ASU

1970 ASU
(Authentic Reproduction)
 

Coming off of an 8-2 1969 campaign with seven returning All Conference starters, 1970 was tabbed as a potentially good season but Frank Kush and his staff and almost every other Sun Devil fan were not prepared for the 11-0 barn burning that this team displayed every time it entered the stadium. Brooklyn's "Spaghetti Joe" Spagnola directed the potent attack led by RB Dave Buchanan, Brent McClanahan, Steve Holden, and Bob Thomas, all future pro players. With pass receiver J.D. Hill, points in the 35-50 range became standard. DE Junior Ah You led a very underrated defense. Typically, western schools would be denied bowl participation, especially Arizona State because of a lack of publicity in the eastern press. This great 1970 team may have suffered the same fate but the Peach Bowl invited the Sun Devils with the proviso that they purchase 10,000 tickets to the game. While allotment of bowl tickets is now standard, this was a new procedure and the local populace stepped up. While perhaps 2500 fans actually made the trip to Atlanta, the remainder of the tickets were distributed to Georgia based servicemen. Facing off against Garden City, Long Island's Don McCauley and the rest of the North Carolina Tar Heels, a team that had notched victories against a number of ranked teams, ASU got to show its wares in front of millions of television viewers, the first real national exposure they had received. Hill, Holden, Spaghetti Joe, and Ah You proved that the Sun Devils were for real with a dominating 48-26 victory which finally placed them in the national consciousness. Dressed in their maroon jerseys with contrasting knit on the elbow length sleeves and gold helmet with maroon center stripe with red side numerals, the Sun Devils and their distinctive color combination became recognizable throughout the country after the 1970 season, one that made many realize that long before this, they had been an excellent football program.


                                 If interested in any of these ASU helmets please click on the photos below.