Posts filed under 'History'
Time to check in again with reader Steve K., who continues to document uni-notable moments from the 1970s (see previous entries devoted to his screen shots here, here, and here). Let’s get started:
• What’s even better than a wacky mascot? A wacky two-person mascot. Or maybe a mascot that doesn’t make much sense (that appears to be a gator working for the Dolphins).
• Can’t ever recall having seen an Oilers player wearing red undersleeves before.
• Also can’t recall an Oilers player with a ski mask. That’s from a 1977 game in Cleveland. But hey, note that the sleeves now match the mask!
• And as long as we’re on a roll with Oilers, look at this. “Not sure if this was a pose from a Punt, Pass and Kick competition, but that sure is one cheap Oilers knockoff that kid is wearing,” says Steve.
• Here’s one that really surprised me: Ahmad Rashad with a small-cap “A” in his NOB. “It’s from a 1977 game against the Bengals,” says Steve. “This is the only time I’ve seen his name spelled that way. I think it was a one-game thing.”
• Note the inconsistency between the helmet buffalo and the jacket buffalo. The weird thing is that that’s from a 1976 game in Baltimore, two years after the logo change. Must have been an old jacket.
• Tough to see, but it looks like Lions coach Tommy Hudspeth had an unusual Lions logo on his jacket in this 1976 shot.
• Speaking of coaches, Chuck Knox and his staff wore their regular Rams caps while working the 1977 Pro Bowl.
• And speaking of the Pro Bowl, here are some shots of the NFL squad from 1977 and 1978.
That’ll hold us until next time. Big thanks to Steve, as always, for sharing these shots with us.
You say you want another raffle? Sure, why not. Our benefactors this time around are the good people at SoccerPro.com, who are offering a free jacket from this product listing to one lucky winner.
To enter, send a blank e-mail with your name in the subject line to the raffle address (not to the usual Uni Watch e-mail address, please) by 10pm next Monday, September 21st. One entry per person, but anyone enrolled in the Uni Watch membership program at the time of the drawing can send four entries. The winner will be announced next Tuesday.
Hidden Resources: There are several ongoing Uni Watch research/reference projects that I’ve periodically mentioned and linked to, but I’ve never gotten around to creating permanent visible links for them. They include the Uni Watch Glossary, the Pro Football Uni History Project, and the breakdown of NFL teams that have worn white at home.
In a long-overdue move, these pages now have permanent links in the right-hand rail, under the heading “Research Projects.” Feel free to explore them.
Uni Watch News Ticker: The Seahawks are the latest team to go with a practice jersey sponsor. … Chris Stoppel notes some developments regarding Kansas’s road pants: Since 2005 they’d been gray, but last season they wore white pants against Missouri and for the Insight Bowl. They wore the whites again for this season’s first road game. Have the gray pants been permanently retired? … What does a crop science researcher wear to work? If you’re Neil Bourlag, you wear a cool Minnesota jacket (nice find by Nate Day). … Wondering what the AFL throwback games would look like if they used vintage logos on the field? Dylan Buell has come up with some possibilities. … Southern (D-IAA) has gone old-school this season, changing from this to this (with thanks to Prentice James). … Al Davis, humble as ever. … “Wednesday was my three-year anniversary with my wife, Kate,” writes Mike Reed. “The day of our wedding, I brought several suit bags full of jerseys for us to wear for pictures. Kate risked her hairdo to pull that retro Leafs jersey over her head, and the bridesmaids and groomsmen were all VERY accommodating. As an aside, I’ve often looked at that picture and joked ‘The best day of my life…was the day I bought that jersey.’ I mean, look at it — an authentic 1987 Canada Cup Gretzky jersey, with Canada Cup patch. It’s downright glorious.” … Why did so many of these MISL teams have sleeve stripes or other sleeve design elements that stopped slightly above the elbow? According to this page from a Wichita Wings yearbook, “MISL rules said players would have to wear long sleeves, but the league went out and made a deal for short-sleeved jerseys. The solution? Take a needle and thread and sew the long sleeves on” (great info from Paul Deaver, who also sent along this shot of Pete Rose, who co-owned the Cincinnati Kids, kicking out the first ball in 1978). … Too bad this doesn’t fit me. … The Falcons, in addition to wearing throwbacks this weekend, have also put a retro spin on their web site (with thanks to Shaun Tunick). … The Iraqi baseball team finally got its uniforms (good work, Jerry Cohen). … Best sock stripes ever? Could be. And look, here’s a shot where you can actually see a puff of rosin dust as the ball leaves the pitcher’s hand. I have no idea what teams are involved here, but there’s a lot more, much of it pure gold, here (domo arigato to Marcky Marc). … New goalie mask for Carey Price (with thanks to Ryan Connelly). … Magnificent display of old matchbook designs here.
September 17th, 2009
Bruce Menard recently informed me that the folks at Heritage Auction Galleries have a ton of good stuff in their current auction catalog. Here’s a sampling:
• According to the auction listing, Robin Roberts wore this throwback replica while throwing out the first pitch at the 1976 All-Star Game. I’ve never heard about this before. Anyone know more?
• Totally digging the typography on this 1929 World Series program cover. And dig that little bear!
• And speaking of World Series programs, here’s a doozy.
• Here’s a rarity: A Pro Bowl helmet from the days when the players wore conference-specific headgear.
• Love all the quote-marked nicknames in this poster.
• I’m always a sucker for these college all-star uniforms. Rare to see one that includes the pants and the helmet. And man, those “4″s!
• Oh man, check out these killer Giants programs. Interesting uni note: Check out the shin of the Jints player in the lower-right illo — looks like he has a pad under his sock.
• Oh, for the days when the Bears played a beer-sponsored team.
• When I was at the National in Cleveland a few months ago, one of the most drool-inducing items I saw was this Tulsa Oilers hockey jersey. Here it is, up for auction.
• Never seen anything like this Ottawa Senators jacket or this Blackhawks jacket.
• Also new to me: This amazing Red Wings cardigan, with a white version to boot. Looks like they have the American flag facing the wrong way on the left sleeve, though.
• Remember the barber pole design that the Blackhawks wore in the Winter Classic? Here’s the original. But I think I like this design even better.
• If you’ve been wondering what to get me for my half-birthday (coming up next Monday, don’tcha know), this jacket wouldn’t be a bad place to start.
• Worst hockey jersey ever? Eh, close enough.
• Best hockey program cover ever? Eh, close enough.
• Lots of great ticket stubs on offer, including tix from the 1971 World Series, the ’51 Series, the ’57 Series, the 1962 Mets home opener, and more.
• Gorgeous hockey officiating sweaters here and here
• Not sure what this has to do with sports, but it sure is purty.
Want to see more? You can download the auction catalog as a PDF here.
And look, there are still a few hairs I haven’t pulled out: My Earthlink e-mail finally appears to be behaving, so forget about the alternate address I’ve been using for the past few days and go back to my usual addresses. And please keep your fingers crossed.
About Time: Big congrats to Jerry Dior, who’s finally been recognized as the designer of the MLB logo. He’ll be honored on the field at Yankee Stadium today and at Shea on Friday. I’ve written about Jerry several times (to see those columns, look here and here) and have always been impressed by what a gentleman he is — a class act all the way. I’m glad he’s finally gotten the recognition he deserves.
Research Reminder: My thanks to everyone who contributed thoughts, anecdotes, and historical notes regarding football gloves yesterday. If you have anything to contribute that would help document the history and culture of this largely overlooked uni element, don’t be shy.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Hadn’t noticed until now that Wisconsin is using those rounded-corner nameplates. Good view of them in the next-to-last photo in this gallery (as spotted by Ben Simon). … According to the fourth graf of this story, the Predators’ new alt jersey includes “a dark checkerboard pattern that can only be seen at close range” (with thanks to Nick Church). … You may know that Chad Ochocinco wore gold shoes and gold gloves on Sunday, but did you know he also had two fingers taped together? Never seen a receiver do that before. Anyone have any insights? (As spotted by Bob Wilzbach.) … Lenny Dykstra, financial genius. … A freelance designer is suing NYU for allegedly stealing her logo design. … Now that’s a helmet (with thanks to David Cline). … New Irish national rugby kit (with thanks to Joe Alvernaz). … Colorado will be wearing 1937 throwbacks this weekend. Additional info here, and there’s a photo gallery here. … Dave Forbes notes that Jeff Garcia previously wore No. 7 with the Eagles but will have to take a different number in Philly this time around because Michael Vick is now wearing No. 7. … Corey Zoldan reports that the following note appeared in the U. of Maryland school paper: “The [baseball] team will be ditching its red and yellow jerseys in favor of pinstripes, because [coach] Bakich wants to be able to sell future recruits on the opportunity to ‘play in the Terrapin pinstripes.’” Uh, right. … What’s worse than an Argentine soccer team with Walmart-sponsored jerseys? An Argentine soccer team with Walmart-sponsored socks, which must surely qualify as a new low for civilization (with thanks to Dario Moretti, writing all the way from South America). … We’ve talked several times over the years about the ribbed seams found on some Bears’ linemen’s shoulder areas. Now Aaron Schlesinger notes that the Eagles appear to be doing something similar. … Hey look, it’s minor league hockey. And the refs are wearing those stupid orange sleeve stripes that debuted during last season’s all-star game. … Good article about Vanderbilt’s merit decals here (with thanks to Lee Wilds). … Last week’s New Yorker featured two cartoons — appearing on facing pages! — that were very Ticker-worthy.
Highest Recommendation: I have a good friend — let’s call him Jim — who I’ve known for over a decade. Jim is a trained engineer and an experienced manager who’s particularly strong on strategy, marketing, product development, and finance. I’ve never met Jim’s parents, but they sure must have raised him right, because Jim is — and I’m not exaggerating here — the nicest, most congenial, most stand-up guy I’ve ever known. Really. In other words, he’s as much of an asset in the clubhouse as his is on the field.
Jim is currently between jobs. I can say with absolute certainty that he’d be a major plus for any company. If you’d like to see his résumé and some position papers he’s written, please get in touch and I’ll send them to you. Thanks.
September 16th, 2009
When Kirsten and I were working on our Candela Structures exhibit from last fall through this past spring, one of our most helpful sources was a woman named Mary Ellen Coghlan. We first encountered her when we posted some research queries on a World’s Fair message board, where she was an active participant and used Lady Met as her avatar. She responded to our queries and helped get the ball rolling on our research.
Over the next several months, Mary Ellen would periodically pop out of the ether and send me a helpful note. “You should get in touch with this guy, because I think he has lots of Candela photos,” she’d say, or “This guy’s father worked on the World’s Fair — I’m sure he could provide you with some good information,” and then I wouldn’t hear from her again for a while. Her leads always turned out to be useful, and each time I found myself wondering, “Hmmm, why didn’t she tell me about that guy, like, five months ago?”
Mary Ellen didn’t respond to my repeated requests for a quick phone chat, so we maintained this odd system in which she sort of parceled out little morsels of information to me. Maybe she was testing me, making sure I was worthy. In any case, by the time our show opened back in May, I’d come to think of her as our guardian research angel, so of course I invited her to the opening reception. She didn’t respond to that either, and she didn’t show up at the reception (or at least didn’t identify herself — I had no idea what she looked like or if she even lived in the New York area), but she later sent me a note indicating that she’d seen the exhibit and approved of how it had turned out. Nice.
And that might have been the end of that. But Mary Ellen popped out of the ether again about five weeks ago by sending me a note on Facebook, of all places (we had never communicated via that method before). “Hey Paul,” she wrote, “check out my piece of Shea Stadium.”
My heart jumped and sank at the same time. I was pretty sure I knew exactly what was in that photo. And if I was right, it meant Mary Ellen was in possession of the one baseball artifact I would give almost anything to own.
“OK, I’ll bite,” I wrote back. “What is it?”
“It is an exterior panel that hung on the cables outside of Shea in 1964,” she responded, confirming my initial reaction. “They were blue & orange.”
Mary Ellen was referring, of course, to the amazing corrugated metal panels that adorned Shea Stadium for the first 16 years of its existence. I’ve written about them several times over the years and had always been told that they’d been discarded shortly after they were removed in 1980. So how did Mary Ellen get one?
Through the simplest means imaginable, as it turns out: She bought it on eBay less than two months ago. And for a ridiculously reasonable price, too. Or to put it another way, one of my holy grails was up for auction right under my nose and I didn’t realize it. That bruise on my ass is where I’ve been kicking myself for the past few weeks.
I congratulated Mary Ellen on her purchase, to which she blithely replied, “Someday I will bring the Shea organ in from my garage into my house too. I miss Shea Stadium. Can you tell?”
Wait a minute — she also had the organ from Shea? Jane Jarvis’s organ?!
At this point I sort of half-begged, half-demanded that Mary Ellen let me interview her. To my pleasant surprise, she readily agreed. Here’s how it went down:
Uni Watch: Tell me a little about yourself. Did you grow up in New York City?
Mary Ellen Coghlan: No. I’m from New Jersey, Bergen County.
UW: And did you attend the World’s Fair yourself?
MEC: You know, the funny thing is that I attended the Fair before it opened. My father was known as “The Bamboo Man” in the 1960s. He sold bamboo from our house in Upper Saddle River, and he became this quirky ’60s icon to some people. He got to be a guest on Johnny Carson…
UW: Talking about bamboo?!
MEC: Yes. He was also a guest on To Tell the Truth. Bamboo became the rage when he was selling it.
UW: Was this for tiki bars and things like that?
MEC: No. For people to grow in their homes. It’s a very hearty plant. Everyone was into Japanese stuff back then, in the late ’50s, early ’60s. It’s a lovely plant. Anyway, he was contacted by the African pavilion at the Fair, because they wanted some bamboo. I didn’t even know they had bamboo in Africa. But anyway, when he delivered it, I went along for the ride. And it was this crazy thing, running around the World’s Fair a couple of weeks before it opened.
UW: So this would have been in early 1964.
MEC: Yes.
UW: How old were you then?
MEC: Ten years old.
UW: And what did you think of the Fair?
MEC: Oh, I was blown away by it. It was a kid’s delight. When we got back home, I wanted my mother to bring us back to the Fair when it was open, but I never got there. She figured we’d all get lost at the Fair, and that was not gonna happen.
UW: So you didn’t even get to go back and see your father’s bamboo? What a shame. Now, how does Shea Stadium play into all of this?
MEC: Well, I’ve always been a Mets fan, and the Fair was right next door.
UW: Did you attend lots of Mets games during that period? Did you go to Shea during that first season in 1964?
MEC: Probably. I don’t recall specifically, but my father took us to Yankee Stadium and to Shea, and I remember how Shea had those confetti panels on the outside. It was so amazing! I’m very sad that it’s gone. I’m not a big fan of Citi Field.
UW: I hear ya, Mary Ellen. Now, how did you acquire one of the confetti panels?
MEC: Well, I always search eBay for things relating to Shea Stadium and the World’s Fair, or any of my other quirky interests. I’m a big fan of the Brown Derby restaurant in L.A., for example. Anyway, someone on the Baseball Fever web site had posted that one of the panels was available on eBay. So I checked it out, and the guy selling it explained how he’d gotten it. He’d gone to a Mets/Dodgers game at Shea in 1980, which was the year they took the panels down, and he saw the panels laying in a pile. I think he said they were near the bullpen. He was there with a buddy of his — he grabbed a blue one and his buddy grabbed an orange one. They threw ’em in the trunk of their car and drove home with them. He’s a professor or teacher in California now, and the panel was in his parents’ garage in Queens, and they were finally giving him the ultimatum — “You’ve gotta get rid of this thing.”
UW: When did put the listing up on eBay?
MEC: Pretty recently — in early July.
UW [incredulous]: Of this year? Like, last month?
MEC: Right.
UW: You’re lucky I didn’t know about it — I would have bid a lot!
MEC: I was so surprised that it showed up there. And to be honest with you, I didn’t think I was going to win.
UW: How many other bids were there?
MEC: Eight, I think.
UW: What was the starting price?
MEC: A hundred dollars.
UW: And your winning bid?
MEC: A little over $500.
UW: How high would you have been willing to go?
MEC: I would have gone to $1000. I can’t believe I got it for barely half of that — I thought for sure I’d be outbid. I think maybe he didn’t title the auction properly. He just wrote “Shea Stadium — Original Blue Rectangle.”
UW: Yeah, that doesn’t really tell the full story. So once you won the auction, how did they ship it to you?
MEC: As soon as I paid for it, I jumped into my pickup truck and got it. I didn’t want someone else to make him an offer on the side and I’d be screwed! It was still at his parents’ house in Queens. When I arrived to pick it up, his mother said, “I can’t believe anyone would pay for this thing. It’s been kicking around in our garage for years.”
UW: Was it a hassle to transport? How big is it, how heavy is it?
MEC: It’s three feet by four feet. And it weighs nothing — I think it’s just corrugated aluminum. I thought it would be corrugated steel, and I was worried that it would be a real struggle. But it’s not heavy at all, you can lift it with one hand, no problem. [Here it is being held by Mary Ellen's niece and nephews. -- PL]
UW: Interesting.
MEC: I’m sure it’s original, but I’d like to get it authenticated somehow, just to be sure. It has drips of orange paint on the back — that seems pretty convincing.
UW: What about the orange one that the seller’s buddy took — does he still have it?
MEC: I asked his mother that, because I figured I’d buy the orange one too. But she said he’d thrown it in the trash years ago.
UW: Seriously?!
MEC: Yeah. It would’ve been great to have a blue one and an orange one together.
UW: So yours is maybe the only one left, like, anywhere.
MEC: To my knowledge it is, yeah. Nobody on Baseball Fever was aware of any others that have survived. I’m sure someone else has gotta have one or two in a garage, I would think. But who knows.
UW: Do you have any other memorabilia from Shea?
MEC: I bought a set of seats. And I bought something from the dedication at the stadium’s groundbreaking — it’s a Lucite block with a shovel embedded in it.
UW: So now that you have the confetti panel, what are you going to do with it?
MEC: I have an old bar in my house, and I have all sorts of World’s Fair signs and things like that in there. I’ll probably put it in there. When I pass away years from now, I’ll leave it to the Baseball Hall of Fame, if they want it.
UW: Now, what’s the story with this organ?
MEC: It’s in my garage. It weighs a ton!
UW: How’d you get that?
MEC: Again, on eBay, for about $500. The person selling it lived way upstate, between Syracuse and Buffalo. I called her up and she said, “The person we purchased the house from used to work at Shea Stadium, and they took the organ when the Mets were getting rid of it in 1979,” which I think was the last year Jane Jarvis played there. [That's correct, at least according to Wikipedia. -- PL]
UW: So was this the original organ at the stadium?
MEC: I don’t think so, because I’ve looked at some photos of Jane Jarvis from 1964 or ’65, when she started playing there. It’s a Thomas organ, and I have the serial numbers, so I have to contact Thomas to see if they can trace it.
UW: Can you play the organ?
MEC: No. It’s just another, like, dopey thing I’ve bought.
=======
Mary Ellen also gave me the contact info for the guy who sold her the panel. I’ll be getting in touch with him shortly and will post an update once I speak with him, but I wanted today’s entry to belong to Mary Ellen. I pleaded with her to provide a photo of herself holding the panel, but she says she doesn’t like to have her picture taken. I prefer to think maybe she just likes to maintain an air of mystery. Either way, she’s aces — thanks for all the help and support you’ve provided over the past year, Mary Ellen, and thanks also for sharing your story.As for me, I’m super-duper happy to know that one of the Shea panels escaped the scrap heap, and even happier to know it’s in the hands of someone who deserves it and will take good care of it, even if that someone isn’t me. But hey, Mary Ellen, if the Hall of Fame doesn’t want that panel, I know someone else who’ll gladly take custody of it.  Membership Update: A nice little surge-let of membership orders just before the August break (including Masao Okazaki’s Rollerball treatment, shown at right) has put us only three enrollees shy of cracking the 800-member mark. You can help push us over the top here.
Raffle Reminder: Speaking of which, all membership enrollees will get three bonus chances to win the college football helmet from Gridiron Memories that I’m currently raffling off. For details, look here.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Hill on Hill! (Good spot by Dylan Buell.) … Here’s more on David Wright and the S100. Meanwhile, Shane Victorino tried the S100 on Thursday night, but Rawlings didn’t send him a double-flap model, so we got to see the rare sight of Victorino going single-flapped. After two ABs, he went back to his usual helmet. Further details in the last section of this page (with thanks to Bernie Langer). … Steve Luft notes that the Blackhawks have changed the design of their red line. … Here’s a fantastic look at the anti-drugs patch that the Rams wore in 1988 (big thanks to William Schaefer). … What’s going on here? Jonathan Sluss explains: “Throwback uniforms were presented to players from the Old Dominion teams of the 1930s (the last decade of football there before this year). The colors are green and yellow because the school was then known as William and Mary Norfolk Division. This page has a short video about this, and also includes a shot of a great old letterman sweater at the very end, plus the accompanying article has a neat story about how they accepted an invitation to play Miami even though the invitation was intended for the main William and Mary campus.” … The baseball season is almost over, and Clint Glaze just noticed a uni change that the rest of us all overlooked: The Padres removed the city name from their sleeve patch. Sure enough, this change is reflected in the graphics shown in the MLB Style Guide, but it wasn’t called out as one of the uni changes for this season. Kudos to Clint for picking up on something the rest of us missed. … Douchebag alert from Scott Holcomb, who spotted Bo Jackson addressing the Auburn football team with Band-Aids covering the Under Armour logo on his T-shirt. … Speaking of douchebaggery, the Swedish Hockey League has finally figured out exactly what the world needs: ads on goalie pads (with thanks to Tyler Hull). … The Mavericks are unveiling an alternate jersey on Sept. 21st. … I’ve seen all the new MLB designs for next season and can report that another team is going to have a powder blue alternate jersey, plus one team is adding a powder blue alt cap. And no, I can’t say anything more than that, so don’t ask. … Didn’t realize the Cardinals wore striped belts in the early 1980s. Those photos both come from a book that Jim Vilk was nice enough to give me when I met him in Cleveland earlier this summer. … If you click through the first four photos in this gallery, you’ll see that C.J. Wilson wears a red glove when the Rangers wear their red jerseys, and a blue glove the rest of the time (good spot by Rachel Johnson). … Benji Boyter reports that Tennessee’s offensive line includes two brothers named Cody and Cory Sullins. “They use first and third initials on their jerseys — CD Sullins and CR Sullins,” he says. No pic yet. … The Orioles did the Negro Leagues thing on Saturday, dressing up as the Baltimore Elite Giants. Nice job with the batting helmets. In fact, they even went the extra mile with the catcher’s helmet. Some nice video footage here, if you’re so inclined. … Three years ago, City Reliquary founder and all-around good guy Dave Herman gave me this very excellent Xmas present. Unfortunately, it has languished in my T-shirt drawer since then, because (a) it’s too big, and (b) I almost always wear blue Levi’s, so I prefer not to go blue-on-blue. I’ve been meaning to scan the logo, change the colors, and create a new Zazzle version for myself, and I finally got around to doing it a few days ago (with a big assist from Kirsten, who retraced the logo in Illustrator) — voila! I made a tote bag too, but I haven’t actually ordered that for myself yet. … Major thrift shop score by Jeff Santos, who found some authentic — and maybe game-used — Phoenix Suns throwback shorts at a Goodwill store in North Attleboro, Mass. Only $3.99! … Bobby Cox once again wore the wrong cap on Sunday (with thanks to Joseph Stuhrenberg). … Prince Fielder’s belly is now so big that it’s generated its own force field. … The Bears have demoted Will Ta’ufo’ou to the practice squad, thereby denying us the chance to see more of this great NOB. … Here’s one I’ve never seen before: Surrattsville High in Maryland uses the Superman logo on their helmets (with thanks to Marc Nelson Jr.). … Good article on UNC’s championship rings here (with thanks to Benn Wineka). … And speaking of UNC’s national titles, here’s a nice group shot of their championship jerseys (as forwarded by Joey Morris). … The Titans aren’t the only team wearing a Steve McNair memorial decal. They’re also wearing one at Mississippi Valley State (good spot by Chris Buttgen). … Ever seen this Bills logo before? How about this Oilers logo? Scott Little put these and a bunch of other obscure AFL logos on this page. I’d definitely seen the Bengals one before, but most of the others are new to me. … Remember the old “America Needs Farmers” decal that Iowa wore back in the Hayden Fry days? They were wearing it again on Saturday — albeit a much smaller version — apparently because Fry was in attendance at the game. “I had thought that the NCAA banned such stickers and that was why Iowa stopped wearing them in the first place,” says Scott Mason. Anyone know more about this? … Meanwhile, as you may have noticed in that last shot, Iowa has history’s hugest rear-helmet uni numbers.
September 8th, 2009
Notice anything unusual about this Gary Matthews gamer from 1983? That smudge on the right sleeve is a little sergeant’s pin — a reference to Matthews’s nickname, Sarge.
But was the pin actually worn on the field or just added to the jersey after the fact? “The jersey’s current owner said he received it from Matthews with confirmation that the pin was worn during the 1983 season,” says Jared Wheeler, who displayed the jersey in the Philly baseball history exhibit he recently curated. “He also had a photo that confirmed this, but I was unable to get a shot of that to send to you.” I did a bit of very quick photo research but wasn’t able to find a shot with a clear view of Matthews’s right sleeve. Maybe someone with a bit of time on their hands would like to do a more in-depth photo search? (Update: Mike Hersh just came up with this. Nice job!)
New ESPN column today — the annual college football mother lode. Look here.
September Raffle: Our friends at Helmet Hut are kicking off the football season by offering a free helmet from their huge product line of NCAA designs (click on any school for the full range of selections for that team). We’re going to call this the Jim Parker Memorial Raffle, in honor of the Helmet Hut co-founder and helmet historian who recently passed away — a great loss for the uni community.
To enter, send a blank e-mail with your name in the subject line to the raffle address (not to the usual Uni Watch e-mail address, please) by 10pm next Tuesday, September 8th. One entry per person, but anyone enrolled in the Uni Watch membership program at the time of the drawing can send four entries. The winner will be announced next Wednesday.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Graphic designer Sean Engelhardt has created a chart that tracks the Mets’ 2009 injuries. “I’m not trying to make any excuses or explain away anything,” he writes. “I just wanted to see the data in action since it seemed so absurd. I also think it’s a fascinating look at how a full season of baseball plays out. You can see how the starting rotation lined up then got mixed around, days when multiple relievers pitched, see who started (and against what team), consecutive-games streaks (and games-missed streaks), etc.” Really good stuff. … Jeremy Brahm was going through his closet recently and came across these Leaf mini-helmets. “I even had the whole set of 26 teams, which believe me was difficult when I was a kid,” he says. “I sent this over to [gumball helmet king] Bill Jones and he told me that he had a set too, but not the box. You can barely find any information for these online.” … And speaking of gumball helmets, look what Brinke Guthrie found on eBay. … Robbie Biederman has launched a new Detroit-centric T-shirt line. … New logos for Georgia State. Further details here (with thanks to Jameson Adams). … Germany’s home kit for the 2010 World Cup has been leaked. … Throwback-ish jersey and a 30th-anniversary patch for the Flames (with thanks to Stan Capp). … Very interesting article about Colt Brennan’s visor — recommended reading. … More headwear adjustments for David Wright, who went with a double-flap S100 last night.
September 3rd, 2009
When I attended the National Sports Collectors Convention in Cleveland earlier this summer, I spent plenty of time lingering over the basketball jerseys shown at the Grey Flannel Auctions booth. Now a lot of those jerseys — along with a bunch of other good stuff — have shown up in Grey Flannel’s latest auction, which is tied to the upcoming inductions at the Basketball Hall of Fame. Here’s a rundown of some of the more notable items:
• Never knew the ABA’s iconic striped basketball was once depicted on a championship ring (here’s the full listing, which has additional photos and info).
• So much to like about this James “Fly” Williams jersey, including the nickNOB (full listing).
• I spent a few minutes fondling this old USC jersey at the National. The photos I took at the time do a better job of showing the lettering’s gorgeous texture (full listing).
• I suspect a closer view would also show some nice textural details in this old Philly Warriors jersey (full listing).
• If you’re a fan of the Nuggets’ old rainbow jerseys, you can get the original design and the late-’80s update in this auction (full listings here and here, respectively).
• A Globetrotters jersey is always fun, but this warm-up jacket is even better (full listings here and here, respectively).
• I looooove this 1970-71 Sixers design. Dig the Pearson tag, too (full listing).
• Speaking of tags, look at this! Not sure what “Minnesota inspired” means, but it’s an awesome tag design. It’s from this old St. Louis Bombers jacket from the late 1940s (full listing).
• Finally, I was intrigued by this listing of signed checks from Hall of Famer Cliff Hagan. Check out his handwriting — it’s impeccable! Looks more like checks from an elementary school teacher, not an athlete. Interesting.
Discount Reminder: Remember, Bill Henderson is offering his latest MLB jersey reference guide at a $5 discount to Uni Watch readers. Just go to the Bill’s store and use the discount code “paulhatespurple” when checking out.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Speaking of auctions, here’s a pretty rare item (with thanks to Bruce Menard). … Awesome yard sale find by Craig Bates, who came across this Japanese baseball jersey. Nice tag, too. Jeremy, can you shed any light on this one? … Notice anything different about these uniforms? That’s Crown College, a D3 school, and Eric Bangeman notes that their uni appears to be completely free of manufacturers’ logos. … What kind of socks was Pacman Jones wearing here? (As spotted by Kenneth Ritz.) … Kudos to the folks at The Oregonian, who’ve created a Ducks mix-and-match uni page. … Well, that didn’t take long. … Who’s that holding up the ball? It’s Ted Kennedy, believe it or not. But of greater interest for our purposes is the fact that the Yale players have Northwestern-striped sleeves while others have triple-stripes (good spot by Dan Cichalski). … As expected, David Wright wore the new S100 helmet after coming off the DL last night. Despite all the chatter about the helmet looking too big (including some excruciating exchanges between Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez on TV), I think it looks fine. … Luis Castillo tried the S100 during BP but went with his usual Cool-Flo lid during the game. … OK, maybe it looks a little big, but it kinda depends on the angle at which you’re viewing it. In case you missed my ESPN column about all of this, look here. … Jon Strauss was at Gillette Stadium for the New England Revolution’s annual “Meet the Revs” event the other day and got pics of some really great stuff on the wall…. Robert Marshall’s latest project: painting this 1960s Orioles helmet for reader David Reeder. “He was putting together an authentic ’60’s O’s flannel uniform to play ball in,” Robert explains. “The snag: Rawlings was going to make him buy 50 Orioles helmets to get one. He had done me a favour, so I offered to paint it for him. Spent 13 hours painting and sanding, painting and sanding. Then I topped it off with the same varnish they used on the cows that lined Chicago a few years ago.”
September 2nd, 2009
Time for another bunch of vintage NFL screen shots from reader Steve K., who continues to document unusual uni-related items from the 1970s (if you’ve missed the previous entries featuring his work, they’re here and here). Here we go:
• If you think John Hadl’s NOB looked off-center in this shot (which was featured in one of Steve’s earlier reports), check him out here — yikes.
• Oilers DB Willie Germany wore some white tape stripes on his thighs.
• Note the small type on Emery Moorehead’s NOB, circa 1977. “Only a few Giants had this font that season, including Moorehead and OL Jim Pietrzak,” says Steve. “From 1977-80, the Giants had numerous inconsistencies in their NOB fonts which, I’ll document another time.”
• Alfred Jenkins’s NOB type wasn’t small — it was missing altogether in this 1977 shot.
• Speaking of missing uni elements, here’s Rick Upchurch wearing a blank helmet in 1975 — shocking! But he had a logo-clad helmet in the second half of the same game.
• Meanwhile, here’s Upchurch’s teammate Billy Van Heusen with no space between the two part of his surname.
• On the other end of the spectrum, check out James McAlister’s NOB with a wide space. This appears to have been Philly’s standard style in 1975.
• Speaking of the Eagles, check out the livery on this helicopter — interesting mix of the helmet wing and an eagle’s head.
• Steve has documented several instances of the mid-’70s Chargers NOBs with the first initial coming after the surname, and here’s another one. “That’s little-known OL Booker Brown,” says Steve. “Oddly, there was no other Charger with the surname Brown on the team in 1975.”
• “We all know that the NFL changed the end zone markers from from flags to orange pylons beginning in 1974,” says Steve. “But the Broncos appear to have used striped pylons for this 1975 game against the Eagles.”
• We’ve had plenty of discussion about the inconsistencies in the Dolphins’ numerals over the years, but here’s a particularly glaring example: Check out the TV numbers in this shot.
• 1970s coaching attire was always good for a laugh (especially when the coach in question was Bum Phillips). And even if the coach was dressed conservatively, there was usually someone on the field to remind you which decade you were in.
That’s enough for now. More stuff coming from Steve soon.
Friendly Reminder: If you’ve been uni-tracking a team for Phil, he wants to hear from you asap. Full details here.
Uni Watch News Ticker: New sleeve patches for Navy. Further details here (with thanks to Mike Althouse and Kevin Whisman, respectively. … Mike Hersh picked up some cool stuff at the National in Cleveland last week, including this awesome 1939 Eagles photo and a great view of some killer Michigan logo socks. … John Moist was vacationing in Philly and spotted a waiter wearing faux stirrups at the Old City Tavern. “They are required to wear white socks,” he says. “I told him about Uni Watch and that this photo may appear. Sorry, didn’t get his name. Also, another waiter had swoosh socks. I did not take his photo.” … Big news from Jeff Ash, who writes: “I am working on a Packers photo history book that may be of interest to uni enthusiasts. Titletown’s Team won’t be out until November, but it will have more of the old Packers photos I’ve posted at the Green Bay Press-Gazette’s web site over the last couple of years. We also will be putting some of that material online.” … I don’t like Nike, but I might make an exception in this case (big thanks to Chad Todd). … Here’s a patch I’d never seen before, because it was never worn on the ice. The Flyers wore it for promo photos after their 1975 Stanley Cup championship. Here’s one more view (nice find by Paul Richard Cook). … Here’s an article about which UK soccer team has the most sponsor patches (with thanks to Craig Sallinger). … Michael Chamberlain is the track announcer at Sam Houston Race Park in Houston. “In our first race this Saturday, the #2 horse is named Uni. 6-1 odds on the morning line, and I will certainly plan on picking him in my tip sheet and will probably put a couple of bucks on him also to honor the Uni Watch site.” Thanks, Michael! … Small item buried within this guide to NYC museums: “On the second floor of the American Wing [at the Met], there’s an open storage area where art is displayed in glass cases while galleries undergo renovations. There you can admire a fraction of the museum’s thousands of rare baseball cards, donated by electrician Jefferson R. Burdick. (The rest, including a 1909 Honus Wagner valued at more than $2 million, are stored in the archives.) Until 1993, the cards were available for viewing by appointment only: It’s rumored that practice stopped because fanatic card collectors would pocket the valuable ones” (big thanks to Laura Forde). … Coupla good finds on the Chris Creamer board, including a new 50th-anniversary logo for the Lakers, an upcoming white-out for FSU, and new cleats for Matt Hasselbeck. Didn’t he get in trouble a few years back for wearing white shoelaces with black shoes? … NOBs have been restored at Iowa State, which had been NNOB for the past two seasons (with thanks to Chris Andringa). … According to Dressed to the Nines, “In 1895, a number of ballplayers, including future Hall of Fame outfielder Jesse Burkett, experimented with baseball caps that had green-tinted, transparent bills. The idea was to allow the fielder a better range of view while protecting him from the glare of the sun, but apparently the see-through bills never caught on.” I knew about that. But I didn’t know that a variation on that concept was still being sold in the Sears catalog in 1923 (nice find by David Neuman). … Apparently nobody has told the folks at AFLAC (or at FSN Rocky Mountain) that the Orioles no longer have “Orioles” on their road jersey (with thanks to Matt Hiett). … Tim Burke notes that Rays catcher Michel Hernandez was missing his manta ray sleeve patch last night. … “Does he tear EVERYthing?” asks Brinke Guthrie. … Entertaining survey of high school team logos here (with thanks to Kurt Esposito). … The Titans will wear a Steve McNair memorial decal this season. … Vicente Padilla was sporting the Pedro Padilla Porthole last night (as spotted by Jay Shive). … Paul Getz II notes that the Phillies have stopped wearing their World Series championship sleeve patch. … Can someone please order one of these for Luis Castillo? … There’s a blog devoted to the Arizona Wildcats equipment staff (with thanks to Eric Sing). … Speaking of the Mets, had a great time at Shea yesterday with Phil. Two uni-notable items: (1) Cards catcher Jason LaRue wore navy shinguards with a red chest protector, and (2) Bobby Parnell had been with the Mets all season long without coming up to bat, until the bottom of the 8th yesterday. He promptly got a base hit, at which point they showed him on the jumbotron, which is when I saw that he had his own batting helmet. Just think how many times that helmet has been packed, unpacked, put in the helmet rack, put back in the helmet bag, taken on the road, etc., all season long, just waiting for its chance to finally be used in a game. I take a lot of shots at Charlie Samuels, but I give him credit for having a helmet for every player, even the ones who might never get a turn at bat.
August 6th, 2009
by Phil Hecken and Jim Vilk
I’m joined this fine Friday by DIYer and memorabilia collector Jim Vilk, who’s about to regale us with a fascinating story of his days working at the Richfield Coliseum, the Coliseum’s subsequent demise, and the trove of treasure Jim and his brother were able to secure in the hours prior the wrecking ball felling that once-proud structure. Fittingly, with Paul visiting The Mistake By The Lake The Forest City this weekend, Jim will take us inside (literally) the Coliseum and, after a quick history lesson, show us some of the things left behind, for the taking.
* * … Train wheels runnin’ through the back of my memory … * *
So, then, with that brief intro, here’s Jim:
With Paul coming to Cleveland this week, I did some math and realized he is here during a milestone year in Northeast Ohio sports history. The upcoming 2009-10 NBA season will be the 40th for the Cleveland Cavaliers. The year 2009 also marks 15 years of Cavs basketball at Quicken Loans Arena, or “The Q” (formerly Gund Arena) and 15 years of Indians baseball at Progressive Field (formerly Jacobs Field, or “The Jake,” as some of us still call it). Not only that, but 2009 marks 10 years of the new and not-so-improved Browns playing football at Cleveland Browns Stadium. The Browns’ last title was 45 years ago, but it wasn’t the city’s last. The Cleveland Crunch won the National Professional Soccer League title 15 years ago at Cleveland State’s Convocation Center. Take what you can get C-town, it counts.
That’s nice, I suppose. I’m a Pittsburgh fan, though, so most of it means bubkes to me. I do like the Cavs, but not nearly as much as I did when they spent 20 years playing ball amidst the serene, pastoral landscape of Richfield, far from the bright lights of the big city. Nestled in northern Summit County, the Richfield Coliseum was located almost halfway between Cleveland and the Akron-Canton area. I say “was,” because it’s been 10 years since they tore it down — but not before my brother Tom and I got a lot of great memorabilia.
The milestones continue. It’s been 35 years since the building opened with a Frank Sinatra concert, 30 years since Sports Illustrated said, “No arena was more beautiful than The Coliseum, a magnificent structure in Richfield, Ohio,” 20 years since “The Shot” by Michael Jordan and 15 years since the place closed with a Roger Daltrey concert. In between were many more concerts, truck pulls and rodeos, circuses and ice shows, boxing and wrestling matches, hockey and arena football games, some great indoor soccer (as we talked about recently) and of course, the good, bad and ugly years of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Tom and I worked as vendors there, and even shared a souvenir stand for a few years. He started a year after the building opened, so he was there for “The Miracle of Richfield.” I officially started in 1983. Unofficially, I got to work the 1981 NBA All-Star Game, which was cool. Tom stayed at the Coliseum all the way to the end, and even works at “The Q” to this day. I quit in 1992 to get on with my life’s work, but asked to come back in 1994 to work the Cavs’ playoff run. I lost my seniority but gladly sold soda in the seats for the final games.
When the building closed it sat for five years while they figured out what to do with it. There was talk of it becoming an outlet mall, a prison, a workout facility, you name it. Finally, the Gund brothers sold it and the surrounding land to what is now the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. They didn’t implode the building. Rather, they gutted the interior, then took a wrecking ball to the exterior.
A day before the wreckers came, my brother got a call. We knew one of the guys doing the interior work, and he said we could come in and take anything we could fit into our vehicles. Everything that was left would be buried on site. Tom hopped in his pickup and I got in my station wagon (if that’s what you want to call a Saturn SW1). When we got there, it took a few minutes to get over seeing the gutted remains. Memories came back and flooded our minds. Once we started finding things, though, our reaction quickly turned to joy; we were like kids on Christmas morning.
The first items we found (by the way, the items you’ve seen so far are things Tom and I bought or received as giveaways) were in the employee locker rooms. We took two types of patches from the ushers’ and security guards’ uniforms. I liked the ushers’ patches, which were issued when the Coliseum was ten years old. The blue and gray depiction of the building was a definite alternative to the simple blue-and-green patch. Both were good in their own way, though.
Next, we snagged some warm and toasty dark blue coats the parking lot attendants wore. I wore mine as my winter coat for a few years before I had to retire it. The simple design made it go with almost anything. The big white Coliseum logo on the back sure started a lot of conversations in public. I lost count how many times strangers started reminiscing with me when they saw it. Then we found a brown coat worn by the ticket takers. The brown welcome patch harkened back to the original logo.
Speaking of uniforms, the vendors had a few nice ones. Unfortunately, I don’t have those anymore. The only one I still have is the ugliest of the set — a red-and-green-striped bowling shirt with a horizontal strip of black thrown in for bad measure. We had a cool yellow polo shirt before that and a nice blue-white-and-orange rugby shirt afterward, but those are gone for some reason. Tom still has his rugby shirt, though.
* * … Ancient footprints are everywhere … * *
Anyway, on to the good stuff. We went out to the arena floor and grabbed a few sections of floor seats. My set actually gets some use in our basement. Tom has the rest tucked away in the bowels of his home. Then, we headed to a storage area, where we found a giant NBA logo and some floor stickers for the playoffs. We almost left the room, until we saw some rolled up fabric. Good thing we were curious, because we ended up finding the banner for the scorers table, as well as the banner for the Cavaliers’ 75-76 division title.
After that, we went up to the main concourse and stopped at our old location between sections 208 and 209. Tom grabbed the sign for it, while I took the “Drive Safely” sign above the exit. I like to keep it in my garage as a reminder to, you know, drive safely.
Finally, we headed up to the infamous loge area. The Coliseum was one of the first arenas to have a set of luxury boxes. Problem is, they put them way at the top of the building. That turned out to be the reason for the building’s early demise — the corporate types ended up with the worst view of the game. Whatever. We didn’t find much up there, until we got to a meeting room which contained a scale model of “The Q.” Well, if it was a full scale model, someone got to it before us and dismantled it. We found almost half of the seating area, which makes it kind of worthless. That didn’t matter to my brother, who never met a piece of memorabilia he didn’t like. Actually, with a little creativity some DIYer could turn it into a retro-looking baseball stadium. (Ah, if I had the time…)
By this time, our vehicles were filled beyond capacity. We left the building for the absolute last time, and I saluted as I drove out of the parking lot. It wasn’t the last time I’ve been on the site, however. The national park was just going to let trees grow naturally, but someone noticed birds were starting to use the land as a migratory pit stop. Now they keep the area trimmed for birds and bird watchers alike. You can walk around there, but the ground settled where the arena was, so that’s fenced off for safety. The small threat of poison ivy was enough to keep me from venturing around … until this past winter. We had lots of snow, so I put on my big rubber boots and hiked from the road to the fence (quite a feat in shin-deep snow over tall grass). I got to the approximate area outside of sections 208-209, noticed the calm around me, then closed my eyes and listened for the distant echoes of cheering fans. I think I heard a few — if nothing else I felt them.
Okay, what’s a Jim Vilk story without a little DIY? Most of you have seen my Lego tribute to the Miracle of Richfield and my latest indoor soccer game, but very few people have seen my first attempt at a Coliseum/Cleveland Force tribute. I made this from an old table hockey game, using cardboard cutouts for the players and clothes pins covered in hockey tape for the bases. It’s a bit primitive, but I thought I should dig it out of the closet and share it with you anyway.
Oh, and you hockey fans – that inflatable Cleveland Crusaders guy was goalie Gerry Cheevers, in case you were wondering.
* * … Yes, it sure has been a long, hard climb … * *
Thanks, Jim, for that trip down memory lane. You got some great stuff out of that old place. And thanks for the brief history lesson too — like many readers, I’m sure we weren’t aware of the great events hosted inside the Coliseum. And I, for one, wholeheartedly express support for a future DIY of turning that scale model of the Q into a retro baseball park. Maybe next spring?
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 Guess The Game From The Scoreboard: OK…there’s going to be a theme with today’s post, starting with the scoreboard. So, right off the bat, in case you don’t recognize the stadium, there’s your hint. That’s the only hint you should need, since this one is probably pretty easy, especially if you know how to cheat. Try not to, OK? Ready? Guess The Game. As always, date, location and final score, and let us know how you came about your answer.
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 Did I mention there’s a bit of a theme today? Well, even today’s Benchies plays along with that theme. Ricko did this one a long time ago (notice the stirrups on Ozzie), so take it for what it’s worth. And it’s pretty funny. So, on that note, enjoy a special Friday edition of Benchies.
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 Uni Watch News Ticker: Uni Watch Prexy Paul Lukas checks in first with this, heads up from the Buccaneers, who will be unveiling their 1976 throwback uniforms at 11:00 am today … Also noticing this was Wayne Edward Koehler who provides the “heads up” from The St. Pete Times … Mr. Lukas also notes these pics from Pats practice, ad patches everywhere … In a related story, Tom Adjemian checks in with this little story on the Pat’s Jersey Ads, with another pic. … Northwest UW correspondent Jeremy Brahm notes “The Japan Volleyball Federation (JVA) has just released logos for their men’s and women’s national teams. The women’s logo is on the left ‘Hinotori (Phoenix) Nippon (Japan)’ and the men’s is on the right ‘Ryuujin (Dragon King) Nippon (Japan).’ This is in collaboration with Tezuka Productions or the company that owns the rights to the Seibu Lions logo.” … More jersey sponsor news comes from Nick Houser who advises that the Cincinnati Bengals have signed a practice jersey deal with SpongeTech Delivery Systems according to the Cincinnati Enquirer (via twitter) … Ribby Paultz found this interesting article in which Russian airline “Aeroflot ditches ‘revolting’ hostess uniforms and reveals: ‘We will only hire attractive girls’.” Says Ribby, “‘Bout time.” … Following up upon a ticker item yesterday about Tadahito Iguchi’s batting gloves, Robert Steinau produced a picture of him from his days as a member of the Phillies … In addition, Jeremy has also supplied pics of him as a member of the White Sox, and also his current team, the Chiba Lotte Marines … Sneakerhead Matt Powers called me from Fenway Park yesterday to report that Rajai Davis is still wearing the logoed stirrups (here’s a better view from a different game) … Aaron Bolerjack writes: “I’ve been a Manchester United fan for a long time, and a Uni Watch supporter since the Page 2 days. Can’t believe that nobody from one camp or the other hasn’t jumped on this yet — A few weeks ago, Man U announced their new 09/10 home uniform, which they claimed was ‘reminiscent of the shirt worn by Manchester United’s 1909 FA Cup-winning team. This new design features a similar sash across the front. The club has used the same design components to honor that historic accomplishment of 100 years ago, the first of its eleven Cup titles.’” Here’s the problem, according to Aaron: The 1909 shirts looked like this (WHITE shirt, LONG sleeves, RED chevron and cuffs); The 2009/2010 shirts look like this (RED shirt, SHORT sleeves, BLACK chevron, BLACK neck ring, NO cuffs). “Ironically, the 2009/2010 goalkeeper’s jerseys (designed to CONTRAST with their teammates) are a LOT closer to the original design,” he continues. “Please help me bring attention to this travesty.” … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: reader Brian makes an astute observation — Is a commemorative bat really a the right type of memorabilia to celebrate a perfect game? … Jake Elwell found this bit about “These blogging sisters were featured in the Times style section today. I note they recently posted some fun uni-related stuff your readers might like (scroll down a bit).” … Zac Neubauer was fortunate enough to go to the Giants game on Monday night and got an up close look at the Sue Burns patch. Sadly, the ones on the ushers were either stapled or safety pinned on … Bill Scrowther notes, “I noticed during Wednesday night’s MLS All-Star game that each MLS player had their team’s crest on their left sleeve, which can be seen here.” Bill adds, “However, the second goalkeeper (Zach Thornton) for the MLS side had his crest on the front of his jersey, right chest. What made him so special? My only thought is maybe it has to do with him only being added to the roster on Monday.” … Check out this collection of old baseball photographs from the University of California Library system (with thanks to Robert Ruszczyk … Jim Zorn “lays down the law,” according to Alain Nana-Sinkam, who notes that in the last graf of the Chris Cooley blog, there are to be no cutoff sweats. “We have retained a seamstress to take care of that for you,” he states. … Hayden Jackson thinks, we “might enjoy this photo set of a book my grandfather owned about Babe Ruth called ‘Babe Ruth: The Idol of an American Boy’.” I’d say so … Chris Hodge found this incredibly cool gallery of old photos of the Bears at Wrigley Field. … Reprinted from last night’s comments: the Buffalo Bills have “officially” unveiled their throwback uniforms for next season (thanks TJ), and they’re already on sale — although there is some question as to the actual sleeve striping (if they’ll even have noticeable sleeves, that is) … OCD DIYer Robert Marshall, whose team apparently won their softball game yesterday, sent this awesome pic of his hosiery (at least I think that’s his legs) … Matthew Dubroff, Philly fan, loves his Phillies — but “then I saw this t shirt that is embarrassingly stupid. If this starts a trend if nickname jersey/shirts … god help us all.” And finally, the previously mentioned Matt Powers sent along the following: DWade has decided to join the mothership. Matt continues, “And for a sneakerhead, this news is like winning the lottery, going out with Kim Kardashian, and dunking on Gheorge Muresan after coming home from Spring Break and watching Sixth Sense for the first time.” He explains that these are often thought of as the best of all 23 Jordan signatures. And finally, a super rare retro. Thanks Matt, I don’t know what we’d do with out you.
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Hope everyone who was able to attend the UW gathering in Cleveland had a great time. Thanks to Paul for letting me steer the ship in his stead yesterday and today. Of course, you’re stuck with me for the weekend too. Be sure to check back Sunday for a couple of announcements on “uni tweaks” and “uni tracking” and a bit of potpourri. Have a great Friday everyone. — Phil
July 31st, 2009
At the risk of having Teebz cross me off of his Christmas card list, I have to admit that my knowledge of NHL jersey patches is somewhat less than encyclopedic. But that may change now that John Muir has pointed me toward NHL Patches, a site devoted to, um, what was the name of the site again? Right.
There’s tons of good stuff documented here. Did you know, for example, that the Red Wings wore a war bonds patch during WWII? Or that the Bruins celebrated their 50th anniversary with a really creepy-looking bear?
You could waste a whole day clicking through the site. Fortunately for you, I’ve already done that, so here are some highlights, in roughly chronological order:
• Never seen an egg shaped sports patch before.
• And speaking of unusual shapes, I really like the shape and alignment of the Flames’ 10th-anniversary patch.
• Several teams have worn Olympics-based patches over the years, including the Canadiens, Sabres, Islanders, and Flames. Canadian teams have also promoted the Canada Games.
• I love — love — this Edmonton 75th-anniversary patch design. The following year, the Oilers wore a similar patch for the province of Alberta, but the design wasn’t as good.
• When the Red Sox wore the Massachusetts bicentennial patch, it was rendered in Red Sox colors. But the Bruins wore it in Bruins colors.
• You know how stores and businesses will proudly say how they’re “family-owned”? So did the Red Wings, in the early 1980s. Never seen anything like that. (Ten years later, the Wings celebrated their 60th anniversary with a direct-embroidered design instead of a patch — unusual.)
• Something else I’d never seen: a patch honoring disabled people.
• Somehow this Whalers 10th-anniversary patch is perfectly in keeping with the team’s endearingly simple graphics program. Awesome!
• I really like the color-coordination of these simple memorial patches.
• I knew about the Leafs’ King Clancy patch. But I didn’t know they’d worn heart disease patch that same season.
• Man, that is one busy patch design.
• Now that’s an all-star patch!
• Very interesting to see that that Harold Ballard’s memorial patches had his name rendered in white-on-white and blue-on-blue — a posthumous nod to his infamous color-on-color NOB stunt, perhaps?
• Speaking of the Leafs, here’s probably the best stadium/arena patch I’ve ever seen (much better than the one they wore a few years later).
• Very nice, very simple — I like.
• Here’s an oddity: The Flames celebrated their 15th season in Calgary with a small design direct-embroidered on their shirttail.
• The 1995 All-Star Game patch was supposed to look like this (excellent concept, not so sure about the execution). But that game was never played, because of the lockout. San Jose got to host the next ASG, but the patch design was revised to look like this.
• Here’s an excellent look at all the millennium patches from the 1999-2000 season.
• And I’m saving the best for last: quite possibly the coolest patch design ever. Wow.
There’s more, mostly from the last decade, but I’ll let you explore those for yourself. Just don’t blame me if you don’t get anything else done today.
In case you didn’t notice the new ad on the left: You can now access all of the Naming Wrongs shirts from this page, and I don’t mind saying I think they look pretty damn nifty. Collect ’em all, buy lots for your friends, etc. (and big thanks to those of you who’ve already rung the cash register on this one).
Seriously, you won’t even know what hit you: I spent the weekend putting the finishing touches on the Mets-centric uniform quiz I’ll be conducting tomorrow night, 7pm, at Two Boots. It’s gonna be a doozy — I’ve got 25 questions with a total of 32 answers (i.e., some questions are “Name the three players who did blah-blah-blah”), and I’ll be impressed if anyone has more than 10 correct responses, although I’ll be very pleased if I’m proven wrong on that account. The prize will be a copy of Keith Hernandez’s new book, Pardon Me While I Snort the Third Base Line Shea Goodbye, and the book’s co-author, Matt Silverman, will be one of the other Two Boots speakers, so he can autograph it for the winning contestant on the spot. I’ll also have plenty of “I’m Calling It Shea” tees to sell, natch. See you there.
Uni Watch News Ticker: The Astros will wear lunar landing caps tonight (as reported by Maury Brown). … Check out this shot of the 1891 WVU football team! Love that little awning over the window on the building in the background (big thanks to Jason Bernard). … Awesome Chargers throwback slideshow — including throwback cheerleader uniforms! — available here. … Tommy Murray was at Magic Kingdom and stopped in for a bite at Casey’s, where the staffers wore baseball uniforms, including stirrups. … Marty Hick found a bunch of old indoor soccer uni drawings that he did as a kid. “My favorite parts are the collars, and the trendy indoor soccer shoes of the day.” Naturally, my favorite part is the socks. … New kits for Inter Milan. Further info here (with thanks to B. Mitchell. … Lots of cool old photos of the U. of Minnesota’s Memorial Stadium (with thanks to Tris Wykes). … Is there really a high school team called the Nikes? Yeesh (with thanks to Steven Wojtowicz). … As most of you probably know by now, Dwyane Wade has switched from Converse to Jordan. And as goes Wade, so goes his alma mater. … Some info on Nebraska’s basketball uniforms here (with thanks to David McGee). … Good roundup of the latest Premier League uniforms here. … Best photos yet of the new New Mexico football unis here (big thanks to Rob Montoya). … Really interesting video about the history of corporate logo design here (great find by Matthew Robins). … Interesting note from Tyler Kepner, who writes: “Had a great time at the McCartney concert at the Mets’ ballpark on Friday night and couldn’t help noticing a Detroit Red Wings sticker on the guitar he used while playing ‘Yesterday.’ I googled it and came across some sites that said a fan gave it to him in 1976. Maybe he liked it for the ‘Wings’ connection. Anyone know the real story?” … Ben Teaford notes that there’s a lot of orange in the logo for the groundbreaking on the Marlins’ new stadium (yes, even groundbreakings have logos now). “I also saw a video of the groundbreaking with people wearing orange shirts. Is this a hint of things to come or just an odd choice?” Hmmm. … More pics of those tuxedo jerseys here (with thanks to Paul Barrett. … Aaron Johnson reports that there was a Royals Hall of Fame game in KC on Friday. Participants wore the team’s current powder blue alternate jersey and matching pants and caps. Looks like they had a Royals HoF sleeve patch, too. … Some really interesting photos of keirin (Japanese short-track cycling) here (with thanks to Jeremy Brahm). … Here’s the new Celtic road kit (gracias to James Chaney). … Check out the Hannibal (Missouri) Cavemen, a summer league team that wears very nice northwestern-striped stirrups (big thanks to Bob Southon).
July 20th, 2009
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