition. If you want to check out what the ’33 jerseys looked like, click here.
But the criticism for the bumblebees are fair. It’s a funky looking design. One the Steelers wore for only a handful of years. I love them just for their history, a throwback to an era that rarely gets talked about. If you’re a sucker for that sort of history, check out our review and recap of the Steelers (then known as the Pittsburgh Pirates) 1934 season. They last wore those jerseys in a 2016, 31-13 victory over the New York Jets.
Overall today, the Steelers have some of the simplest, cleanest jerseys in football. Their color rush uniforms are among the best in the game and there’s something about having the Steelers’ logo on just one side of the helmet that just feels right.
If you’re wondering what jersey took the gold medal for ugliest, that went to the 2009 Seattle Seahawks’ alternate green jerseys, a color scheme that looked like someone threw up on Matt Hasselbeck. No other AFC North team made this dubious list though the cross state Eagles checked in at #9 for their 1934 jerseys, which truly were a sight to see.
Again, check out their entire list at the link here.
