In “Grease,” Danny Zuko received his letterman’s sweater for track. Near the end of the 1978 film, Danny appears at Rydell High wearing the white sweater after trying to change his image and win Sandy back.
The moment follows Danny’s failed attempts to become more athletic. He briefly tries basketball, wrestling, and baseball, but each effort goes badly. Track is the sport he successfully “lettered” in, earning the school athletic award represented by the sweater. His friends, the T-Birds, are surprised to see their leather-jacketed leader dressed like a conventional school athlete.
The sweater is part of Danny’s attempt to present himself as respectable and dependable, contrasting with his earlier greaser persona. He tells the T-Birds that he earned it while they were busy stealing hubcaps, a line that makes the scene especially memorable. Sandy then arrives in her own transformed look, leading into the finale and the song “You’re the One That I Want.”
A common mix-up is assuming the sweater represents football because letterman clothing is often associated with American football. In Danny’s case, the film specifically identifies the sport as track; the sweater is not for basketball, wrestling, baseball, or football.