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Archive for January, 2009
By Phil Hecken
Super Bowl weekend is finally upon us. Super Bowl XLIII. A time to eat, drink and be merry. And a good time to review the uniforms of the past 42 big games, decide upon who had the better uniforms and which team reigned supreme. Of course, the “better uniform” is always subjective (although Mr. Lukas contends the team with the better uniforms has won more Super Bowls than not). Tomorrow, the Steelers will wear white, and the Cardinals will wear dark. Is there a benefit to wearing color versus wearing white? Lets look at the past to see if we can predict a winner or is it all just a crap shoot as far as the uniform goes? As far as who has a “better” uniform, that’s all a matter of personal preference, of course, but I’ll be listing mine in italics for each game. For each game, I will select what I consider the ‘better’ uniform for that game. In other words, a team’s home uniform may not be as good as its away uniform, or a team may have undergone changes over the years causing it to improve or get worse. Also, the selection will be based solely on that game, so, for example, one team wearing the ‘better’ uniform for one game may not necessarily be wearing the better uniform for another game, even if it is essentially the same uniform, because their opponents’ may have an even better uniform. Following the wrap, we’ll see how many of my personal choices for ‘better’ uni were worn by the Super Bowl winner. OK? Lets go:
Super Bowls I-X: Super Bowl I featured the Green Bay Packers in green, versus the Kansas City Chiefs in white: Winner: Green Bay. Color 1, White 0; Super Bowl II: Green Bay in white vs. Oakland Raiders in black: Winner: Green Bay. Color 1, White 1; Super Bowl III: Baltimore Colts in blue vs. New York Jets in white: Winner: New York. Color 1, White 2; Super Bowl IV: Minnesota Vikings in white vs. Kansas City in red: Winner: Kansas City. Color 2, White 2; Super Bowl V: Dallas Cowboys in blue vs. Baltimore Colts in white: Winner: Baltimore. Color 2, White 3; Super Bowl VI: Dallas Cowboys in white vs. Miami Dolphins in aqua: Winner: Dallas. Color 2, White 4; Super Bowl VII: Washington Redskins in burgundy vs. Miami Dolphins in White: Winner: Miami. Color 2, White 5; Super Bowl VIII: Minnesota Vikings in white vs. Miami Dolphins in aqua: Winner: Miami. Color 3, White 5; Super Bowl IX: Minnesota Vikings in purple vs. Pittsburgh Steelers in white: Winner: Pittsburgh. Color 3, White 6; Super Bowl X: Dallas Cowboys in white vs. Pittsburgh Steelers in black: Winner: Pittsburgh. Color 4, White 6.
So, at the end of the first ten Super Bowls, the team wearing white has a slight advantage over the team wearing color. Based on personal preference, the team wearing the ‘better’ uniform won 8 out of 10.
Super Bowls XI-XX: Super Bowl XI: Minnesota Vikings in purple vs. Oakland Raiders in white: Winner: Oakland. Color 4, White 7; Super Bowl XII: Dallas Cowboys in white vs. Denver Broncos in orange: Winner: Dallas. Color 4, White 8; Super Bowl XIII: Dallas Cowboys in white vs. Pittsburgh Steelers in black: Winner: Pittsburgh. Color 5, White 8; Super Bowl XIV: Los Angeles Rams in white vs. Pittsburgh Steelers in black: Winner: Pittsburgh. Color 6, White 8; Super Bowl XV: Philadelphia Eagles in green vs. Oakland Raiders in white: Winner: Oakland. Color 6, White 9; Super Bowl XVI: San Francisco 49ers in white vs. Cincinnati Bengals in black: Winner: San Francisco. Color 6, White 10; Super Bowl XVII: Washington Redskins in white vs. Miami Dolphins in aqua: Winner: Washington. Color 6, White 11; Super Bowl XVIII: Washington Redskins in white vs. Los Angeles Raiders in black: Winner: Los Angeles. Color 7; White 11; Super Bowl XIX: San Francisco 49ers in red vs. Miami Dolphins in white: Winner: San Francisco. Color 8, White 11; Super Bowl XX: Chicago Bears in white vs. New England Patriots in red: Winner: Chicago. Color 8, White 12.
As the second decade of Super Bowls ends, white wins another six to the colored jersey four, extending the white jersey advantage to 12 to 8. Only 6 out of 10 of my personal choices for best uniform were victorious, but still a sizeable 14 to 6 advantage.
Super Bowls XXI-XXX: Super Bowl XXI: New York Giants in blue vs. Denver Broncos in white: Winner: New York. Color 9, White 12; Super Bowl XXII: Washington Redskins in white vs. Denver Broncos in orange: Winner: Washington. Color 9, White 13; Super Bowl XXIII: San Francisco 49ers in red vs. Cincinnati Bengals in white: Winner: San Francisco. Color 10, White 13; Super Bowl XXIV: San Francisco 49ers in white vs. Denver Broncos in orange: Winner: San Francisco. Color 10, White 14; Super Bowl XXV: New York Giants in blue vs. Buffalo Bills in white: Winner: New York. Color 11, White 14; Super Bowl XXVI: Washington Redskins in white vs. Buffalo Bills in blue: Winner: Washington. Color 11, White 15; Super Bowl XXVII: Dallas Cowboys in white vs. Buffalo Bills in blue: Winner: Dallas. Color 11, White 16; Super Bowl XXVIII: Dallas Cowboys in white vs. Buffalo Bills in blue: Winner: Dallas. Color 11, White 17; Super Bowl XXIX: San Francisco 49ers in red vs. San Diego Chargers in white: Winner: San Francisco. Color 12, White 17; Super Bowl XXX: Dallas Cowboys in white vs. Pittsburgh Steelers in black: Winner: Dallas. Color 12, White 18.
The team wearing white opens up a commanding lead during the third decade of Super Bowls of eighteen to twelve. Big advantage for my personal preferences, 8 to 2. Total lead there is now 22 to 8.
Super Bowls XXXI-XL Super Bowl XXXI: Green Bay Packers in green vs. New England Patriots in white: Winner: Green Bay. Color 13, White 18; Super Bowl XXXII Green Bay Packers in white vs. Denver Broncos in blue: Winner: Denver. Color 14, White 18; Super Bowl XXXIII: Atlanta Falcons in black vs. Denver Broncos in white: Winner: Denver. Color 14, White 19; Super Bowl XXXIV: St. Louis Rams in white vs. Tennessee Titans in blue: Winner: St. Louis. Color 14, White 20; Super Bowl XXXV: New York Giants in blue vs. Baltimore Ravens in white: Winner: Baltimore. Color 14, White 21; Super Bowl XXXVI St. Louis Rams in white vs. New England Patriots in blue: Winner: New England. Color 15, White 21; Super Bowl XXXVII: Tampa Bay Buccaneers in red vs. Oakland Raiders in white: Winner: Tampa Bay. Color 16, White 21; Super Bowl XXXVIII: Carolina Panthers in white vs. New England Patriots in blue: Winner: New England. Color 17, White 21; Super Bowl XXXIX: Philadelphia Eagles in green vs. New England Patriots in white: Winner: New England. Color 17, White 22; Super Bowl XL: Seattle Seahawks in blue vs. Pittsburgh Steelers in white: Winner: Pittsburgh. Color 17, White 23.
Although the teams wearing color managed a five and five split with the teams wearing white, the white jersey-wearing team still holds a commanding lead of 23-17. A split of five and five in personal preferences for this group as well. This puts the total of ‘better’ unis at an advantage of 27-13
Super Bowls XLI & XLII Super Bowl XLI: Chicago Bears in navy vs. Indianapolis Colts in white: Winner: Indianapolis. Color 17, White 24; Super Bowl XLII: New York Giants in white vs. New England Patriots in blue: Winner: New York. Color 17, White 25.
The team wearing white continued it’s dominance in the beginning two Super Bowls of the 5th decade, winning both. I also go two-for-two in personal uni preferences, for a final total of 29-13.
So, what did we learn here? The team wearing white and the team with the ‘better’ uniform have a decided advantage in the Super Bowl. Who will win tomorrow? I’ll have my pick then, but based on the ‘white’ & ‘better’ criteria, you can probably guess already.
How would you rank the uniforms from the past 42 games? Lets hear it!
Day Before The Super Bowl Bonuses: ••• Think you know your Super Bowl Trivia? Take the Quiz ••• All previous XLII Super Bowl Logos here ••• Mental Floss has some pretty cool Super Bowl trivia.
January 31st, 2009
Pictured above is the plate of Spicy and Aromatic Soft-Shell Crab that a bunch of friends and I devoured last night — along with tea-smoked duck, lamb with cumin sauce, cured pork with garlic shoots, and a few other things — at Grand Sichuan House in Bay Ridge. I would’ve taken more photos but I was too busy eating. And then I almost left my camera at the restaurant, but fortunately the waitress got my attention just as we were walking out the door.
All of which has nothing to do with uniforms, but I have yet another ESPN column running today, so that’s as much of a lead entry as you’re gonna get today. Enjoy the Stupor Bowl, and remember what to watch during halftime. — Paul
“Look at me!” reminder: My “band” has a gig tonight at Sound Fix (part of a night-long extravaganza of free entertainment, all of which I recommend). Festivities commence at 8pm, and Liz and I will probably be going on at 9pm, or maybe a little sooner. See you there.
Uni Watch News Ticker: According to an item on this Q&A page (sent my way by Joe Carney), “[T]he larger issue [regarding the Pirates' recent uniform changes] was that the players flat-out did not like the sleeveless model because of comfort. That extra black undershirt constricted and made hot days seem that much hotter. Some still wear an undershirt, even long sleeves, when weather dictates. But players like having the option of going without.” Now wait a minute — it’s extremely rare to see an MLB player without an undershirt. Greg Maddux often did it, and it always looked weird to see nothing but skin around his jersey collar, which is a measure of how atypical it is to go undershirt-free. So the above-stated rationale for the Buccos’ addition of sleeves doesn’t make any sense. … I usually scoff when other media outlets try to venture into Uni Watch territory, but the Daily News just ran a “worst uniforms ever” slideshow that’s actually pretty decent. Even if you don’t agree with all their choices (I certainly don’t), they’ve come up with some good photos I hadn’t seen before. Kudos to all involved (and also to Alan Tompas, who brought this to my attention). … How can you present a rundown of the best Super Bowl halftime shows and not include this? … New book on football uniforms in the pipeline. Should be available in a few weeks. … NOB snafu (with thanks to long-lost Kenn Tomasch). … And you thought I was nasty to Mrs. Kurt. … More Lions redesign rumors (with thanks to Timothy Fesmire). … Who knew Brazil had a curling team? (Tim Wood, that’s who, plus he sent along this great shot of the 1958 Amherst football uniforms). … The Ontario and New York fire departments recently faced off on the ice. Further details here (with thanks to Yancy Yeater). … Matt Powers is working on a bizarre DIY Bears mash-up sweatershirt with elements drawn from various points in the team’s history. The elements aren’t stitched on yet, but it’s shaping up quite nicely. … Some jerseys that were used in Leatherheads are available on eBay (good find by Dave Zalatoris).
January 30th, 2009
Another day, another DIY project, this time from longtime contributor Ryan Connelly. Here’s his story:
I grew up in Swisshelm Park, within the Pittsburgh city limits, and the bus that ran through my neighborhood was called the “68G Swisshelm Park Express.” So whenever I need a team name for a fantasy league, I call it the Swisshelm Express. I recently got inspired to create my own DIY Swisshelm Express jersey.
I started by creating a quick, simple logo for an old-school-looking hockey jersey. I had to keep it simple because I’d be cutting it out of felt.
Once I had the basic design, I cut it out, glued it together and had it cross-stitched.
Next, I had to design numbers. I always liked UCLA’s old number font, so I traced out my favorite number in AutoCAD. I printed out the tracings on 8.5 x 11 paper, cut them out as templates, traced them backwards onto felt (I did it backwards so any ink from the outline would be facing down instead of up), and then them cut out from there. I used in two layers of felt and made smaller versions for the sleeves. I was going to add a layer of yellow but decided not to. I thought this had an old-school throwback look. Nice and simple, almost like looking at a black-and-white photo.
For the jersey itself, I went with a $15 Gap thermal because it had a “hockey sweater” kind of feel and look. I haven’t sewn on the logo or numbers yet (I’m going to use a straight stitch for the numbers), but here’s how they look positioned on the jersey — front, back, and a close-up of the crest. I could use some advice regarding striping, so if anyone wants to offer suggestions, please send them my way.
I’m also working on a home/dark jersey, which I know you’ll love (I found a thermal at the Gap with lots of stripes!), but I haven’t started it yet. I’m still designing the logo and a shoulder patch.
I’ve gotta say, this increasing tide of DIY projects is one of the more surprising and enjoyable developments in the 10 years I’ve been writing Uni Watch. Who knew all you rough, tough sports fans would be so adept with a needle and thread? Very cool.
Start drafting those stirrup-fetishist personal ads: Yesterday’s inquiry about the possibility of a Uni Watch Classifieds section on the site, primarily as a vehicle for posting job listings, generated a lot of positive response, so we’ll probably go ahead and do it in the near future.
In the interests of fairness, however, I should probably mention that there’s already a sports-oriented jobs web site out there, which I didn’t know about until a few readers mentioned it to me yesterday. I’m no expert on these things, but it’s entirely possible that a dedicated career site read by all sorts of people in the industry might be more useful to you than a fine-print page on a blog (although it’s also possible that the world is big enough for both).
And the subway goes right to their door: Today is Thursday, which means tonight is Thursday night, which means Uni Watch design director Scott M.X. Turner will be hosting his weekly Thursday-night Pub Quiz event at Rocky Sullivan’s in Red Hook. You know what to do.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Get this: Spirit Airlines flight attendants are complaining about logo creep! (Big thanks to Darren Rusakiewicz). … Soccer note from Josh Williams, who writes: “Tuesday night Albion played away at Leicester City, and the referee thought that Albion’s away shirt (yellow and dark blue stripes) was too similar in colour to Leicester’s shirt (all blue), so Albion was forced to use Leicester’s away shirt (yellow). Most of the numbers were correct, but there were no NOBs. Albion matched the shirts with their own shorts and socks.” Further details here, and photos here. … Ryan McDevitt notes that Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon recently wore “a particularly heinous blue raincoat” under his jersey. … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Chicks with guns are always cool. That’s the 1925 Drexel Institute girls’ rifle team. … Before he became America’s most entertaining political train-wreck, Rod Blagojevich fought in the Golden Gloves (nice find by James Huening). … Wayne Koehler sent along some old pics from the Florida Southern College archives, including shots of the 1957 and 1973 soccer teams, the 1924 football team, and the 1929 women’s hoops team (I love those sashes). … In a radio interview yesterday, Jonathan Ogden said he wore the same pair of shorts under his uniform pants for his entire 12-year career. “I washed them, of course,” he quickly added. … Here’s another shot of the Packers basketball team. “James Jones apparently hasn’t gotten the memo that Kobe’s tights are now both passe and verboten,” says the Rev. Nørb. … Chris Speakman, the man behind Sports Propaganda (one of our advertisers, don’tcha know), is the subject of a small profile here. Also: Speakman’s work is screen-printed, which is a process that could come in handy for you DIY types. There’s a good tutorial here. … The NC State hoops team added a Kay Yow memorial patch the other night. … Gee, what company do you think makes the Maldives men’s volleyball uniforms? (Thanks, Jeremy.) … Nice to see that some unemployed folks are making good use of their new free time. … Hey, these are even better than Huddles (with thanks to Stephen Krajewski). … A few days ago I linked to a story about a Steelers-themed bar mitzvah. Now Matt Hiett has topped that by sending along some shots of a Steelers-themed funeral (additional pics here and here). … Tremendous assortment of game-worn minor league hockey jerseys on display here. … Coupla great pieces from Mike Hersh’s collection: First, here’s an old newsletter from NFL Enterprises, one of the league’s early licensing ventures. And did you know that there used to be a Dallas Texans hockey team? Love the footwear. … Uniform change, of sorts, at the White House. … In case you missed it yesterday afternoon, here’s my latest ESPN column. I’ll have another one tomorrow.
January 29th, 2009
There’s a superb article here on the history of Super Bowl logos. But here’s something the artile doesn’t address: Why would you design a Super Bowl logo with so much green in it when there are only three NFL teams with green in their uniform sets (okay, four if you count the Seahawks’ neon-snot trim)? Practically guarantees that the Super Bowl logo patch will clash with the Super Sunday jerseys.
New ESPN column today), with an unusual topic. I think you’ll all find this one pretty interesting.
“Help Wanted” wanted: The economy’s in the toilet and nobody’s hiring, so Johnny Ek and I thought this would be a great time — really great! — to start a job-listings section. We were gonna call it Craigslist, but it turns out that name is already taken, so instead we’re gonna call it the Uni Watch Classifieds.
In short: If you work in the sports industry and have a job opening, you can post a classified listing with us; if you don’t work in the sports biz but are looking to break in there, you can post a “Desperate for Work” “Talented Individual Available” ad. The listings will also be good for freelance graphic designers, people offering DIY services, and so on. Ads would cost something like $30-ish per week.
Or at least that’s the idea. But first we want to gauge how much interest there’d be in something like this. Does this sound like something you might partake in? If so, let me know.
And so reasonably priced!: Friday night at Sound Fix is shaping up as an epic evening of free entertainment. First, at 8pm-ish, the very wonderful Lianne Smith and Greg Peterson will play a short set. Then, around 9pm, Liz Clayton and I will do our thing (I’m planning to debut some new material, but it’s all new to you since you haven’t seen us perform yet). This will be followed at 10pm by beatnik DJ extraordinaire Phast Phreddie and his monthly Wang Dang Doodle record hop, and then the mighty Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. will take the stage at 11pm. I feel pretty confident in saying this is easily the best thing happening in NYC on Friday night. You know what to do.
Uni Watch News Ticker: The color blocking on volleyball courts may be changing (thanks, Jeremy). … Did you know Ottis Anderson was wearing oversized practice pads — and was fined for it — throughout the Giants’ 1991 postseason run? Full details here (thanks, Ek). … Patrick Mackin sent along two great pics from this Cleveland Browns book. First up is this shot of Dante Lavelli running against the old Buffalo Bills of the AAFC, circa mid-1940s. Look at that primitive facemask at lower-left! Then there’s this shot ffom the Browns/L.A. Dons’ Thanksgiving Day game at the Los Angeles Coliseum in 1948. Watch out for that goalpost! “The sea of empty seats in the background shows that the game wasn’t the hottest ticket in town that day,” notes Patrick. … Speaking of the Browns, here are some really tremendous shots of the Brownies playing basketball (big thanks to Scott Sargent). … Further info — and a better photo — of that high school goalie with the net-patterned pads here (with thanks to Mark Castator). … You probably know that Vida Blue wore a “Vida” NOB during his time with the Giants. But you might not know that this NOB has been immortalized on his Giants Hall of Fame plaque (with thanks to Andy Chalifour). … Yesterday I linked to this 1980s catalog page. This led to shouts of recognition from many readers, who informed me that the little figurines were called Huddles. There are tons of them available on eBay, with many teams represented, including the Giants, Bears, Cowboys, Steelers, Bucs (in orange!), Vikes, Bengals, Pats, Fish, Browns, and rather un-PC entries for the Chiefs and ’Skins. The NFL even made a Huddles patch (all of the preceding links courtesy of Jeremy Brahm). … Dixie State has a new mascot and nickname (with thanks to Brett Crane). … Lots of very cool old-school soccer tees available here (nice find by Stanislaw Olechowski). … A Pittsburgh source tells me the following about the Pirates’ bumblebee set: “Grant Jackson told me a few years ago that the day-to-day Pirates’ color combos in the ’70s were decided upon by a secretary to GM Harding Peterson. No kidding.” … Here’s something I hadn’t seen before: a Cardinals spring training 40th-anniversary patch (with thanks to Dan Sliwinski). … Life as we know it is nearing an end (blame Rich Meneghello). … Brian Bennett sent along a bunch of tremendous early Rochester baseball photos, circa 1909 through 1929. I’ve organized them into this slideshow. … Cool gallery of FIFA World Cup host city posters here (with thanks to Jeremy Brahm, who also sent along this awesome photo of Ossie Schectman, who scored the first basket in NBA history). … Very odd TNOB positioning for Airport High School in West Columbia, South Carolina (with thanks to Michael Orr). … Lots to like in this old basketball photo (big thanks to Tim Walker). … Hadyn Green uploaded a bunch of old Olympics photos, including the 1920 U.S. rugby team (still the reigning Olympic champions), the 1912 British women’s swimming team, a Japanese hockey goalie from 1936, and a 1900 hose-down.
January 28th, 2009
Saturday’s get-together at Sheep Station was the best Uni Watch gathering ever, with more than 30 people in attendance. Here’s a quick rundown:
• Bench coach Phil Hecken had the balls to wear a cubist Coyotes jersey and was on the receiving end of lots of well-deserved praise for his weekend work. Thanks for being such a great right-hand man, buddy.
• I don’t think I’ve ever run a photo of Uni Watch webmaster John Ekdahl before (maybe because Saturday marked only the third time he and I have been in the same room). Here he is with his lovely fiancée, Amy. John’s been working hard on some major upgrades to the site, by the way — more news on that front next month.
• Uni Watch design director Scott M.X. Turner wore a characteristically gorgeous vintage flannel jersey, which was probably my favorite garment of the entire event.
• Here’s Uni Watch librarian Carrie Klein and Uni Watch First Lady Kirsten Hively (aka Collateral Gammage), enjoying the late-afternoon sunlight.
• I was genuinely thrilled to have MLB logo designer Jerry Dior in attendance. We’ve been communicating for several months now, but this was my first chance to meet him in person, and it was no surprise to find that he’s a complete gentleman.
• In an odd coincidence, Scott Huston (wearing an awesome Cedar Rapids Reds jersey) actually worked with Jerry for two days several years ago. “He said he’d designed the MLB logo, so the next day I was going to have him autograph a ball for me,” said Scott. “But when I came in that day, he was gone — they said he’d retired!” Scott made the most of this second chance by bringing ball along to the party, which Jerry was happy to sign.
• Matt Powers has been so inspired by our recent DIY posts that he stayed up until 3am the night before the party making this Princeton hoodie sweatshirt, complete with NOB and vintage-style helmet striping. He promises to provide step-by-step photos of his next DIY project.
• Here’s Ed Hahn, looking sharp in a 1936 Tokyo Giants reproduction (with kanji on the back). Underneath, he had a Brownie T-shirt, plus he brought along a Cleveland Crusaders tee. (Ed also took a bunch of photos, including the one at the top of this page; you can see more of his shots here.)
• This is longtime contributor Bill Blevins, who paired his OSU windbreaker with an Aussie football cap (because his better half is from Melbourne, he explained).
• Brad Eckensberger wore a Braves jersey with a vertically arched NOB. Am I the only one who thinks the nameplate fabric is flaring out too far at the ends?
• I loved Ryan Swift’s 2002 Rochester Red Wings jersey. Beautiful script.
• While the rest of us were sucking down beers, the always-sophisticated Giancarlo calmly sipped martinis. His shirt spells out “Miami Dolphins,” phonetically, in Hebrew.
• Alan Tompas looked my-t-fine in a Dan Fouts Chargers jersey, complete with silver anniversary patch.
• You know that raffle ticket image I always use? That was designed and submitted about two years ago by reader Ben Thoma, who I was happy to meet. He was wearing a shirt from his U. of Delaware club team, the Ligatures. (If you don’t know what a ligature is, look here, and then look at Ben’s shirt again.)
• Geekiest Shirt of the Day award goes to Jay Braiman, who wore a Klingon hockey jersey.
• Here’s Marc Rivlin, wearing a Mets logo I hadn’t seen before.
• Some beer spilled on my notes, so I’m not positive I’m getting this person’s last name right, but I think she’s Jordyn Lextor (Jordyn, if I’m getting that wrong, please let me know and I’ll correct it). She wore a really cool Turkish soccer jersey, featuring some excellent patches.
• Jordyn came with her buddy Alex Gelman, who wore a 1967 Franklin & Marhsall club soccer shirt with a great Johnny collar and a cool number font. They made a super-cute couple (although I think they later said they’re not actually a couple, but whatever).
• If you’re gonna wear a plain Penn State jersey, it’s nice to dress it up a bit with an Orange Bowl patch. That’s Chris Burket.
• Ross Bergman said his Mt. Olympus jersey (with mythologically appropriate NOB) was from a summer camp team he played on.
• I really liked how Morgan Doninger’s Cornwall Aces jersey had a fleur de lis on one shoulder and a flower on the other (to represent Cornwall’s French- and English-speaking populations, he explained).
• Steve Blum wore a killer No Mas tee and a 1917 Phillies cap. “This cap is like camouflage,” he said. “I can wear it in New York or Boston without people giving me shit.”
• Mets by the Numbers honcho Jon Springer made a brief appearance (that’s him on the left), just long enough for the two of us to grouse about the Mets’ sleeve patch.
• This is John Boras, who wore a classic John Riggins jersey.
• John brought along several of his buddies, including Hobie Price, Marc Levinson (that’s a Dan Marino Pitt jersey), and Rob Lapidus (who laughed when I noted that his drink of choice didn’t match his jersey).
• I’m sorry I didn’t get this guy’s name before he left. Fortunately, his excellent Macon Whoopee jersey speaks for itself. Update: Turns out it’s Pete(r) Bonavita.
• As for me, I was a pretty happy fella.
Finally, there’s this: There was a middle-aged couple sitting at one of the tables. The woman — I think her name was Fern Devlin — noticed all the people in jerseys and said to somebody (I believe Alex Gelman), “What is this, a Uni Watch party?” Turns out she reads the site but hadn’t been keeping up with it lately, so she was unaware of the party and just happened to be on hand for the proceedings. Uni-kismet!
Uni Watch News Ticker: Just what the world needs: a Steelers-themed bar mitzvah (with thanks to Mike Edgerley). … Extremely amusing eBay item here. … Westminster Salmonbellies strike again! Not sure what year that’s from, but it sure is purdy (with thanks to Mike Hersh). … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: I’ve previously run photos of Charlie Hayes wearing this mask and this mask. But now Glenn Chavez has provided a photo of the actual hardware, which was displayed at the Rockies’ recent fan-fest event. … Party follow-up from Alan Tompas, who writes: “A few of the guys at the party and I had a debate over whether the Mets ever wore an interlocking-NY jersey logo. I took this picture at the Vet back on July 4, 1983. It’s a batting practice jersey.” Bill Henderson’s compendium provides some info on this design, and also lists as this and this. I like that last one a lot. … Oral Roberts is gonna keep wearing their gold hoops uniforms until they lose (thanks, Phil). … Leicester City, a UK soccer team, will go sponsor-free as part of their 125th-anniversary celebrations (with thanks to Peter Schinkai). … Erkki Corpuz notes that the UCLA gymnastics team wore pink warm-up tees and pink-trimmed leotards on Sunday, and Cal wore pink leotards. … Also from Erkki: The UCLA swim team still uses the school’s old script. … Here’s a new one: denim-trimmed baseball gloves (with thanks to KJ Kearney). … Check out the two jerseys in this shot. Those are the uniforms for the upcoming NBA Rookies/Sophomores game, which will be played as part of the All-Star festivities. Man, is the one on the left an example of rookie hazing or what? Further details here (with thanks to Jordan Alpert). … Anyone ever seen these before? They’re part of this catalog. … Speaking of vintage catalogs, I love the cover design on this one. … Larry Bodnovich sent along a bunch of old color-on-color college football shots, including Pitt vs. Oklahoma, Ohio State vs. Cal (here’s an additional shot), and Princeton vs. Columbia, plus he also contributed a shot from the first-ever USC/Minnesota game in 1953. … Bizarre scene in the Caribbean World Series, as the Gigantes del Cibao went N#OB — that’s no number on back (and yes, those appear to be some odd shenanigans going on there). They had numbers on the front, however (very interesting find by Morris Levin). … I’m pretty sure I’ve linked to this before, but if you scroll down about toward the bottom of this page, you’ll get Brooks Robinson’s explanation for why he wore the short helmet brim (with thanks to Ben Traxel). … Paul Barrett and Doug McConnell sent along team portraits from the 1991 Carolina League All-Star Game — Northern Division (the teams are Prince William Cannons [NYY], the Lynchburg Red Sox [BOS], the Salem Buccaneers [PIT], and the Frederick Keys [BAL]) and Southern Division (Kinston Indians [CLE], Winston-Salem Spirits [CHC], Durham Bulls [ATL], and Peninsula Pilots [SEA]). … What do you do if your team goes 0-16? The answer comes from Jacob Brooks, who writes: “I heard on the radio Monday that the Detroit Lions are going to have (or are working on) a new logo for next year. Something more ferocious.” That sounds, uh, wonderful. … I really wish they wouldn’t do this. … Remember my recent post about Sidney Crosby’s lace bite? According to this story, Peter Taglianetti had the same problem and solved with plastic baggie filled with peanut butter (strange-but-true contribution from Matthew Sampson). … Interview with Todd Radom here.
January 27th, 2009
I’m sure something stupider than the following statement will be uttered at some point this year. I just can’t imagine what it could be. Check this out:
[T]he decision to go back to a jersey with sleeves was again part of the effort to identify with the uniform style of the most successful Pirates teams in the organization’s history. Four of the five world championships won by the Pirates were won by players that had sleeved jerseys.
Yeah, and all of the Pirates’ championship teams wore stirrups, so I suppose you’re gonna go back to those too, right? While you’re at it, go back and see what brand of jockstrap all the players on the ’71 and ’79 World Series teams were wearing.
And people wonder why fans get cynical. I don’t have much of a problem with the Pirates ditching their vests and going back to sleeves (except for the pinstriped vest, which will still be worn for Sunday home games), but c’mon, stop coming up with asinine rationales and just say that you did it change things up a bit and increase merch sales. I’m sure most fans would rather buy a sleeved jersey instead of a vest, so you could say, “We doing it for our fans” and you wouldn’t even be lying.
Anyway, my take on the Buccos’ new uni set breaks down like this:
• New home and road jerseys: Personally, I always liked the Pirates in vests and wish they’d stuck with them, but the addition of sleeves still looks fine, and now at least we won’t have the problems with some players wearing the official patch-inclusive undersleeves and others wearing unofficial patch-free sleeves. (One tangential point of concern: Very disturbing to see Nyjer Morgan wearing solid black socks instead of stirrups. Let’s hope this was just a photo-op shortcut and not a harbinger of a change in Morgan’s hosiery habits.) Good or stupid? Good enough.
• New black alternate jersey and cap: Hate it. If you must have a black jersey, and if you really want to hearken back to your championship heritage, why not go with something like this? Plus I can’t stand that format where the insignia and the uni number don’t vertically align. Plus-plus the new alt cap so similar to the regular cap as to make no difference. Stupid.
• Keeping the pinstriped vest for Sundays: Wait, I thought the whole point of this new set was that sleeves = championships. Whatever — vests and pinstripes are a bad mix. I have a feeling this jersey will be gone for good by 2010, and they should have just gone ahead and retired it now. Stupid.
• Ditching the red vest: Addition by subtraction. Very, very good.
A team source who was present for Friday’s unveiling festivities relayed the following info to me:
Most players I spoke with liked the idea of having sleeves and said with the way each uniform can be tailored to fit, there is no loss of mobility as opposed to the free range of motion associated with the sleeveless design.
The fabric is interesting. It has a mesh texture not unlike your old-school football jerseys. It’s very stretchable and looks like it’ll breath much better than the traditional poly fabric. By the way, the fabric did not match the pants, which were traditional poly. Strange when viewed up close.
Team President Frank Connelly was very tongue-in-cheek with his introductory comments regarding the uniform change, saying (I’m paraphrasing here) “While our red vest design was extremely popular with our fans and players …” That comment got a laugh out of closer Matt Capps and others.
As you can see, there’s gonna be a lot more Cool Base fabrications this season. We’ll address the full implications of that at another time. (Additional Pirates uni info here, and there’s video of the unveiling here.)
Meanwhile, while the Pirates were unveiling their new uniforms, the Rangers were showcasing their new set (full info here, video here): One at a time:
• New letters and numbers: Overlooked in all the hubbub about the new jerseys and caps (which I’ll get to in a sec), the Rangers have introduced a new custom font that’s total shite. NOBs are gonna be illegible on the home and road jerseys, and the numerals look like they’ve got warts. All the jerseys will now use this typography. Seriously stupid.
• New home jersey: Do these Texans have an inferiority complex or what? OK, we get it, you’re from Lone Star country. Jeez. Seriously, a home jersey that doesn’t include the team name or logo is pretty weak. Stupid.
• New road jersey: Fine from the front, but you’ve got that nasty font on the back. Good tempered with a side of stupid.
• New blue alt jersey: Looks just like last year’s blue alt, right? Almost: Last year’s chest insignia had silver-gray outlining, while the new version has MLB’s favorite new design effect, beveling. Plus it’s got the same crummy typography on the back. Stupid.
• New red alt jersey and cap: Jesus H. Christ, would you people please PICK A COLOR AND STICK WITH IT?! Either your primary team color is blue or else it’s red, but it can’t be both. Just start over and use chartreuse or orange or mustard or something. Stupid.
• Ditching the alt home vest and alt road vest: Never liked the home version. Rather enjoyed the road version, but the Rangers just don’t feel like a vest-ish team, so they’re probably better off without both of these. Good.
• Changing the shoes from blue to black: You know the only reason they did this is because the blue spikes wouldn’t work with the red alt jersey. Still, whatever motives, black spikes are always the way to go (Oakland excepted, natch). Good.
• Changing the belts from blue to black: Another change that was no doubt necessitated by the introduction of the red uni set. And it’s too bad, because a blue belt would look better with all their other combos — yes, even with black spikes. Belts and shoes should always match at the office, but that rule doesn’t hold at the ballpark. Stupid.
• New batting helmet: Hahahahahahahahahaha! The great thing about this is that the Mets’ sleeve patch is no longer the worst uni element introduced this winter. I’ll have an entire ESPN column on this helmet later today (look here). Beyond stupid, more like imbecilic.
Fortunately, I was having too much fun at Saturday’s Uni Watch party to get too worked up over any of this. Speaking of which…
Party Update: Saturday’s shindig at Sheep Station was really swell — best Uni Watch party ever, I’d say. Big thanks to all who showed up (especially Ed Hahn, who came all the way from DC and took some photos that you can see here). I’ll have a full report, with lots more pictures, ether tomorrow or Wednesday.
Speaking of this week’s schedule, I’ve got three ESPN columns in the hopper (one today, a really interesting surprise topic for Wednesday, and my annual Super Bowl preview column on Friday), so I may cut back a little here on the blog — not sure yet. In any event, we’ll definitely have regular content tomorrow.
Uni Watch News Ticker: I’ve previously run photos of Richard “Batman” Wood, who got his nickname because of the logo he wore on his pads. But now Chris Markham has found a shot indicating that Wood also wore a Batman helmet decal. … Also from Chris: USFL officials wore really awful Pony-branded socks. … “Southern California” is a lot of letters to fit on a basketball jersey (with thanks to Jeremy Brahm). … According to this story, the Sixers will be switching to their 1982-83 uni design next season. But I’ve seen next season’s Sixers jersey, and I can tell you that it’s not quite as simple as an ’82-’83 throwback. Sorry, can’t tell you more, but I just wanted to say that the story as stated on that page isn’t quite accurate. … The Bobcats wore their checkerboard uniforms on Friday, forcing the Suns to wear white on the road. … Color vs. color: Marquette vs. DePaul on Saturday. “I had it on in the background and it took me about five minutes to look up and realize that the team in blue wasn’t Marquette — and I’m from Milwaukee,” says Karl Vierthaler. … Last Monday I linked to this article about Nile Kinnick’s old football gear. But the web version of the article didn’t include this great photo of the jersey’s inner tag (big thanks to Brad Eenhuis for mailing me the newspaper version). … Similarly, yesterday’s New York Times featured this article about the 1959 all-star benefit game for Bill Dobbyn, but the web version doesn’t include this great photo that ran in the print version. … A high school goalie in New Hampshire is trying to trick shooters by having a new pattern printed on his pads (with thanks to Justine DeCotis). … According to this column, one of the first things Eric Mangini did after being hired by the Browns was “to tear down a huge mural of the team’s Hall of Famers, a list that includes Jim Brown, Otto Graham, Paul Brown, Dante Lavelli, Marion Motley, Lou Groza and Leroy Kelly. … That wall is now painted white.” What a moron. … UNC’s women’s hoops team wore pink uniforms yesterday, in memory of Kay Yow. … And officials working the Longwood/Va.Tech game wore pink whistles (with thanks to Clark Ruhland). … Yesterday’s post included this shot of the 1950 NHL all-star jersey design, which, as Dan Richardson points out, appears to have been the inspiration for the New Westminster Salmonbellies lacrosse team’s jersey design. … “Our local high school is Georgetown-Ridge Farm High School in Illinois,” writes Joel Hackler. “For our non-major sports, the high school co-ops with another local town, Chrisman. Our mascot is the Buffalo and our colors are purple and gold, while Chrisman is the Cardinals and their colors are red and black. Since we co-op for track and cross country, our coach decided to create a new uniform. As you can see, they stick out. The logo on the front includes ‘CHS’ (for Chrisman high school) and ‘GRF’ (Georgetown-Ridge Farm). It’s hard to see, but the two sets of letters are connected with a white chain symbolizing that the two schools are connected.” That’s Joel at far left in the photo, running in the 4×100 relay. … If you go to this page and scroll down about halfway down the menu on the right, you’ll find an excellent video on how a football helmet is manufactured (with thanks to David Soline). … Badly botched NOB during Saturday’s NBA D-League game between the Anaheim Arsenal and L.A. D-Fenders: Ryan Forehan-Kelly was missing an “e” and a hyphen (good catch by Daniel Peterson). … Kari Lehtonen isn’t the first Thrashers goalie to have a Batman-themed mask. Pasi Nurminen wore Batman and the Joker on his mask in 2003-04 (thanks, Teebz). … If you start at this page from a 1967 issue of Baseball Digest and start scrolling down, you’ll see some unusual (and, I think, very unofficial) MLB team logos (with thanks to Gordon Reid). … Tris Wykes sent along some interesting scans, including Doug Flutie with his mouthguard tucked into his sock, Duane and Brent Sutter in a 1986 photo they probably regret, Bobby Orr wearing No. 27, and Chris Chelios wearing lace-up gloves and rubber bumpers on his helmet. … Kyle Oen — the man behind the awesome Vintage Minnesota Hockey site — reports a hockey/baseball crossover promotion in the offing: “This coming summer we have agreed to do a St. Paul Saints baseball jersey that celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the Minnesota Fighting Saints hockey team.” No images yet. … U.S. Pond Hockey Championships report from Jeff Barak, who writes: “Here’s a Men’s Senior team wearing old IHL Minnesota Moose jerseys. This team won the “Golden Shovel” a couple of years back as division champions. Next we have the Pond Scum, showing some of the unique numbering treatments you sometimes see (I recall a team last year that had fractions, decimals, roman numerals and even π on one of their jerseys). And then there’s District 5, wearing their plaid lumberjack flannels. I did see a few other teams wearing Ottawa 67’s barberpole-style jerseys, 1980 U.S. Olympic jerseys, AHL Iowa Stars, and some with the 1932 Boston Bruins striping pattern, plus more than one tweed jacket, but unfortunately no photos — the combination of 13º weather and a -7º wind-chill made for an unhappy five-year-old son and sucked the life out of my camera batteries.” … Reprinted from last night’s comments: In 1985, Bill Bidwill had the Cardinals wear solid-red hose (no whites), and the players protested. … Here’s something you don’t often see: the towel literally being thrown in at the conclusion of Saturday’s Mosley/Margarito bout. … Dayton wore throwbacks yesterday (with thanks to John Cristiano). … Teal vs. maroon on Saturday, as Coastal Carolina played Winthrop (with thanks to Mike Miller). … Also from Mike: “What’s wrong with this photo? That’s UW-Milwaukee wearing gold vs. Valparaiso in white. Nothing unusual, right? Except that the game is in Milwaukee (check the Brewers ads). Valpo has gold road uniforms and Milwaukee has gold home uniforms, so Valpo had to wear white on the road.” … Adam Telischak was attending the NFL Experience in Tampa sent along some shots of vintage NFL sweatshirts and this program. One thing I hadn’t noticed before: Brownie the elf has five fingers — unusual (and unacceptable!) for a cartoon character. … Lots of NHL all-star pics here. … This is pretty funny (with thanks to Ken Ocker). … Coupla Super Bowl screen grabs from Doug Keklak: First, when Jim O’Brien kicked the game-winning field goal in SB V, his chin strap was unbuckled. Anyone know if he always did this? Also, why did Jim Otto have a first initial in SB II? Was there another Otto on the Raiders? … Rafael Nadal has been wearing some brutal color combos down in Oz.
January 26th, 2009
By Phil Hecken (with another big assist from Teebz)
The 2009 NHL All-Star Game will be played today as part of the celebrations surrounding the Canadiens’ 100th anniversary. It will mark the 13th time Montreal has hosted the game (although the first time they’ve done so at the Bell Centre). The uniforms for this game have already been covered nicely by Paul in his ESPN piece, and Teebz has been running a series of all-star-related entries on his blog. This article will focus on some aspects and uniforms of previous all-star games.
The first true NHL All-Star Game was played in 1947, and the All Stars wore these beauties as they defeated the Stanley Cup champion Tornoto Maple Leafs, 4-3. In those days, the All-Star Game format called for the reigning Stanley Cup champion to play a team comprised of all stars from the other teams. Since there were only six teams in the NHL then, the All-Star Game was played prior to the start of the regular season.
It wasn’t until 1969 that the game changed to two all-star teams, one from the West Division and the other from the East Division. This stayed relatively unchanged, except for changes in the division or conference names, until the NHL thought of emphasizing the global nature of the game by having the North American all-stars play against the World all-stars. This system came into effect for the 1998 game and stayed until the 2003 season, when they reverted back to the East/West format.
MVPs of the game were announced starting with the 1962 game when Eddie Shack was named MVP. A few years later the MVP would be given a car as a prize for his accomplishments. But, since the All Star Game is returning to Montreal for the first time in 16 years, let’s now focus on those games played in that city.
Although the first league-sanction all-star game wasn’t until 1947, there were “all-star benefit games” prior to that. The first such game was in 1934, for Irvine Wallace “Ace” Bailey, whose career came to an abrupt end on December 12, 1933, when he was hit from behind by Eddie Shore of the Boston Bruins, apparently in retaliation for a hit he had received from King Clancy moments earlier, and hit his head on the ice, fracturing his skull. It was feared that Bailey would not survive after severely injuring his head. Bailey and Shore shook hands and embraced at center ice before the game began. One of the teams was comprised the stricken Bailey’s teammates: Toronto Maple Leafs. The other team included the stars of all other National Hockey League clubs and they were so talented that more than half of them were later honored in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Those players would don this sweater. One of those players was Howie Morenz.
Other benefit games were staged in Montreal in the 1930s. The first one was held to benefit the family of Nels Crutchfield in 1936, while the other two were held for tragically lost Canadiens: Howie Morenz (the same man who played in the Ace Bailey benefit) in 1937, and Albert Siebert in 1939.
Montreal hosted the NHL’s seventh non-benefit All-Star Game on October 3, 1953, at the Montreal Forum. The All Stars wore this jersey, which was used from 1950 through 1954. By virtue of their domination of the six-team league at the time, the Canadiens hosted the annual event five straight years between 1956 and 1960. The All Stars wore a white sweater until 1959. In 1960, the 14th NHL All-Star Game was played in Montreal, and this time the Canadiens wore orange and black uniforms instead of their traditional red, white and blue jersey.
With the 1967-68 expansion and the NHL going from six to 12 teams in two divisions, the All-Star Game format changed and would now feature the Eastern Conference All-Stars playing the Western Conference counterparts. Furthermore, the All-Star Game became a mid-season event instead of being held at the start of the season. On January 21, 1969, in a newly renovated Forum, the 22nd NHL All-Star Game featured an East-West match-up that ended in a 3-3 tie. The teams wore these uniforms for that game.
The NHL All-Star Game would return to the Forum in 1975 (decent video footage can be seen here). Uniforms retained their basic black and orange colors, and in 1975, Bobby Orr wore this. By this time, there were 18 teams in the NHL, playing in two conferences of two divisions each. The All-Star Game format changed once again to reflect the new alignment, pitting the Wales Conference against the Campbell Conference.
The last All Star Game to be held in Montreal prior to today was in 1993, when the returned for the 44th annual game. The event produced a 22-goal scoring extravaganza, as Wales beat Campbell, 16-6.
My fondest memories of the All-Star game were when the game took place back in the 1970s and 1980s, between the then Campbell and Wales Conferences. The jerseys varied only slightly then, featuring the black and orange look many of us fondly remember. From 1994-1997 after realignment and the renaming of the divisions to “Eastern” and “Western,” sweaters took on the new look. Trying to generate new excitement, in 1998, the format switched to North America versus “The World”. The jerseys would get progressively worse (see Teebz’s site for more pics), and the NHL reverted back to Eastern versus Western in 2003. The only saving grace during this time occurred in 2004, when the NHL switched to these beauties. It wouldn’t last long however, because by 2007, Reebok took over hockey and introduced the world to the Edge jersey. We’ve been subjected to unis like this for the past two seasons. Fortunately, this year’s uniforms are a nice upgrade.
January 25th, 2009
By Phil Hecken
Today is the annual New York gathering of Uni Watch at 2:00 pm at Sheep Station in Paul’s borough of Brooklyn. MLB logo designer Jerry Dior is scheduled to join us, it should be a fun time, and last year’s party was great. Hopefully, if you live within the area, you will be dropping by.
My memory of last year is a little hazy, but I believe Paul may have worn something like this, though I may have confused him with someone else. All kidding aside, despite his keen eye toward sartorial splendor, and being our eyes and ears on the aesthetics of athletics, Mr. Lukas almost always wears normal clothes when hosting our Uni Watch gatherings, oftentimes making new lifelong buddies in the process.
Like most of the UW readership, I own several jerseys. Unfortunately, this isn’t my closet and neither is this, nor is this. But I still face the question we all do when attending a Uni Watch gathering: “What to wear?” As of this morning, I still haven’t decided.
Of course, a Uni Watch gathering always leads an attendee to strongly contemplate his or her choice of attire. It is a decision not usually easily arrived at, since for many of us there are many options. While I did consider wearing something like this, I would be hard-pressed to match the amazing selections of those who have previously attended Uni Watch gigs. Truly outstanding efforts have been put into selecting their attire for the occasion.
There are always interesting and different looks, and always some real beauties, including a few kits from sports some of us have never heard of. There will always be a few UWers who show up wearing shirts from sports that aren’t even real sports — or sports that only Bryan seemingly could love.
Sometimes, famous folks and UW legends show up. Often, a clever t-shirt provides proper comic relief. Other times, the ink is the star of the show or just a conversation piece. And on rare occasions, a dedicated UWer will drive 7 hours to be at a gig.
There are those times when someone will bring along a really sweet jersey. And any Mets gear is always sure to impress the host. On the other hand, a Uni Watcher may feel obligated to tweak the host by wearing enemy colors, but you gotta admit this is a beautiful jersey. No less certain to curry favor with Paul is to show up wearing purple nike, or keep this gem hidden until just the right moment. On the other side of the coin is the person sporting UW colors, virtually assuring a pose with Paul.
It’s always nice when someone treats a gathering as a formal affair. To add local flair at gatherings in areas not located near the Big Apple, college puck sweaters are always a good way to go. One could always take the old time route and wear something from Soviet Union, where sweater wears you.
Finally, readers occasionally turn up wearing uniforms that never existed (or never should have existed). Some of the more enterprising among us will go the extra mile and actually make their own jerseys. But whatever it is that we choose to wear, whether it be baby blue or bright orange, it’s always great to be with others who Get It ™.
You can check out full party write-ups from the past by clicking here, here, here, and here, and probably elsewhere by searching the archives.
No matter what a UWer is wearing, a UW gathering is always attended by those who know the proper way to wear a jersey. I still don’t know what I’ll be wearing, but whatever it is, it won’t be tucked into my jeans. Hope any Uni Watchers in the tri-state area or within seven hours driving distance can make it down to Sheep Station this afternoon. For the rest of you, enjoy the football-free weekend and enjoy the NHL pre-All Star Game festivities, myriad basketball games, golf, tennis and even the X-games. The floor is yours.
January 24th, 2009
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