Front pockets harken back to before the '20's I'm fairly sure.
My dad had them in the early '20's when he started racing.
Years ago there was not much team support so you took all you could with
you.
The style didn't change much untill into the '60's and '70's when guys got
lots of team personel working support.
Then the wind catcher became obsolete.
My '50's and '60's Jerseys all had front pockets.
They were perfect for small food items.
Grapes, small sandwichette squares, raisins, wafers, anything else that one
need easy access to. Some guys would transfer stuff from front to back as
needed.
Once guys got stuff from cars and motors as the rules changed so did
clothing, spare tires, etc. as then races got faster and more technicaly
rationalized.
Some of our nicer jerseys actually had two shoulder straps that went over
your back to support the rear pockets so the jersey wouldn't pull down too
far and out of reach.
A lot of the old cotton and wool clothing didn't have a good memory and got
kinda stretchy while being worn.
I'm sure you all remember the great fotos Aldo Ross Pic of the Day shots had
of the guys with baggy clothing not appoved by Mr. Blackwell.
Ted Ernst
Palos Verdes Estates
CA USA
> You speak of cycling jerseys with front pockets as
> being something rather old. When I got back into the
> sport two years ago, the gear I had laying around were
> two pair of cycling shorts which were my preferred
> underwear for long distance motorcycling trips, and
> the two remaining jerseys I hadn't gotten rid of,
> mainly because they had my TOSRV patches from the 70's
> sewn on.
>
> One jersey was a Lambertini, wool/acrylic blend, and
> the other was a Cool Gear (which I seem to remember as
> the first 'hip' line of cycling clothing that came out
> of the bike boom) totally man made fibre - and both
> had front pockets.
>
> Yes, that's where we kept out cigarettes, rolling
> papers, or whatever else was small and probably would
> absolutely horrify modern cyclists.
>
> I was actually disappointed when I started shopping
> for a new load of jerseys to find out that we'd gone
> down to just the three rear pockets. Anyone got an
> idea when the style changed
>
>
> Syke
> Deranged Few M/C
>
> "France backed off its pledge to send seventeen hundred troops
> to Lebanon Thursday and offered to send two hundred. No wonder
> we keep testing positive in their bicycle races. Everyone looks
> like they're full of testosterone when they're surrounded by
> Frenchmen." ---Argus Hamilton
>
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