In a typical “Home Improvement” episode, Tim Taylor wears two different sets of clothes: his casual, at-home wear, and his more formal, presentable outfit, for appearances on “Tool Time” with his co-host, Al Borland (Richard Karn). While the latter isn’t exactly anything to write home about, his leisurely duds have an interesting real-world story behind them. Having spent much of his childhood as a resident of Birmingham, Michigan, Tim Allen made it a point to wear shirts and sweaters representing Michigan-based schools and sports teams on his hit sitcom.
Not only was this convenient for him, seeing as he could just wear his own clothes to set, but it gave exposure to the chosen schools and teams virtually for free. They’d even send in merchandise for him to rock on-camera, ensuring he never ran out of new threads. However, according to Screen Rant, this tradition was broken in the Season 6 episode “Workshop Til’ You Drop” when the costume department gave him a sweater from Wofford College in South Carolina. “Obviously, someone didn’t do their job. Wofford got lucky,” said “Home Improvement” costume department supervisor Valerie Levin-Cooper in 1996.
All in all, this was a harmless mistake that didn’t greatly impact the program itself. Wofford College got some publicity, “Home Improvement” made even more headlines than usual, and the whole ordeal made for a fun story that would live on for decades.