The Penguins last wore blue and white on January 27, 1980 against the Bruins in Boston.

On January 30, 1980, the Pens debuted their new color scheme: Black and Gold. Two months earlier the Pittsburgh Pirates won the World Series Championship and the Pittsburgh Steelers had just won their fourth Super Bowl title. In keeping with the "City of Champions" theme, the Penguins adopted the black and gold theme.

The Boston Bruins filed a complaint with the NHL, but the Pittsburgh's request to change to black and gold was upheld because an earlier NHL franchise in the city, the Pittsburgh Pirates, wore black and gold in the 1920's.

Jerseys in this era were made by Stall & Dean of Brockton, MA until the 1982-83 season. As is typical of Stall & Dean jerseys, washing instructions, and size labels were placed inside the collar. Stall and Dean also uses a single digit tag that indicates the last number of the year the jerseys were made. "0" tags represent jerseys made in 1980.

Most numbers and nameplates were heat sealed material. The sleeve numbers were move upward to the shoulders – like football jerseys. The Penguins' crest was usually screened on a separate piece of material and sewn onto the front of the jersey.