In 1975 the Houston Oilers switched from their blue shell to a white helmet with a blue and red oil derrick and a red and blue center stripe, and the timing could not have been better. This is the helmet worn during the "Luv Ya Blue" era, the stretch from 1978 to 1980 when head coach Bum Phillips transformed the Oilers into one of the most beloved teams in the NFL, riding Earl Campbell's punishing running game to back-to-back AFC Championship Game appearances. The white shell with the colorful derrick became the visual symbol of that entire era, worn by Campbell, Kenny Burrough, Dan Pastorini, and the rest of a team that captured Houston's imagination in a way no professional franchise in the city had before or since.