Time for vintage Devils duds
September 16th, 2007, 9:50 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Dan Zeiger
One of the neatest new traditions in sports is, appropriately, one that pays homage to tradition: teams wearing vintage uniforms on occasion. In college football, Iowa State was the latest school to go retro, as the Cyclones donned replica 1977 gear for an upset victory against Iowa on Saturday.
The Iowa State look is on the left. Georgia Tech, Florida and Wisconsin are among the programs that have worn classic uniforms in recent seasons:
Memo to Arizona State officials: How cool would a throwback Saturday in Tempe be?
Next year is the 50th anniversary of the opening of Sun Devil Stadium, and athletic director Lisa Love said that it will be celebrated during the football season. Oct. 4, 2008, is a Saturday and 50 years to the day of the first ASU game at the stadium, but the Sun Devils are scheduled to play at California that day.
On the 2008 home schedule, there is no opponent that would be perfect for a vintage uniform day; games against rivals Arizona and Southern California are on the road, and old Western Athletic Conference foe Brigham Young does not visit until ‘09. As a result, the most ideal contest for the classic duds is the one that will likely have the highest national profile: Sept. 20 against Georgia.
What uniforms to wear? While the number-on-the-side helmets evoke memories of the era of Danny White, Woody Green and Junior Ah You, and the 1987 Rose Bowl winners sported a nifty look, there is only one choice. Throwback Saturday at ASU should celebrate the team considered the greatest in school history, the one the introduced the Sun Devils to the casual American college football fan: the 1975 squad that went 12-0.
Say hello (again) to the sunburst logo helmet and uniform modeled by John Jefferson, who in ‘75 made the greatest play ever by a Sun Devil:
Rudy Carpenter, Keegan Herring, Dexter Davis, Troy Nolan and the rest of the gang would look sharp in these. All that would be needed to make the day perfect is Frank Kush standing on the sideline and summoning son Danny to kick the winning field goal.
