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    • Illinois football honors Red Grange with throwback uniforms against Michigan
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    Illinois football honors Red Grange with throwback uniforms against Michigan

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    Illinois football is playing well on the field, with a 5-1 start to the 2024 college football season and a top-25 ranking. The athletic department also does its best to make them look good.

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

    REQUIRED READING: Illinois running back Kaden Feagin remains sidelined with an unspecified injury

    On that historic day, Grange finished with 402 total yards and scored six touchdowns in a 39-14 victory over Michigan. The ranked matchup between No. 21 Illinois and No. 22 Michigan comes nearly 100 years after the day of the alien performance for Grange. Interestingly enough, the Wolverines and Fighting Illini shared the national championship in 1923. Michigan will also serve as defending champions this time.

    Here’s what you need to know about Grange and Illinois football uniforms for Saturday’s game against Michigan:

    What do the Illinois throwback jerseys look like?

    According to the school’s press release, the jerseys have a blue base with tan gold stripes, forming a pyramid shape and running from the bottom of the jersey to the top of the numbers. The jerseys also feature white numbers and blue outlines. The only orange features come from the Memorial Stadium 100th Anniversary patch, which the Illini have worn all season.

    The custom pants will also feature stripes with a golden brown hue. To complete the throwback uniforms, they are paired with blue socks.

    “The jerseys are pretty simplistic,” said Jake Rosch, director of football equipment, in a university news release. “It was designed 100 years ago, so they were limited in their production capabilities at the time. We were able to match the design of the jersey, which is really cool because we were as historically accurate as we could be from 100 years ago.”

    Who was Red Grange?

    Harold “Red” Grange was born on June 13, 1903 in Forksville, Pennsylvania. He attended the University of Illinois from 1923 to 1925. Grange has been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame for his outstanding career. He was a member of the 1923 national champion Illinois team and also won Super Bowl rings with the Bears in 1932 and 1933.

    He was nicknamed “Red” because of his red hair and was also called the “Galloping Ghost”. Despite playing running back, quarterback, wide receiver and defensive back, Grange notably wore number 77 during his career.

    Grange was listed at 6-foot-1, 175 pounds by the College Football Hall of Fame. In his first collegiate game against Nebraska, Grange scored three touchdowns, setting the tone for his career. He played only 20 collegiate games, but had impressive stats with 388 rushes for 2,071 yards (5.3 yards per rush), 14 catches for 253 yards and completed 40 of 82 passes for 575 yards. He had 31 career touchdowns, including 16 of at least 20 yards and nine of 50 or more yards.

    After Illinois’ season finale on November 21, 1925, against Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio, Grange announced that he would turn pro. Since there was no NFL draft at the time, Grange was able to make a deal with Bears owner and coach George Halas. Grange reportedly received $3,000 per game and a varying percentage of gate revenue, per ESPN.

    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 excitement while playing, Grange is known for ‘putting professional football on the map.“For its 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 both sides of the ball. He had a touchdown-saving tackle in the fourth quarter of a 23-21 in the 1933 NFL Championship Game at Wrigley Field.

    Grange was included in the 2002 NCAA publication “Football’s Finest”, which collected the statistics of 3,000 of college football’s “best players and coaches associated with college football.” He died at the age of 87 from pneumonia on January 28, 1991 in Lakes Wales, Florida.

    Red Grange vs. Michigan 1924 statistics

    Michigan entered the game against the Fighting Illini without having suffered a loss in 20 straight games (18-0-2) and had outscored its opponents 443-32 in 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 a Michigan fumble on the 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 taken 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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