Louisiana State Tigers

The Louisiana State University Tigers’ jersey sports the bold colors of bright purple and canary yellow. Many legendary athletes have worn this jersey through the years, as members of one of LSU’s twenty varsity sports teams. The Tigers are in the Southeastern Conference of the NCAA.

The official team nickname, the Fighting Tigers, came from a raucous brigade of Confederate soldiers who were known by the same name in the Civil War.

Football at LSU began in 1893, when chemistry professor Dr. Charles Coates served as the first head coach. The first game the Tigers played was against the Tulane Green Wave. They were defeated by Tulane in a score of 34-0.

Today, Tulane is LSU’s oldest rival. Other rivalries include the Ole Miss Rebels, the Auburn Tigers, the Mississippi State Bulldogs, Alabama’s Crimson Tide and the Arkansas Razorbacks. Arkansas and LSU have an annual face-off after Thanksgiving, with the victor taking home the coveted“Golden Boot” trophy.  

A Billy Cannon jersey is a treasured memento for LSU football fans. While Cannon played for LSU, he won All-American and the 1959 Heisman Trophy. In 2008, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a Tiger. After his celebrated collegiate career with LSU, Cannon went on to play football for the American Football League. He was one of only 20 players who played all ten years of the AFL’s existence.

The football legends continued to come through LSU a decade later. Considered to be one of the greatest LSU players in the university’s history, Tommy Casanova wore the Tiger’s purple and gold jersey from 1969-1971. Casanova was a running back, punt returner and defensive back for the team. He was an All-American all three seasons. Later he played for the Cincinnati Bengals in the NFL.  

Basketball at LSU carries the memory of Pete Maravich’s jersey, number 23 . The incredible player known as “Pistol Pete” played for the team in the late 1960’s. As a freshman in his very first game as a Tiger, Maravich scored 50 points, and had 14 rebounds and 11 assists. Today, his record of 3,667 career points still stands. Maravich played for three NBA teams before retiring in 1980 due to an injury.

In recent years, LSU’s football program boasted wide-receiver Michael Clayton. He wore the Tigers jersey for three years in the early 2000’s. While on the team he caught 182 passes for 2,582 yards and had 21 touchdowns. From LSU, Clayton went on to play in the NFL for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New York Giants.

There’s no doubt that the athletes and fans of Louisiana State University’s Fighting Tigers have many good reasons to wear their purple and gold jerseys with pride.