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Posts filed under 'Minor League Baseball'
[Editor’s Note: Reader Mike Miller recently attended the the 2008 Carolina League/California League All-Star Game in Myrtle Beach and provided such a thorough report that I’ve decided to run it as a guest-written entry — enjoy. I’ll see you down at the Ticker. — PL]
By Mike Miller
The game took place at BB&T Coastal Field, home to the single-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans. Here’s a rundown on the visual aspects of the game.
Batting Practice Jerseys. Nothing too remarkable here. Carolina League, as the home team, had powder blue — err, Pelican blue — jerseys with gold and navy trim and “Carolina” across the front. The design was straight out of the current MLB BP jersey template. (Yes, that’s Roger Clemens’ kid Koby in this shot.) Many of the players had BP jerseys with different numbers than their game uniforms, so I think the jerseys were pre-numbered then had nameplates added when the rosters were finalized.
The California League BP jerseys were similar, except with navy blue as the primary color and “California” across the front. Their numbers were three-layer, with powder blue, then white, then gold. Both leagues’ BP jersey had the all-star logo on the left sleeve.
Game Uniforms. The Carolina League got everyone to wear home whites. The California League couldn’t meet the challenge, with half of their players wearing a colored alternate instead of the road grey.
A few cool and weird tidbits:
• Wilmington probably has the only gold front number on a white uniform of any team in baseball.
• The Stockton Ports, which are an A’s affiliate, go with white cleats, just like the parent club (but they don’t all wear stirrups).
• Although Myrtle Beach wears powder blue caps at home and on the road, they have black batting helmets. I was told that helmet manufacturers don’t make helmets in powder blue and that the team basically didn’t want to pay the money to paint them all that color.
• The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes have a fissure across their cap bill.
• Salem’s jerseys are faux vests (white jerseys with black sleeves). Compare them to the real deal here.
• Winston-Salem, a White Sox affiliate, have White Sox sleeve patches.
• There were a few quality stirrup sightings. The best was Sean Doolittle from Stockton.
Field Markings and Stadium. The logo they painted behind home plate was not the actual all-star logo, but a watered-down version (the full version is much more detailed, with a palmetto tree and crescent moon, which of course are taken from the South Carolina state flag).
The grounds crew had some nice touches, outlining the home plate area and coaching boxes in red, white, and blue, plus they painted each league’s name in the coaching box closest to that team’s dugout. And before the game, the crew put down a stencil of the Pelicans’ “MB” cap logo of behind home plate. So after they watered that area, the logo was clearly evident.
The stadium has a “beach area” down the left field line, where folks can watch the game from beach chairs. They even have a few lifeguard chairs for good measure. Since the main scoreboard is in left field next to the outfield bleachers, they put in a manual scoreboard on the right field foul line so the bleacher folk and beach-dwellers could actually see the score. It’s got to be one of the largest flip scoreboards in history, like the ones you used in gym class. The poor ballboy (blue shirt between the B and S) has to get up after every pitch to change the count.
Some cool things around the concourse too, including a list of every Pelicans player who’s made it to the majors and each year’s Opening Day lineup.
Finally, the gift shop had a heat press for those who wanted a personalized jersey. It got some work while I was watching.
Uni Watch News Ticker: A little birdie informs me that SMU, now being coached by June Jones, is returning to traditional white helmets, and that the new uni “will look similar to throwback Bills — royal jerseys and white pants at home, solid white on the road.” Can’t show any photos yet, but I can tell you it looks pretty hot. Official unveiling to come in the next couple of weeks. … Joe Alexander loves No. 11 so much that he might not play if he can’t get that number (with thanks to Josh Exine). … Pink caps are getting bashed in Boston. … John Blatchford recently attended the http://www.ishof.org/”>International Swimming Hall of Fame in Florida and sent along some photos (look here, here, here, and here). Lots of info on their current “History of Swimwear” exhibit is in this PDF. … Some interesting uni-related content in this video clip about what the UGA baseball team does on an off-day. … Chris Warfford notes that Team Slipstream, in addition their argyle cycling outfits, “are going to have one of the most colorful team photos ever. They’ve got five national title-holders that will be representing their nations during the grand tours, and those riders will be allowed to wear kits that reference their national titles, in addition to the argyle. Of course, we haven’t seen the new kits with the Garmin logo (that will be resolved soon), but if the Giro d’Italia is any indication of the kits, very few colors will be left out of the team photo.” … Not sure if I’ve run this link before, but here’s a good site for UK soccer kits (with thanks to Patrick Murray). … I just scored this nifty old uniform ad. “Preferred by the leaders of Boyville” — how totally great is that?! … Totally love this label (which is on this old uniform). … The Western Michigan White caps are going to wear Star Wars uniforms on Saturday. … Footwear observation from Brian Jud, who writes: “I noticed the SportsCenter commercial with Pierce, Garnett, and Allen shows them wearing road jerseys with white sneakers, when everyone knows the Celtics wear black sneakers on the road. More details here. … Sartorial justice: Maria Sharapova and tuxedo-themed Nike outfit were beaten yesterday by Alla Kudryavtseva, who later said, “I don’t like her outfit. It was one of the motivations to beat her” (good find by Brinke Guthrie). … You know how UMich always wears special shoulder logos for bowl games? Here’s an article on the company that puts them on the jerseys. … Bill Sour was watching the 1984 film Supergirl, which includes a scene in an abandoned amusement park. “I did a double-take when I saw a bunch of bumper cars with NFL helmets on them. After further review there it was, an NFL-themed amusement park ride [additional pics here and here]. I’d kill to find one of these old rides.” Very cool, but they got the Falcons’ logo backwards. … “George Shinn had wanted to own an NHL expansion team in Raleigh, but got pushed aside in favor of Felix Sebates, the NASCAR owner,” writes Tris Wykes. “So he came to Hampton Roads and whipped up ticket and suite deposits and civic interest in his proposed team, the Rhinos. They were in the hunt before being turned down by the NHL in January of 1997. There were billboards and T-shirts and Coke cans with the Rhinos logo. The character’s name was Rhocky.” … By now most of you have seen the Timberwolves’ new logo (which continues the NBA’s odd practice of including a basketball in the vast majority of its logo designs). According to this article, they’ll be unveiling a new uni set in August. … “Sometime last year, I sent along the only unearthed picture of Auburn sporting the hideous orange jerseys from 1979-82,” writes Kris McInnis. “But I was doing some attic shuffling and have found a few more good color shots from a couple of old university yearbooks. I can’t imagine there’d be anymore of these laying around that are actually in color. These shots differ from the original one I sent along, as most feature striped sleeves that are not seen on the tear-a-ways.”
June 27th, 2008
When you think of Sparky Anderson, you probably picture him being dressed one of two ways: as a Red or a Tiger. But Sparky wore lots of other uniforms prior to assuming the managerial chair. His one season as a big league infielder was spent with the Phillies, he played for lots of minor league teams (including the gorgeously attired Toronto Maple Leafs), and let’s not forget this uniform.
But if you grew up watching Sparky skipper the Reds, as I did, there’s one uniform — that of a certain division rival — that it’s simply impossible to picture him wearing. Or at least that’s what I thought until reader Richard Craig got in touch with me the other day. He attended the recent Dodgers/Bosox exhibition game at the L.A. Coliseum, where he picked up a scorecard that included this photo of the 1958 Dodgers (the franchise’s first squad in L.A. — 50th anniversary and all). I’ll let Richard pick up the story from there:
I didn’t look closely at this team photo until last night, and I noticed some very strange things about it. First, it wasn’t the team photo I’d seen before. … Furthermore, the uniforms seem to have no numbers on the front, unlike those in the [other] team photo or the previous one taken in Brooklyn.
I concluded this must have been some sort of spring training picture where they rounded up everyone they could find and posed them around a “Los Angeles” flag to make a point about the team’s move west.
That’s really interesting to me, though, is something I’d never seen before — what appears to be an image of Sparky Anderson in an L.A. Dodgers cap. He’s on the far right in the third row from the top. Here’s a close-up.
I knew Sparky had been a Brooklyn farmhand, but I also know that he never played for the Dodgers in the big leagues, and I’ve definitely never seen an image of him in an L.A. uniform. For those of us who grew up in the ’70s with the N.L. West being a battleground between the Dodgers and Sparky’s Cincinnati Reds, the sight of him in an L.A. hat is truly bizarre.
Indeed it is. But it turns out that Anderson had already worn an L.A. cap — although not an L.A. Dodgers cap — by the time that 1958 photo was taken. That’s because he had been a member of the minor league Los Angeles Angels. I’m not sure of the date of that photo, but note that the jersey features shoulder gussets, a style that the Angels wore in 1956 and ’57, so that narrows it down.
If you look again at the photo of Sparky as an Angel, you can sort of see in that the Angels’ “LA” cap lettering was white and red, not just white (plus there’s an extra serif at the top of the “A”). But in the ’58 spring training photo, Sparky does indeed appear to be wearing a white-lettered Dodgers cap — a stunner.
Two final thoughts: First, I found one other shot of Sparky as a Toronto Maple Leaf — with eyeglasses! And second, you can hear Sparky’s finest recorded moment (definitely NSFW) here.
Philly Reminder: Uni Watch party tomorrow at Bob & Barbara’s Lounge, Philadelphia, 4:30pm. See you there.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Check out Mickey Mantle’s cuffed sleeve cuff. … Tytus Abrahmason notes that Vlad Guerrero was wearing his usual tar-gunked helmet in the 1st inning of Wednesday night’s Angels/Royals game but wore a clean, shiny helmet for the rest of the game. Vlad hit into a disputed double play in that 1st inning plate appearance and was pretty upset afterward, leading to Tytus to wonder, “Could it be that he bashed his helmet to pieces during a 1st inning tantrum in the dugout?” … Ohio State football note from Matthew Hager: “I was at the Buckeyes’ spring draft Wednesday afternoon and they mentioned they will be wearing a special helmet decal on Saturday. It will be the initals D.S., in honor of elementary school crossing guard Dianna Sharp, who was killed a week ago when she attempted to push an eight-year-old out of the road before a dump truck hit them both. The kid survived, she didn’t.” … Fascinating note from Jeffrey Soderberg, who writes: “On Wednesday night, when Melky Cabrera ended the 7th inning by being thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double, the 2nd base umpire pulled out a stopwatch — I guess to time the TV break — but I had never seen it before and I wasn’t aware that they carried them.” Anyone know more about this? … Logos in public space have officially gotten Orwellian (disturbing find by Mike Cusack). … Here’s a slightly clearer view of those Yankees capes from Opening Day, 1933 (big thanks to Eric Hoey). … Great video clip here about a little kid who’s basically a minature version of Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff (with thanks to Mike McAllister). … Lots of Papal uni-watching currently floating around out there — looks here and here … Hmmm, Black Sox? … The latest installment of “Equipped with Joe Skiba,” featuring newly signed backup QB David Carr, is up on Giants.com, and it’s a doozy, with discussion of Carr’s facemask, sleeves, socks, and, of course, gloves. Recommended viewing. … Check out this amazing Sabres patch that Zac Neubauer found. … Remember the question of whether a pitcher who enters the game as a pinch-hitter would be allowed to wear a jacket on the bases? A source who prefers to remain nameless was so intrigued by that question that he posed it to someone in the MLB office, who responded thusly: “I believe that the pitcher would be permitted to wear a jacket on the bases regardless if he was actively pitching in the game at that point. The Major League Baseball Umpires Manual section 2.15 covers Jackets by stating that, ‘A pitcher may wear a jacket while a baserunner. A pitcher may not wear a jacket while batting. No other player is permitted to wear a jacket while a baserunner, a batter, a defensive player, or a coach on the baselines. If worn (by a pitcher on the bases), the jacket [shall] be buttoned.” … Check out Larry Doby in the striped cap — when did the Tribe wear that? … Chris Mycoskie reports that Louisiana-Lafayette wore 1930s throwbacks on Wednesday night (lots of additional pics here) The “S” dates back to the days when the school was called Southwestern Louisiana Institute, but Chris says the “Ragin Cajuns” lettering on the placket is inaccurate, since the school’s teams were called the Bulldogs until the 1960s. … Kenny Chesney threw out the first pitch in Baltimore last night, and wore a bottom-hemmed Cool Base jersey for the occasion (thanks, Bryan). … “A few weekends ago we went to a park here in Greensboro, North Carolina, where they were staging a reenactment from a Revolutionary War,” writes Jake Keys. “I thought you might enjoy this picture. The kid has style.” … Big surprise.
April 18th, 2008
New ESPN column today — here’s the link.
Meanwhile: While the rest of the baseball world focused on the hot stove league, the real story was on the uniform scene, where MLB exec Bob Watson announced “the Francona Rule,” which according to Watson means, “You can only wear your uniform top or jacket.” In a truly inspired elaboration that will go down as the uni-related quote of the year, Watson added, “You can’t wear your nightshirt, or whatever it is. You can wear it before games, or after games, but not during games. You have to have your uniform top at all times.”
Watson’s commentary on sleepwear notwithstanding, this means no more sweatshirt for Francona (among others), no more smock for John Gibbons, and I think Buck Showalter just cancelled his latest comeback plans.
There’s a lot of confusion and misinformation about this story and the history surrounding it. I can’t clear up all of that confusion, but I can help with some of it, FAQ-style:
Didn’t MLB and Francona butt heads over this issue a few months ago?
Yes, back in August.
So if they were already enforcing the rule then, why did they have to enact a new rule now?
Good question.
Doesn’t the rulebook already require the manager to wear a uniform, at least if he leaves the dugout and goes onto the field of play?
No. Rule 3.15 states: “No person shall be allowed on the playing field during a game except players and coaches in uniform, managers, news photographers authorized by the home team, umpires, officers of the law in uniform and watchmen or other employees of the home club.” Note that the “in uniform” stipulation is applied to coaches but not to managers.
On the other hand, I recently came across this page, which tells the story of how two beat reporters — George Lederer and Phli Collier — managed a Dodgers intrasquad game during spring training in 1964. Lederer actually donned a Dodgers uniform, but Collier skippered in civvies (you can see them both here). As the account of the game then explains:
Collier, dressed in street clothes … broke the rules when he charged onto the field to argue an umpire’s decision at second base. At this stage of the game, with the score still 1-1, Lederer was sharp enough to remind the umpires that Collier had no right to be on the field.
So this suggests that non-uniformed managers were understood to be barred from the field of play at least as early as 1964, even if the rulebook doesn’t specify this. Why? In going back over my research files, I found a 2005 listserv post by Frank Vaccaro of the Society for American Baseball Research that may shed some light on the subject:
Nearly all non-playing managers before 1900 wore civilian clothes. … [T]here was a [National League] rule in place from 1879 to 1891 preventing non-playing managers from appearing on the field. This was referred to as the “Harry Wright rule.” After he won the championship in 1878 — his sixth in seven years — this rule passed, I suppose, to give other teams a chance. Wright used to stand on the sidelines shouting orders to his players: “WAIT” to take pitches and “FACING” to hit to the opposite field, as well as the names of players who should catch flies, etc. Other teams were in a panic.
So the “Terry Francona rule” is apparently the latest version of the 128-year-old “Harry Wright rule.” I have a feeling Bob Watson doesn’t know this.
Why do managers wear uniforms anyway?
In baseball’s early days, many managers were also active players, and player/managers persisted longer than most people realize. There were three three of them as recently as the 1970s (Frank Robinson, Don Kessenger, and Joe Torre), and one in the 1980s (Pete Rose).
But Connie Mack wore a suit while managing, didn’t he?
Yes. Mack’s a bit of a red herring, though — he owned the A’s, so he wore a suit in large part because he saw himself as a businessman/executive type and dressed accordingly. For a broader analysis, let’s turn once again to Frank Vacarro’s 2005 SABR listserv post:
[T]he interesting question is “How did baseball managers evolve to become the only team leaders in sports with the tradition of wearing the team uniform?” The answer is four-fold. Nearly all managers in the 1890s were playing managers, but a 1900-1920 manager could manage in civilian clothes if:
1) He embraced the style created by the [Harry Wright rule].
2) He wanted to exude the authority of a magnate.
3) He did not want to play or to appear as a base coach.
4) He had never played baseball professionally.
By 1940 these reasons became archaic. The 1880s NL style was forgotten; managers “like magnates” did poorly; teams carried enough coaches (and players — roster sizes grew) to do all delegatable tasks; and all managers had at least some professional playing experience. Offsetting these [factors] were the layout of the grass and the diamond and the fact that a manager could participate, on any corner of the field, in pre-game activities that were low on effort but high on skill, such as hitting grounders or fungos, bullpen catching, or even pitching BP. All these contrast sharply with activities high on athleticism that characterize pre-game practice in the other sports. It’s sometimes said, rightly or wrongly, that baseball is more a game than a sport.
For good measure, Vacarro provided a list of 20th-century managers who skippered in civvies (an asterisk indicates that the manager was known to don a uniform on occasion):
• Bob Allen, Reds, 1900
• Connie Mack, A’s, 1901-1950
• Horace Fogel, Giants, 1902
• Tom Loftus, Senators, 1902-1903
• Bill Armour, Indians, 1902-1904; Tigers, 1905-1906
• Frank Selee, Cubs, 1902-1905
• Ed Barrow, Tigers, 1903-1904; Red Sox, 1918-1920
• John McClosky, Cardinals, 1906-1908*
• Hank O’Day, Reds, 1912; Cubs, 1914
• George Stallings, Braves, 1913-1920
• Hugo Bezdek, Pirates, 1917-1919
• Clark Griffith, Nationals, 1917-1920*
• Branch Rickey, Cardinals, 1919-1925*
• John McGraw, Giants, 1921-1932* (although he usually wore a uniform prior to 1921)
• Wilbert Robinson, Dodgers 1928-1931*
• Burt Shotton, Dodgers, 1947-1950* (additional pics here, here, here, and here, plus here’s one of his game-worn dugout jackets)
It’s not clear how many of these skippers, if any, went onto the field of play during a game, but this photo shows Hank O’Day wearing spikes with his suit while managing the Cubs, suggesting that he went onto the field at some point.
But MLB doesn’t want Francona wearing a pullover even in the dugout. So when did not wearing a full uniform go from being rare to being banned?
I haven’t figured that part out yet.
Couldn’t MLB have avoided this whole mess with Francona if they hadn’t created so many different kinds of officially licensed outerwear for him and other managers to try on?
Gee, what do you think?
Membership Update: Remember, today is the last day for ordering a gift membership at discounted holiday rates.
Today’s showcase card is based on the “shineboy,” the shirt worn by Alpha Phi Omega members when they run the Texas flag onto the field before Texas Longhorns football games.
Beantown Reminder: Uni Watch party tomorrow, 8:30 p.m., at Boston Beer Works. The gathering got a little preview write-up in today’s Boston Herald, plus Randy Moss is gonna stop by and explain why he keeps wearing those upside-down 8s, so come by and join us.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Wisconsin wore their long-awaited throwbacks on Monday night, and man did they look sweet, although it turns out that the beat writer for Madison’s Capital Times totally Doesn’t Get It™ (with thanks to Nicole Haase). … Expect to see lots of NBA throwbacks beginning this Friday. Details here. … Duke guard DeMarcus Nelson is wearing some interesting kicks. Details here (with thanks to intern emeritus Vince Grzegorek). … Awesome female Black Fives photo and info here. … Spectacular discovery by Jared Wheeler, who found a shot of Magic Johnson from the 1980 NBA All-Star Game with two initials on his NOB! … Jeff Meyers, who works for the independent Ft. Worth Cats, informs me that the team has a cat eyes alternate jersey. Look closely and you’ll see that the pupils actually spell out “F” and “W.”
December 5th, 2007
A couple of Sunday nights ago at about 10 p.m., someone posted a comment that read, “Women’s Nazi Hockey Team.” It linked to the photo shown at right (here’s a larger view). Since Sunday night is a low-traffic period for the site, nobody responded and the whole thing passed unnoticed.
Coupla things here: First of all, this is not a Nazi team. In fact, this is an Edmonton team called the Swastikas, which played in 1916 — four years before the National Socialist German Workers Party (i.e., the Nazis) adopted the swastika as its symbol. And the Edmonton gals were hardly the only group to make pre-Nazi use of the swastika, which was a fairly common graphic symbol a century ago. It was used by, among many others, the Finnish Air Force, the Boy Scouts (Girl Scouts too, although I can’t find a web reference to it), and many groups that produced good luck promotions or talismans. (For more on the swastika’s background, which dates back to the Stone Age and spans many different socio-ethnic cultures, look here.)
My research on the Edmonton photo led me to this book, written by the Canadian artist/mystic known as ManWoman, who’s spent years trying to rescue the swastika’s image its association with the Nazis. After I got in touch with him, he was kind enough to provide me with several additional examples of pre-Nazi swastika-clad teams:
• Here we have the Windsor Swastikas, circa 1909, who played in Nova Scotia. Note the varied swastika styles on the homemade crests. Here’s a slightly later version of the team.
• The Fernie Swastikas played in British Columbia in the 1920s. If team’s use of the swastika itself doesn’t make you uneasy, then the Golliwogg mascot doll being held by the Fernie player in this photo probably will. (If you’re not familiar with Golliwoggs, look here.)
• Hockey isn’t the only sport with swastikas in its past. Here’s a baseball uniform, which was worn by a 1920s team in Swastika, Ontario. (Yes, there’s actually a town called Swastika, Ontario — look.)
• ManWoman says this baseball cap was originally worn by the 1917 Canyon City Swastikas.
• And here’s a swastika-stamped golf club — not sure of the date.
There are several other books out there that examine the swastika’s graphic history. This one, by the design historian Steve Heller (who happens to be a friend of mine), is particularly good, although it doesn’t have any non-Nazi sports examples.
As Steve and many other writers have noted, the swastika is a spectacularly successful piece of design — elegant, balanced, solid yet fluid. But it’s become so inextricably associated with one particular chapter of history that it’s hard to conceive of it in any other context. In a way, this reaffirms one of Uni Watch’s underlying premises: the notion that logos and symbols can pack an emotional punch that goes beyond any rational reckoning. Intellectually, I know the swastika worn by those Edmonton girls had nothing to do with the Nazis, just as I know the Mets I grew up watching in the early 1970s had nothing to do with the Mets of today. Emotionally, however, the connections seem obvious in both cases, even though the only real connection involves a swastika in one instance and the Mets’ logo and colors in the other. That’s the power of design for ya.
To see how complicated the swastika’s history really is, check out this 1931 photo, which I found while doing photo research for this entry. It shows the basketball team from Freedom High School in Freedom, Pennsylvania, and was published in the school’s yearbook. And what did a town called Freedom use for the title of its high school yearbook in 1931? As you can see if you scroll down beneath the photo, it was called The Swastika.
Research Request: I’m compiling college hoops uni changes for an ESPN column next week. This is always the toughest column of the year, because there’s no single resource or office that keeps track of the college basketball changes. I’ve compiled a pretty good list, but feel free to let me know about any changes you’re aware of. Thanks.
HOLIDAY SALE: Face it, holiday gifts have nothing to do with the recipients. If you’re giving a gift, it’s all about you. And there’s no better way to show how cool you are — and spread the Uni Watch gospel in the process — than to give someone a Uni Watch membership.
With that in mind, I’m offering a discount on gift memberships for the next month. Instead of the usual pricing structure ($25, $60, $100, $250, $500, $1000), you can give the gift of Uni Watch for $20, $50, $90, $225, $450, or $900. These rates are only good for gift memberships, so the name on the card has to be different from your name. They must be ordered by November 15th to ensure delivery in time for Hanukkah, or by December 1st for Christmas.
Allow me to anticipate some of your questions:
Why not extend the discount to all memberships, not just gifts?
I thought about doing that, but I think it wouldn’t be fair to the people who’ve already paid full price.
Will the membership materials be sent to me, or to the gift recipient?
To you. It would get too logistically crazy if I had to keep track of multiple addresses, “Please send it to him exactly three days before the holiday” requests, and so on. I’ll just have everything sent to you, and then you can send or present it to the lucky giftee.
I don’t want the giftee to know about his gift ahead of time. Can you leave his name off of the membership roster and his card design out of the card gallery until after the holiday?
Yes. If you want me to keep the gift membership “private” until a certain date, just say so when placing the order.
For further details, look here.
In other membership news, new Uni Watch assistant Nina Dubin is already paying dividends. She found all the missing names on the membership roster, which is now back up-to-date.
Uni Watch News Ticker: The Gamecocks will memorialize the students killed in that beach house fire with a helmet decal. Details here (with thanks to Mike Orr). … Latest evidence that the pink thing has gotten out of hand: Pilot Point High School in Texas wore pink spats the other night (as spotted by Brian Thompson). … Yet another pink-clad team: the Middlesex Cricket Club (courtesy of Jordan Owen). … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Good article and video here about the Penguins’ masks. … Jonathan Papelbon is apparently a Dropkick Murphys fan, at least judging by the embroidery at the base of his victory parade kilt (good spot by webmaster John Ekdahl). … The Huntsville Stars have a new logo (with thanks to Zack Bennett). … For a second there, I thought the headband on this baseball card said, “Tits” (a characteristically excellent find by the Rev. Nørb). … Got a note yesterday from Bill Turianski, who specializes in making sports-based maps (a few dozen of which are showcased on his site). Most of them are devoted to soccer, but there’s some baseball, football, and hockey content too. Worth exploring. … Holy-moly! … Several people have written to alert me to this Sports Illustrated photo of Clinton Portis, because it shows that he doesn’t wear socks (or, more likely, wears “no show” socks inside his cleats) and that his football “socks” are actually leg warmers. True enough, but it’s nothing new — he was doing the same thing two years ago (although he obviously had some other sock issues in that infamous game). … Other SI tidbits (courtesy of Greg Riffenburgh): the disturbing ascendance of neon mucous in Seattle and an even more disturbing photo. … The Lakewood Blue Claws have a new alternate logo (with thanks to Ted Kerwin). … I’m gonna be busy for most of today and on the road tomorrow, so if you have any site-related issues (spam filter acting up, abusive commenter, etc.), please tell Vince. Ticker contributions and membership orders can still come to me.
November 1st, 2007
A few weeks ago I ran an entry about players who’ve worn their full names on their jerseys (or FNOB, short for “full name on back”). That post prompted so many contributions that I’ve decided to do a follow-up entry today.
The most interesting case study comes our way courtesy of Les Holmlund, who wrote in to tell me that the WHA’s Alberta Oilers — forerunners of today’s Edmonton Oilers — had the entire team wearing FNOB during their inaugural 1972-73 season. Now, that Oilers team was already uni-notable for a few other reasons. According to WHAUniforms.com (usually a pretty dependable resource), they began the season wearing “ALBERTA” on their backs and then switched to round-cornered nameplates with an unusual font. But there was nothing on the site about them wearing FNOB. Fortunately, Les came up with several photos to back up his point, as seen here, here, and here. So there you have it: The Alberta Oilers, who began by wearing PNOB (province name on back) and then switched to FNOB, almost certainly making them the most eccentrically nameplated team in sports history.
As for additional FNOB examples (aside from those already listed in my previous FNOB post), I’m only listing them if we have photos confirming them. I realize the list is still very incomplete, but here are the latest additions:
Football: Todd Johnson, Andra Davis (also shown here), Andre Davis, Dexter Reid, and Rob Moore.
Hockey: Ron Sutter (with the Flyers, too), Rich Sutter, Bobby Smith, Neal Broten (from his U. of Minnesota days), and Aaron Broten (ditto).
Soccer: Derek Young and Darren Young.
Finally, a few related categories that aren’t quite FNOB but still belong in this discussion:
• Several readers suggested coming up with a separate list for players who wear more than their first initial but less than FNOB, like Michael and Martellus Bennett. If anyone wants to contribute additional examples, I’m game.
• And here’s a unique situation, as explained by reader Roy Ellingsen: “Norwegian former hockey star Carl Oscar Bøe Andersen’s name was so long that he prefered to wear just his initials on the nameplate.”
Big thanks to all who’ve contributed — we’re building a nice little nameplate database here. And if anyone wants to start building a physical collection instead of a virtual one, look what’s up for sale on eBay.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Many readers wrote in last night to report that Virginia Tech’s Victor “Macho” Harris’s left-sleeve uni number was orange last night, while his right-sleeve number (and all his teammates’ sleeve numbers) was white. No photo yet. Anyone TiVo the game? … I’ve written before about umpires being forced to wear civvies after their uniforms got lost in transit. Now Richard Koh has come up with a video clip of Eric Gregg struggling to find adequately sized gear during just such a situation. Bill Murray’s doing the color commentary, too. … Minnesota’s women’s hockey team will wear a memorial helmet decal for the rest of this season in honor of equipment manager Bonnie Olein, who recently passed away. Details here (with thanks to Mike Nachreiner). … Andy Head notes that the Saskatoon Blades wear uni numbers is a very unusual spot (plus they’ll be wearing one weird-ass jersey for Emergency Services Night next month). … Drew McKay reports that the Slipstream cycling team recently invited fans to submit designs for next year’s uniform. The team is apparently for its argyle motif, so most of the submissions were very argyle-centric (including this one, which is Drew’s favorite). You can see all 613 submissions here. … The Trenton Thunder have unveiled a 15th-season patch (as forwarded by Ted Kerwin). … Much better, even if the stirrups are backwards. … And you can see the stirrups’ laundry tag peaking out here. … When it comes to baggy pants, like father, like son. … Remember when Mike Timlin (who probably thinks the term “World Series” is a U.N. plot) wanted to wear the American flag patch on his cap full-time? He lost that battle, but he’s got a flag on his BP cap — closer view here (great catch by Bryan Redemske). … Steve Necaster reports that the Sabres will be wearing white at home for several games in November. … Further evidence here and here of the Rangers having apparently modified their hemlines to eliminate Reebok’s scooped shirttail. … The Mid-Atlantic Hockey League recently unveiled new uniforms for the Indiana Ice Miners (dark, white), Jamestown Vikings (dark, white), Mon Valley Thunder (dark, light), Valley Forge Freedom (dark, white), and Wooster Warriors (dark, white). “We all know the MAHL is minor league hockey, but I’ve seen roller hockey uniforms that look more professional,” says Zak McGinniss, who provided the links. … “At the Mellon Arena they have a High School Hall of Champions,” writes Doug Keklak. “It’s a hallway in the arena adorned with framed high school hockey jerseys, mostly from western PA schools but there are a few West Virginia schools included in the mix.” Doug’s taken photos of many of them, which you can see here. … The Devils’ new arena opened last night with a Bon Jovi concert, and Chris Flinn noticed something interesting in the men’s room: “Every single urinal had the Devils logo engraved into the metal.” I’m not sure which is more embarrassing — admitting that you attended a Bon Jovi concert or taking a photo in the bathroom, but either way let’s all salute Chris for his devotion to the Uni Watch cause.
October 26th, 2007
Scott Turner and I took an upstate road trip last Thursday, capped off by a double-A ballgame between the Binghamton Mets and the New Britain Rock Cats. And therein lies a tale.
The Mets are one of those franchises that require all their minor league affiliates to hike up their pant cuffs, so we enjoyed the sight of the B-Mets in all their navy-socked glory. But then I noticed something odd about third baseman Vince Harrison: His pants weren’t just hiked up to his calves — they were above his knees, like a baseball version of Dre Bly’s biker shorts. I’d never seen anything like it on a baseball diamond.
My camera’s batteries had gone dead earlier in the day, but Scott pointed out that I could probably still get some decent pics with my cell phone if I got right next to Harrison while he was on deck. So when Harrison’s next turn in the on-deck circle came up, I scooted down to the front row (ah, the pleasures of a double-A ballpark) and snapped a bunch of shots, which I’ve gathered into a slide show here.
Unfortunately, Harrison wouldn’t turn around while he was on deck, so I couldn’t get a decent photo from the front, where the effect was much more pronounced (best I could do was this this). But at one point I yelled, “Hey, Harrison, what’s the deal with the super-high cuffs?” and he quickly turned his head and said, “Just changin’ it up. Tryin’ somethin’ new, y’know.” And that was that.
My feelings about high-cuffed baseball pants are well-documented. But if you made me choose between Harrison’s look and the pajama style, I’d be hard-pressed to say which was worse. Seeing a ballplayer’s knees just doesn’t feel right. It also appeared to be a high-maintenance operation, because he was fidgeting with his pant cuffs all night. Manwhile, just how long were his socks? Like, was he wearing thigh-high stockings, or pantyhose, or what?
In an apparently unrelated development, there was a bat — the kind with wings and teeth — flying around the field the entire night. It mostly stayed near the field’s perimeter, but every now and then it would dart toward an ump or a player (it almost made one of the New Britain pitchers balk). At one point the bat flitted right past Harrison while I was photographing him in the on deck circle. He damn near jumped out of those super-short pants — and then he readjusted them one more time.
Mariners Mystery Solved: Last week I ran the following note from Jon Buerstatte:
In 1992, when the new owners completed their purchase [of the Mariners] in mid-season, the M’s had an “opening day” celebration. To mark the occasion, the M’s wore their usual white home uniforms, but with “Seattle” on the jerseys instead of “Mariners.” That had great significance at the time, because the team was constantly the subject of relocation rumors and the new ownership wanted to send a strong message that the team was the Seattle Mariners, not just the Mariners.
Unfortunately, Buerstatte didn’t have any photos from this game, and I wasn’t able to come up with one either. But then Mariners marketing VP Kevin Martinez got in touch and provided me with this and this. Big thanks to Kevin, and to everyone else who provided tips and leads on this one.
C-ing Stars: An NFL spokesman told me on Friday that the new captains’ patches (first discussed here) would feature “a C with some stars underneath.” And now, thanks to an item on the Lions’ web site, we finally have our first look at what that means, as seen here (and you can sort of see the jersey placement here). As I understand it, each team’s patches will be color-coordinated — i.e., the Lions’ version is blue, but the Cardinals’ will be red, and so on. Not sure why there are four stars, or why one of them is gold, but I’m hoping to get more info today. Update: According to the Detroit Free Press, “The first star is gold. A player will get a gold star for each year he is a captain in the future.” (Thanks to Mike Schmansky for that info.)
Personally, I wish they’d let the teams come up with their own “C” styles, like the NHL and MLB do, instead of imposing a league-wide protocol. But I’m surprised — and relieved — to see that the patch doesn’t include the NFL logo, or a little Lombardi Trophy graphic, or anything else that smells like corporate branding. Verdict: Silly but harmless. Prediction: A one-year experiment that ends up being abandoned next season.
Incidentally, someone over on the Creamer boards said that the Bucs used to designate their captains via shoulder “netting.” I’d never heard this before. Can anyone confirm?
Uni Watch News Ticker: The Penguins will unveil their new uniforms on Wednesday. Details here. … Mike Nolan’s and Jack Del Rio’s sideline suits will be designed by Joseph Abboud. … This eBay auction has ended, but check out those illustrations — great stuff. Anyone ever seen those before? (Nice find by Roger Faso.) … Speaking of eBay, check out this bizarre AHL all-star jersey that Stuart Greenlee found. Never mind the Blues-ish diagonal number — what’s with that misplaced star? … This has resulted in this (with thanks to Chris Flinn). … Did you know that one Vanderbilt player — and only one — wears a special memorial patch every year, in memory of former tailback Kwane Doster? Details here (with thanks to Daniel Brown). … Liverpool FC played a champions league game last Tuesday and they wore a black armband in memory of 11 year old Rhys Jones, who was killed last week,” reports Ed Rickert. “Does the armband look like black duct tape, or is it just me?” … Some uni-related MLB chatter in the seventh question of this Q&A session (with thanks to Laura Koenig). … Marcus Ramsey notes that Brad Johnson’s preseason sleeve stylings have ranged from no stripes to two stripes to one stripe. … As they’ve frequently done for early-season games in recent years, the Chargers will wear white at home for Week 1, to help beat the heat. … Pat Kelly has noticed something interesting about the Redskins: The sleeve numbers for eligible receivers are much thicker than the ones used for linemen and linebackers. “I’ve noticed it for a while,” says Pat, “and a little checking shows that it’s been going on at least as far back as ’03 [thin numbers, thick numbers], and maybe ‘02. That’s the year Reebok began making the unis for every team, and is also when the ’Skins went from screen-printed numbers to sewn numbers, so it may have something to do with that.” I’m fairly certain it also has something to do with sleeve tailoring for players who handle the ball vs. those who don’t. … Here’s something interesting: You probably know that all National League teams wore this sleeve patch design in 1976. But Braden Wheeler recently sent me a bunch of patches, and I was surprised to find that the N.L. centennial patch included a tone-on-tone copyright line. … Everyone talks about the Celtics’ parquet floor as the gold standard for classic inlaid-wood court designs. But check out this 1928 photo of a game between Princeton and West Point — now that’s a floor design. … Marquette is switching to Converse’s Dwyane Wade sneakers. … “English Championship soccer side Queens Park Rangers played Saturday’s game with all players having the name ‘Ray Jones’ on their back,” writes Florian Zenger. “This was in tribute to QPR’s youth international, who died last week in a car crash.” … Uni Watch founding girlfriend Alleen Barber notes that James Blake and Stefan Koubek were wearing the exact shame shirt while playing each other on Saturday night. “It looks like they’re on the same team!” says Alleen. “That’s fucked.” … Michael Romero provided a good screen grab of USC’s Mario Danelo memorial decal. … Elena Elms notes that Jim Edmonds has added a “43″ wristband (in addition to his own No. 15) for injured teammate Juan Encarnacion. … Now there’s a nameplate. … Best. Haircut. Ever. (Thanks, Vince.) … New UConn hoops uniforms on the way. Details here. … While researching something else, I came across this photo of Ozzie Guillen wearing a photo of his former teammate Jerry Royster, who’d just been traded. … William F. Yurasko notes that Florida International uses two different kinds of “2″s on their jerseys: this kind on the front and back, and this kind on the sleeves. Odd. … Good point by Gale Reed, who writes: “With 99.9999% of NFL games being viewed on color TVs, why does one team still need to wear white jerseys? Okay, if, say, the Eagles were playing the Jets, the home team would get first dibs on wearing their color, but why can’t the Giants wear their blue jerseys against the 49ers in their red?” … Alan Kreit was recently up in Cooperstown, where he took lots of cool uniform photos. From there he went to the New York State Fair in Syracuse, where he documented uniforms of a different sort: “At the State Troopers exhibition, a trooper was kind enough to show me his personal collection, including a 1940s uniform. This included a purple tie, vintage pants, and the manufacturer’s label. These were all wool and probably were brutally hot during the summer.” You can see all of Alan’s photos here. … Jay Braiman has been obsessively research the history of the Jets’ logo. Among many other interesting finds, he’s come up with this awesome yearbook cover. … Jim Mellett notes that the drop shadows on Pitt’s new jersey are in the uncommon down and to the left configuration. … Nice to see that the halftime entertainment at last night’s Clemson/FSU game included a taffy pull. … Royce Clayton has changed his uni number to 11, to mark his 11th major league stop. … Interesting find by Chris Manes, who writes: “According to a Spirit Magazine pic I found a few months back, Phil White of the Giants was the first to wear No. zero in 1925.” Slight bit of additional info here. … That’s enough for today. I’ll save my comments on the new NFL logo for tomorrow.
September 4th, 2007
My college football preview column will be up later today on ESPN. I’m gonna be traveling (more on that in a sec), so Vince will add the link when it goes live. Drum roll please… here it is.
The Canucks unveiled their new uniforms yesterday, and everything you need to know about them can be found in this photo.
Looks pretty good as a T-shirt, right? But when you add sleeve stripes, sleeve numbers, shoulder patches, and waist striping, the total effect is way too busy. Throw in a captain’s “C” and you’ve reached critical mass.
Personally, I have no problem with the city name on the front (at the very least, it’s certainly not part of any other template we’ve seen, right?), and I give them credit for rendering it in a simple typeface with no drop shadow, no outlining, no bells or whistles. But why pair it with the orca, which nobody ever liked to begin with? Feels like a shotgun wedding. And why make the orca so big? If you combine the logo and the wordmark, the combined acreage takes up much more of the jersey than a typical NHL crest — it’s too much.
Other notes:
• The rear typography is fine.
• As much as I love lower-jersey stripes, I’m starting to think they just don’t work with Reebok’s rounded hemline.
• Nice to see the stick/rink logo on the pants.
Personally, I’m still hoping they’ll eventually use this.
Membership News: As you can see at right, Scott really outdid himself with the Colorado Caribous treatment for Matt Thompson’s card. My original plan was to glue some real fringe to Matt’s laminated card, but I’ve tabled that idea, since it would obscure Scott’s excellent work.
Yesterday’s batch of new designs (which, like all the membership designs, are on display in the card gallery) had two other notable entries: First, there’s our first playing surface-based design. True, it’s not a uniform, but I’ve occasionally written about field design, and that Robert Indiana-designed court was definitely part of the Bucks’ graphic identity in the 1990s, so why not? Looks pretty swank when cloaked in the Uni Watch border, too.
And then there’s this, based on the WFL’s old Southern California Sun. Scott thinks this one’s gonna be controversial because you’re all gonna start screaming, “Hey, that’s purple, what gives?” I say you’re all smart enough to recognize the difference between purple and fuschia. And yeah, fuschia is arguably the more offensive of the two, but it almost never comes up in the uni world, so I can’t get too worked up about it. More of a kitschy indulgence than a loathsome plague.
Weekday Road Trip: Just in case the purple fuschia card design sparks an uprising, Scott and I are high-tailing it upstate today to catch a Binghamton Mets game. If any Bingotown-area readers want to join us for beer and spiedies, we’ll be at the always-wonderful Sharkey’s from about 5:00 to 6:15.
Sorry for the super-short notice. And if you can’t make it to Sharkey’s but want to join us at the game, e-mail your name and cell number to Vince. He’ll get the info to me later in the day, and then I’ll call you from the stadium to let you know where we’re sitting.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Here’s a doozy: MLB exec Bob Watson actually entered the Red Sox dugout during last night’s game to tell Bosox skipper Terry Francona to wear a jersey instead of his usual fleece pullover. Details here. … According to the last item on this page, the 49ers are thinking about wearing Montana-era throwbacks all season long, as a tribute to Bill Walsh (good find by Chris Rogers). … “I happened to stumble across a hurling match on one of the more obscure Dish channels,” writes Craig Ward. “I found it odd that the players wore all sorts of different colored helmets — there doesn’t appear to be any rhyme or reason to it, just personal preference.” Anyone know more about this? … Several readers noted that the MLB logo was missing from Robinson Cano’s jersey on Tuesday night. … “Tuesday night, Comcast ran a special piece about Ryne Sandberg and his life as the manager of the Peoria Chiefs, the Cubs’ single-A affiliate,” writes Pat Ratliff. “Ryne said that when some of his players saw old pictures of him rocking the high stirrups back in his playing days, they were blown away, as if they hadn’t seen stirrups in their lives. Ryne proceeded to order a supply of stirrups from the Cubs for his team to wear on the field. Looks like he needs to take his own advice and show some sock. Also looks like none of his players in the pic are actually wearing stirrups — just socks.” … A source in the Rangers’ clubhouse reports that skipper Ron Washington does not wear a cup. The source also offers this bit of news: “A promising development for next season — we’re most likely going to use the Cool Base material for our sleeveless jerseys, which would provide the benefits of the cooler material without the weird underarm gussets.” … Penn State is pulling a Wisconsin (with thanks to William F. Yurasko). … Vince will be minding the store today while I’m road-tripping. So if you have spam-filter problems or other site-related issues, contact him. Ticker tips can still come to me.
August 30th, 2007
So I was looking through the membership card gallery the other day, and I was suddenly struck by something I’d never noticed before: Most of the drop shadows and block shadows fall down and to the right — call it the five o’clock shadow.
As I started looking at photos, I realized that five o’clock shadows are standardized throughout most of the sports world. The primary exception among current teams is the New York Rangers, whose block shadows go down and to the left (a protocol that holds for all their jerseys). For everyone else, it’s down and to the right, down and to the right, ad infinitum.
I was curious about how this phenomenon became so entrenched. Was it because we read from left to right? Was it because the sun sets in the west, casting an eastward shadow? Was it a something designers consciously considered when coming up with uniform designs, or did they just reflexively go with the five o’clock format without even thinking about it?
I posed those questions to Todd Radom and Scott M.X. Turner, both of whom have designed a few uniforms in their day. Here’s an edited version of their responses:
Todd Radom: Agreed, drop shadows traditionally fall off to the bottom right, and I can only assume that this is a logical function of [our culture’s] left-to-right thing. Are there any drop shadows in the new Israeli baseball league that go from right to left? [I don’t think so. — PL]
My 2 cents: Bottom-right is the way to go. And the shadow should be connected to the top layer of lettering, as opposed to just being set off. Also, I think any drop shadow should be darker than the layer on top, so white drop shadows on a black background, for instance, make no sense at all.
The 49ers numbers achieve drop shadow perfection for my money.
Scott M.X. Turner: What Todd said, basically. The Rangers’ bottom-left look has become so iconic that it doesn’t strike me as odd (though it does feel counterintuitive when I do Rangers treatments for Uni Watch cardbacks).
I agree block shadow is a better idea than drop shadow. … I’m not as sold that the bottom layer needs to be darker, however — the St. Louis Browns stuck orange under brown back in the ’40s, and Cleveland did it in 1970 with red under navy [and let’s not forget this — PL]. I guess it depends on whether you’re trying to convey a shadow or a block. If it’s a shadow, then Todd’s right, should be darker; block, then most anything goes.
Unlike the well-documented histories of pinstripes, certain colors, and logos, I’m not sure there’s a way to know for sure why shadows came out lower-right. Just that most of us designers agree that’s the way it feels right. And nine times out of ten, the feel’s more important than the math.
Todd also pointed out what may be the oddest configuration of all: the one used by the late-1950s Washington Senators, whose block shadow ran up and to the right. I’m unaware of any other team having done this. But then again, until a week or so ago I hadn’t given much thought to this topic to begin with.
And that’s the thing — once you start thinking about a subject like this, all sorts of things start jumping out at you. With my “shadow radar” more finely tuned in recent days, I’ve suddenly noticed a few more left-leaning shadows. During my recent visit to Lelands, for example, I turned over this New Jersey Knights jersey and immediately fixated on the nameplate. And when preparing yesterday’s ESPN column about “one and done” designs, I was got a little rush of excitement when I saw the shadow configuration on Wisconsin’s one-day design from 1995.
My feeling is that while drop and block shadows often look good (especially on a membership card), they can also add unnecessary clutter to a design. And while I haven’t done a formal tally, my sense of things is that more teams are employing shadows these days than in the past, because they’re so easy to execute digitally. I’m fairly certain teams like the Mets, Dolphins, and 49ers, all of which added drop shadows within the past decade, wouldn’t have done so if it hadn’t been so easy for a designer to call everyone over to his computer and say, “Look, what if we just did this…” I’m not saying there’s no place for shadows, but most of them these days come with the distinct echo of “Because we can.”
Raffle Results: I’m happy to announce that the winner of the Helmet Hut raffle for a free college football helmet is Vertically Arched member Mike Brodsky. Mike, please get in touch with me pronto to claim your prize.
Thanks to all who entered. And I can absolutely promise, incidentally, that next month’s raffle is gonna be a mind-blower.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Creepy Nike product placement of the day — and one of the best ever — here (with mega-thanks to Chris Dominiak). … The Jets, who were originally known as the Titans, will be having a, uh, Titanic throwback game on October 14th. Lots good Titans info is available here (and be sure to check out the JetsTV video link, which features some fantastic Titans footage — special thanks to Mike from Queens for that link). … Cool-sounding exhibit of military uniforms currently on display in Delray Beach, Florida. Details here (with thanks to Jeff Fishman). … Speaking of military unis, check out this. … Yesterday Todd Radom e-mailed me an article about various lowlights in Phillies uniform history (it’s not web-accessible, alas), and one passage in particular caught my eye: “June 10, 1972. Trying to inject some life into a 19-29 club at the start of a homestand, gimmick-obsessed team vice president Bill Giles suggested that, since the Phillies had been playing better on the the road than at home, they ought to try their road uniforms at the Vet. Giles’ plan bombed. The Atlanta Braves’ 15-3 victory included Hank Aaron’s 649th home run, a grand slam.” The Braves were wearing the “feather” design on the road that year, so it wasn’t gray-vs.-gray, but still — two teams wearing road uniforms? I’d never heard about this before. Anyone else? … When not serving me cocktails, doing my laundry, and changing Tucker and Caitlin’s litterbox, Uni Watch intern Vince Grzegorek moonlights at a dental office. And who should come in for a root canal yesterday but a VP of Sales for Reebok. “He was dressed head to toe in Reebok stuff,” reports Vince. “Shorts, shoes, socks, and the logo was EXTREMELY prominent.” While he was in the chair, Vince slipped him some nitrous oxide and nabbed this Cleveland Browns cap from his briefcase. Then he put a Uni Watch temporary tattoo on his arm, etched a Nike swoosh onto one of his front teeth, and doubled his bill. All in a day’s work. … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Major hosiery development Wednesday night, as Esteban Loaiza was wearing special stirrups with the A’s logo on the side. Best photo so far (provided by Roger Faso) is here — you can just barely make out the logo on Loaiza’s left ankle. Anyone got a better shot? I can’t do screen grabs from my backup computer (main machine’s still in the shop, grumble-grumble), but I’m told that there were some close-up views in the first inning. … Here’s a quote for the ages: “It was an interesting lesson to learn in how quickly a fire can happen.” To appreciate the full context, look here (with thanks to Peter Bliao). … The Trenton Thunder unveiled a new identity system yesterday. … And Cleveland State unveiled a new logo (as noted by Josh Yetmar). … Golf report from Dan Sherman, who writes: “At the first round of the FedEx cup, close to 50 golfers were wearing blue belts with silver buckles inscribed with ‘IFF,’ for ‘Ian and Friends Foundation.’” Details here. … I’d heard about the Denver Bears’ “strike zone uniforms” before, but I’d never seen them — until now (with thanks to George McClure). … Can someone please tell the Mariners to stop wearing their BP jerseys in actual games? They did it again last night. … Here’s one I hadn’t been aware of: As you know, the Steelers switched from block numbers to their current font in 1997. But for the first game of that season — and only the first game — they kept their old block lettering for the nameplates, before switching to their now-familiar rounded font in Week 2. … Tired of seeing your favorite team’s baseball cap rendered in all sorts of weird colors? You’re not the only one (good find by Dave Miller). … Latest MLBer to wear toe socks: Brendan Ryan of the Cardinals. This and several other uni-related tidbits can be found in the last four paragraphs of this article. Meanwhile, the second text section of this piece reports that Ryan has some unusual taste in eyewear. (Both items sent my way by Elena Elms, who I’m pretty sure has a crush on Ryan.) … Mike Lowell has been wearing a Jeff Bagwell-style padded batting glove lately. “It was made by using an old piece of catching equipment, an idea conceived by the Red Sox trainers,” says AJ Chalifour. … Got an e-mail last night from Jay Gordon, who’s the editor-in-chief of Uniforms magazine (!), which features lively columns like “The Uniforms Laboratory” and “Ask the Uniforms Guy” (who, for some inexplicable reason, isn’t me). Granted, none of the uniforms are sports-related, but it still looks pretty damn cool. … Jason Cruz notes that there sure seems to be a lot of stuff going on on Lauren Jackson’s shoes. Anyone know what the “153″ is for?
August 24th, 2007
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