You won’t be able to tell the players without a program when the Avonworth football team takes the field next fall. The debate over putting names on jerseys ended Monday in a close vote by the school board.

The board voted 5-4 to stop the practice of putting names on jerseys despite the fact that the football boosters would be picking up the cost.

Board members and a standing-room-only crowd of boosters and players were told that five teams in the WPIAL use name plates on jerseys, and only two in Avonworth’s division. Board member Eric Templin noted that Penn State does not even put players’ names on uniforms.

“Pride is not your name on the back of a shirt,” said board member Brenda Barlek. “if you play your best and give 150 percent every day, then you don’t need a name tag on a shirt to give you pride.”

Some of the board members voting against the name tags noted that they might have leaned the other way had the boosters agreed to a compromise that would have allowed names on home jerseys only.

Voting against the labeled jerseys were board members Barlek, Templin, Peter McKay, David Oberdick and Patrick Stewart. In favor were Jeff Schmid, Lynn Evans, Frank Mucha and Marybeth Sommers.