Last Tuesday I agonized over whether I should FedEx an American flag decal to Ladainian Tomlinson (for those who’ve been under a rock, his helmet has been flag-free all season). I never did send it, and now Tomlinson has made the matter moot, because he finally wore Old Glory in yesterday’s game against the Vikings, thereby ending the NFL season’s most entertaining uni-related storyline and bringing our weekly “Will he or won’t he?” game to a conclusion.
But a new game may be afoot. Several posts in yesterday’s comments section reported that Chargers wideout Chris Chambers was flag-free yesterday. No pics yet, but I’m looking. Not sure if Chambers wore a flag last week (which was his first game of the season), but it sounds like someone on the Chargers’ equipment staff is either asleep at the switch or else has a good sense of humor.
In other NFL notes from yesterday:
• Remember this? Something vaguely similar happened yesterday to Kansas City defensive lineman Tamba Hali, who delivered a big hit that sent part of his chinstrap sailing through the air. Not quite as cool as the flying number decal, but still something I’ve never seen before.
• What do you get when you combine artificial turf, one team wearing solid black, and another team wearing solid black below the waist? Pretty much the ugliest game ever.
• The Eagles wore white at home last night to force the Cowboys into their “bad luck” blue jerseys. Didn’t quite work out the way they drew it up.
(Special thanks to Randy Williams and James Wortham for their Tomlinson screen grabs and to Blaine Williams for the Hali pics.)
Big Papi? No, Little Poppies!: With November 11th approaching, Canadian-born coaches and coaches of Canadian teams are starting to wear poppy pins on their lapels (for futher info on this phenomenon, look here). As it happens, I was in Toronto over the weekend for a wedding and saw lots of poppy-clad people all over the city. At one point I was talking about the poppies with one of my Canadian friends, and she mentioned something very Uni Watch-ish: The current poppy pins have a black center, but until a couple of years ago they had a green center.
That raised lots of questions: When exactly did the color change, and why? And who makes that decision? Like, is there an executive poppy committee somewhere in the governmental bureaucracy, or did the pin manufacturers just run out of green felt? Also, since real poppies have black centers, why was green ever used in the first place? What about the other British Commonwealth nations, which also wear poppies — do they go with the black or the green? My Canadian pals couldn’t answer any of these queries. Anyone..?
Other things I learned about the poppy pins: They tend not to stay on very long, because they have no backing clip; the lack of a clip also makes it fairly common for the wearer to get pricked; and apparently it’s customary to pick on the dorkiest kid in the class by covering him with as many poppies as possible.
I had hoped to buy a poppy pin myself (I was told to look for “the oldest, stooped-over-est old man you can find — he’ll probably be selling them”), but I didn’t come across a vendor during the course of my weekend. Dang.
Sock Summit: Longtime readers know I’m a huge fan of the pseudonymous sock savant known as Witesock (whose admirably obsessive web site is here, plus there’s a lengthy interview with him available here). So it was a big thrill for me, after years of false starts and missed connections, to finally meet the man himself over the weekend. I’m happy to report that he’s a peach of a guy. Over plates of chicken teriyaki and bibimbap (which he generously paid for), we spent the better part of two hours talking about socks, collecting, travel, socks, work, socks, and more socks. We probably could have kept going for a few hours more, but he had to get back to work.
Naturally, we compared socks: I was wearing my usual basic striped tube socks while Witesock had a twofer: black rugby hose over a pair of Miami Dolphins socks (to go with the jersey he’d worn for the occasion). “But doesn’t wearing two pairs of socks make your shoes a bit too snug?” I asked. To which he replied, “Oh, I usually buy my shoes half a size too big, to allow for that.” Now that’s dedication.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Interesting primitive facemask on display in this 1930 photo (with thanks to Kevin S. Whisman). … Speaking of primitive facemasks, look what Jared Wheeler found up for auction. … Interesting bit of uni lobbying on display here (as forwarded by Jacob Reed). … Ewww. … Now here’s a uniform category you don’t often see: Iranian women’s rugby. Details here (with thanks to Peter Chambers). … “Converse has resurrected its 1933 All-Star, which was the team shoe of the legendary Harlem Renaissance basketball team,” writes Steve Eschenbach. “They had to resort to eBay to get an original to work off of.” Details here. … Andy Enright, who says he works in the sporting goods biz, contributed a mother lode of insider info the other day: “Both the Schutt Ion and XP will not be offered in XL for 2008. Schutt does have the capability to make XL for NFL and college players when needed. Both helmets are fitting a little smaller than their counterparts, the DNA and Air Advantage. All Schutt large helmets are sized to fit 7 to 7-1/2, but I tried both helmets on today, size large, and both were a little tight, even though I wear a 7-3/8. The molds for these helmets cost about $200K each, so Schutt is waiting for public demand before moving forward on the XL size, probably late 2008 or 2009. Also, Eli Manning will wear the new helmet probably next year or later this year. They are having issues installing the radio earpiece. Schutt will also have a signature shoulder pad featuring Reggie Bush as well as Eli Manning, for use at the youth level. The individual pads will be in Saints and Giants team colors. Also, I’ve attached some pictures of LT’s new cleats to hit stores in April ’08, both the molded as well as the detachable. Didn’t take Nike long to replace Vick.” … Interesting logo creep placement here (as spotted by Jeremy Brahm). … Take a look at this (which was sent my way by David Soline). Did the Bulls really wear pink warmup jackets? … The Pacers debuted their yellow alts on Friday. … These high school football socks would be awesome if not for, y’know, obvious reasons (big thanks to Michael Orr, who also sent along a rare high school example of FNOB). … I’m sure his parents are proud. … The Islanders brought Al Arbour back to coach one last game on Saturday night — the 1500th of his career — which occasioned lots of uni-related news items: (1) The team wore white at home. (2) They wore a special jersey patch. (3) As Mike from Queens points out, the patch caused a logjam with the “A” and “C” designations. (4) Arbour’s “retired number” banner, which had been No. 739 (his number of coaching wins) was replaced with a new banner. (5). Since the Isles won, the new banner will reportedly be replaced with yet another banner — No. 740. … Good info on the UMich hockey uniforms here (courtesy of Craig Barker). … Florida went with solid blue on Saturday. … And Oregon realy outdid themselves. But here’s a confession: As a big yellow/green fan, I kinda liked what the Ducks were doing on Saturday. All the diamondplate nonsense still rankles, natch, but I thought this was one of their better mix-and-match combos. … Great article here about a guy who works in Riddell’s helmet-testing facility (with thanks to Matt Lindner). … NHL jersey update here (with thanks to K.C. Kless). … In happier hockey news, good update on the NHL Winter Classic here (as forwarded by Sean Leahy). … And the Rangers continue to look much better with their straight-hemmed jerseys. Kudos to whoever made the modification decision. … I used to think the Quad Cities Swing were the only team with unevenly sized numerals (well, unless you count this), but that was before Blair Hough pointed me toward this photo of two ringette players. … Doug Linder spotted UCLA’s Luc Richard Mbah a Moute wearing some very unusual leg sleeves during a preseason game Friday night. Also, some of the UCLA cheerleaders suffered from Adidas logo creep, while others did not. … Reprinted from last night’s comments: Nice ad in yesterday’s Boston Globe. … I’m going to be busy until at least mid-afternoon. Vince will be minding the store until then.
A few weeks ago I ran an entry about players who’ve worn their full names on their jerseys (or FNOB, short for “full name on back”). That post prompted so many contributions that I’ve decided to do a follow-up entry today.
The most interesting case study comes our way courtesy of Les Holmlund, who wrote in to tell me that the WHA’s Alberta Oilers — forerunners of today’s Edmonton Oilers — had the entire team wearing FNOB during their inaugural 1972-73 season. Now, that Oilers team was already uni-notable for a few other reasons. According to WHAUniforms.com (usually a pretty dependable resource), they began the season wearing “ALBERTA” on their backs and then switched to round-cornered nameplates with an unusual font. But there was nothing on the site about them wearing FNOB. Fortunately, Les came up with several photos to back up his point, as seen here, here, and here. So there you have it: The Alberta Oilers, who began by wearing PNOB (province name on back) and then switched to FNOB, almost certainly making them the most eccentrically nameplated team in sports history.
As for additional FNOB examples (aside from those already listed in my previous FNOB post), I’m only listing them if we have photos confirming them. I realize the list is still very incomplete, but here are the latest additions:
Finally, a few related categories that aren’t quite FNOB but still belong in this discussion:
• Several readers suggested coming up with a separate list for players who wear more than their first initial but less than FNOB, like Michael and Martellus Bennett. If anyone wants to contribute additional examples, I’m game.
• And here’s a unique situation, as explained by reader Roy Ellingsen: “Norwegian former hockey star Carl Oscar Bøe Andersen’s name was so long that he prefered to wear just his initials on the nameplate.”
Big thanks to all who’ve contributed — we’re building a nice little nameplate database here. And if anyone wants to start building a physical collection instead of a virtual one, look what’s up for sale on eBay.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Many readers wrote in last night to report that Virginia Tech’s Victor “Macho” Harris’s left-sleeve uni number was orange last night, while his right-sleeve number (and all his teammates’ sleeve numbers) was white. No photo yet. Anyone TiVo the game? … I’ve written before about umpires being forced to wear civvies after their uniforms got lost in transit. Now Richard Koh has come up with a video clip of Eric Gregg struggling to find adequately sized gear during just such a situation. Bill Murray’s doing the color commentary, too. … Minnesota’s women’s hockey team will wear a memorial helmet decal for the rest of this season in honor of equipment manager Bonnie Olein, who recently passed away. Details here (with thanks to Mike Nachreiner). … Andy Head notes that the Saskatoon Blades wear uni numbers is a very unusual spot (plus they’ll be wearing one weird-ass jersey for Emergency Services Night next month). … Drew McKay reports that the Slipstream cycling team recently invited fans to submit designs for next year’s uniform. The team is apparently for its argyle motif, so most of the submissions were very argyle-centric (including this one, which is Drew’s favorite). You can see all 613 submissions here. … The Trenton Thunder have unveiled a 15th-season patch (as forwarded by Ted Kerwin). … Much better, even if the stirrups are backwards. … And you can see the stirrups’ laundry tag peaking out here. … When it comes to baggy pants, like father, like son. … Remember when Mike Timlin (who probably thinks the term “World Series” is a U.N. plot) wanted to wear the American flag patch on his cap full-time? He lost that battle, but he’s got a flag on his BP cap — closer view here (great catch by Bryan Redemske). … Steve Necaster reports that the Sabres will be wearing white at home for several games in November. … Further evidence here and here of the Rangers having apparently modified their hemlines to eliminate Reebok’s scooped shirttail. … The Mid-Atlantic Hockey League recently unveiled new uniforms for the Indiana Ice Miners (dark, white), Jamestown Vikings (dark, white), Mon Valley Thunder (dark, light), Valley Forge Freedom (dark, white), and Wooster Warriors (dark, white). “We all know the MAHL is minor league hockey, but I’ve seen roller hockey uniforms that look more professional,” says Zak McGinniss, who provided the links. … “At the Mellon Arena they have a High School Hall of Champions,” writes Doug Keklak. “It’s a hallway in the arena adorned with framed high school hockey jerseys, mostly from western PA schools but there are a few West Virginia schools included in the mix.” Doug’s taken photos of many of them, which you can see here. … The Devils’ new arena opened last night with a Bon Jovi concert, and Chris Flinn noticed something interesting in the men’s room: “Every single urinal had the Devils logo engraved into the metal.” I’m not sure which is more embarrassing — admitting that you attended a Bon Jovi concert or taking a photo in the bathroom, but either way let’s all salute Chris for his devotion to the Uni Watch cause.
Very uni-unusual day in college football on Saturday, with all sorts of anomalies running rampant on the gridiron. Let’s start with Notre Dame’s 1977 throwbacks. Personally, I prefer this green-and-gold combo better than the one they wore on Saturday. But oh, those sock stripes — you know I loved those, although it was distressing to see how many players left their socks at ankle-level.
A sampling of other uni observations from Saturday:
• Oregon went solid white, which looked kinda chalky. Better than their usual visual carnival, natch, but the green helmet was the one really good component of this uniform — here’s hoping they go back to it next week.
• Florida wore a memorial decal for walk-on defensive back Michael Guilford, who died in a motorcycle accident last week (and whose nickname was Sunshine).
• Florida State wore a red “BV” helmet decal in honor of team videographer and cancer victim Billy Vasini, who’s currently in hospice care.
• No photo, but Vince says Michigan State’s Peter Clifford “pulled an L.T. and wasn’t wearing an American flag decal on his helmet” (a handy coincidence, since the Chargers had a bye this week, so we all might’ve gone through missing-decal withdrawal if not for Clifford).
• Graham McCulloch says that Michigan’s Mario Manningham’s surname was direct-sewn onto his jersey, instead of being on separate nameplate. I couldn’t find a good rear-view shot of Manningham, although this photo suggests that the lettering may indeed have been direct-sewn. If so, it would mark a change from how Manningham’s name has been applied in the past.
Intern Update: In case you missed it last week, Vince will soon be moving on to greener pastures, so I’m in the market for a new intern. For further details, scroll down to the “Help Wanted” section of last Wednesday’s post.
For those of you who’ve already applied, hang tight. I can’t acknowledge everyone, but I’ll be getting in touch with a handful of finalists soon. And my sincere thanks to all applicants — it’s humbling to see how many people want to work on Uni Watch.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Iowa State’s official logo specs and identity standards are available for viewing in this PDF file (with thanks to Brian Castile). … Andrew Flynn was recently at the Packers Hall of Fame, where he snapped a shot of the team’s 1962 yearbook cover. Obviously, they tinted those facemasks in the photo (colored facemasks didn’t debut until over a decade later, with the 1974 Chargers), although it’s hard to fathom why they would’ve done that. … Always good to start ’em young (good find by Jay Kuperstein). … Mike Orr noticed a bunch of interesting South Carolina high school football quirks over the weekend: (1) Chester High uses some really big-ass rear helmet numbers. (2) One of the Chester players has a helmet number that doesn’t match his jersey. (3) Lugoff-Elgin uses the biggest TV numbers I’ve ever seen. (4) The Lugoff-Elgin QB is apparently a Sean Taylor fan. … Victory Pennants prexy Morris Levin just scored this excellent postcard showing the Phillies’ uniform history (here’s the other side). Interestingly, the player images on the front of card are also used on the Phils’ web site. … If Curt Schilling’s gonna insist on wearing a Cool Base jersey, could he at least stop saluting the crowd, so we wouldn’t have to look at that stupid underarm mesh insert? … Good article here on the NFL’s latest uniform cop. … Dave Madison says Kevin Youkilis had the Majestic wordmark — instead of just the Majestic logo — on the left sleeve of his road jersey during Games 4 and 5 of the ALCS, suggesting that he might have been wearing a replica jersey. I don’t see any wordmark here, here, here, or here, but it does look like he might have had a wordmark under the logo here. I’m trying to get that photo enlarged so we can get a better look. … I reported lat week that Wisconsin would be wearing this throwback outfit on December 3rd, but the auction for the unis is already underway (with thanks to Nicole Haase). … Mark Coale reports that the Hershey Bears wore 70th-anniversary sweaters on Saturday. A nice idea, except the crest looked like a glorified sleeve patch. … Reprinted from Sunday’s comments: Adalius Thomas has been wearing one red glove and one blue. Additional views here and here. … I don’t care how many field goals you kick — this is still a really bad look. … The Devil Rays’ uni-unveiling event is gonna be a real, um, barn-burner (as noted by Morris Levin). … Dave Eskenazi, who’s contributed many Pacific northwestern baseball pics in the past, has now provided some gorgeous old hockey photos from that same region, as seen in these shots of the Portland Rosebuds, Seattle Metropolitans, Victoria Aristocrats, and Vancouver Millionaires. That’s Lester Patrick — “Yes, that Lester Patrick,” as Eskinazi puts it — here. … The Saskatchewan Roughriders wore throwbacks yesterday (with thanks to Garry Sum). … Two weeks ago I reported that the Wisconsin women’s hockey team was using this design. What I hadn’t noticed in that photo — but what Andy Seeger has now pointed out — is that the “C” and “A” designations are stacked under the uni numbers, which looks awful-and-a-half. … Matthew Lepke notes that Bryce Salvador is wearing Blues-branded boot protectors. … Reprinted from last night’s comments: The Broncos’ socks are supposed to have just a thin band of orange between the navy and white areas, but Brandon Marshall apparently wore navy leggings and white sanitaries with orange tape in between (additional pics here, here, and here, and the tape he uses is probably something like this). … And we conclude with a nice little video report on USC’s equipment staff (as provided by Ryan Whitacre):
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.
• 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 homeandroad 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.”
Lots of ground to cover today, beginning with the excellent time I had last Friday at Giants Stadium, where I spent the afternoon interviewing equipment director Joe Skiba. This will end up as a video column on ESPN.com later this week, but here are some notable factoids:
• As you can see above, your typical NFL team has a lot — like, a lot — of facemasks on hand. (Here’s a larger view.)
• How tight are NFL jerseys these days? So tight that Osi Umenyiora’s jersey and pads fit fairly comfortably on me. Keep in mind that Osi outweighs me by over 100 pounds. For the record, Jared Lorenzen’s jersey was a big roomier.
• Speaking of Umenyiora, it turns out he likes to have his jersey partially untucked in the back (sort of like Wayne Gretzky), so Skiba has the back of his jersey tailored with a diagonal hem.
• Think the Giants’ blue helmet looks stupid with their red alternate jersey? Skiba has something in mind for you. I’m not allowed to talk about it, because team management hasn’t yet green-lighted Skiba’s idea, but let’s just say it would be a pretty revolutionary move if it came to pass. (And no, it’s not a solid-red helmet.)
• Skiba clued me in to a new footwear regulation I hadn’t been aware of: Prior to this season, a player’s shoes had to be predominantly black or white (depending on the team’s official shoe color) but could be accented with team colors. Since the Giants’ official colors are blue and red, this meant that some players’ shoes were black with red accents and others were black with blue. This year, however, the NFL has required each team to settle on one accent color. The Giants chose red (a mistake, in my opinion), so no more blue-accented cleats for Big Blue.
Big thanks to Joe for taking time out of his busy schedule to make himself available. On top of that, he turned out to be a real character in front of the camera, which should result in a very entertaining video. Joe, if you’re reading this, you da man and all that.
NHL Roundup: Meanwhile, a slew of additional NHL unveilings took place over the weekend. I’m just about NHL’d out (it’s only a 30-team league, but it seems like they’ve trotted out about 387 uniforms over the past two months), but protocol demands a full accounting, so here’s a quick rundown, in roughly descending order of quality:
• Coyotes: Plenty to like here — simple, basic, a classic in the making (lots of photos here). The only fly in the ointment: the way the panels and seams have forced the “C” and “A” designations to move too close to the crest.
• Blackhawks: Pretty true to the classic version. But this is probably the best example yet of how old-school waistline striping just doesn’t work with Reebok’s new rounded shirttail hem (additional photos here). Which brings up a question: What exactly is the rationale for the rounded hem? For all the chatter about the new uniform system’s innovative fabrics and streamlined tailoring, I’ve yet to hear an explanation for this particular (and particularly annoying) element.
• Ducks: As of my last writing, we had only seen this, but now a bunch of practice session photos have surfaced (additional views here). Yeah, the wordmark is weak and the stripes are a joke, but I still like the color scheme and the lack of extraneous bells and whistles. Whatever you thought of last year’s version, this update is certainly no worse.
• Stars: I actually love the road uni. And I don’t mind the simplicity of the home design (additional pics here). But like many other observers, I don’t understand why they’re highlighting the city name at home and the team name on the road. Feels like some promising ideas that weren’t taken to full fruition.
• Flyers: Road whites are silly but harmless; home design looks like a black tunic (additional pics here). Oh, and according to an item buried on this page, “Privately, some of the players said the new jerseys were too snug. So the Flyers are ordering them two sizes larger than usual for most players.” Nice to know the Edge system is being subverted before the season even starts.
• Oilers: Which one looks more like a practice jersey — home or road? Answer: both.
• Sabres: Looked like crap last year; looks like crap this year (further damning evidence here).
• Blues: For those who’ve been wondering, this is the design I knew about a few months ago (I got to see one of the jerseys when I was visiting the Liebe factory back in July) but wasn’t at liberty to discuss. Some people in the comments section have said they’re okay with it, which surprises me, because I think it’s a total train wreck. From the idiotic apron strings to the super-annoying Ree-box, it reeks of overdesign — especially when you factor in the way the apron strings are extended on the pants (additional pics here). Embarrassing.
In addition, we now have our first view of the Rangers’ new design on an actual human being. Compare that to this and the new wordmark looks awfully compressed, no? And again, the rounded hemline ruins the non-rounded stripes. I’m starting to think they would’ve been better off going back to the drawing board.
Fuck it, they should all just do this and get it over with.
Raffle-O-Rama: Speaking of the NHL, here’s a little tale that speaks volumes: About 10 days ago I got a note from a PR guy working for the NHL. This wasn’t one the league’s staff publicists — it was a guy from a PR agency that had apparently been retained by the league. He wanted to make sure I knew all about the league’s exciting new uniform system, with its high-tech fabrics and innovative tailoring. Then he asked if I’d like to have one of the jerseys so I could see for myself, and of course I said yes. He didn’t ask which team I preferred, and I didn’t make any special request, but I figured it’d probably be either a Rangers or Islanders jersey — y’know, since I live in New York and all.
A few days later, a package arrived. Can you guess what was inside? Take a look.
I don’t mean to sound ungrateful — it was nice gift, after all. But you’ve gotta admit, it takes a special kind of cluelessness to send me a jersey from the one team that features the one color I can’t stand. This kinda sums up everything wrong with the NHL these days, no? (So does this: You’d think a video game would gain its legitimacy from the sport, not the other way around.)
Anyway, I’m gonna raffle off the jersey, and I won’t even make fun of whoever wins it. Specs: Size 52; includes all tagging; blank on the back. And since winning a Kings jersey brings to mind a bunch of old vaudeville jokes (”First prize is a week in Philadelphia; second prize is two weeks in Philadelphia”), I’ll make it more interesting by tossing in some extra goodies: The first prize winner will have a choice of the Kings jersey, a Capitals T-shirt (size L, blank on the back), or a bunch of MLB sleeve patches. A second-place winner will have a choice or the remaining two prizes, and a third-place winner will get the remaining prize.
To enter, send an e-mail to uniraffle at earthlink dot net (please note that this is not the regular Uni Watch address) by this Thursday, September 20th, 10 p.m. eastern. I’ll announce the winners on Friday. I won’t be reading the e-mail entries, so please don’t include messages or attachments. One e-mail per person, but all enrollees in the Uni Watch membership program will automatically get three bonus entries.
Speaking of membership, the recent server snafu put a damper on news from that front, but Scott and I have kept working on applications. With two exceptions (hang in there, Joseph Mays and Charlie Hildbold — we’ll get to you soon), every enrollee should now have his or her membership kit. If you haven’t received yours, let me know. And for all you folks who recently told me you were planning to sign up once the server issues were settled, I look forward to receiving your orders.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Nike and Ohio State have struck a huge deal. And it includes some penalties for swoosh obstruction. … Reprinted from Thursday’s comments: Awesome Yellowknife jersey at the beginning of this photo gallery. … Good article here about the Astros’ visiting clubhouse manager, who has a huge bobblehead collection (with thanks to James Poisso and Kevin Gee). … While researching something else, I came across this photo of Paul Hornung wearing a college all-star jersey — apparently the same design shown in that Mitchell and Ness video that Vince linked to last Friday. … From 1921 through 1951, the Cubs held spring training on Catalina Island, a small island off the California coast that was owned by William Wrigley. Joaquin Jang has provided me with a link to an excellent half-hour video about the Cubbies’ history on the island, and it’s filled with tons of great visuals plus some nice little uni-related factoids (the Cubs used to leave behind their spring training uniforms each year for the island’s high school team to use, e.g.). The only catch is the size of the video file — my computer took over two hours to download it. But it’s worth it, so just start the download before you go to bed or something like that. The link is here. … AJ Brandt reports that U.S. Airways has been creating a fleet of NFL-themed jets, with liveries honoring the Eagles, Cardinals, Steelers, and Panthers. Not sure if the flight attendants have to dress the part, but I wanna make it clear right now that I’ll travel on a leaky raft before I fly on a Bengals plane. … Tyler Kepner wrote a nice little item at the bottom of this page about Ian Kennedy’s stirrups. … The Padres wore 1990s throwbacks on Saturday — the last installment of their season-long throwback program. … Small uni number switcheroo for the Mets. … Things have been suspiciously quiet over at Oregon, but Clark Farrand says that may be changing soon: “On the radio pregame show for the Oregon/Fresno State game, they had a guest ‘insider’ (whose name/title I didn’t catch) who said that the white helmets announced last year were ready and that they should be broken out in the next few weeks. Interestingly enough, they were considered for the Michigan game last week, but the team wanted the focus to remain on the game and not have helmet hype overshadow anything.” … Todd Davis notes that Pitt is now in the unusual position of having the exact same wordmark on its jersey and helmet. … Interesting note from Alejandro Macri (writing all the way from Buenos Aires), who notes: “The South African rugby national team is using green and yellow mouth protections as part of their uni design. It’s very disturbing to see green and yellow in these men’s teeth, but it may be the beginning of a new trend.” … Everyone got a kick out of this over the weekend. … You probably know Jason Varitek has “TEK” printed on his chest protector collar. But did you know he also has it inscribed on his mask? (With thanks to Corey Paske.) … Also from Corey: This is a shot of Wisconsin hockey coach Mike Eaves. Anyone know what the “SP” tag logo on the jersey is for? … Garrett Malcolm reports that last week’s Derek Lee bobblehead giveaway at Wrigley Field depicted Lee with a gray underbrim. … Dave Lewellen notes that Trent Green’s sleeves had stripes for Miami’s Week 1 game against the Redskins, but the rest of the Dolphins were stripe-free. … Wish I’d been near a TV for Saturday’s Iowa/Iowa State Game. The Cyclones wore gorgeous throwbacks (lots of additional pics here and here), and the Hawkeyes added an “ANF” decal (that’s for “America Needs Farmers,” don’tcha know), much nicer than the one originally worn during the Hayden Frye era (with thanks to Matthew Lepke for the decal screen grab). … Awesome collection of game-worn hockey jerseys here (with thanks to Joe Hilseberg). … Advertising on NFL uniforms? It’s already happening, if you count the Vikings’ cheerleaders. … The Nationals wore a sleeve patch over the weekend to mark their final homestand at RFK Stadium. … Speaking of the Nats, great article here about how the team’s script “W” logo is imprinted onto the outfield grass. … Attention A.J. Connelly (and anyone else interested in chinstraps): At the 49-second mark of this video there’s a shot of 1942 Heisman Trophy winner Frank Sinkwich wearing a really weird chinstrap. Jeff Lindquist, who brought this to my attention, also found another view, though not as good, here. Anyone know more about this? … Steven Wyder notes that Julio Lugo usually has a light brown smudge on his left sleeve/shoulder area, a phenomenon that dates back to his days with the Dodgers and Devil Rays (tough to see, but it’s there). “I think it’s pine tar — he must rest the bat there in the on-deck circle or something,” says Steven. … True, I loved striped socks — but I might make an exception for Billy Corgan (disgusting find by Nate Gruz). … Speaking of non-sports socks: “I live in Calgary,” writes Steve Francis, “and one of the attractions here is the Family of Man statue downtown. As a part of an arts festival currently underway, one of the artists has knit socks around the legs of most of the statues.” Seems more like leg-warmers, actually, but still pretty cool. … Derek Lowe risked a fine the other day by wearing a red jersey during warm-ups the other day, to signify “no contact.” Details (plus a revelation about Grady Little being cited by MLB’s uni police) toward the end of this page (with thanks to Eric Borer). … The Bills wore Kevin Everett T-shirts under their jerseys yesterday. The tees will be auctioned off for charity. … The Steelers wore their throwbacks yesterday — and sure enough, for the first time since Super Bowl XL, Willie Parker was wearing an American flag decal, although it remains to be seen whether it’ll be there on his regular helmet next week. … LaDainian Tomlinson’s helmet flag, however, was still AWOL. … Another black chinstrap for Chad Johnson yesterday. … Several readers have noted that the Longhorns have switched their uni numbers screen-printed to tackle twill this season. … Good catch by Jesse Gavin, who spotted Jon Kitna wearing a crucifix necklace yesterday.
If you’re a regular reader of this site, I’d say there’s a pretty good chance that you used to doodle uniforms or at least logos in the margins of your notebooks back in junior high. No shame in that — I did it myself, and so did uniform designer Todd Radom. But when it comes to uniform doodling, we’ve all got nothing on Marty Hick.
I met Marty a few weeks ago at the Uni Watch party in St. Louis (he’s the one who wore the super-cool St. Louis Cardinals necktie). At one point during the party he went outside and then returned carrying a cardboard box. When I asked him what was in it, he was all noncommittal. “I’m can’t show you yet,” he said. “I need a few more drinks before I’ll be ready for that.”
A few beers later, I asked Marty if he was ready to give me a peek at his stash. Still a bit wary but now clearly eager to share, he hauled the box onto the bar, reached in, and pulled out a big stack of notebooks — notebooks filled with amazingly detailed uniform drawings.
By this time Marty’s initial reticence had given way to exuberant self-promotion. “Look, look at that!” he said as I flipped the pages. “Look, a logo on the Bears’ pants! Who else would think of doing that? Nobody! Look at that Islanders concept! Look at that Rams redesign! And look, here’s where I reconfigured the American and National Leagues in three divisions each — years before they actually did it themselves!” Somehow this all came off as charming instead of egotistical. I mean, really, how could you not be charmed by this? (You can see even more of Marty’s work in this slideshow.)
It was pretty obvious to me that Marty didn’t create all this artwork because he wanted to; like all creative visionaries, he did it because he had to. So I got his address and then, when I got back to my hotel room, I immediately ordered him a copy of Blackstock’s Collections, the book of obsessive “visual lists” that I reviewed a few weeks back. In the spirit of Blackstock’s work, as well as his own, I hope he’s doodled a few drawings in the margins.
Membership News: Lots of cool new stuff in the membership gallery, with lots more to come in the next few days. Remember, you can click on your card’s icon to explain what the design is based on and why you chose it, and you can also leave comments for anyone else’s design.
Meanwhile, every enrollee should now be listed on the membership roster. If you’ve signed up and don’t see your name listed, please let me know and I’ll make things right.
I’m happy to report, incidentally, that we’ll soon have a very special raffle — one that will make all you glad to have those three bonus raffle entries that come with membership. Details soon.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Oklahoma will have player names on the jerseys this season. … Reprinted from Friday’s comments: Although not truly uni- or logo-related, this is really, really cool. Details here. … Dennis Hurley has created a gallery of Cork City FC uniforms. … Brandon Roberts notes that Kentucky appears to have a new white helmet stripe this season. … College hockey report from Tom Konecny, who writes: “Though no official announcement from the school, the top two pics on this page appear to be the new Bowling Green State University hockey jerseys.” … The Bengals have once again published their jersey schedule for the upcoming season. Why can’t every NFL team do this? … In a vaguely related item, Chris Gilligan reports that this year’s N.Y. Giants season tickets show the team’s uniform history (additional images here and here). … Despite what you might think, I had nothing to do with this video (but Vincent Barone says his sister did). … Remember how we all noted some inconsistencies in the shoulder lightning bolts on the Chargers’ new uniforms when the design was unveiled a few months back? Check out this commercial, which shows the new uniforms in action. Not only do the bolt styles vary from player to player, but compare this view of LT to this view — and it’s the same play! … The Lakers have a new 60th-anniversary logo. … The Nats and Cards wore Negro League throwbacks on Friday. Interestingly, the Nats had throwback caps but cheated by using their navy road helmets, even though it was a home game. … Justin McGrail notes that the Celtics are plastering Kevin Garnett’s image everywhere in a numberless jersey. … Chaminade University is sponsoring a logo design contest (with thanks to Chris Chaussee). … “The Ottawa 67s of the Ontario Hockey League wore special jerseys during pregame warm-ups to honor longtime coach Brian Kilrea’s 2000th back in February,” writes Joe Dunman. “Luckily they didn’t all wear the jerseys during the actual game — the play-by-play guy would have gone crazy.” … Several readers have asked about this photo, which recently ran in SI and appears to show Hank Aaron wearing a two-digit number starting with 5. Now, the Hammer actually wore No. 5 when he first came up, later switching to his familiar 44, but I can’t find any info about him wearing fifty-something (or fifty-anything). Joe Hilseberg notes that neither of Aaron’s minor league teams was called the Braves, so that rules out that possibility. Anyone know more about this? … Might just be the lighting, but it looks like the Wizards are changing their trim from bronze to gold. … Willie Randolph added a “B.R.” inscription to his cap the other day, in memory of Bill Robinson. … Interesting NHL logo-o-rama site here. … Syracuse has unveiled a helmet revision, and if you squint a bit and break out the magnifying glass, you might just notice it. … Matthew Hackethal recently came across some old 1986 Topps stickers that show some of the Braves wearing really shitty-looking mesh-backed caps. “The photos appear to have been taken during batting practice (Dale Murphy’s shows him leaning against a batting cage),” he writes. “I’m wondering if this was just a spring training thing or did it continue in to the regular season.” Anyone..? … This always cracks me up. … In fact, it cracks me up so much I’ll show another example. … Not quite uni-related, but an interesting superstition. … Chosen logos (nice find by Matthew Scher). … The batting helmet from Bonds’s 755th homer is heading for the Hall of Fame (thanks, Vince). … June Jones apparently has some unorthodox coaching methods (thanks again, Vince). … Here’s something you don’t often see: an NHL/NASCAR connection (the trifecta for Vince). … Someone has tracked Florida State’s record by uniform combo (with thanks to Bob Jordan). … Rutgers has apparently tweaked their football jersey (compare to last year’s version). … The following item was buried in yesterday’s column by Newsday’s Ken Davidoff: “The commissioner’s office issued a memo last month to remind teams that proper uniform tops are to be worn at all times. That means that managers such as Boston’s Terry Francona can no longer go with the sweatshirt look.” I’ll believe that when I see it. … We’ve seen the Steelers’ 75th-anniversary logo before, but here’s how it looks on their jersey. … Several readers reported seeing a green dot on the back of many players’ helmets during yesterday’s Steelers/Saints Hall of Fame Game. Haven’t been able to find a photo. Anyone know more about this? … This site got an insane number of hits over the weekend, and I can’t figure out why. Not complaining, mind you — just mystified. Links from my Friday ESPN column account for some of the increased activity, but there’s gotta be more to it than that. Did some big mainstream site link over here without my being aware of it?
We all know about the Negro Leagues. But what you might not know about — or at least I didn’t until reader Jordan Woodson recently brought it to my attention, although it wouldn’t surprise me to hear that everyone else was already clued in — is the Black Fives, a term that loosely and collectively refers to early all-black basketball teams between 1900 and 1940.
We don’t think too much about how basketball was segregated in those days, in part because even white basketball leagues were pretty ragtag and small-time back then (and maybe in part, let’s be honest, because the game is so overwhelmingly black today), but now a company called Black Fives is documenting and celebrating — which means, of course, merchandising — the history of this overlooked chapter in sports history.
And man, they’ve got some awesome logos and uni designs to work with. It makes for some really nice merch, much of which the company has produced in partnership with Nike. I love the two-tone design here, the classicism here, and the simplicity here and here (”IPC” stood for — get this — Independent Pleasure Club, a team that wore some killer accessories). They’ve got some nice long-sleevers and jackets, too. They even appear to have made a T-shirt just for me.
The only thing I don’t get: the line of “retro” footwear that Nike created to go along with the apparel. I mean, what exactly is retro about this? Okay, I can see they tried a little harder here, but you don’t have to hate the swoosh as much as I do to say that it just doesn’t work for a collection that’s supposed to evoke the 1920s. Kinda feels like they were doing all the shirts and jackets and just said, “Let’s do a sneaker line too, because we can.” An unfortunate lurch onto the wrong side of the “Is it good or is it stupid?” divide.
While writing this entry yesterday, I sent a note to Uni Watch design director Scott M.X. Turner, who I figured would know a lot more about Black Fives than I did. And sure enough, just before I went to bed last night, he sent this:
Black Fives was formed by Claude Johnson, an African-American entrepreneur during the hip-hop-loves-throwbacks rage a few years ago. He researched a lot of predominantly black colleges and black semi-pro basketball teams, then put out jerseys, fashion coats, and caps. That’s the good part. The bad part is that the jerseys, although all based on teams from before World War II, were all made of modern synthetics and sized like all the other maternity-dress jerseys that rappers like to wear.
I always liked what he tried to do — expose people to the history of pre-WWII black basketball. But I thought his clothing sucked. It always pains me to see history highjacked for fashion profits. I know the argument — if we can interest kids in their history by spoon-feeding them clothing, that’s a positive step. The Negro League Museum in Kansas City is more than happy to license crud, and I mean CRUD, with all sorts of made-up logos, jerseys, jackets, and caps. It’s pretty Faustian, if you ask me.
Also, kind of condescending. It assumes that authentic, fairly priced, historical apparel is beyond the intellectual and cultural grasp of black consumers who might be interested in black sports history that goes back further than Michael Jordan.
Hence, on the one hand, Black Fives is an interesting and positive thing. On the other, it’s just the latest cynical manipulation of history for profit.
Now, keep in mind that Scott actually works in the throwback uniform industry. This means his opinions are pretty authoritative, but it also means his standards may be a bit tougher than everyone else’s. Personally, I’m really disappointed to hear that Black Fives uses synthetic fabric, and I did notice that the size availability runs heavily toward the XXXL end of the spectrum, but I almost never buy throwback apparel anyway, so none of that is a make-or-break issue for me. For now, I’m happy to have learned a bit more about a historical juncture that I hadn’t known much about.
Uni Watch News Ticker: An inside source reports that this will be the Bengals’ 40th-anniversary logo (which, among other things, indicates that teams still can’t grasp the difference between a 40th anniversary and 40th season — but then that’s nothing new for this particular team). … This book looks worthwhile (as spotted by Eric Stangel). … Third paragraph of this page confirms that the Washginton Capitals will definitely be switching to red, white, and blue next season. … Reprinted from Monday’s comments: The annual spring training story about the utility guy with a shitload of gloves. … P.J. Mallardi notes that Tennessee’s men and women are both wearing VOLScholar patches (awarded to players who achieved a 3.0 GPA the previous semester). … Jeremy Brahm appears to have found a photo of the world’s longest bat. … Also from Jeremy: Lots of interesting tidbits from the Japanese Invitational High School Tournament, including low-rider sock stripes, pink socks, a very messed-up uni number (Update: See today’s comment #21 for lots more info on this), a catcher who’s somehow keeping his mask in his back pocket, serious brim foldage, and a macron (that’s the overbar above the O). The trickiest one for me is this one — love the stripes, hate the color scheme. … Fascinating article here about Joe Rogers, a college hockey goalie who wears a special catching mitt because the fingers on his right hand didn’t grow properly. … And then there’s the other end of that spectrum. … Wise guy. … Ria Cortesio, a female ump who works in the minors, will work tomorrow’s Cubs/Dbacks game (making her the first woman to ump a spring training game since Pam Postema). According to this article, Cortesio originally wore No. 5, because she was professional baseball’s fifth female ump, but more recently she’s worn No. 15.
The Colts may have gone to Disney World after winning the Super Bowl, but a much more important trip waits for them around the corner: a trip to the White House.
In what has become a presidential tradition of welcoming championship teams to Washington, the Indianapolis Colts will eventually visit with President Bush to celebrate their victory (they have been officially invited, but no date has been set). And in a reciprocal tradition, the Colts will undoubtedly present the President with a gift of a commemorative jersey (it’s just poor form to show up to a dinner party empty-handed).
If you thought that Chad Johnson had cornered the market on jerseys with alternate names, then you obviously haven’t been paying attention to these White House ceremonies. President Bush has jerseys with a whopping six different name combinations, including the common “Bush,” the official “President Bush,” the simple “G.W. Bush,” the lengthy “President G.W. Bush”, the brilliantly brief “W,” and one funkified “The Prez.” Take into account the assorted numbers gracing these jerseys — based on, variously, Bush’s rank, his presidential ordinal, or the year — and you’ve got a man begging to be fined by the uniform police (or applauded by Uni Watch).
It’s no wonder that President Bush has amassed such a varied collection of personalized jerseys. In any given year, he can receive one jersey each from the winner of the four major sports, and countless other jerseys from one of the many NCAA Champions Days that are hosted at the White House. His jersey collection can grow by the minute at these events, with lines of teams waiting to present him with jerseysoneafteranother.
So when did this tradition start? Good question. It’s one that I posed to the White House media office, which couldn’t find an answer. It’s one that I asked Tom Shieber, Senior Curator at the Baseball Hall of Fame, who couldn’t find an answer. It’s one that I asked countless presidential libraries, and if you guessed that they didn’t know the answer, you would be right. What we do have is a lot of circumstantial evidence, which basically means that we don’t know when the tradition started, but we have a good guess.
And the evidence points to…(cue dramatic music and close-up) the Gipper! Championship team visits with the president weren’t uncommon before Reagan’s administration, but they were infrequent at best, and jerseys weren’t the gift of choice at the time. For example, Don Holloway of the Gerald Ford Library said that the Indiana University basketball team visited the White House after their championship in 1976 but presented a signed basketball, not a jersey. According to Dave Stanhope of the Jimmy Carter Library, the President received T-shirts, not jerseys, from the Georgia Tech football and Louisville basketball teams that visited the White House.
The jerseys that these pre-Reagan presidents did receive were on campaign stops and various appearances, not from championship teams. For example, Gerald Ford received a Villanova jersey from the school’s young republican club. And Meri-Jo Borzilleri (who told me she too couldn’t find the origins of the tradition) writes in this story, “Richard Nixon’s library records show jerseys from the Philadelphia Eagles and Division III college Gustavus Adolphus,” and “Lyndon Johnson’s library has a New York Knicks jersey.”
So, the transition from T-shirts and assorted gifts to jerseys, and from sometime occurrence to presidential sports tradition, seemed to happen with the beginning of Reagan’s administration. Sure, Reagan racked up the jersey count with many non-championship related events (Bowling Green, University of North Dakota, University of North Dakota different view, Texas, Capitals, and Eureka College [where Reagan himself played football]), but he also received jerseys from the championship
