Uniform One and Done

 If someone were to ask you to close your eyes and picture in your mind the uniforms of the Tennessee Volunteers football team what would you see? Do you see Reggie White wearing all orange while he annihilates an LSU running back? Do you see Peyton Manning running untouched into the end zone against Alabama wearing all white with large orange numerals? Or do you see Peerless Price streaking down the sideline in the 1999 Fiesta Bowl wearing the traditional orange over white? Whatever you see when you close your eyes, there are a few things that remain constant, among them are the White helmet with the orange Power T adorning either side, and the Tennessee orange jersey when the Vols run through the T in Neyland Stadium.

But, there have been a few times in the tradition rich history of the Tennessee football uniforms that the tried and true orange and white was changed. These changes led to special uniforms that I like to call “One-off” uniforms. Some of these one-off uniforms, for one reason or another, lasted for only a game, while others lasted an entire season. A few of the uniforms are common knowledge, like the black jerseys worn versus South Carolina in 2009. While others are like legends lost with time. While these certain uniforms may not have the illustrious history that the classic orange jersey over white pants or all white uniforms have, but their stories are unique and deserve to be told for all of VolNation to see, because they helped shape the past, and will help guide the future for the uniforms of the Tennessee Volunteers.
“The Halloween Uniforms”:
Our tour begins in 1963, where the Vols are entering their first (and only) season under the helm of quirky Coach Jim McDonald.
On the field, the Volunteers weren’t anything worth watching; they went 5-5 in the overall and 3-5 in the SEC. They won their first game of the year at home against the Spiders from Richmond then rattled off four straight losses to Auburn, Mississippi State, Georgia Tech and Alabama. During that four game stretch they were outscored 88-26 going scoreless twice. Needless to say, Coach McDonald knew the season may be rough and he wanted something that would appeal to recruits as well as get the media and fan base intrigued with his team, so he introduced uniforms to be worn the entire season that are commonly known today as the “Halloween Uniforms”. They were affectionately called “Halloween Uniforms” by the fans due to their orange and black color scheme. The orange numerals on the helmet were replaced with black numerals, the orange jerseys of the past were set aside for orange jerseys that had black, yes black, numbers emblazoned on the front and back. The other changes to the uniform were the addition of a white-black-white “UCLA” stripe onto the shoulders and a black stripe down the pants. This was a complete departure from any traditional looks for the Vols.

the only picture known to exist of the
 white Halloween Jersey
There is very little photographic proof of the uniforms existence, but what we do have makes it hard to believe that it is our beloved Vols on the field. An away white version of the Halloween Uniforms was also used during the 1963 season. They were white jerseys with black numerals and had orange-black-orange UCLA stripes on the shoulders as well. The uniforms weren’t exactly well loved in Big Orange Country and the fans actually blamed the white Halloween uniforms for the Vols 35-0 loss at Alabama. At the end of the season, Coach McDonald was shown the door and with him went the Halloween Uniforms. Doug Dickey was hired in 1964 and he restored the winning ways as well as the traditional orange and white uniforms. Dickey also added a Tennessee staple to the uniforms in 1964: he added an orange T on the helmets. The Volunteers football uniforms saw minimal changes until 1987.

The Uniform One and Done tour travels next to 1987. Where a rare set of jerseys have a story that has been lost with time.


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