The Blackhawks' Indian head sweater has been called the best uniform in professional sports. The original was designed by Irene Castle, a famous dancer of the 1920's, who was also the wife of Major McLaughlin, the founder of the Blackhawks. The first sweaters were black and white with horizontal stripes running across the shoulders, elbows and waist.

Sweater from about 1935

During the mid-1930's, the sweater design changed to the one you see below. They had horizontal stripes on the bottom like they do today, but they also had them on the upper chest and shoulders. The Indian head was inside a circle on the chest with the words "Chicago Black Hawks" around it.

Replica of a sweater from around 1943

After the 1954-55 season, the upper chest stripes were removed and the shoulder patches with the crossed tomahawks were added. The Indian head was also made larger and the words were removed from around it. This design was done by the wife of long-time Hawks executive Tommy Ivan.

In 1970, all teams in the NHL switched from wearing their white sweaters on the road to wearing them at home.

In 1996, the Blackhawks, like many other NHL teams, added a third sweater. The new sweater is the same design as the home and road sweaters with the exception of the colors. The main color of it is black, with alternating red and white stripes around the bottom and on the arms.