Talladega College
Alabama
1867
Citations in the World Almanac (listed by cover date; color information is from the previous year): cardinal/blue (1906); crimson/azure blue (1909-1916); crimson/blue (1917-1918); crimson/azure blue (1923-1931); crimson/blue (1934-1935)
Academic hood lists published by the Intercollegiate Bureau of Academic Costume (IBAC) in 1927, 1948, and 1972 described Talladega College as having a hood lined cardinal with a light blue chevron. Hood lining information supplied by Kevin Sheard for Academic Dress and Insignia of the World (1970) described Talladega’s hood lining as “Harvard crimson” with a light blue chevron.
In these citations, Talladega’s shade of red was inaccurately described as “cardinal” or “crimson”, which suggests the college sent a red color sample to the Intercollegiate Bureau (and the World Almanac) that was lighter and brighter than the official dark red.
Detailed historical information about the school colors of Talladega College is not available at this time, but the official “azure blue” of the college was originally a light shade of blue (a “sky blue”), not a bright or vibrant shade of blue. The red was a dark shade of red, like garnet or wine, but note that the World Almanac quoted the college’s red shade as either cardinal or crimson.
