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Archive for January, 2007
I’ve got a small piece about Media Day on Page 2 today — here’s the link.
Meanwhile: What is it about the NFL postseason that causes some cities to completely lose their minds? Those purple street lights in Baltimore, for example — that’s just nuts (and believe me, I’d say the same thing if they used red, orange, or even my favorite color, green). And yesterday, a work crew brought a pair of huge, misproportioned Bears helmets to the Art Institute of Chicago and tried to place them onto the stately bronze lions that stand sentry in front of the museum. According to this report, one of the helmets broke; but the wire-service captions to those photos said the helmets “did not fit and were taken away to be resized and installed later in the week.” Either way, serves everyone right for trying to heap such an indignity on the noble statues.
I’m all for civic pride, mind you. I think this, for example, is pretty cool (details on how they did it here). But does a proud, tradition-rich city like Chicago really need one of its two major newspapers to declare that Friday will be “Wear the Bears to Work Day”? I’d like to think that would never happen here in NYC (not that the Jets or Giants show signs of putting that assumption to the test anytime soon). And if anyone ever tried to strap a football helmet on these lions, Super Bowl or no Super Bowl, you can bet some Tank Johnson type would take that sucker out (you didn’t really think you were gonna get through an entire Super Bowl story without a Tank Johnson mention, did you?).
Uni Watch News Ticker: Remember the Baseball Bunch? I’d completely forgotten about it/them until Eric Stangel found this eBay auction. (If this is all new to you, some background info is available here and here.) … Just in time for Barry Bonds’s re-signing, there’s this (with thanks to John Ryan). … “I am from the Dominican Republic and I was digging through some old pictures yesterday,” writes Jean Oliva. “This one, taken in 1934, shows the Leones del Escogido of the Dominican Winter League. Look at the manager’s pants — ahead of its time, don’t you think?” … Scroll down to the last boldfaced section of this page to see how baseball’s best pitcher and my favorite team’s starting shortstop risked frostbite just so New Era could sell a few extra caps. … Illinois and Michigan State went color vs. color last night. … “During last night’s Capitals/Senators game, the TV announcers picked up on the fact the referees — Eric Furlatt and Brad Watson according to the boxscores — were both wearing No. 27,” writes Jeff Barak. According to this roster, Furlatt is the true 27, while Watson usually wears No. 23. Maybe his luggage got lost..? I’ll check with the NHL. … “That’s right, baby, it’s this big!” … True story: At a press conference a few days before Super Bowl III, Weeb Ewbank told that joke whose punchline goes, “All the way down to my balls, and that’s the next question.” Now that was a Media Day. … Perfection.
January 31st, 2007
Two weeks back I wrote about Lovie Smith’s inflatable pump jacket. Now, in the interests of equal time, here’s a note I received a few days ago from Colby Taylor, CEO of Innovative Sports, who has some choice words for Lovie’s outerwear:
Just so you know, that Reebok pump jacket is a rip-off of our zip-in heated jacket, which has been selling to NFL coaches and players since 2003. Reebok can’t match our actual heat technology, so they introduced this joke to battle us for players and fans. … We have a pressure-sensitive fabric switch on the chest to control temperature. Do a Google search for “heated jacket,” or a Google video search for “heated jacket” or “Innovative Sports” — you’ll see the heated jackets we did for SportsCenter, Monday Night Football, and Oregon Coach Mike Bellotti, including jackets I personally did for Carl Ravich, Peter Gammons, John Kruk, and Harold Reynolds for the outdoor postgame shows in Chicago during the 2005 World Series. Pump jacket — please.
Frankly, I think putting the pump jacket (which uses the wearer’s body heat to create a buffer of warm air) up against Innovative’s heated jacket (which is battery-powered) is a bit of an apples/oranges comparison. But I was intrigued by the idea of an electric jacket, so I gave Taylor a call. Here’s what we talked about:
Uni Watch: So how does this jacket liner work?
Colby Taylor: It just zips in seamlessly. So Reebok’s still able to maintain their outerwear brand presence…
UW: Or Nike, or whoever, right? Basically, their outerwear logo is still on display, but meanwhile your zip-in liner is doing its thing underneath, out of sight.
CT: Right. Also, one of the provisions of all of those exclusive contracts — whether it’s Nike’s contract with Oregon, or Reebok’s contract with the NFL — is that if they’re not able to supply what the team wants in apparel form, then the team has the right to go get it somewhere else. So in some cases we’ve been able to slide in there as equipment.
UW: You mean you qualify as “equipment,” instead of “apparel,” so the apparel rules don’t necessarily apply to you?
CT: Exactly. So now I’m thinking Reebok’s gonna be going to NFL equipment managers and saying, “We’ve got this pump jacket now, so you can’t wear Innovative’s products anymore.” That’s my main fear. For example, we’ve had teams like Green Bay, which in the past wanted three zip-in jackets for their coaches. But then suddenly this year, they and everyone else went totally quiet about it. And it’s not because it didn’t work. I think it’s Reebok working behind the scenes — that’s been suggested to me. And I don’t know how much warm air Lovie Smith can pump into that jacket, but ours gets 145 degrees. And we’ve got a battery in there the size of a pack of Tic Tacs.
UW: So is it like an electric blanket?
CT: No. It operates on electrical current, but we use stainless steel yarn that’s the conduit — it literally feels like yarn. There’s also a fabric switch mounted on either the forearm or the chest, which the user can use to control the temperature. And the whole thing’s washable.
UW: Wow! Like, machine washable?
CT: Yes. In addition, there are dual USB and FireWire outputs that you can use to charge your phone, iPod, BlackBerry, anything you carry with you.
UW: Double-wow! So I’m curious, what’s your background? How’d you get involved with all this?
CT: I was a scout for the Brewers and Braves for about 10 years. My father is Dean Taylor, former GM of the Brewers and assistant GM of the Braves. I developed that pitching sleeve concept with the Brewers’ and Braves’ trainers and tested it with the players. Once we got that system the way the players liked it, we took those modular components and can make anything with them.
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Pretty interesting stuff. Later on, Taylor sent me even more info, as follows:
The first guy to wear a heated sideline jacket in all of major football was [Oregon head coach] Mike Bellotti. This jacket was used in the 2003 Civil War game, in November of 2003. This was not a zip-in — we actually took his Nike jacket apart and inserted the electronics, then reassembled it and added a dial controller in the pocket to control temperature. The zip-in solution came the following season, and is what you see on our web site.
That same year, 2003, we did jackets in the winter for Joey Harrington in Detroit and Jake Plummer in Denver. Alex Smith was using one at Utah, and we also did them for KC and Dick Vermeil and their kicker — I think it was Morton Andersen. The Rams got two jackets as well, although I don’t know who wore them.
In addition to the ESPN jackets in the 2005 World Series, we also did Monday Night Football jackets in 2005 for Al Michaels, John Madden, Sam Ryan, Michelle Taffoya, and producer Jeff Dufine. Unfortunately, some ridiculous apparel deal MNF had with some Italian suit company prevented them from wearing them on air, even though it did not carry our logo.
There’s more, but you get the idea. Taylor has generously offered to send me a jacket to test-drive (and he’s promised that it won’t be purple). Full report to follow.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Never mind what Mo Williams wass wearing on his left shoulder — what the hell did Gerald Wallace have under his jersey the other night? … Not uni-related, but there’s a really fascinating logo creep article here. … As long as we’ve been on an all-star kick, check out what the ABA all-stars were wearing. “I leave it up to you to decide which looks more painful,” writes Chuck Miller. “The satiny uniforms with red-blue spangles and piping, or the two players whose shoes seem to match up with their uniforms — or the large crowd disguised as empty seats in the background.” … The Canadiens retired Ken Dryden’s number last night (long overdue, no?) and wore jersey patches to mark the occasion. There were some cool uni-related moments, like Russian goalie Vladislav Tretiak showing up in his old CCCP jersey, Dryden’s brother Dave wearing his old Sabres jersey, and Dryden’s grandchild wearing a tiny Habs outfit. My only gripe: Why did Dryden himself get stuck wearing a jersey with the NHL’s Vintage logo, instead of a clean throwback jersey?
January 30th, 2007
Back in September, I was given a look at the new MLB designs for the 2007 season, on the condition that I not divulge or discuss any of them prior to their official release dates. Most of them, like the Reds’ and Diamondbacks’ makeovers, were pretty conventional. Then I looked at the new Pirates design, and I couldn’t believe what I saw: MLB’s first-ever red vest, worn over black sleeves. Surely this must be a batting practice jersey or something like that, right? Nope, it was listed as the “Alternate Home” uniform.
For four months I sat on that knowledge, telling no one, certain that the whole thing must have been a mistake. There was no way the Buccos would really wear that, right? In recent weeks, as news outlets reported that the team would be “reintroducing red into the team’s color scheme,” I figured they’d just do a red-brimed cap or something like that — not the full-on bleeding vest. About a week ago, I told a friend from Pittsburgh about the red vest (she was horrified), but afterward I felt silly for having alarmed her, because I still couldn’t believe the team would actually go through with it.
On Friday, they proved me wrong. And you know, it’s not an ugly garment per se — I actually like red, black, and yellow together, and the team’s insignia still looks crisp. Really, this concept would make a swell bowling shirt. But as a Major League Baseball uniform — especially one for a team known for wearing black and gold — it’s a total fucking joke, and could single-handedly destroy PNC Park’s well-deserved reputation as a gorgeous place to watch a ballgame.
Incidentally, there’s been some rather disingenuous chatter coming from Pirates HQ about how “red used to be one of our original team colors back in the old days, after all.” True enough — and hey, it’s easy to see the natural evolution from long-ago red-inclusive Pirates uniforms like this, this, and this to the new design. Why, they’re obviously just preserving and honoring their heritage!
Remember the new Uni Watch standard: Is it good or is it stupid? I don’t think that question has ever been more rhetorical than it is here.
Party Update: Remember, Uni Watch party this Saturday, 3pm, at the 12th Street Bar in Brooklyn (just east of the corner of 12th St. and 8th Ave.; F train to 7th Ave. stop).
After extensive research and deliberation, it’s been determined that the San Francisco party (Feb. 7th, 7:30pm) will take place at Lefty O’Doul’s. I know I said I didn’t want a sports bar, but how many sports bars bill themselves as piano bars? I’m a sucker for that (even if they don’t actually have a piano anymore), plus it appears to be a pretty old-school kinda place. If anyone has a serious objection, let me know pronto. Otherwise, I’ll look forward to seeing you there next Wednesday evening.
And the Dallas party (Feb. 8th, 7:30pm) will be at the Ginger Man, a venue that I trust will be less controversial, since many people suggested it.
Uni Watch News Ticker: “I wandered into a bookstore yesterday and stumbled upon a book that seems to be right up your alley,” writes Billy Duss (see link at right). “Basically, the author has gone through most of the English club teams and documented their changing uniforms from 1980 to today. Most clubs change their uniforms every two years, so there is plenty to document.” … Interesting query from Aidan Brand, who writes: “Back when I was a small boy watching Hockey Night in Canada, all the players seemed to wear the same kind of pale blue ringer tee. I thought they were long-sleeved, but they may well have been short-sleeved. I couldn’t for the life of me find a decent photo, but you can catch a glimpse of what I’m talking about in this video of Louis Debrusk and Marty McSorley. Do you know anything about these? Were they as ubiquitous as I remember? If so, why was everyone wearing them? Who made them? Any idea where I could get one?” … Last week’s entry about Scholastic Coach magazine, and its many ads for Sand-Knit uniforms, triggered fond memories for Tim Walker: “I’m a former basketball manager (Indiana 76 NCAA Champion) and son of a high school basketball coach (Paul Walker — HS coach of Jerry Lucas!). My dad generally got new unis every year for the Middletown (Ohio) Middies, and I vividly remember helping him order those double knits! Here’s a warm-up top from those years (Sand-Knit as well). Also: At Indiana, we switched over from leather Cons to Adidas in 1975-76. The Adidas Superstars from the factory had red leather stripes and a leather heel patch, but we often had to get a pair on short notice from the local sporting goods store, which only had the black Adidas stripes. They supplied the managers with a small bottle of crimson leather paint and we would color the stripes by hand. The end result was often pretty ragged, with paint getting on the white leather and the black showing through. I wish I had some pictures of that!” … My friend Ganda Suthivarakom, who runs the very wonderful food blog Eat Drink One Woman (and sings with David Byrne), featured me last Friday in her weekly “You Are What You Eat” feature. … “On the Colts sideline, I always see a person who looks vaguely official, wearing a red polo shirt with a Colts horseshoe on it,” writes Dave Ciskowski. “I figure there must be a reason for it — and perhaps it’s obvious — but I’ve never found an answer.” I’m assuming this is a coach who wants to make it easy for his group of players to identify him when he gives signals from the sideline, but does anyone know any specifics on this one? … Hilarious bit here about pointless Super Bowl merch (big thanks to Paul Hirsch). … Rob Bindeman just got back from attending the Twins Fantasy Camp in Florida. “Each ‘camper’ gets a full home Twins uniform and a BP jersey with his name and number of choice. In addition, the camp directors, Sports Adventures, encourage campers to bring their own uniform to support their favorite team (here’s camper Bill Phillips in a sweet Cubbies uni — note the ‘energy bar’ in his left hand). Former pros in attendance wear either a Twins uniform (like Harmon Killebrew, shown here with me) or the uniform of the team with which they’re most associated or currently affiliated.” … Dave Shucosky reports that the Wilkes-Barre Penguins will wear camouflage unis this Saturday. … Just to show I don’t completely hate Nike: Their “uniform builder” web pages (available for baseball, football, and lots of other sports) are pretty cool. … I’ve occasionally written about uni elements that don’t align (either across separate garments, or sometimes within the same garment). That prompted Flo Zenger to contribute the following: “These are pictures of a German (then) second division soccer team (Stuttgarter Kickers FC) back in 1993. They didn’t just have aligning stripes — their shirts and shorts actually formed the team’s logo. You can imagine what a mess that was when they were playing.” … “Here is a picture for the Japanese BJ-League All-Star Game uniforms,” reports Jeremy Brahm. “The player’s regular team is on the right side on the front of the uniform (the circle in the picture), and the team’s logo is on the back (also circled).” … Lots of great old Rochester Red Wings pics here (with thanks to Jesse Spector). … The Islanders wore 1972 throwbacks on Saturday night. … Speaking the Isles, there’s a good article about their “Fish Sticks” jersey design here (and check out the “More Jersey Stories” links at the bottom of the page — good stuff). … Jason Iapicco wants to know what Mo Williams is wearing on his left shoulder. … Decent article about team logos here. … Not quite uni-related, but Scott M.X. Turner has turned up YouTube video of the opening credits and theme songs for Monday Night Football in 1973 and CBS’s NFL football broadcast in 1970, both of which feature some amazing graphics. You can see them here and here, respectively.
January 29th, 2007
(Photo by Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images)
Carroll Dawson, General Manager of the Houston Rockets, presents Tracy McGrady of the Houston Rockets with his All-Star Uniform.
January 28th, 2007
(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Zach Duke, Adam LaRoche, Jack Wilson, and Freddy Sanchez model various Pirates uniforms during a press conference on Friday.
January 27th, 2007
One winter all-star game down, two to go. The NBA All-Star Game package was unveiled yesterday, and the big news is that the league has finally succumbed to logo creep. The Adidas logo has been stamped on the shorts, marking the first time that a manufacturer’s logo has appeared on an NBA game uni. A league spokesperson assured me yesterday that there are no plans for the logo to appear on regular season uniforms, but this isn’t a good sign, especially since Adidas also put their ubiquitous triple-stripe design on the sides of the All-Star Game shorts and jerseys, plus they’ve got their logo on the headbands and wristbands, effectively making this the Adidas All-Star Game.
Such branding shenanigans notwithstanding, I think the uniforms look pretty good, especially by past All-Star Game standards. This year’s game is being played in Las Vegas, so there was major potential for excess, but they went with a cool retro logo for the game and relatively restrained designs for the jerseys — I like. Even that fliterring-diamond stardust pattern on the side panels works surprisingly well. The only downer is the rear view — I’m not a fan of the two-tone effect, or of players wearing anything on their ass, and putting player names below the uni numbers has “because we can” written all over it — but it’s not a crippling blow.
The warm-up jackets look pretty solid, too. Much like last year, they’re using sleeve patches to chart each player’s past All-Star Game appearances, this time with a Vegas-inspired playing card motif (here’s the East version) — not bad.
Raffle Winner: I’m happy to announce that Matt Fitzpatrick of Brookline, Mass., is our raffle winner for the NHL All-Star jersey. Major thanks to all who entered, and for all the kind words about the site that many of you sent along. More raffles to come in the weeks and months ahead.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Richard Grossman says he was “almost blinded” by Josh Smith’s gold sneakers when he attended Wednesday night’s Celtics/Hawks game. “The entire game, instead of getting mad at the Celtics for blowing a lead, my only other thoughts were on those shoes,” he writes. “Thanks for getting me thinking more aesthetically at a sports event.” … Amusing logo creep cartoon here (with thanks to Gordie Fall). … Fantastic article here about the guy who paints Michigan’s helmets (with extra-special thanks to Chad Klenk, who had to grit his teeth to send an article about his beloved OSU’s arch rivals). … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Andy Roddick began his Australian Open semifinal match against Roger Federer wearing a white shirt, but then he changed into a black shirt midway through the third set (not that it helped any). … Food for thought from Phil Morris, who writes: “You know darn well that the NHL will have the Sabres wear Stanley Cup patches on their jerseys if they make it to the finals. Where will the captains and alternate capt’s wear these patches? Both the right and left upper chest areas are occupied on the current jerseys, and the shoulders have the ‘pierced B’ logo.” … Logo Creep Alert from Zach Hilpert, who came across this notebook at the William & Mary bookstore. “These notebooks are not performance-enhanced,” he writes. “They hold the same amount of sheets as the generic versions, and ‘college ruled’ means the same no matter which you tablet you purchase. The big difference is, for the privilege of shilling for Nike, you get to pay almost twice as much as for, say, the standard Mead/Five Star brand.” … Another table tennis player with atypical attire: Biba Golic (as spotted by Peter Rayno).
January 26th, 2007
There was big news at last night’s NHL All-Star Game, but it had nothing to do with Reebok’s much-vaunted new uniform system. The real story, flying beneath everyone’s radar, was the refs. Why were they wearing silver armbands instead of red? And why were the refs in Tuesday night’s YoungStars game doing likewise? Was this just a special all-star thing?
Nope — turns out this is how the refs will look next season. According to an NHL spokesperson who e-mailed me last night from Dallas, the idea is to give the armbands “a consistent look with the new NHL logo.” Never mind that the “new” NHL logo is now a season and a half old. Or that the old one was black and orange, not black and red, so the refs’ armbands never matched up with that logo to begin with. Or that hockey refs all over the world wear red-banded sleeves, regardless of whether they work for leagues with red logos. Or that the silver bands blend in with the refs’ zebra stripes, making it tougher to tell the refs from the linesmen. Or that the whole idea of basing this particular uniform element on the league’s logo colors is completely arbitrary. Or that not a single word was said about this major change to the game’s look until somebody (me) asked. I don’t like to pile on the NHL, but seriously, what the hell are they smoking over there?
As for the player unis, what a big fuss over nothing. Yes, the actual graphic designs were total crap, but so what? All-star games always look like crap (see any similarities between this and this?), so that’s no surprise. The actual engineering of the new unis, which is the only thing we’ve seen so far, looks mostly fine.
But I emphasize “mostly.” A few things are cause for concern. To wit:
• I cannot stress enough how much I hate the look of those stretch-mesh panels that come up from the armpit to the collar. They were glaringly visible on the Eastern Conference jerseys, but less so on the West, which may mean Reebok still has some work to do in terms of getting the white fabrics to blend under TV lights.
• As if we all didn’t know already, jersey side panels and striped breezers tend to misalign when the players are actually moving. Why is it so hard for the NHL and Reebok people to grasp this simple fact?
• And as if we all didn’t know this too, that deep wishbone collar looks ridiculous, especially with the NHL logo pushed down so low. Fortunately, this collar style will not be a league-wide thing, but let’s hope no team uses it. V-neck, square neck, lace-up, whatever — anything’s better than this.
As for the slimmer fit and all that, I thought it looked fine. Wake me when the Canadiens announce their 2007-08 jersey.
All-Star Jersey Raffle — Last Call: Okay, forget all the negative things I just said about the NHL All-Star jerseys, because this one is being raffled off tonight. If you haven’t entered yet, PayPal me ($5 for one virtual raffle ticket, $10 for two, etc.) at paul_lukas at earthlink dot net by 10pm eastern in order to get your name in the hat. I’ll announce the winner tomorrow.
Post-Holiday Cheer: Got a visit yesterday from the UPS guy, who delivered a very light, flat package. Inside was this embroidered emblem and the following letter from reader Jeff Stephens of Middlebury, Indiana:
Happy Holidays! I know it’s a little late, but here’s a piece of “holiday cheer” I had made up for you. My mother has an embroidery business on the side, and she has an old chenille machine that she uses to make letters, chevrons, names, graduation years, and just about any kind of patch you might see on a letter jacket. I’ve had her make patches and such before, and her work is very good. So I asked her to make this “UW” patch, and she did it in no time flat.
I know the font is not exactly like the Uni Watch logo, but the colors match. You could purchase a jacket or display it in some other way. I just wanted to send something to thank you for all the hard work you put in on the blog and your ESPN column.
Man, is that a super-cool gift or what? Über-thanks to Jeff and his mom! And I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating: Uni Watch readers are the best. Thanks to everyone for all the contributions — chenille and otherwise — that flow into Uni Watch HQ each day. You people all rock.
Uni Watch News Ticker: This AP photo shows a scene from the very first Cleveland Browns game, in 1946. “What’s really interesting is the numbers are orange with a white outline,” says Jeff Lindquist, who discovered the photo on this message board thread. “Most Browns fans know that the numbers have been solid white on the dark jerseys and seal brown on the white jerseys for most of the team’s history (although those awful orange unis from a few years ago had drop-shadowed numbers).” … “Mascots usually wear a uniform jersey consistent with what the team is wearing on the field/court/ice,” writes Doug Keklak. “But look at this photo, which ran in Sunday’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Compare that jersey to Pitt’s two hockey squads, here and here. I’d be curious to hear from any other Pittsburgh-area folks if that jersey the Panther is wearing has ever been worn by the team.” … According to this article, the Florida Panthers will have “a much more contemporary look” next season (with thanks to Perry Gattegno). … And as many of you already know, Minnesota is making changes too. … “I just came across this article,” writes Jack Krabbe. “I’m really confused as to why Satchel Paige has his name on his jersey.” Anyone..? … Good hockey equipment timeline (reprinted from this booklet) toward the end of this blog post (with thanks to Vincent Vignola). … “I just got the 1987 National League Green Book on eBay for a project I’m working on,” writes Jesse Spector. “It had two pages of uniform specs for that season, so I scanned them and am passing them on.” … Eric Carsner has come up with another collegiate logo mascot wearing a sailor and/or freshman cap, as seen here. “I remembered this Michigan logo being on some of my older Rose Bowl shirts, but I don’t recall seeing them anywhere else.” … The NBA All-Star Game uniform packages (including shorts, warm-ups, etc.) will be officially unveiled tonight at 7pm. I’ll have coverage tomorrow. … NFL officiating executive Larry Upson has cleared up a point we’ve occasionally discussed here: According to what Upson told me yesterday, NFL teams wearing black shoes must wear black shoelaces, and white-shod teams must wear white laces. So this is technically a violation. … White-laced black shoes are also visible here, but the real story in that photo is Thomas Jones’s socks (good catch by Jacob Reed). … Our own Scott M.X. Turner sent along this photo of his 1975 Pony League team in Greensboro, North Carolina. That’s Scott at front left, No. 5, looking pretty classic. But check out the kid next to him — higher stirrups and white shoes with green laces! Major clash of styles there. … I did a really fun interview last night with the here or stream it here (either way, my segment, which lasts about 20 minutes, kicks in a little more than halfway through the two-hour show).
January 25th, 2007
I love trade magazines. American Funeral Director, Hay and Forage Grower, Elevator World, Demolition, American Jails — each of these very real magazines provides a peek into a previously unseen and largely unimagined world. The best part is the ads, which provide solutions for problems you never thought of before (prison furniture, for example, needs to be very sturdy, in case some violent felon starts tossing it against a wall).
I have copies of all the above-mentioned mags, and many more (including several copies of Referee, “The Magazine for Sports Officials,” which has lots of ads for whistles). Until recently, however, I hadn’t been aware of the trade mag I most needed to know about. That would be Coach and Athletic Director (or, as it used to be known, Scholastic Coach), where a lot of the ads are for uniforms and related equipment.
Uni Watch design director Scott M.X. Turner collects old issues of Scholastic Coach and recently stopped by Uni Watch HQ with a bunch of copies from the 1950s-’70s. The ads provide some interesting windows into the state of uniform and equipment design during that period. First, here are some comments from Scott:
• Although the baseball world was “surprised” when the Pirates switched from flannels to polyester doubleknits in the middle of the 1970 season, this Sand-Knit ad appeared in the fall of 1969. Any high-school/amateur coach would’ve known about doubleknits from this ad. [As an aside, Sand-Knit appears to have had consistently high production values in its Scholastic Coach advertising. Great stuff, as you can see here, here, here, here, here. -- PL]
• Here’s an amazing 1957 advert from Spanjian. They were revolutionizing baseball fabric more than a decade before the doubleknit revolution (or so they hoped) — cotton/nylon blend, with hopes of phasing out wool flannel.
• There are all sorts of titillating possibilities here and here.
• Not an ad, but there are some great grouch-old-coach tips from a guy who’d probably slit his wrists if he saw what was going on today. Start reading halfway down the right-hand column on this page.
And now some thoughts from me:
• When you see three stripes today, you instantly think, “Adidas.” So it’s surprising to see how many non-Adidas brands used to put three stripes on their sneakers and cleats, as seen here, here, and here.
• How many kids do you think learned to dribble a basketball using this?
• I’ve written in the past about how old basketball cards often depicted players wearing their jerseys backwards, because the card companies weren’t allowed to reproduce the NBA’s trademarks. Turns out the same protocol was used for ads.
• Today we generally think of Rawlings as a company that makes equipment, not apparel. And judging from this 1970 ad, it’s easy to see why.
• Never seen a pad setup quite like the one shown on the left side of this ad.
• If I’d been a coach in the late 1960s, I’d have bought my undershirts from these guys just because of their vertically and negatively arched lettering.
• I love how this company was trying to double-dip into the uniform and varsity blazer markets.
• How come this never caught on?
• Did they draw these templates on a napkin during lunch or what?
And now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to catch up on the lastest issue of National Hog Farmer.
In Case You Missed It: If you didn’t see yesterday’s post, scroll down to the “NHL All-Star Raffle” section for news on the latest Uni Watch giveaway.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Spot-on analysis by Mark Yacovetta, who writes: “With the Patriots’ loss on Sunday, Belichick will be the coach of the AFC team in the Pro Bowl. You know what this means: the Hood wearing a Hawaiian shirt. I never watch the Pro Bowl, but this may make me tune in.” … Interesting logo-litigation article here. … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Check out Dave Meggett’s unusual chinstrap style. … Rugby note from Daniel Brown, who’s intrigued by this practice session photo of the England International Rugby Team. “I’ve seen the NFL practices where the QBs wear red jerseys, so the defense knows not to hit them,” he writes. “But I don’t think I ever seen a jersey with that message actually written on it.” … Uni Watch intern Vince Grzegorek reports that Antonio Pittman was wearing LaCoste clothing when he declared for the NFL draft last week. “One columnist from the Cleveland Plain Dealer actually wondered why Pittman couldn’t just get dressed up in a bunch of Nike stuff like everybody else,” says Vince. “And especially after OSU got trounced by the Florida Gators the week before, was a crocodile logo really the best fashion choice?”
January 24th, 2007
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