United States Boy Scouts: Cub Uniforms


Figure 1.--This illustration appeared in a book commemorating the 50th anniversary book of American scouting. The illustration show the early Cub uniform whivh during the 1930s included knickers. The illustration also shows the correct wearing of peaked cap on the back of the head. Also note that this Cub Scout has the tips of his neckerchief tied in a square knot. This convention was later abandon for safety reasons. The Hurt Report in the background was the BSA study on Cubbing.

The American Cubbing program began several years after the British Cubbing program. The American Cub uniform was influenced by the British Wolf Cub uniform, but uite a bit different. The American Cub uniform consisted of a peaked cap, scarfe, matching blue shirt and pants, and blue kneesocks. The uniform items were done in blue with yellow (gold) trim. The scarfe was at first sandard and predominztely yellow. Subseqyently unit scarves became more common. There Cub uniform remained vurtually unchanged for many years.

Chronology

The American Boy Scout Association in 1930 created a blue and yellow uniform for American Cubs in that was mostly worn with knickers. It included the British-style peaked cap. Short pants were also introduced, but long pants became prevalent by the 1940s. The basic 1930s uniform was worn with few changes until 1980. Even in the 1970s when more Scouts began wearing short pants, most Cubs stuck to long pants inspite of efforts by the BSA to promoye the short pants uniform. The Cub uniform was redesigned in 1980, but retained the blue and yellow colors. A major feature of the new uniform was a baseball cap. Short pants had become more common by the 1980s, but many boy wore jeans instead of the official Cub pants, in part because of the cost.

Garments

The American Cub uniform consisted of a peaked cap, scarfe, matching blue shirt and pants, and blue kneesocks. The uniform items were done in blue with yellow (gold) trim. The scarfe was at first sandard and predominztely yellow. Subseqyently unit scarves became more common. There Cub uniform remained vurtually unchanged for many years. Knickers were replaced with short and long pants in the 1940s. An entirely new uniform was introduced in the 1980s. The basic uniform items were the same, but the styles were substantially changed. The Cubs, however, retained the same basic blue and yellow motiff.







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Created: October 3, 20021998
Last updated: 4:44 AM 11/15/2005