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Posts filed under 'Coaches/Managers'
An early Uni Watch moment for me came in 1975 or so, when I was watching an NBC Saturday Game of the Week broadcast. Red Sox backup catcher Bob Montgomery was hitting, and one of the announcers (probably Joe Garagiola, but I don’t recall) mentioned that Monty was the last remaining player not to wear a batting helmet. Instead, he wore a plastic insert under his cap, as was his grandfather-claused right as a player already in the bigs when batting helmets became mandatory in 1971.
Montgomery, who retired after the ’79 season, has since become famous (well, at least on this site) as the last non-helmeted hitter. Two related issues have always bugged me, though: First, were there any other grandfathered players who wore the insert in the early 1970s? And more to the point, just what did these inserts look like? I’d never seen one.
Thanks to reader Brandon Davis, we now have our answer to the second question. He found this eBay auction for an insert that was purportedly used by the Cleveland Indians. As you can see, it’s open on top, which surprised me a little — flimsy protection is one thing, but flimsy partial protection is pushing it.
Not sure what’s up with that tape-wrapped section. Was it meant to repair a break in the front-top section, or was that section supposed to be broken/unattached/etc., to make the insert adjustable and one-size-fits-all? An inside view is inconclusive. Anyone know more about these doohickeys?
Inserts are apparently still in use, or they were until very recently. Last November, when MLB announced that base coaches would have to wear helmets in 2008, Larry Bowa said, “I prefer to wear an insert.” According to this story, Bowa “wore a cap lined on the inside with thin plastic” for the Dodgers’ spring training opener back in February. So does Bowa have his own personal insert that he takes with him from team to team? Or is someone still making these things?
Uni Watch News Ticker: Good game-used jersey site here (with thanks to Mike Verna). … Yowza! … Big Brown jockey Kent Desormeaux wore a Mets jersey — complete with NOB — to throw out the first pitch at Shea Stadium on Sunday night. The uni number matched the number he wore in the Kentucky Derby. … Amusing collection of Oriole Bird mascot video footage here (with thanks to Bryan Long). … Bizarre eBay find here (big thanks to our own Scott M.X. Turner). … Did you know that the player sliding into home plate on this baseball card is actually Willie Mays, not Hank Aaron? I didn’t, until James Yeh pointed me toward this really good rundown of error-laden baseball cards. … “The University of New Orleans baseball team had an interesting uniform this weekend in their Baton Rouge regional,” writes Chad Thompson. “On Friday night, their jerseys said ‘N’awlins,’ and then on Saturday they wore ‘NOLA,’ and on Sunday it was ‘Privateers.’ ” … “Thought you might be interested in these throwback uniforms worn last Saturday by the Yuba-Sutter Gold Sox in Marysville, California,” writes John Saiz. “They’re modeled after the Hub City (also Yuba-Sutter) Merchants, who were the first baseball club to travel by airplane. Of added interest, they were playing the Redding Colt .45’s, who were wearing their home whites (the Gold Sox play only two of their 46 games on the road, so they switch between their whites, grays, and BP jerseys every homestand).” … It’s horribly written, and even more horribly narrated, but this video critique of softball uniforms is largely on the money (with thanks to Randy Swanson). … Decent story here about NHL playoff beards (with thanks to Alan Kreit). … Someone has decided that Alfonso Soriano has MLB’s tightest pants (courtesy of Kevin Walsh). … Creative NOB use here (with thanks to Doug Keklak). … RIP, Bo.
June 3rd, 2008
Okay, so maybe the red-trimmed uniforms aren’t so bad after all.
Pretty good game, right? After it was over, I went out and did what any Giants fan would do: overturned some cars, lit some bonfires, that sort of thing. Then I started drunk-dialing random phone numbers in Boston and singing “We Are the Champions” at the top of my lungs to whoever answered the phone. Good times.
Not much of a Super Bowl from a uni-related standpoint, unless you count David Tyree catching that ball on his helmet, or maybe that weird-ass Bud Lite commercial with the dude in the ABA-ish hoops uni.
Aside from those junctures, the closest thing to a Uni Watch moment was the odd sight of Bill Belichick in a red sweatshirt, instead of his usual gray. Several Pats fans e-mailed me early in the game and said they felt this was a bad omen. Brent Anthonisen went further and noted that Belichick used to wear a red windbreaker when he was the Giants’ defensive coordinator (including their victories in Super Bowls XXI and XXV), to make it easier for the defensive captain to find him on the sidelines and read his signals. So the Giants are undefeated in the Super Bowl when Belichick wears red on the sidelines.
I don’t know any of the Giants’ players personally, but two of them have always struck me as particularly decent people — class acts who make me proud to be a Giants fan. One of them is Amani Toomer, a 12-year veteran who never showboats, always respects the uniform, and has expressed more awareness and thoughtfulness about the non-sports world than most contemporary athletes. The other is Jeff Feagles, the oldest active player in the league and now the oldest to have appeared in a Super Bowl — his first, after 21 seasons. Good for him.
One guy I do know personally is equipment director Joe Skiba, who gave me all kinds of access this past season, fed me lots of inside info, and taught me lots of stuff (not the least of which was that I didn’t know nearly as much about the uni world as I thought I did). Enjoy the victory, Skeebs — you da man and all that.
But I’m happiest of all for my father, Irwin Lukas, a lifelong Giants fan who turned 84 years old two weeks ago (he actually attended one of their games in the Polo Grounds, which is where they played up until 1955). It was a treat to watch the game with him yesterday, to shout alongside him when Plaxico caught that touchdown pass, and to hug him when Brady’s final pass fell incomplete. Hope you had as much fun as I did, Pop.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Reprinted from Friday’s comments: Hilarious uni-blooper moment in Thursday night’s Cavs/Sonics game, as Cleveland’s Donyell Marshall tried to enter the game wearing only an undershirt, not his jersey. Check out the video here. … Also from Friday, we can add a new member to the exclusive club of MLB players who’ve worn facemasks: Al Cowens. … Ask and Ye Shall Receive Dept.: Here’s a shot of Dick Allen with his “Wampum” NOB, courtesy of John Moist. In case you don’t know the story, Wampum was the name of Allen’s hometown high school, and he was in the class of ’60. … Great 1921 girls’ hockey team photo here (with thanks to Mike Kemezis). … Yikes (courtesy of Roy Ellingsen). … Tucker is a star. … “Pitchers and catchers report in a little more than 10 days,” says Nick Hanson. “So in the spirit of spring training, check out the simultaneous crotch grabbing going on behind Big Papi in this picture I took last year.” … Interesting note from Jim Mischler, who points out that according to the Basketball Hall of Fame’s page devoted to Mendy Rudolph, “Rudolph’s uniform number 5 has not been worn by another NBA official since his passing.” Didn’t realize the NBA had essentially retired his number. Have any other officials in other sports had their numbers taken out of circulation, either officially or unofficially? … Nicole Haase was at a hockey game in Madison recently and momentarily thought this guy might be me (no doubt because of the stripes). Of course, a careful observer would note that the gent in question is wearing his watch on his left hand, which means he’s right-handed, which means he’s not me. … Mario Fontana made these cakes for his Super Bowl party. … Awesome story here about the Ohio factory that makes the NFL’s footballs. … Kevin Brotzman has created a web site devoted to the Orioles’ uni numbers (modeled after the wonderful Mets by the Numbers site). Check it out here. … Final Super Bowl thought: Anyone who watched Tom Petty during halftime instead of switching over to Puppy Bowl IV on Animal Planet has some seriously misguided priorities.
February 4th, 2008
New ESPN column today — here’s the link.
Meanwhile: While the rest of the baseball world focused on the hot stove league, the real story was on the uniform scene, where MLB exec Bob Watson announced “the Francona Rule,” which according to Watson means, “You can only wear your uniform top or jacket.” In a truly inspired elaboration that will go down as the uni-related quote of the year, Watson added, “You can’t wear your nightshirt, or whatever it is. You can wear it before games, or after games, but not during games. You have to have your uniform top at all times.”
Watson’s commentary on sleepwear notwithstanding, this means no more sweatshirt for Francona (among others), no more smock for John Gibbons, and I think Buck Showalter just cancelled his latest comeback plans.
There’s a lot of confusion and misinformation about this story and the history surrounding it. I can’t clear up all of that confusion, but I can help with some of it, FAQ-style:
Didn’t MLB and Francona butt heads over this issue a few months ago?
Yes, back in August.
So if they were already enforcing the rule then, why did they have to enact a new rule now?
Good question.
Doesn’t the rulebook already require the manager to wear a uniform, at least if he leaves the dugout and goes onto the field of play?
No. Rule 3.15 states: “No person shall be allowed on the playing field during a game except players and coaches in uniform, managers, news photographers authorized by the home team, umpires, officers of the law in uniform and watchmen or other employees of the home club.” Note that the “in uniform” stipulation is applied to coaches but not to managers.
On the other hand, I recently came across this page, which tells the story of how two beat reporters — George Lederer and Phli Collier — managed a Dodgers intrasquad game during spring training in 1964. Lederer actually donned a Dodgers uniform, but Collier skippered in civvies (you can see them both here). As the account of the game then explains:
Collier, dressed in street clothes … broke the rules when he charged onto the field to argue an umpire’s decision at second base. At this stage of the game, with the score still 1-1, Lederer was sharp enough to remind the umpires that Collier had no right to be on the field.
So this suggests that non-uniformed managers were understood to be barred from the field of play at least as early as 1964, even if the rulebook doesn’t specify this. Why? In going back over my research files, I found a 2005 listserv post by Frank Vaccaro of the Society for American Baseball Research that may shed some light on the subject:
Nearly all non-playing managers before 1900 wore civilian clothes. … [T]here was a [National League] rule in place from 1879 to 1891 preventing non-playing managers from appearing on the field. This was referred to as the “Harry Wright rule.” After he won the championship in 1878 — his sixth in seven years — this rule passed, I suppose, to give other teams a chance. Wright used to stand on the sidelines shouting orders to his players: “WAIT” to take pitches and “FACING” to hit to the opposite field, as well as the names of players who should catch flies, etc. Other teams were in a panic.
So the “Terry Francona rule” is apparently the latest version of the 128-year-old “Harry Wright rule.” I have a feeling Bob Watson doesn’t know this.
Why do managers wear uniforms anyway?
In baseball’s early days, many managers were also active players, and player/managers persisted longer than most people realize. There were three three of them as recently as the 1970s (Frank Robinson, Don Kessenger, and Joe Torre), and one in the 1980s (Pete Rose).
But Connie Mack wore a suit while managing, didn’t he?
Yes. Mack’s a bit of a red herring, though — he owned the A’s, so he wore a suit in large part because he saw himself as a businessman/executive type and dressed accordingly. For a broader analysis, let’s turn once again to Frank Vacarro’s 2005 SABR listserv post:
[T]he interesting question is “How did baseball managers evolve to become the only team leaders in sports with the tradition of wearing the team uniform?” The answer is four-fold. Nearly all managers in the 1890s were playing managers, but a 1900-1920 manager could manage in civilian clothes if:
1) He embraced the style created by the [Harry Wright rule].
2) He wanted to exude the authority of a magnate.
3) He did not want to play or to appear as a base coach.
4) He had never played baseball professionally.
By 1940 these reasons became archaic. The 1880s NL style was forgotten; managers “like magnates” did poorly; teams carried enough coaches (and players — roster sizes grew) to do all delegatable tasks; and all managers had at least some professional playing experience. Offsetting these [factors] were the layout of the grass and the diamond and the fact that a manager could participate, on any corner of the field, in pre-game activities that were low on effort but high on skill, such as hitting grounders or fungos, bullpen catching, or even pitching BP. All these contrast sharply with activities high on athleticism that characterize pre-game practice in the other sports. It’s sometimes said, rightly or wrongly, that baseball is more a game than a sport.
For good measure, Vacarro provided a list of 20th-century managers who skippered in civvies (an asterisk indicates that the manager was known to don a uniform on occasion):
• Bob Allen, Reds, 1900
• Connie Mack, A’s, 1901-1950
• Horace Fogel, Giants, 1902
• Tom Loftus, Senators, 1902-1903
• Bill Armour, Indians, 1902-1904; Tigers, 1905-1906
• Frank Selee, Cubs, 1902-1905
• Ed Barrow, Tigers, 1903-1904; Red Sox, 1918-1920
• John McClosky, Cardinals, 1906-1908*
• Hank O’Day, Reds, 1912; Cubs, 1914
• George Stallings, Braves, 1913-1920
• Hugo Bezdek, Pirates, 1917-1919
• Clark Griffith, Nationals, 1917-1920*
• Branch Rickey, Cardinals, 1919-1925*
• John McGraw, Giants, 1921-1932* (although he usually wore a uniform prior to 1921)
• Wilbert Robinson, Dodgers 1928-1931*
• Burt Shotton, Dodgers, 1947-1950* (additional pics here, here, here, and here, plus here’s one of his game-worn dugout jackets)
It’s not clear how many of these skippers, if any, went onto the field of play during a game, but this photo shows Hank O’Day wearing spikes with his suit while managing the Cubs, suggesting that he went onto the field at some point.
But MLB doesn’t want Francona wearing a pullover even in the dugout. So when did not wearing a full uniform go from being rare to being banned?
I haven’t figured that part out yet.
Couldn’t MLB have avoided this whole mess with Francona if they hadn’t created so many different kinds of officially licensed outerwear for him and other managers to try on?
Gee, what do you think?
Membership Update: Remember, today is the last day for ordering a gift membership at discounted holiday rates.
Today’s showcase card is based on the “shineboy,” the shirt worn by Alpha Phi Omega members when they run the Texas flag onto the field before Texas Longhorns football games.
Beantown Reminder: Uni Watch party tomorrow, 8:30 p.m., at Boston Beer Works. The gathering got a little preview write-up in today’s Boston Herald, plus Randy Moss is gonna stop by and explain why he keeps wearing those upside-down 8s, so come by and join us.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Wisconsin wore their long-awaited throwbacks on Monday night, and man did they look sweet, although it turns out that the beat writer for Madison’s Capital Times totally Doesn’t Get It™ (with thanks to Nicole Haase). … Expect to see lots of NBA throwbacks beginning this Friday. Details here. … Duke guard DeMarcus Nelson is wearing some interesting kicks. Details here (with thanks to intern emeritus Vince Grzegorek). … Awesome female Black Fives photo and info here. … Spectacular discovery by Jared Wheeler, who found a shot of Magic Johnson from the 1980 NBA All-Star Game with two initials on his NOB! … Jeff Meyers, who works for the independent Ft. Worth Cats, informs me that the team has a cat eyes alternate jersey. Look closely and you’ll see that the pupils actually spell out “F” and “W.”
December 5th, 2007
There was a classic moment during yesterday’s press conference to unveil the Blue Jays’ new road and alternate uniforms. It came when they trotted out old-timers Lloyd Moseby and John Mayberry to model the team’s new 1979 powder blue throwbacks, which will be worn for Friday home games. At one point Moseby was asked what it felt like when he first wore that uniform back in the day. The prop boy must not have been holding the cue cards high enough for Moseby to see, because instead of giving a scripted reply, he chose to ad lib: “The uniform sucked, okay? So we ain’t gonna go there.”
After a moment of nervous laughter from the audience, followed by a beat or two of silence, Moseby added, “’Course, it was big to put on any uniform,” but it was too late — his point had been made, namely that these things were ugly back then and they’re still ugly now. I know many of you have some sort of nostalgic and/or kitschy fascination with this uniform, but come on — it’s totally minor league. With the centered crest and the pullover style, it looks and feels more like a hockey jersey than a baseball jersey. Plus they’ll be wearing it at home, which means we’ll be treated to blue-vs.-gray games — ugh. (Moseby, incidentally, gave some additional choice comments about the design to a Canadian reporter after the unveiling ceremony.)
While the original design had pants with a double-snap waistband, the throwback has more traditional belted pants (Moseby approved of this change: “When dirt got in your snaps, they wouldn’t work”). The mock-up in the MLB Style Guide shows a striped belt, presumably to simulate the striped waistband, but the belts at the unveiling were solid blue, which is probably for the best. On the other hand, I give them credit for sticking to one aspect of the original design: NNOB.
As for the new road jersey, I like it. Yeah, it doesn’t match the home design, but I count that as a plus, because the home design blows. I see at least four reasons to like this revision: 1) vertically arched lettering; 2) the ascension of blue from trim color to main color; 3) uni numbers finally appearing on the front of the jersey; 4) a pretty cool number font (soooooo much better than the old one). Problems? I count one: They’ve retained the super-clunky NOB typography. But at least it’s blue now, which is mild improvement. Now if we could just get them to wear a blue cap.
Finally, if you believe in omens, there was a bad one: The “N” in “Toronto” is supposed to look like this, with the shadowed side of the bevel down and to the right. But the “N” on the jersey that Jeremy Accardo was wearing was upside-down. Nice going, guys.
(Special thanks to the Chris Creamer board, where many of the above-linked photos were first posted.)
Uni Watch News Ticker: Homeless man update from Mike Hennessy, who writes: “At a news conference sometime over the weekend, Belichick wore his regular sweatshirt with the hood cut off. I think with this he has hit rock bottom.” … Speaking of Belichick, for a few weeks now his headband has featured a Pats logo that I haven’t seen elsewhere. I kinda like it, especially since the “New England” part of the team’s name usually doesn’t get much play. Anyone know more about this logo? … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Steve Smith threw his cleats into the crowd after Sunday’s game. … Great catch by Jeremy Iwen, who noticed that the first “R” in Dominique Barber’s nameplate was backwards a few weeks back. … Ray Lewis memorialized Sean Taylor on his eye black last night.
December 4th, 2007
The big uni-related news in the NFL yesterday had nothing to do with the players. It was the pink ribbons being worn by most coaches, owners, and other sideline personnel (although a few coaches went ribbon-free, including one guy who obviously didn’t want a ribbon messing up his carefully manicured look). The officials got involved too, wearing pink wristbands (here’s a closer look) and ribbons, although the zebras’ ribbons didn’t have the litle NFL logo pin.
Speaking of which: Isn’t a little offensive to turn cancer into a branding opportunity? Like, why use that NFL logo pin in the first place? MLB does this with their Mothers Day and Fathers Day ribbons, too. Similarly, despite what this decal says, hockey doesn’t fight cancer — chemo and radiation do. Why not have a decal that says, “Find a Cure” or “Support Cancer Research,” instead of a message that’s essentially self-aggrandizing?
Meanwhile, in non-cancer developments:
• Can’t say I was in love with the Titans’ blue-on-blue look, but I didn’t hate it either. The more of it I saw, the more it started to grow on me. Hmmmmmmm.
• The Rams, on the other hand….
• As discussed in yesterday’s comments: Although it’s not a new thing for him, John Kasay was wearing a watch and his wedding band while kicking yesterday.
• The Falcons logo on Alge Crumpler’s left sleeve was facing the wrong way (it should look like this.
• No photo yet, but LaDainian Tomlinson’s American flag decal was still missing. (In a related item: The Bills will be wearing their throwbacks tonight, and I’m wondering if their helmets will be completely blank in the back, as they were last year).
Research Reminder: I’m still very much in the market for examples of typos and misspellings on uniforms. In particular, I’m having trouble finding a photo of Wayne Gretzky from his first game with the Rangers, when he wore “Gretkzy” on his back, but non-superstar typos are fine too. Thanks.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Several readers have noted that Jimmy Rollins wears a Cool-Flo hemet when batting right-handed but a conventional lid when swinging from the left side. … Ryan Purdie notes that the TV numbers on Utah’s uniforms have been doing a slow fade. In 2005 they were on both the home and road unis; in 2006, still on the road set but not on the home design; and this year, they’re missing from both the home and road unis. … Mike Alper notes that the Blackhawks’ sleeve numbers seem to have been cut rather sloppily, without enough white space. Additional examples here, here, here, and here. … Marquette will have some rad throwback alternate jerseys this season (with thanks to Jon Aubry). … Reprinted from last Thursday’s comments but still worth a look: A surprisingly in-depth article devoted to Cole Hamels switching undershirts during Game 1 of the Phils/Rockies series. … Remember last week’s discussion of negative space? Markus Kamp found another good example in this Seahawks 12th man pin. … The National Federation of State High School Associations has enacted a bunch of new lacrosse uniform regulations (with thanks to Ryan Burns). … The Islanders’ Stanley Cup stripes were missing from Bill Guerin’s shoulder the other day (good spot by Tim Hudson). … Not truly uni-related, but there’s a spectacular slideshow devoted to photos of old Comiskey Park here — highly recommended (great find by Michael Gargano). … Check out the unsightly gap between Daniel Sedin’s right sock and pant cuff (as spotted by Daniel Sherman). … Marhsall’s basketball team has entered NikeWorld (that depressing news courtesy of Jake Keys). … “During Friday night’s Pens/Ducks game, the announcers were talking about these special pads that hang over the laces of the skates,” writes Nate Budziszewski. “They said most players don’t like to wear them because they’re embarrassed, so they wear a more cosmetic version that’s hidden under the laces.” … The NFL has enlisted Chelsea FC to help promote the upcoming Giants/Dolphins game in London. First visible evidence of this: Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora wearing Chelsea jerseys. … Jeff Tripodi found a 1987 SportsCenter highlight clip in which George Hendrick is referred to as “He With the Long Pants.” … Manny Pacquiao and Marco Antonio Barrera both wore red trunks for their super featherweight title bout Saturday night. … Reprinted from Saturday’s comments: Illinois players are wearing “Team” on their nose bumpers — a staple of Ron Zook-coached teams. … Bugs and baseball? Nothing new about that. … Hey, speaking of Friday’s bug-a-thon, here’s some recommended movie viewing for Yankees fans and Joba Chamberlain: Them (1954), which features huge nuclear-irradiated ants, and Starship Troopers (1997), in which the military forces of Earth wage intergalactic war against giant alien bugs. Both offer comforting reassurance that humans really can overcome insects. … Auburn’s 1957 throwbacks didn’t do much for me, given that they left so much contemporary clutter on the jersey’s upper chest. … Kent State University wideout Derek McBryde’s right TV number has been backwards for the team’s past two home games (good catch by Brad Foster). … The Japan Basketball League has introduced a new mascot. And his name — I kid not — is Hoopy. This is so fucking great, I don’t even mind that he’s not wearing striped tube socks (big thanks to Jeremy Brahm). … Our own Vince Grzegorek was quoted extensively in this article about the Indians’ uniform history, which ran in yesterday’s Cleveland Plain Dealer. The printed article included additional quotes from Vince, plus photos, so Ohio readers should fish their copies of the Sunday paper out of the recycling pile. … The striped belt phenomenon has trickled down all the way to high school (good spot by Jack Krabbe). … Susan Freeman attended the Stars’ home opener in Dallas on Friday and reports that “the new slimmer jerseys [kept getting] caught in the shorts, leaving half the numbers obscured” (but she didn’t mind so much cuz she got a pair of jersey beer cozies). The next day she checked out the traveling “Baseball as America” exhibit and took dozens of photos, which are available in a slideshow here. … Wisconsin’s women’s hockey team has won two national championships wearing this design, so Nicole Haase was surprised to attend a game on Saturday and see the team skating out looking like this, which is essentially the same design that the men’s team wears. “I asked a girl who was working the bench about the jerseys,” says Nicole, “and she said they were new and she thought they were permanent.” … During the preseason, the Lightning’s road jerseys had uni numbers on the front but the home jerseys didn’t. Now that the season has started, the numbers are appearing on the home set as well. According to a small item buried on this page (sent my way by Doug Mooney), “The team decided to make the change near the end of the preseason and sewed the numbers on after getting permission from the league.”
October 8th, 2007
Sometimes the world just feels a little bit … off. You can’t put your finger on what it is, but you know something is wrong. It’s not something big — more like a tiny itch that keeps eluding you no matter where you scratch, like when you balance your checkbook and can’t figure out why the totals are off by three cents. You know things weren’t always this way, but you only have a faint memory of how they used to be, and now it’s gone and you can’t quite figure out what’s changed. And however minor this discrepancy may be, you know the universe will never quite come back into proper alignment until this small detail is addressed.
And that’s why, brothers and sisters, I’m so happy to announce that Ben Wallace will be allowed to wear his headband this season.
In case you’ve forgotten (and it was such a surreally idiotic episode that I wouldn’t blame you if you’d blotted it out of your mind), Wallace was benched early last season for violating Bulls coach Scott Skiles’s “no headbands” edict. So Big Ben spent the season looking like this and this, instead of sporting the more familiar forehead-accessorized look he’d cultivated in Detroit. It looked wrong, like it was some other guy instead of Wallace. Now, thankfully, this small rip in the cosmic fabric will be mended.
For those keeping score at home, the moron here is clearly Skiles (who, thankfully, never coached Wilt Chamberlain). I’ve yet to hear him present a rational, sensible explanation for banning a league-sanctioned and -branded accessory. And headbands aren’t just fashion statements — yo, Scott, they keep sweat out of your eyes.
Skiles made things worse yesterday by giving an all-time clunker of a quote: “We still have a no-headband rule. I just left it up to the guys who have been here if they wanted to make an exception for Ben.”
This is like the Mets insisting that they’re a really good team despite their last-season collapse, or Charlie Brown standing on the mound in the rain and shouting, “It’s just a little shower!” while everyone else scampers home and Snoopy goes by on a raft (plus it puts makes Skiles the rhetorical heir of Elaine Crispen; if you don’t remember who she was, look here). Dude, wake up: You ain’t got no no-headband rule no more, which is a good thing, since it was a bogus rule to begin with. Now sit down, shut up, and let Big Ben do his thing.
Raffle Results: The winner of the futuristic Royals jersey is Ryan Etgen. Big congrats to him, and thanks to all who entered.
Membership News: As a big fan of horizontal stripes and the color green, I’ve rarely been as excited about a membership design request as I was when Michael Doucette requested Celtic FC the other day. Scott’s execution, as you can see, was dead-on. This and other new designs now on display in the membership card design gallery.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Lots of other NBA changes in the offing besides the return of Ben Wallace’s headband, including a new bronze trim for the Wizards (here’s a rear view), new throwbacks for the Warriors (which apparently mean no “The City” throwbacks this season — dang), the return of the “New Orleans” insignia for the Hornets (along with the new fleur-de-bee patch), and an anniversary patch for the Lakers. Plus, as already noted in yesterday’s Ticker, anniversary patches are also being worn by the Pistons and Heat. … We’ve talked before about how Red Sox uniforms sometimes have an upside-down 8. Turns out the Sox aren’t the only Boston-area team with this problem. The Patriots’ numeral 8 is supposed to have a smaller loop on top, but Randy Moss’s 8 was upside-down two nights ago. On the back, too. Great side-by-side comparison here of Moss’s and Donte Stallworth’s respective 8s. … Two days ago I ran this photo. Now Dave Bloomquist has come up with this (which dates back to 1956). Separated at birth? … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Bill Belechick’s sweatshirt says, “QUIPMENT” — the E is missing. … Breakdown of great soccer uniforms here. … The Blackhawks will be wearing a memorial patch for Bill Wirtz. Insert internet/web site joke here. … Not uni-related, but am I the only one mildly surprised that Rick Ankiel didn’t win the National League’s Comeback Player of the Year Award? Yeah, he only played about 25% of the season, but Stretch McCovey won Rookie of the Year in ’59 based on virtually the same number of ABs. ’Course, nobody ever accused Stretch of doing HGH, but still, have you ever seen a more impressive comeback than Ankiel’s? Dude completely reinvented himself, made it all the way back, and was a legitimate power threat during the latter part of the season. … Good spot by Matt Englander, who writes: “After the Red Sox acquired Curt Schilling in 2004, they made adjustments to the banner the top of their home page. Because they didn’t have an action pic of Schilling in a Sox uniform, they cropped his head (presumably from a shot from his D-Backs days) and put the head on another Boston pitcher’s body. If you look closely you can see that the edges of Curt’s neck are a dead giveaway that this was a crop job. That was 4 seasons ago…and you’re telling me they couldn’t pull out that placeholder and put an actual Sox action shot in there? Ridiculous.” … While researching something else, I stumbled across this. I don’t even wanna know. … Reprinted from last night’s comments: Great little item here about how the Seahawks have a staffer whose job is to keep track of Seneca Wallace’s green-dotted and dot-free helmets, depending on whether he’s playing QB or WR. … Also from last night: French law prohibits alcohol-related jersey sponsorship, so Glasgow Rangers FC, whose jersey usually looks like this, blacked out the Carling logo during yesterday’s match in France. … Roberto Luongo has a new mask. Lots of additional pics here, further info here, and a short video is here. … New mask for Chris Mason, too. Photos here, details here. … Rugby World Cup note from Eric Bangeman, who notes that the countries that have won the World Cup in the past (New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and England) are wearing a sleeve patch that depicts the William Webb Ellis trophy, which is awarded to the winning nation.” … UConn’s new hoops unis will look like this (with thanks to Matt Edwards). … Life-altering photo here of the 1920 Dartmouth hockey team (with many, many thanks to Cullan Foote). … Very, very sad news out of Milwaukee, where Art’s Concertina Bar — site of a Uni Watch party last year, and my favorite tavern in America — has been sold. The new owner plans to only minor changes, but the biggest loss will be Art himself (shown at the Uni Watch party with Stephanie West), a national treasure who’s simply irreplaceable. Enjoy your retirement, Art — I’ll miss ya.
October 3rd, 2007
Scott Turner and I took an upstate road trip last Thursday, capped off by a double-A ballgame between the Binghamton Mets and the New Britain Rock Cats. And therein lies a tale.
The Mets are one of those franchises that require all their minor league affiliates to hike up their pant cuffs, so we enjoyed the sight of the B-Mets in all their navy-socked glory. But then I noticed something odd about third baseman Vince Harrison: His pants weren’t just hiked up to his calves — they were above his knees, like a baseball version of Dre Bly’s biker shorts. I’d never seen anything like it on a baseball diamond.
My camera’s batteries had gone dead earlier in the day, but Scott pointed out that I could probably still get some decent pics with my cell phone if I got right next to Harrison while he was on deck. So when Harrison’s next turn in the on-deck circle came up, I scooted down to the front row (ah, the pleasures of a double-A ballpark) and snapped a bunch of shots, which I’ve gathered into a slide show here.
Unfortunately, Harrison wouldn’t turn around while he was on deck, so I couldn’t get a decent photo from the front, where the effect was much more pronounced (best I could do was this this). But at one point I yelled, “Hey, Harrison, what’s the deal with the super-high cuffs?” and he quickly turned his head and said, “Just changin’ it up. Tryin’ somethin’ new, y’know.” And that was that.
My feelings about high-cuffed baseball pants are well-documented. But if you made me choose between Harrison’s look and the pajama style, I’d be hard-pressed to say which was worse. Seeing a ballplayer’s knees just doesn’t feel right. It also appeared to be a high-maintenance operation, because he was fidgeting with his pant cuffs all night. Manwhile, just how long were his socks? Like, was he wearing thigh-high stockings, or pantyhose, or what?
In an apparently unrelated development, there was a bat — the kind with wings and teeth — flying around the field the entire night. It mostly stayed near the field’s perimeter, but every now and then it would dart toward an ump or a player (it almost made one of the New Britain pitchers balk). At one point the bat flitted right past Harrison while I was photographing him in the on deck circle. He damn near jumped out of those super-short pants — and then he readjusted them one more time.
Mariners Mystery Solved: Last week I ran the following note from Jon Buerstatte:
In 1992, when the new owners completed their purchase [of the Mariners] in mid-season, the M’s had an “opening day” celebration. To mark the occasion, the M’s wore their usual white home uniforms, but with “Seattle” on the jerseys instead of “Mariners.” That had great significance at the time, because the team was constantly the subject of relocation rumors and the new ownership wanted to send a strong message that the team was the Seattle Mariners, not just the Mariners.
Unfortunately, Buerstatte didn’t have any photos from this game, and I wasn’t able to come up with one either. But then Mariners marketing VP Kevin Martinez got in touch and provided me with this and this. Big thanks to Kevin, and to everyone else who provided tips and leads on this one.
C-ing Stars: An NFL spokesman told me on Friday that the new captains’ patches (first discussed here) would feature “a C with some stars underneath.” And now, thanks to an item on the Lions’ web site, we finally have our first look at what that means, as seen here (and you can sort of see the jersey placement here). As I understand it, each team’s patches will be color-coordinated — i.e., the Lions’ version is blue, but the Cardinals’ will be red, and so on. Not sure why there are four stars, or why one of them is gold, but I’m hoping to get more info today. Update: According to the Detroit Free Press, “The first star is gold. A player will get a gold star for each year he is a captain in the future.” (Thanks to Mike Schmansky for that info.)
Personally, I wish they’d let the teams come up with their own “C” styles, like the NHL and MLB do, instead of imposing a league-wide protocol. But I’m surprised — and relieved — to see that the patch doesn’t include the NFL logo, or a little Lombardi Trophy graphic, or anything else that smells like corporate branding. Verdict: Silly but harmless. Prediction: A one-year experiment that ends up being abandoned next season.
Incidentally, someone over on the Creamer boards said that the Bucs used to designate their captains via shoulder “netting.” I’d never heard this before. Can anyone confirm?
Uni Watch News Ticker: The Penguins will unveil their new uniforms on Wednesday. Details here. … Mike Nolan’s and Jack Del Rio’s sideline suits will be designed by Joseph Abboud. … This eBay auction has ended, but check out those illustrations — great stuff. Anyone ever seen those before? (Nice find by Roger Faso.) … Speaking of eBay, check out this bizarre AHL all-star jersey that Stuart Greenlee found. Never mind the Blues-ish diagonal number — what’s with that misplaced star? … This has resulted in this (with thanks to Chris Flinn). … Did you know that one Vanderbilt player — and only one — wears a special memorial patch every year, in memory of former tailback Kwane Doster? Details here (with thanks to Daniel Brown). … Liverpool FC played a champions league game last Tuesday and they wore a black armband in memory of 11 year old Rhys Jones, who was killed last week,” reports Ed Rickert. “Does the armband look like black duct tape, or is it just me?” … Some uni-related MLB chatter in the seventh question of this Q&A session (with thanks to Laura Koenig). … Marcus Ramsey notes that Brad Johnson’s preseason sleeve stylings have ranged from no stripes to two stripes to one stripe. … As they’ve frequently done for early-season games in recent years, the Chargers will wear white at home for Week 1, to help beat the heat. … Pat Kelly has noticed something interesting about the Redskins: The sleeve numbers for eligible receivers are much thicker than the ones used for linemen and linebackers. “I’ve noticed it for a while,” says Pat, “and a little checking shows that it’s been going on at least as far back as ’03 [thin numbers, thick numbers], and maybe ‘02. That’s the year Reebok began making the unis for every team, and is also when the ’Skins went from screen-printed numbers to sewn numbers, so it may have something to do with that.” I’m fairly certain it also has something to do with sleeve tailoring for players who handle the ball vs. those who don’t. … Here’s something interesting: You probably know that all National League teams wore this sleeve patch design in 1976. But Braden Wheeler recently sent me a bunch of patches, and I was surprised to find that the N.L. centennial patch included a tone-on-tone copyright line. … Everyone talks about the Celtics’ parquet floor as the gold standard for classic inlaid-wood court designs. But check out this 1928 photo of a game between Princeton and West Point — now that’s a floor design. … Marquette is switching to Converse’s Dwyane Wade sneakers. … “English Championship soccer side Queens Park Rangers played Saturday’s game with all players having the name ‘Ray Jones’ on their back,” writes Florian Zenger. “This was in tribute to QPR’s youth international, who died last week in a car crash.” … Uni Watch founding girlfriend Alleen Barber notes that James Blake and Stefan Koubek were wearing the exact shame shirt while playing each other on Saturday night. “It looks like they’re on the same team!” says Alleen. “That’s fucked.” … Michael Romero provided a good screen grab of USC’s Mario Danelo memorial decal. … Elena Elms notes that Jim Edmonds has added a “43″ wristband (in addition to his own No. 15) for injured teammate Juan Encarnacion. … Now there’s a nameplate. … Best. Haircut. Ever. (Thanks, Vince.) … New UConn hoops uniforms on the way. Details here. … While researching something else, I came across this photo of Ozzie Guillen wearing a photo of his former teammate Jerry Royster, who’d just been traded. … William F. Yurasko notes that Florida International uses two different kinds of “2″s on their jerseys: this kind on the front and back, and this kind on the sleeves. Odd. … Good point by Gale Reed, who writes: “With 99.9999% of NFL games being viewed on color TVs, why does one team still need to wear white jerseys? Okay, if, say, the Eagles were playing the Jets, the home team would get first dibs on wearing their color, but why can’t the Giants wear their blue jerseys against the 49ers in their red?” … Alan Kreit was recently up in Cooperstown, where he took lots of cool uniform photos. From there he went to the New York State Fair in Syracuse, where he documented uniforms of a different sort: “At the State Troopers exhibition, a trooper was kind enough to show me his personal collection, including a 1940s uniform. This included a purple tie, vintage pants, and the manufacturer’s label. These were all wool and probably were brutally hot during the summer.” You can see all of Alan’s photos here. … Jay Braiman has been obsessively research the history of the Jets’ logo. Among many other interesting finds, he’s come up with this awesome yearbook cover. … Jim Mellett notes that the drop shadows on Pitt’s new jersey are in the uncommon down and to the left configuration. … Nice to see that the halftime entertainment at last night’s Clemson/FSU game included a taffy pull. … Royce Clayton has changed his uni number to 11, to mark his 11th major league stop. … Interesting find by Chris Manes, who writes: “According to a Spirit Magazine pic I found a few months back, Phil White of the Giants was the first to wear No. zero in 1925.” Slight bit of additional info here. … That’s enough for today. I’ll save my comments on the new NFL logo for tomorrow.
September 4th, 2007
My college football preview column will be up later today on ESPN. I’m gonna be traveling (more on that in a sec), so Vince will add the link when it goes live. Drum roll please… here it is.
The Canucks unveiled their new uniforms yesterday, and everything you need to know about them can be found in this photo.
Looks pretty good as a T-shirt, right? But when you add sleeve stripes, sleeve numbers, shoulder patches, and waist striping, the total effect is way too busy. Throw in a captain’s “C” and you’ve reached critical mass.
Personally, I have no problem with the city name on the front (at the very least, it’s certainly not part of any other template we’ve seen, right?), and I give them credit for rendering it in a simple typeface with no drop shadow, no outlining, no bells or whistles. But why pair it with the orca, which nobody ever liked to begin with? Feels like a shotgun wedding. And why make the orca so big? If you combine the logo and the wordmark, the combined acreage takes up much more of the jersey than a typical NHL crest — it’s too much.
Other notes:
• The rear typography is fine.
• As much as I love lower-jersey stripes, I’m starting to think they just don’t work with Reebok’s rounded hemline.
• Nice to see the stick/rink logo on the pants.
Personally, I’m still hoping they’ll eventually use this.
Membership News: As you can see at right, Scott really outdid himself with the Colorado Caribous treatment for Matt Thompson’s card. My original plan was to glue some real fringe to Matt’s laminated card, but I’ve tabled that idea, since it would obscure Scott’s excellent work.
Yesterday’s batch of new designs (which, like all the membership designs, are on display in the card gallery) had two other notable entries: First, there’s our first playing surface-based design. True, it’s not a uniform, but I’ve occasionally written about field design, and that Robert Indiana-designed court was definitely part of the Bucks’ graphic identity in the 1990s, so why not? Looks pretty swank when cloaked in the Uni Watch border, too.
And then there’s this, based on the WFL’s old Southern California Sun. Scott thinks this one’s gonna be controversial because you’re all gonna start screaming, “Hey, that’s purple, what gives?” I say you’re all smart enough to recognize the difference between purple and fuschia. And yeah, fuschia is arguably the more offensive of the two, but it almost never comes up in the uni world, so I can’t get too worked up about it. More of a kitschy indulgence than a loathsome plague.
Weekday Road Trip: Just in case the purple fuschia card design sparks an uprising, Scott and I are high-tailing it upstate today to catch a Binghamton Mets game. If any Bingotown-area readers want to join us for beer and spiedies, we’ll be at the always-wonderful Sharkey’s from about 5:00 to 6:15.
Sorry for the super-short notice. And if you can’t make it to Sharkey’s but want to join us at the game, e-mail your name and cell number to Vince. He’ll get the info to me later in the day, and then I’ll call you from the stadium to let you know where we’re sitting.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Here’s a doozy: MLB exec Bob Watson actually entered the Red Sox dugout during last night’s game to tell Bosox skipper Terry Francona to wear a jersey instead of his usual fleece pullover. Details here. … According to the last item on this page, the 49ers are thinking about wearing Montana-era throwbacks all season long, as a tribute to Bill Walsh (good find by Chris Rogers). … “I happened to stumble across a hurling match on one of the more obscure Dish channels,” writes Craig Ward. “I found it odd that the players wore all sorts of different colored helmets — there doesn’t appear to be any rhyme or reason to it, just personal preference.” Anyone know more about this? … Several readers noted that the MLB logo was missing from Robinson Cano’s jersey on Tuesday night. … “Tuesday night, Comcast ran a special piece about Ryne Sandberg and his life as the manager of the Peoria Chiefs, the Cubs’ single-A affiliate,” writes Pat Ratliff. “Ryne said that when some of his players saw old pictures of him rocking the high stirrups back in his playing days, they were blown away, as if they hadn’t seen stirrups in their lives. Ryne proceeded to order a supply of stirrups from the Cubs for his team to wear on the field. Looks like he needs to take his own advice and show some sock. Also looks like none of his players in the pic are actually wearing stirrups — just socks.” … A source in the Rangers’ clubhouse reports that skipper Ron Washington does not wear a cup. The source also offers this bit of news: “A promising development for next season — we’re most likely going to use the Cool Base material for our sleeveless jerseys, which would provide the benefits of the cooler material without the weird underarm gussets.” … Penn State is pulling a Wisconsin (with thanks to William F. Yurasko). … Vince will be minding the store today while I’m road-tripping. So if you have spam-filter problems or other site-related issues, contact him. Ticker tips can still come to me.
August 30th, 2007
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