Halloween jerseys are supposed to be fun. Most of them are. These five are not. Every October, teams that would never wear orange in a real game suddenly put pumpkins, bats and graveyards on the chest for one night. Some of them work. The ones below went too far.
This weekend is the biggest Halloween uniform weekend of the year in college football, with Oklahoma State in all orange, Maryland in red and black and a pile of spooky helmets. We're tracking all of them in the college football Week 9 uniform guide. This list is the other side of the holiday: the worst Halloween jerseys we have ever seen, counted down from 5 to 1.
A note on how we picked. Two of these were roasted in print when they came out, and we say so. The other three are our call, on design alone. Disagree? That's the point.
Quick Answers
- What is the worst Halloween jersey ever? Our pick is the Reading Royals' 2014 "Haunted Hockey Night" jersey, the one with a lion crest wearing a vampire mask. Sports Illustrated called it a "jack-o-lantern eyesore" that week.
- What is the worst college football Halloween uniform? Tennessee's surprise black jerseys over orange pants against South Carolina on Halloween night 2009. Fans called the look "pumpkin-esque."
- Did Tennessee win in the black jerseys? Yes, 31-13 over No. 21 South Carolina.
- Why are so many of these hockey jerseys? Minor league and European hockey clubs wear one-night specialty jerseys all season, and Halloween is the biggest one, so they swing hardest.
- Which Halloween jerseys work? The ones that change color, not the crest. Oklahoma State's all orange this weekend is a good example.
5. Belfast Giants, 2026: A Glow-Stick Rave
The look: a dark purple and navy jersey with the Giants crest, name and numbers in neon pink, plus blue bats, dead trees, a graveyard and zombie hands climbing up from the hem. Belfast wore it for its Challenge Cup game against the Glasgow Clan on Sunday, October 25.
Why it's on the list: the background is a decent Halloween scene. Then the neon pink lands on top of it and the whole thing stops being a haunted house and becomes a nightclub. Pink and purple is a party flyer, not a horror movie. Swap the pink for orange and this is a fine jersey. As it is, it's the newest entry on the list and it earned the spot.
4. Fife Flyers, 2025: The Crest Is a Pumpkin
The look: a sky blue top fading into navy, a gold collar, a haunted castle with bats flying around it, and the club's logo redrawn as a giant orange jack-o'-lantern. The Scottish club wore it against the Coventry Blaze on Saturday, October 25, 2025.
Why it's on the list: two rules for a Halloween jersey. Don't turn your logo into a pumpkin, and don't put Halloween on baby blue. Fife broke both. A sky blue fade is a summer jersey. Put a castle and a pumpkin on it and you get a jersey that can't decide if it's a beach day or a haunted hayride.
3. Coventry Blaze, 2023: A Phone Wallpaper With Ads
The look: a full painted scene across the whole jersey, a purple and teal graveyard with tombstones, crosses, jack-o'-lanterns, bats and a full moon, under the blue dragon crest and black shoulders. Then the sponsors: a casino logo, McDonald's arches on the shoulders and a nightclub across the back. Coventry wore it for its Halloween game against the Cardiff Devils on October 27, 2023, per the club.
Why it's on the list: any one of these ideas could work. All of them at once is a lock screen. A jersey needs one thing to look at, and this one has a full moon, a graveyard, a dragon and roughly a dozen ads fighting for the same chest. You can't read the crest from the stands, and the McDonald's arches are easier to spot than the team name.
2. Tennessee, 2009: Dressed as a Pumpkin
The look: the white helmet with the orange T, a black jersey with orange numbers, and orange pants. Tennessee warmed up in orange on Halloween night, October 31, 2009, then ran out against No. 21 South Carolina in black, the school's own recap says. It was Tennessee's first black jersey since the early 1920s.
Why it's on the list: the black jersey was never the problem. The pants were. Black pants weren't ready in time, so the Vols paired black tops with bright orange bottoms, and the result looked exactly like a kid's pumpkin costume. UT's own library history, Volopedia, says the uniform caused "controversy and consternation among students," and Tennessee fan site TennTruth called it a "pumpkin-esque" combination. Tennessee won 31-13, which is the only reason anybody remembers it fondly. It's the worst Halloween uniform in college football history, and it isn't close. For what the Vols wear now, see the Tennessee uniform schedule.
1. Reading Royals, 2014: The Jack-o'-Lantern Eyesore
The look: a cream body that fades into orange, black sleeves with orange and white spiderwebs, and the crowned lion crest wearing a vampire mask. Around it: bats, a pagoda, a castle, tombstones and jack-o'-lanterns. The ECHL club wore it for "Haunted Hockey Night" against the Wheeling Nailers on October 30, 2014.
Why it's number one: this is the only jersey on the list that was called out by name in the national press the week it came out. Sports Illustrated called it a "jack-o-lantern eyesore" and said it was unlikely to become a classic. Yahoo's Puck Daddy blog called it "jarring" and put it to a pass-or-fail vote. They were right. It has every Halloween idea ever, plus a lion in a vampire mask, and none of it fits together. Twelve years later, nothing has topped it.
Honorable Mention: The Knicks' All Orange, 2013
The Knicks debuted all-orange alternates on Halloween 2013 at the Bulls, and Bleacher Report said it looked "like a highlighter exploded." It's not a Halloween jersey, though. It was a regular alternate that happened to debut on October 31, so it doesn't make the list.
What Makes a Good Halloween Jersey?
The good ones change color and leave the crest alone. A team in all orange or all black for one night looks like itself in costume. A team with a pumpkin for a logo looks like somebody else's merch. The bad ones on this list all made the same mistake: they added stuff. Bats, moons, graveyards, webs, ads. The best Halloween uniform is one color, worn once.
That's why we like this weekend's college slate. Oklahoma State's all orange, Maryland's red over black and Nebraska's blackout all take one color and commit. See every look, game by game, in the college football Week 9 uniform guide, and every NHL sweater this season on the NHL uniform tracker.
The Bottom Line
The worst Halloween jersey ever is the 2014 Reading Royals sweater, the one with a lion in a vampire mask. Tennessee's 2009 pumpkin suit is the worst in college football. Belfast, Fife and Coventry round out the five, each for trying to put every Halloween idea on one jersey. Think we missed a worse one? Tell us on X at @colorwaysports.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the worst Halloween jersey in sports history?
Our pick is the Reading Royals' 2014 "Haunted Hockey Night" jersey: cream fading to orange, spiderweb sleeves, and the team's lion crest wearing a vampire mask, with bats, tombstones and pumpkins around it. Sports Illustrated called it a "jack-o-lantern eyesore" when it came out.
What did Tennessee wear on Halloween in 2009?
Tennessee wore black jerseys with orange numbers, orange pants and the white helmet against No. 21 South Carolina on October 31, 2009. The team warmed up in orange and switched to black for the game. Black pants weren't ready in time, which is why the pants were orange. Tennessee won 31-13.
Why did Tennessee wear orange pants with black jerseys?
The black pants weren't ready in time for the Halloween game in 2009, so the black jerseys were paired with the usual orange pants. The mismatch is why fans call it the pumpkin uniform.
Did the Belfast Giants wear a Halloween jersey in 2026?
Yes. The Belfast Giants wore a dark purple and navy Halloween jersey with a neon pink crest and numbers, bats, dead trees and zombie hands on the hem for their Challenge Cup game against the Glasgow Clan on October 25, 2026.
What was on the Fife Flyers Halloween jersey?
The Fife Flyers' 2025 Halloween jersey had a sky blue top fading to navy, a gold collar, a haunted castle with bats, and the club's logo redrawn as a giant jack-o'-lantern. They wore it against the Coventry Blaze on October 25, 2025.
Why was the Coventry Blaze Halloween jersey criticized?
It's on our list for design. The 2023 jersey is a full painted purple and teal graveyard scene with a full moon, tombstones and pumpkins, plus sponsor logos including McDonald's arches on the shoulders. With that much going on, the crest gets lost.
What makes a Halloween jersey good?
Changing the color and keeping the crest. One-color looks like all orange or all black read as the team dressed up for the night. Jerseys that turn the logo into a pumpkin or cover the chest in bats and graveyards almost always end up on lists like this one.
Which college football teams wear Halloween uniforms in 2026?
Halloween falls on Saturday this year. Oklahoma State is in all orange at Iowa State, Maryland is in red, black and black against Illinois, and Nebraska is blacking out. Every confirmed look is in our college football Week 9 uniform guide.
