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    • Illinois Football honors Red Grange with throwback jerseys against Michigan
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    Illinois Football honors Red Grange with throwback jerseys against Michigan

    Kathleen William Posted on

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    Illinois football is playing well on the field, off to a 5-1 start to the 2024 college football season and a top-25 ranking. The athletics department also does its part to ensure that they do well.

    The Fighting Illini unveiled throwback jerseys for Saturday's contest at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, where they will face Big Ten foe Michigan. The retro jerseys will be worn 100 years and one day after Red Grange's historic six-touchdown performance against the Wolverines on October 18, 1924.

    Required reading: Illinois running back Kaden Feagin remains sidelined with an unspecified injury

    On that historic day, Grange finished the game with 402 total yards and scored six touchdowns in a 39-14 victory over Michigan. The rankings duel between No. 21 Illinois and No. 22 Michigan comes almost 100 years to the day after Grange's supernatural performance. Interestingly, the Wolverines and Fighting Illini shared the national championship in 1923. Michigan will also be the defending champions this time.

    Here's what you need to know about Grange and the Illinois football jerseys for Saturday's game against Michigan:

    What do the Illinois jerseys look like?

    According to the school's press release, the jerseys have a blue base with tan gold stripes that form a pyramid shape and run from the bottom of the jersey to the top of the numbers. The jerseys also feature white numbers and blue outlines. The only orange elements on it are from the Memorial Stadium 100th Anniversary patch that the Illini wore all season.

    The tailored pants will also feature stripes in a light brown gold tone. To complete the retro uniforms, they are combined with blue socks.

    “The jerseys are fairly simple,” Jake Rosch, director of football equipment, said in a university news release. “It was developed 100 years ago, so manufacturing options were limited at that time. We were able to customize the jersey design, which is really cool because we wanted to be as historic as we could be from 100 years ago.”

    Who was Red Grange?

    Harold “Red” Grange was born on June 13, 1903 in Forksville, Pennsylvania. From 1923 to 1925 he attended the University of Illinois. Grange is enshrined in the College Football Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame for his distinguished career. He was a member of the Illinois national team in 1923 and also won Super Bowl rings with the Bears in 1932 and 1933.

    Because of his red hair, he was nicknamed “Red” and was also called “Galloping Ghost.” Notably, Grange wore number 77 throughout his career despite playing running back, quarterback, wide receiver and defensive back.

    Grange was listed in the College Football Hall of Fame at 5-foot-10 and 175 pounds. In his first college game against Nebraska, Grange scored three touchdowns, laying the foundation for his career. He only played 20 college games but had impressive statistics with 388 carries for 2,071 yards (5.3 yards per carry), 14 catches for 253 yards and completed 40 of 82 passes for 575 yards. He had 31 career touchdowns, 16 of which were from at least 20 yards and nine from 50 or more yards.

    After Illinois' season finale on November 21, 1925 against Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio, Grange announced that he was turning professional. Because there was no NFL draft at the time, Grange was able to negotiate a deal with Bears owner and coach George Halas. According to ESPN, Grange was reportedly paid $3,000 per game and a varying percentage of gate receipts.

    In the NFL, Grange had two stints with the Chicago Bears (1925 and 1929-34) and played for the New York Yankees (1926-27). Because of his enthusiasm for playing, Grange is known for “putting professional football on the map”.“In his first game, the Bears sold out Cubs Field (later renamed Wrigley Field) in front of 36,000 fans.

    Grange played nine seasons in the NFL, appearing in 96 games. He missed the 1928 season before returning to the Bears, where he continued to play on both sides of the ball. In the 1933 NFL championship game at Wrigley Field, he made a touchdown-saving tackle in the fourth quarter with 23:21 left.

    Grange was named to the NCAA publication “Football's Finest” in 2002, which compiled statistics for 3,000 of “college football's best players and coaches.” He died of pneumonia on January 28, 1991 in Lakes Wales, Florida, at the age of 87.

    Red Grange vs. Michigan stats in 1924

    Michigan entered the matchup against the Fighting Illini having gone 20 straight games undefeated (18-0-2) and had outscored its opponents 443-32 during that span. That didn't bother Grange. He returned the opening kickoff from the 5-yard line and scored on the 95-yard touchdown kickoff return.

    On the next drive, he returned the ball to the 33 before scoring a 67-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage. He added a 44-yard touchdown run after Michigan fumbled on its next possession. He added touchdown runs of 95, 67, 56 and 44 yards in the first half. Grange scored another rushing touchdown in the third quarter and added a passing touchdown before being removed from the game.

    The 402 all-purpose yards — 212 rushing yards, 64 passing and 126 kickoff returns — still rank third all-time in a single game in the Big Ten.

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    Kathleen William
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