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Posts filed under 'Footwear'
We have a XXXXXL-sized amount of material to cover today, boys and girls, beginning with a follow-up to an item from last Wednesday, when I posted this shot of Dustin Pedroia in the Ticker and noted that it was unusual to see a shin guard being worn so high. Reader Eric Burtis informs me that this same topic came up for discussion during Friday night’s Indians/Royals game, and he’s been kind enough to provide a transcript. We pick up the action with Cleveland’s David Dellucci batting during the top of the 6th:
Frank White: You know, Ryan, when you see a batter with a shin guard on his knee, that tells me that he can’t lay off the fastball inside. If I was a pitcher, I would just [aim] right for his hands inside and see what success I could have in there.
Ryan Lefebvre: It looks like when the game is over, he’s going to go rollerblading.
White: Or lay some carpet with that big pad on his knee. I’ve never seen anything like that.
Lefebvre: And it’s not a big pad. That’s a pretty concentrated area.
White: You know, Billy Butler [of the Royals] wears his about halfway up the leg, and that’s an unusual place to have it, but this is as high as I’ve ever seen.
[Dellucci grounds out, ending the inning. Then, rather conveniently, Billy Butler leads off the bottom of the 6th, allowing the discussion to resume.]
White: We were talking about David Dellucci’s shin guard — this is Billy Butler. He has one… not quite as small. Billy’s actually got a pretty good one on his shin there. That’s almost like the one you wear down on your ankle that fits over the top of your shoelace, that you foul off the top of your ankle.. He’s got a long area of that shin that he probably fouls balls off of.
Lefebvre: Now those guards, you can put anywhere you want on your leg, but the ones you put on your elbows, now you’re supposed to have some sort of a doctor’s note or a note from the athletic trainer after all those guys like Jose Canseco and Mo Vaughn and Frank Thomas and Barry Bonds had those big elbow pads and would just hang out over the plate.
White: Yeah. Pads tell you something. If they’re down around your ankle, that means you foul a lot of balls inside off your ankles and if the ball’s up around your hands, you foul a lot off your knee. And if you have them on your elbow, that means you don’t get out of the way very well.
And that wasn’t the only equipment-related chatter on the airwaves that night. Geoff Poole checked in to let me know that Brewers roving reporter Trenni Kusnierek delivered the following info during Friday’s Brewers/Padres game (during which the Brewers were wearing their usual Friday throwbacks):
CC Sabathia is a huge Air Jordans fan. He’s one of only three players in all of Major League Baseball to have specialized Air Jordan cleats [additional views here and here]. Andruw Jones and Derek Jeter are the only two other players. But here’s the problem: They’re customized to Brewers colors, for CC Sabathia, but they never made retro shoes for CC. So tonight, he’s wearing his old Indians Air Jordans, and [clubhouse assistant] Jason Shawger took a black marker to them, just covered up the red, made ’em into black so they matched the standards for the uniforms. So CC still has his lucky shoes on tonight. They’re just not the cool ones on the Brewers colors.
I’ve gotta say, I don’t understand this report at all. Among the many questions I have:
• The Brewers normally wear black cleats. They also wear black cleats with their Friday throwbacks. So why would Sabathia need a different pair of cleats on Friday than for any other Brewers game?
• But let’s assume for a moment that he does need “retro cleats” for Friday home games. That leads us to the next question: Sabathia pitched on August 8th — a Friday home game — so what did he wear then?
• Here’s a shot of Sabathia from earlier this year with the Indians. I don’t see any red trim that would need to be blacked out, do you?
I also don’t understand the fuss about Air Jordans, but I realize that’s just me.
Incidentally, just prior to this report about Sabathia’s footwear, the two main announcers had just gone into a big spiel about how Sabathia’s such a great guy because he doesn’t demand special “star treatment.” Right — he just makes the clubhouse kid touch up he cleats with a marker. Nice.
Screw Nike I Mean Reebok: What is the friggin’ deal with Reebok dictating terms to NFL players regarding their uni numbers and NOB? First it was Keith Rivers (who’s being allowed to change uni numbers after all), then Kevin Smith (not allowed), and now it’s Chad Whatshisname. As most of you are probably aware by now, he wore his new name during pregame warm-ups yesterday but had to switch back to his old name for the actual game, because the NFL says he has to settle “a financial obligation to Reebok” first. In other words, Reebok has a bunch of “Johnson” jerseys lying around and wants to be compensated for them (never mind that they’ve just become collector’s items).
I know a lot of people here don’t like Chad. I’m not a big fan myself, but I never got too worked about Archie Leach, Carole Klein, or Charles Buchinsky changing their names to Cary Grant, Carole King, or Charles Bronson, respectively, so I don’t really care what Chad calls himself either. He made it all nice and legal, just like other athletes have done, so why can’t the NFL let him wear his legally sanctioned name? As for the folks at Reebok — who, let’s remember, charge $200-ish for a jersey that costs about $2.85 to manufacture, so they’re not really in a position to plead poverty here — what the hell do they do when a player gets traded or retires? Here’s a guess: They ship his old jerseys to Africa and take a tax write-off. That’s what they should do in this case, too.
Oh, and one other thought for Reebok: Have you considered using one of these? Might solve the whole problem.
A Boy Named Hsu: Went to last night’s Mets/Phils game with Scott M.X. Turner (who graciously proffered me a ticket). Got snaps of a few interesting sights, including a T-shirt showing the Mets’ TV broadcasters engaged in a terrorist fist bump, two guys wearing Mets-colored socks, a repurposed Glenn Foley jersey, and a kid wearing an absolute train wreck of a cap (it’s hard to see in that first shot, but check out the grooved stitching on the brim). Scott and I also paid our respects to the Tommie Agee home run marker — a particularly poignant moment for me, because there’s a good chance that this was my last visit to Shea, and Agee was my favorite player when I was a tyke.
It was a pretty chippy night in the stands — lots of fights, including one that drew so many security guards that a guy sitting near me quipped, “Look at them all — they’re storming the bastille!” (probably the only time anyone’s ever said that at Shea). We couldn’t understand the source of all the ruckus — after all, NYC and Philly fans adore each other — until the bottom of the 8th, when someone tapped me on the shoulder and asked, “Are you Paul?” I turned and found myself face-to-face with Kenny Hsu, who introduced himself as a regular Uni Watch reader who had recognized me from afar. As you can see, Kenny’s got troublemaker written all over him, and it was surely no coincidence that several more fights soon broke out in the area where he was sitting (I think it might have had something to do with him yelling, “What the fuck is a ‘water ice’? Is it water or is it ice? Make up your goddamn minds, you pussies!” at some Philly fans). I like the idea of Uni Watch readers stirring things up and hereby encourage all readers to shout fighting words offer helpful observations to their fellow fans, in honor of Kenny’s fine example.
Site News: As you may have noticed, and after a ridiculously prolonged series of hassles with Google, our site-search function has finally been restored to the right-hand rail. Enjoy.
Raffle Results: The winner of the soccer raffle is Clint Wrede. Congrats to him, and thanks to all who entered. More raffles coming soon.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Josh Beckett had some XYZ issues on Friday night. … I can never get enough of this logo (with thanks to Dan Smith). … Last season, the side clips on Eli Manning’s facemask were clear; now they’re gray. Joe Skiba says that’s because they’re now available in team colors. … Best eBay listing ever? Possibly (great find by Ben Traxel). … Nobody can accuse the Olympics of not thinking ahead. … Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist David O’Brien clearly wants my job (but he’s never gonna get it if he keeps referring to the Rays’ “garish uniforms” of last year — a common misconception, since many people reflexively think of this, which was awful, but conveniently forget about this, which was perfectly fine and badly underrated). … On Friday I checked out this awesome photo exhibit, which included this. … I’m ashamed that this item has to do with Wisconsin, but a high school team out there is putting its players’ combined weightlifting amounts on their helmets, which is about the most pathetic “We’re so fucking macho” thing I’ve ever seen. Why not just put their dick lengths on the helmet and get it over with? Depressing details here (with thanks to David Petroff). … Speaking of which, there’s an interesting article on high school helmets here (with thanks to James Spears). … Also from James: If you scroll down to the bottom of this image gallery, you’ll see several shots that show two h.s. teams both wearing colored jerseys. “Never seen that done around here,” he says. “I’m trying to find out an explanation.” … The new UAB uniforms are viewable here. … Has anyone tallied up all the different graphics and ads the Brewers have stenciled into the Miller Park mound this year? They normally have their cap logo there, plus they’ve also used the star-spangled cap logo, a Negro Leagues logo, an ad for their web site, and I just realized that they put the ball-in-glove logo for their retro Friday games. Embarrassing. … More Russian nesting dolls (additional views here and here). “My dad got them in Russia while on business recently,” says Dan Mugg. “Apparently they have just about every team. One of my dad’s co-workers picked up a Purdue set.” … A little late, but Kris Naudus notes that the Korean women’s Olympic archery team had some cool outfits and gear. “That’s Yun Ok-Hee on the left with her panda chest guard and matching pink bo), Joo Hyun-Jung in the middle (nothing special there, though her hat seems to have a pink ribbon on it), and Park Sung-Hyun with the Winnie the Pooh-themed chest guard,” she writes. … Another day, another intersection of Sarah Palin and uniforms. … Reprinted from Saturday’s comments: Bit of a logo screw-up during one of Saturday’s broadcasts. … Those Illinois throwbacks looked my-t-fine. … But Virginia’s struck me as rather unremarkable. … This jersey is one of the many Minnesota hockey sweaters on display at the Xcel Center. Ken Whitehouse wants to know what team (or school, or whatever) it is. Anyone..? … Piqua High School in Ohio gives out award decals and places them down the center of the helmet. … When a team scores a touchdown, you don’t see the entire team giving the two-arms-raised TD signal. But when a team scores a safety, the entire defense always — always does this. … Patch-o-rama in the NFL now, as you can see here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. Oops, sorry, those last two photos were of NFL Europe, but it’s getting hard to tell the difference. Fortunately, the Steelers have apparently decided not to wear captaincy patches, or else they’d be in the three-patch zone as well. … Speaking of patches, I didn’t realize the Colts were gonna wear that new stadium patch. Gee, think it’s big enough? If anyone has a good close-up of it, I could use one. … And just in case the Gene Upshaw patch wasn’t visible enough on the players’ jerseys or on the field, Lovie Smith wore it on his shirt’s zipper pull. … Nick Trotta informs me that Charlie Samuels had the honor of pulling down the “16 Games Left at Shea” sign on Friday night. Hard to imagine another MLB equipment manager getting to do that (or to imagine one less deserving of the honor). … Boy do I miss this NBC logo. … According to this discussion thread, a newspaper photographer at a recent college football game was wearing the visiting team’s jersey while shooting the game.
September 8th, 2008
Got a really interesting note the other day from reader Matt Frost, who clued me in to a uniform category I hadn’t previously been aware of. Check it out:
I was watching a show about the Highland Games on the Discovery Channel. Tucked in amongst all the kilts was a small bit about the tug of war. Surprisingly, there was a high degree of uni-related detail.
In these photos, you can see that it more or less looks like they’re wearing rugby shirts. But there are some peculiar bits, starting with their boots. In fact, there are actually companies that produce tug of war boots. They look like ice skates with no blades.
Getting back to the shirts, they’re definitely modified. The more basic ones are simply rugby shirts with an extra layer of fabric. The pullers have it under the arm and along the ribs, and the anchorman has it over the shoulder as well. Some of the more hardcore teams, though, have more intense padding. Here it looks like some kind of rubber. A lot of teams seemed to have quilted padding sewn in to the inside of their shirts, but I couldn’t find any images of those.
Faaaaascinating. Remember when they used to tugs of war on The Superstars, or Superteams, or whatever it was? I mainly recall the Steelers tug team, anchored by Ernie Holmes, engaged in a seemingly endless t-o’-w against some other team (probably the Cowboys, but I no longer recall the specifics). Anyway, that’s about the full extent of what I know about this sport. After some very quick research, however, here are a few other things I’ve noticed:
• Here’s a rear view of one of those reinforced panels.
• Most teams have matching socks.
• In addition to outdoor matches, there also appears to be a thriving indoor tug circuit, in which the “field” is a narrow strip. No boots here — looks like specialized sneakers.
• The sport’s youth program could use some uniforms.
And so on. Anyone know more about this sport? Fill us in.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Someone’s trying to have it both ways (with thanks to Ryan Connelly). … Amusing rant here on umpires’ uniform numbers. Not sure how accurate it is, though — it claims that No. 2 has been retired twice (for A.L. ump Nick Bremigan and N.L. ump Jocko Conlan), but as Jeffrey Soderberg points out, that number is currently worn by Jerry Crawford. … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: People are always asking me where they can buy stirrups. Here are some nice ones on eBay. … Here’s another shot of Omar Vizquel wearing No. 42 during his rookie year — and also sporting a double-flap helmet! … A gem from the photo archives? Nope — it’s the Rickwood Classic, which took place just the other day. Details here, and additional pics here (big thanks to Mark McCollister). … A team logo on the back of the mound is bad enough, but Dustin Pomprowitz reports that the Brewers have taken it a step further. See that light-colored lettering? Here’s a closer look. Should only be a matter of time before we see real advertising there, at which point we will have officially reached a low point in human civilization. … As you may also have noticed in that last photo, the Braves wore their alternate caps yesterday. First time they’ve worn them with something other than the solid-blue alternate jersey. … Ah, product placement (with thanks to Jason Dulin). … Eagle-eyed Joe Hilseberg notes that Orioles coach John Shelby appears to have an upside-down 8 on the front of his jersey. … Bob Andrews attended a Texans season ticketholder event last night and got lots of cool uni-related pics. “They apparently are really promoting the secondary logo,” he writes. “It was worn by everyone.” … Sleeve observation from Mike DeCaro, who writes: “I was watching a game between the White Sox and Indians on May 28th, when I noticed that Rafael Bentancourt seemed to have a wide discrepancy in the length of his sleeves on his jersey. His pitching sleeve looked a few inches shorter than the other. The best pictrure I could find was from spring training.” … Chaz Norenberg notes that the MLB logo is missing from the back of Josh Hamilton’s jersey. … Good article here about the Mariners’ Marineros jerseys, which will be worn tomorrow. … Thanks to everyone who came out to KGB last night — good times. … And big birthday wishes to Milesofsparks, who makes my world stripey and happy. Just FYI, you’ve got one more present waiting for you, which you’ll get this evening.
May 30th, 2008
The Nationals, like every other MLB team, participated in the Jackie Robinson 42fest on April 15th. In fact, they were one of the clubs that dressed the entire team in 42 that night.
But apparently that wasn’t enough for the Nats. Yesterday’s game against the Mets was billed as “Jackie Robinson Night.” They unveiled a 42 on the outfield wall, and 42 was worn during the game by Ray King, Lastings Milledge, and Willie Harris (all shown in that photo).
This raises a bunch of questions for me:
• Why wasn’t the 42 already on the wall? Like, it was already retired, right? I realize it’s a new stadium, but so what? The number was already supposed to be retired on an MLB-wide basis.
• Why did the Nats get to dress players in 42 again? Okay, so they were on the road last week, but so what? Is every road team from April 15th gonna get to do this? I disagree with people who say that the annual April 15th celebration cheapens the number, but I do think it got cheapened a bit last night. I realize some people will say, “Anything that raises awareness of Jackie Robinson is a good thing,” and I generally agree with that, but turning his memory into a way to add another promotion to your home schedule is totally bogus. The whole point of April 15th is that it’s a one-day thing — a tribute day, a special day. If we start to make every day special, the practical result is that no days are.
• Why was Ray King wearing white cleats in the preame ceremony? He switched to black for the game.
• While we’re at it, why is Ray King so fat?
It’s also interesting to see the design scheme the Nats chose for the 42 on the outfield wall. Many (most?) teams have chosen to depict it in the old Brooklyn Dodgers design scheme, or at least in blue (additional examples here, here, and here), although not every team has done this (additional examples here, here, and here). The Nats chose to use their own font with the numbers trimmed in blue and gray, which I find to be an unsatisfying middle ground. By trying to have it both ways, they ended up with neither.
Uni Watch News Ticker: “This site has a ton of photos from the Arizona Fall League (especially from 2002),” writes Steve Delaney. “One of the most interesting finds is this — that’s Jerry Hairston of the Orioles throwing and Alfonso Soriano of the (at the time) Yankees on the right. Looks like a Little League World Series game.” … UMKC is having a logo-redesign contest. … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Best shot I’ve ever seen of Pete Maravich’s “Pistol” NOB. … A new book about goalie masks, called Saving Face, will be published this September by Wiley. The editor sent me some sample spreads, which you can see here. These pages are v-e-r-y preliminary — the text and layout will probably change significantly in the finished product — but they at least provide a sense of what the book will be like. … Jon Helf, who runs the awesome Fleer Sticker Project blog, checks in with another Pilots-related post: “Some of the late-’60s Fleer issues had different colors and styles from what the Pilots ultimately used in their intial season. You can see what I’m talking about here.” … Good article here about George Sherrill and his flat-brimmed cap. … Man, I wish I could’ve been in Seattle for this bowling alley auction. … Minnesota’s new football uniforms, unveiled yesterday, look like this, and holy shit do I hate that pants-striping treatment. No rear-view photo yet, but you can see that the stripe does a butt-cheek wraparound, which is bad news. Idiotic piping on the jersey, too. Piece o’. … And here’s the latest on Hawaii’s new uniforms. Not great, but I’m always in favor of more green, and their look has always been somewhat cartoon-ish, so it’s hard to get worked up one way or the other (with thanks to Jeff Osbun). … While searching for something else on YouTube, I came across the classic old Warner Bros. cartoon Dog Gone South, which I hadn’t seen in probably 20 years. I’d forgotten that at one point Belvedere finds himself wearing a Yankees jersey (yes, it’s in inaccurate, but hey, artistic license and all that). … “Great stirrups being worn by St. Helens High in Oregon,” writes Travis McGuire. “But what’s up with that mound?” … Attention, Jeremy Brahm: Steven Wyder spotted this on eBay. Can you offer any insights regarding its provenance? … Helmet logo problems last night for Kosuke Fukudome (with thanks to Cara Morefield). … “I was watching How I Met Your Mother from last Monday,” writes Mike Rich, “and noticed Ted (played by Josh Radner) wearing a bizarre T-shirt with a Cleveland Indians logo surrounded by a Cincinnati Reds logo. There was also a logo on his left sleeve, but they never showed a clear view.” … Several amazing new contributions from northwest baseball historian Dave Eskenazi: The first two are of the Vancouver Beavers, circa 1918. Nice, right? But the real prize is this shot of the 1938 Vancouver Maple Leafs. Man, is that totally gorgeous or what? “The players probably hated it, especially the veterans,” says Dave. … New member of the stirrups club: Matt Kemp. … The NHL’s great front-office coordination strikes again.
April 24th, 2008
It remains one of the sports world’s enduring mysteries: Every year the NFL selects the best players at each position, gathers them together for an all-star game in Honolulu, and then humiliates them by dressing them in the most god-awful uniforms imaginable. I’m not gonna bother going over every unsightly detail of this year’s design, because it’s pointless — every new Pro Bowl uniform is the worst ever, until the next one is unveiled. It’s almost like the league is saying, “Yeah, okay, so you get your free trip to Hawaii, you get to party with hula girls, you get to drink piña coladas out of a coconut shell, but don’t think you’re gonna get out of this without paying a certain price.”
As you know, medical research has concluded that only 17 people on the planet have the gene required to watch the entire Pro Bowl without falling asleep (and five of them, perversely, are African tribesmen who don’t own television sets), so there’s a good chance you missed at least a few of Sunday’s more noteworthy details. Here’s a quick guide:
• By far the most significant development — and I haven’t seen anyone else mention this, boys and girls, either in the comments section or in e-mails to me — is that all the players were wearing a new pants design, with added seams and panels on the rear thigh (here’s the AFC version), kind of like a football version of MLB’s Cool Base jersey gussets. I’m not sure if this was for added flexibility, ventilation, or both, but man did it look like shit. Let’s hope this wasn’t a test drive for league-wide implementation next season.
• As many of you are already aware, Derek Anderson had quite a little adventure with his jersey patches. A few days prior to the game, he was photographed with his left shoulder patch upside-down. On game day it was fixed (or, more likely, he’d just switched to a different jersey) but now the patch on his right shoulder was askew. Not only that, but compare that last photo, which shows the facemask pointing down roughly to five o’clock, to this shot, which appears to show the facemask oriented more toward four o’clock. Just how many defective jerseys did Anderson wear in one week? (Big thanks to Dominic Atencio and John Boris for the screen grabs.)
• The Chargers’ official lightning bolt logo use to be white outlined in gold, but this season it was changed gold outlined in light blue and navy. So why were all the San Diego players in the game wearing the now-defunct white logo on their shoulders? Interestingly, the jerseys for sale at NFL.com got it right.
• Terrell Owens wore at least two different pairs of cleats: white trimmed with blue and silver (plus, as Nick Hanson notes, he also wore a cross necklace).
• Speaking of cleats, look what Tony Romo was wearing.
• That’s quite a pustule Peyton Manning had on his knee.
• No photo, but Osi Umenyiora still had the Super Bowl XLII decal on the back of his helmet. Anyone notice if the Patriots players had it too?
• The new NFL logo finally made its on-field debut, on the MVP trophy (although it looks like they used the old logo here). And it’s good to see that Adrian Peterson’s uni number gets gunked up in the Pro Bowl, just like in a regular game.
• And that’s finally that.
Next year, let’s have some throwbacks, shall we?
Uni Watch News Ticker: Check out who’s wearing striped socks — the astronauts who are currently up in space (with thanks to Rob B). … A nice selection of Karl Ehrhardt’s sign work is shown in this video clip (a forwarded by Matt Edwards). … Got an on-site query yesterday morning from Ryan Perkins, as follows: “I’m in a restaurant in Jackson, Mississipi, sitting by a huge picture of Kent Hull (who was from Greenwood, Mississippi). I can clearly read ‘Wet Rat’ printed on the tongue of each side of his Reebok Pumps. Did some Googling and found nothing. Any idea if this was on all the pumps or if this was custom-done for Hull? And either way, what did it mean?” Anyone..? … Wake Forest was wearing new kicks on Saturday. Lots of interesting details on these sneakers, including a very subtle Skip Prosser memorial — for the full scoop, check out this page, written by Uni Watch charter member Zach Smith. … Northern Kentucky’s women’s hoops team will be wearing 1970s throwbacks this Saturday. Full details here (with thanks to Steve Hensley). … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Lots of coverage here about Rick Pitino changing suits in the middle of a game the other day. … The Aussie rugby team sure looks sharp — yes, even with that little purple ribbon on the guy’s leg. Anyone know what that’s for? … Good interview here with the principals of Plan B Branding, the San Diego-based design firm that’s responsible for a lot of current minor league uni designs (with thanks to Greg Victor). … The Staten Island Yankees have unveiled a new logo for every day of the week. Okay, not quite, but almost. “Looks like a cartoon version of the classic Yankee stuff,” says Tyler Kepner. “I’d actually like the block SINY thing, if it were for a sleeve patch and not a cap logo. Also: A short-season class A team with FIVE cap styles? That’s a little much, no?” Indeed. … Reprinted from last night’s comments: Fascinating college hoops game recently, featuring Grand Valley wearing throwbacks against Northern Michigan, whose jerseys have no lettering — just huge uni numbers fore and aft (and those aren’t throwbacks — those are their regular unis!). … Seth Horowitz spotted this at a Yankees game last year. … Doug Keklak reports that Penguins fantasy camper get to wear the team’s original scarf-clad penguin (although the color scheme is an odd choice).
February 12th, 2008
By Vince Grzegorek
About a week ago, I wrote a blog for my humble little alternative weekly in Cleveland about why no reasonable fan should care that LeBron’s new Nike kicks are inspired by the Bronx Bombers. Even after the flak Bron Bron caught for wearing a Yankees cap at Jacobs Progressive Field during the Indians’ divisional series against the Yankees, I didn’t think the new shoes, replete with pinstripes, would be such a big deal. At least, I didn’t think they should be.
Of course, as the days went by and news from the blogs reached those who write for our daily newspapers, and those who produce our local daily news shows, James’s new shoes became quite the story yesterday. Locally, the Plain Dealer dedicated almost a full page of the sports section to comments received about the footwear (check out the full list of the “eloquent” comments here). Nationally, the story got play on SportsCenter, and the boys at PTI debated whether LeBron has taken his love of all things pinstriped too far, ultimately declaring that the King should have reigned in that love a little bit. [Sounds like a slow news day to me. — PL]
My take: Ideally, we’d all like our hometown athletes to be beacons of our city in all regards. So it would be great if LeBron was a rep for the Indians, Browns, Lake Erie Monsters, and even the new Cleveland Gladiators. Hell, he should be out pimping the Cleveland Orchestra and the Cleveland Museum of Art too! Instead, LeBron parties with Jay-Z in Vegas, Tom Brady wears a Yankees hat, and Paul Pierce shows his support for the New York Giants.
Still, I think LeBron’s new shoe is nothing to get upset about. In fact, LeBron and Nike have made many shoes together. There’s an entire site dedicated to his shoes. And that’s where I found that Nike and LeBron have also made an OSU style shoe. As you can read here, that doesn’t mean James is heading off to OSU after this year to play for Thad Matta. It doesn’t mean he’s slighting his hometown Akron Zips in any way. In fact, Nike and LeBron made another shoe that has a map of Akron on the sole!
LeBron is at the point of his career where his role as a Nike-sponsored businessman is fast approaching or surpassing his role as basketball player. He’s made no secret of his desire to be a billionaire, and if he’s going to get there, Nike will play a big role in that, which means this is hardly the last set of sneakers they’ll collaborate on. Would I prefer that LeBron didn’t love the Yankees and instead made a shoe based on the Tribe? Sure. But the sad truth is that our athletes owe us nothing outside of the sports they play. I’m in no mood to watch the Cavs cross their fingers over some ping pong balls in the lottery, so I want LeBron here, no matter whose baseball cap or shoes he’s wearing.
Research Request: Paul here. Many, many people over the years have told me about the time the Patriots held a logo “election” during halftime of a game back around the late ’80s, when Pat Patriot was still the man. They supposedly had one guy dressed up as Pat, someone else dressed up as a proposed newfangled spokescharacter (not Flying Elvis), paraded them both around the field, and had the fans vote by applauding. Or maybe they had giant cardboard cutouts of the two logos, instead of live actors (I’ve heard the story told both ways). Either way, the new logo was booed off the field.
I’ve heard this story enough times to believe that it’s true. Only problem is that nobody has ever provided a photo of the losing logo. If anyone can provide any visuals on this, please get in touch. Thanks.
While we’re at it: Another prototype that I’ve often heard about but never seen is the new Chiefs helmet that a play-by-play man supposedly held up in front the camera during a game about 20 years ago. If you’ve got it, let’s see it!
Uni Watch News Ticker: Good article here about how the Chargers’ equipment manager tried to prepare for the cold weather in Foxboro (with thanks to Eric Stangel). … The Sean Taylor mourn-athon continues. … Check out the third “news” item at Thebrushback.com (good find by Mike Nachreiner). … A set of 1936 White Sox pants — plus the accompanying belt! — were just up for sale on eBay (with thanks to Jason Libes). … Check out the collar on the guy on the right in this shot. “Looks like Count Chocula,” opines Greg Riffenburgh. … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: The Dallas Stars are wearing an “MM” decal on their helmets and backplates in memory of front office employee Matt McKee, who died of cancer last week. … Marc Rabinowitz was watching a replay of the 1996 NHL All-Star Game and noticed that John Vanbiesbrouck’s mask-mounted camera was actually painted to match his mask. … As many of you are already aware, the NBA All-Star Game uniforms will look like this and this. Definitely looks like one of those designs that can’t be properly assessed via an illustration — I’ll reserve judgment until I see some photographs Ah, screw it, let’s just beat the rush and start hating them now. … Meanwhile, the Chinese Basketball Association recently had its own all-star game (with thanks to Jeremy Brahm). … This just in: All players in the Pro Bowl will wear Sean Taylor’s No. 21, plus the competition committee will consider a proposal to have the entire league wear No. 21 next season, and the American flag will be redesigned to have 21 stars and 21 stripes. … Speaking of memorial gestures, I know everyone’s upset about Heath Ledger, but these brokeback moments are getting out of hand. … Awesome audio slideshow here about a 1952 game in which the Harlem Globetrotters suffered a rare loss — at the hands of a sleeve-clad Seattle Chieftains team (spectacular find by Sam Wasson). … Speaking of the Chieftains, we’ve all seen football jerseys with crotch extensions, but I’d never seen one on a basketball jersey until Warren Humphrey showed me this page — scroll down to the bottom for the horrible truth, then check out the rest of the pics for lots of sleeve-o-rama action. … Really interesting high schhool football helmet discovered by Jimmy Neilly. “The team is the Mount Diablo Red Devils,” he writes. “Two of the three prongs of a pitchfork are wrapped around the sides of the helmet, and then the middle prong is used as their helmet stripe.”
January 24th, 2008
SI.com’s photo galleries are usually pretty good, but their current “Greatest College Football Players by Number” rundown offers a particularly rich lode of uni-related details. Here’s a rundown (several of which were also spotted by various readers over the past few days):
• I had completely forgotten about Texas A&M’s shoulder stripes.
• Was there a particular reason Oklahoma State was wearing a huge shoulder flag?
• I don’t think I’ve ever seen such small or high-positioned uni numbers as Iowa was wearing in the late 1930s. Also, note how the knee pads appear to be poking out below the pant cuffs.
• I’ve mentioned Ohio State’s big-ass TV numbers before, it’s always worth another look, just for the “Holy shit!” factor.
• Love this shot of Doak Walker wearing an all-star uni.
• Think monochromatic uniforms are a modern phenomenon? Then check out this old shot of Syracuse wearing solid orange. Plus note that the helmet stripes don’t match, and dig Jim Brown’s Lucite facemask.
• What’s the deal with Dick Butkus’s helmet stars? Were these early merit decals?
• I had no idea that Nebraska had worn this number typeface in the early ’60s.
• Check out Greg Roberts’s helmet — looks like a cross between the Willie Lanier style and the ProCap. Anyone know more?
• I love how football photos from the 1920s always seem to feature lots of little patches and rivets on the pants, like in this shot of Bronko Nagurski.
• Look at this shot of Buck Buchanan. Looks like he’s got “Bell” written on his elbow pad. At first I thought maybe this was a makeshift memorial for former commish Bert Bell, but he died in 1959, when Buchanan was still in college. Can anyone shed any light on this?
• Dig the stripes on Jim Seymour’s shoes — pretty cool. Also, it’s tough to say for sure, but it looks like the official may be wearing two-tone (i.e., non-striped) socks.
Too bad the gallery stops at uni No. 99 — they could easily have included an entry for Chuck Kinder, who wore No. 100 for WVU in 1963, to mark the 100th anniversary of West Virginia’s statehood.
We Can’t Make This Stuff Up: My ESPN.com colleague Patrick Hruby is looking to get his hands on a giant ear costume (something like this) as soon as possible. If anyone has any idea where to find such an item, please let me know, post-haste.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Yesterday’s item about the guy with the Patriots logo tattooed on his head led Jon Smith to send along this photo, taken in 2006. That’s Jon on the left, posing with what he describes as “the ultimate Chargers fan.” He says there’s a matching bolt on the other side of the guy’s head. Wonder how he felt when the team changed its bolt design last spring. … According to this item UGA’s black jerseys have helped the school’s recruiting efforts (with thanks to Greg Riffenburgh). … Did you know that American-style football is played in Italy? I didn’t, until Travis McGuire sent me this photo from the Italian Super bowl. Not sure what the temperature was, but dig that ref in shorts! … Fun NOB find by Caleb Borchers, who notes that Richard Wigglesworth (of the Sale Sharks rugby club in Manchester) wears “W’Worth.” … Dude, you forgot your mouthguard (as spotted by Glenn Chamberlain). … Several Canadiens and Black Hawks old-timers were honored before last night’s Habs/Hawks game. Happily, the oldsters got to wear CCM jerseys, not newfangled Reebok models. … Maryland wore yellow alts last night (thanks to Bryan Duklewski for the screen grab). … Remember yesterday’s Ticker item about basketball gloves? Turns out that idea was first floated (and presumably sank) way back in 1991, as you can see toward the bottom of this page (great find by Matt Shevin). … Just as I was about to post today’s entry, this query came in from Matt Weber: “Recently a friend told me that Arizona State’s football team wore gold jerseys for one game vs. University of Arizona, a game that they lost. I believe it was in 1989. However I can’t find any pics of these jerseys. My friend said that since ASU lost that game, they would never wear gold jerseys again.” Can anyone confirm and/or provide more info? … Every now and then it’s good to remind people that I don’t just write about uniforms.
January 9th, 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
Got a note the other day from reader Chris Hurley, who describes himself as a lifelong Indiana University basketball fan and appears to have discovered an interesting detail on the team’s footwear. Here’s the scoop, in his own words:
Some of Indiana’s players wear what appears to be adidas’s “Lightspeed” line of shoes (mostly white with some red accents), and these players seem to have a replication of Indiana national championship banners on the inside of the right heel.
I first noticed it when I was reading the most recent copy of Sports Illustrated, which has a shot from the Indiana/Kentucky game from 12/8/07. If you look at Lance Stemler’s shoe here, you can see what looks like a rectangle with one side as an arrow pointing down.
Although the shape isn’t an exact replica of the banners they have hanging in Assembly Hall, it does match the oft-seen composite banner of the five championships.
I’ve never seen a college team commemorate its championships like this, but I’m pretty sure that’s what’s on the white shoes. In contrast, the players who wear the all-red adidas shoes do not appear to have a similar image.
I’ve never seen anything like this either, but then I’m neither a sneakerhead nor a particularly big college hoops fan, so I may be behind the curve on this one. In any case, I contacted Indiana’s athletic department, where media relations director J.D. Campbell confirmed that the graphic on the white sneakers is indeed the composite banner that Chris was referring to, and that the sneaker design was just introduced for this season.
Of course, the graphic on the sneaker isn’t an exact match of the banner. Just to refresh your memory, the banner design is here — and here’s a close-up of the sneaker. As you can see, there are several differences, but I trust you can all guess which one I find most interesting.
Research Project: I’m looking to compile a list of interesting memorial patches (or memorial decals, or other memorial gestures). No simple black armbands or anything routine like that — I’m looking for things that were more inspired. Historical examples are good, too. All contributions welcome here.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Fun article here about old NASL jerseys (with thanks to Joseph Spak). … Speaking of NASL jerseys, there’s a good site devoted to them here (as found by Harry Roth). … Good query from Bernie Langer, who writes: “The Phillies just signed free agent Chad Durbin. Since they already have J.D. Durbin on the team, this probably means a first initial on the back for Chad. But what about J.D.? One initial or two?” Hmmmmm. … Meanwhile, Steve Francis notes that brothers Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn, who play for the Canadiens, are both initial-free. … The Rams retired Marshall Faulk’s jersey last night. Unfortunately, he chose purple neckwear for the occasion. … Ryan Burns sent along this shot of Donnie Baseball. “My best guess is it’s the 1984 International League all-star game,” he says. Anyone know more about it? … All this speculation about the Browns supposedly getting new unis next year (occasioned by a Kellen Winslow interview in Penthouse, which I’d say are a source and a venue of roughly equal repute) is getting out of hand. It’s all bullshit — the Brownies got new unis last season, which means they’re locked into their current design for at least three more years. But since we have a Clevelander on the non-payroll: Hey, Vince, could you please get an official comment from the team? … Great view here of the differing sleeve stripe treatments worn by the Redskins’ two QBs (thanks, Bryan). … Here’s something you don’t see every day: Ben Wallace wearing Zeljko Rebraca’s warm-ups (good find by Doug Mooney). … Think logo creep is inevitable? Then check out this article about a store specializing in unbranded, label-free products. … Latest installment of Joe Skiba’s video series, devoted to cold-weather preparations, is available on the Giants home page. … There’s a bit of a controversy about Roberto Luongo’s pads. … Here’s a first: The Grizzlies are going to wear a patch on their warm-ups in support of their mascot actor, who’s out with lymphoma. Details toward the end of this page (with thanks to Jon McKay). … If you need a last-minute Xmas gift idea, you could do a lot worse than this.
Holiday Schedule: We’ll have our usual weekend discussion sessions, and an open disucssion on Christmas Day as well (mainly so all the Jewish readers can post comments about movies and Chinese food). Not sure yet about Monday — might post a regular entry, might just toss up a discussion photo, depending on how my weekend goes. Either way, regular content will definitely resume on the 26th. Okay? Okay!
December 21st, 2007
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