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Posts filed under 'History'
Got a really interesting communiqué the other day from reader Matthew Earl, as follow:
I was interested in getting something that had the Lions’ new logo/helmet on it, so I was lured in by this T-shirt, which I mail-ordered as a unique uni item. (For clarification, the dates under each helmet read, from left to right: 1950, 1960, 1983, 2003, and Present).
The obvious question I have for you is this: What’s the deal with the 1950 gold helmet? I had assumed that licensed clothing is accurate, but I began to question this after I received the shirt. The Lions’ press release regarding their new uniforms includes a breakdown of uni changes made over the years, including mentions blue helmets occasionally being used. But the word “gold” doesn’t appear in that breakdown.
My own research has turned up only one possible reference to the Lions using a gold helmet: this auction item, which was supposedly worn by Bobby Layne in 1953 — not the 1950 referenced on the shirt.
Given all this information, I felt I had no recourse but to return the shirt for a refund, as I was opening myself up to an indefensible discussion at best and ridicule at worst.
OK, there’s a lot to chew on here, not the least of which is Matthew’s “[assumption] that licensed clothing is accurate.” As many of you know by now, licensed gear often has all sorts of errors — sometimes due to sloppy work on the licensee’s part, sometimes due to the sketchy nature of historical data.
Are any of those factors at work here? Tough to say. I’m not aware of the Lions having worn gold helmets, but pre-1959 NFL history isn’t well documented, so there are plenty of gaps in my mental database. According to Tim Brulia’s Pro Football Uniform History Project, the Lions wore silver, blue, and red helmets at various points over the years (yes, red), but there’s no mention of gold. Then again, Tim frequently sends me updates and revisions as he uncovers new data, so maybe the gold helmet — which could look very much like a silver helmet in a black-and-white newspaper photo — is just something he missed. Tim, do you know anything about this?
Meanwhile, let’s go back to that Bobby Layne helmet. The auction listing states the following:
The gold was a break from tradition; the silver [stripe] held a link to the franchise’s formidable past, thus the combination. It should also be noted that during the 1953 season, the Lions wore the gold helmet with a silver center stripe during 12 out of 13 regular season games, including the NFL Championship game. On Saturday night, October 3rd, during a 27-17 victory against the Colts in Baltimore, they wore solid royal blue helmets. The entire 1953 season of Lions game highlights were reviewed, and the gold helmet/silver center stripe styling is apparent throughout, save for the Colts’ night game.
Another issue, which needs edification, is the “amateurish” greenish splotches [that] adorn the helmet’s shell. One might think that a professional football helmet would never have such discoloration. While that assumption is probably correct even for the 1950s, there is a plausible explanation. The gold paint used during this period was not pure; it was a blend of yellow, golds, and copper. The copper pigments had a tendency to degrade and turn green. A picture of an early 1950s Lions helmet was used on the four-color cover of Myron Cope’s book, ‘The Game That Was.’ It depicts the same greenish discoloration.
Fortunately, there exists an exact mate to this helmet from another Lions superstar legend, Doak Walker. The Pro Football Hall of Fame has Walker’s complete uniform from 1953 — jersey, pants, shoes, and helmet. The helmet shows identical greenish degradation to the shell.
Now, there’s a lot of typical auction house bullshit in that text (”formidable past,” “superstar legend,” blah-blah-blah — can the flowery prose and just give us the facts, please), but you get the gist: According to the auction text, there are at least two other examples of gold Lions helmets floating around out there — the Myron Cope book cover and the Doak Walker uni at the Hall of Fame.
I haven’t been able to find an image of the book cover (anyone have that book?) or had time to check with the Hall (oh, but wait, someone already posted this in the comments, so there you go), but that’s sort of beside the point. The big issue here, which we’re experiencing for the umpteenth time, is that pro football uniform history is woefully underdocumented. If the auction listing is correct, then the Lions’ uni history listed on the team’s own web site is inaccurate (and so is Tim Brulia’s listing, but that’s more forgivable); if the info on the Lions’ site is accurate, then the auction house is pulling a fast one — and is able to do so with impunity because there are so few resources that allow us to confirm or reject the info in the auction listing. Either way, it’s a mess.
I’m interested in knowing whether the Lions ever wore a gold lid, but I’m a lot more interested in getting the NFL’s uniform history sorted out. It’s situations like this one that really make you appreciate Marc Okkonen. His MLB database, for all its flaws, is miles beyond the sorry state of NFL documentation.
As for Matthew’s T-shirt, I’d say the jury’s still out. Maybe the Lions did wear a gold helmet in 1950. Or maybe not. I suspect we’re a long way from knowing for sure.
Could someone please scrape me off the floor and dump me into bed?: Assuming we get all the finishing touches taken care of today (or tonight… or tomorrow morning…), the Candela Structures show will open tomorrow at noon at the City Reliquary in Brooklyn. Opening reception at 7pm Saturday evening, although it’ll be hard to actually see the exhibit once place fills up, so I’d suggest getting there by 6pm if you actually want to learn the story behind the structures. Of course, if you’d rather just drink and mingle, that’s fine too.
Today’s New York Times has a very nice article about our project. We also got some great coverage from The Sporting News.
Teeny-Tiny Ticker: Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Now that’s a bullpen buggy. … Neil Best ran a really interesting video clip of Branch Rickey discussing the Continental Baseball League (the proposed alternate league that would have brought baseball back to New York after the Dodgers and Giants left) on his blog yesterday. … All that’s wrong, and right, with life, in a nutshell (with thanks to Chris Lamping). … Chad Gaudin’s 40th-anniversary patch was missing from his right sleeve yesterday (as spotted by J.R. Gain). … Interesting piece here about MLS logos and branding (with thanks to Matt Carlson). … Lots of Yankee Stadium demolition photos here (with thanks to Kevin Rozell). … Whatever.
May 15th, 2009
Back on April 27th, I ran a Ticker item about this page from a 1958 MacGregor catalog. “Dig item G914,” I wrote. “Who’s Ted Sowle?” A reader helped fill in some of the blanks with this comment, but that didn’t address the question of the headgear shown in the old catalog. Had Sowle designed it, or had it been named after him for some other reason?
I got an answer a few days later, when I received an e-mail from one Ted Sowle. But no, not that Ted Sowle. Here’s what the note said:
Ted Sowle was my grandfather. He passed away in 1971, just before I was born. I was researching his past when I came across your question about him. … He holds many patents regarding the safety of, primarily, football athletes. A very creative guy and a hell of a football coach (was asked to coach for Notre Dame but turned it down, or so I’m told).
Ted offered to send me some of his grandfather’s patents — an offer I readily accepted. And sure enough, he designed the eyewear protector shown in the old catalog page (you can see the rest of that patent’s paperwork here). That design was apparently a refinement of a similar contraption he’d patented nine years earlier (full paperwork here).
Ted sent me nine patents in all, and they fell into three broad categories. The two designs I just showed you related to eyewear protection. There were also two harnesses, patented less than a year apart, that were designed to provide hip and body protection for football players, although the gear kinda looks more like S&M fetishwear (full paperwork here and here).
The other five patents were all faceguard-related, and that’s where things got interesting. Remember these photos from the Life archive? That’s the first thing I thought of when I saw this (paperwork), this (paperwork), and this (paperwork). But the Life photo sequence is from 1951, while Sowle’s patents are from several years later (and, as I eventually discovered when I read the fine print, are not based on a plexiglass concept).
Sowle’s other two facemask patents, which he received in the 1960s, featured pivoting action — one for a single pivot-mounted bar (paperwork) and the other for a slightly more elaborate assembly (paperwork).
Looks like ol’ Ted was quite the inventer. Had he been a trained engineer or designer, or did he just link to tinker? “Not an engineer — just a coach who cared, I guess,” said the younger Ted.
Amazing stuff, right? Very DIY, when you think about it. Meanwhile, I had lots of additional questions: Did Sowle patent other inventions? Did any of his designs gain widespread acceptance? Were there any designs that he felt were unjustly ignored or underrated? Did he design any non-sports items?
At this point Ted referred me to his father (the elder Ted’s son), who he said would be better equipped to answer these queries. Unfortunately, I haven’t heard back from him yet, but I’ll post some follow-up material if and when he responds. Until then, enjoy these beautiful patent drawings and be on the lookout for other mentions of Ted Sowle in vintage equipment listings.
The advertiser I’ve always dreamed of: As you may have noticed, we now have a dedicated stirrup and sock vendor selling quality hosiery over in the left rail. That would be the aptly named Socks Rock, and I don’t mind saying this is pretty much my dream come true in terms of site sponsorship. Please welcome them aboard and give them a look. Thanks.
Bobble Shoppe Reminder: In case you missed it last week, the amazing Robert Marshall is now offering hand-casted, custom-painted bobblehead dolls to Uni Watch readers. For details, look here.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Our friends at Ebbets Field Flannels have started a new blog devoted to uni-related issues. Best of luck with the new venture, Jerry. … Small item buried within this column: “Man of the Weekend was Red Bulls forward John Wolyniec. As seen on MSG, the Staten Island native and former Fordham star was set to enter as a sub, Friday, when he removed his warm-up jacket to reveal a red jersey. His team, however, was wearing its white jerseys. Wolyniec quickly changed, entered” (with thanks to Joshua Paster). … Reprinted from Monday’s comments: This must have been a very odd ballgame. Additional info here. … Good find by Gabe Butler, who writes: “I was browsing on eBay this morning when I stumbled across this replica jersey for a team that played in my hometown in the late 1960s and ’70s. My dad actually played for their junior team before they folded and still has his jersey hanging up at home! Anyway, I read the thread and the guy said he got the jersey made at this site. I poked around it looks like they have some pretty cool stuff.” Indeed — worth investigating. … Those Yankees, nothing but class. … Interesting background info on the 49ers’ new sleeve stripes here (with thanks to Tim Fesmire). … Ryan Connelly recently realized one of his longtime dreams by playing — and scoring a goal! — on the Mellon Arena ice. Photos here. … And so it has come to this: The swoosh has infiltrated the Presidential sock drawer. … Y’know, there are some problems that even striped stirrups can’t solve (with thanks to Chris Chaussee). … Lots of apostrophe catastrophe action over on NHL.com (as spotted by James Huening). … The IFAF (that’s World Federation of American Football) is will be holding its Junior World Championship tournament in Canton, starting in late June. Lots of not-very-inspiring uni photos here (with thanks to Tom Pachuta). … Menswear designer Paul Smith is a cycling enthusiast, and he L.A. shop now has an exhibition of cycling jerseys. Addition info in the second graf of this story (thanks, Vince). … If you’ve always wanted to see Alex Ovechkin in a football helmet, this is your lucky day (with thanks to Ethan Crooks). … Here’s a major, major find: Over 60 photos from the Expos’ very first game (über-thanks to Jean Gagnier). … Here’s Rob Ullman’s latest, a portrait of Tyler Kulasza’s girlfriend, Emily. Love the low-rise Chucks! … Maybe this is common knowledge, but not to me: For a while, Rick DePietro’s mask featured a depiction of Madison Square Garden (left photo, the ear panel). Apparently the mask was later sent back for a touch-up (good spot by Joe DeAngelis). … Really wonderful slideshow of vintage baseball photos here — highly recommended (big thanks to Mike Couillard). … Pricey, but possibly probably worth it. … Nice mash note to the old Bengals identity program here. … Great article in yesterday’s Ausin American-Statesman about Len Barrell’s 1914 uniform (with thanks to Martin Kohout). … New football uniforms for South Alabama (with thanks to Doug Simpson). … New Celtic International away kit (with thanks to JK Chaney). … What happened to the ball that Bobby Thompson hit for his famous home run in 1951? We’ll never know for sure, but there’s a new book that explores the likely answer, and Ken Davidoff has written a very interesting review of it. … Uni number news for the Patriots (with thanks to Tom Adjemian). … Lots of interesting sock action and the Mid-Penn Conference Track and Field Championships (with thanks to Ryan Farrell). … Hey, guess what, some uniforms are ugly (with thanks to Brinke Guthrie). … Petersburg, Indiana, is the hometown of Gil Hodges, and now it’s also the home of a big Hodges mural. Those pics were taken by Ryan Bowman, who notes that the mural appears to show Hodges wearing a white Dodgers jersey with blue placket piping, which is a design the Dodgers never wore during Hodges’s tenure, although they did wear a road grays with that design. Further info on the mural here. … Look, it’s a bunch of new Bundesliga kits (with thanks to Alex Peerenboom). … Fun rundown of “mistaken identity” baseball cards here. … Hey, check this out: stirrups vs. stirrups! That’s Cleveland pitcher Jeremy Sowers (whose hosiery heroics were first mentioned here last week) and Corky Miller of the Chisox (whose membership in Stirrup Nation is news to me) facing each other last night. … And if that weren’t enough, Luke Hochevar made his debut with the Royals last night, and look what he was wearing. There’s definitely a little trendlet at work here — I think the hosiery pendulum may finally be ready to start swing back the other way (thanks, Phil). … Also from Phil: Alex Cora played first base in the 10th inning of last night’s Mets/Braves game and apparently didn’t have a first baseman’s glove of his own to wear. Phil breaks down the proceedings: “He warmed up with a light brown mitt, then got handed a darker brown mitt, which he didn’t like and threw back. After that, he motioned to the dugout to look for his glove and then called time as the first batter (Chipper) was stepping in. Then he jogged to the dugout and came back with a regular fielder’s glove, which he wore for the entire inning, including while holding Chipper on at first.”
May 13th, 2009
Time for another visit with DVD screen-grab maestro Larry Bodnovich (who was first profiled last month). Here’s his latest batch of finds:
• Here’s a big album of Cleveland Browns shots. I especially like this facemask, the old goalpost design, and the Colts marching band.
• Excellent Patriots album here. Lots of view of the tri-corner hat logo.
• This album has lots of grabs from the 1955 championship game between the Browns and Rams. Remember, the Rams had originally played in Cleveland, so this game probably had added resonance in that city.
• Speaking of the Cleveland Rams, here they are playing against the Redskins, circa 1944. Look at that scoreboard!
• Here are two sets of 1940s Steelers shots — one from a game against the Redskins and another against the Lions.
• More Steelers pics — not quite as old, including lots of “golden triangle” shots — here.
• Here are some shots from the 1941 Sugar Bowl, which featured BC vs. Tennessee.
• Some Iowa sorority girls were showing school spirit prior to a 1939 game against Minnesota.
• Larry even scours DVDs of CFL action. Here’s a bunch of Hamilton Tiger Cats shots. Look at those sleeves!
• And just to provide some non-football material, here are some galleries devoted to the Philly Warriors, Lakers, and Pirates.
Finally, as I was putting this entry together, I happened to get a note from Larry. It read, “My brother Dan also reads Uni Watch. He saw all the ‘I’m Calling It Shea’ and others comments, so he dug out this T-shirt he got a few years ago for the All-Star Game.” Holy moly, we’ve been scooped! Or at least that’s what I thought until I saw the rear view — pfeh.
As it happens, No Mas and I are now planning to do “I Still Call It…” shirts for Comiskey, the Jake, and Mile High. Our shirts won’t have the cool little “Survey Says” line like the one on Larry’s brother’s shirt, but they’ll have a few other things going for them (like no corporate crap on the back). More details to follow shortly.
And hey, speaking of that: We’ve been giving 10% of our T-shirt proceeds to a local food bank here in NYC, and we’d like to do the same for the Jake, Comiskey, and Mile High tees. If anyone can point us in the right direction for food banks in Clevo, Chicago, and Denver, please get in touch. Thanks.
Raffle Results: Baby needs a new pair of shoes — and baby will get them, if baby’s name is Kenneth Nee.
Mr. Bubble Bobble: In case you missed it yesterday, Robert Marshall’s bobblehead operation is now open for business. Scroll down to the middle of yesterday’s post for details.
Uni Watch News Ticker: OK, I’m sure Harry Kalas was a swell guy and all, but aren’t the Phils laying it on a bit thick? … More great news for the Wilpons. … Here’s Danica Patrick’s new car. … Larry Bodnovich found this old Arizona helmet design in the SI Vault. … The new Star Trek movie opens today, and people are already talking about the uniforms. (That panel comes from this comic strip.) … Jesus, how awful-looking is this? Dude looks like he’s a rag doll with a tourniquet on his leg. … Hahahahaha. … New uniforms for the Philadelphia Phantoms (with thanks to Matt Pesotski). … As you know, the spread of gay marriage means Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are being abolished after this year, so teams are gonna go all out this Sunday and wear solid pink uniforms as a last hurrah. … I have no idea why the new Brakes album is called Touchdown — there are no football references, and besides, the band is British. But by any name, it’s really, really good. … “One of my friends is currently a graduating senior at University of Tennessee,” writes Jing Xu. “For his final senior project, he created ‘NBA Europa,’ an eight-time European league with crests, shields, logos, jerseys, the whole package.” Good stuff. There’s even a video of the uni “unveilings” here. … Hmmm, was Mike Schmidt wearing a Ryne Sandberg jersey? Very odd (with thanks to Drew Wiesner). … Looks like the NFL isn’t the only football league that will be wearing 1960s throwbacks this season. … Interesting DIY project by Dave Murphy, who writes: “Instead of purchasing those overpriced Fatheads, I photocopied some logos and mascots onto transparencies. Then I used an overhead projector to enlarge and then stencil them onto the walls. Forty dollars’ worth of paint and about 10 hours’ worth of painting on each I was done. The mascots are at the head of my boys’ beds and the logos are in my basement/sportsroom.” … “I recently noticed that Julien Dupuy (a Frenchmen who plays for the English Leicester Tigers) wears a wedding ring while he is playing,” says Caleb Borchers. “It might just be tape, but it looks metallic from all the video and photos I have seen. Seems like a bad idea, particularly because Dupuy is a scrum half. Without going into too much minutiae, his job is to clear the ball out of a mass of bodies called a ruck, and thus is likely to get his hand stepped on. You’d think a wedding ring would be a poor choice for a guy who makes a living from sticking his hand into masses of cleats.” … Some good photos of the original Belmont Park, which was shut down in 1968, here (with thanks to Emily Gordon). … New 90th-anniversary logo for the Packers (with thanks to Ray Barrington). … This eBay seller has peddling jerseys from all three Mighty Ducks movies (with thanks to Jonathan Malone). … Orlando Hudson needs to button up (with thanks to Jon Bradford). … Throwback game in Anaheim last night, and Jared Weaver wore stirrups for the occasion. Mike Napoli, too. … Hey, it looks like Reebok is starting to Get It™! (With thanks to Jeff LaHaie.) … Tigers on donkeys! Note that the second player from left has a different jersey (nice find by Bruce Menard). … Not uni-related, but there’s a fascinating article here about a high school basketball team that made really good use of a full-court press, and how that relates to underdog strategies, game theory, etc. Highly recommended.
May 8th, 2009
The sentence I’m about to write will pretty much shoot your day to hell, so brace yourself: The Baseball Digest archives are now available online.
The archive goes all the way back to 1945, which means it’s a mother lode of hardball arcana. Fortunately, reader Bruce Menard has already wasted several days generously devoted some free moments to sifting through the material in search of uni-related highlights. He’s come up with some particularly interesting bits among the advertising, as you can see here:
• From the May 1960 issue: Love this baseball necktie ad.
• December 1961: Wait, forget the necktie — I’d rather have this bedspread and rug.
• July 1966: You’ve got to love an ad whose first two words are “Blow yourself…”
• December 1969: Kangaroo leather, choice of the pros.
• April 1973: Does anyone have any of these mini-sport kits?
• August 1973: I always wanted one of these magnetic team standings boards when I was a kid.
• August 1974: Is there anyone who didn’t have a team wastebasket back in the day?
That’s what Bruce came up with. Unfortunately, it’s not quite enough to suffice as a lead entry, so I had to do some actual work myself — incredible, I know — to pad out the rest of today’s entry:
• March 1970: this eyeglass holder ad appeared only eight pages away from this one. Must’ve been a headytime for the four-eyes set.
• June 1972: What as the deal with that early-’70s ad trope of using all-lowercase headlines? And hey, speaking of lowercase letters, check out the Cubs pennant shown on on this page. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that wordmark before.
• June 1974: Oh man, how great do these watches look?
• July 1980: Look closely at the cover photo — looks like Steve Trout has a slight rip in one of his socks. As for the ads, does anyone out there have any experience with Calculator Baseball?
• March 1985: I realize sex appeal can occasionally play a small role in advertising, but c’mon. (Meanwhile, check out the cover photo’s awesome view of Minnesota’s logo-emblazoned stirrups.)
And so on. It’s pretty much a bottomless time-sink once you start clicking through this stuff, so just close the office door, order a pizza, tell the wife you won’t be home until Saturday, and enjoy.
Raffle Reminder: In case you missed it yesterday, I’m currently raffling off a free pair of shoes from SoccerPro.com. Full details here.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Longtime Uni Watch pal/contributor Joe Hilseberg is offering a good Father’s Day deal in the Uni Watch Classifieds. … Man, the Nats, can’t spell anything right. That photo showed up in the comments two days ago. At first I thought it was a Photoshop job, but it’s real. It’s from last summer, though (with thanks to Peter Greenberg). … If you look thru this gallery you’ll see that Dwayne Bowe has some interesting ideas about football sock protocol (with thanks to Greg Riffenburgh). … Coupla days ago I mentioned that K-State was planning to wear an older uni design for its spring scrimmage. Thanks to Sean Kautzman, we now have photographic confirmation. … The schedule for the AFL Legacy Game throwback match-ups has been announced. Four games for Pat Patriot! … Lipscomb, a team in the Atlantic Sun Conference, wore powder blue throwbacks over the weekend, in tribute to the school’s 1979 NAIA national championship team (with thanks to Eric Moyer). … The Chicago Fire will wear white jerseys with green letters and a Chicago Fire Foundation patch for Saturday’s game against the New England Revolution. The jerseys will be auctioned off to fans at the game (with thanks to Kenn Tomasch). … Rugby news from Caleb Borchers, who writes: “The All Blacks unveiled their new kit recently. Given the iconic nature of the jersey (read: never changes), these press conferences are really much ado about nothing. They talked up the fact that they were lighter (a member of the netball team that also unveiled their new dresses said ‘Honestly, it feels like we’re wearing nothing’), but that’s the standard claim. Somewhat interestingly, they have ditched the grey alternate uniformly hated in NZ and gone back to the traditional white alternate. The alternate rarely is worn but will get a run against the nefarious French, who you might remember changed from blue to deep, dark blue, just so they could force the All Blacks to wear an alternate strip (Nike villains!). One should also respect the fact that the All Blacks still refuse a corporate sponsor on the front of the jersey, a lone beacon in the rugby world’s haze that is logo creep.” … Anyone ever notice that titan of stage and screen Dom DeLuise, who passed away yesterday, looked exactly like famous so-fat-he-needs-a-scooter chef Paul Prudhomme? … This is pretty cool. I don’t have time to track down all the versions for all the other teams, but I assume some of you do, right? (With thanks to Travis Cuomo.) … The L.A. Kings’ web site now includes a new uni history section. … Funniest thing about the Wilbur Pox scare is that it’s coinciding with the onset of allergy season. So when I let loose with a few hay fever sneezes on the subway yesterday, everyone kinda moved away to the other side of the car. Hey, more legroom for me. … This is so awesome, on so many levels (big kiss, Kirsten). … Oh man, here’s something really awesome: a set of vintage baseball-themed cake toppers. There’s another set with a slightly different design. … Here’s a weird one: a Green Bay Packers baseball jersey. … Other eBay finds: a really nice Little League uni; a Jersey Giants sun visor, circa 1937; an absolutely killer 1920s basketball uni; a very cool Durene football jersey; a nice UCLA-striped Durene pullover; a nicely chain-stitched basketball warm-up top; another warm-up top — with a mosquito chest logo; a 1950 football equipment catalog; a 1964 basketball backboard catalog; and a 1923 baseball glove catalog. … Major development last night in Atlanta, as Livan Hernandez wore blue sleeves on the road, and damn did it look sweet. All the other Mets wore their usual black road sleeves, providing a useful counterpoint that only highlighted the beauty of Livan’s azure-clad arms. Yo, Charlie, ditch the frigging black already! … Hey, what happened here — pit bull attack? Violent slide on a really coarse infield? Factory seconds from Majestic? Nah, just your everyday uniform catching on fire. If you read the story, you’ll see that the moral of the tale is this: Always wear two pairs of socks (big thanks to Kevin Rood). … “A nice improvement on the aesthetics at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” writes Kyle Donnelly. “The ‘Bombardier Learjet Pagoda,’ which looked like this last year, now looks like this. That new logo is taken from the top of IMS’s ‘Centennial Era’ logo, which you can see in the watermark on those photos. The addition of the ‘Est. 1909′ is pretty slick, too. Trés chic, no? Also, for the first time since the mid-’80s, this year’s Indy 500 will feature a pink car. That’s Englishman Alex Lloyd, sponsored by a women-oriented energy drink called Healthy Energy Regenerator (HER) or something like that.” … Shane Victorino was using Matt Stairs’s bat last night (as spotted by Mike Meech). … For about 1.2 seconds, I thought Andy Thoele had come up with a major find: an old brimless catcher’s helmet with a Red Sox logo. But then I realized that the logo didn’t look right and was probably an after-market addition to the helmet. … If you look at this poster, you’ll see the Saints player wearing a black helmet, which was only used during the 1969 preseason (good spot by Tom Farley). … Doug Keklak notes that Ian Snell had this notation on his cap last night. I’m assuming that’s a memorial tribute for Nick Adenhart. … Latest collection from Steve Mandich: a bunch of Mariners scorecards. … A’s catcher Kurt Suzuki switched uni numbers this year, going from 24 to 8 because the A’s will likely retire No. 24 once Rickey Henderson’s inducted into the Hall of Fame. But his shinguards still have the old uni number (with thanks to Brandon Davis). … Maybe Darren O’Day wasn’t the first MLBer to wear someone else’s name on his back after all. According to a small mention in this article, Blue Jays pitcher Huck Flener “actually wore [Shawn] Green’s jersey in his 1993 major league debut because his wasn’t ready” (good research by Brian Kallion). … Have fun at Shea tonight, Phil. And be sure to ask the “Bottled Beer” vendors why they’re selling beer in cans!
May 6th, 2009
By Phil Hecken and featuring guest author Lance Smith.
For the past several months, the comments section of Uni Watch has been graced with the uni-centric eyes of a certain reader who posts as “Squiddie.” I was especially enamored with not only the quality of his posts, but with the penchant he had for selecting fantastic photos which have been released onto the Life archive hosted by Google. Determined not only to get our man Squiddie to explore this wonderful resource further (and in the process, teach us how to go about it), I wanted to introduce him more fully to the UW audience. Squiddie, it seems, is one Lance Smith, and he’s a fascinating character and fantastic poster. So, without further ado, lets meet “Squiddie” and find out more about the Life archives, how to go about navigating them. I also talked him into “guest writing” a column using his keen eye towards selecting a few well placed (and researched) photos from the Life pages.
Phil Hecken: “Squiddie”?
Lance Smith: It’s left over from the Usenet days. (You kids get offa my net!) It’s stolen from a recurring joke on the rec.arts.comics newsgroup. It just has a nice ring to it. Plus everyone loves squids, right?
PH: Where does your interest in unis begin?
LS: I grew up in Minnesota with what I consider to be really classic uniforms from the Twins, Vikings and North Stars. Then it all went to hell when the Twins went with powder blue (see last week) and then the North Stars started adding black to their uniforms. (Oddly, I loved the Minnesota Kicks and their Wheaties color scheme.) So through much of the dark days of the 70s and 80s, I didn’t care much about what teams wore because the local teams were so awful.
I probably became more interested with the explosion in interest in minor league baseball in the late 80s. Established teams started to dump their parent club names and tried to make their own identities. There was also the rise of the independent leagues. I would pick up the Baseball America Directory every year just to check out the new team names and logos. Some uni attempts were and are pretty sad, but there was a lot change. The major leagues just can’t, and probably shouldn’t, change that quickly.
PH: So, favorite unis?
LS: My all time favorite shirts are the Renault Gitane cycling jerseys from the Bernard Hinault era. Second place would be the Newcastle United home shirts from 1999-2001 when they were sponsored by Newcastle Brown Ale. Yes, in European soccer/football you have to consider the shirt sponsor when determining the quality of the uni. (Someone in Thailand loves Newcastle shirts so much he has a blog up here.)
PH: Why the Life archive?
LS: I just came across a news item saying that Google was hosting the archive and started poking around . It’s one of the few instances of having both quality and quantity. There’s the attraction of finding famous photos of iconic political and Hollywood figures mixed in with a photo of a refrigerator in 1940s Pittsburgh. You just never know what you’ll find. J. Edgar Hoover shows Shirley Temple how to use a mechanical horse? Yeah, it’s in there and just a little creepy.
Plus there’s a certain amount of mystery. With the limited labels and tags, you often have to do the legwork. Given a date and a team, can you figure out who is the subject of a photo? Who is this Senator doing card tricks? It’s Clint Courtney. But who is he showing the trick to? Well…
PH: Heh. Thanks Lance! Shall we let the readers guess?
And so, ladies and gentlemen of Uni Watch, I present you with this ‘guest entry’ from Lance Smith. Enjoy.
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If you’re over a certain age you probably grew up with Life magazine. Even if your family didn’t subscribe, you read it (or more accurately, looked at the pictures) in waiting rooms and barber shops. You killed time at your grandparents’ house by leafing through old back issues in their basement. It’s what you grabbed if you had free time in the school library.
Launched on November 23, 1936, Life was published weekly until December 8, 1972. (It was later reincarnated as a monthly magazine, and then again as a newspaper supplement.) Each issue was made up of about 50 pages of photos and their captions. Some of the photographs became iconic and many of Life’s photographers became famous.
Google announced that they would be hosting the Life archive in November 2008. Due to some unexpected free time, I’ve been looking through and blogging links from the Life archives since January. While most of my links have been non-sports photos, the first photo I did link to was Bill Veeck talking with Salvador Dali.
The Life photo archive is vast and not well organized. It seems to be continually growing, but maybe I’m just finding new things. Many photos aren’t properly labeled and some are only labeled with generic descriptions. While Life wasn’t as well-known for its sports photography, compared to its news and celebrity photos, there are some great sports collections to sift through. Here are some of my suggestions to working through the archive.
1. To search the Life archive, you just need to include source:life in any Google image search (or you can use this portal).
2. The archive can be roughly divided into three sections: reference photos, weekly Life photography, and more recent celebrity photographs. If you really want a 1980s photo of Kirk Gibson and a Penthouse Pet, it’s in there.
3. Try general searches. You’re more likely to find interesting images if you look for a sport instead of specific team or athlete.
4. If you’re looking for specific images, try different approaches. For example, try separate searches for “Green Bay” and “Packers.” Either label might be used. Also try the name of specific athletes without the name of their city or team.
5. Reduce wide searches by eliminating keywords from the search. If you’re searching football and don’t need the photos of the LSU football team, add “-lsu” to your search. Most reference photos will have abbreviated labels. This makes them easy to eliminate.
6. Search for specific photographers or eliminate them from the search as necessary. While not all photos are dated, almost all of them credit the photographer who took the picture. If you find a photo you like, try to add the photographer’s name to the search.
7. Use decade labels. Many images without other labels will have a decade label such as 1940s or 1950s. Use these.
8. Try misspelling words. There is a set of 200+ photos under “Wimbleton.” A set of photos of Juan Manuel Fangio is filed under Fangie at Lemans. Many photos of Muhammad Ali are under Cassius Clay long after he dropped that name.
9. Be careful with plurals. Try searching for both the singular and plural of words.
10. Be patient. Keep trying. Bookmark the good stuff. You might forget where you found that photo of Minnie Minoso.
Of interest to UW are the sports profile shots taken of players in the locker room or dugout. The photos on the field are often too far away for details, but the photos in the locker room, often taken for profiles of particular players, can be Uni gold.
Cincinnati manager George “Birdie” Tebbetts was featured on the cover of July 8, 1957 issue of Time magazine. His Redlegs had finished two games behind Brooklyn in 1956 and put together a 12 game winning streak in the beginning of May 1957. Here he wears the sleeveless jersey adopted in 1956. Behind him you can see the pile of batting helmets. The white cap he’s abusing here was adopted in 1957. You don’t get much stripier than those stirrups.
Ernie Banks autographing baseballs in August 1955. This would be Banks’ second complete year with the Cubs and he would hit 44 homer runs and 117 RBIs. Good view of the Cubs logo and the zipper on the jersey. It’s also a very clean uniform design. What I like about this photo of Banks walking through Wrigley (other than the PBR cases) is how loose his hat is. We’re used to players caps being worn tight on their head.
Sal “The Barber” Maglie might be best known as Jim Bouton’s pitching coach in Ball Four. In 1952 he was still pitching for the New York Giants. Maglie had been a 23 game winner in 1951 and was on his way to 18 wins in 1952. I mainly like these photos because they show him interacting with the fans.
Do baseball teams still get nicknames? The Whiz Kids were the 1950 Philadelphia Phillies who, after a late season collapse in September, won the pennant on the final day at Ebbets Field. This photo of Willie “Puddin Head” Jones in September shows off the new Phillies pinstripe uniform. You can see his cap in the locker behind him. Compare it to the older uniform worn by Jones in Spring Training. Also check out this catcher’s mitt with crosshairs. Sort of the low tech version of the mitts with international orange to give a better target to young pitchers.
There seem to be more photos of the Dodgers and the Yankees in the archive. Not surprising as Life was based in New York and both were dominant during the 1950s. Roy Campanella shows off his battered hands in a 1956 profile. Good close up of the Dodgers logo. From the same profile, Pee Wee Reese changing in front of his locker is just a good photo of Dodgers locker room.
Sam Jehroe had been a star in the Negro Leagues. In 1950 he became the first African-American player on the Boston Braves and went on to win the 1950 National League Rookie of the Year. I like this photo of him in front of his locker because of the strange details like the Wheaties boxes and the Trailways calendar. Plus it’s a good shot of a classic Braves uniform. These shots here and here show Jethroe talking with manager Billy Southwork. Notice the missing light bulb and the strange pipes next to the bull pen phone. Still you gotta love those uniforms.
Finally it’s the Giants vs. the Braves in 1950. Jim Hearn confers with an umpire. Just a good shot of the scoreboard and advertising at Braves Field.
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Phil here. Kudos and thanks Squiddie Lance for that fantastic write up. I’m sure he’ll be back again with me for more. I know I’m gonna change that tune, when I’m back on top, back on top in June.
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Back For More: So, yesterday I took some heat for my lack of photoshop skills (and rightly so, since I basically have none). BUT … reader, OCD-DYIer and all-around good guy Robert Marshall does. So, he offered to mock-up those Nats “alts” I had proposed yesterday. And he did a much better job than I could ever have hoped to do myself. So, with that … I resubmit my proposed changes for the Natinals away unis:
Here’s the current away jersey without the “DC” patch & logo creep. Not bad, I admit. But I think it looks better without the white outline. Pushing the envelope just a tad further, here’s the roadie with the wordmark in blue, with white outline. And then, there’s that jersey with blue wordmark & no white outline. And just for shits and giggles, I asked Robert to make a couple more — that same jersey, with blue piping, and that same jersey with no piping at all. I think I’m in love. I must note, Mr. Marshall thinks the Nats jersey with the red lettering, but sans the white outline, is the way to go, and it must have killed him to have me ask him to do the blue. But that last one — the one with NO PIPING and BLUE WORDMARK (which y’all probably find boring as hell), I think that’s what the Nats should go with, as long as they’re going to wear blue caps. But that’s just me. Thanks Robert, for the p-shops! You da man!
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Uni Matchup Of the Year took place last evening when the Seattle Rainers and Oakland Oaks engaged in a good old fashioned game. Actually it was the Oakland A’s and Seattle Mariners in 1939 (I believe — MLB Network announcers [or the announcers from which MLB was getting the feed] were kind of uncertain if it was 1937, 1938 or 1939) throwbacks (from the old Pacific Coast League). Generally a beautiful looking game, except that the modern day catchers gear kind of ruined it just a bit. Well, that and the fact that the “Oaks” wore white shoes, which I’m fairly certain wasn’t a part of the original uni package. They did go all out on the unis and helmets (although, back then, they didn’t wear helmets), however, and damn … look at this ting of beauty. And here’s another great look. Only one other thing (sorry, no pics and I didn’t get screen grabs) which was a little bothersome — the coaches all wore the “modern” jackets in the dugouts, so visually, it was not a good (or matching) look. Photos last evening were very slow to hit the wires, so if anyone finds more today, please post them. I’m not certain if Paul is planning to do a write up on this in the coming days, but any and all visual evidence of this game would be greatly appreciated.
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This and That: Hole. Lee. Shit. … What the hell is Tim McGraw doing with the Kentucky Derby trophy? … “It really hasn’t sunken in to the fullest that we lost a guy that was unbelievable” …Whoa — Bimbos everywhere … Speaking of Bimbos, I think I’ll get the kit top and socks for Paul for his next birthday … Ping Pong doesn’t get a lot of UW love — and with good reason … Lots of baseball news here, including a jab at the Natinals, in this first month roundup … The obligatory “steeples and rail shot” for Mine That Bird — and the obligatory pose and poseurs … So this is Progress? … If you think Seattle and Oakland were rocking the throwbacks, Amherst & Williams are REALLY going to rock the diamond, old school style … Can anyone tell me who makes these kits? … This may be the ONLY time you ever hear me wishing for a sponsor’s name on the back of a jersey … More Derby pics: This is either really right or really wrong (and in case you’re actually wondering — her name is Randi Baremore) … “The uniforms worn during an April 11 sectional match at Oregon State were impermissible. The offense? Five players were playing without pants. Or underwear.” — Only at the U of Zero … Amazingly, the rest of the league is starting to notice that the Yankees are playing in front of a lot of empty seats … James Huening found this and wanted to share: Randy Brown is selling the three championship rings he won with the Bulls … Sad news last evening, as Jack Kemp passed peacefully into the presence of the Lord shortly after 6 o’clock.
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As funny as it may seem, some people get their kicks stompin’ on a dream. But I don’t let it, let it get me down — ’cause this fine old world, it keeps spinnin’ around. Have a great Sunday folks.
May 3rd, 2009
Several people have complained that the Patriots’ AFL throwbacks feature the Pat Patriot helmet instead of the team’s original helmet design, which used the old tri-corner hat logo. “If you’re gonna honor the AFL’s origins, go with the team’s original 1960 uniform!” these people say.
I haven’t added my voice to this chorus, mainly because I love Pat Patriot. And really, who doesn’t? Not only is he a great logo character, but there’s the great story of how he originally appeared in a 1959 cartoon by Boston Globe artist Phil Bissell (who later ridiculed his own creation, saying Pat looked like “a lopsided Chinaman”) and became the team’s logo because team owner Billy Sullivan was a tightwad who got permission from the Globe to use the character for free. How could the tri-corner hat compete with that?
Ah, but it turns out that the tri-corner hat has its own backstory, and it’s a good one. I learned about it from reader Rick Subrizio, who recently visited the Pats’ Hall of Fame at Patriot Place in Foxboro. Turns out they’ve got a small display devoted to the original design, which was submitted to the team by a fan named Walter Pingree. Pingree sent the original logo concept to Billy Sullivan in either late 1959 or early 1960, along with this handwritten letter, which read as follows:
Dear Mr. Sullivan,
As a rapid [sic] football fan and delighted with our new Boston Patriot’s [sic], Pro-football team, I would respectfully like to submit my original idea for the Patriot’s [sic] uniforms. Red, white, and blue colors are a symbol for patriotism. I believe this uniform to be unique and colorful, and indeed worthy of the fine team I know we will have here in Boston. I am looking forward the the [sic] coming season with eagerness and much enthusiasm and you can count on me as one who will be there to root the team on, win, lose, or draw.
Sincerely,
Walter J. Pingree
Mr. Pingree’s faith was soon rewarded with this letter from Billy Sullivan, on the letterhead of Sullivan’s company, the Metropolitan Coal and Oil Company. Here’s what it said:
Dear Mr. Pingree:
I can’t begin to tell you how much we appreciate your thoughtfulness in reference to the uniform.
I am sure it will please you to learn that we are planning to adopt it, and, as the first step, we are having a uniform designed along the lines of that which you suggested.
A couple of changes have been made, but they are relatively slight. I think you will be happy to learn that the Boston Globe is taking a color picture of one of our players wearing the new uniform, and it will appear before long in that fine publication.
I will look forward to meeting you in the near future, but meanwhile, I do want you to know that we are very grateful for your thoughtfulness.
Sincerely,
William H. Sullivan
So it looks like ol’ Billy got that logo as a freebie too. Wonder if Pingree got so much as a free pair of tickets out of the deal. Meanwhile, I’d love to see Pingree’s original uniform drawing and that Boston Globe photo. Anyone want to hunt for that in the newspaper’s archives?
As if providing these photos and letter transcriptions wasn’t enough, Rick Subrizio also decided to do a little research on Walter Pingree. “I found a reference on a Patriots fan board saying that he was ‘an employee of the Boston and Maine Railroad who designed these unis based on those he remembered from his days at Somerville High,’” says Rick. “Not sure if that is accurate, as Somerville High’s teams are called the Highlanders, but perhaps they were the Patriots in the past.”
And now that I know the story, I find the original logo a bit more appealing, a bit more endearing. Here’s hoping they finally revive it for a throwback game at some point — if not for this season, then at some point down the road.
Research Query: If you’re a past or current member of the military, I’d like to hear your opinions on baseball teams that wear camouflage uniforms. Again, this is only for past or current military members. If you fit that description, and would like to chime in, contact me here.
My Dinner with Joba: Did you know there’s a steakhouse inside the new Yankee Stadium? It’s true! And since red meat and baseball are two great tastes that taste great together, one of my ESPN editors and I had dinner at the new restaurant last week. A full account of the evening’s events is now up on Page 2.
Maybe not such a great idea after all..?: People who’ve placed ads in the Uni Watch Classifieds tell me that response has been good. But very few people are actually placing ads. If you folks aren’t into this, no biggie — maybe it wasn’t meant to be. Here, let’s try a price break: Instead of $25 per week (and $20 for members), let’s make it $15/week (and $10 for members). Full submission instrux here.
Uni Watch News Ticker: While preparing today’s entry, I realized that the favicon Kirsten designed for our Candela Structures site looks a lot like an upside-down tri-corner hat. … Man, there’s quite a bit going on in this photo. Details here. … Two days ago I mentioned that former bench coach Bryan Redemske had been involved in a cycling crash. If you can stomach it, here are the somewhat gruesome results. Heal up fast, Bry! … FNOB alert. That’s Mike Roberto (duh) of the SBHL’s Fayetteville FireAntz, whose roster also includes Mike’s twin brother, Matt Roberto (with thanks to Denis Kirstein). … This guy sells a lot of cool sports-related printed matter (with thanks to Larry Weiderecht). … Marc Wermund has taken lots of photos of the Fort Wayne Tin Caps’ new stadium, Parkview Field. “It has the second-largest jumbotron in all of the minors, ‘rooftop’ seating beyond right field, a home run deck, seats with waitstaff, some lawn seating, a kids’ play area, and dollar beers on Thursday — you can’t beat that,” he says. Check out his photo albums here and here. … “Here’s a weird hockey sock that goes back to the early ’50s,” says Terry Proctor. “It was worn by the old Quebec Aces. They were white with green knees (no jokes, please) and the two stripes were red. Looked like Christmas stockings. That’s Jean Beliveau in his Aces uniform. The club kept that style of socks through 1967. I saw them play in Rochester several times from 1960 on.” … There are sooooo many things wrong with this cap (as spotted by Doug McConnell). … It’s all true, the only reason ESPN lets me write for them is that I’m a Mets fan, otherwise I’d be out on my ass. … Actually, my editor and his boss are both serious Seattle fans, so there goes that theory. … Oooh, this is cool: NFL pencils (good find by Roger Faso). … Brian Erni notes that yesterday’s edition of Newsday had a slight Cardinals mix-up. … Josh Outman and his picture-perfect stirrups were on the mound for one inning at Yankee Stadium last night. It was a drizzly, foggy night in the Bronx, but Outman’s exemplary hose cut through the gloom like a beacon in the night. … Oooh, wait, fellow Outmaniac Ted Kerwin attended last night’s game and got several additional pics of Outman in all his glory. … Dan Cichalski notes that Outman didn’t always wear stirrups. … The other day I mentioned that the Mariners’ compass was missing Ichiro’s jersey. Ben Cook says this is nothing new. “He appears to wear it all the time on the dark and grey jerseys but seems to go back and forth with the white jersey.” I suspect there’s no master plan here — more likely the compass is missing from one of his home jerseys, so he’s compass-clad when that other jersey is in the wash and then compass-free the next day when the normal jersey is in the wash. … It’s gotta be the shoes pants (with thanks to Stephen Melton). … Tallegega Superspeedway now has a 40th-anniversary logo (as noted by Josh Neisler). … Breaking news from Robert Marshall: “Chance just had a record-setting turn at cat bowling. Six eclipses the previous record of five set by Jesco. He way behind before that, and if he manages a two or better with his second ’shot’ in the 10th frame, he’ll have the high game by one. It was some seriously clutch cat bowling, Paul — comeback of the ages!” … Interesting piece on the authentication of MLB memorabilia here. … CC Sabathia’s shoes, donated to the Hall of Fame after his first Yankee Stadium start, are the largest shoes in the HoF’s extensive collection (with thanks to HoF curator Tom Shieber). … Central Michigan is switching from New Balance to Adidas, which means new football uniforms. “I think its big and ugly, especially compared to last year’s design,” says CMU alum Jason Bowman. “You’ve got no white, no third color to outline or give a pop to the letters or numbers or anything. The New Balance font was at least unique and it worked for their scheme, but the big block lettering needs some white outline or something. The piping is unnecessary as well, but you’ve got to live with it. The rumor is the away uniform is the same except white with maroon letters, numbers, and piping.” … Speaking of new football uniforms, Washington’s new set will be unveiled on Saturday (with thanks to Lee Ziegler). … Ingenious page here: It lets you search Flickr by color (very cool, Kirsten). … Jeffrey Moulden notes that Tennessee has been wearing a seriously ugly baseball uniform. To see, go to this page and click on the March 27th game. … Someone in the comments a few days ago mentioned that Rogers Hornsby served as a Mets coach in the franchise’s early days. That prompted Phil to track down this. Man, that really does not compute. … Speaking of Phil, he’s all decked out for a trip to Flushing. … Good spot by Matt DeMazza, who writes: “Apparently the Ducks use the old-school B-shaped nets (which haven’t been used by the NHL since the early ’80s) during warmups. I go to plenty of Rangers games and have never seen this. I don’t think I’ve seen it anywhere else, either.” This is the part where I say how I always liked that net design and kinda miss it, and then you say, “Geez, Paul, you always like everything old, it’s so predictable — stop living in the past!” And since we’re both right, we shake hands and go out for a beer. … Either there was some dust on the lens, or else someone was throwing their rosary beads at Lem Barney (with thanks to Aaron Bell). … Annals of Youthful Sports Journalism, Vol. 1: Some journo student from Penn State called me yesterday and spent about 10 minutes asking me a bunch of questions for a survey of sports bloggers being conducted by him and some of his classmates. Among the questions, and my responses, were these: “Is homophobia a problem in women’s sports?” (I have no idea, but it wouldn’t surprise me), “Should bloggers be held to a high ethical standard?” (sure), “Are professional journalists too close to the athletes they cover?” (good question), and “Have you ever had to censor discussions on your site?” (only when Powers posts too many photos of his snowblower). They said they’d send me the full survey results when they finish crunching all the numbers. … Annals of Youthful Sports Journalism, Vol. 2: Yesterday morning, a reader sent me a link for a article-plus-slideshow about uniform typos over at the Bleacher Report site (which encourages people to write but doesn’t pay them). The author of the article turned out to be a high school kid who, according to his bio on the site, is looking forward to studying journalism in college this fall and is using Bleacher Report “to hone my writing skills,” or something along those lines. Apparently by “hone” he meant “steal,” and by “writing skills” he meant “material from other people,” because almost all of his story’s photos, and some of its text, were lifted wholesale from an ESPN column I wrote in 2007. I wanted to drop him a quick “WTF?” line, but I couldn’t find a “Contact” link, so I just left a comment congratulating him on his plagiarism skills. Things got mildly surreal about two hours later, when a Bleacher Report “community coordinator” (I believe this is slang for “intern”) tried to pimp the kid’s story — which was based on my story — to me. “Hey Paul,” he wrote, “I have one article for you to take a look at today. Here is a great top-10 list of the worst typos on modern sports uniforms. Thanks and I hope this is something you could use on the blog.” I sent back a note suggesting that he scroll down to the comment I’d left. About half an hour after that, I got a note from a Bleacher Report “community GM” (the site’s co-founder, as it turns out), who apologized for the whole thing, said the article had been taken down, and said the writer would be reprimanded. Can’t wait to hear how they handle that — what are they gonna do, cut the kid’s non-existent pay? Of course, given the current state of journalism, plagiarism is probably the only viable career path the industry has left, so the kid’s on the right track. I figure it should take him about, oh, 11 years to become an editor at some place I write for. And then he’ll get assigned to me, and I’ll remember this whole incident, and he’ll be too clueless to remember and be a real moron of an editor to boot. And then I’ll have no choice but to feed him to a crocodile or something. … And speaking of uni typos, I got a note last night from former MLB pitcher Jeff Bajenaru (who, by coincidence, was born on 3/21, just like me), as follows: “I saw your article from two years back on uni name typos. I made my major league debut in Sept. of ’04 and my name was misspelled on the back of my jersey (Bajhenaru) for the White Sox. I do have a hard name to spell and pronounce (’Badge-in-arrow’).” He’s looking for a photo and will send it along later.
April 22nd, 2009
By Phil Hecken, with Mike Styczen
A couple of weeks ago, in the comments, reader “Mike2″ (Mike Styczen) mentioned “TESS,” which is an acronym for “Trademark Electronic Search Service.” Not quite certain what, exactly, this was, I asked him to elaborate more fully. What transpired after that has led to this article, which will hopefully allow you to more fully explore the myriad logos and trademarks (some of which have never even been used) for our favorite sports teams. What follows, then, is a look at “TESS” and some of the more unique logos and trademarked images that Mike uncovered using the TESS service. First, let’s get to meet Mike and then he’ll guide us through this TESS mess.
Phil Hecken: What do you do that you’re familiar with the trademarks databases?
Mike Styczen: I’m a commercial lawyer in Calgary. I don’t do trademark or patent work directly (I’ve never registered or litigated one) but in the course of my work I have to sometimes verify that they’ve been properly registered, assigned, mortgaged, that sort of thing, which requires some work in the databases. It didn’t take long before I realized how much raw information was in there.
PH: How long have you been a fan of uniforms?
MS: Unlike a lot of UniWatchers, I wasn’t fascinated with uniforms growing up. I first got interested in uniforms around the time of the NHL’s anniversary season when a bunch of teams did throwbacks and I started to realize that there were a lot of interesting designs out there. I remember seeing Marc Okkonen’s book at my local bookstore for about five bucks in the clearance and for some reason I didn’t pick it up for some reason, I sure regret that now.
PH: So, what led you to Uni Watch?
MS: I was reading up on some throwback uniforms and ended up finding one of the original Village Voice columns and I was hooked. I’ve been a regular reader ever since then. One of the proudest moments of my life so far was when Paul referred to one of my wisecracks as “brilliant” and “trenchant” in an ESPN.com column.
PH: I assume you own some unis, then?
MS: I’ve got a few replicas, nothing authentic — Gretzky Oilers, Sittler Leafs, Hawerchuk Jets (I used have tickets when I lived in Winnipeg), and somewhere, an old rainbow guts Astros. Plus a Flames jersey I wear to games and to the Red Mile.
PH: Anything else you want to let us know?
MS: I’m also an avid road racer (mostly marathons and halfs), I have a pretty big collection of race shirts that could be considered uniforms.
PH: Got any favorite uniforms?
MS: My favourite uniform the original powder blue pullover Blue Jays, just because that’s what I grew up watching. In the NHL, I love the simplicity of the original six jerseys, without all the extraneous piping, patches, boxes, stripes, and junk.
PH: Awesome. OK, thanks Mike.
So now, without further ado, I now turn the piece over to Mike, who’ll take you through the procedure.
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Phase the First: The Maiden
An overlooked source of information on sports logos and names (and, for that matter, logos and names of products and companies) is the TESS database.
TESS is the Trademark Electronic Search Service and is maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark office. I don’t know how to describe it other than as an absolute treasure trove of trademarks filed in the United States.
The simple search interface provided is remarkably powerful — you can word search the by trademark, owner, or all fields. You’ll get a list of trademarks to look at — many of them are just trademarked photos of trademark used on samples.
The biggest problem with TESS is that it’s structured as a database, behind a firewall, so you can’t Google it directly and you can’t (as far as I can tell) link to individual pages or drawings. I’d love to have written this entry with links directly into TESS but I couldn’t make it happen. Instead, you get photos and drawings I found on TESS hosted on Flickr.
The Canadian version of TESS is the imaginatively named Canadian Trade-marks Database, hosted by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office. This database still bugs me because the word “trademark” doesn’t have a dash in the middle, but the database does. Searching is similar to TESS, the focus is (obviously) on trademarks registered in Canada, and the deeper TDR information contained on TESS isn’t available on-line in Canada.
TESS is huge — I just scratched the surface to find some odd and interesting designs to write about. I apologize for not having anything from the NBA or NCAA, I just don’t know enough about either of those to recognize interesting things if I see them.
NHL
Everyone knows the NHL’s current logo, and the old logo, but here’s a logo that also floated around in the 1990’s — I don’t recall them ever officially adopting it, but it showed up on merchandise from time to time. And another oddball logo — the application says it was for “electronic transmission of news, data, graphics and audio from a central server via modem to computer terminals”. My guess is that someone thought it looked pretty cool and high-tech at the time. Here’s some more NHL logos you probably never knew existed:
St. Louis Blues
Boston Bruins
Washington Capitals
Los Angeles Kings -– I know everyone has seen this goofball, but I can’t believe he got his own trademark.
The first, unused logo of the Ottawa Senators
Here’s an odd Pittsburgh Penguins logo. I’d love to know the story behind this one. This logo isn’t an unfamiliar logo, its now part of the the Wilkes Barre Scranton Penguins logo. But what’s interesting is that the Pittsburgh Penguins registered this logo in 1989, ten years before the WBS Penguins were founded. Perhaps the Pittsburgh Penguins were considering it for themselves, registered it, then put it on the shelf and then brought it out ten years later for their minor league affiliate?
NFL
The NFL referee’s shirts are trademarked — both the long sleeve and short sleeve versions.
No logos or pictures available, the names trademarked by the Houston Texans included: the Stallions, Wildcatters, Stormcats, Bobcats, Wildcats, Challengers, Apollos, Texians, Toros, Wranglers, Roughriders, Roustabouts, Colt 45s, Roughnecks, Energy, and Hurricanes.
The Baltimore Ravens’ infamous stolen logo, and an odd one of a raven on a goalpost.
While we’re on the topic of Baltimore football, another infamous logo.
Buffalo Bills
Chicago Bears
Tom Landry’s hat
Remember the New Englands Patriot superhero mascot? Well, it turns out his name was Superpatriot.
MLB
This is a cool one – we all know the San Francisco Giants threatened to move through the 70s (to Toronto), 80s (to San Jose and Santa Clara) and 90s (to Tampa), but did you know that in the 1980s they actually trademarked a script logo, a cap logo and a different cap logo for San Jose?
The Baltimore Orioles own this St. Louis Browns logo. And their alternate cap logo is trademarked, upside down apostrophe and all.
Chicago White Sox have two unusual logos here and here. Not surprisingly, given that the White Sox have had so many logos and designs in their history, there are probably just as many White Sox logos in TESS as the other 29 teams combined.
I don’t know much about the Tampa Rays, but for some reason they’ve trademarked the phrases 9=8 and ‘09>’08.
Texas Rangers
Toronto Blue Jays
Atlanta Braves
Milwaukee Brewers — also trademarks for Bratwurst, Polish, Italian, and Hot Dog. I couldn’t find Chorizo.
This one took me a minute to process – its obviously Chief Wahoo, but backwards. I found it kind of disturbing actually, being so familiar but wrong at the same time.
I thought this one was interesting – the Yankees have trademarked the image of their facade, both with and without flags on top.
And finally, doesn’t Youppi just look sad in his trademark application. It’s like he knows what’s coming.
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Well there you have it. Thanks Mike. So, go forth young Uni Watchers and explore your favorite team’s trademarks and logos. See what you can find. If you find something you really like, or is really unique, or just plain bizarre, be sure to post it here.
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On Friday, I linked to this photo of the Boston team playing the New York team, and is dated October 8, 1904. (That photo, by the way comes from the Library of Congress, a tremendous resource.) The location is the Huntington Avenue Grounds, which, if you could look at it schematically, would look like this. When I first looked at the date, I figured it had to be some kind of post season game, but then I remembered in 1904 there was no world series. So, I looked up the year in baseball for 1904 and found out they were still playing regular season games as late as October 7 (and possibly later). So, that photo had to be the New York Highlanders playing the Boston Americans. Further research indicates that the game in question was not even the pennant clinching game, which the Boston squad won on a wild pitch from Jack Chesbro (which was played in New York). Interesting. I had always thought the regular season in baseball, even at the turn of the 20th century, ended on or about October 1.
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Also on Friday, poster “War Damn Eagle” had hoped to see what the Nationals, who had worn their idiotic patriotic red white and blue uniforms, which were not well-received due to the red socks, sleeves and helmets, would look like with blue accoutrements. I have very little ability when it comes to matters such as this, but I tried a couple mockups to see how they’d look. The blue looks MUCH better, right?
I had asked my artist-in-residence, Pretty Boy Paulie, if he could assist with a “good” version of these, but unfortunately he was unavailable. If anyone has photoshop skills, could you post a clean version of what those mockups would look like, so we can start our write-in campaign to have the Nats wear blue socks, sleeves and helmets with their alts. Thanks!
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Meet The Mess Mets: Well, it’s one step backward, one step forward for the Amazin’s this season. Friday night was a step backward when they broke out the godawful black jerseys — which also means they wore the black lids, which is the worst possible of their myriad combinations. Prior to Friday night, their other home games had been the other horrid combination of black and blue caps, black sleeves, and black socks. Which meant they were forced to wear baseball’s worst batting helmet (since the Texas Texases decided to ditch their ultimate mockery of the baseball gods). Well, on Saturday, the Mets finally took one step closer to getting it right — returning to the blue caps, socks & sleeves with their snow whites. A much better look. Here’s hoping they take the final step today, and return to the pinstripes and blue caps, which is their best combination and actual official home uniform. Really, would that be asking too much?
So, that got me to thinking, about all those home uniforms and the ridiculous and unnecessary use of black for black’s sake. For years, from their inception, the Mets really had only one gorgeous home uniform. They won a world series wearing that one. Somewhere along the way, 1983 to be precise, they decided to “jazz” it up by adding superfluous and unnecessary blue and orange piping. The did manage to win a world series in that one as well. By 1993 they had returned to their senses and removed the piping (but added a ridiculous tail for two seasons). The tail was gone after two years, but by then the “black for black’s sake” craze and the need to have several “alternate” uniforms had taken hold in baseball and the Mets added black to their uniforms in 1998, first only on their cap. (And in 1997 they introduced their “snow whites” to supplement the pinstripes). By 1999, all bets were off as the Mets added the black alternate jersey (both home and road) and a black cap. It’s been that way ever since.
I won’t even go there on the use of the black, since it doesn’t deserve to be worn on the diamond by the Mets (since it is not and never has been, one of their official colors). But their home combinations aside from the choice of black are four: (1) the worst of the four: black & blue caps, black sleeves & socks, and snow whites; (2) next worst, black & blue caps, black sleeves & socks, and pinstripes; (3) next best, blue caps, sleeves & socks, and snow whites, and (4) finally, the best, blue caps, sleeves & socks, and pinstripes. We won’t even discuss this shit. Batting practice and softball jerseys don’t belong in game play. I know, I know, begging for the mets to ditch the black cannot be repeated enough is pointless, but it still sucks, and I hate it.
One argument for the black on these boards I have heard, and one which I’d almost be leaning towards, is to keep the black drop shadow. Some seem to think it makes the wordmark “pop”. What do you think? Here’s the “Mets” wordmark without the black dropshadow. And, here is the wordmark with the black dropshadow. And here they both are, side by side. I’d have to say, if the Mets were willing to eliminate the black caps, sleeves and socks, but keep only the dropshadow, I think they’d have one of the sharpest uniforms in the bigs. But until such time, I will hate their multiple combos and uniform transgressions. OK … I’m done with this now.
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This and That: Speaking of black for black’s sake, Teebz attended the World Deaf Hockey Championships in Winnipeg, and reports that Team Canada broke out these really awful black uniforms — young fans in town from Raleigh were understandably upset when they saw their home NHL club’s BFBS idea stolen … The Indians just scored … Todd Krvanchi was watching the Jordan Classic, and noted that Mason Plumlee on the white team with jersey #24 on the front and #42 on the back. In addition, Jimmy Dykes spoke with Marcus Jordan, (Michael’s son), who is going to Central Florida next year. Todd says Dykes asked Jordan “If he’d ever worn any gear in his lifetime other than Nike/Jordan brand. Marcus’ response? Never. In fact, UCF is an adidas school and have agreed to allow marcus to wear Jordan brand and not adidas in college.” Interesting. Thanks, Todd … Nightlife, hookers and drugs? For an NBA baller in Atlanta? Not for the Heat, who’d like to escape Atlanta without getting shot, arrested or killed with a win … Outta Heeeerrreee … Aston Villa had to wear their change kit against West Ham yesterday, but some of the kits were sans adverts. According to reader Seven, “in today’s English Premier league game between Aston Villa & West Ham has decided that West Ham’s change strips are too close to Aston Villa’s home strip. Villa will apparently wear plain white training tops that will be completely blank except for their numbers on the back. The kit man is printing the numbers right now.” (reprinted from yesterday’s comments) … Spring football means it’s time to show off your new eyeblack — Godboy Tebow approves … The Mariners held a military appreciation thingy yesterday — so what kind of unis did they break out to honor the men and women in uniform? Yup — somehow that’s more appropriate than the Nats and Pods, isn’t it … The Indians just scored again — *sigh* … The NBA announces a new playoff promotion for families buying 5 or more tickets: free mushroom pizza … y’know…that CBJ uni isn’t all that bad (check out the dude with the “playoff beard” in the front row) … worst wager on the PGA tour: “Dude, I’ll bet you fifty bucks you can’t hit the light house” … second worst: taking it … Puma stripes: good, 3 stripes: bad … Cleveland just scored again … Further proof the Mets can’t do anything right: Opening Day? — c’mon guys … Here’s one for Powers … who knew Mike Schmidt could cry? … Cleveland just scored again … As reported in last night’s comments, it’s hard to see here, but the Twins wore their ‘82 throwbacks last night, and Delmon Young was missing the number on front of his uni (should appear like so) — I got some bad screen grabs here and here (you get the idea) … I want Vince Vaughn’s life. And finally, reprinted from last night’s comments (from James Huening): “Holeeee shit! Check out Ryan Dempster doing the Shoot-the-Puck contest at the second intermission of the Hawks-Flames game.”
Enjoy your Sunday. Did the Indians just score again?
April 19th, 2009
At the recent Uni Watch gathering in Pittsburgh, George Fetkovich was kind enough to give me this book, which has a bunch of great photos. Let’s take a look:
• Remember my column about the pinned-on uni number panels in the 1934 MLB All-Star Game? Looks like the Pitt football team was doing something similar in 1908.
• Y.A. Tittle could have used this chest mark as his personal logo. No idea what it stands for, but I like it.
• Speaking of cool chest logos, look at this! Unfortunately, there’s no explanation of what the caption refers to as “their unusual jerseys.”
• Anyone wanna colorize this? I’m thinking royal with navy trim for the jerseys, and something mustard-ish for the shorts.
• Hey, fellas, why are you wearing bras? Never seen that pattern on a hoops jersey before.
• Never seen this one either. I really like it, though.
• Here’s an interesting football team portrait. Not sure why some players have the “A” jerseys and some just have stripes. Maybe one or the other was a practice jersey design..?
• There’s surprisingly little Pirates content in the book, but I was particularly fond of two shots: This one shows the awesome “P P” collar monogramming that I love so much, and this one shows another one of those heavy-knit baseball sweaters that I wish would make a comeback.
• Very odd football padding on this guy. Almost looks like he’s got tumorous growths coming out of his elbows and shoulders, no?
• Rough image quality, but I’m intrigued by this 1906 youth baseball shot. Note the “NE” script, for “New Eagle.”
• There’s no shortage of teams that have worn their team name or city name on their placket over the years (in fact, Phil devoted an entire entry to this phenomenon back in December). But until now, I’d never seen a team wear the first initial of its city along with its team name. Note that the little period in between the first two letters on each jersey — amazing.
• Sashes are so damn cool (especially when paired with striped socks).
• Although the caption simply refers to this as a “bowling” photo, the telltale small balls mean that these lanes are configured for either duckpins (which is found primarily in Baltimore and a little bit in New England) or candlepins (upper New England). I wasn’t aware of either game ever having a foothold in western Penna. — can anyone tell me more?
If you like what you see here, you can click through the entire book here. Thanks again, George.
Special opportunity for UW readers: As I mentioned a week or so ago, there’s a sports blog panel/conference thingie coming up in June, and the organizers are now offering a 20% discount for Uni Watch readers. To take advantage of this deal, enter the code “uniwatch” when checking out on the ticket ordering page.
About that No Mas event with David Wright tonight: Basically, everyone who e-mailed yesterday is in. The event is at 8:30 tonight at 21 Mercer St. in Manhattan. Enjoy, and someone be sure to ask David Wright why he goes high-cuffed for day games.
Raffle Results: You were totally convinced that you were gonna win this time. And you were right — if your name is Curtis Pidhorney.
In case you were wondering: Yes, the Uni Watch Classifieds are still an ongoing concern. Later today we’ll add a permanent link to them They now have their own perma-link on the home page, and later today I’ll be adding a few more listings. I realize this project has been slow to develop, but we’re getting there — thank for your patience.
Uni Watch News Ticker: For those who missed it yesterday: The “I’m Calling It Shea” T-shirts are now available (here’s what the blue version looks like). And you can get a 10% discount if you use the checkout code “uniwatch” … Not sure, but I think this is Rob Ullman’s first NBA-themed treatment. … Jim Ransdell’s Sports Design Blog continues to impress. His latest winner: a post featuring lots of great circa-’74 basketball graphics. … Decent article on kinesio tape here. … Nice article here about how the Shea family is coping with the demise of Shea Stadium. … Current issue of ESPN Mag has this shot of Michael Crabtree, in which he’s wearing socks with the old NFL logo (current logo is on the cleats, though). There’s also this shot, which finds Crabtree wearing old-logo wristbands (with thanks to Chris Flinn). … Did you know frequent Ticker contributor Tris Wykes used to work for the Tampa Bay Bucs? I didn’t, until he sent me this note yesterday: “Back in 1993, while serving as an equipment assistant for the Buccaneers, we played a preseason game at Miami and I snapped this picture of my boss, Frank Pupello, and his Fins counterpart, who I believe was named Bobby Monica. We were told the aqua Dolphins helmet prototype you see on the shelf was going to be the team’s regular helmet for 1994. Apparently, that plan was scrapped.” … Don’t eat any yellow snow ice. Details here (with thanks to Brian Castile). … Angel Cabrera wears a special glove on his cigarette hand (with thanks to John Muir). … Ryan Howard, on the other hand, smokes bare-handed. … Tony Kellogg found some old football pics at an antique shop — he says they’re from the 1930s, but I think they’re earlier than that — that show the officials wearing white, which was common in the pre-zebra era. … Now the NHL postseason is starting, it’s time to grow a playoff beard (with thanks to James Huening). … Check out the “B” on Wes Unseld’s socks (with thanks to Dave Holland). … Steve Cook did some quick Photoshopping to show how the new Bosox alt cap logo would look with a white outline. Much better, sez I. … Who’da tunk Leo Sayer, of all people, had such good taste in hockey jerseys? (With thanks to Scott Stone.) … No photo, but I’m told that the Mariners have had an Ichiro jersey hanging in the dugout, which is odd for two reasons: (1) I thought Ichiro’s teammates hated him, and (2) since when is going on the DL cause for a hanging-jersey tribute? … Joan Jett, rocker ballplayer. Chris Falvey saw that photo on the wall of a New Orleans eatery. Not sure of the backstory. … Bryan Justman just finished his latest DIY project, a Guy LaFleur Nordiques jersey. … Lids for Yids (with thanks to Trevor Williams). … Teebz is running his annual NHL playoff pool over on his blog. Details here. … Who’s going to wear 42 tomorrow? Apparently everyone. … ANaGELS? … Oh dear (blame Dan O’Connor). … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Michigan’s spring football game featured a QB wearing red uni numbers, presumably in place of a red no-contact jersey. … Pretty great uni-related Bruins commercial here (with thanks to Michael Blinn). … The Orioles debuted their new “Baltimore” road uniforms last night. Or is it “Balttimore”? And here’s a great spot by Tom Hedrick: Brian Roberts began the game with the wrong script on his right sleeve. Someone must have noticed, because it had been fixed by his second at-bat. … No photo, but here’s something I’d never seen before: At several points during last night’s Mets/Padres game, cameras caught San Diego outfielder Jody Gerut consulting a little crib sheet that he kept in his back pocket. Presumably had info on outfield positioning. … Also, in that same game, Mets batboy and Uni Watch membership enrollee Matt Harris christened the new Shea by wearing stirrups. Nicely done, Matt, but I also saw you untucking your jersey while you were still in the dugout after the last out was made. Save that until you’re back in the clubhouse! … Speaking of Shea’s inaugural game, a cat showed up on the field. John Okray got a video grab. … See that guy in the front row? That’s New York Governor David Paterson. He’s legally blind — and yet, as pointed out in last night’s comments, even he knew which Mets cap to wear last night, unlike the Mets themselves. … Last night I got an e-mail from one of my ESPN editors, Thomas Neumann, with the subject line “I’m assuming alcohol was involved.” The e-mail contained this link. … Pirates had their home opener yesterday and used the occasion to memorialize those three Pittsburgh police officers who were murdered by a gun-toting nut 10 days ago. The Bucs and ’Stros both wore Pittsburgh police caps during pregame ceremonies, and the Pirates kept wearing them during the game. They also added a “PBP” patch (for Pittsburgh Bureau of Police). … Speaking of the Pirates, I think someone mentioned this over the weekend, but it’s interesting that their collar piping extends all the way down the inner edge of the jersey. … Good spot by Brian Hunsicker, who notes that the “N” on the front of Wilfredo Ledezma’s jersey was upside-down yesterday. … Dave Gilmore hosts a weekly podcast on BaltimoreSportsReport.com, and this week his guest was Kevin Brotzman of Oriolesnumbers.com. “We talked about Uni Watch, Mets by the Numbers, a whole bunch of stuff,” says Dave. Check it out here.
April 14th, 2009
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