Gobble-Gobble, Pass the Gravy, Etc.

We all have something to be thankful for today. In my case, it’s that my favorite team has traded for a player who wears stirrups every single day — even if they’ll be covered up by shin guards for half of the game. I hope the holiday brings each of you something similarly heartening. — Paul

112 comments November 22nd, 2007

Uni Watch Book Club: The Baseball Book

Last month I wrote about all the great uni-related photos in Sports Illustrated’s The Football Book. Now I’ve gotten myself a copy of The Baseball Book, which has a slightly smaller but still significant trove of uni details. Let’s take a look:

• Here’s a 1950s shot of Nellie Fox. Note that the Sox insignia is a patch, not embroidered. Never noticed that before.

• Another Chisox shot, this one showing Luis Aparacio during the 1959 World Series, when the White Sox actually wore white socks.

• Next time we debate the pros and cons of base coaches wearing helmets, think about this photo. Can you believe how close to home plate those shutterbugs were allowed to get?

• This is an 1896 shot of the New York Giants, and I absolutely must have one of those sweaters.

• Couple of interesting things here, beginning with the Cards’ heavily ribbed stirrups. Also, look closely Bob Bowman’s (No. 26) right toe. Looks like he’s got a little metal plate and strip of leather there to keep the tip of his shoe from wearing through. And that leads us to…

• …this shot of Satchel Paige’s cleats, with a great view of precisely the same toe accessory.

• Amazing old Boston Braves jacket here.

• Decent view here of the yellow batting helmets that the A’s wore in 1967 (when they were still in Kansas City).

• Best uni-related prank ever. According to the caption, the player on the ground was actually an actor named Lou Archer, “who appeared in Babe Comes Home, Ruth’s second Hollywood feature.”

Loads of other great photography here — recommended.

Membership News: Got a brilliant card design request the other day from Robert Eden. He originally joined up back when the membership program was first announced, choosing the basic Uni Watch colors. But once he heard we were now accepting NCAA-themed design requests, he put in an order for an additional card (which anyone can get for $15, by the way) patterned after a Nebraska Cornhuskers tearaway jersey. As I think you’ll agree, Scott executed the concept quite nicely.

Meanwhile, Nina has finished adding all the Charter Membership code to the membership roster. If you’re a Charter Member, your number on the roster should be shown in bold. If we somehow missed anyone, let me know.

Uni Watch News Ticker: Yesterday’s post about uni numbers on pants prompted a response from Aaron Stilley, who pointed out a baseball example I’d forgotten about: the Kansas City Monarchs (additional views here, here, here, and here). “I agree it’s usually a bad idea, but for some reason I actually think it looked nice on the Monarchs’ unis,” writes Aaron, and I’m inclined to agree. … By now I think most of you are aware of the Minnesota high school hockey jerseys that are on display at the Xcel Center. But what you might not know — and what I didn’t know myself until Jeff Barak forwarded me some pics — is that the display also includes an incredible 1940s Coast Guard team jersey with a gorgeous chenille crest. Further info here. … The woman who designed the Lambeau Field 50th-anniversary patch is profiled here. … Alejandro Marci reports that Argentina has new soccer uniforms. “The jersey has a hidden drawing on the front,” he writes, “inspired by a traditional Buenos Aires decorative painting art form called Fileteado, which is most commonly used to decorate buses. That technique is also in a small patch located on the back of the neck. There’s also an awful colored field in the back, as a background for the numbers. Apparently it’s some new FIFA regulation for NTs.” … “As you know, the Giants typically apply each player’s last name to his batting helmet in large white letters,” writes Jason Taylor. “Until August, it appeared that Barry Bonds was no different. But I just noticed that his last name appeared in two other styles on the back of his helmet within about a week’s time. I’m guessing that it had something to do with him donating his 755 and 756 helmets to the Hall of Fame.” … Genius find by Jere Smith, who’s turned up a video clip from the 1988 NBA Legends Game, in which every single player wore FNOB — and in a totally weird format to boot. Details and full video clip here. … Several readers have noticed a subtle change made by the Bruins, but Paul Pokaski sums it up best: “The Bruins started the season with double-outlined lettering on their nameplates. This style was worn as recently as October 22 on the road against the Canadiens. Recently, however, the Bruins have been using single-outlined names on their road whites. They wore this style November 3 at Ottawa, and in their most recent game, at Toronto.” Very odd to see a team make this sort of change in the middle of a season. … You’ve gotta be kidding me. … Reprinted from last night’s comments: Lots of good uni-related soccer Q&A action here. … And The London Times’s picks for the top 50 soccer kits of all time here (with thanks to Iain Landon).

Holiday Schedule: We’ll have open chatter tomorrow. Maybe Friday too, or maybe I’ll put up some real content — not sure yet. And our usual open chatter for the weekend. Happy Thanksgiving to one and all, and remember, white meat’s for suckers — dark meat’s where it’s at.

133 comments November 21st, 2007

Just Don’t Start Putting Player Names There Too, OK?

Buried amidst yesterday’s avalanche of Cowboys/Redskins comments was a small mention of the Belleville Bulls, an OHL (Major Junior) team that’s instituted an unusual quirk this year: They’re wearing uni numbers on their shorts.

This design element (which is also featured on the Bulls’ home uniform) raises an interesting question: Are uni numbers on pants ever a good idea?

In order to assess this query, we first need to look at the history of this phenomenon. Okay, then, one sport at a time:

Baseball: The first MLB team to wear pants-borne uni numbers was the 1975 Astros. By 1980 they’d taken the number off the pant leg, but the concept was revived in 1982 by the White Sox, who kept wearing the digitized pants even after switching to a different uni design — seven seasons in all. I’d like to think we can agree that these all fail the “Is it good or is it stupid?” test. Special Uni Watch bonus points to Floyd Bannister, who somehow managed to wear every one of these uniforms during his career.

Football: I’m aware of three NFL teams that have worn uni numbers on their pants: the 1982-89 Cowboys, the 1982-86 Colts (only at home), and the 1984-87 Packers. Not quite as bogus as the MLB examples, but still pointless, needless, a solution to a non-problem.

Hockey: The Belleville design is the first instance I’ve ever seen of uni numbers on breezers. There’s a certain appealing novelty to the look (just as there was, I’m sure, when the Astros and Cowboys introduced pants numbers to their respective sports), but it still feels like over-design to me.

Basketball: Lots of NBA teams have worn uni numbers on their shorts over the years. The current trend, though, is to go numeral-free, as the Bucks, Suns, and Sonics have all abandoned their shorts numbers in recent years. For some reason these all seem less objectionable than the examples from other sports. There’s something about the number on the shorts that resonates with a “Property of Athletic Dept.” sort of feel, which I kinda dig. Wish more NBA teams would go this route.

Soccer: As most of you know by now, my scope of soccer knowledge is very, very limited. But one thing I do know is that many (most?) teams wear uni numers on their shorts. Seems harmless enough, although I think I’d prefer to see it on the side, not on the front. I trust all you soccer fans out there will post some comments filling us in on the history and protocol for this uni element.

As for other sports, like rugby, volleyball, and the like, I hereby yield the floor to those of you who are better versed in those arcane disciplines. But I think our basic point is made: Uni numbers on pants are fairly rare, and for the most part that’s a good thing.

Austin Update: Thanks to all the Austin-ites who responded to yesterday’s query about possibly holding a Uni Watch gathering on the 27th (i.e., a week from tonight). The response was pretty sizable, so let’s definitely plan on getting together that evening.

I insist that we meet at a barbecue joint, and I’m partial to the ones that are outside of town (yes, I’m familiar with the area). I’d prefer Kreuz’s or Smitty’s in Lockhart, but they both close early, so that’s no good. Let’s make it 7:30 p.m. at the Salt Lick in Driftwood. Cool?

ITEM! Membership News: For those of you who’ve been waiting for us to lift the ban on NCAA-themed membership card designs, your patience has been rewarded: As of right now, NCAA designs are kosher. Actually, we already did one of them months ago — the Yale rugby design shown at right (which I liked so much when it was presented to us that I forgot all about the NCAA ban).

A few things to remember: The more obscure the school and/or sport, the more important it is for you to provide a rear-view photo. A backup design option is always a good idea, too. And the ban on purple-inclusive designs still stands. Aside from that, it’s open season — fire when ready.

And remember, discounted gift memberships are available for the holiday season. Full info on that is here. And non-gift membership ordering info is here.

Uni Watch News Ticker: Steiner Sports is selling a game-worn Manny Delcarmen World Series cap, and it turns out he had lots of underbrim scribblings. … Remember Lawrence Tynes’s Umbro cleats? Joe Skiba reports that the NFL has instructed him to black out the logos. … Maybe the NFL should have a talk with Brandon Marshall, too, because the Reebok logo was missing from his sleeves last night. Wasn’t like that a few weeks ago. … Back to Joe Skiba: Remember how the “ny” logo on the Jints’ nose bumpers switched from red-outlined blue to blue-outlined red a few games ago? Skiba says he likes the latter design so much that he’s gonna stick with it. Jeez, why not just make the helmets solid red and be done with it. … Jere Smith notes that Rajon Rondo frequently wears his headband upside-down. … Cincinnati maven David Sonny (who recenty conducted an interview with the Bengals’ equipment manager — look for that to appear here soon) reports that new Reds skipper Dusty Baker has claimed his usual No. 12 from Edwin Encarnacion, who will now wear No. 28. … The Canadiens retired Larry Robinson’s number (which he never wore on his shorts) last night and trotted out all the usual trappings — the all-honoree warm-up, the chest patch, etc. Happily, Robinson wore a straight-hemmed CCM jersey for the occasion, instead of the shirttail-hemmed models being worn by the current Habs. … ¡Cuba si, capitalism double-si!: After losing in the final round of the Baseball World Cup, Cuban pitcher Pedro Lazo sold his jersey to a collector after a sotto voce negotiation in a darkened corner. … Before Lloyd Carr dressed like this, he dressed like this and this (nice find by Doug Mooney). … According to this message board post (sent my way by Andres Douzoglou), Arizona State uses tape stripes on belts as an award system, like helmet merit decals. I’ve never heard this before. Anyone know more about it?

223 comments November 20th, 2007

Monday Morning Uni Watch

My friends, yesterday marked the end of an era. For the first time this season, every member of the San Diego Chargers was wearing an American flag helmet decal.

Or at least I assume that was the case. One thing I know for sure is that LaDainian Tomlinson was wearing one. No surprise there, since he’d also worn the flag decal for San Diego’s two previous games. The big news is that Chris Chambers, who’d been flag-free for the past new weeks, was properly flag-accessorized yesterday, marking the first time this year that Tomlinson and Chambers were both wearing the decal. As for the other fifty-some players on the Chargers’ roster, I’m gonna take it on faith that they were all flag-clad. If anyone knows otherwise, speak up.

In other NFL notes from yesterday:

• Chad Johnson dusted off his orange chinstrap.

• The Jets retired Curtis Martin’s number.

• Hard to know what looked worse in the Jets/Steelers game: the Jets or the slacks-clad officials.

• The officials in the Bears/Seahawks game were wearing the cold-weather slacks too, as you can barely see here.

• Radically distinct sock stylings here. Here, too.

• That’s a right purty game right there.

• There, too.

• Several readers reported that Roy Williams of the Cowboys had a yellow dot on the back of his helmet, similar to the green dot that the QBs wear. No photo yet. If we can get visual confirmation, I’ll ask the team for an explanation.

• I’ve said it before and I’ll keep on saying it: This is the league’s most underrated design, and a classic in the making.

Uni Watch Calendar: Lots of opportunities for gatherings and such over the next few weeks. Here’s the breakdown:

• November 27th: I’m going to be in Austin, Texas. Is there any Uni Watch readership to speak of in that town? If so, any such readers should get in touch. If the response is large enough, I’ll set up a gathering for that evening.

• December 6th: Marc Spears of the Boston Globe and I will be guests of a media seminar class at Boston University. I’ll convene a Uni Watch party at 8:30 that evening at Boston Beer Works, which is right across from Fenway Park. Meanwhile, if anyone wants to attend the seminar class, which begins at 6:30, the professor tells me he can probably accommodate a few extra people. If you’re interested, get in touch and I’ll fill you in.

• December 10th: The completely wonderful City Reliquary, of which I am a proud card-carrying member, will be holding its annual benefit gala at the Automotive High School Auditorium, and I’m one of the two featured speakers this year. I’ll be doing a Power Point presentation on some topic or other (might be uni-related or might not — haven’t decided yet), but the real attraction is the other speaker: Lawrence Weschler, author of such crucial must-reads as Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder and Boggs. In other words, I’m like some puny little indie band opening for the Rolling Stones. The evening will feature lots of additional stuff, including a short documentary film, a live samba band, and dinner at Bamonte’s (one of Brooklyn’s oldest and best red-sauce Italian restaurants). Full details here.

Uni Watch News Ticker: I’m a week late with this, but it’s still pretty funny (with thanks to Jeremy Brahm and Timothy Sheehan). … Speaking of the intersection of fan and uniform, David Soline sent along this. … Reprinted from Friday’s comments: Really interesting article here about Cal’s recent throwbacks. … Chris Mycoskie notes that Louisiana-Lafayette’s women’s hoops team has some, uh, innovative uniforms. … Photo archivist David Eskinazi has come up with something interesting: a 1911 photo of the Wichita Falls Irish Lads. “I found it very unusual that they chose to have EVERYTHING spelled out on their jerseys — team nickname, city, and state,” he writes. “Quite odd, especially for a pro team.” … Good catch by Andrew White, who notes that UNC’s walk-on players were all photographed wearing the same jersey, as seen here, here, and here. … Here’s our first look at the Indians’ new throwback alternate uni. Additional views here. … The CBA’s Albany Patroons had to play in practice uniforms on Friday night because their new unis weren’t ready yet. … Really great two-minute audio slideshow here about the Indiana equipment staff prepping the helmets for last Saturday’s throwback game. … And speaking of that game, there’s a good photo gallery here. … Brazil has a new soccer kit. Note that the five stars, representing the team’s five World Cup championships, are shown not only on the chest but also on the socks. Details here and here. … Matthew Strauss noticed something odd: According to SI.com, this photo was taken during a Cowboys/Redskins game in Dallas. But the ’Skins are wearing white, so was Dallas wearing blue at home? The turf looks artificial, which would seem to support the notion that the game was played at Texas Stadium, not at RFK. Can anyone shed more light on this? … Lots of solid-red action on the gridiron on Saturday, as Minnesota and FSU went monochromatic. … Casey Hart reports that Harvard’s nordic skiing team uniforms feature a map of the Harvard area. … Speaking of Harvard, someone on the Chris Creamer board spotted Crimson head football coach Tim Murphy wearing an NFLL pullover on Saturday. … Interesting critique of presidential campaign logos here. … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: I went to a European advertising conference and a hockey game broke out. … USF is switching to Under Armour. … I’ve listed lots of uniform typos in my recent ESPN columns. But Matt Lindner found something you don’t often see: a typo on a replica jersey. … Latest analysis of the NHL jersey debacle here (with thanks to Doug Mooney, who also reports that South Georgia Tech’s men’s and women’s hoops teams wore a “W” patch on Saturday in remembrance of instructor Willy Mathis). … New sleeveless unis for the American men’s volleyball team (as reported by Jeremy Brahm). … Two soccer notes from Jeremy as well: new uniforms for Germany, and quite the flamboyant ball during the U.S. vs. South Africa friendly match.

264 comments November 19th, 2007

If It’s OK to Call Football Pretty …

I think this would qualify. Not only is it a classic matchup, it’s a classic-looking matchup. There are definitely others out there — USC/Notre Dame or Texas/Oklahoma, for example — but this is my favorite. Let’s hope it stays that way next year when Michigan goes to Adidas. Considering the history, I don’t think there’s much to worry about. — Bryan

141 comments November 18th, 2007

Here’s Why You Lost, Kid

You’re wearing clown makeup. And clowns suck at football. Sorry.

Eye black on a sunny day: part of the game.
Full-on face paint: clown.

“It’s such a fine line between stupid and clever.”
– David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap

Have a good Saturday.
– Bryan

189 comments November 17th, 2007

FNOB: Round Three

The FNOB phenomenon (for those of you who just got on board, that’s short for “full name on back”) is shaping up as one of our most durable subject areas, as contributions continue to pour in.

If you missed our two previous two examinations of this topic, they can be found here and here. Once you catch up on those, check out the latest additions to the list, which break down like so (with the caveat that I’m only listing examples for which we have photographic evidence):

College Football: John Houlik (note the very unusual cap/small-cap style of his first name); Brian Jackson; Breon Jackson (and in addition to those last two, Louisiana Tech also has a Brannon Jackson, but no photo of him yet); DJ Hall (assuming you consider “DJ” to be a legitimate first name; also, note that the Tennessee player, Henley, appears to have a double-layered nameplate); and Kevin Burrus (whose brother Keith also goes FNOB, but I haven’t found a photo of him yet).

NFL: Darrell Reid (we had already listed teammate Dexter Reid last time around); Randal Williams; Bracy and Brian Walker; Tank Williams; Aaron Brooks (who apparently only wore FNOB during the 2004 preseason); Ricky Williams (I believe also just a preseason thing, from 2001); Rudi Johnson; Jon Ogden (although this seems a bit suspect, since he usually went by Jonathan); and — here’s the pick of the litter — Clarence Weathers.

NHL: Rich Sutter (up until now, all I had for him was this).

Meanwhile, as we continue to compile FNOB examples, here’s something that showed up in yesterday’s comments: John Yarno of the USFL’s Denver Gold, whose NOB featured a first initial after the surname. Teammate/brother George Yarno (No. 66 in the photo) presumably had a similar nameplate, but I haven’t yet found a rear-view photo of that. Anyone..?

Membership News: Remember, for the next two weeks we’re still offering special discounted rates on gift memberships for the holidays. Full details here.

Meanwhile, if you look at the membership roster, you’ll see that many members’ uniform numbers are now shown in boldface type. That’s to distinguish the charter members (i.e., those who joined during the first two months of the membership program). I’ve been meaning to add this designation to the roster page for months now but have been too busy to do it. Fortunately, this is precisely the sort of stupefyingly tedious task important job that special Uni Watch assistant Nina Dubin was hired to do, and she’s working on it now even as we speak. Thanks, Nina.

As for today’s showcase card, it’s patterned after the UMich marching band. I think you’ll all agree that Scott kicked some serious ass on this one.

Uni Watch News Ticker: Another badly Photoshopped baseball card here. “The Sox don’t wear Cool Flo helmets, and even if they did, it wouldn’t be in that shade of blue,” writes Kellan Walski, who contributed this item. “And a blue belt? C’mon!!” … If it’s really been bugging you that you can’t get the University of Georgia logo on your casket or toilet seat, here’s the news you’ve been waiting for (with thanks to Alan Chewning). … Bench coach Bryan Redemske notes that N.C. Central has what may be the nation’s coolest side panels. … Faaaascinating note from Ross DiLiegro, who writes: ” Take a look at the back of Syracuse freshman forward Donte Greene’s jersey. Due to a miscommunication between the Orange’s equipment guy and Nike, Donte’s last name was originally sewn onto the jersey as ‘Green.’ Once the mistake was noticed, the ‘e’ was added to the end of the name, but now it’s noticeably off-center and has been that way for all of Syracuse’s match-ups so far this season. It’ll be interesting to see what happens when the orange road unis and blue alternates roll out, which could be as early as next Wednesday or Friday at MSG for the preseason NIT.” Actually, it looks to me like it was a bit off-center even before the extra letter was added. … Scott Clay attended Wednesday night’s Auburn/Troy women’s hoops game and noticed something odd: ” Every single one of the Troy players had the same mark on their left arm in the deltoid area.” Looks like a temporary tattoo. Anyone know more about this? … Fort Scott Community College in Kansas has some seriously plain uniforms. That little smudge above the uni number is a greyhound.

110 comments November 16th, 2007

Coming Soon: Oscar Gamble Wig Night

New ESPN column today — here’s the link.

Meanwhile: As we all know by now, baseball has fallen out of favor with black Americans, at least as a participatory sport. And now former MLBer Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd is trying to do something about it. He and former teammate Delino DeShields recently formed the Urban Baseball League. Billed as the “Rebirth of the Negro Leagues,” the UBL is slated to begin games next year, with a focus on encouraging young black players to participate. No uniforms yet, but they’ve got team logos for the four charter teams: the Blackbirds, Black Tops, Afros, and Stacks.

Well. I think it’s fair to say that if a white-run league came up with something like those last two logos, many people would find it in poor taste at best, flat-out racist at worst. And how different are those logos from, say, this or this? Is it suddenly okay if a black-run enterprise uses this type of imagery? Is it all about intent, not content? What’s the line separating stereotype from cultural expression? Does the passing of time recontextualize things? Can these logos now be considered “cool” in the same way 1970s blaxploitation movies are? If so, isn’t it worth remembering that the arbiters of this coolness have primarily been white culture geeks doing what white culture geeks always do (i.e., cherrypicking the aspects of black culture they find most appealing)? Isn’t “blaxploitation” a clever term whose cleverness obscures its pejorative meaning?

Okay, so I’m veering off-topic there. Race is such a messed-up element in American life, and it tends to distort everything it touches, so it’s hard to pin down a discussion like this one. The fact that Uni Watch’s readership is, as far as I can tell, about 98% white doesn’t exactly help matters.

But here’s the thing: People forget that the Negro Leagues themselves should never have existed in the first place. But they did, and now we celebrate them as worthy outgrowth of an unjust time. Seems like a shaky premise for starting a new league today, though.

And here’s something else: These are all essentially throwback logos. I mean, for a venture aimed at contemporary black youth, it’s amazing how completely devoid of hip-hop influence these designs are. Shouldn’t the teams be called the Bling or something like that? Granted, I’m neither young nor black, but it seems to me that black kids are gonna view these logos as just the latest evidence that baseball is that boring old game that their grandfathers used to play.

(Special thanks to Ronnie Poore for bringing the UBL to my attention.)

Uni Watch News Ticker: A nonplussed Dominic J. Litten reports: “The Italian national soccer team has unveiled its new, hideous away strip with gold detailing on the collar, which they will debut in Saturday’s Euro 2008 qualifier against Scotland.” … Another season-opening MLB series in Japan — does that mean another round of uniform advertisements, like in 2000 and 2004? … St. Louis University guard Tommie Liddell is now going by Tommie Lidell III, complete with the roman numeral on his jersey. Details here (with thanks to Jeff Hood). … Turns out that Eric Stangel, a semi-frequent commenter and Ticker contributor, is also the head writer/producer for David Letterman — which means he’s been out on strike for the past week and a half. “Something happened today that made me think of Uni Watch,” he writes. “Bill Scheft is a writer on the show and also the Late Show Strike Captain. What better way to designate his captainhood than by giving him a Jason Varitek-style ‘C’ on his chest.” So there you have it, people: Uni Watch, the official sports web site of the American labor movement. … “So proud of the Missouri Valley Conference,” writes bench coach Bryan Redemske. “They left last year’s patches on. … Check out this totally boss jersey I won on eBay yesterday (with extra-big thanks to Scott Turner, who brought the item to my attention). … “Last weekend I visited the new Ripley’s Believe It or Not! tourist trap in Times Square,” writes Steve Flack. “They mention how Robert Ripley’s second passion, beyond the oddities featured in his newspaper strip, was baseball. They have a complete set of uniforms from a charity baseball game he put together in 1939. His team was called the Believe It Or Nots and featured such legends as Babe Ruth, Walter Johnson, and Jack Dempsey. The weirdest thing was that the uniform were Turkish harem-style, complete with turbans, completely unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.” … If only this were true. … Reprinted from last night’s comments: Nice breakdown of Georgetown basketball uniform history here.

169 comments November 15th, 2007