From the birth of the Pirates in 1986 until the present day there has been some changes in both the design of the uniforms and the logos that the Club has used.
Here is a look back at the evolution of the Pirates’ uniform.
In the Beginning
The essence of the Pirate uniform has always been silver and black.
When the club first began in 1986 the uniform was based on those worn by the then Los Angeles Raiders in the NFL with silver helmets, black jerseys, and silver-grey pants with a black stripe.
In the early days the League also required teams to have an Away uniform and the Pirates adopted a white jersey as a part of their kit.
The helmet logo was a skull over crossed swords inside a shield, again loosely based on the Los Angeles Raiders.
Into the 90’s
The original design served the Club well into the 1990’s when, due to manufacturing problems, the club dispensed with the black stripe on the pants in favour of all silver-grey.
In 1997 the club changed the helmet logo for the first time. The base image was designed by Head Coach, Ian Taylor, and became a skull wearing a flowing bandanna, with a dagger clenched between its teeth. This was to be the club logo until 2003.
The simple silver and black design was modified for the 2001 season with the team name added in bold font above the numbers on the front of the jersey, and a silver-grey collar adding an accent to the basic black design.
The New Millenium
The uniform design was to remain the same into the new millennium, but in 2003 the club updated the logo once again.
The second design (by Coach Taylor) was complicated and difficult to replicate on shirts and other merchandise so a clean, simple design was sought.
Pirate Player, Sim Tooala, came up with the eye-catching design incorporating the skull and bandanna from previous versions, but this time with a fresh look that was easy to use in most applications.
2005 – The Pirates’ 20th Anniversary Season
To celebrate the club’s 20th Anniversary in 2005 the jersey was revamped once again.
This time, silver-grey shoulder inserts were added and the small sleeve numbers were re-positioned to sit on top of the shoulder pads.
For the 2005 season the jersey also incorporated a special commemorative logo on each sleeve.
The Anniversary patch, designed by Pirate Player, Sean White, not only featured on jerseys, but was seen on jackets, coaches’ apparel, and other merchandise for that season.
This jersey design was used for the 2005 and 2006 seasons.
To Honour the Trojans
In 2007 the jersey saw another update. In a move that was long overdue the colour purple was added to the Pirate jersey in honour of the club’s Colts team, the West Sydney Trojans.
Throughout their existence the Trojans had used a combination of purple and gold and it was only fitting that the ties between the two teams was demonstrated in a symbolic gesture.
The shoulder insert was changed to purple edged with silver, and the jersey numbers both large and small were outlined in black and purple to give depth.
In place of the commemorative patch on the sleeve the helmet logo was added as a final touch.
Unfortunately due to manufacturing issues this version of the Pirate jersey was only used during the 2007 season.
Fine Tuning
2008 saw a variation on the theme.
The shoulder inserts were taken out and silver side panels outlined in purple were added to the design.
The silver number font was also altered slightly but retained the black and purple outline both on the shoulders and body of the jersey.
The helmet logo was also retained on the sleeves.
This was to be the club uniform in 2008 and 2009.
The 25th Anniversary Season and Beyond
In 2010 the Pirates celebrated their 25th anniversary and to mark the occasion they unveiled a brand new look.
London-based graphic design wiz, Fraser Davidson, came up with the new art work which gave the Pirates their bold new look.
The new branding includes a primary logo that incorporates the best elements of the Pirates’ past images, a new secondary logo which features an interlocking WS and crossed swords, and a word mark using a font specifically designed for the Club.
The primary logo appears on helmets and the reverse of the jersey and the secondary logo features on both jersey sleeves.
The jersey itself has been altered with an updated purple trim, and a modified black strip outlined in purple was added to the pants.
A special Anniversary patch was again designed by Pirate Player, Sean White, and featured prominently throughout the 2010 season.