Who doesn’t like a Norseman with blond locks?

Minnesota’s Scandinavian heritage has been reflected through its uniforms since the team’s debut in 1961, categorized by rich purple and gold with corresponding Viking horns. Since the franchise’s inception, the Vikings have donned purple helmets with the recognizable horns on each side. In 1985, facemasks were changed from white to purple and 21 years later, the “Horn” graphic was redesigned slightly for a more contemporary, three-dimensional look.

Early on, the Vikings often donned purple pants with white jerseys on the road, a combination that’s still available but is rarely worn. Unique to Minnesota’s franchise was its completely different sets of home and away jerseys. Purple tops were relatively simple at home with striping on the sleeves, but the Vikings’ white roads featured an alternate striping set on the shoulders. These appeared first in 1969, the year of Minnesota’s first Super Bowl title.

From 1996 to 2005, Minnesota’s uniforms were updated to include the team’s secondary “Norseman” logo on each sleeve with horned purple and gold striping on the road white tops.

The Vikings saw their biggest uniform change in 2006 when the team moved to the current look defined by lots of piping on jerseys and pants with splashes of gold. In recent years, the Vikings have worn several different patches on throwback Sundays or to commemorate past Viking players or coaches who have passed on.

Though it hasn’t been seen since 2010, all-purple is sometimes worn as a home alternate, a look made famous during a 1964 game against the Lions.

The favored current alternate is an old-school dark purple top with sleeve stripes instead of advanced shoulder piping. Rich purple shells, darker than the usual helmets, complete the look.