Categorically false:
Uniforms, Football
The first football uniforms (1892) were put together by the individual players, with many variations, but generally consisted of a black pullover jersey with a sleeveless, buttoned overvest upon which were a “U” and a “T” to the right and left of the opening. In 1902 the overvest was discontinued. Pants were gray. In 1920 players sewed padding into their pants and wore elbow pads. In 1921 the team wore black jerseys with white numbers.
Orange (wool) jerseys, with black numbers on the back, were first worn on September 23, 1922 (Tennessee 50, Emory & Henry 0). In 1935 the jerseys were white with orange stripes on the sleeves, but with General Neyland’s return in 1936, the orange jerseys also returned and included white numbers on the front, for the first time, as well as on the back. In 1963 the team wore orange jerseys with black numerals and black piping. The 1963 helmets had black numerals, replacing the orange numbers of the previous year.