OKLAHOMA’S THROW BACK HELMET IS RATHER BLAND……

There has been some discussion on the net about the plainness of the throwback helmets OU wears once a year in their football season. Most think they are bland and somewhat boring. Yes, they are. But to be true to the historical take, OU’s look for headgear under Bud Wilkinson was what it was. Toward the later Wilkinson years of coaching at OU of the early and middle 60s, a change was made. A player number was added.  Jim MacKenzie turned the look with a red cap and the interlocking OU, after Bud.  But Wilkinson did have that number of the player placed on the helmet, albeit a small-looking one that really did not do much for the take.   Bud tried, but it did not add much to the look.  We must remember that the mascot and logo put on college football helmets were not the norm during Wilkinson’s time, and almost all teams did not have a logo on the helmet.  As in the photo below, a letter of the school was often used, which OU did in the 1930s.   Only a very few schools have basically the same look today as back in the past…that would include Alabama, Penn State, and Michigan.