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Posts filed under 'Equipment/Accessories'
In 37-ish years of watching baseball, I’ve never seen a big leaguer do what Adrian Beltre did during last night’s Mariners/Mets game. When Brian Schneider hit a soft liner over his head (sorry about the crummy image quality for all these shots), Beltre threw his glove up in the air, which is the sort of stunt usually reserved batting practice.
“You’re not supposed to do that,” mused Mets broadcaster Gary Cohen, a philosophical lilt in his voice. “You know, technically, if you throw your glove at the ball, it’s three bases. … I mean, it’s in the rulebook, if you throw your glove at the ball. Now, I’m sure the umpires will say, ‘Look, he wasn’t throwing his glove at the ball, he was just frustratedly throwing his glove in the air after the ball had already passed.’ And that’s true, but technically…”
And then his voice trailed off. But Gary Cohen, technically, didn’t know what the fuck he was talking about. As the umpires correctly ruled, there’s no penalty for throwing your glove at the ball (or anywhere else) as long as there’s no contact. The relevant section of the rulebook, which I highly recommend to Mr. Cohen, can be found here.
Note that a related section of the rulebook calls for one base to be awarded if a player touches pitched ball with his mask. I remember reading an article in the late 1980s about a catcher who’d blocked a ball in the dirt and then retrieved it by nonchalantly scooping it up with his mask. The opposing manager was Gene Mauch, who scurried out to argue that this was a one-base infraction. The umpire eventually agreed, so Mauch won the argument. The only problem is that his team was losing 11-1 or something like that, and this “Win the battle, lose the war” scenario was presented in the article as a microcosm of Mauch’s entire career.
As for Beltre last night, here’s the kicker: When his glove came back down, he booted it. Rather incredibly, this guy is the A.L.’s reigning Gold Glover at third base. When I mentioned this to my ESPN colleague Jim Caple, who lives in Seattle and therefore sees Beltre play way more than I do, he responded, “He can be a little playful from time to time. If he knows he won’t confuse another fielder, he’ll occasionally try to deke the cameraman just for the fun of it.” Interesting, but it still seems pretty bush to me.
Research Project: I’m trying to compile a timeline of interesting uni-related moments in MLB All-Star Games. I’ve previously listed a bunch of such episodes here, I devoted an entire ESPN column to the 1934 uniforms, and I’ve got plenty of additional examples (Johnny Callison winning the ’64 ASG while wearing a Mets helmet, Reggie Jackson wearing a Mariners uni for the A.L. team photo in ’79 [see left], Larry Walker wearing his helmet backwards while facing Randy Johnson in ’97, etc.), but I want more. If you know of additional instances of notable uni-related moments in all-star history — or notable all-star moments in uni-related history, as the case might be — please get in touch.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Forgot to mention yesterday that the media kit from Monday’s MLB press conference included this lapel pin. Nice of them to slap the trademark symbol on a flag-based design, no? … When you’re as tall as Richie Sexson, shouldn’t they try to center your uni number a bit better? That’s a lot of acreage between the number and his waistline (with thanks to Eric Distenfeld for the pics). … That Big Brown photo with the loose horseshoe is pretty fascinating. … Interesting Japanese baseball tidbit from Jeremy Brahm: “In 1979, the Central and Pacific Leagues had their 30th anniversaries and came out with pillbox hats for each team. From what I can find, these were only used in the 1979 and 1980 Central and Pacific East-West All Star games after the season.” … Did you know Spain has an “unlucky” yellow jersey? Details here (with thanks to Patrick O’Donnell). … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Check out this Indians vs. Indians shot, presumably taken during a spring training intersquad game. … Maria Sharapova’s tuxedo-patterned top has real buttons and pleats — not just printed graphics, which was what I’d been expecting. Details here, here, and here, plus more Wimbledon coverage here. … The USA hoops team’s uniforms will look like this and this. … Ryan McGhee reports that the Tacoma Rainiers and Oklahoma RedHawks of the Pacific Coast League will wear special jerseys next week and auction them to benefit the Limbs for Life Foundation, which buys new prosthetic limbs for amputees who can’t afford them in the United States and takes donated limbs to foreign countries like the Dominican Republic. … “The State Farm ad on the Wrigley Field dugout railing was apparently taped over or something on Sunday night,” notes Matt Bennum. … Paul Wiederecht sent along one of the best photos I’ve ever seen of the Golden Seals’ white skates. … Also from Paul: Great page here devoted to ballpark organists, “but nothing about Fernand Lapierre from Montreal, seen playing ‘Les Expos Sont Là’ here.” … My mention of the unusual basketball jersey crotch extension yesterday prompted this response from sporting goods impresario Terry Proctor: “While I was at Ruby’s in Rochester, we sold a set of basketball uniforms with supporter bottoms to Geneseo High School, which is about 35 miles southwest of Rochester. We got the uniforms from Powers Mfg. Co. in Waterloo, Iowa. The players HATED the supporter bottom. Needless to say, the next uniforms Geneseo bought a couple of years later were from SandKnit, sans the supporter bottom. … While searching for something else, I came across this shot of Carlton Fisk wearing some killer striped hose. I’d forgotten about that design. … Also discovered two shots of Chet Lemon wearing some interesting windbreakers under his jersey: First, check out the collar here. And then dig this shot — looks like he’s got two windbreakers on, plus the big-collared jersey. … Nice to see that my question at Monday’s MLB press conference became the basis for the last graf of this AP item. … Doug Mooney found still more photos from the 1968 World Series showing Tigers with their uni number on the left sleeve instead of the right. First there’s this shot — that’s Bill Freehan in the background but we already knew he had the left-sleeve number. Who’s that in the foreground, though — is it Jim Northrup? That’s definitely Northrup in this shot, which appears to show a left-sleeve number as well. … Tyler Kulasza just took his annual trip to Cooperstown and sent along pics of Honus Wagner’s brim-mounted flip-down shades, a pair of gorgeous Cardinals jackets (here’s a close-up), and A.J. Burnett’s no-hitter cap (what did he have written here and here?). … The Pirates and Rays will be wearing Negro Leagues throwbacks this Saturday, honoring the Pittsburgh Crawfords and Jacksonville Redcaps, respectively (with thanks to Jerry Wolper).
June 25th, 2008
Back in the late ’90s, it was common for MLB players to salute their injured teammates with handwritten uni-number cap inscriptions (and occasionally non-teammates, too — lots of Venezuelan players added a little “14″ to their caps when Andres Galarraga was being treated for cancer). But like so many things that start out small and harmless, this one quickly got out of control, and the MLB office soon banned it.
But Manny Ramirez has never been accused of caring what the suits in the commissioner’s office think. With teammate David Ortiz out for at least a month with a wrist injury, Manny has revived the tradition of the hand-inscribed headwear salute. But in classic Manny fashion, he’s taken it a step further: Instead of putting Ortiz’s number on his cap, he’s put it on his batting helmet. Actually, he may have it on his cap too, and maybe even on his tam/snood thingie, but I haven’t gotten good looks at those. (Anyone..?) Meanwhile, let’s hear it for the Sharpie that was tough enough to penetrate all the gunked-up pine tar on Manny’s lid.
And that’s not all: Manny usually wears a “24″ sweatband on each arm, but on Tuesday night he had Ortiz’s “34″ on his right arm. Last night the “34″ had moved to the left side. This isn’t the first time Manny’s worn Papi’s armbands — they’ve periodically swapped and worn each other’s numbers on their arms — but I’m pretty sure this is the first time he’s done it as an injury shout-out.
I’ll be off the grid for most of this afternoon and this evening. Looking forward to seeing some you in Camden.
(Special thanks to reader Randy Williams for bringing Manny’s latest antics to my attention.)
Uni Watch News Ticker: More helmet-insert info, this time from Richard Stover: “I spoke with Bob Montgomery about the insert last season at Fenway Park. He seemed proud to be the last not to wear a helmet, yet puzzled that anyone would be interested in the details of such trivia. Then he added, ‘It’s in the Hall of Fame.’ ” … Meanwhile, here’s a somewhat misguided assessment of a modern helmet insert (courtesy of Brandon Davis). … Steve Dewing ran this on his excellent baseball photo site yesterday. A close-up of the glove reveals that it had been marked as “A genuine Steve Hamilton model.” … Jared Wheeler sent along this gorgeous team portrait of the 1946 Phillies. “This stirrups style was used for one season before they went to a white/red/white scheme. Also interesting is how the braid around the neck abruptly stops at the start of the button placket. I also found this shot of the 1949 Phillies wearing the white/red/white stirrups. Dressed to the Nines has them as solid royal, but this looks like a spring training shot, so it’s possible they could be wearing the 1948 stirrups. I will have to get some verification on that. Also, see how the braid around the neck differs from the 1946 version. Finally, here’s a picture of the PHIL-harmaniacs, who seem to have been Philadelphia’s version of the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Sym-Phony.” … “Saw an article today on the new underwear that Asics has made for the Japanese men’s national volleyball team,” writes Jeremy Brahm. “I wish this was a joke.” … “The London Wasps (who have my favorite rugby socks) have an interesting NOB practice,” writes Caleb Borchers. “All of the starters, numbered 1 through 15, have their NOB, but the reserves, beginning with No. 16, only have ‘Wasps.’” … Footwear note from Greg Riffenburgh, who writes: “On Monday you showed Cristiano Ronaldo’s cleats in the Champion’s League final. The reason they didn’t have a lace cover is here, and a link to an article and video about the specific shoes is here.” … Fraud alert in Pittsburgh (with thanks to Tom Konecny). … Not uni-related, but this is high-freakin’-larious. … A small setback for logo creep (good find by Rob B.). … Erkki Corpuz notes that Bob McAdoo’s jersey doesn’t match the ones worn by his teammates in this team portrait. … Ryan Connelly was looking at aerial pics of PNC Park on Google Maps and MSN Maps and found that the field appears to have McDonald’s logo tarps on the mound and over home plate. … Interesting video clip here about the special baseballs being used as Junior Griffey approaches his 600th home run (with thanks to Brad Smith). … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Pedro Martinez wore David Wright’s batting gloves (note the “5,” and compare to this) on Tuesday night. … Bit commentary here about Leeann Rimes wearing — well, see for yourself (with thanks to Scott Sargent). … Saw this 1962 photo in the paper yesterday. When did NBA refs stop wearing stripes? Also, at the risk of exposing my NBA ignorance, what are the numerical notations along the edge of the court? … Fascinating NOB factoid here — check out the last sentence (good spot by Nick Hanson). … The last bullet point on this page contains a really interesting tidbit about the Giants’ Super Bowl ring design, plus it confirms something I’ve always maintained about their road uniforms (with thanks to Robert Tusso). … “This site has a collection of photos from this year’s Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association’s National Championships,” writes Doug Steffenson. “The photos show the trend for college sailing teams to use ‘pinnies’ as team uniforms during regattas. They are, in essence, a cover over a sailor’s life jacket and reflect the school’s colors and graphic identity. It’s a long way from what many probably consider standard sailing attire.” … This has gotten seriously out of hand (with thanks to John Okray). … Fun comparison of Shea and Yankee Stadiums here (as forwarded by Paul Wiederecht). … Interesting question from Greg Gorham, who writes: “I recently saw an Arkansas Travelers [Texas League] game and noticed the Travs’ road unis said ‘North Little Rock’ across the chest. Considering they do play in Little Rock, I guess it makes sense, but I thought it was really weird, since they’re the Arkansas Travelers. Do you know of any other instances, in baseball or otherwise, where teams would have a different city/state name on their jerseys than what their official name is?” Good question. Anyone..? … Good catch by Matt Rothenberg, who notes that the Red Wings’ championship caps have a depiction of the Stanley Cup on the underbill. … “It had slipped my mind completely that Deacon Jones even played for the Chargers, let alone that he had ‘Deacon’ on his nameplate rather than ‘Jones,’ ” writes Doug Keklak. Actually, Jim Wooley notes that he also wore “D. Jones” during his Chargers tenure. Anyone know which came first? … One of the banner ad slots at the top of the page is about to open up. Interested in becoming a Uni Watch advertiser? Get in touch.
June 5th, 2008
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
Yesterday was Mother’s Day, so MLB diamonds were awash in pink jersey ribbons, pink armbands (note how the Cool Base gussets ruin the pinstripes, by the way), pink-accessorized umpires, pink titanium necklaces, pink catcher’s gear, pink shoelaces, pink facial hair, and pink bats. I’d like to think that at least one stadium music director was enterprising enough to play the album shown at right (if you don’t recognize it, look here), but somehow I doubt it.
By now you know the drill: I dislike the pink-o-rama, Minna H. really dislikes it, and most of the rest of you are okay with it. Fine — let’s move on.
Fortunately, Mets announcers Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez provided an extended session of uni-related banter yesterday, and it was almost pink-free. Their discussion was prompted by the fact that the team’s local broadcast affiliate has been running an internet poll to let fans vote on the Mets’ all-time best uniform. Good poll, topic, right? Or it would have been, if they hadn’t limited the choices to very small sampling of the various designs the Mets have worn over the years. Anyway, the discussion was actually pretty good — let’s listen in:
Keith Hernandez: I know what my pick would be.
Gary Cohen: What is that?
KH: I love the Mets’ old road uniforms. We had to wear those darn ones with the handwriting. Remember, the “New York” handwriting?
GC: The script.
KH: I must say, I get jealous whenever I see this team out here, the present Mets, when they go on the road and play in the old-fashioned Met uniform. I never got to play in that uniform. They’re beautiful.
GC [who apparently either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care about black drop shadows]: They’re a classic. And I like this pinstripe, the one they wear now, as opposed to the one they wore right at the beginning of the Mets, which did not have the numbers on the front. It’s always a bit disconcerting to me to see the uniforms with no number on the front. But these are perfect.
KH [as the director cues up a 1980s shot]: There we go, look at that. I mean, please.
GC [who also apparently wasn’t listening to what Hernandez had said a few moments earlier]: Well, the worst ones were the ones with the script “New York.” Remember those?
KH: Look at that Astro uniform behind, there. That was a stinker. [Helpfully telestrates the uniform in question, just in case anyone is missing the point.] Look at that — what a stinker that was!
GC [chuckling]: But those were their traditional ugly uniforms. I mean, you have to admit, the late ’70s into the ’80s was the worst-ever era for baseball uniforms. Probably for fashion in general.
KH: The Padres had a terrible uniform. But I loved the Oakland A’s uniforms, with Charlie O. Finley. Ronnie [Darling] does not, our colleague.
GC: He didn’t like wearing the white shoes [when he played for the A’s late in his career]. But there was nothing worse than, say, the Chicago White Sox wearing shorts.
KH: Yes, and how about the Pirates in those bumblebee uniforms.
GC: But the Pirates had those interchangeable ones. They had the black, the gold, and the pinstripes, and they’d wear them in various combinations.
KH: They were awful, awful. Awful.
GC: Now, everybody today is wearing pink because it’s Mother’s Day. [Camera shows a shot of Cohen, who’s wearing a pink tie, and Hernandez, dressed in a pink shirt.] Maybe a team needs to go to an alternate pink uniform.
KH: Well, we’ve got to expand to more teams. Commissioner, we need one more team, and we’ll be in pink.
GC: I don’t think you really want that.
KH [about to get seriously stupid]: Why?
GC [alertly heading him off]: And then, of course — and you were part of this, too — you had the powder blue road uniforms, which you wore with th–
KH [interjecting]: I liked the powder blue with the Cardinals!
GC: Yeah?
KH: I have my powder blue at home, as a matter of fact. I have that uniform. Um, in 1980, the year Whitey Herzog took over the team — Ken Boyer was fired mid-season — that was when — you’re talking about the Mets not having the number on the lower side? The Cardinals that year took that number away, below the cardinal, and put it on our shoulder. [Actually, that was made a year earlier, in 1979, which you’d think Hernandez would remember — it’s the year he won the MVP award.] And the fans didn’t like it at all, so they went back to the traditional Cardinal uniform. Actually, the Cardinals — I think it was in the ’40s — one year they went to a uniform without the bird on the bat. [1956, actually.] And the fans went through the roof! And they came back the next year with the birds on the bat, which I think is just a classic uniform. As a minor leaguer coming up in the Cardinals organization, you were taught to have great pride in those two birds perched on the bat.
GC: Did they have names?
KH: No.
GC: Don’t you think they should, after all these years?
KH: Dizzy and Daffy?
GC: That’d be perfect. Gus and Gussie.
And then the discussion turned to, you know, things that were actually taking place on the field. All in all, not a bad discussion, and I give Hernandez credit for knowing that the Cards went birds/bat-less for one season. What’s more troubling is that nobody connected with the Mets — nobody — ever acknowledges the evil of the black drop shadows. The road and pinstripe uniforms are routinely referred to as “classic,” when in fact they’re bastardized versions of the originals. Pfeh.
Raffle News: Remember, I’m raffling off a free football helmet from Helmet Hut. To enter, send an e-mail here (not to the usual Uni Watch e-mail address) by 10pm tomorrow. One entry per person. But contrary to what I originally announced, enrollees in the membership program will get the customary three bonus entries per member (don’t send three extra e-mails — I’ll automatically put your name in the hat three extra times). My thanks to the several readers who argued, persuasively, that it was unfair to remove the raffle benefit. From now on, the extra raffle entries will be restored as a standard membership benefit.
Uni Watch Extra-Curricular Schedule: NYC-area readers may want to mark their calendars for May 29th, when I’ll be participating in an evening of readings at KGB Bar in the East Village. The theme is “Design and Food” (the latest in a bi-monthly series of design-related readings sponsored by the School of Visual Arts — past installments have included “Design and Evil” and “Design and Music”), and my presentation will focus on the design evolution of the butchery chart, a subject near and dear to my heart stomach.
One of the other readers will be the design critic Akiko Busch, who I’m told will be reading a piece she wrote about a vegetable peeler (wish I’d thought of that). And the third reader — not yet confirmed but I’m told he’ll probably be on board — is a genuine titan of the graphic design world, Milton Glaser! If you’re a design geek, like I am, you can imagine how stoked I am to be sharing a bill with him. Very cool.
The event will run from 7pm-9pm, and it’s free. Hope to see some of you there.
And then a week after that, on June 5th, the Camden Riversharks will be running their “Old-Time Baseball Night” promotion. The entire team will be wearing striped stirrups (I picked them out for the team myself just last week), and I’ll be throwing out the first pitch, plus there’ll be a special pregame gathering for Uni Watch readers. And all Uni Watch readers will be able to buy box seats (normally priced from $11 to $20) for $8 apiece.
Here’s how to take advantage of the discounted ticket price:
• First, go to this link. You’ll see the Riversharks’ May schedule.
• Then use the drop-down menu to choose “June 2008.” Once you’ve done that, click on the June 5th game. And then click on “Let me pick my seats from a seating chart.” You should then see a diagram of the Sharks’ stadium.
• See the teal seats right behind home plate, and the yellow seats extending down the baselines? All of those seats are available for the $8 price. Just click on the section you want and choose your tickets from the resulting “Eligible for Sale” seat listing.
• When you select your seats and click “Add to Cart,” the screen will initially show the regular ticket price. But when checking out, enter the promotional code “stirrups” in the appropriate field, and you’ll get the special $8 Uni Watch price. Whoo-hoo!
Uni Watch News Ticker: Check out Nick Swisher’s underbill inscription — it refers to his nickname, Dirty 30. … Speaking of underbills, many readers have noted that Bronson Arroyo is still using a gray model. … Bill Curran sent along some non-sports logos that probably should’ve gone back to the drawing board — look here, here, here, and here. … Follow-up on Thursday’s entry: Good info on silver-bar umpire masks here (with thanks to Neal Greenberg). … Nice little item on stirrups in the New York Times, complete with a photo-linked shout-out to yours truly (although I had nothing to do with he piece). … Here’s a new one: Several readers have noted that John Maine appeared to have his ears tucked into his cap the other day. … I haven’t been paying attention to the NBA playoffs, so I don’t know why Chris Paul has “Brian!” written on his sneakers, but I assume most of you do (photo courtesy of Chris Flinn). … Latest Shorpy gem: Check out those jackets being worn by the 1914 Philadelphia A’s (with thanks to Bob Andrews). … Honda F1 driver Rubens Barrichello had a special helmet design and car paint job for his 257th start on Sunday, which is the record for starts by an F1 driver (with thanks to Jeremy Brahm). … Interesting discussion here about lacrosse officiating uniforms. … Good breakdown of Euro 2008 road kits here (with thanks to Max Rosenthal). … Creative use of baseball gloves here (blame Ryan Gray). … Interesting sleeve-patch dispatch from Jeff Barak, who writes: “Several sources, including Bill Henderson’s CD, list the Twins’ 25th-anniversary patch as having been worn in the 1985 season, probably because it has ‘1961-1985′ right on it. But I think it was actually worn in 1986. Here are some things to back that up: First is a game-worn 1986 jersey with the 25th-anniversary patch on it. Here’s another 1986 gamer, also with the patch. Next up is a 1985 Kent Hrbek jersey without the patch. And here’s a 1986 team-issued card set that features the same logo as the one on the patch.” … In sports, as in life, it’s important to not lose your head (with thanks to Brinke Guthrie). … “I was flipping through channels the other day and saw the German Bundesliga game between Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich,” writes Jeremy Brahm. “Wolfsburg player Marcelinho dyed the Wolfsburg logo into his hair (here’s a closer view).” On other occasions, he’s dyed his hair red and Belgian-themed (which was a mistake — he wanted it to be German-themed but got the colors wrong). … Yikes. … “Looks like Nate Burleson is using those titanium elbow sleeves, popular among baseball players, as calf warmers,” notes Jonathon Binet). … Just what the world needs: a Gillette-sponsored zamboni, as seen in Boston (with thanks to William Sodeman). … Last Thursday I linked to this photo Randy Johnson wearing No. 34 in 1993 but didn’t explain why he briefly wore that number instead of his usual No. 51. The reason, as noted in this story, is that he wore 34 for his final start of the ’93 season as a tribute to Nolan Ryan, who’d suffered a career-ending injury a few days earlier (nice find by Matthew Buscemi). … If he hadn’t already been banned for other reasons, I’d say Pete Rose should be banned for having worn a mesh-backed cap (with thanks to Greg Riffenburgh). … Mark Mihalik notes that Kaz Matsui has some seriously padded baserunning gloves. “They’re basically this batting gloves with some crazy padding (similar to soccer goalie gloves) added to the palm and fingers, and they seem to slip over his normal batting gloves,” he writes. “I’m guessing that the first base coach keeps them handy until Kaz reaches base.” … Lots of good observations from Mike Engle: an undertongue-inscriped uni number; Albert Belle’s “50-50″ batting glove vanity strap (presumably added after his 1995 season of 50 homers and 50 doubles); and Tony Parker’s “VII VII VII” ring finger tattoo (he was married on 7/7/07). … Douglas Mulliken notes that the “LA” cap logo in this photo appears to have been raised/3-D/etc., way back in 1977. Was this a common thing back then? I thought the raised cap logos didn’t start showing up until the 1990s. … Giants rookie Kenny Phillips is wearing No. 21 as a tribute to Sean Taylor (with thanks to Alan Kreit). … Jay Winkler notes that Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s car has a throwback Mountain Dew logo. … Several readers noted that yesterday’s rain delay gave WGN an excuse to broadcast footage from Jim Maloney’s 1965 no-hitter, which provided excellent views of the Reds’ subscript NOBs. For those unfamiliar with this style, additional examples are shown on this page (click on the Nuxhall and Rose thumbnails). It’s also worth noting that reader Ryan Whitacre used this style as the basis of his membership card. … “I’ve never seen an E for a baseball player number,” writes Jeremy Brahm. “Hopefully it meant he was an everyday player, not an error on every play. The picture, which is from 1949, is of Hiroshi Ohshita, who played for the Tokyu Flyers at the time. … Also from Jeremy: Golfer Miho Koga has problems with pollen and has been wearing a mask on the course. … Still more from Jeremy: Marco Andretti’s car is being sponsored by the new Indiana Jones film, so they’ve designed a new driving suit for him. … And one more: “In 2005, Japan’s Environmental ministry promoted its ‘Team Minus 6%’ Global Warming Campaign, which led to a promotional jersey with minus-6 as a uniform number.” … Goaltender observation from Jim Neilly: “Marty Turco has been wearing two goalie helmets throughout the playoffs; a black helmet at home and a white one on the road. I can’t recall any goalie doing this before. What’s more interesting is that at some point this season he wore the black helmet with the white road sweater. So did he begin this helmet-swapping just for the postseason? Have any other goalies done this before?”
May 12th, 2008
A few weeks ago I ran a Ticker item linking to this photo of Jim Kyte blow-drying his hearing aid. That led Teebz to post a comment linking to the photo you see at right — Kyte’s specially modified helmet, with ear coverings to protect his hearing aids. And that in turn led me to ask if anyone knew of other deaf athletes with specialized equipment needs.
The response was fascinating. Here’s a sampling:
• From Brad Larocque: “I remember Jim Kyte coming to our school and talking to us about playing with his impairment. He told about his trick of watching the reflections in the glass to see where everyone was on the ice, since he couldn’t hear them very well.”
• From Joe Falender: “I wear hearing aids, as I can hear about 50% in both ears. I used to play a lot of hockey, all the way up to high school. For my hearing aids, I wore the behind-the-ear model. But by the third period, or even the second period, the sweat would get into the hearing aid and it would have to be dried out, which takes about an hour or two, so I would give the hearing aid to my dad and play the rest of the game without them. Finally after being fed up with this, we got these rubbery covers that would slide over the hearing aid and protect it from the sweat. It worked like a miracle. (Nowadays I wear the in-the-cannal aids that are very small and I don’t have to worry about the sweat at all.)
• From Travis Waldron: “Not sure about the rules and regulations on hearing aids, but the University of Kentucky football team had a deaf defensive lineman, Terry Clayton, for the past four years. He couldn’t wear his hearing aids on the field because the crowd noise was magnified over everything else, creating background noise that kept him from hearing anything on the field.”
• From David Kendrick: “I am hearing-impaired and play ice hockey in a regular recreational league. I always let the refs know before the game that I don’t hear very well and ask them to cut me some slack when giving verbal commands (for example, look directly at me so I can try to read your lips). Some do, some don’t. Most of the other players have been around a few seasons and know about it. I’ve played in deaf leagues and tournaments as well. I don’t wear a hearing aid as the Jets player did, but I do wear my eyeglasses when I play. I’ve got the double smackdown: partially deaf and 20-600 nearsightedness.”
• From: Daniel Weimann: “I go to the Rochester Institute of Technology, which has the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, one of the two largest deaf schools in the country. I’m a member of the swim team and we have several deaf students, as well as a former swimmer and now a coach who are deaf or hard of hearing, ranging from cochlear implants to hearing aids. They always take their hearing aids off before they swim, of course. Sometimes they forget to turn them off in their lockers and they make high-pitched squealing sounds.”
• From: Mark Doescher: “Defensive back Martel Van Zant plays for the Oklahoma State football and is completely deaf. He has an interpreter who stays on the sidelines during practice and games and communicates between both the coaches and the player. There’s more information here”
• From Christian Bitto: “Steve Downie of the Flyers wears a hearing aid. His has a disorder caused by a car accident from when he was younger. On January 22nd, he fought David Clarkson, and at the end of the fight, as he was skating off the ice, the ref gave him his hearing aid that was knocked out. Unfortunately, I can’t find any video of the fight that goes past the refs breaking them up.”
• From: Vince Grzegorek: “Just found this article on an all-deaf soccer team in Iraq. Refs at their games have to wave a flag instead of using a whistle.”
• From Eric Hodges: “Interesting article here about the way Gallaudet University in DC used a drum to help time the snaps and how a new coach shifted things up.” [You can see the drum on the sidelines here, and there’s additional info here. — PL]
• From Joshua Wagner: “When playing football in high school, I never once considered wearing my hearing aids, because they are highly fragile machines worth thousands of dollars. As a cornerback, I merely learned the defensive signals and read them from the defensive coordinator as he was signaling to the middle linebacker in the huddle. Also, I had worked out some hand signals with my fellow players. I had an interpreter on the sidelines at all times, but I was on my own on the field. Being deaf actually made me a better player, because it forced me to be more observant by noticing subtle things, like the pressure on people’s feet and hands signaling their intent to drop back or run forward. Similarly, when running track, sometimes I would have the starter stand directly behind my starter blocks, because then they would be close enough for me to feel the starting gun rather than hearing it. In basketball, I was a point guard and my interpreter would sit next to my coach and sign what he was telling me as I dribbled the ball up. My coach would also signal a play number to me.”
Tremendous stuff. Big thanks to all who contributed, and especially to those who shared their personal experiences.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Kevin Millar shattered a pink bat the other day. … While working on last Friday’s ESPN column about the ABA, I happened upon a few shots of the Nets wearing memorial “4″ patches on their warm-up shirts. Anyone know who that was for? … Pueblo Central High in Colorado pulled some major throwback action last week — dig those belts! Too bad they ruined it with those period-inappropriate headbands (with thanks to Patrick Chippeaux). … Hmmm, do the Walsh University Cavaliers look just a bit familiar? (Thanks, Vince.) … This page has a nice little video showing Mizuno reps making glove repairs and modifications for some of the Astros in spring training (with thanks to Matt Englander). … Larry Bowa is being diplomatic, as always. … OHL report from Brian Thompson, who writes: “Wanted to point your attention to last Thursday night’s game between the Belleville Bulls and the Windsor Spitfires, which was the Spitfires’ first game since captain Mickey Renaud passed away last Monday. Not only did the Spitfires come out in Mickey Renaud warmup jerseys, but so did the Bulls. After the warmups concluded, the Spitfires had a ceremony laying their Renaud jerseys on a table, revealing their game jerseys with a small memorial chest patch.” … Reprinted from Friday’s comments: Jose Reyes appears to have been stretching his pants under his heel (which got Pedro Martinez fined in 2006) the other day. … Really interesting story here about Jaromir Jagr using logo-free sticks. … We’ve talked before about the inconsistencies among teams mistaking their 10th season for their 10th anniversary (or 20th, or 30th, or whatever). But Eric Iwamoto has noticed a particularly amusing anomaly: The Giants wore this patch in 1997, but they’re now wearing this one in 2008 — 11 years later, not 10. … FC Dallas unveiled new uniforms last week (with thanks to Mark Dancer). … Wouldn’t it be better if Stephen Valiquette wore this on the front of his mask? (Thanks to Michael Romero.) … Interesting racer-back girls’ hoops jersey concept here — note the team name on the rear neckline (with thanks to Michael Orr). … According to Chad Back, Kentucky will have new hoops unis next season, as seen here and here. “Nike is calling the design ‘Secretariat,’” says Chad, “because the checkerboard design on the new unis is reminiscent of the silks that Secretariat’s jockey wore.” Yeah, patterning a uniform worn by the sports world’s tallest athletes after a design worn by the smallest athletes — that sounds like a really great idea. … AJ Brandt reports that the Flames are wearing an 18 decal in tribute to their draft pick Mickey Renaud, who passed away last week. … Georgia Tech’s women’s hoops team wore throwbacks the other day. Not as cool as this, but still pretty good (with thanks to Richard Musterer and Sean Bedford). … Aside from the obvious button issues, how does an A.L. pitcher end up with such a big dirt stain while pitching at home? (Card provided by Stuart Greenlee.) … Jeremy Brahm sent along this 2001 photo of Yakult Swallows catcher Atsushi Furuta wearing a knee brace outside his pants. Never seen that before. … Characteristically eagle-eyed branding report from Mark Mihalik: “Last year I noticed that Gary Sheffield, a longtime Nike guy, had started wearing non-Nike cleats, and he also had a unique logo on some of his gear–particularly his wristbands. In this photo, you’ll see something that looked like an S or a 3. I figured it was some kind of signature logo, but it turns out it’s actually a signature company called GS3. Even though there’s apparently absolutely nothing on the internet about this brand, I found an auction for a pair of his game-used cleats that confirms it. It’s also what his Tigers teammate Carlos Guillen was wearing through parts of last season, and both he and Sheffield have been wearing the same model so far this spring.” … Just because it was called the MLB Urban Invitational, did Southern’s coach have to leave the sticker on his brim? (Screen grab courtesy of Randy Williams.) … Buncha good spring training pics from Kenn Tomasch: Flapless helmets being worn by coaches Roberto Kelly, Mike Quade, and Ivan DeJesus (good to see that the Cubbie coaches get to wear the team’s standard embroidered felt logo appliqués), and a vendor who knows a thing or two about striped socks. … Wren Wrangler notes that Andres Nocioni was wearing tights yesterday. As you may recall, these were banned except for instances of medical necessity — can’t wait to hear if Nocioni had a doctor’s note for this one. … Last week I ran this photo of the new Oregon State baseball uniforms, but I didn’t realize they were using striped stirrups (with thanks to Mark Snider). … Numerological observation from Duncan Gee, who writes: “In the third quarter Friday night against the Sixers, the Golden State Warriors had Stephen Jackson, Mickael Pietrus, Al Harrington, Chris Webber, and Baron Davis on the court for a few minutes — Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively. Consecutive numbers maybe an East Bay thing — last year, the Oakland A’s on many occassions had Mike Piazza (#31), Jack Cust (#32), and Nick Swisher (#33) as the 3-4-5 heart of the batting order.” … On Friday I ran Paul Wiederecht’s analysis of that old Yankee Stadium vendor’s uniform, including his mother’s recollection that the stadium’s dominant color had been green until Lou Dorfsman had the facade painted white and had the seats changed to blue. Now he’s provided a bunch of old shots that show the stadium’s green phase, as seen here, here, and here. … I’ll be on the road today, so please play nice while I’m gone. Thanks.
March 3rd, 2008
For most of my life, I feel like color schemes have pretty much made sense. There are color combos I really like, like green/gold/maroon, and ones that I don’t like, like most pastel combinations. But whether I like them or not, I feel like most of the combinations I’ve seen over the past four decades have made a certain kind of intuitive sense.
Lately, though, I’ve been seeing color schemes that I simply don’t understand. Foremost among these is pale blue and brown, which I now see practically everywhere. Doesn’t work for me at all, but it’s obviously working for someone, because it’s becoming unavoidable.
I also don’t get the Seahawks’ combination of steel blue and neon snot. The latter hue makes no sense — it doesn’t match up with or complement, um, anything. It just sticks out out like a sort whatsis. And I say that as a guy who’s a lifelong fan of green.
So it was pretty horrifying to see lots of the Seahawks wearing green-trimmed footwear on Saturday. I mean, really, is this any way for an NFL player to look? Or this? The term “offensive line” has never been more literally accurate. Looks like some of the players even wore green shoelaces (as if Matt H.’s green-trimmed muff weren’t bad enough). Seriously, is there anyone who doesn’t think this looks way better?
Even worse, the fans seem to be embracing the radioactive jade shade. Fortunately, the ’Hawks will be playing in Green Bay next weekend, so we should see fans with a greater sense of decorum.
In other NFL news from the weekend:
• Matt Hasselbeck broke a thigh pad in the third quarter, which led to third-stringer Charlie Frye pulling down his pants and removing one of his own pads to give to Hasselbeck. Details in the middle of this page (with thanks to Nick Collecchi).
• I’ve written several times about the Giants’ curved nameplates, which match up with one of the rear jersey seams. But Mike Slesinski has spotted something new: Amani Toomer appeared to be wearing a completely different tailoring template yesterday, which (among other things) had the effect of pushing his nameplate much lower. Mike also thinks Toomer’s front tailoring pattern is new, and that his red triangle patch at the base of the collar is wider, although I’m not sure about either of those claims. Joe Skiba, fill us in!
• Did you see that new Mac commercial with the football referee? He’s clearly supposed to be an NFL ref, since he goes under the hood for a video review, but he’s not wearing NFL zebra stripes or NFL socks. More egregiously, his pants are cuffed WAY too low — lame. (Thanks to Randy Williams, John Okray, Chad Todd, and Phil Hecken for the screen grabs.)
Uni Watch News Ticker: The Portland Lumberjax are taking their name rather literally (with thanks to Travis Demers). … Mr. Horse Collar is changing uni numbers next season (with thanks to Patrick Nance). … Good catch by Jon McKay who noticed two officials wearing white hats during the Independence Bowl (apparently the umpire lost his black cap). … Friday’s entry about players wearing earplugs led to this from Andy Head: “Freddy Garcia, then pitching for the Mariners, pitched with earplugs in for much of the 2003 season because he had suffered perforated eardrums from flying on numerous team flights with a cold the previous season.” … Bit of a pad controversy for Rick Dipietro. … Bruce Menard sent along this awesome old St. Louis Cardinals team portrait. Dig those double-breasted jackets! … Check out the bizarre pants Washington State wore in the 1994 Alamo Bowl (additional pics here, courtesy of Jon V. Buerstatte). … At the 2:28 mark of this video clip, you’ll see something rare: Randy Moss with an “R. Moss” nameplate, which he apparently wore for one game in 2000 (good find by Nick Noyes). … You expect to see plenty of logo creep in a game called the Under Armour All-Star Game, but this is still a bit much (with thanks to Brandon Pratt). … Fun bit here about Les Miles’s hat (as forwarded by Minna H.). … The other day I asked if anyone knew the story behind Fresno State’s three different-colored merit decals. Anthony Johnson found the answer here). … Interesting FNOB find by Roy Ellingsen, who writes: “I’ve just returned to Norway after a quick visit to the Czech Republic. There, I saw that Sparta Prague’s leading points scorer, Petr Ton, wears ‘Ton Petr,’ as you can just about see here, right below the number. It’s common to use family name before given names in Eastern Europe. Petr Nedved, for example, wears ‘Nedved P.’” … Speaking of FNOB, Erik Little was watching some old Rams footage and spotted Ron Brown with the rare double-decker FNOB (road jersey too, but poor image quality). He also spotted this guy. “Not sure who that is,” he writes. “The only Rams LB with #59 that I can confirm is Bob Brudzinski. Not really a good shot, but the surname seems lowered to allow for a first name (à la Ron Brown’s jersey).” Can anyone shed more light on this one? … Stripe-o-rama yesterday, as Stoke City faced Newcastle in Round 3 of the FA Cup (with thanks to Morris Levin). … “Damaso Marte, who plays for the Pittsburgh Pirates, is playing in the Dominican Winter League for the Tigres del Licey,” writes Jean Oliva. “He’s wearing No. 143, since his regular number (43) is retired by the team.” … Speaking of uni numbers, scroll down to the middle of this page for a history lesson in Cubs uni number protocol (good find by Jeremy Brahm). … “I was at the Bruins game on Sunday afternoon and noticed something I’d never seen before,” writes Jeffrey Israel. “People were getting their jerseys personalized as they waited in the middle of the Garden concourse.” … I had planned to bid on that Packers dickey, but the price got way out of hand — dang.
January 7th, 2008
New ESPN column now up. This is the one about uni-related memorials — big thanks to all who contributed info.
Meanwhile: Got a great note the other day from reader Kenn Tomasch, who’d gotten a bunch of interesting screen grabs while watching a replay of the 1969 Rose Bowl. Here’s his report:
The officials didn’t wear uniform numbers or their position abbreviations. Instead, they had big “Rose Bowl” patches — I don’t believe I’ve ever seen that before or since. Also, the head linesman and line judge wore armbands, like NHL referees — the line judge’s were green (you can see them in that last photo) and the linesman’s were red.
Ohio State fullback Jim Otis’s jersey had sleeve stripes and NOB while his teammates did not. The announcers mentioned that Ohio State had elected to go with the “mesh” (tearaway) jerseys “because of the warm weather,” so Otis must have decided not to wear the flimsy mesh jersey. Also interesting that OSU had names on the backs of their jerseys for the 1968 season, when even NFL teams didn’t yet (although AFL teams did, obviously).
How flimsy were OSU’s mesh jerseys? This flimsy [also note the player wearing the padded helmet, à la Willie Lanier — PL]. When Ray Gillian’s jersey tore in the fourth quarter, and he was sent off to get a new one. The torn one came right off, revealing how little padding college players wore in 1969.
Awesome stuff. I’m especially intrigued by the officials’ armbands and the Lanier-style helmet. If anyone know more about either of these, please speak up.
Uni Watch News Ticker: As promised, here’s a full-size photo of Moose Johnston wearing a Packers helmet in the 1994 Pro Bowl after his Cowboys helmet was stolen. Thing is, it doesn’t really look that weird, because the Pro Bowl is such a crazy quilt of helmets anyway. … Scott Turner came up with some interesting baseball cards while doing some historical research: “First, I never knew that the Swingin’ A’s wore gold pants with their gold jersey. Second, Bernie Carbo was clearly told ‘Don’t worry, we’ll crop above the waist.’ And note the cartoon on the back of Pedro Borbon’s card. My, how times have changed.” … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Good article here on UGA’s helmet decals. … This game-used Roger Pavlik cap has the best underbrim inscription ever (great find by Jason Taylor). … We’ve all seen teams that wear the school name on the back. But Zevi Lowenberg notes that Northeastern simply wears a big “N” (bigger/better photos welcome, if anyone’s got ’em). … Great video clip here of Ryan Zimmerman catching a ball in his jersey. … Hmmm, life imitates art?
January 3rd, 2008
Back in March I wrote an ESPN column about athletes wearing sunglasses. At the time I wasn’t aware of any football players who’d worn shades on the field, but readers provided several examples that I later listed in a follow-up item: Mark Clayton (who wore sunglasses with the Dolphins and the Packers), Derrick Mayes, and Vai Sikahema. The most intriguing tidbit, though, was that Raymond Berry of the Colts had worn a set of homemade sun goggles during the ’50s and ’60s. But although several people told me about Berry’s eyewear, none of them provided a photo, and my own research efforts came up empty. But now, thanks to reader Jason Taylor, we’ve got a photo — and more.
Let’s start with the photo itself, which is a doozy. Eat your heart out, LaDainian Tomlinson — your tinted visor’s got nothing on this!
But here’s the kicker: The actual goggles recently sold on eBay for about $155. According to the auction listing, “With no commercially available product to address or correct his vision and sun-sensitivity problems, Berry took the initiative to make his own. Utilizing Bausch & Lomb swim goggles as frames, he inserted heavy shaded lenses supported by trainer’s tape and a primitive headstrap.”
How did the Hall of Fame miss out on this?
The Issue That Just Won’t Die: In case you were too busy scarfing down leftovers to read Friday’s comments, it’s now clear that Dallas Clark’s American flag decal has been missing for quite some time — not just on Thanksgiving or the week before that, but all the way back to Week 8.
In an incredible stroke of luck, it turns out that bench coach Bryan Redemske actually knows Dallas Clark, because Bryan’s wife and Clark went to high school together. So we’ve got an inside line on this one — stay tuned.
Austin Reminder: Uni Watch gathering tomorrow night, 7:30 p.m., at the Salt Lick. BYOB (not to be confused with FNOB).
Uni Watch News Ticker: While researching something else, I noticed that you can see the brand on Tony Romo’s flak jacket right through his jersey. … Reprinted from Friday’s comments: Note the inconsistent 7s here. … Speaking of numbers and typography, remember a few months back when we discussed the differing treatments of the 5 on the sleeve and chest of the Packers’ jerseys? Adam Seabury was just at the Packers Hall of Fame, where he discovered yet another version of the 5. He also snapped great pics of jerseys, helmets (check out the odd facemask here), pants, socks (someone please break into that display and steal those for me, pronto), cheerleaders’ outfits, programs, and a lot more. There’s a slideshow of all his pics here. … Great historical slideshow here of the Turkey Day Game between Kirkwood and Webster Groves, a centurty-long St. Louis Thanksgiving tradition. Some of the older pics are amazing — worth clicking through. … “I was at the Oregon/UCLA game at the Rose Bowl on Saturday,” writes Ryan Whitacre, “and at least one member of the Oregon fan base was exhibiting some classy dress. We can only hope this will filter down to the athletes themselves.” … Virginia retired Tiki Barber’s number on Saturday. … “These pics are of a few old mining company baseball and basketball teams from the 1910-1930,” writes longtime Uni Watch pal Doug Kalemba. “According to my grandfather (who is 96!), each mine had its own team, many filled with ringers who got cushy jobs in return for playing. The competition between these teams was serious business, with games often ending in brawls (or worse). My grandfather was a catcher and played for a few different teams. He claims a lot of the players were good enough for the bigs but never caught a break.” … While researching something else, I came across this photo from the 1959 NFL title game. Take a look at Jim Patton (No. 20) — the “2″ on his helmet appears to be backwards. … Aaron Levine notes that in this fight between Stan Jonathan and Paul Stewart, Stewart has NNOB and really big uni numbers, while the rest of the Nords have NOBs. … Man, those Browns throwbacks looked my-t-fine (additional pics here, here, and here). But John Ryder notes that the “c” on Willie McGinest’s jersey was almost as big as the other letters on his nameplate, while the “c” on Brandon McDonald’s jersey was teeny-tiny. … Jeremy Brahm, ever alert to unusual uniforms in far-off parts of the world, notes that the Singapore Slingers of the National Basketball League of Australia have an interesting design for their shorts and rear jersey. … Has anyone else noticed that Sheldon Brown practically wears a towel on his chinstrap? … Reprinted from last night’s comments: Adrian Peterson is the latest Bear to have suffered a torn helmet decal.
November 26th, 2007
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