Traditionalists rejoice: Washington is bringing back the Husky Helmet Car

May 16, 2024

SEATTLE — It’s one of those college football traditions with a vague enough origin story that even the school attributes it to legend.

Just how did the Husky Helmet Car come to be? The oft-repeated tale is that some dedicated Washington fans constructed it from an old Volkswagen chassis with designs on driving it to Pasadena for the Rose Parade ahead of the 1978 Rose Bowl. The car never actually made the trip — the parade requires all floats be covered entirely with flowers or other natural materials, which might explain why — but did make its first appearance at UW home games during the 1978 season, and members of the Husky Band and cheer squad began driving it around the old track at Husky Stadium following each UW score.

(That story is true enough, although longtime Husky Band director Brad McDavid can provide a few more specifics. It was the brainchild of then-athletic director Mike Lude, who took the idea to the UW Quarterback Club. As McDavid remembers it, P&M Fiberglass in Seattle helped install the helmet on the VW chassis, and Bob Byers Ravenna Volvo provided the paint job.)

The helmet car was, in its day, as synonymous with the Husky Stadium experience as the touchdown siren or “Hello, Dawg fans.” Which made it something of a bummer when the school retired the car in concert with the 2013 stadium renovation. With the track removed and therefore far less space available on the sidelines, the school couldn’t square the logistics, and so a 34-year tradition fell victim to the facilities arms race. The school donated the car to Seattle’s Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI), and while it has been occasionally displayed, Huskies home games have been devoid of the helmet car since 2011.

But then Jimmy Lake took over as the head coach and came to believe this injustice could no longer stand.

Indeed, the helmet car is back, UW announced Friday morning, much to the excitement of those who remember Cow Chip Cookies and Captain Husky. It’s a new, sleeker (and smaller) model, constructed this time from a golf-cart chassis in order to better navigate a more intimate stadium. The car won’t traverse the narrow sidelines but will instead drive behind the east end zone after each UW score, and it will be available for photo opportunities in The Zone prior to each game.

The school commissioned the new helmet car from Diversified Golf Cars Inc. in Orlando, Fla., shipping an actual UW helmet to ensure accurate paint matching. Production took about three months. The school was lucky to secure one of the few remaining golf carts for sale in the state of Florida, as the COVID-19 pandemic has created a significant shortage.

“From talking to fans and listening to our most passionate supporters, what I heard over and over again was, ‘You have to bring back the helmet car!’” Lake said in a statement released by the school.

While the renovation of Husky Stadium was long overdue, it also precipitated changes to the game day experience that not everybody loved. Barry Erickson, who put on his famed “Captain Husky” act for years, decided to retire the character along with the old stadium. The helmet car went away. The student section and band had to move from their desirable seats along the north sideline to the west end zone.

So resurrecting the helmet car feels like another nod to tradition for an athletic department searching for ways to reconnect fans with the program’s past. In 2019, the Huskies unveiled “Captain Husky 2.0.” Earlier this week, UW announced it would wear 1991-inspired throwback uniforms at some point this season, honoring the 30-year anniversary of its unbeaten national championship team. Its regular uniforms, designed two years ago by new apparel partner Adidas, also feature significant early 1990s influence.

Last month, Lake spoke at the Husky Band’s annual sneak preview and benefit event. McDavid said Lake said then that he’d informed the marketing department there’s only one sound he wants to hear when the opponent is facing a third down, and that’s the band — no music from the speakers, in other words. That will be a welcome change for the many fans who clamor for the band to play more often.

The helmet car had broad appeal, but it held special significance to the band, cheerleaders and mascot. They didn’t just drive it around the track at football games but also made public appearances with it, including the annual Seafair Torchlight Parade.

“In its later years, it got pretty cantankerous,” McDavid said. “It would break down sometimes when we took it off campus.”

But they loved it all the same, and they’re thrilled to have a new one after a nine-season hiatus.

Following a 2020 season played without fans at games, Lake wanted to prioritize reconnecting with the fan base in 2021. It’s why he opened several spring and preseason practices to the public. He has grand visions of sold-out spring games. He doesn’t ever want to see another coroplast cutout in his life.

And, at his urging, the Huskies again will celebrate scoring plays by driving a big, gold helmet at Husky Stadium, even if the journey will be a bit shorter this time.

(Photo: Courtesy of Washington Athletics)

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