There are certain things certain athletes always do (or did) — or almost always do (or did) — in the way they wore their uniforms, or the way they dressed for their sport. In some cases, they were the first to do what they did. In others, it was just them, and their way.
Beyond that, there isn’t much need for introduction, so here we go. We’ve numbered the athletes, and included a picture of their ‘trademark.’ The hint and the picture will hopefully lead you to guess at the star. Keep track, and the answers will be at the end. Good luck!
And now a quick word from Paul: Anyone out there ever submit an unsolicited uniform or logo proposal to a team? If so, did you ever hear back from the team’s front office (even if only via a “No thanks” form letter), or did you get no response at all? If you’ve any sort of experience of this nature, I want to hear from you. Thanks.
Maybe it’s because I’m a Niners fan, maybe it’s because the San Francisco Chronicle posted a really big photo gallery, or maybe it was just a coincidence, but I spotted an unusually large number of uni-notable details in yesterday’s 49ers/Redskins game. To wit:
• Let’s start with the obvious things we always say whenever the Niners wear their throwbacks: The pants piping is too wide (just like it was back in the day), and the Reebok logo looks particularly egregious when it interrupts the sleeve stripes.
• The Niners’ throwback socks have three white stripes. So how did Joe Nedney end up with five stripes? Must’ve worn two pairs, but he did an unusually good job of getting the stripes lined up on both legs.
• Speaking of sock stripeage, the whole biker shorts thing looks particularly stupid when you’re wearing striped hose.
• Here’s something I hadn’t seen before: Vernon Davis wore red spats (and Under Armour cleats for those of you who care about that kind of thing).
• And speaking of red, the coach’s challenge flag doesn’t look quite as stupid when the coach’s team colors include red.
• Shaun Hill threw his wristbands into the crowd after the game. Anyone know if his does this on a regular basis, or was this a new thing?
Raffle Reminder: I announced the 32 winners of the holiday raffle back on Thursday. If you haven’t checked already done so, please check to see if you’re among the winners; if your name is on the list, follow the instrux to claim your prize. Thanks again to everyone for all your contributions over the past year — it’s my pleasure to give back a little something.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Haven’t run a Ticker since last Wednesday, so we’ve got lots of stuff to catch up on. I’ll skip the “As you’ve probably seen by now” proviso on all these items, but you’ve probably seen lots of them by now. … Notre Dame wore NOBs for their bowl game on Xmas Eve. According to a press release, this move “renew[ed] a tradition from the Ara Parseghian years, when Irish teams did not have names on the backs of their jerseys during the regular season but added them for bowl games.” … That game also featured one of history’s weirdest invocations of the term “golden shower.” There’s a nice screen-grab sequence of the helmet explosion here (with thanks to Jonee Eisen). … Lots of uni-notable NBA developments on Xmas Day: (1) All 10 teams playing that day wore a snowflake patch (although it was hard to see on white jerseys). (2) The Blazers and Mavs wore holiday colors (Portland was the home team). (3) The league’s normal footwear-color rules were suspended for the day, resulting in lots of special designs and red shoelaces (at least one pair of which was apparently worn untied). Or to put it another way, it was a big mish-mash. … Steve Johnston got a great Xmas gift: “My grandfather, who played football at Riverside-Brookfield High School in Illinois, passed away this past March. My parents came across some items from his playing days and got them framed for me.” … The Yomiuri Giants have unveiled a 75th-anniversary logo (with thanks to Jeremy Brahm). … Canada’s world junior hockey team is wearing memorial decals in honor of Luc Bourdon, who died earlier this year (with thanks to Nick Hanson). … Marcus Perkal was at the Nets/Bobcats game last Friday and noted that the Bobcats’ 5th-anniversary patch was not being worn by Gerald Wallace and Raymond Felton. … Hey, if you’re gonna steal, why not steal from the pros? That’s Central Bucks East High School in Pennsylvania (with thanks to Samantha Coren). … History’s coolest basketball warmup garb on display here (big thanks to Zac Neubauer). … Roman numeral on back. That’s Ralph Sampson III, who plays for Minnesota (with thanks to John Thompson). … Interesting article about sales figures of NHL third jerseys here (with thanks to K.C. Kless). … I didn’t watch the Real Sports year-end show. Good thing, too, cuz Bryant Gumbal wore a sportscoat that would’ve made Lindsey Nelson blush (with thanks to Brett Crane). … Check this out: Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in Notre Dame and USC football togs, respectively. Details here (with thanks to Frank Hanney). … Last Tuesday I mentioned that this program cover featured a stylized version of the NFL logo that I’d never seen before. Now Fleer Sticker Project prexy JC Helf has devoted an entire blog entry to this logo variation. Check it out here. … Tony Caliguiri notes that Josh Gorges of the Canadiens has been wearing heavy-duty skate protectors lately. … Greg Riffenburgh notes that Dan Marino is wearing two different shoes in this shot. “That’s a standard Nike Air Zoom Barracuda Stove on his left foot, but the right shoe is a VERY high-top version of a much older Nike football cleat (and colored very differently).” Greg also notes that the Jets used to have very large TV numbers — “and in the Red Sox font, no less.” … FNOB alert: Amdy Faye of Stoke City in the Premier League (big thanks to Shane Bua). … I have no idea what this, but it looks really cool. … The Capitals retired Mike Gartner’s number last night. Video of the ceremony is available here. … Reprinted from last night’s comments: The American world junior hockey team has a player named James vanRiemsdyk — an unusual name, which makes for an unusual NOB. … Al Haris may have set a new standard yesterday for how not to wear football pants and socks. … All the following is from Phil: A high school hoops game in Detroit on Saturday night was delayed when both teams showed up in white uniforms; the only thing better than winning eleventeen gold medals is being presented with one of the NBA’s ugliest jerseys; believe it or not, Udonis Haslem’s jersey was white before he suffered this cut; it’s not often you can see color-on-color, a clear facemask, and RNOB (roman numeral on back) all in one photo; something really, really (like, REALLY) needs to be done about this.
We’ve all heard about the NFL’s “uniform police.” But when you see articles about them (like this one, which I linked to a few weeks back), they tend to give boring NFL party-line quotes. Being a company man is how you get that job in the first place.
So I raised an eyebrow when a reader named Danny (who prefers that his last name not be used here) recently contributed some Ticker material and concluded his note with the following: “As a former New York Jets personnel intern, one of my unofficial jobs on game day was to take a look at the players and see who was running the risk of fines. Aaron Glenn [shown at right] was probably the most notorious.”
Naturally, I was intrigued, so I followed up with some questions. Here’s how our correspondence unfolded:
Uni Watch: Got any good stories to share regarding your experiences?
Danny: My uniform code obsession started when I noticed how much Aaron Glenn was being fined week after week for violations. I was having dinner with a couple of the players when I brought up the subject, and they asked if I would help keep them (and the other guys) within the guidelines. After three weeks (two of them being in the preseason), I just gave up, because of course they chose fashion over compliance. I felt like a nagging mother-in-law telling them to “make sure your gloves are strapped,” “your whites are too high,” and “your pants are too short.” The lesson I learned was that, as always, is it that is better to look good than to not get fined by the league.
UW: When was this — what year? What was your staff position at the time? And what violations was Aaron Glenn being fined for?
D: I actually took notice in 1995, before I started working with the team. I had previously noticed that the Jets were one of the teams that had a different numeral “2″ for their linemen’s jerseys and the position players’ jerseys, and that had always bugged me. Then, when I started in 1997 as an operations assistant, I was fascinated by the equipment room. My duties included everything from picking up players’ wives from the airport and making sure the golf carts were full of gas to making sure the jars of vitamins in the weight room were filled and being a security guard at the cafeteria. We were called “honchos,” and there was between six and eight of us. If something needed doing, we did it.
One morning I noticed the poster in the locker room stating the NFL’s uniform regulations (which you’ve linked to a few times). Then I noticed a Newsday article on uni violations, which centered mostly on Deion Sanders, but it also had a section on Aaron Glenn. If I remember correctly, he led the league in uni-related fines that season. He was being find for high whites, unstrapped gloves, unbuckled chin straps, and short pants.
After reading the article, I did some research through old media guides and yearbooks to see how different players were wearing sweatbands, socks, gloves, chin straps, and so forth. I thought there was something oddly cool about the NFL having a standard issue of dress, and even cooler that some players were consciously violating the code in order to look fashion-forward.
UW: Tell me a little more about how your “police” activities worked. Like, when would you approach the players — during pregame warmups? In the locker room?
D: My policing activities were pretty simple. Since I was a mere peon at the time, I wasn’t going to get too visible in the locker room, because I didn’t want to become an annoyance and get fired. But my game day duties had me walking around the locker room anyway, so when I noticed something in violation of the code, I’d walk by the player and say a simple, “Hey, make sure those whites don’t go up too high, they may fine you,” or “Try and keep those pads tucked in your sleeve, they’re fining guys for that,” and so forth. Most of the guys just ignored me, because they just didn’t care about being fined and were more worried about playing the game. The last thing I wanted to do on a game day was distract any of these guys, but a few of them didn’t mind me being their uni-Jiminy Cricket. I also didn’t want to get on the bad side of the equipment managers — those guys really run the show on game day and could be quite ornery when people got in their way.
UW: Did you agree with all the regulations, or did you feel silly trying to enforce some of them?
D: I definitely don’t agree with all the regulations. I think it would be awful if all the players looked exactly the same. I understand the chin strap rule (which I wish I had obeyed myself, because I suffered a lot of concussions while playing football in high school), and I understand that the league wants to keep players looking somewhat uniform, but I think they take it a bit too far. I think guys should be allowed to wear high whites [not much of an issue these days, since most players now prefer low whites -- PL]. I also think they should be allowed to wear team-colored tape and team-colored chin straps.
UW: Any other good stories to share?
D: My best uni-related Jets story comes from when I had been with them in 1997 as an intern. To preface the story, I was recruited by some 1A and 1AA schools to play QB and/or WR but wound up not being able to play after suffering my sixth concussion in my last high school game. After practice during training camp, I would sometimes stay on the field with the young QBs and run some pass routes if they needed some extra bodies. I had made a few acrobatic catches one day and the fans who stayed cheered for me and some of the coaches thought I was ridiculous for trying so hard.
Cut to the very next day — I was cleaning up coffee cups and soda cans in the “war room” after a pro personnel meeting and went into office of a friend I’d made on the marketing staff (I’d routinely hang out in her office after team meetings as she was wrapping up her day). She told me she had just gotten the prototype for the old-school unis the team was going to switch to for the next season (what they wear now). One of the unis was my size, so she asked me to go to the equipment room and get some pads so I could model it for her.
For reasons you would completely understand, I shot downstairs and was downright giddy about putting on the uniform. Once I got all the pads in (I put everything in but hip and butt pads) and the uniform on, I was striking Heisman poses and living out my NFL dream (well, as much as it can be lived out in an office building with no one else around). Lost in my own little world, I had forgotten that the special teams meeting was about to break and that the office I was in was directly across the hall from the auditorium where it was being held. So before I could get the uniform off, the players began to walk by and the ST coach, Mike Sweatman, who had a very dry sense of humor, saw me and let out a chuckle. He then came into the office and said with a smile, “Son, I know you made some nice catches the other day, but it’s just not going to happen for you. Stick to cutting up game films and getting coffee.” We all had a good laugh at my expense, and I took the uniform off.
Coincidentally, I had three drops the next time I ran routes after practice.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Here’s a closer view of the California State Firefighters Association logo, which the Kings are wearing as a patch (thanks, Teebz). … This season’s NHL All-Star Game jerseys will apparently look like this and thiszzzzzzzz. … Yikes. … Check out this NOB: first initial and a “Jr.” at the end (great find by Don Schafer). … The Baseball World Cup is taking place, and Cuba has found a new place for logo creep: on the tips of their belts (good spot by Jeremy Brahm,). … Attention AJ Connelly, and anyone else who owns a Nike chinstrap: You might want to switch to another model (thanks, Bryan). … “ESPN was mistakenly using the St. John’s logo instead of St. Joe’s at the beginning of the Syracuse/St. Joe’s game Tuesday night,” writes Jason Farmand. “They soon made the correction.” … Indiana’s throwback uniforms for this weekend will look like this and this. … Kevin Youkilis has shaved for a good cause. … There’s a great video clip here of a Vikings/Eagles game from 1978. Someone on the Chris Creamer board noticed that the Vikes were wearing black left-sleeve armbands (additional views here, here, and here). Anyone know who was being memorialized?
Listen up, boys and girls, for today I bring you a bona fide scoop. It begins with a note I recieved yesterday from a source who checked in with the following: “Word I hear is that the NFL is going to go to Cs on the captains’ jerseys this year, NHL-style. They’re supposedly going to start during the regular season.”
This was news to me, so I checked with an NFL source, who passed along a press release I hadn’t previously seen, dated May 22nd of this year. According to the release, the league’s Player Advisory Council has been developing a “team captain leadership initiative” for this season, designed to “to support and recognize the importance of team leadership through the role of the captains.” Among the measures being considered: “captain identification on game uniforms.”
So are they going ahead with that plan? My NFL source initially indicated that the Cs were pretty much a done deal for this season. “Captains will wear a C on the right chest,” he told me. And what about teams that already have a patch in that spot? “The C will go above the patch.” (I didn’t think to ask about the Broncos, who present some unique challenges for letter placement.) But later in the day he told me that he’d asked a few more people and had now been informed that the Cs were just a “possibility,” although I got the strong sense that they’re, y’know, a strong possibility.
Can’t say I’m in love with this idea. For starters, real estate on NFL jerseys is already in short supply, what with the disappearing sleeves, the massive NFL Equipment logo, the increasing use of chest wordmarks, and so on. Adding another element to the mix is gonna make for some seriously crowded jerseys.
And consider this: As we all learned last week, the Red Wings are moving their C and A designations to the other side of the jersey this season, because Reebok’s new tailoring template puts too many seams and fabric panels where the letters would normally appear (for further details, look here). Given that today’s football jerseys are a veritable crazy quilt of stretch panels and seams compared to hockey jerseys, I’m willing to bet right now that the NFL’s newfound embrace of the C — assuming it happens at all — won’t last long.
Research Project Update: A big pat on the back to everyone who responded to yesterday’s call for “one and done” uniforms (i.e., uniforms that were worn just once, or a handful of times, before being abandoned) — my ESPN column tomorrow will be stronger thanks to your efforts. I won’t have room to thank everyone by name within the column itself, but I’ll do so here on this site tomorrow.
Membership News: Very odd development on Monday, as two completely unrelated people both asked for Harlem Globetrotters treatments for their membership cards (you can see one of them at right). This tops the membership program’s previous coincidental oddity, which came a few weeks ago when three consecutive new enrollees asked for No. 17.
Meanwhile, if you’ve signed up for membership, have you checked to see if your name’s on the roster? Here’s why I ask: The current roster listing has 420 names, plus there are two members who’ve asked not to be listed (although their cards are shown in the design gallery), so that’s a total of 422 enrollees. There are 421 designs in the card gallery, plus there are three cards that haven’t yet been designed, so the full gallery would have 424 designs. That means there are two people who I somehow left off the roster. Are you one of them? Let me know.
Uni Watch News Ticker: I meant to list this on Monday, but it fell through the cracks when my computer crashed over the weekend (and by now most of you probably know about it anyway, but just in case…): Iowa State is letting fans vote on a new helmet design for 2008. … Meanwhile, the Fresno Grizzlies are asking for fan input on redesigning the logo (with thanks to Aaron Wiens). … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: The Blue Jays have added an “SP” memorial patch for former team CEO/chairman Sam Pollock. … The Mets will be wearing Los Mets jerseys this Friday, for Fiesta Latina. … Several people have asked why I haven’t mentioned anything about the Little League World Series. Answer: Because I think the LLWS is bad news. The level of media coverage, the hype, etc. — it’s unhealthy for the kids involved, and arguably even worse for any kid watching it. I’ve written plenty of times about Little League, Pop Warner, and the like, and will continue to do so, but I won’t be party to something like the LLWS. … Nice little piece here about the Brewers’ batting helmets. … Very good article here about players who don’t wear batting gloves. … Just imagine the potential uni-related ramifications of this. … Scotty Johnson reports that dirt late model driver Scott James, who’s from Cincinnati, has a Bengals-themed helmet (and note the “Ocho Tres,” because his car number is 83). … Good catch by Jason Taylor, who notes that Andruw Jones appears to have added an American flag decal to the back of his batting helmet. … Victory Pennants honcho Morris Levintotally kissed my butt wrote some really nice stuff about Uni Watch in his blog yesterday. … Here’s yet another photo of the “8″ on Fenway Park’s exterior wall, and in this shot you really can see that the numeral is upside-down (nice job by Matthew Knell). … Merchandise malfunction, as documented by Justine DeCotis: “I work in the team store of the Pawtucket Red Sox. Recently this hat came in with the correct PawSox logo on the front, but on the bill, where it’s supposed to say ‘Pawtucket Red Sox’ on one side and ‘Pawtucket, Rhode Island’ on the other, it says ‘Atlanta Braves.’” … Cardinals punter Scott Player is currently doing an excellent Hulk Hogan impersonation. “Add in his single-bar facemask and the fact his last name is on most prototype jerseys, and Scott’s my new favorite,” writes Eric D.
New ESPN column today. I’ll add the link when it goes live. [Update: No ESPN column today after all. It'll run next week.]
Meanwhile: As I noted at the end of yesterday’s Uni Watch News Ticker, the Chiefs will presumably wear some sort of memorial tribute this weekend for team founder Lamar Hunt, who died on Wednesday. But Hunt’s passing has already provided some valuable uni-watchery, thanks to a memorial photo gallery that’s been posted on the Chiefs’ web site (first brought to my attention yesterday by reader Jacob Reed). Many of the pics feature great little uni-related details I’d never seen before. Check it out:
• We’ve all seen Hank Stram wearing this Chiefs logo blazer. But I’d never seen him wearing one with the team name spelled out.
• Even better: Dig the amazing team-branded blazers worn by Hunt and Bud Adams in this 1962 shot, back when the Chiefs were still the Dallas Texans. Looks like Adams might also be wearing an Oilers tie tack.
• Speaking of the Texans, dig this shot of Hunt and his young son, the latter wearing a Texans T-shirt. Love to know what Goodwill outlet that eventually got donated to.
• Here’s something you don’t see anymore: a postgame celebration with one of the players (Sherrill Headrick, in this case) smoking a cigarette.
• Here’s Hunt presenting the NFL Man of the Year Award to Derrick Thomas in 1993. The uni detail that fascinates me here is the trophy itself: Like, when’s the last time you saw an NFL player wearing a poncho? Or maybe it’s supposed to be a superhero’s cape?
• Check out Chiefs prexy Carl Peterson in this shot: He’s got the “58″ button (a memorial for Derrick Thomas), the red-white-blue Chiefs ribbon (not sure what that’s for — the photo isn’t dated, but Thomas died in 2000, so the ribbon probably isn’t 9/11-related), and it looks like there’s a number on his tie (no idea).
• And in an age when Reebok dresses the coaches wear those ridiculous polo shirt designs, the elemental simplicity of this is quite refreshing.
‘Husker History: Reader Jonathon Binet has turned up a sensational little video chronicling the history of Nebraska’s football helmets. Check it out below:
Helmet Raffle Update: Speaking of helmets, I got a note yesterday from Pete Ellingsworth, winner of our Gridiron Memories helmet raffle. He says he’s taking the 1976-72 Indiana helmet — “I love the simple ‘I’ and stripes on the crimson
helmet,” he writes. “Plus I’m from Indiana (never mind the fact that I now reside in Burbank, California). I just wish IU would stop wearing those red on red unis!” Gotta love a contest winner who works a uni critique into his victory speech. Congrats, Pete!
No mas? No, mas!: My recent profile of No Mas led to a Wednesday-night sit-down between myself and No Mas principals I-berg and Large. Fueled by a pu pu platter and ample servings of chicken chop suey and “Richard Yee’s Style Chow Clams” (better than it looks), we discussed several weighty matters, including the possibility of creating a line of No Mas/Uni Watch co-branded T-shirts. Stay tuned.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Speaking of NFL coaches’ polos, check out the swash-”S” at the end of the insignia on Vince Lombardi’s shirt (with thanks to Robert Erdtmann). … An Orioles prole has been caught stealing team items, including jerseys and jackets, and selling them on eBay (as spotted on the police blotter by Matt French). … Turns out Daisuke Matsuzaka was fated to join the Red Sox all along — check out the stirrups he wore in high school (good catch by Richard Stover). … Remember Joe Pavelski’s upside-down Reebok logo, which first showed up about two weeks ago? Pavelski’s childhood friend and Uni Watch reader John Okray asked him about it on Wednesday. “He didn’t even realize it,” Okray reports. “He said, ‘I heard something about that. I forgot to look for it last night before I put my jersey on. I hadn’t noticed until somebody said something to me about it.’ Is it possible players aren’t as obsessed with their jerseys as we are? [There's a stunner. -- PL] The Sharks don’t have another road game until December 30th, so maybe the problem will be fixed by then.” … Okray also notes that Dwyane Wade, who was inexplicably wearing that Nike-branded Heat jersey on the cover of SI a week or two ago, now has three stripes shaved into his head. A mea culpa to Adidas, perhaps? … Good note from Chuck Miller, who writes: “Butte, Montana, is the hometown of motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel. The city’s new CBA basketball franchise is not only named the Daredevils, but their uniforms are an interpretation of Knievel’s famous ‘Commander Jumpsuit’ motorcycle leathers.” All this was presumably done with Evel’s blessing, given his litigious nature. … A few days ago I linked to this photo of the 1905 Cherokee Male Seminary football team. I mentioned the noseguards that most of the players have hanging from their necks, but Michael Ferry has noticed something I missed regarding a few of the players seated in the middle row: “I was wondering if those are ‘helmets’ on the knee and arms, respectively, of those on the far right and left.” Looks like it, but those would definitely be the flimsiest helmets I’ve ever seen, so I asked Helmet Hut prexy Curtis Worrell, who said they’re definitely helmets. “Look at this,” he wrote back. “The helmet top far right has the same openings.” … The Marlins will have a sleeve patch next season celebrating the 10th anniversary of their 1997 championship. … Man, one lousy signature on a contract and suddenly you’ve got two Boston jerseys in one day. … Matt Corica notes that Seahawks’ “neon-snot sleeve stripe” was missing Deion Branch’s jersey last night, and from Nate Burleson’s too. … Looks like Mike Nolan went from wearing a suit to joining the janitorial staff.
Remember those black slacks that NFL officials were supposed to wear this season for cold-weather games? I thought for sure we’d see them for this past Monday’s snow bowl in Seattle, but the zebras in that game wore their regular white knickers, leading me (and others) to wonder if the whole slacks experiment had been quietly shelved before it could even see the light of day.
Not so, says NFL officiating executive Larry Upson, who happily discussed the issue with me when I called to ask about the slacks (and who’s also credited as the editor for NFL’s official rulebook — see link at right). Our conversation went like this:
Uni Watch: So how come we didn’t see the slacks in Seattle?
Larry Upson: Well, believe it or not, it wasn’t actually cold in Seattle. It was snowing, but it wasn’t cold. They didn’t think it was that cold. We really haven’t had any cold-weather games yet where, y’know, where the crew has even — we’ve had one crew ask so far. They have to ask before they can wear ‘em, just so we don’t have guys going around willy-nilly wearing them.
UW: In other words, so the whole crew is wearing them, not just one or two guys.
LU: Exactly.
UW: That one crew that asked — which game was that for, and how come they didn’t end up wearing the slacks?
LU: It was Pittsburgh and Cleveland, Week 11. And they had called me on the Friday before the game, because the weather had been predicted to be pretty cold. But as it turned out, it was about 40 degrees, which isn’t too bad.
UW: So how cold does it have to be?
LU: I’ve set a general guideline of about 30 degrees, although that’s flexible, because of things like wind-chill factor.
UW: Would they have had the long slacks available to them for that Browns/Steelers game, if they’d wanted to wear them anyway? I mean, were they there at the stadium, or do you have to ship them to the crew, or what?
LU: Oh, they all have ‘em. Once you reach a certain point in the season, you always travel with short-sleeve and long, white and black.
UW: So the slacks are still in the wardrobe — they just haven’t been called for yet.
So there you have it: Plenty of waiter, bellhop, and usher jokes on tap for this Sunday in Green Bay. You heard it here first.
Holiday Shopping Update: As you may have noticed at the top of the left column, we have another display advertiser. That would be William Henderson, whose Double-Knit Era Collector’s Reference CD-ROM is an essential resource for anyone reading this. Don’t be fooled by the title — even if you don’t collect jerseys (I don’t collect them myself), the Collector’s Reference is the single best repository of modern-era MLB uni info out there. Highly recommended.
Meanwhile, as promised a few days ago, we have a slew of new Uni Watch merch for sale, and most products are now available in a choice of two logos. In addition to T-shirts (old logo, new logo) and coffee mugs (old, new), we now have trucker’s caps (old, new), travel mugs (old, new, and note that the menu of options on the mug page also includes beer steins), tote bags, fridge magnets, and, by popular demand — well, from Minna H., at least — mouse pads (old, new). You can see the full product line here. Big thanks, as always, to Uni Watch design director Scott M.X. Turner for graciously allowing us to slap his logo designs on anything that doesn’t move.
Okay — now get shoppin’.
Uni Watch News Ticker: As many of you know already, the Dodgers introduced Juan Pierre and Randy Wolf to the media on Wednesday, and in so doing also unveiled their new jerseys. Names have been restored to both the homes and roads, the road jersey’s white insignia outlining and blue placket piping have been eliminated, and the road jersey’s left-sleeve “Dodgers” patch has been replaced by an “LA” patch. … The Reds, meanwhile, will unveil their new uniforms today. And the Cincinnati Enquirer is marking the occasion by running a poll to determine the team’s best uniform ever. … You already knew that the NHL was planning to unveil its new uni template at the All-Star Game in January, but here’s the latest depressing confirmation of it. … In case you missed it in Wednesday’s Comments section: Good explanation here for why Mets pitching coach Rick Peterson always wears a windbreaker, no matter how hot it is. … Also from the Comments: The Reebok logo on the back of Joe Pavelski’s jersey was upside-down on Wednesday night (great catch by David Shucosky). … This little animation starts out being really annoying, but stick with it — after about 20 seconds it develops into a pretty good commentary on logo updates (with thanks to Andrew Landsman). … Good article here on the odd NCAA football protocol of having multiple players with the same uni number. … Laura Koenig notes that the minor league Spokane Indians are revising their logo, with input from the Spokane Indian tribe — apparently the first time such a partnership has been undertaken. Details here. … Two interesting high school football photo finds by Jeff Stephens: First up, a case of dueling winged helmets (and dig those shoulder stripes!). As for the second shot, it kinda speaks for itself. … Good archive of hockey logos, and other hockey stuff, here (with thanks to David Potter). … Gorgeous bit of history shared by Tim Ahner, who writes: “I was going though some pictures that I’d been given by my grandparents. They are of my great-grandfather and the baseball teams that he managed in Fremont, Ohio. I believe they all played in the Fremont Industrial League. The first picture is the 1915 Henkel’s team; the second shot is the 1915 Fremont Industrial Baseball League teams (looks like there were four different teams that year); the third shot is the 1916 Fremont Industrial League teams (I believe there were eight teams that year); and the fourth shot is the 1928 Christy Razors team.” Amazing stuff, Tim — thanks for sharing this bit of family (and uni) history. … Rob Montoya sent along some interesting Pop Warner pics. Among the highlights: Bengals-esque helmets, a “W” logo that will never be mistaken for Wisconsin’s (well, maybe this Wisconsin logo), some killer socks, and the rather jarring sight of a bearded official. … Jeff Israel had a great catch in yesterday’s Comments: “The Boston Bruins have started a new trend where their bench players wear their helmets ‘rally cap’-style (i.e., backwards). Usually it’s just the guys who don’t shoot while the three guys take their chances, and once they get back to the bench they flip their lids. However, tonight the shootout went 7-8 rounds and the Bruins had to use more players than expected. The rally helmets caused a delay for Petr Tenkrat and Phil Kessel, because as their helmets were reversed, their hot/sweaty hair fogged up their visors and they needed to be wiped down so the shooters could see.” … Get a room. … You, too.
With MLB’s regular season now over, I think we can say with some degree of certainty that this has been the best year in baseball history — at least from a Uni Watch perspective. A lot of that is due to all of you who’ve provided tips and sharp-eyed observations throughout the year, so thanks-a-plenty to everyone who’s helped document this season’s foibles and follies, a selective rundown of which shapes up as follows:
April 6th: In the first of what will be several similar incidents, Brandon Claussen is told by the umpiring crew that he can’t wear Nike’s accursed dot-patterned undersleeves while pitching. So the Reds’ dugout staff comes up with a pair of scissors and cuts off the offending sleeve portion.
April 8th: Umpire Joe West points at Ervin Santana’s dotted sleeves and tells him they’ll have to go. Sanatana skips the scissor routine and just switches to a dot-free garment.
April 11th: For reasons that have never been satisfactorily explained, Manny Ramirez wears a cherubic stick-pin on his jersey.
April 25th: With gametime conditions at Wrigley a bit on the brisk side (39 degrees, 18-mph winds), Hanley Ramirez wears one of those football hand-warmer thingies strapped to his waist, and Aramis Ramirez wears a ski mask.
May 5th: Jason Smith’s surname proves to be too challenging for the Rockies’ equipment staff.
May 12th: Scott Williamson, who apparently didn’t get the memo (or read Uni Watch), becomes the latest pitcher ordered to cut off his dotted sleeves.
May 28th: It’s not unprecedented for catchers to have their fingernails painted white, for greater visibility when giving signs. But Toby Hall breaks new ground by having his nails painted during a mound conference, with teammate Aubrey Huff doing the honors. After the game, the Devil Rays announce that they’re changing the team name to the Metrosexuals.
May 29th: With most players wearing an American flag cap patch for Memorial Day, Ambiorix Burgos wears his patch in the wrong spot and upside-down, leading to a minor controversy in Kansas City. Meanwhile, Steve Trachsel’s flag patch ends up crooked, but there’s no controversy because everyone knows New Yorkers are too jaded to give a shit.
June 3rd: Career minor leaguer Eliezer Alfonzo, who’s been waiting to be called up to the bigs for a decade, finally makes his MLB debut — with his name misspelled on his jersey.
June 28th: Determined to mess up every conceivable aspect of the game, the Devil Rays send Jae Seo out to the mound with a concave nameplate, instead of the usual convex.
July 4th: John Patterson, not content to celebrate Independence Day by wearing his American flag cap patch upside-down or crooked, raises the bar by getting his flag patch ensnared in his sideburn, and remains impressively oblivious to the whole thing.
July 5th: Esteban Yan, apparently upset to be left out of the fun, wears an upside-down flag patch a day after the holiday.
July 16th: Kyle Snyder pitches the entire 1st inning with his undershirt tag flapping in the breeze, which looks extra-dorky when he pumps his fist after a good defensive play. (Six weeks later he’ll be wayward-tagged again, although the problem that time will be his little MLB logo tag.)
July 20th: Kenny Rogers, having learned nothing from the previous day’s incident involving German’s belt, dives for a ball and breaks a button on his jersey, leaving him with an embarrassing case of jersey gap.
July 21st: Ryan Freel is hit by a pitch — sort of. The ball sails into his vest’s arm opening and lodges in his jersey, whereupon Freel trots to first base, unbuttons his jersey, and produces the ball, which he then flips to an umpire.
July 22nd: Mike MacDougal throws nine pitches and has his cap fall off during six of them (including one in which catches the cap in midair during his follow-through). The small-market Royals, unable to risk having to purchase a new cap for MacDougal if his current one gets dirty from falling onto ground, promptly trade him a few days later.
July 28th: Todd Walker changes jerseys in the middle of the game and mistakenly puts on the wrong one, trotting out onto the field wearing No. 13 instead of his usual No. 7. The game is delayed for several minutes while he goes to the clubhouse to change again. Cubs radio man Ron Santo provides incisive and articulate commentary, the full genius of which somehow goes unmentioned in Uniwatchblog.com’s coverage of the incident, prompting countless well-mannered, thoughtful Cubs fans to politely offer their respectful thoughts on the matter.
September 4th: Jason Giambi finds time to shave in between the 3rd and 5th innings.
September 29th: Pedro Feliciano becomes the latest player to join the tag team, as he pitches a full inning with his undershirt tag sticking out (despite Paul LoDuca’s attempt to tuck it in).
October 1st: Cliff Floyd, injured for much of the season and thus shut out of all the Uni Watch fun, uses the last day of the season to make a big push for uni blooper of the year: He slides while chasing a ball and comes away with his jersey slightly out of order. Okay, really out of order. He then calmly proceeds to button up and tuck in, leading Uni Watch hedge fund analyst Jenny Strasburg to remark, “He’s so casual — like, ‘Nothin’ to see here, folks, just fixing my pants.’”
Pretty good season, right? It could still be undone by a Padres/Twins World Series (imagine the Pads wearing their camouflage unis and the Twins countering with their military tribute caps), but I’m trying not to think about that.
What does a DH do with all that time in between at-bats? If he’s Jason Giambi, he shaves off his mustache.
Or at least that was the case on Monday night, when someone apparently informed Giambi that DH doesn’t stand for “demonstrably hirsute.” Check out his plate appearances: In the 1st inning he had that gross little ’70s porn star mustache that he’s been wearing this year. Same thing in the 3rd inning. But in the 5th inning, whoa — not a whisker in sight! Feeling a bit drafty on the upper lip, Jason?
I know of only one other instance of a player shaving during a game (although I bet there are others): Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, better known as the Bill Buckner Game. A young Roger Clemens was the Red Sox starter that evening, and he took the mound with some clearly visible stubble, including some nascent sideburns. But later on, after he’d been removed from the game and then returned to the dugout, his face had undergone a transformation. Still, Clemens shaved after he’d left the contest, which makes his in-game grooming less remarkable than Giambi’s.
The Yankees, of course, have banned beards throughout the Steinbrenner era. Willie Randolph brought that rule with him to the Mets last season but has allowed beards this year. The Reds used to ban facial hair too, but that changed back in 1999 when they acquired Greg Vaughn, who successfully pleaded with ownership not to make him shave his beard because, he claimed, his children wouldn’t recognize him anymore.
I wrote a little something about facial hair, including a timeline of notable whisker-related moments, back in Uni Watch’s Village Voice days. You can read that piece here.
Meanwhile, if Giambi doesn’t already have a razor endorsement deal, his agent ought to get on the phone with Gillette or Schick right now.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Our discussions of accents and other diacritical marks on nameplates has led Jeremy Brahm to find two players who wear an æ ligature: Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Kristofer Hæstad. And then there’s Fredrik Strømstad, whose got one of those empty set ø characters. … Uni Watch gets name-dropped in this eBay listing, posted by reader Drew Samuelson. … Every now and then you see a player whose pants are pulled so far up that you can see the white name tag on his socks. But it never looks like anything’s written on the tag, so why is there in the first place?
