NCAA - U. of Tennessee

U. of Tennessee Unveils New Retro Jerseys for 2004

Vols to Sport 1970s Retro Look Against UNLV

Tennessee unveiled the retro jerseys it will wear in the season opener today at the Wolf-Kaplan Center at Neyland Stadium.

Don't mess with your binoculars or rub your eyes when you get to Neyland Stadium for the UNLV game Sept. 5. That really is the Tennessee Volunteers out there on Shields-Watkins Field in the white jerseys.

That hasn't happened since the Vols first unveiled orange jerseys Sept. 23, 1922.

As part of honoring Tennessee storied football tradition, the Vols will open the 2004 campaign in a retro-look uniform originating from the 1970s. UT athletics director Mike Hamilton said Tennessee's road uniform from that era had a unique look.

"The one uniform that stood out in uniqueness, was the road uniform we wore in the early 1970s, Hamilton said. "We've decided for one game only, we will wear our road whites and we've asked UNLV to wear red. I want to thank adidas for working with us on this project.

The season opener in September against UNLV offers a one-game break in that tradition, as the Vols will come out in retro jerseys, the white shirts with the orange shoulder/collars, made famous in the 1971, 1972 and 1973 seasons. It began in 1971 in Gainesville, Fla., a 20-13 Vol win and continued until the 1974 Auburn game on the Plains, when the Vols came out in more vanilla white shirts, ones with no orange shoulder and collar.

Hamilton said the season opener begins the process of having "family reunions" for different sports, beginning with football in 2004. All former UT football lettermen have been invited to the UNLV game for a reunion and will be recognized at halftime.

"We're happy to report that between 375 to 400 former football lettermen will be a part of this weekend," Hamilton said. "The lettermen will be invited to the team's final walk-through Saturday afternoon, then have individual team dinners on Saturday night, then participate in Vol Walk to the stadium on Sunday with this year's team. It will be a great opportunity for the fans to say thank you for what their contribution has been to Tennessee football history."

Hamilton added he plans to have others sports' reunions will follow each year.

The whole issue of white jerseys is an intriguing part of Tennessee football history and lore.

Up until 1971, Tennessee wore white shirts on the road only out of necessity. You went to a road game and the Vols were there decked out in orange.

There were a few exceptions, however, that caused Vols fans to have the willies when white shirts were mentioned.

• Texas 16, Tennessee 0, in the 1953 Cotton Bowl
• Alabama 35, Tennessee 0, in 1963 at Birmingham with Tide Joe Willie Namath giving the Vols the "Willies" literally
• Texas 36, Tennessee 13, in the 1969 Cotton Bowl

Former Vols tailback Mallon Faircloth was present that day in 1963 when the Vols trotted onto Legion Field in their new white shirts, part of the "Halloween" look that year under head coach Jim McDonald.

Faircloth, who received his UT law degree in 1968, was the last of the single-wing tailbacks. He is now a Magistrate in United States District Court, Middle District of Georgia, Columbus Division. He remembered that day nearly 41 years ago.

"We had new orange jerseys that season and new white ones had just come in," he recalled. "They were the jerseys with stripes across the shoulder. I guess Coach McDonald wanted to change our luck.

"He didn't discuss it with any of us. I think he told us that week we were wearing them. We were undermanned in the offensive line."

The Vols recovered from their first three games in white to end up playing pretty well in the white shirts, assembling an 81-50-2 (.617) record over that time, all games obviously on the road. That's 61.7 percent as opposed to an overall winning percentage in the school's history of 69.8 (736-303-53)

So Vols fans, you needn't be afraid of the white shirts any longer.

This article was taken from www.collegesports.com.  All rights reserved.

Oct. 2, 1971, Tennessee 20, Florida 13 ... Tennessee had led 13-0 before the Gators rallied to tie things just before halftime. Quarterback Phil Pierce, the third Vols signal-caller in as many games that season, led a 99-yard drive in the third quarter that broke a 13-13 tie and the Vols defense did the rest as UT won a night contest at Florida Field. Pierce found Stan Trott for a 25-yard TD pass for the winning score.

Oct. 16, 1971, Alabama 32, Tennessee 15 ... Eight turnovers proved costly for the Vols, who somehow still found themselves trailing just 22-15 late in the fourth quarter. But a long kickoff return by the Tide and a short TD drive following an unsuccessful fourth-down try at the Vols 30 led to the clinching points for the Tide's first victory over the Vols since 1966.

Nov. 20, 1971, Tennessee 21, Kentucky 7 ... With what Kentucky coach Johnny Ray called a "freak play," Tennessee, which had led most of the day, escaped a Wildcat upset bid under the strangest of circumstances. Kentucky was driving to what could have been the tying or winning points when Carl Johnson knocked the ball loose from Kentucky's Bernie Scruggs and rumbled the other way for the winning score.

Nov. 4, 1972, Tennessee 14, Georgia 0 ... It was a day for Tennessee's offensive front as Haskel Stanback ran for 96 yards, Bill Rudder for 78 and the Vols had five drives of 50 yards or more. Vol defenders played well enough to hand the Bulldogs their first shutout since 1963.

Nov. 25, 1972, Tennessee 30, Vanderbilt 10 ... Stanback ran for 143 yards and a school record for season yardage, bypassing Hank Lauricella in the process ,as the Vols won on a windy day in Nashville. Tennessee led 16-10 going into the fourth quarter but TD runs by Condredge Holloway and Stanback ended up getting the job done and closing the regular season with a 9-2 mark.

Oct. 20, 1973, Alabama 42, Tennessee 21 ... Another long day in Birmingham, this time marked by a 21-point fourth-quarter explosion by the Tide. Tennessee and Alabama roared up and down the Legion Field artificial surface, before the final blitz in the early part of the fourth stanza. Holloway tossed three TD passes and otherwise proved elusive all day.

Nov. 17, 1973, Mississippi 28, Tennessee 18 ... Mississippi led from beginning to end, taking a 14-3 first-half lead and used a powerful running game to hand the Vols the first back-to-back defeats of the Bill Battle era. Tailback James Reed was the Vols' chief tormentor, knocking off 137 yards and proving to be hard to handle. Gary Valbuena tossed two TD passes and a two-point conversion to pace the Vols.

Nov. 24, 1973, Tennessee 16, Kentucky 14 ... Tennessee recovered from the onslaught in Jackson a week earlier, but the game was still in doubt until the final play. Tennessee led 16-0 before the Cats rallied for 14 points in the third quarter. A last-second Wildcat field goal for the victory fell short, and the Vols escaped with a win in their first game at Commonwealth Stadium.