By Phil Hecken, with Rick Pearson and Tim Brulia (with photo assistance from Larry Bodnovich)
The Big Game is today, or the Super Bowl, as most of us call it. Which means, it’s time to take a look back at the uniforms of the two combatants in today’s contest: the Indianapolis (nee Baltimore) Colts and the New Orleans Saints. Now wait, you’re about to say, “Didn’t Paul already do that on ESPN.com this past Thursday?” Well, yes he did, and a splendid job he did. But, having enlisted the aid of uniform historian Tim Brulia, the original Uni Watcher himself, Rick Pearson, and with several photos provided by Larry Bodnovich we’re going to take a much more in-depth look at just how closely the uniforms the two teams playing today resemble those of their predecessors, and how what they’re wearing today came to be.
Tim, as usual, has provided us with the parameters, studiously denoting all the minor (and major) changes of the teams throughout the years, while Ricko will handle the finer points of the uniform progressions. Since the New Orleans Saints are the new kids on the block, playing in their first Super Bowl (and the “younger” team in terms of service time), as well as the “designated road team” and decided underdog, we’ll take a look at them first, followed by the Colts. Let’s go!
The New Orleans Saints entered the NFL in the 1967 expansion, playing in Tulane Stadium until their current home, the Superdome, was constructed for the 1975 season. Frequently the laughing stock of the league, the Saints often sported horrible teams and frequently had fans showing up wearing bags over their heads. Frequently referred to as “The ‘Aints”, they were born wearing black and gold, and a design which has remained remarkably unchanged since it’s inception. But changes have been made over the years, often what we refer to as “tweaks” rather than wholesale revamps. Let’s see where they began, and how they got to today. Ricko and Timmy present this wonderful timeline:
1975: Added black V neck to white jersey, TV’s moved to sleeves, sleeve stripes narrower, gold outlined added to numbers. Black jersey added a gold V neck and gold outline to the numbers. Gold pants ditched for white pants with black/gold/black stripes. Socks black with stripes like the stripes on black jersey.
2000:Helmet logo noticeably smaller, with white/gold/black outline. Same outline adopted for white jersey sleeve logo. Gold pants worn with both black and white jerseys.
From there, the Dayton Triangles relocated to Brooklyn and were renamed the “Dodgers” in 1930, (here, the Dodgers are playing the Giants in 1938) and changed the name to “Brooklyn Tigers” in 1944. In the same year, the Boston Yanks are founded. A wartime “casualty,” the Tigers merged with the Yanks in 1945 and were simply known as “The Yanks” (the Yanks player is shown at left). The franchise was cancelled in 1945 by league and the team’s “temporary” merger with the Boston Yanks was made permanent.
Meanwhile, a new league (the AAFC) formed and created the “New York Yankees,” which was founded by the Tigers’ former owner. Another team in the newly formed AAFC, the “Miami Seahawks,” were purchased and relocated to Baltimore and renamed the “Colts” (whose original colors were green and silver). This franchise was dissolved by the league on January 18, 1951. The Colts were gone, but not for long.
Back in the NFL, the Boston Yanks would relocate to New York in 1949, becoming “New York Yanks” (interestingly, they absorbed much of the AAFC Yankees’ roster the next year). Those New York Yanks, much like the Yankees, Dodgers and Tigers were unable to compete with the New York Football Giants, and moved to Dallas in 1952 where they were renamed the “Dallas Texans.” The Texans’ colors were blue and white. Unfortunately, the Texans found themselves without a stadium in which to play, about halfway through the 1952 season, and were dissolved shortly thereafter. Here’s a great shot of the Texans versus the 49ers from 1952.
What had been the “Dallas Texans” franchise (not to be confused with the later, original AFL Texans) was moved to Baltimore on January 23, 1953. The Texans couldn’t really keep that nickname upon moving to Baltimore, so they adopted the “Colts” nickname, and kept the Texans team colors of blue and white. Thus began the current Colts’ 30 year run in Baltimore, which, as we all know, ended badly. The Colts would relocate to their current home in Indianapolis in 1984, and continue playing there to this day. Now, let’s take a look at the Colts (1953-present) uniform timeline.
1953: The Colts started out with a white helmet with criss-cross blue stripes. After one game, they took the criss stripe off. They also wore a plain blue helmet for a day game and a couple of night games. The jerseys were rather generic; white had blue front/back numerals with blue NW sleeve stripes, while the blue jersey had white front/back numerals with white NW stripes. The Colts also wore for night games a plain RED jersey! Pants were white with a thin white stripe down the sides. Socks were solid blue.
1958: Interesting program produced by the 49ers depicting the Colts wearing a combination (blue/purple helmet with gold shoulder loops) that never existed.
OK, everyone. Hope you enjoyed this “little” lookback on how the Colts and the Saints got to where they are today, uniform wise. Now, when you attend your Super Bowl parties, you can show off your intimate knowledge of the teams — and don’t be surprised if everyone looks at you a little differently when you do.
Thanks again to Timmy, Ricko & Larry for their assistance with this monumental undertaking.
~~~~~~~~~~
In probably the worst kept secret in alternate jersey releases in baseball, the Tampa Bay Rays have officially offered for sale their new alternate powder blue jersey. Of course, there has been no actual official announcement yet, but it will be coming. After earlier unveiling their powder blue BP cap, (they will have both a navy and a powder blue BP cap this year), speculation quickly followed that they’d be introducing a powder blue alternate.
Is is good or stupid? Well, it’s not a bad color, but it’s unnecessary. It is my firm belief that a powder blue alternate will only look good if it’s paired powder blue pants. Now, before you dismiss the idea out of hand, here’s how that would look on the field of play. Not so bad, right?
See, I’m not ONLY a white at home/gray on road kinda guy — I just hate the softball look. There were some powder blue teams whose looks I rather enjoyed. I grew up when powder blues were not necessarily the “norm,” but they weren’t foreign either. Of course, back then, stirrups were worn and unis were properly fitted — now…they’d probably wear the powder blues like the Jays and I’d hate it. So maybe it’s best if they just keep the alt and wear it never rarely.
~~~~~~~~~~
In honor of the Saints making the Super Bowl, or maybe just because it’s on the schedule, last eveing the New Orleans Hornets broke out their special purple Mardi Gras uniforms.
We won’t rehash all that here (although, feel free to comment), as Paul has done an outstanding job covering all the ins and outs of the design and thought process that went into the unis. Personally, while I love the concept and the execution, the “two tone” nature of the uniform offends my OCD. I “get” why they’re green, gold and purple. I understand the colors and accoutrements and the beads and masks and costumes and general licentiousness and drunken debauchery that goes into all these uniforms stand for. I really do.
I just don’t like two three-toned uniforms. I can overlook this, because of the spirit of the holiday, however. But just how awesome would the uni still have been if they just went with one color or the other?
What is it they say about an irresistable force and an immovable object? Here’s Rick:
Super Bowl Sunday. A perfect time to be reminded that, when it comes to its unfortunate conclusion, a wardrobe malfunction can make you feel like…well, like a real boob.
Here’s your full-color, Super Bowl sponsored, Sunday Benchies.
~~~~~~~~~~
Guess The Game From The Scoreboard: Today we have a ‘guest’ scoreboard being brought to us by reader Chris Rocco. While the location may be familiar, the clues are all right there in the picture itself. Ready? Guess The Game From The Scoreboard. Date, location and final score, please, and be sure to link to your answer. And, as always, if you enjoy the game, please send me some new scoreboards! Drop me a line. Thanks!
~~~~~~~~~~
As if you needed another reason to watch the Super Bowl, now you do:
As you all know (or should), the Who will be performing the halftime show. In the comments below, the first person to correctly name each song in the correct order the Who play today will win a prize. So, make sure you post your guesses — if someone has already made a guess — be sure to post a different one, ok? Remember, it’s the first person who identifies EACH song played and in the EXACT order.
I have a whole bunch of uni-related materials lying about the place, and I’m itching to give something away (the prize is as yet undetermined). So, take a guess, and maybe you’ll walk away with something cool. Or not. But you gotta be in it to win it.
~~~~~~~~~~
Back again with more Uniform Tweaks, Concepts and Revisions today. Taking a look at all sports from here on out, so, if you have a tweak, change or concept for any sport, send them my way.
~~~
First up is Tom Dempsey(!) who was inspired by the Pro Bowl piece last Sunday, with some Pro Bowl unis:
Hey there,
I was inspired by your column about the Pro Bowl unis and decided to give them a shot. Both have the conferences primary colors with the contrasting color as the secondary, so the game would be color on color. I also added some gold piping to represent the special meaning of being chosen to play in the pro bowl. On the pants, the colors are reversed for each team.
Hope you enjoy,
Tom
~~~
Next up is James Comfort, who has some revisions for the Packers, Bills and Panthers:
For my first batch of uni tweaks i started with my favorite team, the Packers. Their uniform is, in my opinion, the best in the league. But I’ve always wondered what it would like like with metallic gold. Home. Road.
Next to tackle the second worst uni in the NFL – the Bills. I went with a modern uni, but still very clean and free of bumper stickers. Home. Road. Alternate.
Then the Panthers, whose uniforms are very nice, but just nice. And they’ve remained unchanged for a long time. Not a big fan of the silver, so I took it out. The NFL needs a team with a powder blue helmet. Home. Road. Alternate.
Much more where that came from, including a makeover for the Browns and Bengals, as well as a new and different approach to the Cowboys. Stay tuned!
-James Comfort
Moving along, we have some MLB tweaks from Dennis (from Philly, and who would prefer I don’t use his last name), who has taken on your National League Champion Philadelphia Phillies:
Hello — long time reader, first time contributor. I have a few issues with the uniforms of my beloved Philadelphia Phillies, so I decided to go ahead and give my best shot at a slight alteration. Specifically, my two biggest gripes are the cartoonish NOB/number font and the number on the sleeve. I started out by creating a uniform set using the current team colors, changing the font back to the Helvetica style font used in those Vet-era uniforms (with vertical arching for the name) and moving the sleeve number to the front of the jersey. To replace the sleeve number, I added a Liberty Bell patch to the left sleeve. I’m a fan of the Phils’ current alternate unis, especially their use of blue, so I incorporated the color more than it’s used now. The alternate jersey bears a passing resemblance to the current alt and uses the same cap, but is white instead of cream and has some piping. I also made a fauxback alternate with the ‘P’ on the chest, in the current colors and outlined by blue (and sans pinstripes). One of the options is a white cap with a red bill and red piping (worn in the early 20th century), giving this uniform facets of those worn throughout the Phillies’ history.
I also think red (and to a lesser extent, blue) is overused in MLB. The old maroon uniforms worn in the 70s and 80s give the team a good opportunity to break away from this mold and claim a unique color combo, so I tried to envision what a modern take would look like. I also think the maroon went well with the power blue uniforms worn during that period, so I used this as an accent color in my mockups. The NOB and numbers are outlined in powder blue, and the color is used on the sleeve and sock stripes. The alternate features even more powder blue and the white hat with maroon accents. Lastly, I made a vest design based on the 70s/80s Phillies jersey with maroon sleeves and a dash of powder blue. This is the most ‘out there’ of my designs, but I think it works for an occasional game or two.
-Dennis from Philly
PS- I apologize if the color or design elements are off when you open the file – I made these in MS Paint and it is my first time doing something like this. If you do decide to use this, please only use my first name. Thanks, and I hope you like it!
~~~
That will conclude this round. Already, I have more for next weekend, so keep them coming. You know where to send them. Thanks!
~~~~~~~~~~
*PHEW*
That’s (finally) going to end this Super Sized Super Bowl piece. After going a stellar 7-3 (which would have been 8-2 had I picked the ‘boys over the Iggles) by “picking the winner based on the better uniform,” I will have to pick the Colts to win today. As of late last evening, the spread was 5 points. So, giving the five, we’ll take the Colts to win. Be nice to close out the season with another “uni win.”
Don’t forget to post your “What will the Who play?” guess down below. Just pick the songs, in the ORDER THEY PLAY them, and you’re good to go. OK? OK!
Oh, yeah. There’s still the matter of a game. So — enjoy the big one today. Cheers!
The Pro Bowl (tonight, 7:20pm EST, ESPN) hasn’t always sucked. But now it does, and even the most avid of Uni Watchers will be hard pressed to call this event a “must see.”
If you actually care to watch, today (tonight actually) the 2010 NFL Pro Bowl takes place in Hawaii…er, Miami, the site of next week’s Super Bowl XLIV. Seeking to fix what was broken, but for all the wrong reasons, the NFL has decided this year to play their year-end spectacular before the Super Bowl, and on the mainland. At least when the NFL played the game in Hawaii, the players viewed it as a joke with a nice vacation thrown in. Now? It’s just a joke. There must be some connection between the declining quality of the game itself and the uniforms, right?
This year, it’s even worse — and I’m not going to go on a rant here — but good lord, moving the game to pre-Super Bowl, to try to generate some excitement, has actually worked to the game’s disadvantage. You see, none of next weekend’s Super Bowl combatants are allowed to play in tonight’s game — which makes sense — but it means that, automatically, the following players are eliminated: (from the Colts): Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, Jeff Saturday, Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis, and Antoine Bethea; (from the Saints): Drew Brees, Jonathan Stinchcomb, Jahri Evans, Jonathan Goodwin, Jonathan Vilma, Darren Sharper, and Roman Harper. So, right off the bat, that’s 14 players, including BOTH Peyton Manning and Drew Brees, who were selected to be the starting quarterbacks. That means we’re left with a matchup of Matt Schaub and Aaron Rodgers.
Add in the following guys who won’t play “due to injury” (Philip Rivers, Chargers; Tom Brady, Patriots; Wes Welker, Patriots; Jake Long, Dolphins; Brian Cushing, Texans; Jairus Byrd, Bills; Nate Kaeding, Chargers; Brett Favre, Vikings; Steven Jackson, Rams; Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals; Sidney Rice, Vikings; Andre Gurode, Cowboys; Kevin Williams, Vikings; Lance Briggs, Bears; Charles Woodson, Packers; Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Cardinals; and Patrick Willis, 49ers.) That’s 17 more. So, of the players selected to the Pro Bowl in 2010, fans won’t get to see 31 of them. Yeah, that seems like a good deal. If you’re still interested, here’s the full roster. Now, traditionally, lots of players somehow found themselves “injured” and unable to play, but they still enjoyed their Hawai’ian vacation. But there were never THIS many players selected to play in the game who will not. Good move, NFL.
But it wasn’t always that way. Although it has now become the least consequential and likely least watched “all star game” of the major sports (and maybe even hockey, too), the Pro Bowl has actually been played, in one form or another, for decades — beginning with “all star games” first staged in 1939, between the NFL champion and a team of all-stars compiled from the other teams. From 1939 through 1942 (when WW II took it’s toll on the players and the game), the New York Giants, Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears (twice) and the Washington Redskins all took turns scrammaging against the best of the rest.
The first true Pro Bowl took place on January 14, 1951, when stars from the NFL’s National and American Conferences faced off against each other. Accounts of what the players wore during the game are sketchy, however, it was likely blue (for the Nationals) and red (for the Americans). It was certain that during this game the tradition of having the National Conference wear blue (helmets), while the American Conference wore red. Both teams wore dark uniforms (or, I should say, the game was “color vs. color”). Another game would be held in 1952, and according to the game program, it was color on color again, with the National Conference wearing blue and the American Conference wearing Red. The third Pro Bowl game was played in 1953, this time with the American Conference donning white jerseys. Although the program covers for 1952 and 1953 depict white helmets, each team appears to have worn the color of their respective conference (blue for National, red for American).
Beginning in 1954, and continuing until 1970, the NFL would divide the teams up into the “Eastern” and “Western” conferences (this followed NFL procol, which had changed the names from American and National after the 1953 season). For the most part, the NFL kept the teams in their red and blue color designations (including the helmets), although several years had the players donning gold helmets (which occurred from 1967 through 1970) and wearing the NFL decal on the sides — the East wore a red-white-red tri-stripe and the Western a similar blue-white-blue tri-stripe. Players brought their own game helmets to the game, which were then spray-painted and decorated for the contest. (For the 1970 game the helmets featured the 50 NFL logo, which celebrated the first 50 years of NFL football.)
When the AFL came into being in 1960, that league began playing All Star Games as well, beginning in 1962 and up until 1970. Following the merger of the two leagues for the 1971 season, one Pro Bowl for the entire league was once again played. We’ll take a look at the uniforms from 1971-2009 (and also, for today’s game) in a moment.
~~~
Wikipedia, the always trustworthy source, sums up the uniform designations thusly: “The teams are made of players from different NFL teams, so using their own uniforms would be too confusing. The players each wear the helmet of their team, but the home jerseys and pants are either a solid blue for the NFC or solid red for the AFC, while white jerseys with blue or red accents, respectively, for the away team. While it has been speculated that the color of Pro Bowl jerseys is determined by the winner of the Super Bowl, this is untrue.
“In the earliest years of the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl, the players did not wear their unique helmets, as they do now. The AFC All-Stars wore a solid red helmet with a white A on it, while the NFC players wore a solid white helmet with a blue N on it. The AFC’s red helmets were paired with white jerseys and red pants, while the NFC’s white helmets were paired with blue jerseys and white pants. Two players with the same number who are elected to the Pro Bowl can wear the same number for that game. [In the games early years], all players were required to wear different numbers, regardless of what jersey number they wore on their regular team. This changed … when players wore the jersey number on their regular team jersey, thus initially resulting in virtually every wide receiver on the field being numbered 80 or 81, a situation that, predictably, created significant confusion. Thus, it is recommended — although not required — that players use different jersey numbers, and generally when two players share a number, the less experienced one will wear a different number for the game.”
1998 would usher in a new set of uniforms for the Conferences, with the AFC being outfitted in a solid red jersey for the first time. If one doesn’t count the 1995-97 jerseys as “white,” the NFC wore white jerseys for the first time. These two jersey sets weren’t all that bad (aesthetically), although they did feature rounded, drop-shadow numbers for both teams. Those uniforms lasted for three years as well, from 1998-2000. This was Nike’s uniform set.
The NFL would begin it’s “two and done” run of uniforms in 2001-02, and these were lackluster at best. The AFC was outfitted in red fading to white jerseys (in a gradient pattern) with white pants. The NFC, on the other hand, wore white fading to blue jerseys (in the opposite gardient pattern) atop blue pants. These uniforms were so bad that very few photos exist on the Interwebs of them. Perhaps that’s for the best. Reebok manufactured these uniforms, and would continue to do so through today.
We conclude our tour of the Pro Bowl uniforms with last year’s gems, which will be worn again this year. In the final game (at least for the next few years) in Aloha Stadium, the NFC sported a predominantly blue getup, while the went with mostly white over white. However, the uniforms were not without little quirks: while the front side of both unis were solid blue or white (providing a splendid monochromatic appearance for the NFC), the back of the NFC uniform was white (leading to an odd white vs. white appearance from certain angles). The AFC, in mirror-like fashion, had mostly red backs. Both sets of jerseys were textured with stars and had an odd number font. Fortunately, we’ll be graced with these lovelies again in 2010.
That will end the lookback at the Pro Bowl uniforms of the past several decades. Certainly today neither they, nor the game, approach their former, um…greatness. So now, if you do choose to watch the game tonight, in it’s new and temporary home in South Florida (what’s the name of the Stadium now?), you can at least appreciate some of the tradition that has gone into (and the ‘innovation’ that has become) these uniforms.
I’d be remiss without pointing out that by far the best and most comprehensive site (and from which many of the photos in this article were borrowed) is mmbolding.com. If you want to read a description of every Pro Bowl (and All Star Game) ever played, that’s the spot. If you want to simply look at more pro bowl photos, several of which were not in this article and which are fully captioned check out the Flickr album I put together.
Of course, I would be ESPECIALLY REMISS if I didn’t include something from The Ricko Files today. The one and only Rick Pearson was all over the AFL All-Star Games in the early 1960s, producing his famous “Kid Cards” for the 1962 and 1963 All Star games. Note that, unlike the NFL, the AFL teams wore their own helmets for the first two AFL All Star Games (the AFL played their first all star game in 1962).
There is ONE good thing about the NFL moving the Pro Bowl to today — it means that after this exhibition is over, the football season is not. I guess by playing it tonight, the NFL hopes to keep the interest up and fill the void during the week off between the Conference Championships and the Super Bowl. And think of the Pro Bowl this way: you can watch ESPN all day long, after checking out the X-Games, you segue right into the Pro Bowl, and then back to the closing ceremonies of the games. Perfect day, right?
~~~~~~~~~~
Remember the “Reebok Pump”? Yeah, I don’t either. Here’s Rick:
Technology is wonderful, and some of it is classic, timeless, unforgettable. And the Internet makes all things possible, accessible. So we use it to find any little advantage we can.
Guess The Game From The Scoreboard: You’d think that in honor of the Pro Bowl being played today, I could find a scoreboard photo from a Pro Bowl game. You’d be wrong. So, you’ll just have to settle for the following instead. Ready? Guess The Game From The Scoreboard. Date, location and final score, please, and be sure to link to your answer. And, as always, if you enjoy the game, please send me some new scoreboards! Drop me a line. Thanks!
~~~~~~~~~~
Our next round of Uniform Tweaks, Concepts and Revisions is upon us again. We’ll be examining all sports now. So, if you have a tweak, change or concept for any sport, send them my way. Since most of you guys have been sending submissions for the Official NFL Jersey Tweaks Contest, (which is separate from the normal uniform tweaks section), it’s a smaller batch today. Remember, the deadline for the contest is February 1, (this Monday), so the contest WILL be closed down after that date.
~~~
Our first entrant today is Thad (who would prefer I don’t use his last name), and Thad has a couple tweaks for Da Bears:
Hello,
I’m a life-long Bears fan and love the uniforms but I have a couple tweaks that would make the set flow better.
I didn’t change anything on the navy jersey because it’s perfect. However, I adjusted everything else, though this set still looks like the Bears. The white pants now have an orange-blue-orange striping pattern, as do the stripes on the white jersey and socks. The navy pants now are white-orange-white.
While this doesn’t change too much on the home set (other than making the pants and jersey striping match if they ever go monochrome again), it makes the striping on the away set more uniform and makes it conform better to the rest of the look. It always bugged me that the stripes on the navy jersey are outlined, but the stripes on the white ones weren’t. If the Bears do the traditional monochrome on the away set, all the stripes match.
Thanks.
(And if you do use this, just refer to me as Thad.)
~~~
Next up is Ronnie Poore, who has some ideas for the N’awlins Saints:
I gave the Saints uni a bit of a tweak. Added a white divider stripe on the pants (never liked the Steelers style wide stripe). This makes the pants stripes match the helmet stripes. Also darkened the pants so the gold better matches the helmets. I’ve attached 2 images, one with plain socks, one with stripes…take your pick.
Ronnie Poore
~~~
Moving along, we have my new Deep Freeze buddy, Ben Traxel, who knows I’m an Islander fan and couldn’t resist mocking up a new logo, just for me:
That’s all for today. Today’s second submitter, Ronnie Poore also sent me a bunch more tweaks that we’ll get to in the next round. If you have any last minute submissions for the ‘win a jersey’ contest, again, tomorrow is the deadline. Keep the regular tweaks coming, though, since that part of the weekends will remain (as long as I have submissions). Send both your regular tweaks and your contest tweaks to me at the same address, but if you’re submitting something for the contest, please be sure to label the subject: “UNI WATCH NFL JERSEY DESIGN CONTEST.” Thanks!
~~~~~~~~~~
Meet Flat Tyler. Time for a little love for Ryan Connelly, who send me the following E-mail, which is pretty damn cool:
You guys have heard about “Flat Stanley,” a project kids do for school? They take pictures of this paper guy all over the place? A lady at work (Nancy), has a lady in her group that works in Denver. Well, the lady in Denver has a 6 year old grandson that had a “Flat Tyler” project. The kid’s name is Tyler, and the project (I think, I wasn’t paying ALL that much attention at the time) is to send Flat Tyler out to friends around the country and get pictures in various places. Nancy got it and knew I was going to the Penguins game last Tuesday (Malkin 3 goals, Crosby 6 pts), and asked me to take pics of Flat Tyler at the game. So I took it one step further for the little guy, and made him a little Penguins jersey. Took the image from this page.
I copied the image multiple times into an Excel spreadsheet, sized them down to Flat Tyler’s size, and printed them out. I cut the arms off of the first jersey image to use for the body, then cut the arms off of the other image so that I could angle them on to Tyler’s arms. Then I taped the jersey together and paper-clipped the jersey onto Flat Tyler, so that the real Tyler could take it off and on and do whatever the hell he wanted with it.
So there, quickie little DIY project I wanted to share. Enjoy the pics!
P.S. Those were NOT taken from my seats! I was a “a little” further up. HAHA
Thanks RyCo40…nice job for Tyler!
~~~~~~~~~~
This next section is a repeat from yesterday, so if you saw it then, you can feel free to skip it today. But if you didn’t, please give it a quick read. Thanks.
You may remember Kenny Ocker, the Uni Watcher who scored the fantastic interview with Casey Martin last month. Well, he’s back at the U of O and he needs your help. I’ll let Kenny explain:
Dear Uni Watch Community,
When I (The Hemogoblin/Kenny Ocker) am not on the internet, I’m a sophomore journalism major at the University of Oregon. This term, I have a class that requires me to write a 100-page research paper. My topic question is “Should cities, counties and states use public money to fund the construction and operation of sporting venues for private organizations as a way to stimulate the economy?” If any of you feel as if you have something to contribute to my topic, you can e-mail me at The Hemogoblin (at) G-mail (dot) com. I’m especially looking for people who I can interview and stories/documents that are relevant to stadium funding. (I know that you all are a relatively educated bunch on this topic, given the success of the “I’m Calling It Shea” t-shirts, and that you’re all dedicated sports fans.) Any insight on my topic would be fantastic. Also, this is why you all will hardly see me until I get through this term.
Thanks,
Kenny
No, thank you Kenny. What say you, fellow Uni Watchers, can you help a brother out?
~~~~~~~~~~
That’s all for today folks. I want to thank everyone for their nice comments on yesterday’s post — looks like there will be a uni stadia watch II down the pike. If anyone wants to assist me with a column on the old ball parks, I’d love to work with you (all but Parc Jarry & Exhibition Stadium, tho — I already have a co-conspirator on those). Give me a holler. In fact, if you have any ideas for a future column, let me know. RIP, JJ
Man, ya think the BCS logo decal on Alabama’s helmet last night was big enough? It was freakin’ huge. It looked smaller on the Texas helmets, but I think that’s because the decal had a thick white border that didn’t show up against the white Texas shell.
• Now that he’s won a title with Alabama, Nick Saban will coach the Longhorns. Okay, not really. That photo is from an old-timer’s event when he was with the Dolphins.
(Special thanks to Jon Beckmann, Michael Tucci, Jeremiah McElwain, Chris Smith, and Chad Todd for their screen shot and contributions.)
Help pay off my mortgage: Actually, I don’t have a mortgage, so change that to “Help me buy cat food.” Either way, the idea is that you should bid on these records I’m selling on eBay. Anyone who bids on the Frogs LP gets a free subscription to Honcho, no extra charge, whoop-whoop!
Uni Watch News Ticker: Nike has made new boots for Supercross champ James Stewart (with thanks to Sean Clancy). … This should make everyone’s day: mini helmet buggies! They’re from Tom Turner’s collection. … Killer exhibit of 50 vintage matchbooks here (with thanks to Jeremiah Allen). … Chad Bengal is planning to wear Chris Henry tribute gloves for the playoffs. … Hmmm, purple apparently causes spelling errors (with thanks to Travis McGuire. … Yesterday I asked if anyone knew about swimmers’ athletic supporters. “They were like regular athletic supporters except that the waistbands were very narrow, as were the leg holders, so as to be unobtrusive under a tight, short swimsuit,” explains Scott Dyche. “Not sure when men’s swimsuits started sewing in liners, which made these unnecessary.” … Love this 1935 Oklahoma semi-pro baseball team portrait (nice find by Jordan Guthmann). … The bird’s nest stadium in Beijing, originally used for the 2008 Summer Olympics, is now hosting a winter festival — nice (with thanks to Nathan Haas). … If the Cincy Bearcats can break out the white helmets, why not the Cincy Reds? (As forwarded by Liberty Bowman.) … BYU guard Jimmer Fredette wore a long-sleeve tee under his jersey on Weds. night, due to a body rash he’d developed as an allergic reaction to medication (with thanks to Bryan Bateman). … Also from Bryan: “The MWC has decided that its refs will wear grey shirts with thin black stripes on them for conference games this year.” You can see one of the refs in the background of this photo, and the new jerseys are described on the fifth page of this PDF. … The Hunstville Havoc — a minor league hockey team — will be wearing very tasteful jerseys to raise cash for the local ICU. “Believe it or not, those are more tasteful than the jerseys they wore last season for the same event,” says Stuart Greenlee. … New practice jersey patch — as if anyone really cares — for the Ravens (with thanks to Jack Krabbe). … If you watch this 1979 Redskins/Cardinals footage, you’ll see that the Cards were wearing a huge black sleeveband. “I’m guessing it was in memoriam for J.V. Cain, who had died of heart failure during training camp,” says Steve May. Of course, today’s NFL teams can’t wear sleevebands, because they no longer have sleeves. … Matt Holliday is switching uni numbers (with thanks to Patrick Karraker). … Here’s another high school hoops team with nothing but uni numbers on their jersey. “The team is the Hoopeston Area Cornjerkers,” says Joel Hackler. “The only thing to determine the school is the diamond on the pants with the letters ‘HAHS’ (Hoopeston Area High School).” … Hey look, it turns out there IS a good reason to watch the Pro Bowl: Look how Kris Jenkins introduced himself in the first few seconds of this clip (genius find by Andrew Wagner). … The man who designed Bucco Bruce, Lamar Sparkman, has passed away. … You know how NFL coaches have been wearing those idiotic shirts with the conference or division printed in some annoying way on the shirt? Reebok is now marketing an NHL version of the same concept (with thanks to TJ). … Scott Novosel has envisioned a set of Uni Watch trading cards. And while I never thought about it before, that would actually be pretty cool — just about any uni-related happening that we document here on the site could get its own card. Hmmmm. … Robert Marshall has really been outdoing himself lately. Check out this bobble — raised buttons on the jersey! Love the belt buckle, too. … Tyler Kepner has written a very good article about the Expos, and the first two grafs should appeal to all of us here.
Twenty years ago this month, the Eagles came up with one of my all-time favorite uniform remembrances. After quarterbacks coach Doug Scovil passed away on December 9th, they memorialized him by adorning their helmet wings with strips of black electrical tape, which they wore for the final three games of the regular season and their one playoff game.
I’ve always loved this gesture — simple, stark, effective, and it sort of looked like they’d “clipped their wings,” so to speak. I’ve seen plenty of photos of it, but I’d never seen video of it until a few days ago, when Phil stumbled upon this video clip (be sure to stick it out through the commercial break, which includes Mike Schmidt wearing a generic uni that looks vaguely Cardinals-ish):
Always fun to see the Eagles and Cowboys fighting, too. Couldn’t happen to two nicer teams.
Raffle Reminder: Today’s the last day to enter the Uni Watch holiday raffle, if you haven’t already done so. Details here. I’ll announce the winners on Christmas Day.
With bowl season upon us, Christopher Wheeler pointed me toward this Orange Bowl history page, which turns out to be chock-full of uni-notable photos. Here’s a chronological rundown:
1937 (Duquesne vs. Mississippi State): Love the pre-zebra-era officials. They must have had quite a time figuring out which team was which in this dark-vs.-dark contest. The teams were Duquesne and Mississippi State, although I don’t know which is which in the photo.
1938 (Auburn vs. Michigan State): What’s going on with this runner? Like, is that a ribcage protector, or a girdle, or what?
1942 (Georgia vs. TCU): By now the officials were wearing zebra stripes, but they were button-fronts, not pullovers. Again with the dark vs. dark, too.
1943 (Alabama vs. Boston College): Now that’s a set of zebra stripes! Never seen anything like that before. Anyone know more about that design?
1945 (Tulsa vs. Georgia Tech): Love the front “T” logo. Does it stand for “Tulsa” or “Tech”? I have no idea which team is which.
1949 (Texas vs. Georgia): Whoa, look at that football/globe thingie on the scoreboard. Sort of a worldwide “manifest football destiny” icon.
1952 (Georgia Tech vs. Baylor): Sorry to keep harping on the officials, but that cap patch/logo thingie looks interesting.
1953 (Alabama vs. Syracuse): Look along the lower-left edge of this photo. Did they cut that sideline yard marker out of construction paper or what?
1957 (Colorada vs. Clemson): Colorado came up with that horned helmet design specifically for this game. Further details here.
1962 (Colorado vs. LSU): Another unique Colorado helmet design (further details here). I believe this was the last game in which this design was worn.
1967 (Florida vs. Georgia Tech): This appears to have been a very good-looking game. Both teams could do a lot worse than to revive these designs as throwbacks.
1974 (Penn State vs. LSU): We’re so used to seeing Penn State wearing blank helmets that it’s hard to process the sight of them with TV numbers up there. According to the Helmet Project, they wore that style “during at least two periods: 1961 (and possibly earlier), and again from 1967 to 1974.”
1976 (Oklahoma vs. Michigan): Wow, looks almost heretical to see the upper portion of those Wolverine facemasks defiling the winged helmet design.
1978 (Arkansas vs. Oklahoma): Someone recently wrote to me and complained that I seem to think striped socks are the solution to every problem. And look — they are!
1982 (Clemson vs. Nebraska): You know how today’s linemen like their jerseys to be super-tight? That wasn’t the case in ’82.
1984 (Miami vs. Nebraska): Note that both teams have added shoulder logos for the occasion. I believe this was the first time that happened in the Orange Bowl.
1998 (Nebraska vs. Tennessee): Adidas’s three-stripe logo creep doesn’t look so bad compared to this.
Thanks to Christopher for pointing me toward this great material.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Strat-O-Matic baseball is incorporating Negro Leaguers into its player sets. … Barcelona wore their orange jerseys while winning the Club World Cup on Saturday but donned their primary striped jerseys for the trophy presentation and photos. “You can still see the orange peeking out at the waists, and the orange socks too,” says Matt Brukman. “They pulled the same stunt after winning the European championship in 1992.” … I was intrigued by this 1949 World Series photo, which ran in Sunday’s New York Times. Pretty interesting that an usher would greet Tommy Henrich before he reach home plate. Looks like another usher is about to join the party, too. … Now that’s a hat (great find by Nate Morris). … Absolutely spectacular graphic slideshow detailing how Fenway Park is being prepared for the Winter Classic here (big thanks to Jay Sullivan). … Meanwhile, two boarding school hockey teams got to play at Fenway the other day. Lots more photos here, and additional info here (with thanks to Matthew Robins). … Okay, so we all know the Lakers’ jerseys and shorts used to have different shades of purple, but this is ridiculous (with thanks to Michael Cooperman). … The U.S. Olympic bobsled uniforms will look like this (with thanks to Jeremy Brahm). … Also from Jeremy: Here’s the logo for the 2010 FIVB World Congress and this year’s Japanese basketball all-star uniforms. … Lots of really interesting info about Arizona’s equipment staff prepping for the Holiday Bowl here and here (very nice find by Eric Sing). … If you have an 8mm movie projector, you might be interested in these 1960s high school football home movies (as found by Tris Wykes). … Awesome analysis of the differences in the early-’70s A’s uniforms here (big thanks to Dave Grob). … The Tulsa Oilers will be wearing an Xmas-themed jersey this Friday (with thanks to Ryan Atkinson). … FNOB alert. That’s from the 1991 Cotton Bowl (screen shot by Doug McConnell). … Injury report from Doug Keklak, who writes: “Jordan Staal took a puck (or stick) off the nose. Came back later with a full face guard like you see in youth hockey.” … Great slideshow of some of Umbro’s more questionable jerseys (with thanks to Terence Kearns). … “I got a chance to hang out with a buddy who’s in the Army over the holidays,” says Jake Sorg. “He showed me the current generation of boots they are wearing. It appears that swooshification isn’t limited to athletic uniforms.” Wow — Nike Pro Combat, for real! … The Wizards are wearing that “Abe” patch for Abe Pollin, which looks really odd on DeShawn Stevenson, because he has an Abe Lincoln tattoo on his throat (as noted by Stephen Boyd). … More stuff from Jeremy: Japanese basketball refs have a whistle illustration on their jerseys, and the people at the scorer’s table have their own uniforms. … And still more from Jeremy: The Japanese World Cup jerseys have a crow’s feather pattern knit into the fabric. … Joshua Jedwab, disgusted by the Blues’ alternate jersey design (“Barely a practice jersey,” he sniffs), has come up with some concepts of his own. … Yesterday’s entry about Tommy Kelly losing his pants reminded Paddy Fleming of a 2006 incident in which rugby player Donncha O’Callaghan went without his shorts. … Uh, no. Just no.
It isn’t often the University of Oregon makes it to the Rose Bowl, but for those of us who are intrigued by their fascination with never wearing a uniform combination more than once, tracking the Ducks has become great sport. Whether it’s our own Michael Princip with his fantastic “Ducktracker,” or the multitudes of students who are never quite sure what to wear to a game in Autzen, waiting to see “what they will break out” for every game can be as much fun as the game itself. No one does it like Oregon (thankfully), and opinions on what the Ducks wear range the entire gamut from “awful” and “godawful” to “fresh” and “fly.” Whatever you may think of Oregon and it’s tradition — er, maybe that’s not such a great descriptor — one thing we can never accuse them of is being boring.
I have an extra special treat for you today, as one of Uni Watch’s collegiate members, Kenny Ocker, University of Oregon student and aspiring journalist, was able to interview the man who every week selects the uniforms the Ducks will wear, Casey Martin. Kenny was able to get in-depth with Casey, and has some really amazing nuggets to share with us. So, sit down, kick back, and prepare to meet the guy who many feel has the greatest job in the world, the guy who ‘dresses the Ducks.’ But first, a few words from Kenny:
~~~
I’m a lifelong University of Oregon fan and a sophomore journalism major at the school. I’ve been a Uni Watch member since for more than a year now (my card is of Eintracht Frankfurt, the soccer team my mother grew up rooting for… also, I’m the only member with the number 90), and I read the blog well before that. Originally, I think I was led to it by Page 2, but my interest in uniforms existed well before I ever saw Paul’s columns. You probably all recognize me as “The Hemogoblin”… (Okay, maybe I shouldn’t have admitted that.) In the interest of full disclosure, I’m a copy editor for the Oregon Daily Emerald, the student-run daily paper on campus. The Daily Emerald owns my soul.
~~~
And now, here’s Kenny’s interview with Casey Martin:
Kenny Ocker: How did you end up being the person who gets to choose what the football team wears every weekend?
Casey Martin: Well, it’s kind of an interesting story. I go down there and shoot the breeze with the guys in the coaches’ office… This summer, when they had this black box of all of the drawings of the new uniforms, and I was excited, just going, “Ah, these are awesome”, and he [head coach Chip Kelly] goes “Why don’t you pick our uniforms for us?” and I said “What are you talking about?” He said, “Well, I’ve got enough to do, I don’t want to worry about it; you do it for us. We’ve got too much going on.” I was like “sure, yeah, great” but I kind of thought he was joking, but as time went on I started realizing that he was probably pretty serious and so basically that’s how it happened, it was just kind of a casual deal, it wasn’t any really formal process, so I go down there, and the way it works, it’s not like I pick them. I mean, I guess I pick them, but not really. Chip is in charge. But he brings me down, we shoot the breeze, we lay out stuff, and then he selects what we lay out. He’s still the guy. He does what he wants to do, and he has a lot of opinions about stuff from a football perspective. Mentally, for the team, he likes to overcome, like in the past we’ve lost in certain uniforms and he wants to use them so we can overcome them. Or, if in bigger games, like in the USC week, he wanted to do something low-key, so it wouldn’t be a bigger feel… he’s definitely involved, he has a purpose for it. My purpose is to go in there and have fun.
KO: So this started this year?
CM: Yeah.
KO: What was your favorite uniform combination this year?
CM: You know what? I… That’s a good question. I actually kind of liked some of the away uniforms to be honest. I like the black-white-black, and I like the really standard stuff like green-white-white, and some of the cleaner stuff I like, I like the black-yellow-black. I don’t know if I have a favorite to be honest. There were a few that were interesting and that weren’t received quite as well. I liked the USC week. I like them all, but there were some of them I liked more.
CM: That is a great question. I think how it shook out was this: We went into his office, and Chip was like “Look, we’ve got to go school colors because the Beavers will be in black,” which we all agreed. He goes, “I love the green throwback jersey, so lets do something with that.” But the rules are, you can’t use anything twice. So, it was like, okay, throwback jersey, but we can’t do the full throwback again, so it was like “OK, what do you do?” So, I went in there and what I did was I laid out a bunch of stuff and I took pictures of it all, so you can see how it shakes out. I went in there and started laying out all of these things for him to decide, and “Hey, these are all of the things you can do with the throwback jerseys, or what you might like to do with school colors.” He liked the white pants, so we were going to go with that right there. I think it came out of, one time we were going to talk about the white green white, which we haven’t worn yet, which is my favorite combo but we haven’t worn it yet and he was going “Why don’t we put the old UO on the white-green-white” so that was what we were talking about. And I think it was my idea, but it might have been Chip’s too, to say let’s just go throwback and put the new O on it. So I called the guy down in the equipment room, and said can we do this, can we put the new O on the throwback and he goes no, we don’t have enough time to do the stickers and stuff, and then Chip found out and he goes “Forget it, you’re doing it”, so it was kind of a combination of both of us, we were just thinking of new ways of doing the throwback without repeating it, and that might happen for the Rose Bowl too, we’ll see.
KO: Why did we never wear the chrome helmets that we had?
CM: You’ll have to ask Chip. I tried, that was one thing, I tried for six weeks to do that. One time, he polled the team, and they didn’t want to wear them for an away game, and so we were going to wear them maybe for a home game, but then it got really cold, and there’s some issue with temperature on them and the paint jobs, and so, I don’t know, you’d have to ask Chip. I definitely wanted to, I was dying for it, but he… the one USC week, he didn’t want to do anything out of the ordinary, because there was so much hype about it, and so we didn’t bring them out that week, and then the team didn’t want to wear them I don’t think at Arizona on an away game, we wanted to debut them at a home game, and then for Oregon State, we decided to go throwback, so that’s kind of how they got… they were late to come in too, so that was another thing, they had issues, so they didn’t really get cleared until the USC game and then we just never did it.
KO: I was curious because they got so much attention when they first came out, so I was just curious about that…
CM: It was more Chip’s decision and the team’s decision that they didn’t and I think they’ll save them for next year.
KO: So the team has a say in what they wear too?
CM: Sometimes. Like I said, even though I got tagged as the coordinator, everyone’s got a say. I just go in there and shoot the breeze with the guys and have fun with it. It’s really informal. It’s not like I go in there and say “this is it”, this is what we’re doing, it’s not like that at all.
KO: How long is the “we don’t repeat combinations”? Is that just a year?
CM: [laughter] Let’s hope that it’s just for a year.
KO: We have enough combinations, we could probably go a few seasons without repeating anything.
CM: I hear you… The idea was, what Chip said, let’s not repeat, let’s do something different every week. And then he’ll give you directions, so you kind of have to come up with the best-looking outfit.
CM: That was just kind of, Chip’s decision that he didn’t want to let the kids get caught up in a lot of that stuff. He just said “hey, it’s just another game” which I really respect, I think it was a great idea. Let’s not do anything out of the ordinary, it’s just another game for us.
KO: So, um… yeah… This is the money question… What are we wearing for the Rose Bowl?
CM: We do not know yet.
KO: Have you not decided, or are you just hiding it?
CM: We have not decided. I was just down there right before I came down here. We have some ideas, we’re basically down to two or three options, but we do not know yet.
KO: Are you going to go with the throwbacks again, like throwback whites?
CM: It’s possible, I don’t know.
KO: I tried.
CM: I can’t tell you, even if I did know. Chip likes it to be secret until Saturday.
KO: I don’t blame him, it’s kind of a big deal for the program. That’s one of our things that, it helps, it draws so much more attention to us when they don’t know what we’re going to be wearing until right then. I do have another question for you. When we went, during the Oregon State game, during that week, all of the pictures on GoDucks.com (the athletic department’s website), had been from the Cal game, so they were all in the throwbacks. Did they know before the game that you were going to go throwbacks? Did they just guess and get lucky?
CM: Yeah. The decision for that wasn’t made until Tuesday. They don’t know unless Chip told them that’s what he was doing. That decision on what we were wearing, I don’t think it was made until Monday or Tuesday.
~~~
Well, there you have it. Everything you wanted to know about Oregon’s uniforms and the man behind them. Fantastic job with that Kenny! Special thanks, also, go out to Casey Martin for allowing Kenny that access. As the days tick down towards the Rose Bowl, I, for one, am greatly anticipating what the Ducks will wear, almost as much as I am for the kickoff on New Year’s Day.
~~~~~~~~~~
Some rather bad news in the uni world happened yesterday, as the Minnesota Wild’s equipment van caught fire in Ottawa. Since the Wild are scheduled to play the Senators tonight, naturally their equipment truck preceded the team into Canada. Details are still somewhat sketchy, but this we do know: around 2:30 pm Eastern Friday the truck, which was in the Scotiabank parking lot, caught fire and almost all of the Wild’s equipment was basically turned into a mess of melted and charred unis and equipment. While no one was, fortunately, hurt in said meltdown, this leaves the Wild in quite a quandry. This is certainly a rarity in sports, but hardly unique. UW Prexy Paul Lukas gave us a look at some similar situations that have occurred in the history of sport.
Hockey players, like most athletes, are creatures of habit, and their equipment and uniforms are vital to their performance. Despite Rbk’s claims that their uniforms are 274% lighter, wick sweat away better than a Sham Wow and can withstand heat and fire better than a race car driver’s suit, apparently the uniforms, like the players who wear them, are mortal. Thus, the Wild are sans-unis and equipment, at least for now. The Minneapolis Star-Trib is reporting the players are still debating whether to actually play the game — since they would be required to basically play in brand new equipment. I’m no hockey player, but I understand that new equipment basically requires a solid two weeks to break in, leaving them at a decided disadvantage. And, there’s also a problem of replacing the uniforms.
The team’s official statement, as of yesterday evening, was this:
There was a fire in an equipment van in the parking lot at Scotiabank Place this afternoon. No one was injured, but some of the Minnesota Wild’s hockey equipment was damaged. The Wild is in the process of taking inventory to determine the damage to the equipment. Minnesota is scheduled to play at Ottawa Saturday at 6:00 p.m.
At 6:00 pm on Friday, the team held a meeting and decided to carry on as best they could — but not only do they need to have all new equipment shipped to Ottawa (or find some there), they’ll have to have all new uniforms (or at least whatever wasn’t consumed in the conflagration) sent to Canada. So, perhaps the Wild will be wearing darks instead of normal road whites. If you take a look at some of the damage photos, you’ll see that the very little is recognizable in the charred remains besides gear bags. As of late Friday night, tho, the uniforms were probably of less concern than the equipment.
Probably the biggest loss belongs to goalie Niklas Backstrom, whose equipment was completely incinerated in the fire. Given that goalies are even more superstitious and about their equipment than most skaters, it’s difficult to imagine him being any where near comfortable in all new gear.
Any of you hockey guys wanna discuss this below? Maybe keep us apprised of any developments as the day goes along? Or just want to explain the importance of having a modicum of comfort and feel for one’s gear? It’s hard for me to imagine the depths of this loss.
~~~~~~~~~~
Our next round of NFL uniform tweaks/revisions and concepts is upon us.
~~~
First up is Walter Young, who brings his ideas on how to fix the J-E-T-S…Jets Jets Jets:
Phil,
First off, I rather like the Jets current uniform in general. I am not a big fan their green/green, or white/white combinations. I prefer the contrasting jersey/pants look.
I had to borrow all of my graphics, and then went to work with my high-tech crayons (MS Paint). The uniform templates and designs came fro TAG Team Uniforms uniform designer. I just matched jerseys & pants I felt best complimented the other. I scavenged graphics from Chris Creamer’s sportslogos.net (helmets, name plates, sock templates).
All four uniform sets I use the Jets current Hunter/Forest Green and White colors, along with bringing back the old Kelly Green as an accent color (well, as close as I could come to those colors). I made no changes to the Jets current helmet or logo. The set numbering is just my preference after I was done putting them together.
Sets 1 (here) and 3 (here) are essentially modernized versions of the Jets current jerseys with contrasting sleeves and torsos.
Sets 2 (here) and 4 (here) are both takes on modernized solid torsos with contrasting yoke/sleeves. Set 4 came out way to “Tennessee Titians” for my liking, but to much work was put in not to submit it.
Of course, any critiques would be appreciated.
Walt (FormerDirtDart)
~~~
Next up is Daniel Patterson, who has some suggestions for the Seattle Seahawks:
Hi Phil,
It took seeing the green alternates to realize the biggest issue with Seattle’s uniforms. The 2-tone sleeves. They look okay on the away jersey and are easily overlooked on the home, but they look stupid with the green.
On the home uniform, I changed the color of the sleeves and put some stripes on the socks (and of course I chose white pants.). I did the same for the away.
When the Seahawks redesigned their uniforms, they let the fans vote on whether to have blue or gray helmets. I voted for gray, so I thought I’d like to see what gray helmets, plus the requiredgray pants would look like.
Now that I had a gray helmet, I put together a faux-back. I used the current logo and shade of green. I don’t mind the green, in fact it is a naturally occurring color in the Pacific Northwest, even in December. Which led me to my last endevour. “Can I get a green jersey to work?”
The blue pants just won’t work, they need to be lighter than the green. The helmet needs to match the pants, so that left me with 2 options: gray helmet/pants and white helmet/pants. I don’t think they’ll be using those combos anytime soon, but I think they look better than what they trotted out against Chicago. Plus, the white on green would have fitted right in with the AFL.
Dan Patterson
~~~
Our next tweaker is Michael Fullmer, who brings us these San Francisco 49ers modifications:
Hey, Phil!
I love Uni Watch! I’m glad there are people out there like you (and me) who care about good uniforms.
First, let me start by saying the I loved the 1998-2008 49ers uniform. LOVED IT! I was salty in the extreme when the new look was unveiled. I called it the Willie “Too Big” Hall uniform, paraphrasing the immortal line from the Blues Brothers movie, “At least we got a change of clothes. You’re wearing the same shit you had on four decades ago”.
I have since softened to the new look, especially the colors; the ‘08 colors WERE too dark. But there are three elements of the uniform I still hate passionately: the 1/4 sleeves, the Red-White-Red “NFL stripes” on the helmet and pants, and the MF’ing gray face masks.
To me, nothing screams “I don’t have the first clue how to design a uniform” like a gray facemask where gray isn’t a color in the team’s uniform palette. It’s fine for the Cowboys, Raiders, and Giants to have gray facemasks. It’s an abortion of uniform design for the 49ers, Cardinals, and Browns to do it. The Colts get a pass since technically they don’t have a third color in their pallette.
I know you love NFL stripes, but to me they scream, “1969, all the time!”. And those sleeves – UGH!
So I took the 49ers uniform template available here (to make this a true tweak). My starting concept was to develop a single stripe pattern for the whole uniform. The one pattern that I saw as being a fit for helmet, jersey, pants, and socks was that used by the Giants on their road jersey sleeves.
Then I flattened out the sleeves into more of a 1/3 to 1/2 sleeve, and changed the facemask color back to red. The end result is this — a uniform that eliminates the cliche gray facemask and “NFL stripes” while maintaining links to the past.
Michael Fullmer
~~~
And rounding out today’s set of uniform tweaks is Jay Braiman, who also has some ideas for the New York Jets:
Note the side-on views eliminate the Reebok logo above the TV numeral. This should make Paul happy, but it would probably have to be on there somewhere.
- JB
Thanks to everyone who sent in their revisions for this round. Keep ‘em coming. Lots more to get to after this.
~~~~~~~~~~
It’s hockey season now, and dontcha know, the boys from Bub’s Pub play pond puck too! Here’s Ricko:
“I’m dreaming of a…” freshly plowed rink. The temp has dropped, boards have gone up, water’s gone down, and nature has taken its course. It’s BNIB (Broomball Night in BenchiesLand).
Guess The Game From The Scoreboard: We’ve got another reader submission today, and this one comes from Peter Greenberg. It’s a doozy folks, since it’s MiLB. You’ll probably be able to get the location, but the date, teams and final score may prove a bit trickier. Please post a LINK to the answer, and not the answer itself, in the comments below. Ready? Guess The Game From The Scoreboard. And, as always, if you enjoy the game, please send me some new scoreboards! Drop me a line. Thanks!
~~~~~~~~~~
That’s going to do it for today folks. Special huge thanks to Kenny Ocker and Casey Martin for that look into the Ducks uniform machinations. And you hockey guys, love to hear your take (and any updates) on the developing situation with the Wild gear and unis. Everyone from the Carolinas north and east through the New England states — be ready for some real winter weather today. Me, I’m under a blizzard warning, so this could be interesting.
Okay, so I’m probably a bit more obsessed with this particular story than some of you are, but we have a major new development in the saga of the Twins’ early-’60s earflaps.
But now Larry Wiederecht has come up with a major new piece of the puzzle — dig.
Up until now, our best view of Battey’s flap had been from this illustration, but this new photo is much, much better. For the first time we can really see how the flap was constructed. But the key bit of info is the photo’s date: August of 1961! This means Battey was wearing his flap a full two seasons earlier than we (or at least I) had realized. It also deepens the mystery about why it took so long for ABC Helmet to offer earflapped headwear. If Battey was wearing a DIY flap in 1961, why was Jimmie Hall forced to wear a similarly improvised flap in the ’65 Series, more than four years later? You’d think ABC would have come up with a flap-inclusive design by then, no? It’s still not clear to me exactly when ABC began offering flapped helmets, but that’s just another piece of the puzzle for us to find.
Ricko has been doing his own research on this topic and has given me a small dossier of leads and related info, none of which I’ve yet followed up on (sorry, Ricko — life’s been a little crazy around here!), but I’ll be addressing all of that shortly. Stay tuned.
Getting back to the Battey photo, I love that chunky Twins logo on the helmet (the T looks like it’s in the Pirates font!). Also, I initially thought the helmet was full of scratches, but then I showed the photo to Scott Turner, who explained that it was more likely a “fibre-plastic” helmet, and the scratch marks were actually the spun fibers. I wasn’t familiar with this, so Scott then showed me this hard-hat listing, which includes this awesome logo. Might not be the exact same material as Battey’s helmet, but still plenty interesting.
Meanwhile, Larry came up with two other old wire photos of note:
• More intriguingly, check out this two-fer of Marty Pattin modeling Brewers jerseys one day after the Pilots became the Brewers. Look at that shot on the left — Red Sox lettering! Must’ve been a prototype that was never used. Never seen that one before. Anyone else?
It occurred to me that I also never come across wire service pics myself, so I asked Larry where he was finding them. His response:
They’re from this eBay seller. He has had hundreds of wire photos and stock photos from Sport magazine. I always look when someone puts up wire photo collections, because they tend to document specific events as opposed to the idea of ‘best image’ that most publications/sites tend to use. I haven’t bought any (at $9.99 apiece, it’s a little pricey), but I’ve downloaded dozens just to have for review. It takes a while to view the entire collection, but I always see something great.
So I looked though that eBay seller’s pics. Didn’t find anything as momentous as the ones Larry came up with, but I did spot a few images of note:
• What’s going on here? The player is Joe Daley, so I looked up his career stats and found he played for the Memphis Wings in the mid-1960s, so that explains the lettering on the left side of the photo. I couldn’t figure out what was going on in the center of the logo — was that head of cauliflower or what? — until I found this. It’s a cotton boll!
• Love this jersey, but there’s very little background info. The back of the photo says, “Wm. (Bill) Kennedy, hockey player, Oct. 22 1935.” Anyone know more?
• And speaking of cool old hockey jerseys, check out this shot from 1958.
Big thanks to Larry for his groundbreaking finds.
What, no Cookie Rojas?: One of the most wonderful holiday rituals here at Uni Watch HQ is the annual arrival of a package from reader Elena Elms, who takes it upon herself each December to bake me a batch of baseball-themed cookies. Last year it was caps and balls; the year before that it was stirrups. And when I opened this year’s package, what to my wondering eyes should appear but a series of full-body ballplayers, including Dave Parker, Pedro Martinez, Catfish Hunter, Brendan Ryan, and Nolan Ryan.
Nothing I write here can adequately express how special it is to have readers like Elena. Thanks so much for another batch of inspired (and delicious) baking.
Raffle Reminder: I’m currently raffling off a buncha cool stuff. Details here.
Uni Watch News Ticker: The Tour of Spain, one of cycling’s three grand tours, is changing its leader’s jersey from gold to red (as noted by Sean Clancy). … Yesterday’s Yanks/Sox wedding info prompted Ryan Glanzer to send along a few pics from his wedding, which featured MLB team logo table names and placecards. … And then there’s Dawn and Brian — a Yankees fan and Phillies fan, respectively — who got hitched just as the World Series was starting and carved logo pumpkins for the occasion. … And then there’s William Patrick Finley, who ordered a bunch of stirrups from Robert Marshallfor himself and his groomsmen. … Oopsie (good catch by Andrew Bartsch). … And get this: Yesterday’s entry got a shout-out on a wedding planner’s site! Granted, the planner is married to reader Dave Plante, but still. … Contrary to what I suggested in yesterday’s Ticker, V-neck basketball jerseys were quite common in the 1920s (thanks for setting me straight, Scott). … Best. Menorah. Ever! (Extra gelt to Chad Todd.) … What’s up with this skate-guard thingie? Do those skates even have laces? (As spotted by Maks Skuz.) … Adam Stoneman points out that the Angels’ Hideki Matsui press conference offered our first look at the Halos’ All-Star Game patch. A better view of the logo itself can be found here. … Bill Radocy has designed some nifto uniforms for his Strat-O-Matic hockey league. … The Reds are giving away a series of throwback caps next season (with thanks to Rob Turning). … Michael Russek notes that the NBA logo was missing from Kobe Bryant’s and Pau Gasol’s jerseys on Wednesday night. Ditto for the night before that. … Here’s what the Chris Henry memorial decal will look like. … In a related item, Chad Ochocinco wore Henry’s practice jersey yesterday (with thanks to Ethan Crooks). … UMass hoops will be wearing throwbacks tomorrow (with thanks to Erik Gallant). … Here’s a great video clip of a young Michael Jordan discussion sneaker design with David Letterman (big thanks to Rick Friedel). … Canucks have a franchise jersey gallery in the hallway leading to their dressing room (with thanks to Adam Hainsfurther). … Steve Johnston tipped me wise to a great photographer named George Brace. “He’s from Chicago and photographed almost every player to come through town from 1929 through 1993,” Steve explains. “Players used to buy photos from him and use them for autographs. There’s a great collection of his photos called The Game That Was. I got Charles Comiskey’s son to sign a page in my copy of the book. We lived in the same town and used to run into one another at a local diner.” … Another good tip: Ben Parker pointed me toward this soccer site. “The guy who runs it basically breaks down loads of soccer kits into their component parts and analyses them. There’s a huge back catalogue of modern day shirts as well as historical entries, which make for fantastically geeky viewing.” … Tons of good stuff from Doug Keklak: (1) Doug has found another school that wore untucked basketball jerseys back in the day — WVU. Also, in that first photo, note the huge space between the two 1s. (2) Clairton High School, which will be playing for the Class A state title today, had some NOB issues during a recent game. (3) I’ve always loved this old Colts photo, for obvious reasons. And (4) According to a small item in this article, “[Penguins] defenseman Alex Goligoski committed a gaffe prior to practice, taking the ice while wearing a game sweater. ‘It was hanging in my stall and I just threw it on,’ he said. ‘They look pretty close — they’re both black and gold. I didn’t even know until some guys came up and told me.” … Twenty-one new images have been added to Andy Moursund’s gallery of vintage program covers and related items, with an emphasis on stadium dedications. … Report from Jordan Wiley regarding last night’s Magic throwbacks: “Dwight Howard’s NOB was in the font of their current road uniform, but everyone else’s NOB was in the throwback font.” Sorry, no images. … Reebok logo problems last night for the Jags, what a pity (screen shot courtesy of Micheal Kinney). … Mike Richards appears to have his nickname on his mouthguard (good catch by Ryan Connelly). … Terence Kearns bought himself a blank varsity jacket in Mets colors, got his hands on some patches, and brought the whole shebang down to his local sporting goods shop, where they sewed the patches on for him. The result: a 1986 World Series jacket. “Only cost $200,” he says. …
I wrote pretty regularly for Fast Company magazine from 2004 through 2007. But I guess they must not have me in their Rolodex anymore, because nobody told me about this article, which they just posted on their web site (not sure if it’s also in the printed mag, but I don’t think so).
Anyway: The author — an NFL fan named Ken Carbone, who also happens to be a graphic designer — posits that too many of today’s helmet designs are bland and formulaic. He heaps particular scorn on the Redskins, Bucs, and Pats:
Among the weakest designs are the Washington Redskins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers , whose visually complicated logos become a graphic mess when televised and, I imagine, even if you’re sitting on the fifty-yard line. At the very the bottom of the list are the New England Patriots. The Patriots’ helmet is plastered with their logo, which comes dangerously close to looking like a wind-swept John Kerry dressed up like a Minute Man. If there was ever a time to go with the obvious this is it. Why not really play the patriotic card and star and stripe the helmet?
These certainly aren’t the three NFL helmets at the top of my “Please revise now!” list (I’d probably pick some subset of the Bengals, Panthers, Titans, Lions, and Bills). I’d also quibble with the notion that the Washington and Tampa Bay logos are “complicated” or “a graphic mess when televised,” and I’d love to know what Carbone thought of Pat Patriot compared to Flying Elvis.
But whatever — unlike most critics, Carbone is willing to propose his own alternatives, and that’s where things get interesting. He prepared these sketches and gave them to a graphics guy who created more polished digital versions — voila!
The Pats design is laughably bad (unless the rest of your uniform looks like this), and the Bucs execution is obviously way too Raiders-ish (bad rookie mistake there, Ken — don’t create a design that looks a lot like another team’s design). Gotta admit, though I’m totally digging the Redskins treatment. Never would’ve guessed that the headdress motif would translate so well to a helmet shell.
All in all, a silly article that’s mostly a lark, but that ’Skins design is like the nibble on the end of the line that’s gonna keep me fishing all day. Are there other teams that could be revamped as effectively as Carbone’s done with the ’Skins? Hmmmmm….
The best video you’ll see this year (or at least today): No Mas has produced a super-cool animation about Dock Ellis and his fabled no-hitter on acid, narrated by Ellis himself. The full vid will be available tomorrow, but here’s a short excerpt:
Uni Watch News Ticker: Ladies and gentlemen, you Nike riflery uniforms, all in one place. … Remember the football sweater knitting guide I scanned and posted last week? Ricko found a baseball version on eBay (yes, those “jackets” are actually knitted sweaters) and sent it to me to scan. You can access the full publication here. … Whoa, who would’ve thought the Broncos had a throwback helmet cart (big thanks to Jason Krause). … “I was briefly following this VW bug through Columbus this morning and couldn’t help but laugh,” writes Jason Lawrence. “As you probably know, OSU applies buckeye leaf decal to the left side of the helmet first, then eventually to the right side only after the left side is full. The funniest part about this guy’s error is that if he’d applied the stickers correctly to the left side, he wouldn’t have had to bother custom-cutting a sticker around his gas-cap door.” … Lots of Fort Hood memorial decals on tap for this weekend (big thanks to decal maven Chris Willis). … Further evidence of Troy Polamalu’s cross habit. That shot was taken by Steve Harrison two weeks ago. … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Separated at birth? (As spotted by eagle-eyed Jim Vilk.) … Way back in late September I asked about these Arkansas merit decals. Not sure if we ever got a good answer, but here’s one from Sean Patton: “They are not crosses — they are supposed to be sledgehammers. Back in the summer, the strength coaches started a reward for players during two-a-days. They would pick the players, four or five a day, who showed the greatest effort during practice, and those players would be given a sledgehammer (a real one, not a decal) and would get to hit a huge flat boulder that was set up at the outdoor practice fields. Each player would try to take a chunk of the rock off with their allotted number of swings. So the decals are sledgehammers.” In other words, your reward for working hard at practice is being put on a prison-style chain gang. … Tyler Kepner notes that Padres GM Jed Hoyer needs to update some logos on his wall. … The Hornets are going to unveil a Mardi Gras-themed uniform a week from today. I’ve seen the design, and it’s the bomb. … Arkansas has signed an outfitting deal with Nike. … Remember Craig Anders(s)on and the extra “S” that appeared and then disappeared from his NOB? Turns out it’s still on his stick (great catch by Michael Putlack). … Chris Cocuzza had an authentic Randy Moss Raiders jersey and wanted to convert it to a Louis Murphy jersey (same uni number). So he got himself a $15 lettering kit, had his sewing-skilled grandma remove the “Moss” nameplate from the jersey and then had her remove the letters from the nameplate. Then he sewed the new letters onto the ’plate and sewed the ’plate back onto the jersey — presto! … Here’s a craigslist listing you don’t see every day: football pumpkins (amazing find by Steven Brown). … The Florida Panthers will finally unveil their alternate jersey on November 23rd. If you believe the folks on the Chris Creamer site, it will look something like this. … More World Cup kits, for Greece, Germany, Mexico, and South Africa (with thanks to Stephen Wong).
In probably the worst kept secret in alternate jersey releases in baseball, the Tampa Bay Rays have officially offered for sale their new alternate powder blue jersey. Of course, there has been no actual official announcement yet, but it will be coming. After earlier unveiling their powder blue BP cap, (they will have both a navy and a powder blue BP cap this year), speculation quickly followed that they’d be introducing a powder blue alternate.
In honor of the Saints making the Super Bowl, or maybe just because it’s on the schedule, last eveing the New Orleans Hornets broke out their special purple Mardi Gras uniforms.
What is it they say about an irresistable force and an immovable object? Here’s Rick:
Guess The Game From The Scoreboard: Today we have a ‘guest’ scoreboard being brought to us by reader Chris Rocco. While the location may be familiar, the clues are all right there in the picture itself. Ready? Guess The Game From The Scoreboard. Date, location and final score, please, and be sure to link to your answer. And, as always, if you enjoy the game, please send me some new scoreboards! Drop me a line. Thanks!
As if you needed another reason to watch the Super Bowl, now you do:
Back again with more Uniform Tweaks, Concepts and Revisions today. Taking a look at all sports from here on out, so, if you have a tweak, change or concept for any sport, send them my way.
By Phil Hecken
Meet Flat Tyler. Time for a little love for Ryan Connelly, who send me the following E-mail, which is pretty damn cool:
This next section is a repeat from yesterday, so if you saw it then, you can feel free to skip it today. But if you didn’t, please give it a quick read. Thanks.
Some rather bad news in the uni world happened yesterday, as the Minnesota Wild’s equipment van caught fire in Ottawa. Since the Wild are scheduled to play the Senators tonight, naturally their equipment truck preceded the team into Canada. Details are still somewhat sketchy, but this we do know: around 2:30 pm Eastern Friday the truck, which was in the Scotiabank parking lot, caught fire and almost all of the Wild’s equipment was basically turned into 
Our next round of NFL uniform tweaks/revisions and concepts is upon us. 
