The University of Mississippi Athletics
Break Out the Powder Blue
2/29/2016 | Baseball, Blog
By Tate Hawkins, Student Assistant, Ole Miss Athletics Media Relations
You've seenit all over athletics and campus. From jerseys, hats, helmets, and even to T-shirtsthat get tossed into the crowd. Fans have clung to this over the past few yearswith their attire. Now, what are you thinking about? If you're thinking of acolor, then you are absolutely correct. Over the past few years, the Rebels'alternate color of powder blue has become a fan favorite. Now, the belovedcolor will be featured by the Ole Miss baseball team throughout the 2016season.
Powder bluewas first donned by an Ole Miss sports team during the 1948 football seasonwhen the color was on the football helmet. Worn up until 1977, then again from1983-1994 the powder blue was beloved by Rebel fans. The color made a surprisecomeback in 2014 when the Ole Miss football team wore powder blue helmetsidentical to the ones worn in 1989 to honor the late Chucky Mullins who losthis life after battling being paralyzed from a hit in a game against theVanderbilt Commodores on October 28, 1989. Mullins received a wide outpouringof support from the Oxford community and Rebel fans nationwide, symbolizing thefamily aspect that Rebels of all ages love to this day.
The powderblue helmets were worn four times during the 2015 football season. They werefeatured when the Rebels went to Tuscaloosa to beat Alabama, followed by gamesagainst Vanderbilt, Memphis, and in the Sugar Bowl victory against OklahomaState. Then in last week's series finale against FIU, a 16-5 win, the Rebelbaseball team warmed up in its traditional white with navy pinstripes beforemaking the switch into all powder blues before taking the field. Coach MikeBianco said that the jerseys "were something we've been planning for a while,and we're glad to see that they turned out well." Players loved them as well. J.B.Woodman described them as "the coolest uniforms in college baseball," whileWyatt Short said that he didn't "have words to describe my feelings," when thejerseys were unveiled. The powder blues were broken out again in the rubbergame against No. 2 Louisville, who wore a red uniform combination that resembledthe Houston Astros' jerseys during the Nolan Ryan era. Now, fans have had theirown opinions of the jerseys: some love the idea, and some are not so fond ofit. However, the history and tradition behind the color means more to Rebelfans than the idea of just having a cool uniform.
If you haven't seen the jerseys I'mtalking about, you have a few options to get a look for yourself. You can comeout to a home game this season; the powder blues have been worn on Sunday ofthe first two weekend series. You can check out the pictures on the Ole MissBaseball's social media accounts (Twitter: @OleMissBSB, Facebook: Ole Miss Baseball andInstagram: olemissbsb.). Ifneither of those are your forte, think Stan Musial-era St. Louis Cardinals.
