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Posts filed under 'Hosiery'
Tomorrow is Independence Day. I always like to call it that — Independence Day, not the 4th of July — because that’s what the holiday is about, after all: our independence from the British crown. It’s a special day, an important day. If you haven’t read the Declaration of Independence lately, I suggest that you do so — it’s a pretty stirring document, and it serves as a compelling reminder that we always need to be vigilant, because liberty is a fragile thing, something we have to nurture and protect from anything that threatens it.
As it happens, I myself have recently identified precisely such a threat, an evil seed that bids to lay waste to everything we hold dear. And I can assure you that I plan to do everything within my power to expunge this threat from the face of this earth.
I am referring, of course, to Ronnie Belliard’s socks.
In case you missed it (as I did myself, until there was a brief mention of it in yesterday’s comments), Belliard — who usually goes pajama-pantsed — hiked up his cuffs on Tuesday night, revealing the mark of the beast on his stockings. Although it’s hard to be sure, it appears that this wasn’t an isolated incident (that photo is from Sunday).
This isn’t the first time the scourge of logo creep has afflicted MLB hose. Back in 2005, I identified at least at least four players with the Rawlings logo on their socks: Kelvim Escobar, Orlando Cabrera, Paul Byrd (here’s another view of him), and Joe Crede. At the time, I worried that we’d soon start seeing sock-borne maker’s marks throughout MLB diamonds. Fortunately, that hasn’t come to pass, but Belliard’s legwear is a reminder that we can’t take lower-leg tranquility for granted.
And to think this team is called the Nationals.
Why is this so important? Because socks are just about the only brand-free oasis remaining on the baseball diamond. Think about it: Jerseys are visibly branded, along with pants, shoes, fielder’s gloves, batting gloves, catching gear, and undershirts (not always, but the chest swoosh is often exposed to view). The only things that aren’t logo-creepy are headwear (well, usually) and socks. Socks are also unbranded — at least for now — in the other major pro sports leagues.
And it damn well better stay that way. Because if there’s one thing this country stands for, it’s freedom, and that definitely includes freedom from advertising-infested hosiery. Rise up, my fellow Americans! Whether it means dumping boxes of socks into Boston Harbor, driving a bullpen buggy through the countryside while shouting, “The sock swooshes are coming! The sock swooshes are coming!,” or burning Ronnie Belliard in effigy (maybe just from the knees down), we must take arms against this savage incursion. Repeat after me, fellow citizens: Give us advertising-free socks, or give us death.
Uni Watch Calender Correction: Yesterday I mentioned the possibility of convening a Uni Watch gathering in Manhattan after the Don Larsen perfect game screening “next Tuesday, July 10th” — a tricky concept, since next Tuesday is the actually 8th. Oops. The correct day/date is next Thursday, the 10th. So let’s try this again: If there’s sufficient interest among NYC readers, we can have a Uni Watch confab at 8:30ish on July 10th at Jimmy’s Corner on West 44th. If this appeals, send me a note.
Uni Watch News Ticker: The Giants and Cubs apparently couldn’t wait until the holiday weekend to start wearing the star-spangled caps — further evidence that almost every idea gets taken too far these days. Meanwhile, Chris Bruggeman reports that Ryan Dempster had some XYZ issues during that game. Several Cubs fans apparently noticed it and e-mailed the broadcast team, leading Len Kasper and Bob Brenly to discuss the situation. I don’t have access to the Cubs broadcast feed, alas, but Chris says that at one point Brenly quipped, “If [Dempster] pitches a shutout, I think the whole staff will go out to greet him with their barn doors open.” … In a related item, the Pedro porthole was in full force last night in St. Looey. … In yesterday’s entry on tags and labels, I quoted Terry Proctor thusly: “For the NBA or NFL teams that SandKnit outfitted, they would say something like, ‘Custom-Crafted by Medalist SandKnit for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association’ (or whatever the appropriate team was).” That prompted Doug Rogers to send along a photo of the label from one of his old Vikings jerseys — check it out. Notice anything amiss? They got it right on this one. … Brooks Robinson was presented with an All-Time Gold Glove on Tuesday night. York Revolution players wore “B. Robinson” nameplates in his honor (with thanks to Chris Laughman). … Good observation here about an update to the Hornets’ logo (with thanks to Ernie Ballard). … Another great job by Nike (with thanks to Christian Ruzich). … The Mid-American Conference has a new logo (with thanks to Tom Konecny). … Odd observation from Ellen Schmidt, who notes that Greg Dobbs was wearing eye black early in one of the recent Phils/Rangers games but had removed it later in the game. … Who picks the Twins’ uniforms each day? Answer here (with thanks to Joe Drennan). … LI Phil found something interesting: a site that’s sort of a soda bottle version of Uni Watch. The home page is here. … Also from Phil (reprinted from yesterday’s comments): a bearded Yankee! Must’ve been from one of Thurman’s periodic “I’m gonna fuck with Steinbrenner” phases. … Another smoking athlete (but not in uniform): Sean Avery (courtesy of Andrew Jobe). … Check out what the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings (arenafootball2) will be wearing for the 4th of July. … More news on SMU’s new football togs here, here, here, here, here, here, and here (with thanks to Chris Mycoskie and Tod Meisner). … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: More hoops jerseys with crotch extensions. That’s Washington coach Tippy Dye checking out the team’s uniforms. … Also from yesterday: Full gallery here of the West Michigan Whitecaps’ Darth Vader jerseys. … Yet another noteworthy bit from yesterday’s comments: Numberless catcher? Nope, it’s just Bengie Molina, who combines two rarities: a catcher wearing No. 1 and a really thick vertical strap. … Hey, speaking of graphics on MLB hosiery, check out the stirrups in this photo from Bill Henderson’s CD. Don’t think I’ve ever seen a uni number sewn into the bottom of the strap like that. Also can’t say I recall seeing the ’Stros wearing stars on their calves — hmmmm. … The Brewers and Pirates will wear Negro Leagues throwbacks on Saturday (with thanks to Jeff Ash). …Ever heard of the National Indoor Football League or the United Indoor Football League? Yeah, me neither, but Marc Viquez says a team called the Fort Wayne Freedom belonged to both of those leagues, and he recently spotted one of their helmets for sale at an Indianapolis shop. … Admirably detail-obsessive observation from Brandon Davis, who writes: “It appears that MLB started adding the TM symbol to the MLB logo on the back of batting helmets in 2006, the same time teams started wearing CoolFlo helmets.”
Holiday Schedule: Uni Watch will be closed tomorrow. Bryan will handle the weekend, as usual. See you all next week, and try not to blow off too many of your fingers with fireworks.
July 3rd, 2008
A serious thunderstorm brought yesterday’s softball game to premature end, but not before I’d road-tested a new design from the sock drawer. Let’s take a look:
This week’s design: gray with brown and orange stripes, low-cut.
Ideal for feeling like a member of: the mid-1930s St. Louis Browns.
Color-coordination factor: Tricky — it’s not like I have tons of brown/orange/gray attire. But I found a gray T-shirt with an orange logo and topped it off with a brown cap — not bad.
How they looked: A little drab, no? Not really the greatest color combo. And I didn’t love the effect of gray stirrups and white sanitaries — not enough contrast. The whole thing made me feel somewhat less than resplendent.
How I played: We only got four innings in before the rains came. I was 0-for-1 but made a nifty sliding catch on a sinking line drive to left.
I was due to lead off the next half-inning when the skies opened up. There was this incredible super-cell forming (I’m not a meteorology geek, but I went on a storm-chasing trip once, back when I was a travel writer, and I learned enough to recognize a super-cell when I see one), which was sort of majestically menacing, so we all high-tailed it out of there. Oddly, the storm didn’t hit Queens, so I got to watch the rest of the Mets game once I got home. Pinstripes with black caps/socks/sleeves — ugh.
Uni Watch News Ticker: More than a year ago I ran pics of Lou Brock wearing odd decals on both sides of his helmet during the 1975 All-Star Game. Now, thanks to Brian Finch and Jennifer Jackson of the Cardinals Hall of Fame, we finally have a better view of what those decals were: Look here and here. But here’s the thing: First, it’s not yet clear if there’s another decal on the other side (the helmet is inside an exhibit that’s not easy to get into, but Jennifer is working on it). And second, that helmet was apparently used by Bob Gibson. And no Gibson wasn’t in the ’75 ASG. So that decal was apparently used by more than one player, and not just for all-star purposes. Still trying to get to the bottom of this one. … Jeremy Brahm reports that Japan’s gymnastics uniforms for the Olympics will look like this. But what’s with the “Hulk will smash!” posture from the fellas? … Mark Kluczynski reports that the “NCAA” patch on college football officials’ jerseys will be replaced by a “CFO” patch (for “College Football Officiating”) this fall. … New uniforms for the Boy Scouts here, and for the Navy here. … Still more fuss over the LZR swimsuit. … How much do they miss NFL football in L.A.? So much that a Bengals logo has appeared on a termite-control truck (good spot by Matt Shevin). … Check out this photo of Sam McDowell. Not only does he have stirrup extensions, but one of the extensions actually changes the direction of his stirrup! … Michael Gawley found a photo of Baron Davis wearing a Dodgers cap with an upside-down “LA” logo. Details toward the bottom of this page. … Another old example of sleeved high school hoops jerseys (and I bet there are stirrups under those white socks, too). … Reprinted from Friday night’s comments: Amazing video here showing a one-legged catcher who plays in a Kentucky-based Little League. And he’s left-handed, too. … Wanna immortalize yourself in bobblehead form? Look here (with thanks to Brinke Guthrie). … Here’s a new one: Jeremy Brahm reports that some of teams in Japan’s Master League (sort of a senior’s tour for baseball) wear tassels on their caps — totally bizarre. ” “They were about 4 inches long in the first year used (2006),” says Jeremy. “But they were extended to 5 inches long last year.” … Plus one of the teams in that league has a rainbow striped batting helmet (that uni is in the running for all-time ugliest, no?) … Lots of stained sheets at Mets fans’ homes on Friday, as the Amazin’s wore blue caps, sleeves, and socks on the road for the first time in a decade, and holy shit did it look awesome. Equipment manager Charlie Samuels (aka “The guy who’s to blame for the few remaining things in this world that aren’t George Bush’s fault”) decided to trot out the blue gear to commemorate the team’s final appearance at Yankee Stadium. But here’s the thing: If you’re going to look good for a special occasion, why not look good for every occasion? Blue Mets = true Mets! … Meanwhile, in the nightcap, Pedro Martinez was displaying virtually every conceivable button configuration: fully buttoned, top button open, and the Uni Watch special. Speaking of which, I’ve decided that the open second button will henceforth be known as the Pedro Porthole, a name that was suggested by Jared Wheeler, who wins himself a free Uni Watch membership for his efforts (Jared, let me know what you want on the back of your card). … Padres and Mariners wore 1978 throwbacks on Friday night in San Diego (where this vendor apparently was never told that it’s hard to sell stuff to an empty section). Yeah, they should have had waistbands instead of belts, the M’s wore thw wrong helmets, everything was too baggy (look at the drop-shoulders on Ichiro’s jersey), blah-blah-blah, whatever. Just be glad your favorite team never dressed like either of these two. … Harry Halloran and his family recently visited Mt. Rushmore, where they stopped in at the Gutzon Borglum museum. “Apparently the workers on the sculpture, in addition to battling acrophobia and blasting dynamite, had a baseball team,” he writes. “Not only that, they had fans who were devoted enough to have special ’sweater jackets’ made up, one of which was on display. The placard reads: ‘SWEATER: This type of sweater jacket was worn by fans who followed the Keystone/Mt. Rushmore baseball team. The emblem on the back is representative of an early design for the Memorial.’ Sure enough, if you look at the back of the sweater, the first question is, ‘Where’s Teddy?’ This is so cool on so many levels. If they’d had these for sale in the gift shop, I would’ve spent many more dollars than I already had. Unfortunately, no jerseys were on display — I would’ve been taking one of those home too, if they’d been available. Maybe the fine folks at Ebbets Field Flannels should look into this?” … Last year Mario Fontana guest-wrote a great entry about the Wiffle Ball tournaments at Little Fenway and Little Wrigley, which were for the benefit of the Travis Roy Foundation. He plans to write another entry based on this year’s tourney. If you want to donate to help support the cause, you can do so here. … Holy shit (amazing find by Mike Engle). … Negro Leagues throwback game between the Rays (dressingup as the Jacksonville Red Caps) and Pirates (representing the Pittsburgh Crawfords) on Saturday (additional pics here, here, here, here, here, and here). Interestingly, although the host Pirates didn’t wear throwback helmets, the visiting Rays did — sort of. Tim Burke explains: “Rays TV reported that when the team arrived in Pittsburgh and found the (well-designed, but sparse) uniforms waiting for them, Rays clubhouse manager Chris Westmoreland took it upon himself to acquire color-matched batting gloves and a blue ‘J’ decal to apply to the helmets for authenticity’s sake (even though, obviously, the Jacksonville Red Caps never wore batting helmets, and their caps were, well, red). He should probably be recognized for going the extra mile in this case.” Indeed! … About two hours after writing that last item, I opened my Sunday paper and found this in the coupon supplement. Hmmm, notice any similarities? … Jonee Eisen sent along some additional scorecard art by Otis Shepard (the Wrigley’s gum art director who also did some work for the Cubs), and holy shit is it amazing. Amazing cover designs here, here, and here, and check out this awesome guide to the Wrigley Field flags. … Great find by Mark Fightmaster and Robert Eden, the latter of whom writes: “Sunday’s Cincinnati paper had a little article on the day Dusty Baker stole second, third and home in a single game. It was June 27, 1984. But look at the accompanying photos — looks like the Reds were wearing their batting practice jerseys.” Personally, I would have assumed that the Reds were just wearing a solid-colored alt jersey, but as Robert points out, Cincy didn’t introduce a solid-red alternate until 1985 (the following year), and that design feature the city name, not the C-Reds logo. Indeed, the jerseys shown in the Dusty Baker photos appears to be this. A very early example of a team wearing its BP jersey for a game. Anyone know of any earlier instances, and/or if the Reds did this on a regular basis? … David Eckstein was hit by a pitch around his waistline on Saturday. As he trotted to first base, his belt buckle was flapping — the pitch had opened his belt! He addressed the situation a few moments later (with thanks to Geoff Loughton). … NSFW: topless soccer with painted-on jerseys (blame Bob Kile). … Still more Speedo LZR intrigue (courtesy of Jeremy Brahm). … Also from Jeremy: “The Polish women’s volleyball has been wearing a memorial ribbon over their flag on the front of their uniform in their matches in the FIVB World Grand Prix. It’s for former national team member Agata Mroz, who died after a bone marrow transplant while battling leukemia. Also: Looks like #17 for Italy has blue numbers, not black like her teammates, and the Turkish team is still wearing Adidas uniforms with Nike kneepads. The mark on their socks is the logo of the Turkish Volleyball Federation. … Good little Q&A article here on the Bears’ equipment manager (with thanks to Jeremy Gracyalny). … Hadn’t noticed this before, but someone on the Chris Creamer board pointed out that MLB’s “Welcome Back Veterans” caps have a star-spangled MLB logo on the back (except, of course, for the Blue Jays’ version). … I’m gonna be off the grid today (Rich Levin is having me fitted for leg irons), so play nice.
June 30th, 2008
Finally, picture-perfect softball weather here in NYC, so it was time for another visit to the Uni Watch sock drawer. Here’s this week’s installment of my ongoing hosiery project:
This week’s design: I was originally planning to wear these. But look at bottom strap — it’s got the same heavy-gauge stitch as the rest of the stirrup. When I tried them on, they were too thick under my sole — it felt like I had something big and lumpy in my shoes. So I switched to these, which have elasticized understraps.
Ideal for feeling like a member of: Good question. I’ve been unable to match this design with any team on the big league timeline. If I’ve overlooked a historical antecedent, please let me know.
Color-coordination factor: “This’ll be a cinch,” I figured. “I’ve got tons of T-shirts featuring blue and red.” But it turns out that the blue component in most of them is navy, not royal. Fortunately, I came up with one that matched perfectly.
How they looked: Pretty sharp. I liked how the elasticized straps provided a teeny bit of white that peeked out above my shoetops.
How I felt: A bit like Little Boy Blue. Would’ve preferred a white tee with royal and red printing, but whaddaya gonna do. I’ll say this for heavy-knit stirrups: They stay up really nicely. Very low-maintenance.
How I played: The combination of batting ninth in a 12-man lineup (we usually play 12-on-12 and have two players per inning sit out from playing the field) and an opposing pitcher who was throwing BBs (he retired 13 of the last 14) meant that I only came to bat twice, flying out both times. Pfeh. But my team won, and made a nice sprinting catch in LF for the final out.
Thanks to Gabe Rivas, Robert Field, and Kirsten for the photos. I won’t be playing softball this Sunday, so this project will be now go on hiatus until June.
Raffle Results: The winner of the NameFrame raffle is charter member Michael C. Wilson. Thanks to all who entered. More raffles coming soon.
Still More Birthday Stuff: It was nine years ago yesterday that the very first Uni Watch column ran in the now-defunct sports section of The Village Voice. From such humble beginnings, blah-blah-blah, etc., etc. Thanks for making it such a fun ride.
Meanwhile, please join me in wishing feliz cumpleaños to Uni Watch bench coach and birthday boy Bryan Redesmke, who turns — actually, I’m not sure how old he turns today, but I’m very sure I couldn’t run this site without him. Enjoy your day, Bry — hope you get everything you wish for when you blow out the candles.
Friendly Reminder: I’ll be participating in a reading this Thursday night at KGB in the East Village. The evening’s theme is “Design and Food,” and I’ll be examining the evolution of butchery chart design. In addition, Akiko Busch will discuss the aesthetics of her favorite vegetable peeler, and Paola Antonelli will deconstruct the art and science of the pasta shell (sorry, no Milton Glaser after all — he cancelled). Festivities will commence at 7pm.
Uni Watch News Ticker: When the Red Wings moved their “C” and “A” designations to the right side of the jersey this season, we all wondered what would happen if they reached the Stanley Cup Finals. And now we have our answer (with thanks to Louis Capwell, who took those photos during Saturday night’s warm-ups). … Speaking of the NHL, here’s Rob Ullman’s Stanley Cup prediction (which he sent to me on Friday morning, before the first two games had been played). … MLB teams did the American flag patch thing yesterday. I received no reports of any wayward or upside-down flags, so maybe they’re using a better glue this year. … The flags on the Mets’ caps seemed to be positioned too far back, a few inches behind the ear. … Boone Logan didn’t have a flag on his cap, but that’s because he’d moved it to his right sleeve (additional view here, with thanks to Steve Johnston). … Jason Varitek marked the holiday by wearing camouflage catching gear (and also taped his fingers for higher signal-calling visibility). … Best logo ever (well, this week). … Indiana State has new football uniforms (with thanks to Dustin Hall). … Steve Eschenbach took this photo at Yankee Stadium on May 22nd. Anyone know if they routinely fly the Boston flag upside-down, or if it was just a one-time “mistake”? … “I saw something that shocked me on Saturday afternoon,” writes Brendan Tarpey. “While in downtown San Francisco, I saw Thomas DeCoud wearing his own Combine sweatshirt, complete with name and number on the back. Have you ever seen or heard of this before? I can understand if it was for some sort of sponsored appearance, but he just looked like he was going shopping with a friend.” … John Peacock pointed me toward this site, which is devoted to Cap Anson and features some tremendous photos. “Here’s the first picture I’ve ever seen of an 1871 Rockford Forest Citys player in uniform,” says John (who lives in Rockford, so he especially likes that one). “There’s also a great picture of the Chicago Cubs — then the White Stockings — showing players wearing color suit coats with their knickers.” … Cardinals blogger Jeff Scott has noticed an interesting problem: The plackets on the team’s Cool Base jerseys seem to be rather flimsy — so flimsy that it tends to flap or bend back — while the non-Cool Base plackets stay nice and crisp. … Still more about the LZR swimsuit controversy here (with thanks to Jeremy Brahm). … Awesome Monday Night Football opening sequence, circa 1973, here (courtesy of Brinke Guthrie). … Scott Dunham notes that Coco Crisp has his real name on his glove. … Scroll down to the next-to-last entry on this Q-and-A page for some interesting info on Brad Ausmus’s mask (with thanks to Ryan Patrick). … According to the back of this card, Dante Bichette had some stirrups issues (good find by Matthew Glover). … Interesting item here: a Reds jersey with an NOB but no uni number (with thanks to Robert Eden).
May 27th, 2008
Back in August of 2005, when this site didn’t yet exist and the Uni Watch News Ticker ran as part of my ESPN column every two weeks, I wrote an article that included this little nugget (which originally included some photo links that have long since expired):
The Marlins recently tried a bit of team uni-ty by agreeing to have everyone cuff their pants up high. “I heard Paul LoDuca started it, to give the team a spark,” reports Marlins fan and Uni Watch reader Kevin Sorg. “Todd Jones won’t wear it on the mound when he closes, but the second he gets the last out, he pulls up the pant legs to show the socks up.”
Three seasons later, Todd Jones once again finds himself on a team looking to strike a note of hosiery-based solidarity. This time it’s the Tigers, who went high-cuffed on Saturday (additional info in the sixth graf of this story, and note that Miguel Cabrera’s socks were logo emblazoned).
Just as he did with the Marlins, Jones chose to stay low-cuffed when he entered the game and then hiked up his pants after getting the final out. But that’s where the similarity ends. Back in Florida, Jones had full-length socks under his pants (no pics, but I saw video of it at the time, trust me). But when he pulled up his pant legs on Saturday, he revealed something else altogether — ewwwww. And although it’s tough to see in that screen grab, those are official NBA quarter-socks — a rare (and, in this instance, rather off-putting) case of cross-league apparel.
In addition to adjusting his cuffs at the game’s conclusion, Jones also went untucked. Unfortunately, no single shot showed the full bare-legged, shirttails-a-flappin’ effect, presumably because no camera was capable of capturing such an image without exploding.
And yet Jones didn’t seem the least bit ashamed of his appearance. In fact, you might say he looked proud out there, almost like he was rubbing the victory in the D-backs’ faces. Why be confrontational like that? See Todd Jones, hear him roar.
But I guess he’s got rights, or whatever.
Jones, incidentally, isn’t the only player wearing teeny little ankle socks. Reader Laren Richardson informs me that Jim Edmonds fouled a ball off his ankle during last night’s Cubs/Astros game and then rolled up his cuff to reveal this. Is this the new trend in baseball? Dainty little sockie-poos instead of gloriously full-fledged hose? And people wonder why this country’s going down the crapper.
Uni Watch News Ticker: While poking around in the Sporting News archives, I came across an incredible article about the Cubs’ 1937 uniforms. The Cubbies made a lot of changes that year, going from this to this (which featured, among other things, history’s first zipper-front jersey). Stop whatever you’re doing and read this — you won’t be sorry. … Bit of a javelin mishap in Utah the other day. Details here. … The Duke lacrosse team is wearing American flag left-sleeve patches — execept for Zack Greer, who’s from Ontario, so he has the Canadian flag (with thanks to Cosmo Santullo). … George Sherrill’s flat-brim look is catching on (with thanks to Jeffrey Soderberg). … Not uni-related, but I’ve been meaning to mention that when I was in Seattle a while back, Ebbets Field Flannels prexy Jerry Cohen took me to this amazing sandwich shop, which has its own curing room (in case you hadn’t figured it out, about the only thing I love more than design minutiae is meat). … John Lüders found a nice gallery focusing on corporate sponsorships in German and European soccer. “This shot shows something I’ve never heard of before in Germany,” he writes. “In 1988 FC Homburg wanted to advertise condoms (the brand was called London Rubber Company), but the German football league wouldn’t let it pass — too raunchy for the times apparently (personally, I think the overall jersey design is the far worse crime). And this one shows Eintracht Braunschweig in 1976. Back then, advertising was basically forbidden in German football, so what did the club, very high in debt, simply changed their whole emblem into the Jägermeister sign. The jersey now has reached cult status among supporters (similar to the Commodore shirt Bayern Munich was sporting in the early ’80s).” … My recent material about smoking athletes led Dan Jeffers to inform me that Leo Durocher once had Dodgers pitcher Tom Seats drink some brandy before a game, to settle his (the Seats’s) nerves. GM Branch Rickey was outraged by this impromptu bartending, so what did he do? He released Seats. Details here. … Matt Ryburn reports that the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes ran an American Gladiator Night promotion over the weekend, complete with AG-styled uniforms (additional pics here and here). … Ryan Connelly notes that Marty Biron has something written on the inner back panel of his mask. Anyone know what that’s about? … I grew up watching Thurman Munson wearing orange gear without thinking twice about it. But as Clark Farrand notes, that’s an odd color choice for a Yankees catcher. Anyone know the story behind that? … While researching something else, I stumbled upon something I’d forgotten about: When the Mets introduced their black jerseys in 1997, they sometimes paired them with blue sleeves. … The Lions have added a “75 Seasons” patch (with thanks to Eric Szczesny, who notes that this is the Lions 75th year in Detroit but actually their 79th year in the league). … Buried in last night’s AP beat story about the Yankees (with thanks to Bryan, who noticed it): “The Yankees will switch equipment sponsorship from Adidas to Nike next year under a five-year deal that has been agreed to in principle, Sports Business Journal reported. Nike spokesman Dean Stoyer said the company wouldn’t confirm or discuss the report until after the season and Yankees spokesman Howard Rubenstein said he wasn’t able to reach any team officials for comment. Adidas has sponsored the Yankees since 1997. All big league teams’ on-field apparel, however, is covered by Major League Baseball’s agreements.” … NASL-o-rama on eBay (with thanks to Bob Saietta). … College football query from Matt Powers, who writes: “Circa 1999, the NCAA instituted the rule governing the use of gray receiver’s gloves for all players, to make infractions such as holding more visible to officials. In 1998, my teammates and I were still allowed to wear non-gray gloves, as were the athletes at the major schools. I believe the rule is still in effect, although I still don’t know the particulars. Today, I received my Eastbay catalogue, which included this page. The gloves shown on the page are also linked on the Eastbay site. My question is this: There’s an all-gray model for sale, but all of the gloves are majority gray, with an accent color. Would all of these gloves be legal under current NCAA regulations?” Matt lost me about two sentences in, but I trust someone out there can help him out, yes? … John Hansen notes that Anika Sorentsam is apparently trying to max out her sponsorship $$$ before her retirement kicks in. Cool Swedish belt, though. … Erik Johns has found a site featuring some incredible Russian posters, several of which are sports-related (at least tangentially). I particularly like this one. … The additional site-anniversary announcement will have to wait an extra day — more details tomorrow.
May 20th, 2008
Bad weather, travel, and work conspired to keep me off the softball field for nearly a month, but yesterday I finally made my second appearance of the season. As you may dimly recall, I’m wearing a different set of stirrups each time I play this year (details here), so here’s the latest installment of that project:
This week’s design: orange with black and white stripes, medium-cut.
Ideal for feeling like a member of: the Baltimore Orioles, 1966-71.
Color-coordination factor: I own almost no orange clothing. But I do have this (here’s a closer view), so it was sort of like I was wearing the entire 1969 World Series.
How they looked: Every time I looked down, I had to pinch myself.
How I felt: Like Brooks Freakin’ Robinson, baby.
How I played: 1-for-3 at the plate (BB, 1B, F9, F8), 2 runs scored, 1 RBI. Had some fun on the basepaths (a nifty hook slide got me the call on a bang-bang play at third). Uneventful day in the field.
It’s interesting to note the differing approaches used by teams that wore this stirrup design template over the years. The Orioles and Red Sox put the key team color (orange and red, respectively) on the bottom. But the Pirates put gold on top.
Still Working on That Anniversary Sleeve Patch: As briefly noted last Friday, the site’s second birthday passed over the weekend. And as promised, I’ve got a few announcements to mark the occasion.
• First, Brooklyn-based intern Nina Dubin has designed a new Uni Watch T-shirt. As you can see, it’s a guide to vertical arching (here’s a bigger view of the logo), and there’s a tagline on the back. This shirt is available to all — get yours here.
• Second, we’ve finally gotten around to designing the special seal for charter members who choose to order new membership cards. The seal looks like this, and it will appear on the front of the card like so (yes, it’s a new color set, but we wanted the seal to stand out). As I’ve explained previously, there’s no need to order a new card if you already like the one you have — all memberships are of the lifetime variety, and all charter members (i.e., members who joined during the first two months of the program) are already listed in boldface on the membership roster. But if you’re a charter member and want a new design for the back of your card, your new card will include the seal on the front. If you’re happy with the back design but just want a new card that includes the seal on the front, we can do that for you too. Either way, a new card costs $15. Full membership program details, as always, are available here.
• Third — well, the third announcement isn’t quite ready to be announced yet. Tomorrow, I hope. But let’s just say I think you’ll like it a whole lot.
Father’s Day Raffle: Last month I wrote about reader Joe Hilseberg’s new business venture, the Jersey NameFrame, which basically a framed jersey-style name/number treatment, complete with professional-quality stitching. Now Joe has generously offered to provide a free two-color NameFrame to one lazy-ass reader who can’t come up with a good Father’s Day present lucky winner.
To enter, send a blank e-mail with your name in the subject line to uniraffle at earthlink dot net (please note that this is not the regular Uni Watch e-mail address) by this Friday at 10pm eastern. Nobody will be reading these e-mails, so don’t bother putting anything in the body of the message. Only one e-mail per person, but membership program enrollees will automatically get three bonus entries. I’ll announce the winner next Monday.
Uni Watch News Ticker: I stumbled across this on eBay over the weekend, and I heartily recommend it to anyone reading this. Got my own copy back in ’73 and still love the magnificent illustrations. A Uni Watch reader really ought to get this. … Lots of other cool stuff currently up on eBay, starting with this really nice vintage baseball uni. … And here’s another. … And check out this early Nebraska jersey. … Great labels and tagging on this old football kit. … Here’s a cool 1963 Spalding ad. … Never seen these patches before. … Amazing 1960s Oral Roberts practice jacket here. … Spectacular 1930s varsity sweater here, and a 1960s cheerleading sweater here. … And this really speaks for itself. … I’m pretty sure that this was originally a black-and-white photo that was hand-tinted. Still, odd that they chose to make the uni number blue instead of red, and the underbill blue instead of green (with thanks to Mike Engle). … Response to Saturday’s post was so inspiring that we have something really special planned for this weekend: Bryan will personally steal a four-year-old kid’s candy, push him into a puddle of mud, and laugh uproariously. … Topher Davis reports that the College of St. Scholastica, a Division III school in Duluth, Minnesota, is adding football as a sport this fall and has unveiled its new uniforms. “Looks like there was some LSU influence, or just plain old lack of creativity,” says Topher. … If you really love your team, put their logo onyour prosthetic leg (with thanks to Mark Kaplowitz). … Ben Rothfield wrote to Adidas to find out what kind of sneakers NBA refs wear. Here’s what he heard back: “Actually, Adidas doesn’t have a contract with the NBA’s officials association, so they are free to wear whatever sneaker they want, as long as it’s all black. However, many choose to wear the Superstar 2’s, in all black. Another popular choice is the Falcon.” … There’s something really sad about the sight of a portly Ted Williams being fitted for one of those elastic waistbands. That shot was taken during spring training of 1978, when the Splendid Not-Very-Splinter was a hitting instructor (courtesy of Jared Wheeler). … When I attended last Thurday’s Mets game, the gal sitting next to me had Mets-themed socks. … If you click ahead to Page 6 of this e-magazine, you’ll find this. I’m assuming those are prototypes, but if anyone knows more, please speak up (nice find by Rich Canulli). … Speaking of NHL prototypes, I knew the Capitals had flirted with a new design several years back. But I hadn’t seen a large version of the prototype logo until this morning, when someone on the Chris Creamer boards posted this. … Weekend NBA observations from Brett Crane, who notes that Trevor Ariza was wearing earplugs and Joe Smith had his uni number on his teeth. … Some uni-related Olympic fencing info is available here. “Highlight from the article include information that the Chinese shoes and socks will have a consistent stripe (which will no doubt misalign),” writes CJ Fleck. “Also: The U.S. will have a red-soled shoe, and Nike is reluctant to sell a product directly to people who would buy it. They’re hesitant to sell it to fencing outfitters — I have no idea why.” … There’s a slew of really tremendous — like REALLY tremendous — old MLB photos here. Among the many highlights: Al Kaline sporting a huge-ass helmet decal, and an unusually good view of the Pirates’ old helmet flocking. Essential stuff (big thanks to Bob Andrews). … Speaking of old photos, Claude Jacques was at a yard sale and discovered a bunch of old pics, including shots of Stan Musial, Roy Campanella (from his days with the Baltimore Elite Giants), and, I think, the Dean brothers. Is this Ty Cobb? And who’s this? … Rhode Island is flipping the colors on its football helmet, going from a blue horns on a white shell to vicey-versey. “Sadly, since the only change is inverting the colors, I fear this won’t be nearly enough to change our reputation as one of the worst uniforms in both college football and sports in general,” writes Dan Burnham. … This just in: Bryan will also give the four-year-old kid a wedgie. … The windbreaker-under-the-jersey thing sure looks weird when the jersey is a vest. Plus it might’ve helped if the windbreaker had been red. … Similarly, it might’ve helped if this windbreaker had been green. … Too much information. … Ditto. … The always excellent Fleer Sticker Project site has a good post about the images used for those old NFL posters, plus the surprising news that the Pats were briefly officially known as the Bay State Patriots. Full details here. … Two notes from Jeremy Brahm regarding the women’s volleyball Olympic qualifying tournament in Tokyo: The Polish team’s jerseys are so sheer that you can see an internal tag through the material, and the Romanian captain’s uni-number underscore is slightly off-center. … Came across this great patch in a vintage clothing shop the other day. … Cardinals farmhand Cory Rauschenberger, who could have tied Jarrod Saltalamacchia for the longest surname in MLB history if he’d made it to the show, has retired. … One of my softball buddies yesterday was wearing a T-shirt featuring racing silk designs (here’s the back view). … Not sports-related, but there’s some really fascinating logo-related info here (thanks, Scott). … Anyone know why the Rays wore their BP jerseys in yesterday’s game against the Cards? … Interesting Penguins/Flyers note from Steven Wojtowicz, who writes: “Not only did Sidney Crosby not touch the Prince Of Wales trophy after the game, which is common, none of the Penguins players put on the Eastern Conference Champion hats while they were on the ice. I don’t recall ever seeing this done in any sport before.” … Christmas in May. … The Lakeland Flying Tigers, Detroit’s Class A affiliate in the Florida State League, are honoring Dick Rossi, one of the original World War II Flying Tigers, with a sleeve insignia worn on special uniforms worn each Thursday home game. Details here (with thanks to Wayne Koehler). … Good story here about a guy who specializes in cleaning hockey gear. … Derek Hinson attended one of those old-timey base ball games over the weekend (organized by these guys) and got a bunch of photos. The action shots are nice, natch (additional pics here, here, and here), but I also really like the striped bats and unusually stitched balls. And if you ever doubted the value of hosiery in determining two teams’ respective visual identities, look at the left portion of this shot. … As promised, WNBA teams wore McDonald’s patches for their season-opening games over the weekend (thanks, Vince). … Okay, but only because you demanded it: Bryan will finish things off on Saturday by kicking the kid’s dog and adding, “And your mother’s fat!” for good measure.
May 19th, 2008
Sometimes fate lobs you a softball. I was wondering what I’d write for today, especially since my brain’s still kinda in vacation mode, and then there it was: yesterday’s A’s/Rangers throwback game (with the teams dressed as the 1968 A’s and the 1968 Senators, respectively). And this wasn’t just any throwback game — mere hours after Bryan had griped about teams not going the extra mile to wear throwback helmets, the A’s and Rangers went that extra mile. If you look at that last photo, you’ll see that Oakland catcher Kurt Suzuki even had a throwback catcher’s helmet — a nice touch. (And speaking of helmets, Jack Cust’s lid still had a sticker on the underbill.)
Other notes from the game:
• Naturally, I loved the hot stirrup action, complete with yellow sanitaries for the A’s. While I don’t approve of the low-cut variety, it’s hard to argue with those stripes.
• Just once, I’d like to see throwback vests with old-school tailoring. Back in the day, vests were tailored narrow across the shoulders, almost like basketball tank tops; nowadays (and in yesterday’s throwback game), they’re just sleeveless jerseys, with too much shoulder coverage.
• I guess asking the Rangers to wear black cleats, instead of their usual blue, would’ve been too much. Still, the footwear is definitely the fly in this otherwise pleasing ointment.
• Speaking of footwear, this design really doesn’t belong in a throwback game.
• Too bad about the Majestic shoulder logo and rear-collar MLB logo, both of which should have taken a holiday.
• Also too bad about the modern dugout jackets, although it’s nice to see that the A’s coaching staff wore white caps — with white underbills! And the Oakland players had green underbills. The Rangers, however, had black underbills, which brings me to the most interesting element of the game…
• That is not a throwback cap — it’s just a current Nationals cap. But isn’t the Nats’ “W” subtly different from the one the Sens used to wear? That’s what I thought, and the Nats’ own web site seems to confirm this: They sell this as the team’s current cap and this a 1968-71 Sens throwback — note the blunt end on the right tip of the W. Then there’s this, which is also supposedly a Sens throwack cap — the W isn’t blunt-tipped, but it’s more flat-sitting, less italic-ish than the Nats version. But then I did a little photo research and turned up this, this, this, and this. And frankly, those all look more like the Nats’ cap than they do like either of those Sens throwback caps. Todd Radom, if you’re reading this, could you fill me in on the distinctions between the old Sens W and the newer Nats version you rendered? (And if Todd isn’t reading this, I’ll check in with him myself and report back in a day or two.).
OK, that’s enough for the first day back. Mega-thanks to Bryan and Vince for minding the store in my absence — you guys rock. Speaking of Vince, he’ll be in NYC this Wednesday, which means we’ll finally get to meet in person, a mere year and a half after he started working for me. Looking forward to it, bud — travel safe.
Incidentally, I’m well aware that the site has been behaving sluggishly in recent days. We’re working on it. Should be fixed soon. Yes, I know that’s what we always say. We’ll say it next time, too. Patience, please.
Research Request: I’ve always wanted to do an ESPN column about horse racing jockey silks, but it’s a subject I don’t know a whole lot about. If anyone out there could give me a crash course on this topic’s history and current state, please get in touch.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Good times last week in New Orleans, what with all the crawfish, beignets, cool neon signage, evocative graffiti, and awesome music. There was also a great Uni Watch moment on Wednesday afternoon, as I was having drinks on the porch of the Columns Hotel and found myself sharing a table with Cindy Hart, who happens to be Director of Suite Sales for the Saints. If you look closely at that pendant on her necklace, you’ll see that it’s the Saints’ original cartoon logo character. “His official name is Sir Saint,” Cindy explained. “We’re bringing him back into circulation.” Indeed, I saw the Leno-chinned character on a few window decals around town. I always loved Sir Saint (even if I didn’t know his name until now), and it’s great to see him back on active duty. … Also want to thank reader Chris Falvey and his wife Sue for sharing New Orleans drinks and advice. Much obliged. … Someone has put together a site devoted to the Diamondbacks’ uniforms. Among the interesting photos: a prototype sleeve patch (never actually worn on the field) and a great action shot of the 1999 futuristic design. … Robert Steinau notes that Jim Edmonds was up to his old windbreaker tricks in at least two games early last month. Longtime readers will recall that he also did this during the 2006 World Series. … According to this article, Georgia Tech will wear white jerseys at home this fall (with thanks to Jeff Parker). … Shorpy scores again. … This vintage jersey doesn’t look like much — until you take a closer look at the shoulder embroidery. … Expect to see this logo on lots of Wake Forest corporate merch this summer, although it won’t replace the school’s athletic logos (as reported by Dennis Reid). … Looks like we may soon be seeing more MLB mustaches (with thanks to Fred Worth). … Mustaches have also hit the volleyball scene. Photos here (thanks, Bryan). … “As you may have known, the Rockies brass were in a frantic rush after their World Series run to trademark the term ‘Rocktober,’ ” writes Reid Tynan. “Based upon their performance so far this year I’d say this shirt I designed features a much more fitting slogan.” … According to this article, Texas A&M athletic director Bill Byrne “was offended when [a] Nike official told him, ‘You’re not as good as [Texas] and you’re probably never going to be.’ That blunt assessment, Byrne said, made his move [from Nike] to Adidas easier. The Adidas deal also provides more money for A&M than their Nike offer, Byrne said” (with thanks to Glenn Stern). … Anyone know why the Red Sox have a jolly roger flag hanging in their bullpen? (As spotted by Randy Williams.) … New uni number, of sorts, for John Smoltz. … Ryan Clark wanted to switch uni numbers to honor Sean Taylor, but his request has been disallowed. So he’ll switch numbers for practices, but not for games. Details about halfway down this page (with thanks to Daniel Weimann). … Matt Cain went low-cuffed on Saturday night. “Not sure, but I believe this was the first time a Giants starter didn’t wear stirrups since the staff decided they would do so in spring training.” Might this be related to Barry Zito’s demotion to the bullpen? … Scott Springer notes that Erik Ainge is still wearing his Tennessee Adidas cleats. … Dig this 1962 Wilson uni catalog I won on eBay the other day. … Ryan Howard scored the winning run for the Phillies yesterday. How’d he do it? According to a quote in this story, “I got a good jump, and I think that was because of the shoes. I wore lighter-colored shoes today, and that might have made me look faster” (as reported by Bernie Langer). … Memo to the Yankees: Instead of bringing up Darrell Rasner or Kai Igawa, please promote Chase Wright instead, for obvious reasons (big thanks to Eddie Brewer). … here. … “If you look closely at this photo, you’ll notice a half-inch of dark stitching just outside Anthony Kim’s shoulder blade, in the shadowed area,” writes Fred Haumesser. “It was very noticable on TV that he had pleats stitched into the back of his shirt to help keep it from tugging on his shoulders. Tiger used to have a habit of pulling his shoulders up on each side prior to a shot but doesn’t do it anymore. Must be able to afford a better tailor these days.”
May 5th, 2008
As many of you know, I often play softball on Sunday afternoons, and I practice what I preach by wearing stirrups. For years I’ve been going with basic navy, because I always wear navy sweatpants. But as you may recall from a few weeks ago, the folks at Mitchell & Ness recently sent me a box filled with hose-a-plenty, so I’ve decided to inaugurate a new project: the Uni Watch Stirrups of the Week. Yesterday was my first game of the year (we’ve had shitty Sunday weather up until now), so here’s our first installment:
This week’s design: navy with red stripes, medium-cut.
Ideal for feeling like a member of: the 1950s Cubs.
Color-coordination factor: Easy.
How they looked: Totally bitchin’ (further evidence here, here, here, here, and here).
How I felt: Totally bitchin’.
How I played: Rusty day at the plate — F7, GIDP (ugh), and 5-3. Saw a lot of action in left field, most of which I ran down, although I’m still pissed about one shot over my head that I couldn’t quite corral (it glanced off my glove, which prolonged what turned out to be a damaging inning for my team). All in all: lots of room for improvement. But godDAMN did my stripes look good!
I’ll continue to wear a different set of hose each time I play. There were 11 pairs in the box from Mitchell & Ness, plus I have those genuine Mets stirrups that Paul Wiederecht recently gave me, so that should get me through most of the season (I don’t play every week).
And hey, speaking of Mitchell & Ness, I had a blast on Saturday at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, where the M&N folks had set up a display devoted to Philly’s uniform history. This was my first time meeting M&N prexy Peter Capolino, who turned out to be a really sweet guy and a great storyteller. Also on hand were M&N researcher and longtime Uni Watch contributor Jared Wheeler (my first time meeting him, too — great, great guy) and Victory Pennants honcho Morris Levin, plus some Uni Watch readers stopped by as well.
Peter had set up a few racks of old Philly A’s jerseys (plus he included that black New York Giants design, cuz that’s what the Giants wore against the A’s in the 1911 World Series), and a similar display for the Phillies (thanks for the prop assistance, Kirsten). Plus there were lots of patches, pennants (this one was my favorite), caps, and related ephemera. And check this out: a few items from the Phils’ short-lived Blue Jays period.
But my favorite item on display had nothing to do with Philadelphia: these pants, which had an incredible blue/gold pinstripe pattern (additional views here and here). Is that gorgeous or what? Peter says he isn’t sure what team wore this — someone gave him the pants, but no corresponding jersey, a few years back.
The Philadelphia A’s Historical Society had a table too, stocked with assorted photos, yearbooks, programs, and so on. Interestingly, they also had a team portrait of the 1955 Kansas City A’s (that was the franchise’s first year after leaving Philly) — I love that map that shows all the radio affiliates.
After a checking out the Reading Terminal Market and getting a pork sandwich at DiNic’s, it was off to Bob & Barbara’s for the latest Uni Watch gathering. Great time (esp. seeing all the locals slowly going out of their minds as the Mets beat the Phils on the bar’s TV), but I just wasn’t in the mood to take photos. Sorry ’bout that. Big thanks to everyone who came out, and bonus thanks for all the drinks, gifts, and kind words — Philly fans may have legendarily tough exteriors, but I can now attest that they’ve also got soft, friendly hearts.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Cool vintage Celtics sweaters here and here (as discovered by Mike Cooperman). … Attention everyone who’s been asking me where to buy stirrups — look! … NHL note from Al Stone: “Very early on in Thursday night’s Flyers/Caps game, Ovechkin had his facemask cracked and had to very quickly grab Boyd Gordon’s visor-less helmet off the bench. It was very unusual to see him finish the shift without a visor — didn’t look like the usual Ovie at all. The very next shift, however, he was back out on the ice with a repaired helmet with visor.” … Here’s another Sparky Anderson shot, this time from his days with the Fort Worth Cats (with thanks to Jeff Meyers). … James Maino reports that Virginia Tech will have a “whiteout” game on September 6th, with 1970s throwbacks. … See any glaring similarities here? I don’t, but some idiots in Miami do (with thanks to Greg Mays). … We all know about sponsor-driven team uniforms, but how about sponsor-designed umpire uniforms? (Nice find by Steven Wyder) … Speaking of sponsorship logos, check this out (with thanks to Jeremy Brahm). … Have bat weights been logo-emblazoned all along? That photo is the first time I’ve noticed it. … The KC T-Bones have backed off their idea of wearing prison-striped uniforms in “honor” of local prisoner Michael Vick. … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Habs goalie Carey Price is my kinda fella. … Also from yesterday: Check out this huge NOB lettering (taken from this cricket highlight vid). … Scroll down to the “Around Baseball” section of this page for news about Bobby Abreu’s cleats and his plans to become a sporting goods mogul (with thanks to Matt Powers). … Weren’t the new 5950s supposed to eliminate this problem? … Bit of a Mets jersey mystery over on Jon Springer’s site — look here. … “Nebraska football has worn black shoes for a number of seasons, maybe the duration of their contract with Adidas,” writes Bryan Hansen. “But in Saturday’s spring game, it looked like they may be in transition to a white/red shoe. There were several players in the (presumably old) black shoes and others wearing a new white/red shoe.” … Here’s the latest story on the tensions between teams, leagues, and media in the new-media era — recommended reading. … If the Blue Jays can make throwback powder blue uniforms, can’t they make a throwback smock for Joihn Gibbons? (Screen grab courtesy of Michael Moss.) … Speaking of managerial attire, what’s up with Terry Francona’s collar? Like, is it tucked under, or did he have it removed? (With thanks to Mark Shipman.) … Holy-moly (courtesy of David Soline). … Jeremy Brahm reports that the 2011 Women’s World Cup logo will look like this. … Cool old photo of Lou Gehrig here (rare non-Wisconsin contribution from Nicole Haase). … Speaking of Gehrig, did you know he’s the only Yankee ever to have worn No. 4? Or that the other players wore Joe D.’s No. 5 while he was in the military? You would if you’d read this excellent piece about Yankees uni numbers (with thanks to Alan Kreit). … Adidas can’t be happy about Shaq wearing a Nike compression shirt (good spot by Brett Crane). … “Looks like the Raptors are rolling out a new logo for the playoffs,” writes Sean, who didn’t give his last name. “Basically just the original dino logo but de-purple-ized.” … The Fresno Grizzlies wore autism-awareness jerseys on Friday (with thanks to Aaron Wiens, who also sent along some pics of the most disturbingly purple car I’ve ever had the displeasure of seeing). … “Lance Armstrong was at Fenway on Saturday (because he’s running the Boston Marathon on Monday), and some players on both the Red Sox and the Rangers wore yellow wristbands (not to be confused with the Livestrong bracelets) to support his charity,” writes Mark Mihalik. “Unfortunately the only picture I could find was this one. I also noticed that Jacoby Ellsbury went a step further by wearing a yellow arm band and yellow shoelaces.” … Another Rangers/Bosox report, this time from Nick Freeman: “I was at Friday’s game and noticed in the 1st inning that the Rangers’ bat boy was wearing their gray away uniform even though the team was wearing the blue alternates.We all sat there making fun of the Rangers for being too cheap to buy the bat boys proper jerseys. But then in the 4th, the bat boy had switched and was now in blue. Throw this in with all their other jersey issues and this is a team in trouble.” … “The Ravens, now under John Harbaugh, have stepped up their practice unis,” reports Joe Hilseberg, “going from Brian Billick’s high school rejects look to pretty darn close to the game-day jersey, even with names on the back. … Good interview here with the Sneaker Wars author, although the accompanying photo gallery has several caption errors (with thanks to Chris LaHaye). … My browser refuses to play this video, but David Sonny says the last 20 seconds or so show a sneak preview of the U. of Cincinnati’s new football uniforms. … Personal Foul, Abusing the Uniform, Part 1: Will someone please get these guys a box of Kleenex? … Personal Foul, Abusing the Uniform, Part 2: And while you’re at it, get this guy a snack. … The official wire service caption for that last photo, by the way, begins like so: “Rodney Stuckey #3 of the Detroit Pistons looks on while playing the Philadelphia 76ers…” That brings up a pet peeve: What’s the deal with the term “looks on”? I’ve been seeing it in sports photo captions since I was a kid, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen it used in any non-sports context. It’s such a lame-o cop-out of a term — says nothing, means nothing. And yet a quick check of Yahoo! Sports (who I could never work for, if only because that exclamation point would drive me out of my fucking mind) reveals that there are currently 793 “looks on”-inclusive photos out there, which means there are some seriously lazy caption writers. I mean, whatever else Rodney Stuckey is doing, he’s not looking on. Please join me in campaigning to eradicate this annoying term from the sports lexicon. … Remember, Roberto Clemente documentary tonight on PBS.
No comment? No — comment!: As many of you are aware, our spam filter got all bitchy on Friday night and started grabbing every single reader comment. This forced Bryan, John, and me (well, mostly Bryan and John) to spend the weekend going into the filter and manually approving every pearl of wisdom you chose to share with us. Now, don’t get me wrong — it’s not that we don’t enjoy wading through hundreds of porno-spambot posts just to find the one legitimate reader comment that consists of a quotation from a Seinfeld episode — but we wouldn’t want you to think we were having too much fun, so John installed a new spam filter late last night. It appears to be working properly so far, but we’re still learning its quirks (and it’s still learning that terms like “stirrups fetish” are not cause for alarm), so it’s possible that some of your comments may still get waylaid, and/or that some spam will find its way onto the site. I trust you’ll bear with us as you continue to share your photos of USC cheerleaders (and high-minded reactions thereto), references to Major League, and all the other insights that make the comments section such a vibrant, stimulating forum. Thanks.
April 21st, 2008
I’ve previously included several mentions of the Yeshiva University Lady Macs, many members of which follow Orthodox Jewish modesty laws by wearing skirts on the basketball court. But Jim Haslam recently brought my attention to a high school team that’s taken this concept a bit further.
The school in question is Beth Chana Academy, a private Orthodox school in Orange, Connecticut. Not only do they wear skirts (sometimes floor-length, sometimes knee-length with leggings or pants), but the team is actually called the Skirts — an admirably literal uni-based nickname that’s more accurate than, say, White Sox. (It’s worth noting that skirt is also old-school slang for “woman,” in the same league as broad or twist or tomato, but I suspect the Beth Chana folks didn’t think about that when choosing the name.)
Interestingly, one of the Skirts has jazzed up her look with striped socks. She looks like she knows how to handle the ball and even has more star presence than the other gals when walking off the court. Further evidence (as if any were needed) that striped hosiery correlates with — and maybe even confers — athletic excellence.
Additional info about the Skirts, including an audio report, is available here.
Party Reminder: Remember, Groundhog Day Uni Watch party tomorrow at Sheep Station, at 4:30 p.m.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Here’s Ken Harrelson’s “Hawk” NOB. … Northwestern-area baseball photo specialist Dave Esenazi sent along a great old team portrait. Check out the modified skull and crossbones chest patch! … Vince reports that the dance team for the new Cleveland Gladiators arena franchise was introduced the other day wearing “Kosar”-NOB’d jerseys (Bernie is the team’s prexy). … The Chiefs’ memorial patch for Lamar Hunt is being made a permanent fixture on the team’s jerseys. Among other things, this means the AFL logo, which is part of the patch design, will live on — cool. … Remember that amazing photo site I linked to yesterday? Turns out the photographer is also selling prints of those photos on eBay (with thanks to Jere Smith). … Skip ahead to the 3:30ish point of |
