The No. 75 hasn't been worn at North Texas for 50 years. "Mean" Joe Greene, one of the greatest NFL defensive players of all time, made sure of that. His number was retired by the university after he was named a consensus All-American in 1968, before he went on to have a prolific NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In spite of his Hall of Fame NFL career, Greene may be best remembered for his famous Coca-Cola commercial. The image of him tossing his jersey in a darkened tunnel is one of the most iconic images in NFL advertising history. With that in mind, it's hard for homages to do it justice. But North Texas did just that in its unveiling that the No. 75 jersey will be on the field for North Texas once again this weekend.
He’s the 🐐 and the only Mean Green Football player to wear the No. 75 in the last 50 years. Until this week. For one day only, the iconic Joe Greene jersey is coming out of retirement. #GMG #UniSwag pic.twitter.com/jeaqesZ5n2
— Eagles (@MeanGreenFB) September 26, 2018
This is just perfect. The throwback jersey looks incredible, the helmet looks amazing ... and now I want a Coke. The team is commemorating a statue unveiling for Greene outside Apogee Stadium, and La'Darius Hamilton will be wearing Greene's iconic number. The junior defensive end has a pair of sacks in four games this year. Wearing that jersey, he seems fated to rack up five more.
