Special Jerseys for a Special Game
Nov 22, 2022 | Football, Sports Extra
By: Stan Weber as told to D. Scott Fritchen
There are dates and games that I'll never forget from my 40-plus years being associated with Kansas State football. The 1982 Sunflower Showdown is definitely one of those events I'll always remember. It was Saturday, October 23, 1982. In Manhattan. A sold-out crowd at KSU Stadium. K-State versus the University of Kansas in the 80th edition of the Sunflower Showdown. And the lights, yes, the lights, we'll always remember. They were temporary lights.
Almost every college football game kicked off at 1:10 p.m. This rivalry game became the first in Big 8 Conference history to be played underneath the lights. The game was broadcast on TBS to a national audience. So, the night was already special.
I had blown out my knee during spring practice prior to the 1982 season, so I was on crutches. I stood on the sideline prior to the game. My K-State teammates warmed up on one side of the field, and Kansas warmed up on the other side. You could feel the anticipation in the air. There were 45,595 fans in the stands. You could already tell there was just something that was different about this game.
We had a 3-2-1 record entering the Sunflower Showdown. Under head coach Jim Dickey, we had beaten Kentucky, 23-9, South Dakota, 42-3, and Wichita State, 31-7. But we also suffered a 30-7 loss at No. 13 Arizona State, we tied Missouri, 7-7, and we were coming off a 49-3 loss at No. 6 Nebraska. We had worked hard for this moment. It's important understand that a majority of starters or players who had the capacity to start had redshirted the 1981 season. They all wanted to stay an extra year. I was one of those players who had redshirted. We knew 1982 was could be a big year in the history of our football program. Weeks later, we beat Colorado 33-10 on Senior Day and went to our first-ever bowl game — the Independence Bowl.
But it all came back to the K-State/KU game. The season was on the line. Was K-State going to get over the hump and get to its first bowl game? Just how good was K-State this year? Could K-State get this done?
We answered that question. And nobody who witnessed the game will ever forget it.
As my teammates warmed up on the football field, wearing their purple jerseys, I decided to head to the locker room. There was so much to remember about the special game — I remember it like it was yesterday — but I'll always remember walking into the locker room.
Inside the locker room, gray jerseys hung from every single locker.
"What the heck?" I said.
I found my good buddy Jim "Shorty" Kleinau, the longtime equipment manager for K-State football.
"What is going on, Shorty?" I asked.
He said, "We made special jerseys for this special game."
I couldn't believe it. Our players had no idea. I grabbed my gray No. 12 jersey and tucked it away.
Moments later, the team entered the locker room.
We had silver helmets, just like we do now, and we had white pants with purple jerseys, and the coaches said, "Take off those purple jerseys and put on these gray jerseys." Our locker room exploded. There was no doubt what was going to happen in the Sunflower Showdown. Unless there was some crazy curveball from the football Gods, this game was over.
We came out of the locker room, I had changed into my gray jersey and headed to the sideline, and the Cats ran down the concrete ramp, and this place was on fire, and K-State fans exploded. You think players like alternate jerseys now, well, nobody changed uniforms back in 1982. It just didn't happen. So this place was on steroids crazy.
There was no mesh to the jerseys. They were cloth jerseys. They probably wouldn't have lasted five games. These were once-in-history jerseys. This blew the top off the K-State football program.
There was no doubt who had the better team. Although Kansas had won the previous three matchups — the Jayhawks had to forfeit their 20-18 win in 1980 due to an ineligible player, but I still count it as a loss — there was no doubt K-State was the better team in 1982. Throughout the game, we hammered them, hammered them, and we were significantly better. At that time in college football, you rarely played on TV, but here we were on TV inside our stadium at night playing our rivals and wearing these gray jerseys and it was the perfect K-State script, how everything unfolded, how the temporary lights worked, how the fans roared, and how the Wildcats played.
We won, 36-7.
KU's only score came on a 26-yard interception return late in the game against our backups. It was the most-lopsided victory by K-State over Kansas since a 46-0 win in 1955. So this was huge. It was electric. K-State fans tore down both goalposts. I mean, everyone was into it. What's amazing was it as so unusual, I mean, everything about it was so unusual — the jerseys, the lights, the night game. The excitement didn't quit. The whole night, everyone was pinching each other like, "Is this really happening? Are we really at a Big 8 night game? Are we really knocking the crap out of our rival? Are we really having this much fun?" And, oh, by the way, the nation was watching the game on TV.
At the end of the game, the excitement level was so high that I think tearing down the goalposts didn't have as much to do with beating KU as it did just being wrapped up in the environment and craziness. Nobody wanted the night to end. Fans finishing things off by tearing down the goalposts just seemed perfect.
I remember the 1982 K-State/KU game for another reason as well. Exactly three weeks prior, I met my future wife, Nancy Freshnock, a K-State cheerleader, at the hotel of a K-State Alumni Association function. I was injured, of course, so I attended the event with a couple of my friends from Goddard High School who attended Arizona State. I met Nancy at the hotel. By the time we hit the KU game, it was like, "Wow, everything is coming together." Not only did the K-State/KU game carry significance for everybody, but at the same time the build up to me dating my future wife paralleled this game. Everything fell into place. Nancy and I dated for five years and married in 1987. K-State went to a bowl game 40 years ago and 40 years ago I was lucky enough to meet Nancy Freshnock.
Coach Jim Dickey came to Kansas City a couple years ago. About 15 to 20 guys met Coach Dickey at Steve Willis' home. We sat outside talking on a summer night. It got quiet, and I said, "Coach, I don't know if you remember the days as well as we do, but we thank you for all that you did for us. Maybe this might be something you remember like we all do."
I unbuttoned my shirt.
Underneath, I wore my gray No. 12 jersey.
There are dates and games that I'll never forget from my 40-plus years being associated with Kansas State football. The 1982 Sunflower Showdown is definitely one of those events I'll always remember. It was Saturday, October 23, 1982. In Manhattan. A sold-out crowd at KSU Stadium. K-State versus the University of Kansas in the 80th edition of the Sunflower Showdown. And the lights, yes, the lights, we'll always remember. They were temporary lights.
Almost every college football game kicked off at 1:10 p.m. This rivalry game became the first in Big 8 Conference history to be played underneath the lights. The game was broadcast on TBS to a national audience. So, the night was already special.
I had blown out my knee during spring practice prior to the 1982 season, so I was on crutches. I stood on the sideline prior to the game. My K-State teammates warmed up on one side of the field, and Kansas warmed up on the other side. You could feel the anticipation in the air. There were 45,595 fans in the stands. You could already tell there was just something that was different about this game.
We had a 3-2-1 record entering the Sunflower Showdown. Under head coach Jim Dickey, we had beaten Kentucky, 23-9, South Dakota, 42-3, and Wichita State, 31-7. But we also suffered a 30-7 loss at No. 13 Arizona State, we tied Missouri, 7-7, and we were coming off a 49-3 loss at No. 6 Nebraska. We had worked hard for this moment. It's important understand that a majority of starters or players who had the capacity to start had redshirted the 1981 season. They all wanted to stay an extra year. I was one of those players who had redshirted. We knew 1982 was could be a big year in the history of our football program. Weeks later, we beat Colorado 33-10 on Senior Day and went to our first-ever bowl game — the Independence Bowl.
But it all came back to the K-State/KU game. The season was on the line. Was K-State going to get over the hump and get to its first bowl game? Just how good was K-State this year? Could K-State get this done?
We answered that question. And nobody who witnessed the game will ever forget it.
As my teammates warmed up on the football field, wearing their purple jerseys, I decided to head to the locker room. There was so much to remember about the special game — I remember it like it was yesterday — but I'll always remember walking into the locker room.
Inside the locker room, gray jerseys hung from every single locker.
"What the heck?" I said.
I found my good buddy Jim "Shorty" Kleinau, the longtime equipment manager for K-State football.
"What is going on, Shorty?" I asked.
He said, "We made special jerseys for this special game."
I couldn't believe it. Our players had no idea. I grabbed my gray No. 12 jersey and tucked it away.
Moments later, the team entered the locker room.
We had silver helmets, just like we do now, and we had white pants with purple jerseys, and the coaches said, "Take off those purple jerseys and put on these gray jerseys." Our locker room exploded. There was no doubt what was going to happen in the Sunflower Showdown. Unless there was some crazy curveball from the football Gods, this game was over.
We came out of the locker room, I had changed into my gray jersey and headed to the sideline, and the Cats ran down the concrete ramp, and this place was on fire, and K-State fans exploded. You think players like alternate jerseys now, well, nobody changed uniforms back in 1982. It just didn't happen. So this place was on steroids crazy.
There was no mesh to the jerseys. They were cloth jerseys. They probably wouldn't have lasted five games. These were once-in-history jerseys. This blew the top off the K-State football program.
There was no doubt who had the better team. Although Kansas had won the previous three matchups — the Jayhawks had to forfeit their 20-18 win in 1980 due to an ineligible player, but I still count it as a loss — there was no doubt K-State was the better team in 1982. Throughout the game, we hammered them, hammered them, and we were significantly better. At that time in college football, you rarely played on TV, but here we were on TV inside our stadium at night playing our rivals and wearing these gray jerseys and it was the perfect K-State script, how everything unfolded, how the temporary lights worked, how the fans roared, and how the Wildcats played.
We won, 36-7.
KU's only score came on a 26-yard interception return late in the game against our backups. It was the most-lopsided victory by K-State over Kansas since a 46-0 win in 1955. So this was huge. It was electric. K-State fans tore down both goalposts. I mean, everyone was into it. What's amazing was it as so unusual, I mean, everything about it was so unusual — the jerseys, the lights, the night game. The excitement didn't quit. The whole night, everyone was pinching each other like, "Is this really happening? Are we really at a Big 8 night game? Are we really knocking the crap out of our rival? Are we really having this much fun?" And, oh, by the way, the nation was watching the game on TV.
At the end of the game, the excitement level was so high that I think tearing down the goalposts didn't have as much to do with beating KU as it did just being wrapped up in the environment and craziness. Nobody wanted the night to end. Fans finishing things off by tearing down the goalposts just seemed perfect.
I remember the 1982 K-State/KU game for another reason as well. Exactly three weeks prior, I met my future wife, Nancy Freshnock, a K-State cheerleader, at the hotel of a K-State Alumni Association function. I was injured, of course, so I attended the event with a couple of my friends from Goddard High School who attended Arizona State. I met Nancy at the hotel. By the time we hit the KU game, it was like, "Wow, everything is coming together." Not only did the K-State/KU game carry significance for everybody, but at the same time the build up to me dating my future wife paralleled this game. Everything fell into place. Nancy and I dated for five years and married in 1987. K-State went to a bowl game 40 years ago and 40 years ago I was lucky enough to meet Nancy Freshnock.
Coach Jim Dickey came to Kansas City a couple years ago. About 15 to 20 guys met Coach Dickey at Steve Willis' home. We sat outside talking on a summer night. It got quiet, and I said, "Coach, I don't know if you remember the days as well as we do, but we thank you for all that you did for us. Maybe this might be something you remember like we all do."
I unbuttoned my shirt.
Underneath, I wore my gray No. 12 jersey.
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