Interest is High in Huskers.com Auction for 1962 Throwback Uniforms

After its first weekend of action, 80 of the 93 throwback football uniforms up for auction on Huskers.com have received the minimum bid of $500.

"I want to thank our fans for their terrific response out of the gate," said Michael Stephens, assistant athletic director for marketing, licensing and concessions. "I don't think any other school in the country would show this kind of immediate support.

"To appreciate the interest, all you have to do is scroll down the list of numbers and see the bids already there," Stephens said. "We're pleased that six of them already have reached $1,000 and one, No. 93, is moving closer to $2,000. We know our fans would love to own a piece of history with a game worn jersey, and we think they're going to have fun keeping track of their prospects."

Stephens has heard that some fans are banding together and bidding together. "They're telling me that they think it's smart to submit a combined bid, so one might end up with the helmet and another would end up with the jersey and pants," he said. "We're not surprised to see an innovative approach. It's been 47 years since these uniforms have graced Memorial Stadium."

The revenue generated from the auction will be used to cover the expenses required to equip the current team so the Huskers can honor the 1962 team. Once that need is met, Stephens said any additional revenue will be used to fund the 300th celebration event.

Nebraska will wear the team's first-ever throwback uniforms on Saturday, Sept. 26, to help celebrate the school's ongoing NCAA-record 300th consecutive sellout against Louisiana-Lafayette at Memorial Stadium.

The throwback uniforms, produced by adidas, are replicas of the home uniforms, helmets and pants worn during the 1962 season when legendary Coach Bob Devaney posted a 9-2 record in his first year as head coach at Nebraska. The sellout streak began that season when the Huskers hosted Missouri in the fifth home game of the season on Nov. 3, 1962.

All uniforms worn by the Huskers in the Louisiana-Lafayette game are being auctioned to the highest bidder on Huskers.com. Each uniform set includes a jersey, pants and helmet. All except six numbers from 1 through 99 will be auctioned. The exceptions are Nos. 20, 60 and 64 (permanently retired jersey numbers for Johnny Rodgers, Tom Novak and Bob Brown) and Nos. 61, 72 and 97 (numbers not currently assigned).

Although some Husker players will wear duplicate numbers this season, only one uniform set per number will be auctioned. 

Members of the 1962 team have been invited to a reunion dinner and celebration the night before the Sept. 26th game and will be honored on game day. 

Friday, Roy Helu Jr. and Ndamukong Suh helped launch the auction by modeling commemorative apparel for the media. In addition, four members of the '62 team watched Nebraska practice Friday morning and were interviewed by the media. They included quarterback Dennis Claridge, halfback Willie Paschall, offensive guard (and '62 co-captain) Dwain Carlson and center Lyle Sittler. The Huskers' other co-captain in 1962 was the late Bill "Thunder" Thornton, who died last December in Columbia, Mo. 

The opening, minimum bid for each uniform set is $500 with bid increments of $25. A $15 shipping fee will be added to the winning bid. All bidders must apply for a bidding number on Huskers.com. Season ticket and donor account numbers will not work for this process.

Funds generated from this auction will directly benefit University of Nebraska student-athletes.

The auction will close on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2009.

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