By Phil Hecken, with Tim Brulia and Rick Pearson
It struck Ricko and me at about the same time. We were trading E-mails before the Denver Broncos played the San Diego Chargers in their throwbacks this past Monday, and exchanging some barbs about the uniforms as depicted on the 1960 AFL section of the Football Uniforms Past and Present website — that website is an invaluable tool, and the amount of incredible research that has gone into it cannot be undervalued — and Ricko asked me, “you don’t think the Broncos are gonna wear brown pants with white stripes, do you?” Now, I wasn’t born when the Broncos played that first season, but I did know they only had one pair of pants. Yet, on the 1960 section of FUPP, those pants are depicted as having white stripes (which would have made infinitely more sense, only it didn’t happen).
Then we looked more closely at some of the other uniforms — and Ricko informed me they were wrong too. In fact, it occurred to him (and it hit me at about the same time): “Did the NFL actually use the FUPP site to base a good number of their AFL throwback uniform upon?” Could they have been that lazy? Were they relying on a (very good, but not infallible) website to dictate the look of their throwbacks? Certainly, the Houston Oilers, who are depicted as having blue numbers and blue stripes on their socks (for their road uniform) — which is also wrong — could have been the NFL’s model. When the Titans came out wearing their road throwbacks, sure enough they were wrong. In fact, they really butchered the socks, (those are the home socks).
Anyway, this got us (and by us, I mean Ricko) to thinking … just how many of those 1960 uniforms depicted on FUPP were not correct? As it turns out — EVERY SINGLE ONE had something that is incorrect — some mistakes are minor, some are major — but every single one of them is incorrect. And that is a shame, because FUPP is such a great site, but really, accuracy is of paramount importance. As it turned out, the Broncos did wear the correct pants for their game, but many believed they screwed up. Had FUPP correctly depicted the gold pants stripes, perhaps no one would have even noticed. But the fact that many felt the Broncos were actually “wearing the wrong pants” speaks volumes about the importance of making sure the historical record is correct.
One of UW’s outstanding research historians, Tim Brulia, who has compiled two historical columns for the UW archives (”White At Home in the NFL” and “Pro Football Uniform History” — both of which can be found on the right hand side of the UW main page, under “Research Projects”), is actually planning on working with and expanding upon the efforts begun by the FUPP website. I will now turn the column over to Tim, who will explain a bit about that and more. Here’s Tim:
“What is my stake in all of this? I am trying to extend the great work the FUPP site did when it was first launched. But in order for a site to have teeth, it must be accurate, as close to 100% accurate as possible. With a site like FUPP, every little nuance, and detail (colors, stripes, numeral fonts, patches, logos, etc.) has to be accurate.
“In my research, I have used the Proquest archives of the New York Times that are available online. When I was a member of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), they made available the Proquest archives of the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times. I utilize the Pennsylvania State Library in Harrisburg, PA and their vast microfilm collection of PA newspapers, including the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia papers. When I get a rare chance to make it to Washington, I also use the microfilm newspaper collection from the Library of Congress. As well as various historical football pictorial books. Not to mention various contributions from others along the way. I thank all the facilities and generous people for the help.
“Currently, I am working with a contributor who is doing the graphic work on the pre-1959 uniforms. The aim is to complete these sets of unis. From here, we hope to revise the corrections that need to be made that is currently shown on FUPP and bring the uni combos that have been worn since 2003 up to date. When will all of this see the light of day on a website? Frankly, it is too early to tell. But even after our dream becomes reality, our work will never be done. There will always be something that we missed or we need to fix.”
Thanks Tim. I will now turn the remainder of this section over to Rick Pearson, who will explain the importance of “getting it right” when it comes to stuff like this. Through Ricko’s tireless efforts this past week, he has reworked every single AFL uniform template for the 1960 season. This has come about by using his personal recollections, the study of numerous photos and clippings from “The Ricko Files” and the experience of being a “uni watcher” from birth. I’m often impressed, usually wowed, suitably satiated, and never bored by what we as a Uni Watch community bring to the table. But what you’re about to read and see, which is the culmination of that lifetime of paying attention to the little things that really DO matter, is one of the most amazing efforts I have ever seen, and not just on UW. If he and Tim (and others) collaborating now and into the future produce results like those below, then the historical record will have found in Tim and Ricko an equal to Marc Okkonen.
And with that, here’s Ricko:
I’d just turned 14, with six or seven years of serious uni watching (lower case) already under my belt. It was a black and white world, except for Sports Illustrated, SPORT magazine, baseball and football cards (the latter being almost worthless) and Preview Annuals. One NFL game a week on TV and only a half-hour weekly highlight show on Saturday mornings. So if you didn’t see it on Sunday, you pretty much weren’t gonna see it.
And then along game this new American Football League. Lots of ink, mostly about how stupid and lame-brained the idea was. Precious little detail. Hard to know who the players were, much less anything about team colors or unis. Such things were of little or no concern to most people. No “gamers” on sale anywhere. No fan hats. Nuthin’.
Anyway, here comes this loopy new league, with lots of new names and faces, and plenty of familiar old ones.
I parked myself in front of the TV every Sunday. Actually had one in my bedroom, a bit of novelty for a kid back then, and I watched the AFL, making sketches of their unis. What color were they? Well, that required something of a science in itself. Scarlet and royal look almost alike on b&w TV…unless they’re on the field at the same time. If you knew “A” was red, then you could figure “B” (although when together, royal generally did look a bit darker).
You needed to be around for the beginning of the telecast. That was the time, if ever, the announcers would “set the scene. “ Maybe half the time, though, they didn’t bother to describe the unis at all.
Gradually, I figured them out. Logic indicated the Oilers were in powder blue (though yellow gold was something of a possibility). Eventually, announcers confirmed the blue. The Titans certainly wore old gold pants. One announcer said they were in “maize and blue, like Michigan.” My ass, they were. Those pants were WAY too dark to be “maize” as Wolverines knew it. And so it went. And sometimes you’d guess. Educated guesses, but still guesses. And look for details. Is there a feathered edge on those stripes? Especially on socks. That could be a tough one. Not a ton of close-ups back then.
Wasn’t until maybe the third time I saw the Broncos that someone said they were in brown and gold. Until then, I was thinking maybe navy and gold. Or navy and the light orange we now call “Tennessee Orange.” I had reckoned the Patriots were in royal (not wanting to be the “Redcoats,” as many of you have mentioned) and that the Bills had chosen red and silver. Why not, it was a great look at Georgia at the time, and had served the 49ers well the season before. Then I learned it was just the opposite, probably when they played each other and I could compare the “grays”. Or when an announcer bothered to tell us what the hell the teams were wearing.
After a full season of carefully watching all or part of probably every ABC telecast, I had everything pretty much down. Then it was just a case of waiting until the end of the following summer to check preseason magazines (and hope for SOME quality in football cards) to check my findings … even though the magazines would all be black and white, too (it wasn’t until SI’s pro football preview in ’62 that I finally saw a color photo an AFL game).
And somewhere along the line it occurred to me that maybe no one else what recording the things I was recording … and that maybe someday it all would mean something to someone. Guess maybe now it finally does.
So that’s it. The photos I’ve supplied Phil all are from 1961 publications (unless noted), so they have to be 1960 games. Tough to find a camera that will photographs next year’s games.
And I have nothing but respect for FUPP. When I first saw the site, the mistakes irritated me. Then I came to realize they had taken on an outrageous task and very probably just hadn’t had the time to search for everything. I wish I’d know of them sooner, I’d have been glad to help.
What DOES irritate me is that it almost appears that the NFL simply went to FUPP for a lot of its input for the Legacy project. You like to think they’d have bothered to, oh, I dunno, look through their own photo files…or send someone to probe the local newspaper archives.
When Paul visited me a year ago, I kidded about being available to consult with the NFL on the AFL’s 1960 unis for the 50th celebration “for a reasonable fee.” We both laughed, and then he said, matter-of-factly, “They don’t care.”
He was right. The league doesn’t. The Broncos, though, put some extra effort into it. And whether we liked the ’60 duds or not, they got it right. All things considered, that’s exceptional. Also unusual, unfortunately.
Phil here. Before we return to Rick’s write up, I want to show you what Rick did to fix the FUPP 1960 AFL team graphics. So, here, for the first time, are all Eight Original AFL teams, properly rendered by color, stripe, helmet, etc. OUTSTANDING effort Rick! And here are each of those eight teams individually:
Boston Patriots … Buffalo Bills … Dallas Texans … Denver Broncos … New York Titans … Houston Oilers … Los Angeles Chargers … and Oakland Raiders.
Tremendous, tremendous job on those Rick. OK — I now return you to the sage uni watcher, Mr. Pearson, who has some notes on those templates:
Notes on the Revised Templates:
1. Wide red band on Patriots socks.
Back then it took me a while to realize that was the top of the crew socks many of the Pats chose to wear. In some games, they wore crew socks that ended with a pair of red stripes, which totally garbled the leg striping.
2. Titans and Raiders helmets.
Raiders wore the same as the Bears at the time. Titans wore something different altogether. It might have been MacGregor, but I don’t remember any other teams wearing it (and I probably should have made theirs a darker blue, because they were). That blue-helmets-darker-than-blue-jerseys thing.
3. Raider numbers were same font as Oilers.
Most uni historians don’t get that right. They assume that Raiders were more like the Bears…probably because the uni was patterned after them.
4. Have not double-checked the specific versions of block numbers for teams that wore them.
Titans and Chargers are right, I believe. The others may well need adjusting.
5. Raiders gold.
You can see on my “Kids Cards” that I had the Raiders’ gold wrong. It had a bit of sheen to it, and I thought it was metallic old gold, like UCLA or Notre Dame. It wasn’t until I saw the 1962 cards (’61 Raider cards all were hand-tinted black & white PR photos and pretty useless) that I learned positively that it was yellow-gold.
6. One-year wonders.
Only Bills and Raiders were unchanged for second season.
In 1961…
* Titans went to white-added loop unis used for the Legacy games.
* Patriots changed loops to royal around white, and lost the white road socks. And, of course, the three-corner hat was gone.
* Chargers changed all bolts to yellow-gold edged in blue.
* Texans ditched white high road socks.
* Oilers changed to block numbers with no contrasting edge on numbers or sock stripes, either home or road.
*Broncos had no TV numbers on home jerseys.
Well, that’s it for the history lesson. All I can say is “WOW”. Outstanding effort Mr. Richard Pearson. It’s clear to me that the once and future FUPP website will be getting an outstanding resource in you, and when combined with Tim Brulia’s yeoman research and a quality graphic artist, we can look forward to an historical record that will rival that of Marc Okkonen. (And maybe even surpass it). Tip of the cap to you gentlemen, for this first salvo. I’m sure the project, when it finally does come to fruition, will be well worth the wait for those uni watchers (and non-uni watchers) who have been waiting for something like this since … well — forever.
What say YOU, Uni Watch community? How freakin’ great was this? Big round of applause for both Ricko and Timmy B!
UW #1 Seahawks Fan Michael Princip has been tracking the Oregon Ducks and all of their 2,456 possible uniform combinations this season. He’ll be updating it after each game. Oregon continued on its winning streak, remaining unbeaten in PAC-10 play and taking Washington behind the woodshed this week, with a 43-19 buttwhoopin’. Look for Oregon to move up from the 11-spot in the rankings and into to the Top 10. The Ducktracker is now updated.
Our man in the street, Jim Vilk brings you his “Top 5″ Best and one WORST college football uni matchup from yesterday:
5. USF/Pitt: Bulls are growing on me, while Pitt is a script away from being awesome-looking.
4. Indiana/Northwestern: A lack of Northwestern striping kept this from being rated higher.
3. Tennessee/Alabama: Oh, Bama…if you would have let the Vols wear orange you could have been #1.
2. Auburn/LSU: Tigers win this battle of the unis…
1. Iowa State/Nebraska: Cyclones blew me away with this look, while the Huskers remain classic.
And the worst one: Ball State/Eastern Michigan: A battle of winless teams in more ways than one.
OK that’s all for today. Apologize for the lack of “extras” but needed to get this loaded early. Everyone have a great Sunday. Don’t forgot to nominate your Worst Uni Ever (see yesterday’s post for details). Two legacy games today, plus the ALCS resumes, following the rainout yesterday.
#1 by jesse on 10.25.09 7:47 am |
Really,really nice job on todays stuff. Kudos to all!
#2 by leon on 10.25.09 8:50 am |
Before I head out to participate in an all-day fundraiser for LLS:
Congrats to the prodigy who would evolve into Dr. Rick and his use of the microscope on this subject.
Also, I would like to propose a college gridiron for endzone graphic of yesterday: Mizzou. This is probably routine there but I noticed it yesterday for some reason (UW flu, perhaps).
Have a day.
#3 by JTH on 10.25.09 8:52 am |
JTH said:
What? Are you kidding? This is possibly the best weekend post ever.
Ricko, Timmy & Phil, this is outstanding work. And if I may use an idiom derived from baseball to applaud this football-related effort: touch ’em all, fellas.
#4 by aflfan on 10.25.09 8:54 am |
Excellent work gentlemen. Bravo! Bravo!
#5 by The Jeff on 10.25.09 9:26 am |
Yeah, nice work. Good thinking from your young self to document this stuff when apparently the league couldn’t be bothered to.
Now get that site up! :P
#6 by Helmets Match Pants on 10.25.09 9:31 am |
I can only imagine how awesome Oregon would have looked yesterday if they wore their green helmet instead. They were still really sharp though!
I am really becoming obsessed with their uniforms each week.
#7 by Ricko on 10.25.09 9:43 am |
REVISING THE REVISED…
Added the third stripe to the 1960 Patriots pants (FUPP showed only two red) as a placeholder.
Forgot to go back and check the colors. Should be two royal and one red, as evidenced both by my Kid Cards…
http://farm3.static....
and LarryB’s screen grabs from the Showtime series…
http://farm3.static....
So the Patriots should look like this…
http://farm4.static....
—Ricko
#8 by not Osama on 10.25.09 9:49 am |
Great work on the AFL unis but a major flaw in the best college uni section for failing to list Michigan vs. Penn State in top 5!!!!
#9 by The Jeff on 10.25.09 10:04 am |
Ricko said:
In retrospect, the Patriots really fudged that up. They’d have looked better and made more sense if they’d gone with blue jerseys.
#10 by JTH on 10.25.09 10:13 am |
not Osama said:
Agreed.
Also, much as I hate the dark monochrome look, the stark contrast of the Mizzou/UT game kinda worked for me.
#11 by The Jeff on 10.25.09 10:26 am |
Meh.
Penn State need to shrink the color around the collar and put a stripe on the pants.
They’re just too plain. There’s clean and classic like the Raiders or Colts… and then there’s boring like Penn State.
#12 by Ricko on 10.25.09 10:29 am |
The Jeff said:
No disagreement, but I’ve said before that I think it came down to colors in the AFL East…and when the Pats picked their jersey color.
Colors were NOT assigned by the league (I know for a fact that Bud Adams chose the Oilers’ powder blue), but the league did have approval. Any league does. Had the other three East teams filed their colors before the Patriots, someone in the AFL office may have noticed that if the Pats wore blue, all four teams in the divison would be in some shade of blue (and five of the league’s eight teams), and therefore called for the change to something other than blue. Possibly even suggested red to get a little more color into that division.
Or the Pats did it themselves because they realized the rest of East had gone blue.
The league wouldn’t have asked someone else to change. Well, they may have, but if those teams have refused, the Pats would have had no choice. First come, first served applies here, too.
—Ricko
#13 by The Jeff on 10.25.09 10:42 am |
Ricko said:
Too bad the league didn’t have more say in it.
The west had red, blue, black and yellow – nice and colorful, while the east was blue, blue, blue… and red. Brilliant! The Titans switching to green when they became the Jets was a really good thing.
#14 by Ricko on 10.25.09 10:48 am |
The Jeff said:
So two sleeve stripes are the only thing that saves Texas’ road unis from being equally boring?
I mean, both helmets have only one element (Penn State, stripe; Texas, logo on sides). Both have shoulder TVs and no pants sripes. So I guess it’s thank God for those Longhorn stripes, cuz that’s pretty much a photo finish in the boring race, isn’t it?
Oh, wait, Penn State has contrasting shoulder yokes and sleeve ends. Does that equal two sleeve stripes? Cuz that would make it a tie.
Just sayin’…one consistently gets shit. The other, no such common abuse.
—Ricko
#15 by The Jeff on 10.25.09 10:57 am |
Ricko said:
I’d put pant stripes on Texas too, if it means anything to you. I hate the solid pants, whether it’s white (Penn State, Texas), gold (Rams), black (Ravens) or any other color.
#16 by tom farley on 10.25.09 11:01 am |
Great job, Ricko and Timmy B. It’s always a pleasure to see the work of people who know that finding one source on something does not equal “research.” And, better still, who acknowledge that the investigating and research are never truly over, as Ricko did above. Well done.
Had the other three East teams filed their colors before the Patriots, someone in the AFL office may have noticed that if the Pats wore blue, all four teams in the divison would be in some shade of blue
It’s interesting in light of what happened when the AFL East evolved into the AFC East: White helmets on all five teams from 1970-77. (Then the Jets went to the green helmets.)
There also was an abundance of white pants, home and away, in the division in the ’70s and well into the ’80s, the Bills’ O.J.-era blues and the Patriots’ Grogan-era reds being the exceptions.
I never thought I would miss white in NFL uniforms …
#17 by Ricko on 10.25.09 11:03 am |
The Jeff said:
LOL….”Let’s see, in the East we got powder. We got navy. We got royal. And you want royal, too? Sorry.”
Tell you what, when I thought the original Bills were in Red & Silver back in ‘60, I thought it was great. Then when I learned was a blue and basically same thing has the Lions I was disappointed. If “meh” had existed back then, I’d have said, “Meh.”
I have always thought that, from a marketing standpoint, the original Bills were the worst original AFL uni. Not the ugliest, but “ugly” at least got the team and the league some attention in Denver. The Bills were so “off the rack” and imitative that they were awful. Red & Silver (while still the ‘Niners look) at least would have a little visual zing. Even Maroon & Silver would have been better. Would have been original in pro football, too.
Again, that’s from a marketing perspective only.
—Ricko
#18 by Ricko on 10.25.09 11:11 am |
The Jeff said:
I just meant Penn State always gets the finger pointed it’s way in that discussion. But rarely does Texas get mentioned, and they’re damn close in lack of adornment.
Probably it’s because the burnt orange is more colorful. Penn State’s navy (which often looks black) definitely contributes to the “plainness” impression.
And Texas used to have two orange pants stripes.
http://images.google...
—Ricko
#19 by The Jeff on 10.25.09 11:15 am |
To jump back to the original AFL uniforms and such…. does this look about right for the Oilers number font?
http://img2.imagesha...
I’ve got a metric crapload of fonts… just checking accuracy.
#20 by Ricko on 10.25.09 11:16 am |
Ah, Earl Campbell. “The Tyler Rose”
http://www.bestsport...
Maybe the last of the great nicknames of that ilk.
Let’s see, there was…
The Sultan of Swat
The Yankee Clipper
The Splendid Splinter
The Toy Cannon
The Ryan Express
The Great One
Anybody got others? I’m sure you do.
—Ricko
#21 by Ricko on 10.25.09 11:18 am |
The Jeff said:
The Jeff said:
uni font may be a bit thicker, but that’s damn close.
#22 by Ricko on 10.25.09 11:23 am |
The Big Unit.
(forgot about that one)
#23 by Ricko on 10.25.09 11:27 am |
The Golden Jet
(Nice foreshadowing. Got that nickname in Chicago, ended up with Winnipeg Jets. Not quite so ironic, though, cuz Ben Hatskin named ‘em the Jets cuz he intended to sign Hull. Said so at the first WHA meeting he attended. I know. I heard him say it, lol)
—Ricko
#24 by Stuby on 10.25.09 11:32 am |
Ricko said:
The Say Hey Kid
The Duke of Flatbush
The Galloping Ghost
#25 by JTH on 10.25.09 11:35 am |
The Big Hurt
#26 by mmwatkin on 10.25.09 11:36 am |
This should be interesting
http://sports.espn.g...
#27 by JTH on 10.25.09 11:43 am |
The Intimidator
The Kansas Comet
The Wizard of Oz
How about Coaches?
The Wizard of Westwood
The General
The Zen Master
The Big Tuna.
OK, I’ll stop now
#28 by JTH on 10.25.09 11:46 am |
El Caballo?
#29 by Momofuku on 10.25.09 11:47 am |
Louisiana Lightning
#30 by Ricko on 10.25.09 11:47 am |
Galloping Ghost?
(From LarryB, posted late last night…)
My PBS has “Red Grange Remembers” at 5PM Sunday. It is on WQED Pittsburgh and should be on other PBS channels maybe at other times
http://will.illinois...
(Probably worth watching. The real-life side of LEATHERHEADS, which conversely isn’t worth watching.)
—Ricko
#31 by Stuby on 10.25.09 11:47 am |
My all-time fave: The Wild Hoss of the Osage — Pepper Martin
#32 by DJ on 10.25.09 11:47 am |
One thing Texas has going for them is that their stripe-less pants correspond with their stripe-less helmet (in contrast to Penn State).
#33 by JTH on 10.25.09 11:48 am |
One more then I’ll really stop…
The Commander (aka Pudge)
#34 by Mike on 10.25.09 11:50 am |
How about Penn State vs. Michigan yesterday as a great uni-matchup. Can’t really get more classic than those two.
#35 by Stuby on 10.25.09 11:50 am |
JTH said:
Which Pudge?
#36 by The Jeff on 10.25.09 11:51 am |
mmwatkin said:
Eh, who cares? Let them wear pads or helmets if they want to. It’s not going to have any effect on the actual gameplay whether the ump is wearing a baseball helmet or not.
I’m sorta curious why it’s suddenly an issue now though. They’ve only been on the field, in the way, for the past… what, 70 years? If they really wanted them to be safe, they’d take them off the field completely and have them monitor the game with that wire camera.
#37 by Ricko on 10.25.09 11:52 am |
DJ said:
But their striped sleeves correspond to nothing.
Just sayin’.
Although, truly, those sleeve stripes DO make a difference. Texas does track a lot less plain…cuz of artwork on the helmet instead of stripe, too.
I’m not supporting any postion, btw, just starting conversation about how one team sometimes gets the brunt of the criticism.
—Ricko
#38 by Momofuku on 10.25.09 11:58 am |
Tony “One Punch” Nelson
i can see its going to be a very long day……………
#39 by M.Princip on 10.25.09 12:05 pm |
Great job fellas, truly enjoyed reading today’s post. So, when does FUPP make these updates to their 1960 set?
#40 by Ricko on 10.25.09 12:09 pm |
Strictly speaking, I meant those structured as in…
“The Something Something.”
Not nicknames like “Bambi”, and lord knows there are plenty of them, too. And some are fantastic.
—Ricko
#41 by The Jeff on 10.25.09 12:13 pm |
This is what I think Penn State should look like.
http://img248.images...
Just flip the colors for the dark jersey. TV numbers could go sleeves or shoulders really, I just left them where I had them on the template from the last team I was messing with.
#42 by Ricko on 10.25.09 12:18 pm |
The Jeff said:
The Jeff said:
Posted this before. Penn State’s Ted Kwalick in royal with pants stripe. 1969, I believe.
http://farm3.static....
—Ricko
#43 by Ricko on 10.25.09 12:23 pm |
Keep in mind there’s a method to Penn State’s thinking. They’re looking for an edge. The idea is to look so “unflashy” that teams get overconfident. Joe Paterno himself once said of their black shoes, “I don’t want teams to know we’re as fast as we are.”
—Ricko
#44 by The Jeff on 10.25.09 12:29 pm |
Ricko said:
Of course, if that philosophy actually worked, Oregon would be winless…for the past decade. So, yeah. Sorry Joe, you need a pants stripe.
#45 by Stuby on 10.25.09 12:32 pm |
Check out this 49er picture from the SF Chronicle site from 1960:
http://imgs.sfgate.c...
Were the ’49’s on the socks part of the uniform? Ricko?
#46 by Momofuku on 10.25.09 12:33 pm |
Ricko said:
Never heard of him.
#47 by Ricko on 10.25.09 12:34 pm |
Stuby said:
Nope. Probably practice socks.
#48 by Ricko on 10.25.09 12:38 pm |
The Jeff said:
How ’bout we let Joe coach. I know he has more experience than I. Can’t speak to your background.
Wasn’t looking for anyone’s opinion of what he said, was just providing background. Y’know, so people might learn something about the “why” of things. Add to their database, so to speak.
—Ricko
#49 by Ricko on 10.25.09 12:40 pm |
Momofuku said:
No sweat.
He’s never heard of you, either.
Or me, for that matter. ;)
–Ricko
#50 by Helmets Match Pants on 10.25.09 12:40 pm |
I don’t know anybody who likes the Texas uniforms. They are a disgusting color and a horrible boring design.
Plus, as Paul reported a couple of years ago, their helmet decal is actually brown and not orange – which is just plain wrong.
#51 by JTH on 10.25.09 12:40 pm |
Ricko said:
OK, so strike The Intimidor, The Commander and The General
#52 by Chris on 10.25.09 12:41 pm |
The Princeton Pugilist
http://graphics8.nyt...
#53 by The Jeff on 10.25.09 12:41 pm |
Ricko said:
Will you please stop sucking the fun out of my replies? I have to be snarky sometimes, otherwise I end up either not commenting or agreeing with you most of the time, and what fun is that?
#54 by JTH on 10.25.09 12:42 pm |
Stuby said:
Fisk. He’s the only one I know of that was also called “The Commander.” Is there another one with both nicknames?
#55 by Ricko on 10.25.09 12:46 pm |
Helmets Match Pants said:
That’s that “things get darker on helmets” buggaboo. If you look close, really close, the Colts horseshoe is darker than their royal jersey, too.
—Ricko
#56 by Stuby on 10.25.09 12:47 pm |
JTH said:
Quite honestly, I’ve never heard of either referred to as “The Commander”
#57 by MPowers1634 on 10.25.09 12:47 pm |
Rick, Phil and Tim:
You should all be working as NFL Historians.
This is OUTSTANDING work by the three of you.
Ricko, you continue to amaze me with the depth of your aesthetic passion!
#58 by Ricko on 10.25.09 12:50 pm |
Anyone else watch that piece on the Vikings-Steelers tug ‘o war?
Remember watching it live. Was one of the most dramatic 15-minute sporting events I ever saw.
Plus, if you’ve ever been in such a tug o’ war it is unbelievably demanding. Just taps–and saps–everything in your body.
—Ricko
#59 by LarenR on 10.25.09 12:54 pm |
Helmets Match Pants said:
It occurs to me that Oregon, assuming no more one-off unis (like the throwback v. Cal this year), could make it until game nine of the 2213 season without repeating their look!
#60 by JimV19 on 10.25.09 12:58 pm |
not Osama said:
Had Penn State been at home, they were a lock. With this combo, it was between them and USF/Pitt. Both PSU and UM will be list-worthy again, I’m certain.
#61 by David on 10.25.09 1:05 pm |
The soldier, A.K.A. Kellen Winslow Jr., is patchless in the London game. Just noticed that during the (U.S.) national anthem. All the other Bucs have (special London game?) patches, that I can tell.
#62 by MPowers1634 on 10.25.09 1:06 pm |
Ricko said:
That is absolutely correct. Back in 1995, I wore the same high-end Nikes that most of the Lions wore. There was ALOT of white on those black based shoes, so the players became very creative using sparay paint and acrylic liquitex too paint their shoes.
Me being the uni and sneaker fan that I was set up shop for me and my teammates doing the same thing Thursday nights before games.
The Oregon fullback is wearing them:
http://www.oregoncom...
Charles Woodson painted the botton quarter panel:
http://www.geocities...
#24 painted the front of his nikes:
http://cache.daylife...
BTW…a great pic:
http://cache4.asset-...
Truncated sleeve stripes as early as 1995:
http://cdn.complex.c...
#63 by JimV19 on 10.25.09 1:06 pm |
Helmets Match Pants said:
Disgusting is in the eye of the beholder. I like Texas’ unis. I like Penn State’s as well. The ideal matchup for them, IMO, is for Penn State to be at home so Texas goes to the all-whites.
And when you consider that a typical longhorn is brown (ever seen a burnt orange one?), it’s just plain right. I have no probelm with a logo that doesn’t match up color-wise with the team colors.
#64 by Mike Engle on 10.25.09 1:10 pm |
MPowers1634 said:
Link 1 has a lineman with an old-school Nike logo woven into the socks. Normally, boo for logo creep, but I got a kick out of seeing that old logo there.
#65 by Chad on 10.25.09 1:15 pm |
does anyone know the reason behind a network not airing an NFL game? cbs has bullriding at 4 instead of a game, and there’s no local game being played in that time slot on fox. i would imagine cbs would get more viewers by airing an nfl game.
#66 by MPowers1634 on 10.25.09 1:19 pm |
Another great pic:
http://www.irishlege...
Demetrius DuBose. R.I.P.
#67 by LarryB on 10.25.09 1:20 pm |
WOW just checked in and only glanced at the topic. I am going to have fun enjoying this today while watching football.
#68 by JimV19 on 10.25.09 1:22 pm |
Ricko, Timmy, Phil…Fantastic job!
Once you get the AFL unis straightened up, can you work on getting the Providence Steamroller and other older unis showcased on the web? If anyone can do it, you guys can.
#69 by Ricko on 10.25.09 1:22 pm |
JimV19 said:
And there’s this. Ever been to Austin? Burnt orange is pretty much the color of the natural landscape.
Which brings me to a question. Does anyone know if the University of Georgia’s choice of red owes anything to the famous “red Georgia clay?”
—Ricko
#70 by Ricko on 10.25.09 1:24 pm |
JimV19 said:
“Calling LarryB! LarryB! Calling LarryB!”
—Ricko
#71 by Shane on 10.25.09 1:32 pm |
Ricko said:
Jared Lorenzen, who had both “The Round Mound of Touchdown” and “The Hefty Lefty”.
#72 by Ricko on 10.25.09 1:32 pm |
Chad said:
Depends which network has the Doubleheader Sunday.
Despite Vikings being on the road, there’s no AFC game opposite it, just some local programming. Getting Jets-Raiders as the late game, though, along with Bears-Cincinnati on FOX. If you’re in an NFL city, you won’t get a game opposite your team’s game. If CBS has only one game in your market today, they won’t (can’t?) go up against the local team.
—Ricko
#73 by MPowers1634 on 10.25.09 1:41 pm |
Shane said:
The New York newspapers loved to refer to him as J-Load
#74 by Chris on 10.25.09 1:47 pm |
Did anyone tell Nantz that this Wembley Stadium isn’t the one from 1923? That’s like talking about the great things that happened at Old Yankee Stadium, while being at New Yankee Stadium and saying the great things that happened at OYS happened at NYS. Coincidentally, the originals were both built in 1923.
#75 by tom farley on 10.25.09 1:57 pm |
Probably not, Chris. For what it’s worth, at least this Wembley is on the same site as its predecessor. Unlike your spot-on Yankee Stadium example.
It raises the question: In sports, is it the ground that is hallowed, or the structure around it?
In Chicago, Soldier Field looks completely different post-renovation, but the field is in the same location where Dempsey fought Tunney, where the Chicago All-Star Game was played for more than 40 years, and where the ‘85 Bears played.
#76 by JTH on 10.25.09 2:14 pm |
tom farley said:
Or is it the structure around the structure around it (sticking with your Soldier Field example)?
#77 by Paul Lukas on 10.25.09 2:26 pm |
Just back from Louisiana, where I attended yesterday’s LSU/Auburn game. Pretty sure I was the only person in the stadium who wasn’t wearing any purple…
VERY impressive work on today’s entry — major, major kudos to all concerned.
About to collapse (working on near-zero sleep),
Paul
#78 by tom farley on 10.25.09 2:45 pm |
Or is it the structure around the structure around it (sticking with your Soldier Field example)?
Another good question, JTH. I was there to see U2 last month; architecturally, it’s a horror show to keep the classical columns, but drop a spaceship inside (or toilet bowl, to some eyes).
I’ve been there for soccer since the renovation, too. I always feel that, because I’m on the same piece of Chicago lakefront, I’m in the historic place. But others’ mileage may vary.
I work with a fellow ballpark buff who insists that the first Yankee Stadium wasn’t the same place after the mid-’70s renovation. I told them that when I was there in ‘98, I had no doubt I was in what was still The House That Ruth Built.
#79 by Kurt Allen on 10.25.09 2:55 pm |
Chad said:
Same thing here in Milwaukee, CBS affiliate would not dare burn their one game going against GB game, unless (maybe) the Vikings were on CBS same time…
#80 by Kurt Allen on 10.25.09 2:58 pm |
Not like I would want to see the Patriots and their alternate greys in a blowout anyways…
#81 by M.Princip on 10.25.09 2:58 pm |
Paul Lukas said:
Paul, how’d the Tiger’s Eye look in the stands?
#82 by JTH on 10.25.09 2:59 pm |
tom farley said:
As awful as it looks from the outside (particularly from the west — the Lake side isn’t nearly as bad), once I’m inside, I’m hard pressed to find anything I liked better about the previous configuration. Sightlines, concessions, concourses, restrooms: everything is superior.
OK, there is one thing. If you have seats that are near the top of the 400 level, it’s a long walk up those steps.
#83 by Greenie on 10.25.09 3:01 pm |
Paul Lukas said:
Sorry I missed you yesterday Paul, were you there for just the tailgating or did you stay for the game?
-Greenie
#84 by M.Princip on 10.25.09 3:08 pm |
M.Princip said:
That should be ‘from’ the stands actually. Very unique how they get that gradient tear away look.
#85 by tom farley on 10.25.09 3:15 pm |
As awful as it looks from the outside (particularly from the west — the Lake side isn’t nearly as bad),
Agreed. I saw this a few weeks later when I walked out of the Adler Planetarium. Much nicer.
once I’m inside, I’m hard pressed to find anything I liked better about the previous configuration. Sightlines, concessions, concourses, restrooms: everything is superior.
Absolutely. The sightlines were terrible in the old place. They’re excellent in the new setup.
OK, there is one thing. If you have seats that are near the top of the 400 level, it’s a long walk up those steps.
Ha! Yes. That’s where I sat for U2, on the aisle. Almost every person walking past, to sit even higher up, either cursed or stared upward in hard-breathing disbelief. :-)
#86 by tom farley on 10.25.09 3:18 pm |
And while I loved being at Yankee Stadium from a historical standpoint, the concourse I was in reeked of urine.
So I will concede that modernization is not a bad thing 100 percent of the time, and sometimes it’s a necessity. ;-)
#87 by war eagle jeffrey on 10.25.09 3:40 pm |
war eagle jeffrey said:
paul, what is your opinion on auburn\’s uni? any tweaks need to be made in your opinion? it\’s a classic look iyam. (wish the team\’s performance was as classic).
#88 by aflfan on 10.25.09 3:45 pm |
Kurt Allen said:
Here in Detroit (Lions have the bye) We have Minn/Pitt on Fox at 1, NE/TB on CBS at 1 and CHI/CINN on Fox at 4, so it is a Fox doubleheader day.
P.S. This just in from Ford Field Lions 0, Bye 35.
#89 by Jamie on 10.25.09 4:01 pm |
Did anyone just see the Texans’ punter’s facemask? Wtf was that thing.
#90 by Brendon on 10.25.09 4:05 pm |
Not sure where I found this, but it shows which network has the double header each week and which games are being shown where. Kind of interesting and might explain why you are seeing the game you are.
http://www.the506.co...
#91 by warren thompson on 10.25.09 4:06 pm |
Ricko said:
Reggie Jackson, aka “Mr. October.”
Sal “The Barber” Maglie.
Clint Courtney, alias “Scrap Iron.”
Enos “Country” Slaughter.
Stan “The Man” Musial.
“Schoolboy” Rowe.
“Dizzy” (and his brother, “Daffy”) Dean.
#92 by Brendon on 10.25.09 4:14 pm |
Also Wikipedia has a breakdown of the rules (blackout policies, regional coverage, etc) for NFL broadcasts here:
http://en.wikipedia....
#93 by aflfan on 10.25.09 4:18 pm |
warren thompson said:
Maurice “The Rocket” Richard
Henri “The Pocket Rocket” Richard
#94 by Graf Zeppelin on 10.25.09 4:19 pm |
Loving the Jets’ white NY Titans throwbacks.
#95 by warren thompson on 10.25.09 4:25 pm |
Ricko said:
If you’ve ever been to Austin, Texas, you’ll find precious little “burnt orange” in the “natural landscape,” along with a good deal of various shades of green, yellow, blue, red, chalky white, and black.
As well, if school colors are to match the nickname, then Penn State’s “Nittany Lions” must be dark blue and white; Michigan’s “Wolverines” just have to be maize and blue in their natural habitat; and TCU’s “Horned Frogs” purple and white
(Disclaimer: I’m a native Texan and I never saw a
“horny toad, as we called ‘em, in that color combination).
Finally, for what it’s worth, back in the 1950s, Texas sported orange helmets cum white stripe, at least for a season. This has, so far, never been repeated.
#96 by warren thompson on 10.25.09 4:38 pm |
Anent the 1960 Raider and Titan helmets: the former appear to be (but don’t hold me to it) Wilson products; the latter are clearly MacGregor, in fact, an updated (plastic?) version of their earlier leather H614 helmet. Baylor wore the same helmet for one season in the early 1960s, and Notre Dame and the Philadelphia Eagles sported the leather version in earlier seasons.
#97 by Ricko on 10.25.09 4:44 pm |
warren thompson said:
Guess I was wrong. Attended a conference on the outskirts of Austin a while back. Played some golf, too, and that sorta “clay-burnt orange” struck me as the predominant color of the geology. Maybe was just in the area where I stayed.
—Ricko
#98 by James Craven on 10.25.09 4:46 pm |
Oh, fuck.
Cincinnati wearing the Harry High School all black uniforms.
The orange helmet is the saving grace here.
#99 by Ricko on 10.25.09 4:47 pm |
Graf Zeppelin said:
The bright sun almost makes then look like they’re the correct color. ‘61 and ‘62 Titans wore standard athletic gold.
‘60 set with old gold to left. ‘61 & ‘62 to the right. Even NOT in bright sun they look athletic gold. Can’t say that for the Legacy unis.
http://farm3.static....
—Ricko
#100 by LarryB on 10.25.09 4:53 pm |
Great job today by TimmyB and Ricko and Phil. I was 8 years old when the AFL started. I do not have strong memories of the games on TV. Only vague ones of the first few years. Like some Sundays afternoons when it seemed like the games were on at 4 PM. About a week or so ago TimmyB posted some good TV history on the first color games. Maybe Timmy should put that info in one of his sites. Anyhow our family did not get color TV until 1971 or so.
I started to get football magazines maybe in the mid 1960’s. Some maybe like 1964. Sport magazine and whatever.
Did the early 1960’s Sport and others cover the new AFL much? I had gone through the SI vault a few months ago. There was not a lot of coverage of the new AFL and as Ricko said little color pictures.
#101 by leon on 10.25.09 4:58 pm |
The Manassa Mauler
The Hick from French Lick
White Lightnin
Mr. Inside
Mr. Outside
#102 by LarryB on 10.25.09 5:00 pm |
At the end of one night i had posted these 2 screen grabs of the Oilers and Chargers 1961 title game.
The Oilers looked better with the red numbers
http://img.photobuck...
http://img.photobuck...
#103 by leon on 10.25.09 5:00 pm |
Gene “Big Daddy” Lipscomb
Ernie “Big Cat” Ladd
#104 by Graf Zeppelin on 10.25.09 5:00 pm |
Ricko said:
Meh. I like the old gold better, and I like the jerseys better with the shoulder loops than without. Current throwback uni is a nice combination of the two.
#105 by leon on 10.25.09 5:10 pm |
The Polish Rifle
The Human Rain Delay
Done
#106 by Ricko on 10.25.09 5:15 pm |
Graf Zeppelin said:
Still wrong, which as you say, isn’t critical. Certainly not to the NFL. Just pointing out the inaccuracy.
I meant I like the sunglight cuz does look more like the real deal.
Something to ponder, though…in 20 years or so, if the Steelers celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Terry Bradshaw and that bunch, and come out sporting old gold pants and say they’re wearing Steel Curtain unis that will be okay?
Just checking.
—Ricko
#107 by Gusto44 on 10.25.09 5:18 pm |
war eagle jeffrey said:
In my opinion, Auburn sould return to the orange face masks of the Lionel James era, and introduce
Auburn blue pants for variety.
#108 by Gusto44 on 10.25.09 5:22 pm |
warren thompson said:
I liked the Longhorns uniforms better when they had the double burnt orange pant striping during the Eric Metcalf era.
#109 by Ricko on 10.25.09 5:29 pm |
Gusto44 said:
Darn right. Auburn’s become entirely too instantly recognizable for their classic uniforms. Time to screw around with ‘em.
Look at Baylor. Now THAT’s how to make a uni better.
LSU, too. Damn, I’m sick of that home uni. Same frickin’ thing every year.
(eyeroll)
Y’know, on behalf of all the teams who choose to see their unis as having great tradition and being worth keeping, I apolgize to all those with low boredom thresholds. Sooner or later you’ll come to realize that some teams changing often and others staying the same is part of what makes it interesting. Everyone changing all the time is as bad as no one ever changing.
—Ricko
#110 by whiteray on 10.25.09 5:51 pm |
whiteray said:
This is superb! Thanks!
#111 by LI Phil on 10.25.09 5:58 pm |
hey evvybody…
finally back from a place where there was no interwebs…lots of great comments today
my “nickname” submission: “the hebrew hammer” …lol
and as far as the fantastic comments on this piece — i honestly have to say, im most proud of being able to present this post probably than any other i’d have to pleasure to bring to you
all kudos to timmy b are completely deserved, and his research efforts are going to rival okkonen, imho, someday…
but the REAL star of today’s post, obviously, is Rick Pearson … his tireless efforts to bring this to fruition cannot be praised enough…when he and timmy get “the new FUPP” really off the ground, you can say “you saw it here first”
between the two of these gentlemen, you have an incredible precious resource, one that cannot be sufficiently extolled
so, allow me to again say, thanks RICKO (and timmy for laying the groundwork)…but especially rick for really setting the record straight
awesome job!
#112 by Gusto44 on 10.25.09 6:18 pm |
Ricko said:
I understand what you’re saying, but I wasn’t suggesting a radical change to Auburn’s uniforms,
the blue pants would retain the classic Auburn striping pattern. Likewise, I see nothing wrong with LSU someday adopting purple pants with regular yellow striping. Texas would look just fine with solid burnt orange pants, and I liked Nebraska’s all red look they trotted out a couple times. There’s plenty of room for innovation while keeping the essence of tradition. Of course,
you don’t want to go too far, like Oregon or the Atlanta Falcons of the NFL.
#113 by LarryB on 10.25.09 6:31 pm |
I just got back in from the store. The Jets Raiders game is on. I have not heard any announcer speak in several minutes. What is the deal?
#114 by LarryB on 10.25.09 6:34 pm |
I got some flack for saying PSU has the worst uniforms ever last night. The road whites to me are and have been ugly. Today’s comments have some interesting words about Texas all white vs PSU all white. I guess the Longhorn logo on the helmet makes me not think as badly about Texas uniforms.
#115 by Ricko on 10.25.09 6:36 pm |
Gusto44 said:
So instead of retaining their uniqueness by holding to the continuity of their unis they should be like so many other teams, with a closet full of “alternates” just for the hell of it?
That would be an about-face from what they’re doing now.
Maybe USC needs some cardinal road pants? Go for that coveted Iowa State look? I mean, they were wearing that uni of theirs even before O.J. Simpson got there. Definitely they’ve lost of sight of what’s important.
—Ricko
#116 by LarryB on 10.25.09 6:37 pm |
LI Phil said:
I agree 100% and that was got me excited when I saw today’s column. Ricko and his attention to detail and recall is unmatched. And Timmy b and his hard work and detail is always appreciated.
For me it is good and fun to learn more about the early AFL days.
#117 by Ricko on 10.25.09 6:40 pm |
Yikes. The two games were getting here have a combined score of 83-3.
–Ricko
#118 by timmy b on 10.25.09 6:43 pm |
LIPhil and Ricko (and others of course),
Yes, I fully concur, Phil. Ricko is the MAN. Again, I am AMAZED that he has kept his stuff from years ago and in immaculate condition. What organization!! I am as organized as that “revolting slob” on HBO’s Crashbox. He is and will be an invaluable source for any football uni database site that will come about.
Phil, the encouragement you provide is truly helpful beyond words as well.
Okkonen is the godfather of all uni research. But kudos must be given out to Andrew Greenstein and his incredible http://www.nhlunifor... site (though I wish he would update the real story on the 1977-78 Maple Leafs unis/Harold Ballard/John Zeigler debacle) and the father/son combination of Dave & Matt Moor with their awesome UK soccer kit database, http://www.historica..., a treat for even non-soccer fans, if you’d take a peak.
If we can come close to those sites for pro football, I will be pleased.
Thanks for the kind words, all.
#119 by Ricko on 10.25.09 6:46 pm |
Thanks for the compliments, everyone. I mean it.
As I said in the piece, I always thought (hoped?) that maybe what I was doing would be important to someone someday.
Nice to know it finally is.
—Ricko
#120 by Nick on 10.25.09 6:49 pm |
Gusto44 said:
Dark pants are generally HORRIBLE.
Dark pants in place of traditional, classy uniform pants are an ABOMINATION.
LSU tried the Purple pants – ONE TIME. After Gerry DiNardo made it an Act of Congress to get the NCAA to allow home teams to wear White jerseys again, and the LSU Kool-Aid drinkers made such a BIGGGGGGG Deal about the return to White jerseys and the Billy Cannon Championship vibes and the “Louisiana Saturday Nite” in Death Valley and all of that mess – on and on and on it went all summer long it took Gerry DiNardo all of about five games to got bored with LSU’s traditional White jersey/Canary Gold pants look and break out a set of Purple pants with White jerseys on the road vs Kentucky.
It was universally panned as HORRIBLE, even by the types that pine for dark pants and Hip Hop Rap to be played between every play and who high five each other in the concourse yelling “WE Bad, We Bad” while trying like hell to be as cool as Gene Wilder in a Richard Pryor movie.
Even those losers HATED the Purple pants.
So no, LSU should not do it, Auburn should not do it, and Florida should seriously consider donating theirs to some playground.
It is a HORRID idea.
#121 by Nick on 10.25.09 6:55 pm |
For a variety of reasons, mostly involving my love for the underdogs in sport, I have not rooted for USC, Alabama, the Green Bay Packers, or the Dallas Cowboys in recent years. Each team has beaten my chosen teams so often in the past decade that there are times that I despise those teams.
But they ALL have class when it comes to their uniforms. You will never see Green Pants on a Packer, Crinsom pants on a Trojan, Blue pants on a Cowboy, or Crinsom pants on a Bama player(unless the photo is 55 years old).
Class is class when it comes to uniforms, and they all have it in abundance.
#122 by flip on 10.25.09 7:04 pm |
Excellent post today, gentlemen. I grew up in the ’60s and was a big AFL fan. Today, it’s more casual. I stick mostly to baseball and collegiate football and basketball. I’ll watch the highlights for all sports, so ESPN works great for me.
A few personal observations:
I like the University of Texas unis as they are. They accomplish the task: With distinctive simplicity, you immediately know who you’re watching. Fundamentally, what more is needed.
Penn State is OK, though I really like the Nittany Lion logo. It’d be a nice addition to the helmet, though I understand it’ll never happen.
Helmet logos aren’t always necessary. It’d be sacrilege for Notre Dame to add an ND, shamrock or anything else to their’s.
You knew who UCLA was before they added the Ucla script to the helmet, but it’s still a nice touch.
Alabama is Alabama. Numbers work. For Georgia Southern, and the few others, they don’t. (Going back to pro football, San Diego would be well advised to return to their numbered helmets, they complement the bolt.)
Sticking with pro football, I like the Chiefs’ road uniforms in either the red pants or white. Slight preference for white. Don’t know why that doesn’t translate with the Bears. Must be the white face masks, but I’d never recommend the Bears change (though Gale Sayers looked good with white facial protection.)
Most successful uniforms are instantly distinctive. They have enough striping to do perform that task, then stop. In football, I can think of one personal exception: The Dick Vermeil Eagles. They had both shoulder loops and sleeve stripes, yet I loved ‘em.
In basketball, somehow, more works. The best example would be the San Francisco Warrior cable car unis.
In high school, I loved to flip through the SandKnit catalogs and look at the wacky stripe combinations. I’m a simple is better guy, but I liked the Marquette uni with the vertical Northwestern stripes and big solid circle. I instantly fell in love with the Seattle Sonics original uniforms, but just as quickly grew tired of them.
Dominic WIlkens’ Atlanta Hawk uni was terrific, the Lakers’ purple and gold works fine, but failed to translate into hockey.
Well, this has gone on for far too long. Again, thanks for the post.
#123 by LarryB on 10.25.09 7:06 pm |
I have seen that NHL site before Andrew Greenstein’s and think it is great too.
Has there been much talk about what the players think about these AFL legacy uniforms?
#124 by Gusto44 on 10.25.09 7:22 pm |
Nick said:
Hey we’re all entitled to our opinion here. But dark pants really aren’t “hip hop”, or anything trendy. Nebraska is one of the most storied programs in history, and they’ve been wearing red pants for nearly 40 years. BYU and Florida have looked great in dark pants for years, so it’s not a radical look. There’s no doubt in my mind, as long as a traditional school like LSU continues to win, fans would accept dark colored pants, it’s not a big deal, and far preferable to the moronic striping trends we see today.
#125 by Ricko on 10.25.09 7:31 pm |
Had a thought. Remember the post yesterday saying that as many as 62 percent of men are color blind?
So…makes me wonder if some of the flak we get because we pay attention to unis isn’t from people who avoid such discussions for the simple reason that they don’t want to reveal they can’t tell the difference. They attack rather than admit their shortcoming.
Such behavior very often is a defense mechanism. Anyone who’s ever been in a relationship with an alcoholic, for example, knows the truth of that.
25-cent psychology, I know. So just write it off to…thinking out loud. And pondering.
—Ricko
#126 by timmy b on 10.25.09 7:34 pm |
OK, I’ll fess up. I am 10% color-blind (per my eye doc)
#127 by leon on 10.25.09 7:40 pm |
Don’t tell anyone, but I often confuse Johnny Walker Red and Johnny Walker Black after my fourth shot.
#128 by Ricko on 10.25.09 7:42 pm |
Gusto44 said:
I used to remind clients, “The time you start to get bored with your ads/logo whatever is just about the time the public is starting to recognize it.”
Teams don’t plan their unis to satisfy obsessives like us. They aim at the general sporting public. Winning gets attention and begets continuity. Of behavior. Of dress.
Generally speaking, when you suck is when you change unis all the time, in hopes of garnering SOME kind of attention.
—Ricko
#129 by Ricko on 10.25.09 7:51 pm |
Ricko said:
And, just for contrast, the Dolphins and Saints have combined for 80 points, just the two of them.
What can we conclude from this? Jets-Bengals woulda been a helluva game today?
—Ricko
#130 by MPowers1634 on 10.25.09 8:07 pm |
All kidding aside, I need help from you font nerds! What font is the title of this children’s book?
http://www.navs-onli...
#131 by LI Phil on 10.25.09 8:11 pm |
anyone else love the “titans” unis today? i know there was at least one person on here been waiting…oh, about 47 years to see that uni one more time…good on the jets for breaking it out
i’d rather see that 8 times a season than those green things they sometimes wear beneath their jersey…although i do give props to them for NOT affecting the leotard look by wearing green undersocks with that…same goes for da bears … i much prefer them in white pants (so clean, so classic) but when they do break out the navy trou, as least they have the good sense to wear proper white, striped socks (who else does this — i think the skins have dropped the leotard look, and thankfully mangenius didn’t keep the brown socks with the horrid brown pants…dolfish don’t leotard it either)…oh…the pats keep the white high socks too, as do the chiefs
if you’re insistent upon wearing dark trou, please, for the love of all that is uni-holy, put some stripes on them, wear white socks and NEVER EVER go monochrome
K? thanks, bye
#132 by Ricko on 10.25.09 8:13 pm |
MPowers1634 said:
Souvenir?
I dunno, been so long since I dealt with fonts.
—Ricko
#133 by Ricko on 10.25.09 8:14 pm |
Nope. Lower case “f” is wrong in Souvenir.
—Ricko
#134 by MPowers1634 on 10.25.09 8:15 pm |
Ricko said:
#135 by MPowers1634 on 10.25.09 8:26 pm |
Close enough…Im HUNGRY
#136 by Giancarlo on 10.25.09 8:43 pm |
Tim & Ricko: the football uni watchers’ Dream Team.
THANKS and I can’t wait to see the full results. Am also eager to see the Providence Steam Roller, Portsmouth Spartans, Rock Island Independents et al in color. Also the AAFC teams of the ’40s. I was just thumbing thru a new photo book about the NY Giants in which, among many fantastic shots, was a full-color picture of a couple of LA Dons of the AAFC – they were wearing a garish combo of scarlet over royal.
#137 by Ricko on 10.25.09 8:49 pm |
Giancarlo said:
With those odd striped helmets, too?
The ones that look like an asterisk got squashed atop their heads?
—Ricko
#138 by LI Phil on 10.25.09 8:49 pm |
MPowers1634 said:
matthew…
you can find your font by simple process of elimination — follow the steps and you’ll have your answer
#139 by LI Phil on 10.25.09 8:53 pm |
Giancarlo said:
like this?
#140 by MPowers1634 on 10.25.09 10:10 pm |
LI Phil said:
That is one cool interwebsite!Thanks, Phil.
#141 by Ricko on 10.25.09 10:22 pm |
MPowers1634 said:
It’s Windsor.
#142 by JTH on 10.25.09 10:22 pm |
LI Phil said:
That was about the only thing they did right today.
#143 by flip on 10.25.09 10:28 pm |
MPowers1634 said:
Windsor or a knockoff thereof
#144 by Tall Paul on 10.25.09 10:31 pm |
4. Have not double-checked the specific versions of block numbers for teams that wore them.
Titans and Chargers are right, I believe. The others may well need adjusting.
Ricko: Was there always (in and around that era) such a discrepancy in fonts and/or number styles on uniforms of the same team? The pic here http://farm3.static.... which you reference as one showcasing a team (in this case, the Bills) that may need adjusting has the two Bills players in different number styles. I can see where you could have some problems pinning down the correct one; am just curious how often you come across it and how big of a headache it is to deal with and work around?
And, to echo the sentiments of others here, you all did an OUTSTANDING job on today’s column!
#145 by Ricko on 10.25.09 10:33 pm |
JTH said:
First mistake: Flying to Cincinnati
Second mistake: Getting off the plane
(Shake it off, buddy; the Vikings’ loss may be harder for their fans to take cuz was within their grasp…more than once).
—Ricko
#146 by Ricko on 10.25.09 10:36 pm |
Tall Paul said:
Hey! Give the man a CEE-gar! Was wondering if someone one would notice that. That’s why I said “may need some adjusting.”
Nice catch, Tall Paul.
—Ricko
#147 by Ricko on 10.25.09 10:51 pm |
Tall Paul said:
In answer to your question, yes, it happened once in a while. Terry Proctor probably can vouch for this, too. The teams would have someone local to do their repairs and lettering, etc. Could be a sporting goods concern, a lettering shop, or even some independent seamstress. For example, I shopped at the sporting goods store, and knew their lady who did all the Vikings gear in the early years.
So some guy would holler, “Gladys, the Bills need a new road 24 for Sunday. For Kinnard. K-I-N-N-A-R-D.”
That’s all well and good. Give Gladys the spelling. Trouble is, Gladys is filling in for Evelyn, and doesn’t know (or really care) which “2″ the Bills use. She just grabs a royal blue “2″ and gets it done so she won’t be late for canasta. By the time the Bills’ equipment guy gets it to pack for the trip to L.A. it’s too late to change it. And, frankly, he may not give a damn, either.
Was a different world back then.
Well, y’know, except for “NATINALS”.
—Ricko
#148 by adam on 10.25.09 10:51 pm |
not my fetish, but i’m sure one of you hoseheads will enjoy this.
http://cgi.ebay.com/...
#149 by JTH on 10.25.09 11:14 pm |
Ricko said:
Oh, I’m over it. I was watching the game with some friends. Once it got to 31-0, we were hoping for a final in the neighborhood of 60-0. We were actually a bit disappointed that they kicked the field goal before halftime to kill the shutout.
Honestly, to me, the toughest part about the loss was that they got killed by a team that looked like it was dressed in children’s halloween costumes.
#150 by Traxel on 10.25.09 11:17 pm |
You guys (Ricko, Phil, et al) make me want to stay inside on a great October day and digest all this awsome schtuff! Tremendous! Too bad (actually a really good thing) life gets in the way and I can’t devote my time to this sickness! Someday I want to be your intern. Awsome post.
#151 by Stuby on 10.26.09 12:08 am |
I guess the bright side is we won’t have an all red world series.
#152 by robpas on 10.26.09 12:52 pm |
leon said:
The Bayonne Bleeder
(Now we’re REALLY Done)
#153 by Ray on 10.28.09 12:58 pm |
I love all the AFL stories and even though the NFL has naturally screwed up some of the uni throwbacks at least they have done it. Of course I don’t think anyone expects to ever see the Oiler or Dallas Texan unis again because of the geography deal with today’s teams, but I do think the Pats have been pretty proud of their unis. The Bills had already been using theirs prior to this year as was New York and San Diego. It’s been awesome to see the Broncos do it right…even if they didn’t maybe realize the striping was right and some of the sock issues. It would have been nice to see Buffalo, Oakland, San Diego and the Pats use their actual 1960 offerings, but what’s been presented again is great.
Also…I must share with everyone some comments I heard a couple of days ago on ESPN Radio on ‘The Scott Van Pelt Show’. There was a discussion about how parity in the NFL this year had gone out the door; that the NFL needed to be worried about it’s ‘product’ because there are several really weak teams getting hammered week in and week out. They went on to say that another factor the NFL needed to be worried about (pretty sure it was Van Pelt) was, and I’m paraphrasing ‘enough with the throwback unis already, one week was enough’ and that people didn’t want to see these unis anyway, because they can’t identify with them as it being their team…bring on the futuristic unis was his rant. My response to him would have been…if not for the AFL and those old unis the NFL most likely wouldn’t have survived. I think it’s awesome to see these old uniforms doning the field and I have a feeling that some might stick around as alternate unis going forward. Glad we’ve gotten to see them and they and the refs unis too have been a great addition to the season! I look forward to seeing them!
Peace.
#154 by tony on 10.29.09 2:48 pm |
test
favorite
#155 by David J. on 10.31.09 2:10 pm |
The Jeff said:
Actually, the font used by the 1960 Houston Oilers was the standard NCAA Gothic font depicted in the online [url=http://www.propakspeedline.com/2010_BASEBALL/BASEBALL 2010.pdf]PropakSpeedline Catalog[/url]. Look at page 30.
#156 by David J. on 10.31.09 2:28 pm |
NOTE this is a correction of #155 above.
The Jeff said:
Actually, the font used by the 1960 Houston Oilers was the standard NCAA Gothic font depicted in the online PropakSpeedline Catalog. Look at page 30.
And the Raiders’ Gothic number font was not exactly the same as that of the Houston Oilers. The Raiders’ Gothic numbers from 1960 through 1962 were actually closer to the number font of the San Diego Padres’ 1978-1984 uniforms, and that font was dubbed “Padres Mod” in Bill Henderson’s MLB Game-Worn Jerseys Style Guide.
I hope this information helps.