Kansas State University Athletics
SE: K-State MBB's Two-Tone Lavender Jerseys Rich in History, Success
Jan 19, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
One of the most successful periods in K-State men's basketball history included one of the most uniquely ahead-of-its-time uniform combinations in the sport's history: Lavender tops and dark purple shorts.
From 1973-82, these were K-State's permanent road uniforms. More than that, they were K-State's signature look. The Wildcats wearing them embraced it, opposing fans and players jeered at it, and Sports Illustrated immortalized it with its March 23, 1981 cover photo of Rolando Blackman's game-winning shot against No. 1 seed Oregon State in the NCAA Tournament.
"They were magical," Wildcat alum Chuckie Williams (1972-76) said of the two-tone uniforms, a look K-State will return to for its home game against No. 24 TCU on Saturday at 3 p.m. "They were different because back then (uniforms were) the standard school colors, basically, all across the country. They were different, that's for sure, and they did grab attention. I thought they were great. We loved them."
"Some people made fun of us," added Danny Beard (1971-74), "but it was different."
While 40-plus years can cloud memories, most of the Wildcats on the 1973-74 season could agree on where the idea for the two-tone uniforms came from: Jack Hartman. The legendary K-State head coach got together with his longtime friend Jim Knight, who ran Knight's Sporting Goods, the team's primary apparel vendor out of Salina, to come up with the uniforms.
"Coach Hartman and Jim Knight had conversations, threw it out there, and they were really pretty far-reaching during those times, in terms of being different," said Lon Kruger, Oklahoma's head coach who played at K-State from 1971-74. "Everyone thought of Coach Hartman as being very straight-arrowed, straight forward and not going to deviate very much, but Coach Hartman was proud of them. They were greatly received by K-State fans, greatly booed on the road, which made him proud. Players, we were proud to wear them. It was different and a little bit unusual. Today, people will wear uniforms of any color, but back then it was a little bit different."
Larry Williams, who played at K-State from 1971-74, had his own theory as to why Hartman came up with such an unusual look.
"Coach Hartman was a football guy, so he kind of coached like a football guy. He was tough. I always thought he wanted, since that was our traveling uniform, to make us tough and he wanted to see how we'd play wearing lavender," Williams said, laughing. "And back then, lavender and pink weren't as vogue as they are now. That's what I always guessed because I couldn't figure out why else he would do that."
The lavender-purple combination was worn by some of the most successful K-State teams in program history, which helped quiet opposing crowds and players along the way.
From 1973-82, K-State went 186-81 (.697) and reached the postseason six times that included five NCAA Tournament berths. K-State also won the 1977 Big Eight regular season title, as well as the 1977 and 1980 Big Eight Tournament championships during this stretch.
"If you're going to wear that uniform, you have to back up wearing that uniform. You have to let people know that the uniforms represent who we are," said Mike Evans, who played at K-State from 1974-78. "We were proud to wear those uniforms. We preferred to use those uniforms. We would've liked to wear those uniforms at home. We loved it."
On the road, K-State heard just about everything from fans.
"(Opposing fans) were always talking about the soft colors, just taunting that more than anything else, the fact they weren't very manly perhaps," Kruger said. "We knew were going to get jeered at a bit but that's part of being on the road. Players were very excited about it."
Added Larry Williams: "When we wore those uniforms into Allen Fieldhouse, you can only imagine what they came up with. It was a lot. We've always been rivals, but back then we got the best of Kansas. I only lost to them once, so they hated us even more."
The second season with the uniforms, when Chuckie Williams and Evans first earned the "Purple Pop Guns" nickname, K-State took the unique look to the East Coast to play in the NCAA East Regional. The opponent was Pennsylvania, led by Hall of Fame head coach Chuck Daly. The venue was the Palestra, often referred to as the Cathedral of College Basketball.
"No one expected us to win," Williams said. "There wasn't one person on the planet that expected us to beat Penn."
"They were just shocked. You could hear them whispering, 'Look at the colors on those uniforms. What kind of uniforms are those? Where are these people from?' They really didn't give us a lot of concern back then. We quieted them up really, really fast," added Evans, who combined with Williams to score 33 points in K-State's 69-62 win over Pennsylvania. "The lavender and purple left a lasting impression on them."
A year after losing seniors in Larry Williams, Gene McVey, Kruger and Beard, K-State went on to beat Boston College in the Sweet 16 in Providence, Rhode Island, before falling in overtime to Syracuse in the Elite Eight.
"Those uniforms were a magical part of that year because they expected very little from this new group. We were young, real young," Chuckie Williams said. "It was magical. We were an overtime away from going to the Final Four."
"That was quite a feat for us back then," Evans added. "That is the memory that sticks the most with me because no one knew who we were back east, and they were shocked. We left a resounding understanding of what Big Eight basketball was back then on the East Coast. People that I know that have lived on the East Coast all their lives, they still remember that."
With K-State bringing back the two-tone jerseys for Saturday's game against TCU, a tribute to Hartman and the success his teams had, the players who first wore them can't help but feel nostalgic about it all.
"That is Kansas State. That's the signature uniform for the university, I think, for university basketball. Those colors helped put Kansas State on the map," Evans said. "And we were not afraid to wear them. When you played us, win or lose, we left a lasting impression on the basketball court because you were in for a battle because that's what Jack Hartman demanded, that you give your best at all times and that you do it the right way. You were going to be in for a battle no matter where we went or who we played."
One of the most successful periods in K-State men's basketball history included one of the most uniquely ahead-of-its-time uniform combinations in the sport's history: Lavender tops and dark purple shorts.
From 1973-82, these were K-State's permanent road uniforms. More than that, they were K-State's signature look. The Wildcats wearing them embraced it, opposing fans and players jeered at it, and Sports Illustrated immortalized it with its March 23, 1981 cover photo of Rolando Blackman's game-winning shot against No. 1 seed Oregon State in the NCAA Tournament.
What did those lavenders look like back when the 'Cats wore them from 1973-82? ???? #KStateMBB #tbt pic.twitter.com/u130zT7e88
— K-State Men's Basketball (@KStateMBB) January 18, 2018
"They were magical," Wildcat alum Chuckie Williams (1972-76) said of the two-tone uniforms, a look K-State will return to for its home game against No. 24 TCU on Saturday at 3 p.m. "They were different because back then (uniforms were) the standard school colors, basically, all across the country. They were different, that's for sure, and they did grab attention. I thought they were great. We loved them."
"Some people made fun of us," added Danny Beard (1971-74), "but it was different."
While 40-plus years can cloud memories, most of the Wildcats on the 1973-74 season could agree on where the idea for the two-tone uniforms came from: Jack Hartman. The legendary K-State head coach got together with his longtime friend Jim Knight, who ran Knight's Sporting Goods, the team's primary apparel vendor out of Salina, to come up with the uniforms.
"Coach Hartman and Jim Knight had conversations, threw it out there, and they were really pretty far-reaching during those times, in terms of being different," said Lon Kruger, Oklahoma's head coach who played at K-State from 1971-74. "Everyone thought of Coach Hartman as being very straight-arrowed, straight forward and not going to deviate very much, but Coach Hartman was proud of them. They were greatly received by K-State fans, greatly booed on the road, which made him proud. Players, we were proud to wear them. It was different and a little bit unusual. Today, people will wear uniforms of any color, but back then it was a little bit different."
Throwing it back with the lavenders on Saturday #KStateMBB pic.twitter.com/PXH1Q9x8Eo
— K-State Men's Basketball (@KStateMBB) January 18, 2018
Larry Williams, who played at K-State from 1971-74, had his own theory as to why Hartman came up with such an unusual look.
"Coach Hartman was a football guy, so he kind of coached like a football guy. He was tough. I always thought he wanted, since that was our traveling uniform, to make us tough and he wanted to see how we'd play wearing lavender," Williams said, laughing. "And back then, lavender and pink weren't as vogue as they are now. That's what I always guessed because I couldn't figure out why else he would do that."
The lavender-purple combination was worn by some of the most successful K-State teams in program history, which helped quiet opposing crowds and players along the way.
From 1973-82, K-State went 186-81 (.697) and reached the postseason six times that included five NCAA Tournament berths. K-State also won the 1977 Big Eight regular season title, as well as the 1977 and 1980 Big Eight Tournament championships during this stretch.
"If you're going to wear that uniform, you have to back up wearing that uniform. You have to let people know that the uniforms represent who we are," said Mike Evans, who played at K-State from 1974-78. "We were proud to wear those uniforms. We preferred to use those uniforms. We would've liked to wear those uniforms at home. We loved it."
On the road, K-State heard just about everything from fans.
"(Opposing fans) were always talking about the soft colors, just taunting that more than anything else, the fact they weren't very manly perhaps," Kruger said. "We knew were going to get jeered at a bit but that's part of being on the road. Players were very excited about it."
Added Larry Williams: "When we wore those uniforms into Allen Fieldhouse, you can only imagine what they came up with. It was a lot. We've always been rivals, but back then we got the best of Kansas. I only lost to them once, so they hated us even more."
The second season with the uniforms, when Chuckie Williams and Evans first earned the "Purple Pop Guns" nickname, K-State took the unique look to the East Coast to play in the NCAA East Regional. The opponent was Pennsylvania, led by Hall of Fame head coach Chuck Daly. The venue was the Palestra, often referred to as the Cathedral of College Basketball.
"No one expected us to win," Williams said. "There wasn't one person on the planet that expected us to beat Penn."
"They were just shocked. You could hear them whispering, 'Look at the colors on those uniforms. What kind of uniforms are those? Where are these people from?' They really didn't give us a lot of concern back then. We quieted them up really, really fast," added Evans, who combined with Williams to score 33 points in K-State's 69-62 win over Pennsylvania. "The lavender and purple left a lasting impression on them."
A year after losing seniors in Larry Williams, Gene McVey, Kruger and Beard, K-State went on to beat Boston College in the Sweet 16 in Providence, Rhode Island, before falling in overtime to Syracuse in the Elite Eight.
"Those uniforms were a magical part of that year because they expected very little from this new group. We were young, real young," Chuckie Williams said. "It was magical. We were an overtime away from going to the Final Four."
"That was quite a feat for us back then," Evans added. "That is the memory that sticks the most with me because no one knew who we were back east, and they were shocked. We left a resounding understanding of what Big Eight basketball was back then on the East Coast. People that I know that have lived on the East Coast all their lives, they still remember that."
With K-State bringing back the two-tone jerseys for Saturday's game against TCU, a tribute to Hartman and the success his teams had, the players who first wore them can't help but feel nostalgic about it all.
"That is Kansas State. That's the signature uniform for the university, I think, for university basketball. Those colors helped put Kansas State on the map," Evans said. "And we were not afraid to wear them. When you played us, win or lose, we left a lasting impression on the basketball court because you were in for a battle because that's what Jack Hartman demanded, that you give your best at all times and that you do it the right way. You were going to be in for a battle no matter where we went or who we played."
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