New Helmet Tint? UW Picks Grape

The University of Washington football team will have a new look next season.

Coach Jim Lambright on Thursday announced the Huskies will switch from gold helmets to purple helmets and from black shoes to white shoes in 1995. Their all-purple helmet will have a gold block W, trimmed in white, on both sides.

The rest of Washington’s uniform is unchanged.

Lambright issued a statement that said the changes were made on the basis of studies of multiple color and design combinations during several months.

“We’ve been looking at a bunch of different products that have been delivered to me and I did not like a lot of them,” Lambright said. “We were never going to make as extreme a change as some people have speculated.

“Like I said before, we were never going to look like a bunch of grapes,” he added.

Lambright wore a purple helmet when he played at Washington as a defensive end in the 1963 and 1964.

The last season the Huskies wore a purple helmet was in 1974, Jim Owens’ last as coach. When Don James replaced Owens in 1975, the Huskies switched to a gold helmet with striping and purple W decals.

“I think the ‘W’ on the helmet is part of what is tradition,” Lambright said. “I think you saw that in the reaction of the public (to possible uniform schemes). When you try to put a dog on a piece of the uniform, you have trouble finding the right spot because it looks too busy and you want something that’s going to leave a lasting impression. The ‘W’ does that.”

The Huskies made their last uniform change in 1989. They went to an all-purple look in a home game against Colorado and lost 45-28.