During the 1980’s the Denny Crum-led Louisville Cardinals won two national titles (1980 and 1986) and were well-known for their ability to finish above the rim. The 1980 team was led by Darrell Griffith, who was given the nickname of “Dr. Dunkenstein” for his dunking ability, with freshman Pervis Ellison leading the 1986 team.
During that period the Cardinals had a unique logo on its shorts, with the “dunking bird” remaining popular amongst many Louisville fans to this day. And for at least one game, the uniforms associated with some of the best years in the history of the program will be back. Friday the school announced that the team will wear throwback uniforms for the game against No. 2 Duke on January 17.
#Louisville will wear special @adidas uniforms that feature a historic 1980s-inspired blend on Jan. 17 vs Duke #L1C4 pic.twitter.com/wkc4gvABZQ
— Kenny Klein (@KKcards) January 2, 2015
This season marks the 35th year anniversary of Louisville’s first national title team, and it can be argued that Louisville was one of the programs of the 1980’s in college basketball. Louisville made four Final Four appearances during the decade (1980, 1982, 1983 and 1986), and only North Carolina made more Sweet 16 appearances than Louisville’s seven according to the school release.
Hopefully the throwback uniforms won’t be a one-time thing for Louisville.