Visual History of the Flying Worm
9/17/2020 12:20:00 PM | Football, General
On Saturday, September 19, 2020, Mean Green Football will revive an iconic look as they welcome SMU to Apogee Stadium. This uniform will be worn in honor of the late, great Hayden Fry, who coached at North Texas from 1973-78. These are inspired by the logo he and artist Rick Spears helped bring to North Texas (North Texas State at the time), which has been affectionately known as “The Flying Worm.” Fry amassed a 40-23-3 record and is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. Below is a brief visual history of the “Flying Worm,” and an up-close look at its modern recreation.
Five-For-Five: Flying Worm Days
July 25, 2016
It was a quintessential piece of 70s design, a child of 1960s psychedelic design with thick, curvilinear shapes; a long, thick body with equally thick wings coming off its back.
It was a stylized rendition of an eagle. However, to North Texas students of the era, it looked like a flying worm. And the name stuck.
But the 1970s uniforms were much more than the Flying Worm. North Texas has long changed the shade of green worn by its student-athletes, but this was easily the most bold: a bright, eye-catching, practially neon lime green.
Introduced in 1973, the Flying Worm and lime-green uniforms were retired in 1982-83. But more than any uniform or logo before or since, the Flying Worm continues to enjoy popularity.
Gallery: Hayden Fry Tribute Uniform
Special thank you to the University of North Texas Libraries for photographs. To explore thousands of historical photographs, articles, videos and more, please click the button below to visit the Portal to Texas History website available through the North Texas Libraries.
