UCLA Bruins

For all their history, UCLA Bruins jerseys have changed shockingly little through the decades. The biggest changes to the uniforms have been little more than keeping pace with current fashion and practice—lengthening of shorts, updating materials. But from the dynasty of the 1960’s and 1970’s all the way through the most recent Bruin basketball team, the core of the uniforms have remained largely as they were when John Wooden was still pacing the sidelines.
Like most jerseys of the day, UCLA’s uniforms started out rather simple. Home jerseys were basically white with “UCLA” written in block lettering across the chest arching over the numbers. Away uniforms were blue rather than white, but otherwise basically the same.
The basis for the history of the uniform’s colors is logical, based on the state in which UCLA resides. Both the blue and yellow represent various state flora, while yellow also recalls sunsets and, of course, California gold (a reference both to the precious metal and the state motto). Blue also brings to mind the ocean, an important aspect of Californian history and culture.
Some of the men who have donned the various iterations of UCLA’s blue and yellow are as legendary as the school itself. UCLA is the proud owner of eleven NCAA men’s basketball championships, won in large part by old time greats like Lew Alcindor (who later changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), Sidney Wicks, and Henry Bibby, each of whom helped win three championships. Those three greats were part of what is arguably the greatest extended period of dominance in modern sport, John Wooden’s 10 championships in twelve years, seven of which were consecutive.
Even after Wooden’s retirement, UCLA continued to live up to the proud tradition of its colors. Players like Kiki Vandeweghe and Reggie Miller carried on the school’s excellence, Vandeweghe reaching the NCAA tournament and contending for the title, and Miller setting numerous school and league scoring records. About 10 years after Miller’s tenure, two brothers named Ed and Charles O’Bannon starred for the Bruins, leading the blue and yellow to its first championship since the Wooden era, breaking the school’s own NCAA record for most championships in men’s basketball.
More recently a host of new young players have starred at UCLA, working to return the school to its dominating ways. Baron Davis qualified for the NCAA tournament in the late 1990’s, while Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love helped coach Ben Howland reach the Final Four three consecutive years and the championship game once.
Of all the legendary players who have worn a Bruin jersey, only seven have had their jersey numbers retired. Bill Walton (#32), Lew Alcindor (#33), Ed O’Bannon (#31), Sidney Wicks (#35), Walt Hazzard (#42), Marques Johnson (#54), and Gail Goodrich (#25) have all been immortalized by way of the old blue and gold.