Good Friday morning, Uni Watchers — Phil here, pinch-hitting for Paul as he recovers from his 60th Birthday celebration last evening. I’ll also be running Uni Watch next week as Paul and E visit the Big Island of Hawai’i.
Now then.
“One and Done” uniforms are those in which a uniform (or a jersey or pants) are worn and subsequently retired (or simply put back in the closet). I’d also include in the definition “theme” uniforms, which were designed for a one-time use in the definition of “one and done.”
As uniform aficionados, we probably moreso than the general public appreciate the one and done, especially if we’re present when it’s worn, as we can say we were witness to a unique uni event. But how many of us have actually been in a stadium/ballpark/arena for these rarities?
While I’ve been to countless (in the hundreds, anyway) of professional sporting events over the years, I’ve actually been present for two one and done uni events — both of which involved the New York Mets.
Some one and done wearings are well known and highly publicized — oftentimes involving throwbacks or, in the case of baseball, Negro League uniforms. For example, when the Philadelphia Eagles opened the 2010 season, they wore 1960 throwbacks (the 50th Anniversary of their 1960 NFL championship). Apparently (at least according to this article) the team was supposed to wear these two or even three times, but they were worn only for the season opener.
That was well publicized, and many — including myself — were hoping the Eagles would return to wearing kelly green uniforms as part of their permanent look. The Eagles did finally return to a kelly green throwback again last season, which was worn multiple times, but it was different from their 1960 throwbacks, making that a “one and done.”
But other one and done unis aren’t always so well known ahead of time. In 2009, the Seattle Seahawks did announce they were adding a bright green jersey to their repertoire, and wore them (along with brand new navy pants) against the Bears. The team lost to Chicago, and the jerseys were retired after that sole wearing. So anyone who was at that game got to witness an NFL one and done.
The Seahawks wouldn’t completely abandon the “snot” green jersey, as a different version returned in 2016 — billed as action green — and it’s an alternate they continue to wear to this day.
One “one and done” which wasn’t known beforehand involved the Baltimore Ravens, who on December 20, 2015 — unannounced — debuted gold (mustard) pants in a 34-14 defeat to Kansas City.
Like the Seahawks, those mustard pants were retired after just one wearing. Any fans in attendance that day probably didn’t realize they were seeing uni history being made, but for those fans they witnessed a rare uni event.
I’ve actually been privy to two one and dones — one of which was part of a (mostly) MLB-wide promotion and the other a complete surprise. I don’t remember all the details of the first one, which was MLB’s infamous “TATC” (Turn Ahead The Clock) promotion, but I was given a pair of tickets for the Mets vs. Pirates on July 27, 1999. My then-wife couldn’t make it, so I went with my pop. I didn’t realize until I heard on the radio on the way to the game that the Mets would be wearing their TATC uniforms that night. Both the Mets and Pirates wore TATC uniforms for that game. I thought the uniforms were awful then, and with the benefit of hindsight, my opinion still has not changed. If you’re interested, here’s a six-ish minute video from that fateful night.
My only other one and done was a complete surprise. On August 29, 2011, Paul and I watched the Mets play a late-season doubleheader against the Marlins, and after an uneventful first game, the Mets broke out their batting practice jerseys for the second half of the double-dip. To show you how this event didn’t even register with the local press, nary a mention of the BP jerseys was made the following day. Of course, it was all Paul and I could talk about for the second game, but there wasn’t much of a buzz being made about it, even by the few thousand fans in attendance that day.
I’m sure there are more than a few other instances of one and done uniforms (or jerseys/pants) although with marketing and merchandizing, such an event is probably much more of a rarity today than in the past. But both of those events made a lasting impression upon me. Based on the uni-queness of both events, I have a much more vivid memory of those two games than most of the other games I’ve seen over the decades.
What about you guys: Have you ever been fortunate (or in the case of the Seahawks/Ravens unfortunate) enough to have seen a one and done uni game in person? Did you realize it at the time that you were witnessing uni-history? What game was it and do you have any memories of it being special? And do you wish the team would have worn those uniforms at least one other time or are you pleased it was the only wearing and you got to see it? If you’ve never witnessed a one and done in person, would that be something you wished you could have seen (or are hoping to see in the future)?
Discuss :)
I know I’m in the minority and will be vilified for this, but I liked the Ravens’ mustard pants.
As a Ravens fan, my issue with the mustard pants is that they don’t look like they belong with the jersey and helmet. I think if the numbers were mustard, that would have helped a lot.
They should try them again, but with the Color Rush jerseys! link
I completely agree here. I thought the gold pants were a bold move. And would’ve paired well with the Color Rush jersey. Would look really refreshing. Much better than the black pants. Even on the road.
I agree, it doesn’t feel like it fits in, needs another mustard colored element somewhere on the helmet I think.
Just want to say that I love the sobriquet, “mustard pants”.
I liked the mustard pants.
Not very Raven-y though. I think they’d look better on the Vikings.
I like ‘em, too, but it might just be because I hate their black leotards so much.
Id like to see them paired with the white jersey.
I scrolled down here to express the same!
This photo is from the “Game of Change” between the Loyola Ramblers and the Mississippi State Bulldogs on March 15, 1963, during the second round of the 1963 NCAA tournament, at Jenison Fieldhouse in East Lansing, Michigan. It took place in the midst of the American civil rights movement between the racially integrated Loyola team and the all-white Mississippi State team is remembered as a milestone in the desegregation of college basketball. (Credit – Wikipedia)
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My one and done was the Twins’ turn ahead the clock game in 1999. Those uniforms were hideous. Also, I thought the Ravens’ mustard pants looked great with their purple jerseys. It’s too bad they never wore them again.
Can’t remember if they wore them once or for a weekend series, but I went to a game where the Indians were in all black. I think it was a players weekend or something. The Royals were in all white.
If it was 2019, that was Players Weekend.
Worst looking weekend in baseball history.
Yes, even worse than when every single player on every single field wears the “retired” number 42.
But not by much.
Yeah. In 2010 (I think, I have the stub in a box), the Astros did a season-long promotion where they wore throwback uniforms once. I was at the first one they did where they wore the Colt 45’s gear against the Phillies. Beautiful uniforms. I bought the Majestic jersey and still have it.
I remember those games and went to a few. They did it on Friday nights iIIRC.
Having attended countless Eagles games over the years, I have been to the aforementioned 2010 game with the 1960 throwbacks, the 2007 game with the yellow and blue 1934 throwback, as well as having the misfortune of being at the 2002 game when they went mono-green, thankfully for the only time.
The 2007 game is definitely my favorite “been there” for a uniform moment. The uniform was so divisive and people still talk about that design, but as a one-off uniform I liked it.
The first turn back the clock game at Candlestick Park on 23 Jun 1991. They even went so far as to turn off the modern electronics and build a temporary manual scoreboard. Some pictures here:
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Is that the March 15, 1963 Loyola Chicago vs Mississippi State “Game of Change”?
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I wonder if soccer games count for this? There are many instances of one-and-done uniform combos worn every season in the interest of avoiding colour clashes for any single component. The solution is often to either mix-and-match parts of different sets, or in extreme circumstances, a team will be provided with a one-off pair of shorts or socks to be worn for that game only.
Unfortunately I don’t think I’ve ever been to one of these games!
2016 Stadium Series at Coors Field, glad I got my hands on a Jerome Iginla Avs jersey at the game!
the “snot” green jersey
Show me one person…*one single* person…who has blown his or her nose and what’s in the tissue is bright neon green.
Until then, can we as a comm-uni-ty please stop calling Seattle’s green “snot”? And while we’re at it, let’s skip the potty references with brown and yellow. If your urine ever matches any gold/yellow team’s unis, drink a quart of water because you’re severely dehydrated.
I agree, never understood that, neon or highlighter green would be valid descriptions of the color. Snot is a gray/green/yellow muted color, this is the opposite of muted.
Perhaps the potty references for yellow are accurate the morning after a late night out at the pub?
This colour is also similarly referred to as “puke green” or a derivative, which is even more baffling.
I prefer puke green
Unless you’re throwing up from eating too many glow sticks, puke green has the same issue
Puke Green because that color makes me want to puke. I agree the greens, yellows and oranges are more properly termed “highlighter” colors or “Neon” colors.
I’ve been to one that is – to date – a one and done: Panthers @ Jaguars this year. First time Panthers wore blue with the road whites.
However, this also feels like a good opportunity to point out another aspect of these: losing the traditional look. My boss is a lifelong Packers fan, but never been to a game. For his birthday one year, I took him to Lambeau (we live in Florida). They played Buffalo and I thought the game would look great: green and gold versus the Bills standard look, can’t go wrong.
Show up: those hideous navy throwbacks. Awful looking game AND his only memory of seeing his favorite team in person.
So sometimes these games are great, other times they totally suck.
Dallas Mavericks Grey “Trash Bag” Jerseys vs the Lakers in 2003
was looking to see if someone mentioned these
I’ve been to a number of one-and-done games now that I think about it. This post reminds me that I was at the Seahawks snot green game. I had NO CLUE it was happening until kickoff, and my poor eyes. Never the same. I was also a bat boy in the 90s for the Portland Rockies. We had a multiple Turnback the Clock games, including a flannel Portland Beavers game. I still have the wool hat from that game!
Small note: Hawai‘i is written in the intro with an apostrophe, but it should be an ‘okina, a gutteral stop. It may look to English-language readers like an apostrophe catastrophe, but it’s not, it really does go that way!
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Happy Birthday, Kenny!
I assume minor league games don’t count, since they’ve become a tiresome endless parade of one and done promotion unis.
As for the major sports, the only game I can think of is when the Bullets and Cavs wore 1975 throwbacks in their 1994 finale at the Richfield Coliseum.
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Not one and done, but I was at the first home game in 1974 when the Red Sox debuted their very short-lived red front panel cap and solid red stirrups and undershirts. I couldn’t believe how bad they looked. The team quickly switched back to their traditional look.
Never witnessed a one and done uniform while attending a game but I have worn one during a very drunk student basketball tournament in the early 90s: nothing but a transparent pantyhose with a loose fig leave while pretending to mimic Adam from a famous painting by Van Dyck. And some socks and basketball shoes. It itched a lot and there is no photographic evidence, fortunately.
I was at the 2019 version of the Phillies’ Saturday Night Special game…the result was just as unlucky as the only other time they’d gone full-burgundy in 1979
The one I attended that stands out for me came this past fall and was covered here. The Houston Cougars Luv Ya Blue game in September. I’m 71 but am not normally the cranky old fart that age warrants. But having said that… I HATED seeing my school getting that far away from our colors. I’m alone among all the UH folks I know in being happy that the Titans pitched their fit and put an end to that nonsense.
Gotta ask: in all seriousness, was this (link) really worse than say, this (link)?
UH’s official colors are scarlet red and albino white, yet they seem to wear black often. Is that as bad as wearing Houston blue and red once?
I was just thinking of one-and-dones but I don’t like the black or gray stuff either. The red untrimmed numbers on the black ‘Halloween’ costumes were impossible to read from the stands. UH has a history with blue trim but not the Columbia Blue.
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I actually liked the mustard pants. Granted, it’s not something I would want to see all the time. But, maybe once a year would be nice.
I’ve been to quite a number of them for the O’s, most of them within a few year period, actually. In 2014, there were 3 of them: the lone game they threw back to their original 1954 uniforms, a road 1994 throwback in Chicago (the year the Cubs had a zillion one-off throwbacks, the O’s played along for the game I was in town for), and a special white jersey with red/blue lettering that said ‘Baltimore’ instead of Orioles for the 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Baltimore, which resulted in the writing of the Star Spangled Banner. They wore their 2014 4th of July Caps to go with the jersey.
And in 2015, their first game back with fans after the Freddy Gray riots, they wore their regular white uniforms, but the jerseys said ‘Baltimore’ once more instead of ‘Orioles’.
There are honestly probably 2 or 3 more in the years since that I’ve been in attendance for, but they’re not coming to mind as quickly as those few examples from a decade-ish ago.
The O’s also wore the original 1954 uniforms in 2004, which was their 50th anniversary season. (your 2014 game was the 60th)
In 2010, they wore their orange BP jerseys for a home game. Pretty sure that was a one and done. (?)
“I want to go to Hawaiʻi yay!!”
Mine was probably the least “special” because I shared it with (officially) 115,108 other people.
September 10, 2011, Michigan Stadium. Michigan vs. Notre Dame in the first night game in Big House history. We (Michigan) wore the jerseys with the block M on the front and bumblebee striping down the sleeves. I loved the unis that night, and I still love them today.
While we’ve gotten used to CFB one-and-dones at this point, that was at the leading edge of the tidal wave, and was considered very contemporary for such a traditional school.
Michigan won the game, and probably should have stopped with the alternates there. They didn’t have such good luck while wearing the following alternate uniforms (remember how we all found out who Jadaveon Clowney is?)
Here’s a link referring to that Michigan-Notre Dame game: link
I went to look up the relevant Uni Watch entry, but it seems to be suffering from link rot.
Is Paul back with his old girlfriend?
I had the unfortunate pleasure of being at that Seahawks game. While it turned out to be an eye sore, I found the situation with the retail jerseys to be interesting. Before that game the Seahawks had sold similar green jerseys to fans, which were relatively popular with fans and you’d see them wearing them during regular games all the time. But those retail ones had blue numbers, not white like they wore on the field. So in the crowd that day there were tons of green jerseys, some with blue numbers and a lot of new ones with white.
had to google to find an example of a neon jersey from that era with blue numbers and HOLY CRAP it looks SO MUCH BETTER than the ones they wore on the field with the white numbers. What the heck were they thinking picking white for the actual game???
Man that Mets BFBS is so ugly. You can complain about the previous iteration for being BFBS, but it was still a good looking shirt. This new version is terrible.
Paul actually interviewed me at the first one-and-done game I was at… the original Turn Back the Clock game with the Brewers playing at the White Sox in 1990.
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I have been to many, many other games as a Brewers 20-game ticket holder… untold number of throwback nights, ethnic days (Polish and Italian were my favorites as the Brewers had red in their uniforms), Negro League tributes, etc.
the 2019 season was a fun one for the Reds. Celebrating their 150th anniversary with 15 fairly accurate throwback uniforms. While not the best looking of the bunch, we made sure to make it to the 1936 “Palm Beach Alternates” game. You’ll remember these for the red britches link
We marked the occasion by buying a game worn hat, and pair of pants from auction I still have in the box.
Best Red(Leg)s uniform ever!
I was an usher for the Twins in 1999 for Turn Ahead the Clock Night. This was also the Major League debut/first career start for pitcher Mark Redman, which makes me wonder if any other player made their MLB debut during the ’99 TATC games. What a uni to wear for your debut!
Got a chance to see the Rangers at Metlife a few weeks ago, they haven’t pulled that jersey out again yet (I think 2 of the other 3 teams have)
Not sure if this counts, but in 1988, I was a 6th grader and played in our local Colt Football League (basically Pop Warner without the branding). Our league had 4 teams: the Browns, Vikings, Raiders, & Rams, and we all had jerseys/helmets to match our NFL counterparts. I was on the Vikings. After the season we had our All-Star Game, and it was coached by the coaches of the Browns and Rams, so each team wore Browns and Rams jerseys, respectively. But like the NFL Pro Bowl, we all wore our regular helmets, so you half of one team wearing Browns jerseys with Vikings helmets, and half of the other team wearing Rams jerseys with Raiders helmets. The years before and after apparently had special All-Star jerseys for the game, so my one season in the league was a one-and-done. Plus, the game was played in a snowstorm in which my team (Browns/Vikings) won 2-0, the only score coming on a QB sack in the endzone at the end of the first half. What a game!
Turns out I’ve been to two — pretty rare for a fella from the Toronto suburbs. I was at the Packers-Eagles game in 2010, and the Marlins-Mets doubleheader the following August.
Been to a few one and done minor league hockey games, including one outdoors. And one of the Orioles Maryland flag pattern uni games…can’t remember which year
I also attended the Mercury Mets game. I was always uni-aware, so I did realize it was different. The thing I remember most was the crazy alien references on the scoreboard, which you can see in the video you linked to. If they ever wear them again, it will surely be on a very limited basis, so I could stomach them I guess. I think they might wear them this year and if they do I just hope they reproduce them accurately.
I’m the one who tipped Paul to the possibilty of the Mets bringing back the TATC’s this year (link)
I don’t know if we ever got a positive or negative confirmation from the Mets if they’ll be reprising the look this season — I know other teams are giving away TATC “throwback” jerseys as promos this year, but are not doing a corresponding throwback. I bet they (the Mets) don’t, but it was so awful (and yes, seeing Rickey Henderson’s face on the scorebard rendered with horns was ridiculous) it’s almost worth bringing back, just for shits and giggles.
Am I the only one that finds all the complaining about BFBS exhausting? At this point it feels akin to if people were still complaining about names on the back of jerseys 25 years after the White Sox pioneered the concept. And with that said, I’ve never understood why the Mets have drawn so much ire in this community for their black jerseys. For starters, given that they’re the spiritual ancestors of the New York Baseball Giants and use their old logo, I feel they’re also “entitled” to the color black. Second, it’s undeniably one of the most influential uniforms in sports history, given all the black uniforms that came after it. And at the end of the day, it actually looks pretty sharp.
I took my out of town college buddies to the August 14, 1999 Royals/ Devil Rays game in KC where they wore their “futuristic” uniform sets. The Royals were in a blue vest with a giant KC logo across the whole front of the jersey and the D-Rays in black vests with a giant Devil Rays wordmark across their chests. Nothing quite as outrageous as the Turn Ahead The Clock uniforms against the Mariners in ’98 in Seattle.
The Royals at the time were very lax about checking tickets and we ended up in the section behind home. I have photos somewhere.
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A nice combination of the lede and one of the sub-ledes: on January 23, 2016, Michigan State wore neon green uniforms, with a gradient to their normal shade of green on the shorts. They also gave the entire student section matching neon t-shirts (including the band, which I was in at the time), which reflected off of the court pretty strikingly. You can kind of see the effect a little bit in this picture: link
MSU won the game but the uniforms were (thankfully, many would say) never seen again.
I attended Notre Dame Shamrock Series game in San Antonio in 2016 where they wore special one-time uniforms. link
From what I can remember, I’ve been to 4* one-and-done games
The first one was one *series* and done, 2019 MLB Players’ Weekend. The particular game I went to was a Brewers game against (who the hell knows with those uniforms)
My other 3 are all from Bradley Basketball as a student there: 2021 MBB throwback game against Illinois State, 2023 MBB PIA edition against Indiana State, and 2024 WBB PIA edition against Illinois State
Adding on to the almost-one-and-done pile:
I attended the first Jackie Robinson Day at Shea in 1997. Even though I was deep into cap collecting at the time, I had zero recollection of them wearing the white Ice Cream Man hats – until UW dug up a photo of Todd Hundley wearing a white catcher’s helmet.
Apparently Bill Clinton attended while using arm crutches – no recollection of that either. I DO remember it being the largest concentration of NYPD that I’d ever seen in my life.
Calgary outdoor game in 2011.
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I don’t know how often the NHL outdoor games are “one and done”. It seems like usually they reappear for a couple more games.
I was at the White Sox-Tigers game that Chris Sale cut up the throwback uniforms so the team couldn’t wear them. Of course this wasn’t announced so I found it odd when the Sox took the field in different uniforms than the ones they were handing out to fans.
A little surprised there haven’t been more callouts for college one-and-done looks as we went through a recent era of a lot of popularity for those.
Going back to “pro combat” days – I’ve seen Ohio state football rock a handful of one time designs, almost averaging one per season recently (all scarlet, the black appeared to be one time but was brought back, all grey 1.0, all grey 2.0, and some of the throw/fauxbacks unfortunately popular against Michigan).
Went to a few Duke basketball games that I’m pretty sure were one and done as well. Many probably remember the horrible Duke-UNC game with giant logo jerseys and color-on-color, but a weird one sometimes lost in the shuffle were the “elite platinum” looks a few teams rocked for one game: link
Nebraska wore all-red (red road pants with home red jerseys) against Oklahoma on November 22, 1986. I wasn’t there, but my wife, a student at NU then, was.
I was hoping to see this. My brother reminds us of this atrocity each time they bring out something new.
One of my first Twins games back in the Metrodome in the 90s was a game they wore St. Paul Colored Gophers all navy unis. They may have been playing Cleveland, because they handed out a Larry Doby (first American Leaguer to break the color barrier) baseball card, but I can’t remember for sure. I do remember that the opposing team was wearing throwbacks too. After that game I changed the Twins name to St. Paul Gophers on whatever baseball game I was playing on my Sega.
Do throwbacks count as one-and-dones, even if they were last worn decades earlier?
I’d say so, so long as they are only worn ONCE as throwbacks (some teams repeat).
So that gets me the Pirates and Giants wearing 1939 unis in 1992, the Pirates and Reds wearing 1925 unis in 1993, and the 2003 and 2009 centennial World Series celebrations. (If the Pirates play a team representing Washington next year for the centennial of the 1925 Series, I guess the 1993 one-and-done will be replaced by the visitors.)
I’d convinced myself I’d seen a one-and-done in action, but a bit of research tells me it was a pre-game warmup sweater only – on January 21, 2009, the Leafs wore an “Ace” sweater that was a reproduction-ish of the ones they wore in the first NHL all-star game back in 1934. They sold a knit version of it at the game, which I bought and love.
I was at a Toronto-Hamilton AHL outdoor game about a decade or so ago, though, and I’m pretty sure Hamilton wore a one-and-done for that.
Almost picked up one of those Seahawks jerseys on the clearance rack. Not sure what they were thinking, the blue on the sleeves was obviously to try and match the helmet at the pants.
That said, I believe that uniform set also debuted a darker blue pant with a different stripe, and I think that it was used a few times after, and then they used that darker color when they did the refresh a few years later.
Only one and done jersey game, was Flames vs Montreal Heritage Classic years back. Flames never wore those again that season, as teams (including the Flames) now mostly do.
I was in the Superdome the single one time that the Saints wore their “Gold” jerseys with Black leotards against the Vikings – who wore Purple. The Saints One & Done “Gold” jerseys were the “Vegas Gold” (very light color of weak Cat Piss – Thank you Nike!) They were sold in stores for years afterwards – in fact, Saints’ Pro Shop sold multiples of Authentic Team-issued Duplicates for #88 Jeremy Shockey and #55 Scott Fujita about 5 years afterwards – giving evidence to the idea that they were probably NOT intended as Saints One & Done unis, but were so horrible and/or bad luck that they were never worn again. That the Saints LOST on the very last play of the Vikings game on a Dante Culpepper two-point conversion run likely didn’t help.
The too-light Vegas Gold simply does not contrast enough with White to be used as a dark jersey. Similar issue when the Colorado Buffalos tried to wear a Vegas Gold jersey in the Neuheisel Era. The Gold matched no other part of the existing Uniform and the Buffaloes actually debuted BLACK helmets to try to make sense of that uniform – also One & Done told to me by a CU Asst. Equipment Manager who sold a few to me over the phone. Beautiful CU Gold jerseys, just nothing to match up with in CU uniforms. Great for Retail, sucks on the field ….
Looking Forward to May Uniwatch Tour Meet-Up in New Orleans !!! ….
2002 Saints wore gold jerseys for the first and only time in a losing effort against the Vikings, who wore their purple jerseys making it a color vs color game too.
In 2099, I was at the game Florida State wore pro combat uniforms.
Looked awful, now FSU has that Nike number font and the basketball team still wears a feather on the side of their uniforms.
Surprised the black helmets never made another appearance.
Was the last home game for Bobby Bowden and Mickey Andrews.
“In 2099, I was at the game Florida State wore pro combat uniforms.”
Is your last name McFly, by any chance ;)
I was at the Seahawks game. We got a free neon green reusable bag as the giveaway too!
We attended the O’s TATC game in 1999. My son wore the silver O’s cap they gave away that day for years.
I was at the Saints game in 2002 whenever they busted out the gold jerseys.
Moss caught a double teamed TD with 5 seconds left then Culpepper ran in the 2 point conversion on a botched snap to win the game.
22 years later and the gold uniforms were never seen again
Kinda disappointed you didn’t mention the Mavs Trash Bag Jerseys, arguably the most well known “One And Done” set of all time.
I saw both games of a two-and-done uni in 2013. Wisconsin football wore a white-on-red helmet against Tennessee Tech and Northwestern that year.
UW had a similar black and white-on-red helmet that they wore in ’13 and ’14, but the (superior) white-on red hats didn’t appear the following season. After 2014 HC Gary Andersen was gone and we haven’t seen the red helmets since.