Figure 1.--This Cub pack in Grafton Massachusets poses for a photograph during a hike. Notice that all of the boys wear long oants in this 1950 snapshot.

The Cub uniform continued unchanged during the 1950s. The original peaked cap was still worn. The shirt had a collar and flap pockets. The pants had yellow piping on the pockets which had turn down flaps. The official uniform had both long and short pants worn with blue kneesocks. Few Cubs, however, wore the short pants. Most Cubs did wear the complete uniform. There were some Cubs that wore shorts, but mostly as a group. It would be rare for a boy to wear the short pants uniform if the other boys were wearing long pants. Some European readers have questioned this as virtually all European Cubs until recently so commonly wore a short pants uniform. HBU has no statistical data, but based on personal experiences and the available image, we conclude that the vast majority of U.S. Cubs wore the long pants uniform. Shorts may have been more common in the South or in affluent communities. It was less common than today to see Cubs wearing jeans or other non-uniform pants with their uniform shirts. Most boys wanted to wear the full uniform. The uniform was usually worn with leather shoes.

The Uniform

The Cub uniform continued unchanged during the 1950s. The original peaked cap was still worn. The shirt had a collar and flap pockets. The pants had yellow piping on the pockets which had turn down flaps. The official uniform had both long and short pants worn with blue kneesocks. Few Cubs, however, wore the short pants. Most Cubs did wear the complete uniform. There were some Cubs that wore shorts, but mostly as a group. It would be rare for a boy to wear the short pants uniform if the other boys were wearing long pants. Some European readers have questioned this as virtually all European Cubs until recently so commonly wore a short pants uniform. HBU has no statistical data, but based on personal experiences and the available image, we conclude that the vast majority of U.S. Cubs wore the long pants uniform. Shorts may have been more common in the South or in affluent communities.

Conventions

It was less common than today to see Cubs wearing jeans or other non-uniform pants with their uniform shirts. Most boys wanted to wear the full uniform. The uniform was usually worn with leather shoes. I know in our Cub group in the early 1950s that we all wore the full unifom, complete with cap--but with long pants. I do not remember boys coming to our pack meetings wearing non-uniform items. Some available photographs show more variation--but this is not how I remember it as a boy.