"Memorabilia Vault"
Hello Wonder fans, and welcome to the memorabilia vault of Friday Nights in K-Town. Here in the vault you will find many items of Wonder football memorabilia which I have collected over the years. A good portion of these items should look very familiar to the die hard Wonder fan, and I have taken this opportunity to photograph what I have and post it here for all of you to enjoy and reflect upon. Most of what you will see here are from my personal collection which I have been collecting for many years now and which I proudly display inside the office of FIK. Some items I purchased, some I found, and some were donated to the vault by Wonder fans like yourself who thought they would rather see the items put to good use, and preserved rather than sitting in a old box in the attic collecting mold and mildew. Some of the items like old football programs belong to the Hinson History Center which I obtained and scanned the contents.
In the vault you will see all kinds of spirit memorabilia such as buttons, ribbons, commemorative pieces such as license plates, cups, footballs and etc. You will also see actual game worn jerseys, pants, and helmets all which have been procured by the editor for posterity. I have even collected memorabilia from our most heated rival from that school down South known as Concord High. Some of these items are real collector's items for the Wonder football connoisseur. I am always on the prowl for memorabilia and as you will see below my collection is quite extensive. So take a moment and look in the vault at some items from the past which I know will bring back lots of fond memories for all you die hards out there. If you have anything Wonder football related you would like to donate to the FIK collection, please send me a message either on the Facebook sister page or on the contact form on this site. Hope you will enjoy this trip back into the Wonder vault.
In the vault you will see all kinds of spirit memorabilia such as buttons, ribbons, commemorative pieces such as license plates, cups, footballs and etc. You will also see actual game worn jerseys, pants, and helmets all which have been procured by the editor for posterity. I have even collected memorabilia from our most heated rival from that school down South known as Concord High. Some of these items are real collector's items for the Wonder football connoisseur. I am always on the prowl for memorabilia and as you will see below my collection is quite extensive. So take a moment and look in the vault at some items from the past which I know will bring back lots of fond memories for all you die hards out there. If you have anything Wonder football related you would like to donate to the FIK collection, please send me a message either on the Facebook sister page or on the contact form on this site. Hope you will enjoy this trip back into the Wonder vault.
"The Evolution of the Wonder Uniform"
The Wonder football uniform has seen many transformations over the last five decades, and each one has it’s own personality and charm. There is probably some debate over which uniform is a fan favorite and which ones the fans could do without. I have been collecting high school football memorabilia for many years, and have been very fortunate to have obtained many old classic items from past Wonder Coaches and other various sources to add to my collection. Now for the debate. Which one would you say is the best looking of all, and had the most longevity in uniform rotation. Since 1973 there has been at least ten variations in the look of the Wonder football uniform. Some worked and some did not. Before I give you my favorite I will take you through a brief timeline, and what the uniform of the day was like during that particular point in Wonder football history.
1970-1972
1970-1972: The uniform of the day for the Wonders from 1970 to 1972 consisted of a Baltimore Colt style jersey with three stripes running around the shoulder top.
1973-1975
1973-1975: 1973 was the last year of head coach Will Campagna who was followed by coach Lope Linder, however it was coach Campagna who introduced the less than eye catching combination of brown pants with white home jersey and green away jersey. If you remember during that period the home team wore white jerseys while the visiting team would wear their dark jersey when visiting Memorial Stadium. I never really understood that, but that would change in the years to come. The helmets were white with a small green “K” on each side. I can only guess that since the school was named after A.L. Brown that coach Campagna only thought it fitting to incorporate the color brown into the scheme.
1976-1978
1976-1978: In 1976 coach Bob Boswell took over the program and with this change came a total transformation from the stale look of the early seventies. In coach Boswell’s words “I don’t know what Will Campagna was thinking with those brown pants lol. Boswell opted for a bolder more striking appearance in the uniforms transitioning to an all green helmet with the large block Kentucky “K” and white pants with the two large Green stripes down each side. The jerseys were either plain Green with White numerals or white with Green numerals with the numbers on the sleeve sides. 1978 also marked the first year the home team would wear dark jerseys for all home games which has not changed.
1979-1991
1980-1983: During this time coach Boswell decided that the large block Kentucky “K” would also look good festooned upon the top of the shoulders and so came this change. Two White stripes were added to the sleeves while the numbers remained on the side as well. In 1981 Silver was incorporated into the game pant which had two Green stripes down each leg with a single White stripe in the middle.
1984-1988: Coach Boswell made a subtle change to the Silver game pant adding the Kentucky "K" to the side of each leg at the hip. In 1985 a Green pant was introduced incorporating the silver stripes down each leg and the Kentucky "K" on each leg at the hip.
1989-1991: As the Bruce Hardin era began in 1989, Hardin would opt to keep the traditional Philadelphia Eagle Green and Silver scheme as the proprietary uniform until 1992 when he would incorporate Blue into the color scheme.
1984-1988: Coach Boswell made a subtle change to the Silver game pant adding the Kentucky "K" to the side of each leg at the hip. In 1985 a Green pant was introduced incorporating the silver stripes down each leg and the Kentucky "K" on each leg at the hip.
1989-1991: As the Bruce Hardin era began in 1989, Hardin would opt to keep the traditional Philadelphia Eagle Green and Silver scheme as the proprietary uniform until 1992 when he would incorporate Blue into the color scheme.
1992-2001
1992-2001: in 1992 coach Hardin implemented the master stroke when he decided Blue should be incorporated into the color scheme which I believe added much depth to the white and Green numerals as outline colors. The large block Kentucky “K” on the helmets were also outlined in blue as well. Why was Blue incorporated you may ask? The information I was given at the time was to commemorate the colors of G.W. Carver high school since Blue was the proprietary color. This addition of blue in my opinion was the perfect compliment to a stunning uniform and made the white numbers and letters really jump out at you. Several different pant designs were introduced including one that was wore once and never worn again. That pant was a white pan with two small green stripes and one large blue stripe down each leg. A Green pant with a blue stripe and a solid Green pant was also introduced during this time. One thing you must understand when buying uniforms is the price goes up per item the more colors that is used. With this particular design the addition of the blue would bring the price up considerably per jersey because screen printers would have to create a second screen for the outline plus the additional cost of the ink.
2000-2001: In 2000 Bruce Hardin stepped down as head coach of the Wonders and the reigns were then handed over to Ron Massey from Kings Mountain. In Massey’s first two years he retained the uniform colors made popular by coach Hardin and opted to stay with the Green, White and Blue trim. This would be the last year for this particular color scheme.
2000-2001: In 2000 Bruce Hardin stepped down as head coach of the Wonders and the reigns were then handed over to Ron Massey from Kings Mountain. In Massey’s first two years he retained the uniform colors made popular by coach Hardin and opted to stay with the Green, White and Blue trim. This would be the last year for this particular color scheme.
1980-1991
1992-2001
Game Helmets 1972-2015
2002-2003
2002-2003: During this time coach Massey shifted gears a little and went totally away from what Wonder fans had been use to seeing for so many years. The large block Kentucky style “K” came off the shoulder of the jerseys and were replaced by a smaller “K” on the jersey sleeve sides. The color of Green used on the home jerseys went a shade lighter from the traditional Kelly Green which I thought looked strange to say the least. The Green color almost took on a lime color. The words “Kannapolis” were sewn into the middle of the chest in small font which was very hard to see from the stands. Keeping up with the times a new paint scheme was incorporated for the helmets which consisted of metallic flake in the paint. I really liked this change in helmet scheme. The large block Kentucky “K” was also reduced in size somewhat, and were not as wide as those that preceded it. This was not one of my least favorite combinations of colors to be honest with you.
2004-2006
2004-2006: During this time Coach Massey went retro and used a modified version of the early eighties style using only white in the jersey schemes. The large block Kentucky “K” went back on the shoulder and a solid green pant with a “K” was introduced as well. The uniform went back to a more traditional style Wonder uni of the early eighties.
2007-2009
2007-2009: During this period coach Massey stepped back even more retro opting to go with the Indianapolis Colts style stripes on the jerseys that wrapped around the shoulders from the arm pit completely around to the back. The color scheme still took on a hint of lime and not the traditional Kelly Green that most Wonder fans were use to. No outline color was used on the numbers and letters.
2010-2012
2010-2011: In coach Massey’s last year as head coach of the Wonders another jersey transformation went into effect and the addition of the word “Kannapolis” was placed along the top of the numbers on the home jerseys while the away white jerseys had “Wonders” emblazened across the top of the numbers. A very short single stripe was added to the sleeve. This was done to give the team a more modern up to date feel. In coach Newsome's first year in 2011 he decided to play the current uniforms during the 2011 season.
2013-2015
In 2013, third year head coach Mike Newsome would change the uniform design once again. This time the more traditional Green and White was maintained, but with a more futuristic design. Kannapolis would be festooned across the chest of both jerseys instead of the former alternate of Wonders on Green and Kannapolis on White. The pant would also see a more radical shift going away from the traditional embroidery braid down both legs to the word Wonders on the sides of both leg running vertically up the leg.
Current Uniform
In 2016 the Wonder uniform of the day changed once again. There was an even more pronounced departure from the traditional, utilizing a slimmer more streamlined "K" on the sidewall of the sleeve in place of the wider block "K" on top of the shoulder. The pant was more reminiscent of the old Michigan State Spartan style, with a wide solid White braid running down the side. An away style jersey was not purchased during this first purchase order as an alternate jersey in cammie design was purchased for Military Appreciation games.
So there is the way it came to be from 1973 to the present. I know many people have many different opinions on which uniform looked the best and what their reason for it. I have always been a traditionalist and despise change, so when a uniform came out that really struck me that certain way that was the uniform I was sold on. So without a doubt the best overall looking Wonder uniform for me would have to be 1992-2001 with the incorporation of blue into the scheme. The blue for me was the best addition because it really made the numbers stand out from up in the stands and just sharpened the overall look of the uniform. My second favorite would be the addition of silver into the scheme from 1984-1991.
"Artifacts from the Closet"
Button Mania
Spirit Buttons and Spirit Ribbons became very popular from right around 1973 and really took off around 1978. Spirit Buttons were sold for about fifty to seventy five cents each while Ribbons were usually sold for around twenty five cents. Ribbons were usually made for each game and sold during school hours on campus by cheerleaders.
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Early Seventies Wonder Beanie
This early to Mid seventies beanie was popular amongst the older Wonder fans and were sold for $7.00 at the school during class. This classic artifact was given to me by Wonder lineman Tony Pethel.
Modern Wonder Relics
These items are from the recent years and consist of a 2002 football thrown into the stands by the cheerleaders, an early nineties Wonder cup picked up at the concession stands, a 2006 megaphone, a nineties Green and Blue shaker, an early 2000s thumb clacker, A late 2000s Wonder cup purchased at the concession stands, and a 1997 commemorative State Champs Football thrown into the stands by the cheerleaders.
An original A.L. Brown Marching Band uniform first introduced in 1962 and worn by the Big Green Machine until it was phased out beginning in 1987. This band uniform is one of my prize pieces of classic memorabilia in my collection. This uniform has marched in Holland, Belgium, Bristol, New York, New Orleans, and many other places too numerous to mention. This uniform captures the essence of the Big Green machine in it's heyday.
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Concord Spider Artifacts from the Archives of FIK
Athletic Programs
Game Jerseys
Game Pant
Introduced in 1992
Discontinued in 2001
Introduced in 1992
Discontinued in 2001
Game Helmets
Miscellaneous CHS Memorabilia
" Wonder Athletic Programs Through the Years"
1940s Era
1950's Era
1960's Era
"Slideshows"
Inside the 1960 Program
Inside the 1961 Program
Inside the 1962 Program
1970's Era
"Slideshows"
Inside the 1972 Program
Inside the 1973 Program
Inside the 1974 Program
Inside the 1975 Program
Inside the 1976 Program
1980's Era
"Inside the 1984 Program"
1990's Era
2000's Era
Friday Nights in K-Town Memorabilia Vault
All memorabilia items seen on this page are from the personal private collection of the editor for Friday Nights in K-Town. These Items were located and collected over the years by the editor with some items being donated by various contributors for historical preservation. If you have any items that you would be interested in donating to the Friday Nights in K-Town archives, please contact the editor through my personal email at [email protected] or contact me by phone at (980) 521-1738. Any donations would be greatly appreciated and will be credited to you on this site. Thanks for supporting Friday Nights in K-Town. Go Wonders!! -The editor