Archive for February, 2007
For the most part I don’t get too bent out of shape about Adidas’s three stripes. I mean, I like stripes.
But last night’s NBA All-Star game was too much. From the warm-up suits to the side piping on the uniforms to the refs, the whole thing felt like an Adidas commercial. The biggest surprise was that they somehow forgot to add stripes to the cheerleaders’ outfits.
Other notes from All-Star Weekend:
• Gerald Green won the Slam Dunk competition while wearing a Red Auerbach memorial headband, essentially the road version of the one Paul Pierce wore at the beginning of the season.
• As noted in our weekend comments, only the defending champions got to wear home uniforms for each of the skills competition: the San Antonio team in the Shooting Stars competition; Dwyane Wade in the Skills Challenge; Dirk Nowitzki in the Three-Point Shootout; and Nate Robinson in the Slam Dunk.
• Putting the conference names on the headbands is one thing. But putting them on the socks is a bit much, no?
• I hate that little triangular patch of fabric that keeps showing up at the base of the collar on so many jersey designs these days. Utterly pointless. A classic example of failing the “Is it good or is it stupid?” test.
• The two-tone rear design didn’t look so bad when the dominant tone was white, but it bothered me a lot more when the dominant tone was dark.
• Despite all of the above, a pretty good-looking game, no?
Uni Watch News Ticker: Reprinted from Friday’s comments: Great piece here about how former A’s feel about the team’s white cleats. … Charles Sliter came across this cool photo of the 1907 English Lacrosse League champions, Old Hulmeians from Manchester. … Very condensed history of the UK soccer jersey here (with thanks to Mike Munch). … “Here is a great resource for looking up old football uniforms,” writes Jeff Barak. “The great thing is, you can look at all the teams from a set or scroll down to the list of teams and look at just cards from a particular team. My favorite is the 1951 Bowman set, since each card has a classic logo on it.” … Reprinted from Saturday’s comments: I didn’t know that when Eric Davis made his MLB debut with the Reds, he didn’t have a uni number for his first plate appearance. … UCLA and Arizona went color-vs.-color on Saturday. … It’s not often that you see a manager doing the inside-out pocket thing, but check out new Nats skipper Manny Acta. … Ramon Castro appears to have changed equipment sponsors, from Louisville/TPX to Rawlings. … Interesting volleyball typeface here (as spotted by Jeremy Brahm, who also points out the odd slogan on this jersey, although I’m more interested in the collar design). … We should have another Distant Replays gift card to raffle off later this week — stay tuned.
February 19th, 2007
(Photo by Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images)
Amare Stoudemire is one of several players who’ll be wearing new sneaker designs in today’s NBA All-Star Game. Others include Kobe Bryant and Chauncey Billups.
February 18th, 2007
By John Ekdahl
NASCAR kicks off its 2007 season on Sunday with the 49th running of the Daytona 500. “The Great American Race” has grown exponentially since its humble beginnings in 1959. Last year’s race attracted 20 million viewers, making it the sixth-most-watched live sporting event of the year and Sunday’s winner will receive $18,386,023, the most in history. Still, many avid sports fans don’t consider driving race cars a sport, and some uni watchers might not view NASCAR as a good subject for uniforms, but let’s save those arguments for another day.
There’s been plenty of buzz surrounding the race this year, but not all of it has been good. Unfortunately, these scandals have overshadowed the biggest story line of the 2007 season — NASCAR is going global. Juan Pablo Montoya left Formula 1 racing to join NASCAR this season and Toyota will become the first non-U.S. automaker to compete in the NASCAR circuit. This, of course, is driving the good ol’ boys nuts, but you could make the argument that Toyota is pretty much an American company these days. I’ll let you try to tell the old guard that, though.
Uniform changes in sports are saved for the off-season, and NASCAR isn’t much different — there’s just a lot more of it. There’s a reshuffling of teams, sponsors, numbers, and colors every year, and I’ll try to make some sense out of it.
(One note: Many of the photo links that follow are suddenly being “difficult.” If you click on a link and get a blank window, highlight the URL in the window’s address line, cut it [command-x], paste it right back into the address line [command-v], and hit enter — you should see the photo then. Yes, it’s a pain. Sorry.)
Mark Martin — #01. After deciding to call off his retirement and return for another season, Mark Martin had to find a new ride. Last year, Martin drove the #6 AAA Ford and this year he switched over to the U.S. Army #01 car.
Martin Truex, Jr. — #1. Martin Truex’s Bass Pro Shops Chevy hasn’t changed much from the 2006 version.
Kurt Busch — #2. The Miller Lite Dodge is pretty much identical to last year’s car. His unpopularity hasn’t changed much, either.
Kyle Busch — #5. Kyle’s Kellogg’s Chevy added some red highlights, compared to the red-free version last year. Kyle’s #5 car does occasionally change the hood to reflect the team’s other main sponsor.
Clint Bowyer — #07. Clint Bowyer drove the Jack Daniel’s Chevy last year and will be doing the same this year .
Robby Gordon — #7. There’s a slight change in the striping to Robby’s 2007 Jim Beam Ford, compared to last year’s.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. — #8. There’s been a lot of talk about whether or not Dale would leave DEI this season to join another team, but his number 8 Budweiser Chevy hasn’t changed from last year.
Kasey Kahne — #9. Kasey’s Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge has its normal red and white color scheme. Last year during the Coca-Cola 600, the colors were reversed.
Scott Riggs — #10. Scott’s Valvoline Dodge Charger looked like this in 2006 and doesn’t look much different in 2007.
Denny Hamlin — #11. The FedEx #11 Chevy hasn’t chaged from 2006 to 2007.
Ryan Newman — #12. This year, the Alltel team has reversed the color scheme. Here’s the 2006 car and here’s the 2007 Alltel Dodge.
Joe Nemechek — #13. Joe changed both numbers and sponsors from last year. His 2006 car was sponsored by the U.S. Army and his 2007 car is sponsored by CertainTeed.
Sterling Marlin — #14. Sterling Marlin’s 2007 Waste Management Chevy has a different paint scheme from last year’s car.
Greg Biffle — #16. Last year, Biffle’s #16 Ford was sponsored by the National Guard. At this year’s Daytona 500, Biffle will be sponsored by Ameriquest, although his number will remain the same.
Matt Kenseth — #17. The #17 DeWalt Ford will have some minor paint changes from last year. The 2006 car had a little less yellow on the hood and a slightly different side striping than the 2007 car.
J.J. Yeley — #18. Yeley’s Interstate Batteries Chevy got a bit of a jazzed up makeover for the Daytona 500. This is his car from a race last year.
Elliot Sadler — #19. Sadler’s ride has “ditched the black” (most of it, anyway) from last year’s car and went with a new paint scheme that more closely matches his teammate Kasey Kahne’s car.
Tony Stewart — #20. The #20 Home Depot Chevy looks the same this year as it did last year. I’m hoping on Sunday he’s doing more of this, and less of this.
Dave Blaney — #22. Dave Blaney’s Caterpiller has changed its striping from last year and also made the big move to Toyota.
Jeff Gordon — #24. Gordon raced his way to the top of the starting grid for Sunday’s race, but was thrown to the back of the field after his 2007 Dupont Chevy was found to be too low to the ground. Not much has changed from last year’s car, but they tend to change up the paint scheme for a few races during the year.
Casey Mears — #25. Greg Biffle’s old sponsor jumped on with Casey this year. Texaco was his sponsor last year).
Jamie McMurray — #26. It’s not getting any easier on Paul’s eyes as Jamie’s Crown Royal Ford looks identical to last year’s eyesore.
Kevin Harvick — #29. Kevin scored a new sponsorship this season. Last year he drove the #29 GM Goodwrench Chevy and this year he switched over to the #29 Shell/Penzoil Chevy.
Jeff Burton — #31. Burton will be driving the same signal flare orange Cingular Chevy as he did last season.
Jeremy Mayfield — #36. Mayfield was driving the #19 Dodge Dealers Charger last season until he was eventually fired. This year he’ll be in the 360 OTC Toyota. Bonus points to whoever can determine what 360 OTC actually is.
David Gilliland — #38. David’s car will remain the same this season, but they do switch up the placement of the M&M’s on the hood. Compare this year to last year.
Reed Sorenson — #41. Reed’s car remains more or less unchanged, aside from the slight stripe change on the rear quarterpanel on this year’s car.
Juan Pablo Montoya — #42. Everyone is excited to see how Juan will be able to handle the change from Formula 1 to NASCAR. He’ll be in Casey Mears’ old car, the #42 Texaco Havoline Dodge.
Bobby LaBonte — #43. Bobby will be driving the same Cheerios Dodge as he did last season.
Dale Jarrett — #44. Jarrett was one of the eight drivers to switch over to Toyotas this year, which required him to change his number from the familiar #88. UPS made the move over with Dale, which means he’ll still have to endure more “Are you gonna race the truck?” jokes for at least one more season.
Jimmie Johnson — #48. Jimmie was the Nextel Cup champ last season and he’ll be driving the same Lowe’s Chevy as he did last season.
Michael Waltrip — #55. Well, the start to Michael’s season did not go as well as he had hoped. Waltrip’s crew chief was suspended indefinitely after a foreign substance (believed to be jet fuel) was found in his intake manifold. Waltrip was supposed to be the poster boy for Toyota’s historic entrance into NASCAR, but it’s been a rather embarrassing beginning to the partnership. Here’s Waltrip’s car from last year, and here’s his new ride.
Jeff Green — #66. Jeff’s Best Buy Chevy has a slightly different paint scheme from last season.
Brian Vickers — #83. Red Bull jumped into NASCAR this year and they’re sponsoring Brian for the 2007 season. Last year, Brian was with GMAC.
Ricky Rudd — #88. Ricky decided to come back full time this season after taking a sabbatical to spend time with his family last year. Ricky will be using Dale Jarrett’s old number 88 and he’ll be in the Snickers car.
Carl Edwards — #99. Carl will be driving the Office Depot Ford in 2007, just as he did at the end of last year. If Carl takes the checkered flag on Sunday, we’ll undoubtedly see his signature victory celebration.
Well, I think that about covers it. Some NASCAR teams do specialty paint jobs for a race or two during the season, so I’ll try to make Paul aware of any “alternate” paint schemes, like the one Dale Earnhardt, Jr. did last year in honor of his late father. Enjoy the race!
February 17th, 2007
Almost every day I get e-mails from readers, telling me about this or that uni development that they’ve noticed. But Zach Smith, who wrote to me yesterday, went a step further — instead of just telling me about something, he investigated it first, and came up with some revealing information about the inner workings of a big-time college hoops program. Here’s what he sent me:
I’m a student at Wake Forest. At our basketball game Wednesday night against Clemson, we wore a throwback uniform that at the time I didn’t recognize. It also had a patch that I couldn’t quite make out. I haven’t been able to find any pictures of it, but the still shot from ESPN.com’s video highlights shows it reasonably well.
I was curious, so I sent e-mails today to several people in the athletic department, including Mike Muse, Director of Basketball Operations, and Dean Buchan, Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations asking about the uniforms. Here were their replies [and my exchanges with them]:
Dean Buchan: Uniforms are modeled after 1962 Final Four team. We wore them once last season as part of our 100th season celebration. The patch documents the 100th season (we just left the patch on there from last season).
Zach Smith: Thanks for the information! Were they worn last night just for fun, or was there some special reason for breaking them out again? Whose decision was it to wear them?
Buchan: They just wanted to try something new and they like the look of the uniforms.
——
That wasn’t a great response, since it clearly wasn’t “something new” in any way — they’re throwbacks and they wore them last year. But Mike Muse’s response was a bit more helpful:
Mike Muse: Patch was for the 100-year anniversary that took place last year. Uniforms were a throwback to the 1962 year — that was the final four team.
Zach Smith: Thanks for the info. Out of curiosity, whose decision was it to wear them? Was there any kind of special occasion or was it just for fun?
Mike Muse: Coaching staff decision! As a tribute to our past history.
I actually really liked the uniform, although I found it a little interesting that they would just recycle something like that from last year and leave the 100-year patch on it. I can’t recall any other times when teams randomly wore throwbacks and didn’t mention anything about it or plan it out or anything. The whole thing seemed pretty spur of the moment.
Coupla thoughts here: First, kudos to Zach for taking the initiative to investigate the situation on his own instead of leaving it up to someone else (read: me). And I’m impressed that Muse and Buchan both answered him so quickly, even if their responses left a lot to be desired (welcome to my world).
But what’s the deal with using last year’s throwbacks? Something doesn’t add up. Like, if they saved the uniforms, that means they were intending (or at least considering) to use them again, so why wouldn’t they remove the 100th-anniversary patch? And since last year’s roster wasn’t the same as this year’s, would they have to make adjustments in sizing, uni numbers, etc.? Something doesn’t quite add up here. Hmmmmm….
Extra! Saturday Edition on Tap: Webmaster John Ekdahl will be contributing a bonus entry tomorrow. You’ll either be excited or appalled, depending on your viewpoint, to learn that the subject will be NASCAR (a sport I know even less about than soccer). John is down in Daytona at this very moment, in fact — he said something about siphoning jet fuel from Michael Waltrip’s car — so he’ll be delivering the on-scene uni news as the racing season kicks off. Assuming there are any drivers left who haven’t been disqualified by then, that is.
Monday’s a holiday, but I’ll probably do a small entry that day anyway. Uni Watch never (well, rarely) rests!
Uni Watch News Ticker: As most of you have probably heard by now, the Yankees will wear a black armband in honor of Cory Lidle this season. … Looking to customize a jersey? “You can order yards and yards of tackle twill and other cool things from this site,” reports Joe Hilseberg. “They even have a custom cut center where you can order pre-made transfers with vinyl names and numbers that, for those of us who have heat presses, can be used to make quick personalized shirts.” … Jason Isringhausen appears to be wearing his faux-stirrup socks down at his ankles (as spotted by M. Keegan). … Hahahahahahaha. … Steve Johnston reports that White Sox outfielder Brian Anderson is changing his uniform number from 44 to 32. … According to Josh Yetmar, this is what the 1978-79 Cleveland Barons would have worn, had they not merged with the North Stars. Further details here. … Hilarious article here about Scott Schoeneweis’s reaction when he showed up at Mets camp and found he’d been assigned uni number 36, instead of his longtime 60.
February 16th, 2007
New ESPN column today — here’s the link.
Meanwhile: One of the highlights of my recent trip to San Francisco was seeing my good friends and Uni Watch ukulele masters Christine and Greg Freeman (shown here flanking the equally estimable Mr. Tim Cook), who are two of the best people I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. At one point while we were hanging out, Christine asked, “So have you written yet about Dock Ellis wearing hair curlers?”
Adopting the tone of a sage elder dealing with an enthusiastic but inexperienced youth, I patiently explained to Christine that Dock Ellis was the guy who tossed a no-hitter while tripping on acid, not the guy who wore curlers. “In fact,” I concluded, full of the wisdom and intelligence that come with years on the uni beat, “I’m not aware of any big league player who’s worn curlers. But whoever you’re thinking of, it certainly wasn’t Dock Ellis.” Somehow resisting the urge to give her an understanding pat on the head, I sat back in my chair and smiled, secure in the knowledge that another misconception had been set aright.
Two days later I awoke to the following e-mail from Christine: “I couldn’t wait to finish work today so I could find you a picture of Dock Ellis in curlers. But there’s more — he gave the Baseball Reliquary his curlers. Turns out he didn’t wear them in games, just in pregame warm-ups.”
Well, dang — I sure missed the boat on this one. Christine, to her credit, was too polite to say, “I told you so” (or, perhaps more appropriately, “Boy, Paul, could you possibly have been more of a condescending jerk?”). Not only that, but she graciously offered to transcribe the curlers-centric portion of Ellis’s biography, Dock Ellis in the Country of Baseball — an offer I readily accepted.
The book, which is still available (see link at right), was written by Donald Hall and published in 1976, when Ellis was still pitching in the majors. Here’s the part that concerns us:
[1973] was also the year of the curlers. Dock has always paid as much attention to his hair as to his clothes. When he was in high school his Quo Vadis haircut earned him the nickname of Peanut, soon shortened to Nut. He has straightened his hair, cornrolled his hair, plaited his hair, let his hair grow out to a bushy Afro, and clipped it tight. He has even shaved his head. Ebony ran a feature on Dock’s various hair-styles.
So when he started wearing curlers to the ball park, in 1973, Dock-watchers should not have been surprised. In August of that year, someone photographed Dock hanging around the bullpen, before the game, with a special size nine baseball cap over his curlers, but with curlers clearly visible beside his ears.
Dock wore them only during practice. Yet word came down, from on high, that when he wore curlers he was “out of uniform.” He was to cease and desist.
He did, but not before he spoke his mind. “I know the orders came from [MLB commissioner] Bowie Kuhn,” Dock told [NL president] Charlie Feeney. “I don’t like it.” Look around. There are fellows who wear white shoes in practice. Some wear jackets. Others don’t wear hats. I wasn’t going to say anything, but since they seem to be aiming in my direction, I’m going to say things.
“Only a few years ago, ballplayers weren’t allowed to wear mustaches or goatees, long hair or sideburns. Now all that is okay. Baseball caught up with the times. Now they’re getting behind again There are many black men who wear curlers to help their hair. I didn’t hear anybody put out any orders about Joe Pepitone when he wore a hairpiece that went down to his shoulders.”
I find myself curious about the curlers, as if there were more to the story than meets the eye. For one thing, although I spend a good deal of time with Dock, I never see him wearing curlers around the house. I wonder why he wore them just before games. I ask him.
“That’s when I was throwing spitballs. When I had the curlers, my hair would be straight. Down the back. On the ends would be nothing but balls of sweat.”
“Spitballs!” I say. That was one pitch Dock hadn’t told me about. “So you wore curlers for the sake of pitching?”
“Oh yes! Just one touch at a time. It was something I experimented with. I do well with them.”
So there you have it. Anyone know of any other athletes who’ve worn curlers on the field (even if only during pregame warm-ups)?
Research Request: Yesterday’s comments included a report that Peyton Manning changed his Super Bowl uniform during halftime, for luck. I know of several other examples of uni-related superstitions (Joe Montana wearing the same jersey in Super Bowl XXIII that he’d worn in Super Bowl XIX; a team sticking with a particular uni design during a winning streak; rally caps; etc.), but I’m looking for more. Know of any? Do tell.
Just to clarify, I’m not looking for something like Wayne Gretzky hiking up one side of his jersey hem, or John Franco honoring his father by wearing a New York Sanitation Dept. T-shirt — those are signature styles, but they’re not superstitions per se. I’m looking for things specifically done for luck, or to break a streak of bad luck, or for some similar reason. OK? OK. Big thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.
Uni Watch News Ticker: The Hornets and Sixers both wore their new red uniforms last night. … I’ve written in the past about Cowboys who’ve tied down their jerseys to their shoulder pads, thanks to a little reinforced eyelet patch that’s added to the jerseys (some ex-Cowboys do this, too). Now Nicholas Hernandez has provided the best views yet of how this is done. He writes: “The auction house I work for recently got a shipment of game-worn Cowboys unis, and sure enough, several of them had the alteration done to them. It’s just a small piece of tackle twill with a hole punched in it [here's a closer view]. The player has the option of punching it through to the jersey. All it does is prohibit the jersey from continuing to tear once the hole is made. Terry Glenn’s is unpunched [front, back]. And here’s a shot of Demarcus Ware’s gamer with the knot of the shoelace still attached.” … Manny Delcarmen and Jon Lester of the Red Sox are changing their numbers, reports Alec Long. Delcarmen’s switching from 57 to 17, and Lester from 62 to 31. … Faaaaaascinating note from Jared Hartung of the Arizona Daily News-Sun: “I was talking to the Texas Rangers’ equipment manager about the new BP jerseys and he said that it’s been a hassle getting used to the new material. He said that he and fellow equipment managers have to learn how to use a heat press again because the jersey tops can’t handle the heavy numbers and stitching it takes to apply them. ‘It’s been years since any of us have used a heat press,’ he said. ‘It’s going to take some time to get used to.’ ” I can hear Joe Hilseberg laughing all the way from Baltimore. … NHL players usually write their uni number on the tape at the top of their sticks, but Alex Ovechkin, who wears No. 8, has been turning his 8s into little illustrations. There’s a mention of it here, which led to a fuller treatment of it here (with thanks to Kim Kolb). … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: The Cubs are going to put Under Armour ads on Wrigley Field’s outfield doors. … “There are some pics floating around of the upcoming George Clooney movie Leatherheads,” writes Mike Fiala. “I love the striped jersey, although the hosiery really lacks something.”
February 15th, 2007
Yesterday’s brief News Ticker mention of baseball cap surgery procedures prompted an unexpectedly large reaction, so this seems like a good time to mention that a few months ago I started getting e-mails from a reader named David Goodfriend. He said he had a big baseball cap collection and that New Era was interested in acquiring it for a museum they were planning to set up. He asked me not to write about it until the matter was settled, and every now and then he’d send me an update.
The latest of those updates came a few weeks ago, when David said he’d decided to hold onto his collection and was now ready to talk with me. So I gave him a call.
Unfortunately, David doesn’t currently have access to photos of his collection (or to the collection itself, which is in storage). Still, our interview contains some fascinating info about New Era, and about the state of MLB merchandising 25 years ago. Dig:
Uni Watch: How old are you, where do you live, and what do you do?
David Goodfriend: I’m 56, and I live in Arlington, Virginia. I’m a researcher for the Associated Press and a musician.
UW: Were you a sports fan growing up?
DG: Always.
UW: Were you a collector?
DG: Well, baseball cards. But nothing else.
UW: So how’d you start collecting caps?
DG: Well, I grew up in New Jersey, but I’ve lived in the DC area since 1975, so we used to go to games in Baltimore. And one day I just happened to buy a St. Louis Cardinals hat at the game.
UW: And when was this?
DG: Around 1977. I really don’t know what made me do it — I just thought it was a nice hat. I started wearing it to softball games, got some compliments on it, and it got me thinking about baseball hats. I started noticing them more. One day in the winter of 1978, there was a brief blurb in the Washington Post about a baseball card convention that was going to take place at George Mason University. And at this convention, it said, would be a representative from New Era. And they’d be selling the caps to the public.
UW: And back then…
DG: Back then that was very rare. Merchandising wasn’t like it is now. So my friend and I went to this convention, and there was the New Era guy. I remember I bought a Minnesota Twins hat. My friend bought a Red Sox hat and a Cubs hat. Then, about a month later, my brother-in-law — who was working with my dad in New Jersey — called me up and said he’d noticed a store in Cliffside Park selling baseball hats. And I said, “No, nobody’s selling these.”
UW: It’s so funny to think about that now, because everyone sells authentic MLB caps. But back then they were hard to find.
DG: Exactly. So I went to this store, and it turned out to be Manny’s Baseball Land. It was a tiny little store, but they had all these hats — I was completely blown away. So my friend and I went up there from time to time, and we’d buy a few hats, and at one point Manny’s daughter, Lisa, said, “Listen, do you guys want to see our stockroom? You’re the only two people who buy these hats.”
UW: And you were just buying standard Major League Baseball caps?
DG: Yes. And that’s when I really started collecting them. And I should point out, I own nothing that’s game-worn. I have a few hats from the 1940s and ’50s, and a quite a few from the 1960s. But the unique thing about my collection is that from 1978 through 1982 or ‘83, I have everything — any hat worn by any team during that period.
UW: So you’ve got the full set of all 28 teams for 1978, or however many teams there were that year.
DG: Yeah. And if they changed their hat design, I’d buy the new one.
UW: So you became a completist, for the then-current era.
DG: Yeah, for about four or five years.
UW: What happened after that?
DG: It just got to be enough — they were taking over my life. But I used to have them on my wall, all displayed. And it’s funny, guys would come over and just ignore them, but women loved them. They loved the colors, and the look of them.
UW: It was a chick magnet!
DG: It was my only hope, believe me. Anyway, it kinda looked nice. Now all the hats are stored away now at my mom’s place. They’re in boxes, in a climate-controlled room.
UW: How many of these are we talking about?
DG: Probably between 120 and 150.
UW: Did you actually wear all of these, or any of them?
DG: I hardly wore any of them. I usually wore a Mets hat, because they were my favorite team. And I couldn’t walk down the street without someone asking me where I’d gotten it, because you just didn’t see authentic hats in those days.
UW: What about that very first Cardinals cap — the one that got you started on all this?
DG: Unfortunately, that’s gone. I should have saved it, but it got worn out.
UW: Now what about your recent communications with New Era?
DG: I was on their web site last fall, and I saw that they had a notice on there, saying that they were trying to create a New Era museum, and they wanted donations.
UW: To help document their own history?
DG: Exactly. So I contacted them and said, “I have some things you may be interested in.” And they got back in touch and said, “We’d love to have you donate them.” And I responded, “Wait, I said nothing about donating them.” I said, “Your company has a terrible labor reputation” — and they do. And if you talk to any retailers, they’re a nightmare to deal with. I also said, “You asking me for this stuff tells me that you didn’t bother to save it,” and what does that say about them?
UW: Yeah. Y’know, it’d be one thing if they didn’t have caps from the very beginnings of the company. But I’m really surprised that they wouldn’t have stuff from the 1970s and ’80s.
DG: Yeah, that’s bad. Now, I have to say, the guy I was dealing with — his name was Jim Wannemaker — could not have been nicer.
UW: Even when you said they had a bad labor reputation?
DG: Yes, even then. He actually thanked me for that, and said, “It’s always good to know what people are saying about us.” He also said, “You’re right, we didn’t save anything.” He said they were a small company and it was all we could do just to get the orders filled for the Major League teams.
UW: That’s pretty short-sighted.
DG: I agree. And I said, “Look, I don’t want to donate these, but I’d consider exchanging them for a current set, or something like that.” And he said he was open to the deal, but of course he needed to see my hats first. And I said, “Okay, the next time I go visit my mom, I’ll take some photos.”
UW: So did you do that?
DG: No. The more I thought about it, I decided I didn’t want to part with the collection right now. So that’s what I told them, and again, they couldn’t have been nicer about it. They said I could stop by the plant any time I’m in Buffalo and they’d give me a tour. And what I’ve basically arranged is that if anything happens to me, the hats will end up with them.
UW: So do you have any old photos of the wall of caps, or of yourself wearing some of the caps?
DG: No, unfortunately. I may have some old photos packed away, but I don’t have access to them right now.
UW: Are caps today different from the ones you collected?
DG: The crown on the old hats was so high, it was ridiculous.
UW: Much higher than today?
DG: Yes, definitely. And the sweatband on the old hats was leather. Also, there were a few teams — the Red Sox and I think the Orioles — that didn’t wear New Era for a season or two. They wore Roman Pro. Are you familiar with that brand?
UW: No. I thought all MLB teams have worn New Era for, like, decades.
DG: Roman Pro was a company from Brockton, Massachusetts, and a few teams wore their hats. You could tell the difference — they were a little cut lower, like the old-time hats.
UW: Any other distinctive characteristics of the older New Era models?
DG: I think the wool was a bit softer then. Better wool, maybe. The brim was a little stiffer in the old days. And of course most of the teams had green under the brims back then. Otherwise they’re basically the same.
UW: Do they seem equally sturdy, the old ones and the new ones?
DG: Yes.
UW: Was the sizing more consistent back then?
DG: Yes. When I was buying hats at Manny’s, I always took a 7-1/8. Now, if I’m buying a hat, I say, “Give me three 7-1/4s and three 7-1/8s, and I try them all on, because I don’t know which one will fit.
UW: I notice you don’t use the word cap — you use hat.
DG: Yeah, I don’t know. It’s just the term I use.
UW: Did you used to play baseball when you were a kid?
DG: Yeah, in high school. And, ironically, I hated wearing baseball hats back then — I only wore them because you had to. I was more into — you’ll dig this — I was more into the stirrups. Back then the stirrup openings were very small, and they didn’t show a lot of white sock. So I would have my mom cut them sew some extra material into them, so they’d look like Mickey Mantle’s.
UW: Wow! I’ve read about people doing that, but you’re the first person I’ve ever encountered who actually did it.
DG: All my friends did it. We all did it.
UW: So everyone’s mom was sewing this extra fabric in there?
DG: Oh yeah.
UW: Anything else?
DG: Here’s a story: One time when our band was playing in Philadelphia in the early 1980s, I had some time to kill during the afternoon, so I walked around a bit. And I walked into this tiny little store. And they had some old Reds and Pirates vest jerseys. You never saw those back then. So I started talking to the guy, and he said, “Would you buy these?” And I said, “Well, I hate those teams, but if you did an old Mets jersey, I’d buy it in a second.” He went in the back and he had all kinds of old hats back there. And it turns out, this was Mitchell & Ness. And I’d been speaking to Ness.
UW: You were the focus group!
DG: I guess, yeah.
————–
Big thanks to David for sharing his story. He’s promised to send along some photos of his collection as soon as he’s able to.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Dying to slap a decal of your favorite team’s logo on your car? Look here (with thanks to David Sonny). … “The Portland Press Herald did a big spread this past Sunday on the New England Pond Hockey festival, held last weekend in Rangeley, Maine,” writes David Versel. “There is a slideshow of the event online, including some great classic uni shots.” … Uni Watch got a nice mention in yesterday’s Minneapolis Star Tribune. … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Good article here about the N.Y. Rangers’ equipment managers. … A Yankees source issues the following report from spring training: “The Yanks are not issuing Cory Lidle’s No. 30, at least for the moment. And there’s no 22 or 51 here either, and they still haven’t retired or given out O’Neill’s 21. Highest uniform number for a player is 94, for a catcher named Jason Brown.” … Rob Fryer reports that WVU will have new unis next season (home, road, alt). … The Bruins celebrated Johnny Bucyk’s 50th anniversary with the team last night, complete with a “9″ jersey patch. … Shannon Briggs had to cancel his March 10 heavyweight “title” defense yesterday, due to a respiratory problem. According to this article, the cancellation will cost Briggs “about $500,000 in endorsements. I was going to look like a NASCAR driver with my trunks.”
February 14th, 2007
While I was in San Francisco last week, Uni Watch pastry chef Liz Clayton took me to Kayo Books, which specializes in old comics, pulp novels, and related sleaze. Pulp novels occasionally had uni-related cover art, so I was hoping to hit paydirt with something that struck the perfect balance between sex and uniforms. I was only partially successful (more on that in a sec), but I did manage to turn up some more conventional sports titles, with lots of great uni-related content. Here’s a quick rundown:
Curling with Ken Watson, by Ken Watson (Harlequin, 1958). Not to be confused with the similarly titled Ken Watson on Curling (I always get them mixed up, don’t you?), this 222-pager features lots of amzing curling sweaters. I love the crossed-brooms patch shown here, and look how nubby this one is. But apparently some teams just wore plaid shirts, which doesn’t even seem like a fair fight. Best photo of the bunch: this dude, with his dangling cigarette.
1962 Pro Football Handbook, by Don Schiffer (Pocket, 1962). This book includes both NFL and AFL coverage, including some good shots of the Dallas Texans, an early AFL official (you can’t tell from the b&w photo, but those stripes are actually red, not black), an excellent view of the Packers’ early-1960s triple-striped pants, and heartening evidence that the Bears’ socks haven’t changed one bit in 45 years.
1969 NFL-AFL Illustrated Digest, by Don Smith and Ed Croke (Poretz-Ross, 1969). By this time, the merger was imminent and the Jets had beaten the Colts in Super Bowl III, which may explain the hierarchy of logos on the back cover. Tons of great stuff here — better break it out into a list:
• There’s a six-page feature, called “The Evolution of Football Equipment,” in the middle of the book. You can see some of the better bits here and here.
• Most of you know that the Cowboys’ equipment staff has always put Dymo Tape name labels on the team’s helmets. Looks like the Browns used to do this too, as seen here and here.
• Look at that last photo again. See how the Saints’ helmet and pants striping goes in the familiar black-white-black sequence? After the second game of the 1968 season, the team inexplicably reversed the sequence, so that the helmet and pants striping both went white-black-white for the rest of the season. In 1969, they went back to black-white-black.
• Here’s Sonny Jurgensen playing, as he often did, without a chinstrap.
• Look how huge the Giants’ helmet numbers used to be!
• The thing I miss most about straight-on placekickers: square-toed shoes.
As for the sports/sleaze intersection, the best I could find on Kayo’s shelves was this, but it’s a real stinker, uni-wise. Like, is that the sorriest excuse for a football helmet you’ve ever seen or what? The earhole isn’t even in the right place! This shoddy illustration work no doubt explains why the guy sitting next to me couldn’t stop staring at the cover as I read this book on the flight home.
Party Report: Speaking of last week’s road trip, the two Uni Watch parties were big successes. The San Francisco gathering was a particularly raucous caucus, with a sizable crew showing up at Lefty O’Doul’s, where there was lots of memorabilia on the walls and no shortage of light, nourishing fare on the menu. Among the attendees:
• Here’s the very jovial Al Cummings, who kept me entertained with stories all night long and also went above and beyond by presenting me with a set of stirrups from Serra High School (”They’re post-Lynn Swann but pre-Barry Bonds,” as he put it), which I immediately pulled on. Not only that, but Al says his daughter works as a colorist for a major sportswear company and has promised to arrange a Uni Watch interview with her. Thanks again, Al!
• David Arnot looked sharp in his Uni Watch cap. But Aaron Strickland went a step further, by having me autograph his Uni Watch sweatshirt (he even brought along a green marker, so the signature would be color-coordinated).
• John Moist wore my favorite jersey of the evening — a 1942 New Orleans Pelicans beauty.
• Here’s Paul Hirsch, who not only wore a gorgeous 1960s Reds vest but also brought along an amazing piece of ephemera: a postcard from Marc Okkonen, author of Baseball Uniforms of the 20th Century. Apparently Hirsch had written to Okkonen to point out a few errors in the first edition, and Okkonen responded in hilariously impressive detail.
• At first glance, it looks like Tim Cook is wearing an ancient, battered T-shirt. But it’s actually a brand-new “pre-distressed” model from Reebok, which he purchased only an hour or two before the party.
• Pilar Olivas is already bemoaning Trot Nixon’s defection to the Indians, for obvious reasons.
• I liked Mark Campbell’s understated Calgary shirt and John Mandsager’s KC A’s cap. But the most interesting merchandised product of the evening was Richard Craig’s briefcase, made of genuine Rawlings glove leather.
• No jersey, cap, or briefcase for Brandon Davis, but he did bring along a lacrosse helmet from Dominican University, where he works. And get this: As you can see from the helmet, the team is called the Penguins — and that’s because Dominican is a Catholic school that used to be run by nuns.
Things were a bit more low-key the following night in Dallas, but there were still some good shirts on display, most notably William Denton’s Danbury Trashers T-shirt and Ian Voorn’s Asian jersey of uncertain origin. Jesse Ghiorzi, who works for the Texas Tornado hockey team, brought along a jersey for me to try (it was just a little big), and Robert Eden, Patrick Woody, and Alicia Stepp showed me plenty of Texas hospitality.
Big thanks to all who came out — it was great meeting all of you.
Uni Watch News Ticker: The Dolphins plan to tweak their uni number font for next season. … You can read about the Hurricanes’ reactions to the new NHL unis here (with thanks to Matt Brukman and Clayton Hollingsworth). … Jorgen Jonsson recently played his record-setting 273rd game for Swedish national hockey team, and had a special jersey for the occasion (with thanks to Antti Salmi). … Some interesting uni-related eBay items here, here and here. … Good article here about the guy who makes NHL stick-curve gauges (as spotted by Jerry Wolper). … And here’s a decent piece on MLB “cap surgery.”
February 13th, 2007
Picking on the Pro Bowl is almost too easy, but here’s something that’s been bugging me: Why do they keep putting the term “All-Star” on the jerseys? In past years it’s been on the front, and this year it was on the back, but I always find it confusing. Like, they’re not all-stars — they’re all-pros, right? And just what is the difference between an all-star and an all-pro? And if they’re all-stars, why isn’t the game called the NFL All-Star Game? Shouldn’t the name “Pro Bowl” be reserved for the Pro Bowlers Tour or something?
Such metaphysical imponderables notwithstanding, this year’s game was the usual aesthetic train wreck. Whose bright idea was it to put all that blue detailing on the AFC jersey? Or the red detailing in the NFC design? And why do they insist on using those embarrassing star patterns? And why do they keep putting the Pro Bowl logo just above each player’s butt crack each year? And did anyone honestly believe that the Vikings/Cardinals-style pants template was the best option available? And why did they have the AFC wear red socks with red pants? And, and, and …
Okay, enough. A few specific observations from Saturday’s game:
• Devin Hester wore an amber visor (a no-no) with Oakley-branded tabs (a double-no-no).
• The two Broncos players in the game — John Lynch and Champ Bailey — asked the league if they could all wear No. 27 in honor of the late Darrent Williams, but the league said no. They wore “27″ helmet decals instead.
• Chad Johnson wore his orange chinstrap. This is the only game pic I could find, but here’s a practice photo from earlier in the week.
• Several players on both squads wore star-spangled shoes (AFC, NFC).
• Several AFC players wore red shoelaces.
And if any of you actually watched the game, I don’t even wanna know. Just pretend you were doing something more constructive, like taking a nap.
Uni Watch News Ticker: The Suns wore a jersey patch a lots of little Latin American flags last night, in honor of Fiesta Day. … Reprinted from Friday’s comments: Nice article here about the Milwaukee shop that stitches the names and numbers on the Brewers’ uniforms (among lots of other uni-related tasks). … Ben Schon notes that the Blazers’ warmup jackets look like red sports bras. … The Sharks wore special Valentine’s Day practice jerseys the other day, similar to the Halloween practice jerseys they wore a few months back (with thanks to Ron Lagman). … Speaking of Valentine’s Day, the Hornets will be wearing red uniforms on Wednesday, and so will the Sixers (more details here). … Washington State unveiled a new set of alternate jerseys the other day, with a “Cougars” insignia, instead of the usual “Washington State” (thanks to Garrett Riddle). … We’ve all seen mesh football jerseys before. But Bill Gornall found a real doozy — check out this shot of Archie Griffin. … Many college hoops coaches wore sneakers on Saturday, as part of the annual Coaches vs. Cancer promotion. … Reprinted from Saturday’s comments: The Gwinnett Gladiators — an ECHL team — will be wearing “Tribute to Atlanta Traffic” uniforms (front, back) on February 24th. No word on whether other teams will celebrate their cities’ urban ills (can’t wait for “Salute to Trigger-Happy Cops Night” here in NYC). … Echh. … Josh Britton reports that LSU’s baseball team is going with the ice cream man-style cap this season. … Apologies for not asking this sooner, but what’s the deal with Jaromir Jagr’s tucked-in jersey? … Seems odd that the NFL online store would have a model wearing an Under Armour undershirt, no? (Great catch by Bill Pintsak.) … Decent article on corporate logo design here (as spotted by Matthew Hackethal). … Logo Creep Alert from Kevin Gee, who spotted this massive Majestic mark on this year’s Baylor baseball cap. … This year’s World Series logo will apparently look like this (courtesy of Gordie Fall). … Great find by Ian Borkowski, who writes: “I was going through some stuff to put on eBay, and I came across a 1978/79 Cincinnati Stingers (WHA) pocket schedule with info on a neat promotion they were running. It was called ‘The Year of the Uniform’ and during six home games they were going to give away items to make up a ‘uniform’ for young fans.” … We’ve talked before about MLB players wearing windbreakers under their jerseys, but I’d never seen anyone wearing a white windbreaker until I stumbled upon this photo last night.
February 12th, 2007
|
