Uni Watch

Pack To The Future

2010-03-13T07:32:54Z

By Phil Hecken

Late yesterday afternoon, the Green Bay Packers, they of steeped tradition, unveiled a (gasp) third jersey (also known as an “alternate”) during their annual Packer Fan Fest. Basically, what they have created, at least in theory, is a “throwback” to the 1929-30 uniform (the year they won their first NFL Championship). You see, the Packers didn’t just unveil a new jersey, but a whole new uniform. Again, this is supposedly based on their 1929 uni set. But is it?

Let’s take a closer look. In 1929, the front numbers were about one and one half inches high. It’s hard to tell in black and white, but the jersey was blue — just what shade of blue depends upon the artist’s rendering or the colorizing skills of the photoshopper.

If you look at those color prints closely, you’ll see that both players either wore or held a helmet. Now, helmets of the day were leather, but it’s hard to tell if those were painted gold or if that was just the artist’s impression. For the sake of argment, we’ll assume they were brown leather.

You will also note that the players wore white oversock on top of their (one assumes) blue stirrups. As was the style at the time, the sleeves are full length. The best approximation of what they wore probably comes from this model (which Larry Bodnovich graciously provided to me), showing a brown helmet, blue shirt and socks, and khaki pants, with white, rolled up socks.

This was the look the 2010 Packers were trying to recreate for their first ever “alternate” jersey (aside from special games like those played on Thanksgiving and the 1994 75th Anniversary games). So, how did they do?

Well, if the jersey on the left is any guide…not so well. First of all, due to NFL regulations, they couldn’t keep the numbers at an inch and a half high in the front — so, they made them big…like, REALLY big. While that’s in order to conform with uniform regulations, my first impression was “jeez, that looks really stupid. Unfortunately, first impressions are often lasting. I mean seriously, do these two even remotely look similar?

Yes, I know they’re not going to make a modern jersey with full length sleeves. And I know they can’t use the tiny bullseye with the even smaller numbers, but this isn’t a “throwback,” it’s approaching a “fauxback.” And with all the great uniforms in the Packer history, this is the one they chose? Yes, I realize they wore the jersey on the left for their first championship, so it makes sense, but damn…I’m just not liking the execution here.

OK, so the jersey is a little lacking, but what about the rest of the uniform — did that come close to the 1929 version? Well, they went with a brown helmet and tan pants. Those fairly well replicate the 1929 uniform. Unfortunately, the helmet appears to have a glossy finish, when they could have made it matte, but it does have a gray facemask…and a giant warning label. I know they’re required (right?) to have that, but they couldn’t have removed it for the presser? And, obviously facemasks weren’t worn in 1929, so we’ll just accept that the gray is the color of choice. I have no problem with that. They could have made it blue…or worse, black.

Finally, the socks are solid blue. Whether or not this will be how they take the field remains to be seen, but tradition dictates that they should be wearing short white socks over the blue leggings. Another anachronism.

I’ll leave the “is it good or stupid” test to Paul, but based strictly on how this uniform looks, I have to give this a grade “C”. First of all, the giant yellow circle on the front looks stupid. A brown helmet, with a blue jersey and tan pants? Um, no.

But this is a fauxback, and I’ll give them an “A” for effort. This is an absolutely welcome change in a day and age when third jerseys are becoming either alternate colors (or exact replicas otherwise) of the team’s home jersey, or some godawful neon snot thing. It’s refreshingly simple (if not downright gorgeous) at least when viewed from behind. Even the Reebok vector isn’t too annoying. And if they only wear it once or twice a season, I think I can grow to like it for what it is: a harkback to the past.

The official Packer’s website offers their own spin on the new uniform. They explain all the “problems” I alluded to above, and after reading it, I completely understand the effort that went into this. It’s a great effort. It’s just that strictly as a uniform, I’m going to have to learn to love it. It certainly blows away a lot of third uniforms out there. The local TV station, Fox 11 (from which those stills were taken) had a poll at the end of the segment. The poll asks the viewer their opinion on the new uniforms. If I were “voting,” I think I’d go with “I’ll have to see them in action.”

In case you missed it, Paul was interviewed by the ESPN radio station in Wisconsin, and you can listen to that segment (zip ahead to the 27:00 mark). In that, he discusses the new Packer unis. Also, there is about a five minute or so video segment showing the full uniforms as they were unveiled at the Fan Fest. Definitely worth a look-see.

Now, I think I will come around to really liking this uniform, but for now, I’m a bit disappointed. If they had wanted a third jersey so badly, they could have considered this. That’s Ricko’s creation, by the way, and while he didn’t enter it into the “design an jersey” contest, it might have done very well. Here’s how Rick describes it: “Worn once a season (first day game after Autumnal Equinox, to celebrate long history of Packer football in the fall in Wisconsin). Huston-era inspired, but not a true throwback. Vintage sleeve logo. Yoke high enough in back so NOB is white letters on forest. TVs white to not visually break up the yoke too much.” But that’s for another time — maybe in five years, when the blue jersey with yellow bullseye runs its course.

Back to the new uniform: What say you, Uni Watchers? How do you feel about the new uniforms? Did they score a six, or did they fumble? Or somewhere in between. Let’s hear your thoughts.

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Back to the Future, Part 2

By Phil & Rick Pearson

Last weekend, it all started. We got to talking about the return of the striped sock (but not a stirrup) for the Giants, as seen on one Barry Zito. One thing led to another, and I played around with how the Giants might look if they added a teensy stirrup and lowered the stripes. Then, how might that look if I raised the stirrup and lowered the stripes a bit more. Looks great, right? Like a real baseball stirrup should!

Rick Pearson, ever the resident baseball historian, privately remaked to me that “That’s how stirrups used to look” and how that look wasn’t new at all, but rather, a throwback to the 1947-48 stirrups worn by the New York Giants. Then, on Tuesday, Paul posted a ticker item showing that, indeed, Giants Minor Leaguers are actually being outfitted with those very stirrups. A new hope.

Now, the foremost expert on stirrups is, of course, Paul. But Ricko’s a pretty close second. What follows, then, is a very important history lesson on how we’ve almost come full circle on the stirrup. What was once good and glorious can and will be again — provided styles continue to evolve. What’s old is new again.

So, without further ado, I give you Ricko, and a brief history of the stirrup, as we go Back To The Future again. Here’s Rick:

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Let’s begin with an as-brief-as-possible look at the whole origin of stirrup socks.

Starting back more than a hundred years ago, dark color full socks just plain weren’t worn. Dyes were not colorfast and players had to protect against blisters and athlete’s foot and all manner of things getting infected. So they wore white “sanitary socks” under colored socks with a “stirrup” that extended under the arch (football and basketball were the opposite: White crews worn OVER stirrup socks). White had no dye in it, so either way the idea was the same.

In the early years, then, stirrups were ultra low and pants ultra high, like knickers. So stripes originally were quite often positioned really high.

Then as the game moved into the ‘30s and ‘40s, stirrups got slightly higher, probably more to do with socks stretching from use than for “style” purposes. But, players DID begin blousing their pants a bit—or a lot–lower. That meant the pants covered some of any sock striping there was, and left a lot of solid (void) space between the stripes and the stirrups. In the case teams like the Red Sox, for example, the navy above the stripes didn’t show at all.

So manufacturers moved the stripes down a bit, but through and after the World War II era, players came right back by pulling the stirrups even a bit higher.

About that time, manufactures figured out it was best to position the stripes always the same place relative to the stirrups. The idea was to have (hopefully) roughly equal amounts of the base color showing between the stripes and the front stirrup and the stripes and the bottom of the bloused pants.

That created arrived at the look shown on Johnny Mize in 1947 here at UW yesterday, a look that continued through the 50s and most of the ‘60s.

(Also about that time, manufacturers separated stirrup sock designs into two camps, and they stayed that way until the the mid-’70s), when one-piece striped white socks showed up in football, basketball…and on the White Sox.) The ‘50s also marked at the beginning of the “Common Visual Era” (meaning TV), during which far more people than ever before actually got to see unis live and in use.Some see that as the glory days of stirrups simply BECAUSE so many people actually saw them. Others point to the 20 and 30s as the best, holding up Ruth and Gehrig and others in their shorter pants and lower stirrups as the “Golden Age”. Maybe, but other than in still photos, that look was seen by comparatively few fans.

I prefer the “balanced” stripe position of the ‘50s — with not such a huge area of solid above the front stirrup and some of the base color showing above the stripes — because it was the result of a refining process, and has at least a HINT of symmetry, something missing entirely from earlier incarnations (ever see any early sketches on Darth Vader?) Not even CLOSE to as menacing and magnificent as Luke’s old man looked by the time filming began).

I also see it as great because as the ‘60s were winding down was when it started to get weird.

Frank Robinson hiked his stirrups way up, showing lots of sani, even combining two pair of socks into one. Hawk Harrelson did the same, as did others. Even Willie Mays was part of “pull ‘em up; way way up” group. Vida Blue went nuts with it, both with the A’s and, later, the Giants.

Some socks even allowed for that, with the stirrups actually interrupting the stripes.

Before long, there was nothing but ribbon for some.

Then there were the ghastly “knit-in” vertical stripes. Bill Buckner introduced high tops, but they didn’t look so good with that ribbon business. With Eric Davis’ high tops, the low Reds stirrups just looked like solid stirrup-less socks so that became a “look”.

Barry Bonds (and others), though, just wore their pants right down to the shoes.

Guess what THAT evolved (devolved?) into? And now the new Giants are bringing back striped socks stirrups, apparently both as strirrups and black full socks. First exposure, not so good. What Barry Zito’s wearing in this photo is a soccer sock. Plus, pants bloused that high is a look that we have to go back at least 80 years to find. It IS, however, understandable. Doubleknit doesn’t blouse worth a damn. Certainly not as nicely as flannel or cotton blends did.

Okay, so we’ll accept the high pants, not anything hinting at biker shorts football high, but high. Can’t fight city hall, or fabric-dictated difficulties. But let’s add a bit of stirrup, move the socks down to a sensible position (from a design standpoint if nothing else; let alone that MILLIONS saw that look when TV first allowed them to view live action baseball) position with some balanced space above and below the stripes. And recent photos indicate many of the Giants who show socks are choosing that version.

Well, there ya go. Them are some good-lookin’ socks. BASEBALL socks.

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The President of the Hockey Wing, Teebz checks in (pun firmly intended) with this little nugget about his hometown Manitoba Moose, who’ll be wearing a very special jersey this evening. I’ll let the Chancellor of Canuckistan explain:

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The Manitoba Moose welcome the Rockford IceHogs to MTS Centre tonight, but they won’t be wearing their normal home whites. And Mathieu Schneider won’t be there either. Instead, the Moose will be holding their annual Salute to the Military, and they will have military-inspired jerseys on. The front of the jersey has the Canadian Military Services logo on it in silver as a tribute to the three branches of the Canadian military. The brown on the sleeve stripes and hem stripe has been replaced with silver.

The back of the jersey has the standard military-esque font for the name and numbers, but there is an additional logo just underneath the numbers. That logo is the 100th Anniversary logo for the Canadian Navy and Marines. 2010 is the 100th year since their formation, and the Moose will be helping that group of brave men and women celebrate the Navy’s 100th anniversary. The yellow ribbon on the hem is there to signify the hope of the safe return of all the Canadian troops serving abroad which, to me, is a very classy move.

Honestly, I’m always happy to see teams honour the men and women who provide us our freedoms that we seemingly take for granted day in and day out, so I applaud the Moose for their efforts. I’ll be at that game tonight, so I’ll try to get a few pictures of the military jerseys, and maybe even try to get my hands on one! Go Moose Go!

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Guess The Game From The Scoreboard: Another guest scoreboard today, and it’s brought to us from reader Chris Mayberry. It’s extremely difficult, but two obvious clues are the teams and the location. One more clue: Tugboat. If you’re unable to guess, I may drop in another clue to two as the day progresses. Ready? Guess The Game From The Scoreboard. Date, location and final score, please, and be sure to link to your answer. And, as always, if you enjoy the game, please send me some new scoreboards! Drop me a line. Thanks!

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Well, it is baseball season, so the Boys of Benchies are back at it. Here’s Rick Pearson with a two-fer:

So you went to Florida, watched some Spring Training. Know what happens then, if you’re even remotely human? You start…thinking.

And with that, here is a double shot of Benchies for this fine Saturday.

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Back again with more Uniform Tweaks, Concepts and Revisions today. Lots of different sports being represented today, and if you have a tweak, change or concept for any sport, send them my way.

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Kicking off the show today is Matt Sajna, who has tweaks for two sports, MLB and the NFL:

The first set is a redesign of the San Diego Padres. I kept the current script but tweaked it slightly and changed the colors to navy and orange. I also changed the road script to match the home, and added a navy blue alternate with an alternate cap.

The second set is a redesign of the Washington Redskins. I darkened the burgendy on both the jersey and the helmet. I changed the helmet logo to add the “R” in the middle instead of the redskin head. I also added the spear on the side shoulders of the jerseys as well as adding yellow pants.

Hope you enjoy them, I’ve got more I’ve been working on too that I’ll send along soon.

-Matt Sajna

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Next up is Jeff Shirley, who also has some multi-sport tweaks:

Phil,

Thanks for including me in your NFL jersey contest (even though I don’t have a prayer of winning). Here are some other uniforms I’ve been working on, usually when I should have been doing work around the house or something ‘more productive’ as my wife would say. My first submission is a tweak of the Bucks’ green jersey of the late 90’s. I wondered what red would look like as an accent to the green, and liked how it looked, although it’s much too 90’s for today’s NBA. My next tweak came from Nate Robinson’s video you posted where he said he wished the Knicks would incorporate the NYK logo onto their uniforms, so I created a home, alt, and road uniform using that logo, while ELIMINATING the black (if only the Mets would do as well). The next tweak is for the Atlanta Hawks, who have never looked good in blue and gray, along with that awful brown on their court, so I replaced their colors with a more tradiitonal red, black, and yellow from the 80’s and 90’s. My next submission is for the Memphis Grizzlies, who’s numbers on their light blue jersey are impossible to see on t.v., so I altered them a little bit, along with their home uniforms to match the same template.

In addition to the NBA designs, I included an altered Cowboys jersey that is similar to the one I included in the NFL contest, only with a royal shade of blue for a road uniform, along with white pants and a white helmet just for fun.

Thanks again for all your hard work.

Sincerely,

Jeff Shirley

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And our last set of concepts today comes from The Jeff, who has a few NFL redesigns Ricko is sure to love:

I’ve been working on my vision of the league and all 32 teams… I thought I’d send in a few of the more noticeable changes I’ve come up with.

Jets — basically I tried to merge the mid 90’s uniform with the current one. Lighter green, added black. I’ve been pondering the idea of home & away helmets so I’ve got both a green and a white helmet. I think it works either way.

Ravens — 4 words: black and purple gradient.

Bills — got rid of the extra colors and things that bug me about their current uniforms, but tried to keep a modern look. Again I’ve got both a red and a white helmet in use.. it’s all mix-n-matchable.

Patriots — sorta revisted the 1993 uniforms only with their current color scheme, and used a silver jersey instead of white, because I really don’t like white jerseys that much.

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Thus concludes the tweak show for today. Back with more next time.

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One last thing: Don’t forget, you can still vote in the Uni Watch Design A Uni Poll, which will remain open until next Friday, after which time, the winner will be announced. If you’ve already voted, sorry — one man, one vote — but if you haven’t, be sure to check out the 11 finalists and pick your choice for the best contestant.

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That’ll wrap it up for today. Have a great Saturday.

The most rewarding things you can do in life are often the ones that look like they cannot be done. — Arnold Palmer

The David Boss Files, Vol. 2

2010-03-12T17:44:30Z

Time for another round of classic NFL photos by David Boss. Without further ado:

• God, this Rams uni looks just about Perfect, no? The deeper blue, the soft gold pants stripe, the white-laced high-tops. Deelish.

• Speaking of the Rams, it just never seems right to see Joe Willie in this uniform.

• Here’s a decent shot of the NFL’s 50th-anniversary patch. I also like the yellow elbow pad.

• As much as I like the NFL stripes on the pants in that last shot, I think I like this earlier Packers striping even more.

• Was Vince Lombardi wearing a UCLA visor?

• Surpring to me that anyone was still using an old-fashioned leather chinstrap in 1965. Makes an odd counterpoint to that cheapo-looking white-plastic facemask that so many of the Bears wore during this period.

• I always loved watching John Jefferson — and yes, that was in part because of his goggles.

• On the other hand, I always hated — hated — the Seahawks’ mesh jerseys. Looked too NCAA. C’mon, you’re a pro team, dress like one!

• One great strength of the Boss archive is that it has lots of color photos from early Pro Bowls, so we can see that the East and West squads wore simple blue and red uniforms in 1959 (note the blue/red goalposts!), 1960 (additional images here and here, more colored goalposts, and it looks like they just spray-painted over Jim Brown’s helmet TV numbers), 1963 (here’s another shot), and 1965 (here’s one more). Note that the East wore red and the West wore white in all of these games, regardless of whether it was an even- or odd-numbered year. Apparently that was just the way it always went.

• By the late 1960s, the Pro Bowl helmes had changed to gold with the NFL logo. (You can see a color version of these helmets here and here.)

And there we are. My continued thanks to Michael Princip for first alerting me to the Boss archive.

Helmet news, batting and otherwise: Spoke yesterday with Rawlings marketing exec Mike Thompson, who informed me that the “new” batting helmets I wrote about on Monday are actually the same old S100s from last year. “When it has the double earflaps, it does look smaller, so it’s a bit deceiving,” he said. “We’re working on a revision to the S100, which should be ready in about 60 days, but right now they only have the basic S100.”

Hmmm. So Norris Hopper and Kevin Mench (and some other players who I haven’t kept track of) just decided to try out the S100 on their own? “Yes,” he said. “And I’ve gotta tell you, there’s been no influence from us on that — that’s been all on their own.” Interesting. (Oh, and this just in: Francisco Cervelli is the latest S100 player.)

Meanwhile, I also asked Thompson about something a little birdie had told me earlier in the day, namely that Rawlings was planning to re-enter the football helmet biz with this helmet design. “Yes, that’s accurate,” he said. “It’s not going to be out until 2011. Most likely we’re going to seed some to high school programs around the country in the latter part of this year, but we won’t have a comprehensive program until 2011.”

And does Rawlings, which hasn’t been involved in the gridiron helmet market since the mid-1980s, plan to get back involved on the college and pro levels as well? “Eventually,” he said. “But we’re going where the numbers are, and the market right now is so much bigger on the youth side of the business.”

It’s delightful, it’s delicious, it’s Duluth: As most of you know, next week I’ll be competing in the House of Hearts Bonspiel at the Duluth Curling Club (and thanks to Phil, who’s given me an early birthday present, I’ll be wearing this sweater — thanks, buddy!). Several of you have asked if I’ll be convening a Uni Watch party while I’m in town. My dance card is pretty full, so I don’t think I’ll have time for a gathering at a bar or anything like that, but I encourage any of you in the area to come watch the bonspiel, which will be taking place next Friday (3pm to 9pm) and Saturday (11am to 8pm). Of course, anyone can attend any part of the ’spiel, but it might be nice to pick a day and time when Uni Watch readers can gather together at the club, yes? If this interests you, send me a note with your preferred day and time period (“Saturday, mid-afternoon,” or whatever). Whatever turns out to be the most popular choice, I’ll post that early next week and you can all meet up then. Cool?

And before you ask, I don’t yet know which team I’ll be on, which draw I’ll be in, etc., so I can’t tell you exactly when I’ll be curling. But I’ll try to keep everyone posted on that as the information becomes available to me.

Finally, one last ’spiel appeal: The House of Hearts is a charity event to benefit the St. Luke’s medical foundation. Many of you have already contributed small amounts to help sponsor me in the bonspiel. If anyone else would like to contribute ($5 is fine, although larger amounts are also welcome, of course), go to Amazon Payments and either log in to your existing Amazon account or, if you don’t have one, create a new Amazon account. Once you’re logged in, click on “Personal” and then on “Send Money,” and send whatever amount you deem appropriate to plukas64 at gmail dot com. Put “House of Hearts” in the memo line. Thanks.

Self-Promotion Alert: I’ll be doing a 10-minute interview this morning on ESPN Radio in Milwaukee, talking about the Packers’ new alternate uniform, which will be unveiled later this afternoon. My segment will begin at 10:30am local (central) time. Those of you who don’t live in Milwaukee ~~are missing out on America’s coolest city~~ can listen to streaming audio here.

Uni Watch News Ticker: As many of us had speculated, this year’s MLB stars/stripes caps will be white — sort of. The crown will be white, but not every team will have the same visor color, and the visors won’t necessarily be team colors. That’s all I know for now. Further details as I get them. … Here’s a cool video of the Celtics’ 2008 championship banner being made (with thanks to Rick Subrizio). … UW-Eau Claire is on the verge of choosing a new mascot (with thanks to Joel Mathwig). … If you go to this link and click on “2010 Home Opener,” you’ll see lots of pics of Virginia Tech doing the tequila sunrise thing again. … Todd Eggert sent along some cool photos of himself working behind the scenes at Wrigley Field. “I worked for the Cubs part-time until two seasons ago,” he says. “The locker room we used was the old Cubs and Bears locker room that was positioned in the far left field corner (pre-dugout tunnel era). The lockers are original and date way back. The room you see is what is attached to our locker room — it hasn’t been updated/cleaned probably since the park opened. Notice in the scoreboard picture with the fan, you will see a small TV (with rabbit ears) and a ‘line to line’ printer — the printer would always be printing off little paper updates from MLB. The guys working in the scoreboard would use this info to update the scores. The Cubs were so cheap we would often run out of toner and would have to use a land line to obtain scores from the guys watching ESPN in our locker room.” … Peter Kurilecz reports that the West Bromwich Albion wore an anti-smoking logo on their jerseys in 1984. … New red soccer balls for the Premier League (with thanks to Jeremy Brahm). … Lance Smith reports that the Rochester Lourdes (Class A Minnesota boys hockey) are wearing some very odd socks. Additional photos here and here. … The Cedar Rapids Roughriders are doing an ALS-awareness promotion, complete with Lou Gehrig-themed hockey jerseys (with thanks to Bill Mitchell). … Chris Jones has been wearing Chucks for his club lacrosse team. “I loved playing in them,” he sais. “Very light, felt like I was playing in bare feet, no ankle issues or anything either, at least not for me.” … Speaking of Chucks, check out this handball team. That shot is from the 1958 World Series of handball. I definitely need one of those shirts (great stuff from Jeremy Brahm). … Mike Hersh has been traveling in Vancouver, where he spotted a rotating sign that he knew I’d like. The flying pigs of value are a particularly nice touch. … Lots to like in this video clip of the NHL’s 1991 opening night, which was the league’s 75th-anniversary season. Lots of throwbacks, a color-on-color game, officials wearing wheat-colored sweaters, hilarious commentary, and more. Almost eight minutes long and totally worth it — highly recommended (very nice find by Steve May). … “I noticed the U. of Texas basketball team had a few mid-season uni number changes,” writes Ryan Maquinana. “After the season-ending injury bug hit Varez Ward and Dogus Balbay, who wore No. 50 and No. 4, respectively, two of their teammates took on their numbers. Gary Johnson, formerly No. 1, switched to No. 4 in honor of Balbay. And J’Covan Brown, who had worn No. 14, now wears Ward’s No. 50.” … The Yokohama Bay Stars will be wearing gold stars on their shoulders for Opening Day (thanks, Jeremy). … Jeremy also found some amazing softball photos in the Life archives. Highlights include a zebra-striped ump, a team wearing satin pants, a team with a question mark insignia, an awesome set of bell-themed uni numbers, a team of clowns (no, really), and some great rear-jersey sponsors, including an alarm service, a funeral home, and an antiseptic powder. … When you’re sitting out a lengthy suspension, you have time to ponder the larger issues in your life, like changing your uniform number.

Head Games

2010-03-11T13:53:16Z

When I first ran this photo of Jackie Hayes last month, I wrote, “We reeeeaaaalllly need to find a photo of Hayes wearing this contraption in a game.” As you can see above, done and done (here’s a slightly larger version).

That photo was uncovered by Larry Granillo, who’s been researching the history of batting helmets. It’s one of many, many major finds he’s come up with, most of which he’s cobbled together into an absolutely seminal post on his own site, Wezen-Ball.com. It’s a detailed treatment of an important topic, and it deserves your full attention, so today I’m doing something unusual: I’m handing you off to Larry. Go read his entry on his site — seriously, do it now — and then come back here for the rest of today’s content.

= = = = = = = =
And now that you’ve done that…: Pretty great stuff, right? Most of that material was news to me. And I’d actually forgotten all about that Larry Doby photo, which I obviously should have referenced during our recent Jackie Hayes discussions.

A few additional notes:

• There’s an important non-helmet detail lurking in one of the other Larry Doby photos. Look — a batting glove! It’s even referenced in the caption. That photo ran on 6/5/56, which means Doby is one of the several players who wore batting gloves prior to Ken Harrelson doing so in the 1960s. (I debunked the “Harrelson was the first to wear gloves” story several years ago, but it’s always interesting to find further evidence.)

• Before he wrote that entry, Larry had been in touch with me and shared some of his research. I was surprised that a few things he showed me didn’t end up in his article, like this great photo, dated 2/5/41.

• Also not included in Larry’s article: a very informative article about the Dodgers wearing helmets in 1941.

Tremendous research, Larry — thanks for helping to fill in so many gaps in the timeline.

Giveaway Results: The winners of the two LPs are Julien Marques and Keith Meyer. More giveaways coming soon.

Uni Watch News Ticker: I had a blog item on Page 2 yesterday about an Oregon politican ripping off the Blue Jackets’ logo (with thanks to John Muir, who was the first of several readers to bring this one to my attention) … Apparently the Foot Locker at an L.A. mall stocks every kind of Dodgers-ish cap except an actual blue one (rare non-Life-related submission from Lance Smith). … Beggs High School in Oklahoma uses TLOB — team logo on back — for its football and basketball teams. “The logo is a Trident (we are the Demons), and I was told that the other end represents a flame,” says Kevin Allen. … Homage Clothing, one of our anchor advertisers at the top of the page, is running a one-week sale beginning this Sunday. … Kansas State hoops player Jacob Pullen has a big-ass sneaker collection. “Although he states that he likes to wear dark shoes with white unis and vice-versa, there have been some occasions when he’s gone dark on dark,” says Sean Kautzman. … Also from Sean: “I found this old KU basketball photo, which led me to this index of Chuck Taylor photos. It includes a gallery of Chucks being used in various athletic endeavors.” … Jim Mellett found a photo of Dick Fosbury (he of the famous Fosbury Flop) with mismatched footwear. … Sean Clancy found a cool page featuring motocross program covers. … Jared Rosen notes, quite accurately, that Salty’s NOB would make a killer membership card. … Cool item about the Mexico City Olympics graphic designer (with thanks to Alan Kreit). … Naturally, I love this 1972 ad, but it’s really weird. The only guys wearing stirrups on a football field would be the officials, but the officials wouldn’t be wearing knee pads or carrying a helmet (odd find by Paul Wiederecht). … “I discovered that the USS Carter Hall’s starboard engines have the logo of each NFL team painted on the covers to each cylinder, arranged by division,” writes Jonathan Sluss. “I was not permitted to take a photograph, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be found — you can see the Jets’ logo in this photo. I secretly hoped I would find the MLB logos in the Port engine room, but alas, that was not the case. There is a surprising amount of great art painted on the walls of these ships, however. Unfortunately, much of it gets painted over in gray or white as the crew revolves out.” … Latest team to be auctioning off a set of St. Paddy’s day warm-up jerseys: the Coyotes (with thanks to Kenn Tomasch). … Lots of Cool stuff in the new Ebbets Field Flannels catalog, including some great new T-shirts (I’m particularly partial to the Tri-City Atoms, Eau Claire Bears, and Hot Spring Bathers designs) and, my favorite, grounds crew jackets. Plus the printed catalog has a really nice memorial tribute to the woman who did the company’s chain-stitching. … Latest entry in the ever-growing library of books about uni numbers: the excellent Red Sox by the Numbers. Highly recommended. … A few months ago I looked at a bare strip of vertical molding in my apartment and thought, “A column of old pencil sharpeners would look really cool there.” So I started collecting them. Now the molding is full and the collection is spreading across the ceiling. … Interesting insignia style on this old baseball jersey, and check out the tri-colored initials on this one and the spectacular “National Milk” chain-stitching on this one. … One of you Twin Cities guys should snap up this baseball jersey. … Use the “Click to Enlarge” on the photos to see the awesome chenille uni numerals on this football jersey. … Very groovy find here: a blank Jaworski-era Eagles jersey, which you can customize as you see fit. Always loved those sleeve stripes. … I think we can safely say that this dude is the coolest curler ever. Love that chest patch (awesome find by Jeremy Brahm). … Julius Peppers will wear No. 90 for the Bears (with thanks to Steve Johnston). … Ever wonder what’s inside a rosin bag, and/or how to make your own? Then watch this really interesting video clip (great find by Tremaine Eto). … John Sheehan sent along some scans of these groovy old baseball photo cards. “They’re very thick like an old photograph, nothing on the back,” he says. … Zac Neubauer was looking through the October 1947 issue of Popular Science and thought I’d be interested in this uniform ad from a Brooklyn operation. The great part about this is that Triangle Sports is still in business at that same location, which is just a few blocks away from my apartment. I buy most of my underwear and sneakers from them. They’re totally gonna shit when I show them the old ad.

Hawkeye Hoops, Hurrah!

2010-03-10T13:04:54Z

When someone sends me a link to a slideshow of old photos, I usually just put it in the Ticker and that’s that. But Cody Dannen recently sent me a link for a bunch of old Iowa girls’ high school basketball photos, mostly from the 1950s and ’60s, that turned out to be too good not to get their own main entry.

I know, I know, Iowa girls’ high school hoops doesn’t exactly sound like a barn-burner. But trust me, there’s some amazing stuff in here. Or better yet, don’t trust me — just see for yourself:

• I’m not sure which I like better, the sashes or the skirts.

• A lot of the teams wore shiny satin uniforms. Some really nice satin warm-ups, too.

• I’m always a sucker for this kind of team photo. Gimmicky, but it’s a good gimmick.

• These pleated skirts look more like cheerleaders’ uniforms, no?

• I was astonished by these shots. Was this team really playing with bare midriffs? In the 1950s?! Sure enough, there were several similar examples (see also here and here). Hard to believe a Midwestern high school was sending teen-age girls out with that much exposed skin.

Update: As I was preparing this entry, reader Chris Andringa sent me this photo and this article, which includes the following passage:

Along the way, the Slater girls raised quite a few eyebrows, not only with their basketball talent, but also with their new two-piece uniforms that exposed their midriffs. Although some considered the uniforms pretty racy, Weeks said there was a simple explanation for them.

“As I remember,” Weeks said, “(the school administration) had the senior girls draw what they thought our uniforms should be. I think it was Nettie Hammond’s design, and we had them made for us. At the time, every team had different suits. Oakland had pleated skirts. It was just a style statement.”

• What’s better than a team with untucked jerseys? How about two teams with untucked jerseys!

• As you all know, I love stripes and am always intrigued by the untucked format. But this is a bit much, even for me.

• If you look at the girl on the left you might not realize she’s wearing an untucked jersey. But as you can see from her rebounding teammate, it’s an untucked design with a striped hemline that simulates a striped waistline on the shorts.

• You could do a whole dissertation on this photo. In addition to both teams wearing skirts and cap sleeves, note that both jerseys are really more like jackets, complete with ribbed trim at the bottom.

• I love basketball uniforms with uni numbers on the shorts.

• What the hell was going on here?! That bib design had to be a warm-up outfit, right? Amazing collar, too.

• It’s not quite the same thing as that bib format, but note the unusual diagonal placket on these jerseys. Looks like a similar design was being used here (diagonal team name, too) and here.

• Speaking of diagonal, what’s the deal with the uni number on the girl in white?

• Totally digging these striped collars.

• I did a double-take when I saw this photo — is that a chest pocket? Yup, and here’s another, and a really nice one. Never noticed that on any kind of hoops uni before.

• Love the simplicity of this 1945 design.

• Uh-oh, nothing says sloppy like mismatched footwear colors. Note that the girl at left appears to be wearing wrestling shoes, not sneakers.

• At first I was puzzled by the waistband notation in this photo — what does it say? But then I looked up Lincoln High in Des Moines and learned that their teams are called the Railsplitters, or just the Rails. That’s what’s printed on the waistband.

• Yet another thing I’m a sucker for: side-button shorts.

• And after all these photos of girls, we’ll wrap things up with one shot of the fellas.

Want to see even more? The full slideshow of over 100 images is here.

Giveaway Reminder: Today’s the last day to submit your entry for those two old NFL LPs I’m giving away. Full details here. I’ll announce the winners tomorrow.

Uni Watch News Ticker: There are sooooo many things to love in this shot of Japanese ski jumpers! The neckties, the sleeve patch, the caps, the gloves, the wristwatch, the bibs, the stadium in the background — it’s the gift that keeps on giving (rare non-Squiddie Life photo submitted by Jeremy Brahm). … Ben Fortney has created a gallery of Norman Rockwell’s sports-related illustrations. I’ve always been partial to this one and this one. … We all know how I feel about purple, but I might make an exception in this case. That’s Abilene Christian University (with thanks to ABU’s coach, Britt Bonneau). … You may have thought that the Orioles won the 1966 World Series, but Wilson uniforms actually did (great find by Bruce Genther). … Striped sleeves are nice, but here’s something I’ve never seen before: checkered sleeves! That’s the Lily High School football team, from Lily, Pennsylvania, circa 1933 (major find by Larry Bodnovich). … The Syracuse lacrosse team is going with NOH (as reported by Nathan Haas). … Wichita State’s baseball team wore some nice throwbacks the other day. “I’m guessing they’ll be wearing these every Sunday, although I haven’t read or heard anything,” says Patrick Chippeaux. … After a bout of conjunctivitis, Francisco Rodriguez will be unable to wear contact lenses for several weeks, so for now he’s wearing goggles. … Animal Kingdom: No screen shot, but a raccoon briefly ran onto the field during yesterday afternoon’s Mets/’Stros game. Then I went for my daily bike ride and saw a raccoon by the side of the cycling lane in Prospect Park. That’s enough to convince me: I’m eating nothing but raccoon for the next week, just to show these critters who’s boss. … The Packers will be unveiling their new throwback alternate at their annual Fan Fest event on Friday, and the word I’m hearing is that it will look very much like the late-1920s design first floated here a few weeks ago (with thanks to Jeff Ash). … Here’s another post about swastikas in sports, this time from a Brazilian soccer site. … Slate has posted two new entries in Julia Turner’s excellent series on sign design. First, a look at ths signage of London, and then the raging debate over exit signs. … Whereas the Cards and Tigers wear their home caps and helmets on the road during spring training, Jonathon Binet notes that the Indians do the exact opposite, at least in terms of batting helmets: They’ve been wearing their solid-navy road helmets for all their spring games, even with their home whites. … The Ft. Wayne Mad Ants wear subscript NOBs, but Dan Dickau went NNOB on Monday. “There were only 200 people at the game, so I took the opportunity to ask good him what was going on,” says Yogi Combs. “He just said it was already falling off when he was getting dressed, so he went ahead and ripped it the rest of the way off.” … Dying to see a highlight reel of the Frankfurt Galaxy’s 1995 season? Right, me neither, but here it is anyway (with thanks to Alex Acosta). … A lot of NFL Films material is going to be made available on Hulu, which can only be a good thing for uni watching. … Several good durene items currently available on eBay, including this hockey shirt, this football jersey, an even better football jersey, and — wait for it — an amazing football all-star jersey in Uni Watch colors! Too bad it’s too big for me (plus it looks like the collar has been removed, hmmmm). … I’ve been really good about not complaining about this until now, but it needs to be said: Those new MLB undershirts with the swoosh on the collar look like total fucking shite. … Oooh, dig this: a video clip of the Babe getting plunked (good find by Chad Todd). … Saginaw High School in Michigan has TNOB, but the weirder thing is what they have on the front. Anyone know the story behind that? (With thanks to Ryan McNew). … Corey Davis notes that North Texas hoops player George Odufuwa appears to have an upside-down M, instead of a true W, in his NOB. “Interestingly, he seemed to have the same problem last year,” says Corey, which I guess means North Texas gets a lot of wear out of their jerseys.

Uni Watch Art Portfolio: The Charles Noerenberg Files

2010-03-09T15:09:55Z

When someone sends me a batch of childhood uniform artwork, we’re usually talking about 15 or 20 drawings at most. But Charles Noerenberg recently uploaded 133 pages’ worth of illustrations, many with multiple illos per page, that he created between the ages of 10 and 16 (1994-2000), and it’s a really impressive batch of work. He gives the back-story like so:

I grew up a huge sports fan, mainly football and baseball, and I was always obsessed with the team uniforms and logos. I had a bunch of those Hutch football uniforms for several teams (that’s me on the right) and I’d go everywhere dressed up as a player (or a Ghostbuster, or Turtle…). The one thing that always frustrated me was the lack of availability of the NFL team socks, which were my favorite element of the uniform. My mom was actually nice enough to sew me some, for teams like the Cowboys and Packers, that were like leggings I’d wear over a white sock.

Anyway, my other passion growing up was drawing. I was always doing it, whether at home or on the go. I had a little drawing kit I’d take everywhere, which consisted of paper and a box of markers/colored pencils. I drew sports figures almost exclusively — my favorite players, uniforms, concepts — and I was a detail freak. I loved all the uniform nuances, like the NFL shield, brand logos, patches, etc. So as you’ll see, my art is full of logo creep.

I drew avidly up until high school, when, for whatever reason, the passion left me. Now I am graphic designer and my work is done on computer, but some day I’d like to get back to my roots.

I’m pretty excited to finally have these all up on the web. I included shots of a little project I that started as Thanksgiving-break busywork. It involved creating a turkey from a paper plate, and I decided to make my turkey dressed like Troy Aikman. From this, I went on to create several team plates, some I finished as turkeys and some I left as just the uniform (which I thought looked good as-is).

As a bookend, here’s a shot from a couple of years ago, when my Bears sock dream was finally realized thanks to eBay.

Well. The turkey/plate drawings are fun, but a lot of Charles’s other stuff is at least as noteworthy. Here are of the ones I found most interesting:

• I like these NFL logo studies. Here a finished color version.

• Interesting that no football team ever tried to wrap sleeve stripes around the back like this.

• Also interesting that the Chargers have never put lightning bolts up the sides of their jersey (and let’s hope it stays that way).

• I’m surprised by how much I like this White Sox concept.

• You know how the Pats’ 1990s jersey had those alternating bands of blue? Here’s how it would look if the Packers tried something similar.

• The art set includes some cartoon-ish pieces, all of them featuring the same stubble-faced character competing in various sports.

• Charles also created his own imaginary football team, the Las Vegas Saguaros, which played in the Cactus Dome and had rather USFL-esque uniforms. He envisioned a hockey version of them as well.

And so on. It’s a great body of work — I strongly recommend clicking through the entire set.

And speaking of childhood logo artwork: Reader Andrew Fladeboe has taken things a step further. I’ll let him explain:

My friend from college and I have created our own sports league with logos to match. Something we both did when we were kids. We sell the logos on a variety of shirts. It’s not really a profit-making venture but more of a hobby.

We both went to RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) and were among the few avid sports fans there. I played for their club hockey team, the infamous Nads. I’m sure you’ve heard of our giant phallic mascot.

My friend who designed most of our T-shirt logos is a painter and fashion designer who has and pretty much only does sports-related art.

You can also see some of my own sports-related paintings on the right side of this page. And for good measure, here’s a cool photo of my dad’s high school football helmet.

Okay, so that sort of ventured beyond the realm of childhood logo art, but it’s still pretty cool. Thanks for sharing, Andrew.

Culinary Corner: When I watched the Oscars on Sunday, I was watching them at the home of a friend who was throwing an Oscars party. He had asked everyone to contribute some food, so I thought for a bit about what I should bring, even though I knew all along that I’d probably end up bringing my old stand-by, the hors d’oeuvre that’s won me raves for years, the one that makes everyone happy and makes me look like a genius.

Three words, people: Bacon. Wrapped. Dates.

It’s super-easy: Buy yourself a one-pound pack of bacon (the slices should be as straight as possible, without any kinks or curves) and a 10-ounce container of pitted dates. Before opening the bacon, slice the pack in half crosswise, so the slices are now half their original length. Then remove the bacon from the plastic, peel off a half-length bacon strip, and place it on a cutting board. Place a date at one end of the bacon strip, roll the strip to encircle the date, place the finished treat on a rimmed baking sheet, and repeat. It’s like making pigs in a blanket, except you’re making dates in a pig. Or something like that.

Continue along until you run out of dates and/or bacon (the two amounts should come out almost exactly even). Drizzle liberally with balsamic vinegar and then pop the baking sheet into a 400ish-degree oven for about 25 minutes. Serve with toothpicks so guests can skewer the treats without getting their fingers greasy.

I realize it would have been more useful if I’d told you about this before the Oscars. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that there’s no bad time for bacon-wrapped dates. Serve them at your Final Four party, your St. Paddy’s Day party, your vernal equinox party, whatever. You’ll be glad you did, and your guests will be even gladder.

Giveaway Reminder: I’m giving away two classic old NFL LPs. Full details here.

House of Hearts Reminder: My continued thanks to those of you who’ve contributed to my House of Hearts Bonspiel sponsorship fund. If you can kick in a mere five bucks (or more, if you’re feeling generous), it’ll go to a worthy cause and help me earn my keep at the charity curling tournament where I’ll be competing later this month. Full details here.

Uni Watch News Ticker: A Phillies blog recently opined that a certain photo was “the greatest spring training photo ever,” and it’s hard to argue with them (major thanks to the pride eastern Pa., Amy Fritch). … Then again, I’m rather partial to this spring training photo (glassy-eyed, drooling thanks to Joe Plate). … Yesterday I mentioned that Auburn’s baseball team has six different caps. Now Benji Boyter informs me that Clemson has at least five, “plus I believe there is also a sixth cap, which is an orange hat with a purple brim, but I couldn’t find a pic anywhere and this may just be a figment of my imagination.” … Here’s a weird one: All the players on Rouen Baseball 76, a French team, wear 76 on the front of their jerseys, but they have their regular uni numbers on the back (interesting find by Jeremy Brahm). … Lance Berkman had to wear an NNOB scrub jersey on Friday, because his regular jersey was late or misplaced or something like that (with thanks to Brandon Hamburg). … Oklahoma’s baseball team wore northwestern-striped stirrups over the weekend (with thanks to Arin Mitchell). … The Brooklyn Cyclones have been holding a uni deisgn contest for local schoolchildren. Here are the finalists (with thanks to Terence Kearns). … Someone apparently had a cap very much like the current Rays cap years before the Rays were wearing that design. Can’t say I find this to be a particularly compelling mystery — could be a high school cap from Teton Prairie, or whatever, right? — but hey, knock yourselves out if you like (with thanks to Josh Coney). … If you’ve been dying to know the stories behind the Idaho Steelheads’ uni numbers, today’s your lucky day (with thanks to Mark Snider). … “I don’t know who this team was, but they wore a lot of stripes,” says Uni Watch Life magazine scholar Lance “Squiddie” Smith. “Those photos are from a set called ‘National Intercoll. Basketball.,’” dated March 1938. Some of the teams shown in the photos include Washburn, St. Ambrose, and Jordan so it must have been the 1938 NAIA Men’s Division 1 Basketball Tournament. There were a couple other good uniforms: Delta State (Mississippi) had their uni numbers in a delta (i.e., a triangle), and this team playing St. Ambrose had some great striped socks.” … Astros pitcher Bud Norris was busted yesterday for wearing a white glove on the mound (with thanks to Jason A. Chapman). … Ball State is still hassling a high school over appropriating its crummy logo (with thanks to Justin Howland). … No photo, but Advait Ramanan says Alex Ovechkin was wearing a Reebok undershirt with the NFL Equipment logo on it during an intermission in last night’s Caps/Stars game. … I’m getting lots more reports of MLB players wearing the new Gazoo helmets. At this point it mostly seems to be prospects with very high uni numbers — in other words, minor leaguers, which makes sense, because the S100 will be mandatory in the minors this year. Still trying to get more details from Rawlings — stay tuned. … Meanwhile, Matt Edwards says the new MLB 2010 video game includes an option to put a Gazoo on David Wright. … Here are the uniforms for the Kyoto Asto Dreams and the Hyogo Swing Smileys of the Girls Professional Baseball League in Japan, along with their mascot characters (courtesy of Jeremy Brahm, natch). … Steve K. was watching some old NFL footage and spotted Jets FB Dwayne Crutchfield wearing a non-standard NOB font. … John Muir reports that the logo for this year’s White House Easter Egg Roll features a jogging bunny (the cottontail sticking out through the shorts is a nice touch, no?).

New Gazoo Review

2010-03-08T13:38:26Z

Last week I wrote about new bats and batting gloves, and now it looks like we may have a new batting helmet too, at least judging by the new headgear Norris Hopper and Kevin Mench were wearing this past weekend.

I’ve sent e-mails to my contacts at Rawlings and hope to hear back from them soon, but here are a few thoughts to tide us over until then:

• I could be wrong, but I think this helmet looks a bit less bulbous than the S100, which is consistent with what Rawlings said at the end of last season, when they indicated that they’d try to make some adjustments to come up with something a little lighter and smaller.

• Hopper and Mench were not among the six players who wore the S100 last year (those were Ryan Dempster, David Wright, Carlos Guillen, Edgar Gonzalez, Micah Owings, and Shane Victorino), which means the new design already has some new potential converts. Impressive.

• As you can see, Hopper and Mench have both been wearing a double-flapped version of the new design. Righty and lefty versions are presumably still in the production pipeline.

• Mench’s helmet has a Rawlings wordmark above one side of the brim. I’m assuming that wouldn’t be there for a regular season game.

Further details on all of this as soon as I have them. Meanwhile, let me know if you’re aware of any other players wearing the new lids.

(Special thanks to eagle-eyed Aaron Clements and Brian Erni for spotting these helmets before I did.)

Research Project: I’m about to start working on an ESPN column about ticket stubs — stub design, stub rituals, stub lore, stub-o-rama. If you have any particularly nice-looking stubs, or if you have some good stories regarding ticket stubs, or anything else you want to communicate to me regarding ticket stubs, don’t be shy.

Giveaway Reminder: I’m giving away two classic old NFL LPs. Full details here.

Membership Reminder: The Membership Program is once again open for business. The orders from the past three days are being processed and many of them are already featured in the card gallery. If you want to get on board, there’s no time like the present.

Uni Watch News Ticker: More Wisconsin high school basketball tournament slideshows from Jeff Ash — one apiece for the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Interesting to see how some of the 1970s uniforms were clearly influenced by Marquette. Here’s another example. … Mike Hersh has found one of the greatest auction items ever — a Flying Fathers jersey! Read the item description for details. … Other auction finds from Mike: a very interesting Phillies jacket (note the shoulder inserts, high pocket placement, and unusual sleeve color) and an incredible-looking Red Sox program. … Soccer story from Tyler Ostergaard, who writes: “N. Korea and Venezuela played a friendly match Thursday night, but N. Korea lost their uniforms and had to borrow Venezuela’s away uniforms.” … The Pats will be wearing Grogan-era throwbacks as an alternate look next season. … The Seoul Heroes are now the Nexen Heroes, which of course means new uniforms (with thanks to Dan Kurtz and Jeremy Brahm). … Longtime Uni Watch favorite Mark Penxa is running a contest to give away five illustrations from his latest Stealing Signs art series. For contest details, look here. … Nick Johnson’s recent back injury (presumably the first of many maladies he’ll suffer this year) was the due to wearing the wrong cleats for batting practice. … That crazy Ozzie Guillen wore stirrups on Friday (as spotted by Larry Kurtze). … Latest evidence that we’d all be better off if an asteroid plowed right into the planet: Florida is considering selling ad space on their license plates (courtesy of Jesse Agler. … Actually, let’s just have the asteroid plow into Florida, that would be better. … New uniforms for the Green Bay Blizzard (with thanks to the Rev. Nørb). … Jonathon Binet asks, not unreasonably, why the Auburn baseball team needs six different cap designs. Yes, the second and sixth ones look similar, but the last one has white outlining on the logo and white airholes. Similarly, the first one is white with a navy brim, while the fifth one is gray, not white. … Tom Turner claims that Rocky Blier’s cleats in this shot are actually curling shoes. “They were imported from Canada to use on artifical turf,” he says. “The Univ. of South Carolina also used them (my friend was head manager).” Can anyone confirm or refute? … North Central College’s baseball media guide shows the team’s jerseys from the 1980s through today. Plus the team wears stirrups! (With thanks to Eric Bunnell.) … Good story from Mat Orefice, who plays in the hockey-rock band the Zambonis: “Our lead singer, Dave Schneider, also owns a chain of hip-hop clothing stores in Connecticut, and he recently created a Whalers T-shirt design that he placed in his store window. A few hours later a guy comes in to buy a few for himself and his daughter. Who, you ask? Former Whalers captain Kevin Dineen! Glad to see tons of Whalers gear hitting the streets. Of course, I’m still the only one with a Whalers drum kit!” … People sometimes say I have a uniform fetish. But some people have a real uniform fetish, and those people are apparently creating a brisk black market for Japan Airlines stewardess uniforms (big thanks to Robert Leavell). … Good follow-up story from Mike Edgerley, who writes: “A couple of years ago I sent you some links that explained Port St. Joe (FL) High School’s tradition of wearing striped socks when reaching the state Final Four. Today, however, Tampa Prep finally defeated Port St. Joe and their ‘cat in the hat’ socks for the first time in five tries in the state 2A Final Four. Here’s some excellent video, with plenty of socks action and commentary.” … The Erie Bayhawks of the D-League recently played a game wearing the uniforms of their parent club, the Cavs. But some players had authentic Cavs NOBs while others had bogus-looking nameplate. As Anthony LoPinto explains, “Danny Green and Darnell Jackson were recently sent to the D-League after playing in about 20 games each with the Cavs, so they had their official jerseys.” The other players apparently had knockoff replicas. … College football is along way away, but here’s something to file away: Iowa will wear throwbacks against Ball State in late September (with thanks to Joe Wagner. … Also, when did Riddell go to this logo? I don’t recall having seen it before. … On Friday I asked about the Republic of France’s very Jerry Dior-esque logo. Got a fantastic response from Frenchman Jérémy Crampon, as follows: “I don’t think that republic logo has been inspired by the MLB logo cuz here nobody watch baseball!!! BIG SIGH!!! (I must be one of the only French to watch during warm summer nights some baseball on tv! Thank god i got this european espn version that broadcast games !!!) Anyway i admit we can see a similarity between these two logos!! The French logo is in service since September 1999. It represents our flag color! Blue ,white, red. The white part is Marriane’s head! Marriane is a national symbol of France. And then under the Marriane head there is our moto! I didn’t find yet whom created it and what is the story of the logo! It’s just a official logo that we can see on official papers from governement! When we have to pay taxes or I don’t know!” Merci. … Ooooh, check out these display helmets that Brinke Guthrie found. Amazing, right? What were they for? Also, note that the Saints helmet is black! … Mikey Caldwell reports that NESN did a “Best and Worst Uniforms” segment on a recent Bruins pregame show and used NHLuniforms.com templates without attribution. … Everyone’s gonna like this: Andrew Fladeboe’s father has dozens of amazing sports-themed Matryoshka Dolls. Where’d he get them all? “My dad works in international law and specializes in nuclear nonproliferation. After the fall of the Soviet Union it was important to make sure all the missiles and nuclear material were accounted for (which is still an issue today), so we ended up moving to Moscow from 1994-97. We would go to these huge outdoor markets where you could buy anything, and he sort of befriended one of the guys who made these Matryoshka Dolls. He kept asking my dad to bring him Street & Smith magazines so he could keep track of uniform changes and get the numbers and names right. The artist was also very particular about flesh color and really liked doing the retro uniforms. They were between $10-$15 apiece.” … Dig this super-cool soap box derby pin. … Just don’t give me the slice with the swoosh (with thanks to Brian Shane). … Omir Santos is wearing those newfangled batting gloves I wrote about last week (with thanks to Brian Erni). … Good to see Jamie Moyer’s stirrups are already in mid-season form (with thanks to Matthew Borda). … Ross Yoshida notes that the 4 in Travis Outlaw’s uni number is the wrong font. … Zack Tanner notes that Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen is still using his old Thrashers catching glove. … Great item up for auction: a pair of Hollywood Stars shorts (excellent find by Al Arauz). … New Poseidon-themed mask for Evgeni Nabokov (screen shots courtesy of Sean Robbins). … The Maryland baseball team is wearing stirrups this season (that good news relayed by Matt Shevin). … The Caps finally got around to wearing that 35th-anniversary patch on Saturday night (photo by Cheryl Nichols). … Also, the Caps had a historical jersey display in the lobby for that game, and Ken Pilpel got a bunch of photos. … Jacob Pomrenke was watching some old footage on the MLB Network and noticed that Kevin Mitchell went NNOB in his first game with the Giants in 1987. … Also: Jacob’s wife, Tracy Greer, has developed a specialty of crocheting baby blankets for friends and family members in team colors, like these Phillies and Mizzou examples. … It’s hard to see, but Rangers goalie Alex Auld is still using his Stars backplate (as spotted by John Muir). … Jubilo Iwata of the J-League are honoring Masashi Nakayama, who had played with the team for 20 years, with a uni-themed seat (with thanks to Jeremy Brahm). … Also from Jeremy: these NFL children’s pajamas, which he saw at the Kohl’s in Portland the other day. … Still more from Jeremy: Here are the uniforms from the Top League (that’s Japanese rugby) All-Star Game.

Virtue Rewarded: I watched the Oscars for the first time since 1998, mainly to see if Logorama would win. And it did! If you haven’t seen it yet, stop what you’re doing now and watch it here. And be sure to turn up the volume so your boss and co-workers can enjoy the finely crafted dialogue.

These Go To Eleven

2010-03-07T04:33:18Z

By Phil Hecken

It’s time to get down to brass tacks. We’ve spent the past two weekends looking at Round One and Round Two of the “NFL Design-A-Uniform” contest, brought to us by Classic Old School Gear and their prexy, Alain Nana Sinkam.

We considered all your comments and suggestions, and we thank you for them. We hemmed and hawed, almost coming to blows on several occasions, trying to narrow the selections down to what follows. But the usual suspects in conjunction with Alain have finally agreed upon the eleven.

Now, you’ll be asked to take a look at the jerseys one last time, and to cast your vote for the one. You can only vote once, so … choose wisely.

Here, then, are your eleven finalists:

1. John Baranowski: New England Patriots

2. Brandon Bowker: Philadelphia Eagles

3. Kevin Gaffney: Baltimore Ravens

4. “Hungry Hungry Hipster”: Arizona Cardinals

5. Bob Jones: Denver Broncos

6. Christopher Kane: Philadelphia Eagles

7. Anthony McGuire: New Orleans Saints

8. Brad McPelican: Seattle Seahawks

9. Chance Michaels: Green Bay Packers

10. Amos Miller: Detroit Lions

11. Adam Wood: New York Giants

Take a good look at each one (if you need additional reference or the contestant’s write up, please refer back to the links at the top of the page — Amos Miller’s full submission can be found at the end of this article). Then, directly below…cast your vote.

Special thanks, as always, go out to UW Pollster Justin Tolerable Homerism for his assistance with the poll.

To everyone who participated, we thank you and appreciate the supreme effort. To the remaining eleven: GOOD LUCK!

~~~

~~~~~~~~~~

From The Squiddie Files: Three words: GO GO SOX. That’s all the setup you need from Lance Smith as he brings us yet another wonderful trip through the Life archives. Go. Go. Sox. Here’s Lance:

~~~

The 1959 World Series between the Go-Go White Sox and the now Los Angeles Dodgers is notable for a number of reasons. It was the first World Series since 1948 when neither team was from New York. It was the first World Series to take place at least in part on the west coast. Game Five in Los Angeles had an official attendance of 92,706, a single game World Series record that is unlikely to be broken until Jerry Jones decides to get into baseball.

Let’s look at some photos.

The 1959 World Series also had three things beloved by UniWatch readers, Bill Veeck, Ted Kluszewski and those white World Series stirrups worn by Chicago.

Bill Veeck walks by the Comiskey Park scoreboard and signs programs.

In Game 1, ushers handed out roses to the ladies. A classic Veeckian ploy.

Casey Stengel was there and he talked with Al Lopez and Walter Alston

Big Klu, running out one of his two home runs in Game 1, passes Gil Hodges.
Games 3, 4 and 5 were held in The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Gene Autry, Burt Lancaster, Joe Dimaggio and Edward G. Robinson were all there. So was this woman.

White stirrups and no sleeves? Check. Big Klu in LA.

Take a look at this crowd photo. There are a significant number of fans who are wearing Dodgers caps. (There’s also someone wearing a Hollywood Stars cap and at least one Yankee fan.) In Chicago, the closest thing to fans wearing a White Sox cap were these. Under the California sun you need a hat, even if it’s like this.

Walter O’Malley helps set up the folding chairs for the VIPs. Is she wearing the first alternative color fashion cap?

It’s the Drysdale vs. Klu match-up in Game 3. Drysdale gave up 11 hits and only 1 run. Dick Donovan took the loss.

Billy Goodman is injured on a play and has to be taken off the field. Compare the batting helmet logo with the cap. Not bad.

Is there something wrong with Sandy Koufax’s belt loops? Koufax gave up one earned run, but lost Game 5 when three Sox pitchers blanked the Dodgers and the White Sox abandoned the white stirrups. (That’s Nellie Fox scoring the lone run.)

See #23? Who knew that Don Zimmer was ever so svelte? He came in as a PINCH RUNNER in game 5!

In the final in Game 6, the Sox wore their usual stirrups and lost the Series 4 games to 2. Didn’t stop Big Klu from getting his third home run of the series off Johnny Podres. (I’m guessing 98 is a bat boy.)

Lopez shakes Alston’s hand and we’re done.

OK. White Stirrup Recap.
Yes: Game 1, Game 2, Game 3 and Game 4.
No: Game 5 and Game 6

~~~

Thanks, as always, Squiddie. The fall classic may still be months away and the boys of summer have yet to toil, but the fact that they’re playing in Florida and Arizona now means spring is right around the corner. And I’d give my right leg to see an owner as colorful as Bill Veeck again.

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Guess The Game From The Scoreboard: More baseball today, of course, as we inch closer to Opening Day (which should replace Presidents’ Day as a national holiday, by the way). This one may prove very difficult, and it’s brought to us from reader Steve Presser. Ready? Guess The Game From The Scoreboard. Date, location and final score, please, and be sure to link to your answer. And, as always, if you enjoy the game, please send me some new scoreboards! Drop me a line. Thanks!

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Back again with more Uniform Tweaks, Concepts and Revisions today. Since we’re running the NFL Contest today, we’ll skip the football tweaks for now; but if you have a tweak, change or concept for any sport, send them my way.

~~~

Kicking off today’s show is James Hayden, who has a blue look for the Washington Nationals:

Hey,

This time I’m switching sports in anticipation of spring, I give you “Blue Dominant” Washington Nationals (see attached)

Basically, prior to 1968, the American League team in DC – either the one that moved to Minnesota or their replacements who moved to Texas – had Navy Blue as their “primary color” – and pinstriped home unis at that! Only under Bob Short’s ownership were the colors changed to, primarily, Red.

The current National League team simply adopted modern versions of the 1971 Senators’ caps (which had in effect been an icon of the “Baseball in DC” movement) and Red dominant unis (albeit with different lettering fonts, etc.) to hearken back to DC’s “lost” franchise(s).

Having been a small child during the Short era and having read “Kiss it Goodbye” by Shelby Whitfield as a teen, I’ve always wondered exactly why any DC baseball fan would have any interest in remembering the short-lived Short-era.

So, long story, erm, short (and before I make another nauseating pun) – here’s what I think the Nat’s should be wearing as their Home Pinstripes and Blue Alternates.

The Home Pinstripes have, of course, Navy Pinstripes and a script “Nationals” logo with no number on the front (Ala’ the Yanks and Red Sox). I’ve shown a Navy cap with a Red brim with this uni.

The “Blues” are basically a navy version of the current Red Sunday/Alt, with a DC flag patch on one sleeve, and a Nats version of the old Senators patch on the other. Another Navy cap – w/Navy brim and Red “Pretzel W” outlined in White is shown with this (very similar to the former “road” cap, but a bit more colorful – i.e. closer to the cap they wore in the mid-60’s w/o the trim).

Have a better one!

James Hayden

~~~

Next up is Joseph Obermeier, who takes on the NHL’s Islanders with a neat twist:

Hi Phil,

Here’s an idea I had for tweaking the uniform of my once-beloved Islanders. I started with the road jersey (though white jerseys still say ‘home team’ to me) that the Islanders will go full time with next season. I love the retro look and laces, but continuing to use the old team logo just reminds me how long it has been since the days of the cups. I hashed together a new logo using pieces from the Islanders’ earlier attempts at redesign, and I don’t think it looks half bad. The old logo still has its place –- I’ve relegated it to the shoulders, where the Sabres wore theirs for many years. I’d love to ditch the orange altogether, and go with a color scheme like the Boston Breakers of the USFL, but that will have to wait for another day when I have more time.

Thanks.

Joe Obermaier

~~~

The penultimate of the tweaks today is Patrick Lange, who takes a new look at the new vest for the new look Twins:

This is my tweak for the Twins vest uniform. Their current “vest” just has the sleeves cut off of their primary. I think that vests look best with a logo on the chest rather than a team name across the front. I added the stripes to the sleeves and stirrups to give the uniform an old time feel and also removed the NOB.

Closing down the show is Mike Engle, who wasn’t 100% satisfied with this year’s Olympic duds for the hockey fellas, so…he fixed ‘em. Mike really puts his crayolas where his bouche is with these:

For your enjoyment, perusal, entertainment, or all of the above, I present to you uniform design overhauls for my two least favorite hockey jerseys from last Olympics. (Though, in this context, you can’t overhaul anything. Colors basically have to stay the same to match the flag, and tradition is paramount. So overhaul or tweak, whatever, here we go.)

Here’s a new white and blue set for Finland. The 2010 Olympic jerseys had too many line segments going in too many directions. Made no sense to me, and just came across as a blue blob. Sort of reminded me of Italy’s 2006 World Cup soccer jerseys. This is a good thing…for me to headbutt to the ground and refuse to apologize about it. Colors here are white, royal blue, and sky blue, with incidental red and gold on the coat of arms. Traditional socks and pants stripes, but the signature element is the sleeves. Does it evoke anything to you? Well it should. It’s the flag. I personally like my white jersey more than the blue jersey here, simply because of the flag factor. I actually couldn’t decide whether to make the blue jersey on a sky or royal base. I settled on sky because we don’t need another royal-based country.

And here’s a new set for Norway, with a red top (which I like a lot), and a white change (which I don’t quite like as much). Norway’s jerseys from last Olympics were just too plain. The designers really mailed those in, especially with the Rangers word mark. I, however, have something better. You see, Norway’s hockey team just isn’t that good, and their hockey is not at all memorable. Their curling pants, on the other hand, are unforgettable. I couldn’t resist throwing the diamond pattern onto the yoke and the sleeve stripes. I opted for quasi-Blackhawks hem stripes and sock stripes to slightly off-set the radical curling pattern with some conservative old-time hockey flavor. Finally, the new word mark. I messed with the N in NORGE, and had it go SW to NE; this way, the word mark mimics the shape of the country. If you don’t see it, don’t look so hard. Meaning that the captain’s C is now on the right shoulder above the word mark, just like how Svalbard is above mainland Norway. Colors are red, white, and royal, with a touch of gray found only in the curling diamond pattern.

After I overhauled the hockey uniforms for Norway and Finland, I realized my patriotic pride and silver medal buzz were clouding my judgment. My beloved Americans also need new uniforms. I don’t care that their navy may be too dark, but I DO stand by the fact that the USA in VAL across the front doesn’t make a hockey uniform. It makes a basketball jersey with long sleeves. The USA diagonal à la NYR is barely passable–it loses points because USA is only three letters long. It’s fine for the Squaw Valley throwbacks if they stay, but I didn’t want to recreate those.

Oh say can you see THESE hockey jerseys? In white and blue. Please, no red alternate. 204 years before we beat the Red Army, we had to beat the Red Coats. If the USA wears a red hockey jersey, I’m rooting for Canada.) In the end, I made the USA a real crest, which will be a nice and wide target to shoot the puck right into Ryan Miller’s chest for the easy save. The crest itself has two gold stars for Squaw Valley 1960 and Lake Placid 1980. Hopefully, in my lifetime, we can add another gold star. The shoulder stars are an element from the Lake Placid jerseys, carried over, and I made sure the socks have 13 stripes, just like the crest. Nothing else has any intentional symbolism, aside from “I like it and it’s my design, so here you go.” And just in case Nike decides to put a patriotic slogan on the jersey, I’ve relegated it to the inside of the neck. I strongly suggest “E Pluribus Unum.” It doesn’t get more appropriate for a hockey team: it’s Latin for, “Out of many, one.” It’s money.

~~~

That’s it for the tweak show today. Back with more next time.

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Ricko’s Trivia Question: Got a trivia question from the one and only Rick Pearson yesterday, which he thought might be good to pose to the board. So here goes (it’s a two-parter):

(1) What state can claim the most seasons with more than one MLB team?

(2) And also, at this point, the state with the current longest unbroken string of seasons with more than one team?

Interesting…and not as easy as you might think. Give it a shot.

~~~~~~~~~~

OSCAR OSCAR!

And finally, your 82nd Academy Awards Predictions:

Don’t know if any of you care, but I’m usually pretty spot-on when it comes to this sort of thing. See if you can’t take me down.

First one to nail all six (unless I get them all right) wins a free Uni Watch Membership on me.

If you already have a UW membership (and you know you should)…I’ll give you another prize. Take your best shot. Here’s my picks:

Best Picture: The Hurt Locker
Best Actor: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
Best Actress: Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, Inglorious Basterds
Best Supporting Actress: Mo’Nique, Precious
Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

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Okie dokie, kiddies. That’s all for this fine Sunday. Have yourselves a great day.

Oh Danny! Boy

2010-03-06T15:48:30Z

By Phil Hecken

As you all know, I get a LOT of “Uniform Tweaks” (or “concepts” or “revisions” or what have you) sent my way, and I try to post every single one. In order to remain impartial, I never comment on them, but rather, leave it to you readers to do so. Many are absolutely outstanding, others are very good, and some…well, some aren’t all that great. But everyone who sends something in deserves a look see and I do my best to make sure they get their “15 minutes” on Uni Watch.

But every once in a while, I get a set of concepts that are so good, or so unique, or so outstanding that they really deserve their own “main” article. This is one of those times. I recently received a set of baseball uniform concepts from reader Danny Finocchio that really just struck a chord with me.

Most readers don’t hesitate to add commentary with their concepts, and when they do, I post it, unedited, for you. Danny’s submission was a little different.

Danny simply said, “Hi, my name is Danny Finocchio. I’m a recent graphic design graduate from Easton, PA. I’m an avid Uni-Watcher, and follower of your blog. With baseball season almost upon us, I wanted to send you some Uni-Tweaks I’ve done for MLB uniforms from across all era’s of the game. I’ve done seventeen in all so far, but this type of thing could go on forever, so I’ll definitely have more to come. I won’t get into describing them all, but I will say all the designs are based off of my love for simple, clean, traditional baseball uniform design.”

Then I opened Danny’s attachment, and I was pretty blown away.

Intrigued, I asked if he’d elaborate a bit more, on each uniform and how he came up with such a design, and to tell me a bit more about himself. So, with that, I’m pleased to present to you Danny Finocchio, uniform designer:

~~~

Uni Watch: Graphic Design graduate? That’s awesome — How old are you, where are you from, and where did you go to school?

Danny Finocchio: I’m 25, and a native of Easton, PA. I’m a recent Graphic Design graduate from Kutztown University (of PA).

UW: How did you get into uniforms and uni watching?

DF: I was formally introduced to Uni-Watching by my cousin, Matt Weidner, a few years back, but I’ve been a uni-watcher since I was a young child. As kids, my cousins, brother, and I would constantly be drawing our favorite athletes (sneakers, superheroes & pro wrestlers) and try to re-create their likeness and uniforms as best as we could. I guess that’s where it all started.

UW: Any specific sports? I know what you sent me are baseball uniforms, but have you designed anything else?

DF: I’m interested in uniform design across all sports, but my main interests are with baseball and international football (soccer). My motivation for doing these MLB Uni-Tweaks was for fun, but it’s something I always wanted to explore.

UW: Well that’s great, because with Spring Training underway, many of us are excited for the upcoming season. Any favorite team?

DF: I’m a die-hard Yankees fan, and lover of traditional baseball uniforms, but I always thought to myself “Why not put Yankees in script across the chest?” … “Why not put names on the back of a Yankees uniform?” These were the questions I wanted to answer for myself, and see what they looked like. This whole series of uniform concepts spawned from those initial questions, and I just kept going with it.

UW: NOB’s on the Yankees unis? That’s heresy, isn’t it? Anyway, can you tell me about this set of uniforms you sent me? I’ve seen lots of templates readers send in, but yours is pretty unique. Did you create it yourself?

DF: Through a little online research I found a template I liked. Then, I recreated it so I could manipulate it better. I also recreated all the pinstripes, swashes, and most of the logos in vector art. Once I had the uniform set the way I liked, I brought it into Photoshop to give it a “classic” look by laying the template over a piece of yellowed paper. Then I added a fabric texture to give the impression that the uniforms had a subtle wool look to them.

UW: That’s fantastic Danny. Let’s take a look at what you’ve created, along with your thoughts on each uniform.

~~~

1959 Kansas City Athletics: I wanted to re-create a few teams that don’t exist anymore. With my generation this team, affectionately known as the Yankees’ Minor League System in their day, isn’t even on the radar. I started by re-creating the “KC” logo and used their original color palette.

1953 St. Louis Browns: This concept is a mesh of a few of their uniform designs throughout their existence. Again, I started by re-creating the interlocking “STL” logo, and went on from there.

circa 1903 New York Highlanders: They are the last of my defunct teams. I wanted to honor the Yankees’ history by bringing the Highlanders back with this clean, traditional, no-frills design.

1919 Chicago White Sox: I’ve always loved the interlocking “SOX” logo, and I wanted to use that all over the concept. And at the same time, I wanted to answer the age-old question, “Why don’t they actually wear white sox?”

1908 Chicago Cubs: I’ve always loved the fact that the Cubs used that sky blue hue on their road set. I really wanted to bring that back.

circa 1905 Pittsburgh Pirates: I love the Pirates’ uniforms from across all era’s of their existence. I especially love when they their wear their classic uniform set. I wanted to create my own version of that.

1950 Philadelphia Phillies: I’ve never liked the Phillies uniforms. I really don’t like the stars over the “i’s”. So, with these I wanted to take it down a notch.

1946 Boston Red Sox: I hate them just as much as the next Yankee fan, but I can’t deny their uniforms…they’re beautiful. I loved the road set they wore in 2009, and I wanted to create my own version of that. I also wanted to put “Red Sox” in script to see how that looked. I also added a WWII patch on the right sleeve.

1962 NY Metropolitans: Why haven’t the Mets ever used their full name on their jerseys? This set looks different from what they wore then, but it also looks as if it could’ve been their uniform. That’s what I like about this set.

1967 Minnesota Twins: This set is one of my favorites from the series. They have a lot more little details compared to the others, but still have a simple and classic feel to them. And the colors just work well together.

1966 Baltimore Orioles: Another of my personal favorites. I’ve always loved the script “Baltimore” and the bigger numbers they wore on the backs. I also added one of their old logos as a patch on the left sleeve.

1983 Cincinnati Reds: I’ve always thought the Reds have had nice uni’s and I wanted to make my own version.

2003 Florida Marlins: I’ve always liked the Marlins color palette and logo. So, I wanted to create my own version of their set. I kept the pinstripes, but used their primary logo on the road set. I also added their 10th anniversary patch on their right sleeve.

2007 Tampa Bay Devil Rays: This set is a mesh of their new name, “Rays” and their old color palette. I chose to give then a classic feel over a contemporary feel. I also gave them pinstripes which look nice.

2010 Washington Nationals: Another of my favorites from the series. In this set I wanted to give them a feel of their predecessor, the Senators. I also added their logo patch on the right sleeve. I really love the way these turned out.

1937 NY Yankees: This is where it all started. I wanted to change the most iconic uniform in American sports. And I really like it. I also added a 1937 WS patch on the left sleeve and striped socks for the road set.

1929 NY Yankees: I created another version to explore using a block lettered “Yankees” on the road set.

~~~

Well, there we go. Awesome job on those Danny. While I personally would never add the NOB (even conceptually) to the Yankees, and I don’t wholeheartedly agree with a couple of the revisions, I believe this is an excellent example of “thinking out of the box” (which would explain why you have a degree in graphic design, and I don’t). I particularly enjoyed the “NY” on the Highlanders uniform, as that particular design was reminiscent of the Mets‘ 2009 “cream” uniform (and in which David Wright was beaned last season). Of course, that subsequently led to Wright’s donning a “Great Gazoo” helmet. So…my feelings are mixed on that particular graphic.

I really also enjoyed the socks you created for each uniform as well. Personally, I would have made them into stirrups with sanis, but that’s just me. Many of those would look really great on teams today, although, with the current low-pant style, we’d likely never see them.

Overall, though, just an outstanding job. Thanks for sharing those, and I look forward to seeing other creations from you in the future. What say you, Uni Watchers? Did Danny hit one out of the park?

~~~~~~~~~~

Add another mea culpa to the “NFL Uni Contest”. This time, it appears as though I omitted reader (and also former contest participant) Kevin Connolly from the show. It’s too late now to include him, as the finalists have been chosen, and will be given to the readers for a vote tomorrow. Doesn’t change the fact that I somehow missed his E-mail, out of the scores I received.

If Kevin’s tweak looks somewhat familiar, it should because he submitted it for a the “regular” uni tweaks back in December of 2009. And it was a really good one too.

Here’s his submission that he resubmitted to me just before the contest deadline, but somehow I missed. It was for the Patriots.

Back in December, here’s how Kevin described it:

Since the Patriots have been wearing their legacy uniforms, I have decided that I like more traditional Patriot look over the current uniform set. This was quite the revelation for me since I’m a big fan of contemporary uniform designs and pretty much love anything that Oregon does. I’ve attached my rendering of a concept uniform set which is a slight twist on the traditional shoulder stripes. At first, I wasn’t sure how much I’d like the look, but am pretty happy with the result. I’ve also included some player models displaying the uniform set. I’ll be interested to hear what people have to say.

Again, mea culpa, Kevin. I know that may not make you feel any better, but it was an honest eff-up on my part and I deeply apologize.

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Guess The Game From The Scoreboard: Back to a little baseball, now that the calendar is slowly edging toward that magical day that is “Opening Day” and all is right in the world again. Today’s scoreboard comes from none other than Lance Smith (aka “Squiddie”) and might be what we call a bit of foreshadowing. Ready? Guess The Game From the Scoreboard Date, location and final score, please, and be sure to link to your answer. And, as always, if you enjoy the game, please send me some new scoreboards! Drop me a line. Thanks!

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Back again with more Uniform Tweaks, Concepts and Revisions today. Taking a look at all sports from here on out, so, if you have a tweak, change or concept for any sport, send them my way.

~~~

We begin today with Travis Knotts, who simply has a logo and helmet tweak for the Buffalo Bills:

Attached is my tweak to the Buffalo Bills primary logo and helmet. I wanted to make a logo that could satisfy the current logo’s detractors, while not being a drastic revamp. I’m not a Bills fan, but I think this concept is something Bills fans could take pride in. I mean, it even has a tail now!

- Travis

~~~

Next up is Joe Piperno, who has a whole mess of NFL changes:

I made 7 complete uniform change and added some alts
For the 49ers, i gave them the old uni with lighter colors and added a gold jersey

giants: added red to home. added blue to away and alt

patriots: I added red and made a red alt

bills: I found the 1961-64 unis and tweaked them. I also gave them a red alt and white streaking buffalo helmets

seahawks: Gave them white pants in the home and added a green throwback

Raiders: added silver to the home, added silver&black to the away and made a silver alt

Jaguars

Vikings: added yellow alt; Steelers:added yellow alt; Rams: added gold alt; Redskins: added yellow alt — set here

Packers: added yellow alt; Chargers: added yellow alt; Bucs: added pewter alt — set here

~~~

Our final tweak today comes from Logan Savage, who was admittedly late for the NFL jersey contest, but wanted to share his vision for the Saints:

Okay, so this is about 3 weeks late but I was surfing the web and came across a link to your blog and decided why not try my luck and send something in. Hopefully if this isn’t accepted as an entry, it is at least pleasing to the eye. The backstory is I had been wanting to use that font on a few other prototype I’ve made but it didn’t suit any of the teams so I finally thought of the Saints and it fit perfectly with the whole Mardi Gras thing and was an improvement on their old bland logotype. The uniform drew inspiration from a few college team unis, most notably Georgia Tech. I love the look of the college unis and thought the NFL could use an updated look since most real uniform updates haven’t been drastic over the years. Anyway, hopefully I’m given a chance although I completely understand since it is way overdue and I can’t wait until the next Design contest comes up. Thanks for your time.

~~~

That will do it for today’s tweaks. We’ll get to some of the other sports next time.

~~~~~~~~~~

And on that note, that’s all for today folks. Everyone have a great Saturday. Peace.

Hope They Served Beer Instead of Wine

2010-03-08T00:09:46Z

Here’s something I don’t often say: I wish I’d been in L.A. last night. That’s because Gallery 1988 had a reception for their new poster exhibit, called The Greatest Moments in Sports History, most of which looks to be completely amazing. Here are some highlights:

• There are two posters based on Dock Ellis’s acid-drenched no-hitter — here and here.

• Not sure what this is supposed to be about, but I love the uni-numbered bonnet and shower cap. (Update: Justin Rectenwald now informs us that larger, slower water polo teams are often referred to as whales, and smaller, faster ones are often called squid. So there you have it: The first water polo poster ever to appear on Uni Watch!)

• Two of the strongest posters in the show are based on low points in Mike Tyson’s career: his upset at the hands of Buster Douglas and the night he took a bite of Evander Holyfield’s ear.

• Love this illo of Ty Cobb. The peach refers to his nickname, natch, and the “Gas and Flame” notation refers to his military assignment.

• Poor Scott Norwood never gets a break.

• The title of this poster is “Calvinball.” Don’t get the reference? Look here.

• I like how this mascot gallery looks like a slightly beat-up LP cover from the 1960s.

• Lots to like in this Kirk Gibson poster. I particularly like how the incoming pitch and it’s speed lines evoke the Dodgers logo.

• Great title here: “Belly Itcher.” But how could you shout that at someone wearing such nice stirrups?

• Totally digging the fluid lines in this basketball image.

• I’m always happy to make a purple exception for Kurt Rambis.

• This Jesse Owens design is a high point of the exhibit. Ingeniously conceived, strikingly executed.

• In case you don’t recognize this guy, the name of the poster is “20,000″ — a Wilt Chamberlain reference, obviously. I love how the illustration styles mimics Victor Moscoso’s old psychedelic rock posters.

• Magnificent use of perspective and color blocking in this Four Horsemen image.

• Here’s an odd one. It’s called “Local Legend,” but I’m not sure who it’s supposed to be depicting. And whoever he is, why did he wear No. 03?

• Man, does this have “1950s college football program cover” written all over it or what?

The best part: Almost all of these poster designs are reasonably priced, at least by art gallery standards. You can see the price listings, and the rest of the images from the show, here.

(Special thanks to Josh Brotheim for letting me know about this one.)

Yet another earflap update: A month ago I went bananas over this photo of Jackie Hayes, dated 8/23/40. Somewhere along the line I got the notion that Hayes had created that headgear himself, although I’m embarrassed to say I don’t recall where I read that — bad recordkeeping on my part. Does anyone remember seeing anything along those lines?

Now Zac Neubauer has found something in the Popular Science archives — check it out. As you can see, it’s from the Nov. 1940 issue, and it’s definitely the same contraption Hayes was wearing. No mention of a manufacturer, though (or of Hayes, which seems odd). So maybe Hayes did come up with the design and then someone else put his idea into production a few months later, or else maybe it was already in production and Hayes had nothing to do with it. Hmmmmmm.

Either way, it’s interesting that the Ford Frick was trying to get all N.L. players to wear it. At present, I’m not aware of anyone other than Hayes having used it, but this storyline keeps yielding additional chapters, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s more to learn here.

Membership Program RE-OPENED for Business!: I’m happy to report that we’ve finally caught up on all previously pending membership card orders (including Tavis Burns’s Tromsø Idrettslag treatment, shown at right). All card designs are now present and accounted for in the card gallery, and those of you haven’t yet received your cards in the mail should be getting them within the next week or so.

Now that we’re caught up and Scott is settled into his new Seattle digs, we’re ready to take new orders again. You can sign up in the usual place. Remember, no more PayPal — I now accept e-cash via Amazon Payments. It’s easy, and all spelled out on the sign-up page.

One change to the program: I’m no longer adding new sign-ups to the Membership Roster page. It’s gotten too big to manage, it mucks up our software (it’s been months since I’ve been able to add new names without the whole thing going kablooey), and our traffic stats indicate that nobody looks at it anyway. Think of the card gallery as a de facto roster page, OK? Thanks.

Vintage Vinyl Giveaway: To celebrate the return of the membership program, I’m going to give away two cool old NFL LPs that I picked up at a record fair last weekend. The first one is devoted to the Jets’ Super Bowl season (here’s the back cover) and the other features interviews with mid-1960s quarterbacks (back cover here). Both LPs have a bit of surface noise but generally play surprisingly well, with no skips or scratches — fun stuff.

I’m not going to impose any restrictions on this giveaway, but I will say this: If you don’t own a turntable and have no way to play these records, it’d be nice if you held off on entering this one. But that’s a suggestion, not a rule — the giveaway is open to everyone, and you can enter by sending a blank e-mail with your name in the subject line to this address by 10pm eastern next Wednesday, March 10th. One entry per person (remember, no more bonus entries for Membership Program enrollees). I’ll announce two winners on Thursday. The first winner will get his or her choice of the two LPs; the other winner will get the remaining LP. Cool? Cool.

House of Hearts Reminder: Big, big thanks to those of you who contributed yesterday to my House of Hearts Bonspiel sponsorship fund. One very generous reader donated $50, but you can make me plenty proud if you simply contribute five bucks. For those of you who don’t know what the hell I’m talking about, you can get the full scoop here.

Stirrup Club Reminder: Sunday is the deadline for getting in on the latest round of Uni Watch Stirrup Club hosiery from Robert Marshall. Full details here.

That’s it, I’m doubling our ad rates: In one of those completely arbitrary rankings that don’t amount to a hill of Cocoa Puffs, the folks at Mediaite have named the top 25 most influential sports writers. A fun exercise, but if you go to the third page of the article you’ll see that they’ll let just about anyone onto these lists, which really calls the whole integrity of the process into question, eh?

Uni Watch News Ticker: Peter Mueller, newly acquired by the Avs, warmed up in a blank jersey on Wednesday (with thanks to Steven Schapansky). … We now have Photo Day confirmation that the NOBs on the Twins’ new home pinstripes will be direct-sewn, not nameplated (as noted by Karl Anderson). … Notice anything unusual about this Carl Hubbell jacket? The ribbed trim at the collar and base isn’t just horizontally striped — it’s also vertically pinstriped! Never seen that before. Here’s the rear view (awesome find by Mike Hersh). … No image, but Ronald Marrero informs me that the new MLB2010 Road to the Show allows you to include stirrups for players you create. Maybe someone could provide a screen shot? … The good news is that Topps did a nice job of photoshopping Cliff Lee into a Mariners uniform for this year’s Opening Day card series. The bad news is that they didn’t erase the Phillies’ Harry Kalas patch (as noted by Bill Slowsky). … The Oregon Ducks are finally free from Disney (with thanks to Jeremy Brahm). … There are helmet buggies and then there are helmet Bugs. That’s a Barcelona Dragons treatment, in case you don’t recognize it (with thanks to Alex Acosta). … Okay, so we all know minor league hockey teams have ad patches on their jerseys. But the Bakersfield Condors have taken it a step further: They have Carl’s Jr. star logos in their uni numbers (with thanks to Mark Snider). … Whoa, check out the amazing striped jerseys worn by the Groton School football team (big thanks to Andrew Peterson). … Interesting news from Brian Schulz, who checks in with the following report from Austin, Minnesota: “About a month ago, when a new NAHL was approved for Austin, an article came out stating that the owner ‘[Austin] Bruins, as tribute to the Boston Bruins,’ but would let the city decide. Earlier this week it was announced that after over a thousand suggestions, the name Bruins just happened to be at the top of the list. Since then, people have been in quite the frenzy over the name and logo for the team.” … Now wait a minute — is it really possible that the Republic of France is the latest organization to rip off Jerry Dior’s MLB logo concept? I’d like to know more about that French logo. Anyone know its history? (As brought to my attention by Coachie Ballgames.) … Michael Princip’s excellent Seahawks-centric site, Greenglare, is now called Greenxoblue. … Barry Zito, my hero. … Nice video tour of the new ballpark in Eugene, Oregon, to be shared by the Ducks and Emeralds, here (with thanks to Scott Little). … Latest NHL team to wear camouflage warm-up jerseys: the Caps (with thanks to William Yurasko, who also says this video indicates that the Caps have no plans to add a third jersey, somewhere around the 18-minute mark). … Interesting Cubs-colored spikes for Kosuke Fukudome (with thanks to Jeremy Brahm). … Here’s something you won’t often have a chance to own: a Houston Aeros business card (great find by Gabriel Manga). … Last but not least, sex columnist Dan Savage published a really funny baseball-related letter in this week’s column. Dig: “My ladyfriend generally requires more foreplay than I do, but on rare occasions we focus on me exclusively. Two nights ago, after three years together, we figured we’d give a high-school classic a try: I was going to get a handjob. I must’ve been temporarily transported back to my Little League days, because as she was contentedly pumping away, I asked if she could adjust her grip, saying, ‘Baby, could you choke up a little bit?’ With the sweetest, most eager-to-please look on her face, she said, ‘You mean, like, cry?’ I really think she would’ve done it, too, if I hadn’t laughed so hard I nearly fell off the bed.”

Glove Story

2010-03-05T13:39:18Z

What see there is a new batting glove that supposedly offers much more protection against being hit by a pitched ball. It’s from a new California company called XProTex (further details here). And if you’re using new batting gloves, you may as well use them to hold a new bat. As you can see, the lower handle is contoured like the handle on an axe, which supposedly generates a sweeter swing. Further details on that one are available here.

New ESPN column today — my annual look at spring training

The Proctor Files, Continued: As usual, sporting goods historian had something to say about each of the catalogs I featured in yesterday’s entry. Here’s his commentary:

Universal Bleachers: We didn’t sell for them. They were a “once-in-40-years” purchase and sold primarily through people who specialized in outfitting new gyms or renovations. We did sell Aalco Backboards from St. Louis and Nevco Scoreboards. I sold a high school in the Rochester area a Nevco football scoreboard in 1973 and it was used for football until 2006, when it was moved to their soccer field. It still works fine.

Snyders: This catalog looks awfully familiar. I can’t place the manufacturer but I can tell you it wasn’t Snyders — they appear to be just a dealer themselves. Several manufacturers used Dodge-Davis flannel products. Some would allow their dealers to private-label their catalog as well as only including the dealer’s label in the finished garments. As I’ve mentioned before, we had some companies that only included our label (Powers Mfg., Stall & Dean), some that included both the manufacturer and the dealer labels (Russell, King-O’Shea), and those that made a special combination label with the dealer’s name and their name (Sand-Knit, Spanjian). I’ll do some more research and try to figure out who Snyders’ actual manufacturer was.

Swingster: They were an in-stock company that made casual/coach’s wear, softball uniforms, and jackets. Their quality and prices were good but delivery was often spotty at peak times. Teams in our area wouldn’t order softball uniforms until March or April. By that time, dealers in the warm-weather states had often depleted Swingster’s inventory for a certain style or color, so we often had to change it with the team’s OK. Too bad you don’t have a Swingster catalog from around 1981 or 1982 — they made complete, color coordinated softball uniforms in four versions of “tequila sunrise” stripes (red, green, royal, and navy). They offered softball jerseys, softball pants, softball/coach’s shorts, coach’s shirts, and mesh-back caps with the tequila sunrise striping. I still have two of the coach’s shirts. I’ll try to get you photos.

By the way, that “coach” wearing the all-gold outfit looks like a reject from a tryout for the Village People. As dealers we complained to several companies about the models they used. Champion Products and Russell at first had their catalogs produced by agencies that used real New York-type runway models. The girls all resembled Twiggy and the guys were real Village People types. The poses and their props were hilarious, like using a piece of black tape for eye black, or a piece of wood to resemble the shaft of a hockey stick. Or having the hockey players wearing football shoulder pads and a pair of gym shorts to resemble hockey pants. After enough dealer complaints, Russell and Don Alleson Athletic hired real-life high school and college athletes to model their uniforms. Big improvement.

Hurry Hard!: As you may have noticed in the Ticker lately, I’ve been hunting (without success) for a vintage curling sweater. That’s because I’ll soon be heading back to Minnesota, where I’ll be participating in the House of Hearts Bonspiel at the Duluth Curling Club. I’ll be getting a full day-plus of personalized instruction from ace curler Tyler George and then competing in the ’spiel for the next few days after that.

The House of Hearts is an annual charity bonspiel that’s sort of like a pro-am, with world-class skips teamed with lesser players, including novices (that would be me). All proceeds go to benefit a Duluth medical-services operation, and I’m hoping to do my part by getting some pledges. No pledge is too small — seriously, just contribute $5 and you’ll make me very proud (although larger pledges are welcome, of course). To contribute, please go to Amazon Payments and either log in to your existing Amazon account or, if you don’t have one, create a new Amazon account. Once you’re logged in, click on “Personal” and then on “Send Money,” and send whatever amount you deem appropriate to plukas64 at gmail dot com. Put “For House of Hearts” in the memo line. Thanks.

I’ll be flying home from Duluth on March 21st, which is significant for two reasons: It’s the date of the next Brooklyn Beefsteak at the Bell House, and it’s also my birthday. This is what’s known as a very happy coincidence. I’ll be getting off the plane, making a quick stop at my apartment, and then heading right to the Bell House, where I’ll be celebrating with a big beefsteak birthday bash.

The last Brooklyn Beefsteak was a hoot (full coverage here), and I encourage all NYC-area readers to attend this time around. There will be two seatings: 2pm and 6pm (my party will be at the 6pm). I won’t be delivering any slideshow presentations this time, although I may reprise my onstage role handling visual aids for Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co., who’ll be performing once again.

I’ll be spending most of the event at a table with my close friends (all of whom will have to listen to my boring stories about curling in Duluth and pretend to be interested because, hey, it’ll be my birthday), but of course I’ll be happy to say hi to any Uni Watch readers I see there.

Uni Watch News Ticker: The Rangers have added a spring training memorial patch for front office employee Bobby Bragan. It’s not yet clear to me whether they’ll keep wearing it during the regular season. … Forget color on color — the Tigers and Florida Southern went gray on gray the other day. Looks like all the Florida Southern players wear stirrups, too, although many of them seem to do so rather grudgingly (with thanks to Ben Kelly). … Speaking of stirrups, check out Meiji University of Tokyo (with thanks to Randy Policar). … Two great eBay finds by Mike Hersh: First, scroll down through the entire listing to see the great illustrations on this hat box. But here’s the real prize: a salesman sample curling stone! … Sidney Crosby’s Olympic stick and gloves are missing. … Interesting little video about the graphic design of racing cars here (with thanks to Lance Smith). … Also from Lance: an absolutely amazing collection of vintage supermarket display photos. … Here’s another one of those photos of Aussie soccer players wearing three-digit uni numbers. … Michael Vick says he wants to play for the Panthers because he likes their uniforms, which is just one more strike against him (with thanks to Frank Cha). … Is this completely gorgeous or what? It’s from an amazing site devoted to letterhead design. Highly recommended clicking (big thanks to Craig Ward). … Here’s some nice 1965 footage of Virginia Tech playing William & Mary in the first game ever at Lane Stadium (nice find by Michael Kennedy). … Oneonta State’s lacrosse team is wearing some seriously striped jerseys. Additional pics here (with thanks to Tom Langan). … Matthew Algeo wonders if the Hoofddorp Pioniers — a Dutch baseball team — might be getting a call from the Phillies’ legal team. … Brett Crane notes that the Angels don’t seem to be wearing the new BP caps, which is particularly interesting because they never went for the last BP cap design (they stayed with this instead of going to the do-rag stretch panels). … NHL trade deadline news from John Muir, who writes: “According to the Washington Capitals, newly acquired Scott Walker will keep his #24 from Carolina.” … Disappointed to see that Lastings Milledge, who’d gone high-cuffed throughout his career up until now, was pajama-pantsed yesterday. … Here’s something I haven’t seen before: an old Wham-O Frisbee catalog (with thanks to Mike Hersh). … Uni Watch pastry chef Elena Elms reports that over 75 years’ worth of UNC-Chapel Hill yearbooks have been digitized, with lots of good uniform pics and other treatse lurking within. … Ohio State note from Ben Teaford, who writes: “On Senior Night, they gave out the traditional framed jerseys for the seniors. But for some reason they chose to use a jersey style the team hasn’t worn since this senior class was in their freshman year. Maybe they just had some laying around still. Odd choice.” … There’s a new site devoted to the evolution of MLB baseballs (with thanks to Matthew Felix). … Tons of amazing WHA-related stuff — photos, videos, factoids, you name it — at this fantastic site (major thanks to Alan Kreit). … Gumball helmet king Bill Jones has made a new set of helmets for the top three Olympic hockey teams. … Many World Cup-bound teams wore their new kits in a series of international friendly matches over the past couple of days. Michael Orr provides a good round-up here. … In other soccer news, Italy has unviled their new Puma kit (with thanks to Stephen Wong).