The New Jersey Devils have become synonymous with red and black. Their iconic logo looks perfect with the red and black color scheme. It gives the Devils one of the best jerseys in the league. The color scheme even has people coming around on the Jersey jersey. Red and black does wonderful things for the marketing of this team.
And it’s such an easy pairing to make. Red and black are the obvious two colors when it comes to “Devils.” There are even some who say the original Jersey Devil, which the Devils get their name from, had red eyes and was a tall black monster or animal or whatever the Jersey Devil was.
So, we have to ask, why did the New Jersey Devils start their franchise with red and green colors?
The best explanation is that the Devils wanted to have a connection to the Pine Barrens, a South Jersey staple where most sightings of the Jersey Devil were reported. It was a stark change from the colors the Devils had when they were the Colorado Rockies, which included blue, red, and yellow.
This week is lore week at Fansided, so we wanted to assess the original Devils jersey. After the team moved to New Jersey and embraced the Garden State, this was an effort to be a team for all of New Jersey.
New Jersey Devils red and green jerseys will always be a part of their history
Of course, unless you’re talking about the Reverse Retro jersey the Devils only wore in 2021, the green is very subtle in these jerseys. It’s only three stripes on the original white jersey. On the red jersey, it does add some green to the shoulders, but it’s still not overwhelming. There was also green trim in the logo and on the lettering and numbers on the back.
This is probably why there is lore around the red and the green jersey. The Devils bring back the green every so often, like with the Reverse Retro. For a long time, the Devils used to wear their retro jerseys for St. Patrick’s Day. However, that tradition isn’t necessarily the case anymore.
It’s a very simple concept that the Devils wanted to mix the Devil with the Pine Barrens. The reason for the change to red and black is even more simple than that. The Devils were having trouble getting a consistent Forest Green color, so they went with black.
Today, the Devils’ red and green jersey is referred to as “the Christmas jersey,” referring to the traditional Christmas colors red and green. It makes finding an ugly Christmas sweater much easier when you can just wear your retro Devils’ jersey.