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Posts filed under 'Negro Leagues'
One of the highlights of my recent trip to Pittsburgh was a visit to the Heinz History Center, which includes the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum. I took a lot of photos here, so let’s get right to it (with apologies for the inevitable problems with glare and reflection when photographing things in glass cases):
• Here’s a great factory team uniform, circa 1955 (details here), along with a jacket from the same team, different year.
• And here’s a junior police team uniform, circa 1944, worn by a young player whose high school didn’t have a team.
• This is an autographed 1960 Dick Groat jersey, notable primarily for its tagging.
• Would you believe that a big league GM gave a player a raise in 1948 without the player even asking for it? It’s true, at least according to this letter.
• May favorite thing in the entire museum was this display, devoted to a local marble-shooting champion. Yeah, I know, marbles, but c’mon — look at that jersey and patch!
• If you’ve spent any time looking at Negro Leagues photos, you know it’s practically an iron-clad rule that one player was always wearing last year’s uniform, or another team’s uniform, or something out of step with the rest of the team.
• Here’s a really great story: In 1949, a local schoolgirl embroidered this shirt with the likenesses of Ralph Kiner, Wally Westlake, and Babe Ruth, and then sent it to Kiner and Westlake for them to autograph (the Babe had already died, alas). Kiner not only autographed it but sent it back with this cover letter. Dig that stationery!
• The football section included an entire wall of letterman jackets and sweaters. But my favorite jacket was this one. That chest patch is near-perfection.
• I really liked this display showing a ref’s jersey, whistles, score sheet, and flags.
• Another highlight: This Steelers cheerleaders display. Additional pics here.
• I was happy to see they had a small mention of L.C. Greenwood’s gold shoes.
• This was a local football team called the Oilers. I love that there’s an oil derrick in the background.
• And here’s an all-black football team, wearing a jersey style I’ve never seen before.
• You know those old-fashioned football nose guards? Here’s an early patent drawing.
• Apparently the Pittsburgh boxing community is still pissed off about the Louis/Conn fight (Conn was a local hero). I didn’t get any pics of the Conn memorabilia at the museum, but I did get a shot of this great robe and accompanying set of trunks. Not sure why a Pittsburgh fighter had “NY” on his trunks, but whatever — gorgeous.
• This is Chuck Cooper’s All-American uniform. Note the photo at lower-right — I didn’t realize the Celtics had once worn uni numbers on their shorts. And why doesn’t the shorts number match the jersey number?
• Several excellent old basketball uniforms here.
• I love the soccer jacket shown on the right. Here’s a close-up.
• And it won’t surprise anyone to hear that I also love this Pop Warner jacket, rendered in green and gold.
• Unusual artifact here. The United Black Front was a local activist organization, and you’ve gotta love an activist agenda that includes softball.
• The museum even features some swimming exhibits, including a tremendous Olympic time trails patch, a photo of the 1932 U.S. Olympic team, and a shot of some rather revealing swimwear.
• Finally, there’s this. I’ll let it speak for itself.
Phew! It’s worth noting, incidentally, that the Heinz facility also features a really great exhibit that documents the history of the Heinz company itself, including a photo of the Heinz baseball team, circa 1907 (note that they’re even using Heinz baseball bats), and a display showing the uniforms worn by female workers at the Heinz plant. Just goes to show that all roads lead back to uniforms.
And now a word from Vince Grzegorek: If I have one lasting legacy at Uni Watch, it probably won’t be writing about Brownie the Elf at every opportunity, or for being Paul’s first intern. No, it most likely will be for running the site’s annual NCAA tournament contest.
So let’s get this going. In the past I’ve come up with convoluted point systems and spent a lot of time scoring each entry by hand. But I’m much too busy for that this year, so screw that. Instead, we’re going to run a normal bracket challenge. To sign up, go to this site. Our group name is Uni Watch, our group ID is 68140, and our password is stirrups (all lowercase).
The top five winners will get to choose from the following prizes, all provided by Paul:
1. A free Uni Watch membership.
2. A free T-shirt from our friends at Pennant Race Gear.
3. An MLB logo wristwatch. (Full disclosure: Although it’s never been used, it appears to need a new battery. — PL)
4. A Bimbo Mexican soccer jersey, size large (contributed to the cause by reader Jeremy Deason — PL).
5. A copy of the new book Cubs by the Numbers.
Top winner gets his or her choice of prizes, second-place winner gets to choose from the remaining four prizes, and so on.
Hey, how about that economy?: Paul here again. As some of you are aware, changes are afoot at Distant Replays. Here’s a quick imaginary press conference about what this means from a Uni Watch perspective:
New enrollees in the membership program used to get a $10 Distant Replays gift code. Are you still offering that benefit?
No, effective immediately.
I ordered my membership card a few weeks ago but haven’t received it yet. I thought I was getting the $10 gift code. What happens to me?
There are 16 of you out there who fit this description (some of you have been waiting way too long for your cards, and I’m sorry about that — life has been hectic lately). Those 16 cards will mail out this week, and unfortunately they will not be accompanied by Distant Replays gift codes. If you feel gypped or baited-and-switched, get in touch and we’ll work something out.
I received my Distant Replays gift code with my membership two months ago but haven’t redeemed the $10 code yet. Will I still be able to redeem it when the company goes back online?
Good question. I’ve asked Andy and Rav about this, and so far they haven’t responded. I know them well enough to know they aren’t just blowing me off — I think they just have much bigger things to worry about at the moment. If I had to guess, my hunch would be that old gift codes will not be honored when DR resurfaces. But we’ll have to wait and see.
Sorry for the hassle. Feel free to be in touch if you have further questions about any of this.
Uni Watch News Ticker: The Thrashers appear to have a 10th-anniversary logo slated for next season, and holy shit is it a stinker. … Negro Leagues shorts alert! That’s Prince Joe Henry, the Detroit Clowns player who often had some, uh, unique uniform stylings (but not always). Those pics were contributed by Jared Wheeler, who also sent along shots of an old Houston warm-up jacket from the Slama era, a 1940s Harvard hoops jersey, a Senators jersey with a Jerry Cosby tag (”Never seen his tag on a baseball uniform,” says Jared), a Willie Stargell cap (that’s the closest look I’ve ever gotten of the stars — note that only the one on the right appears to be properly oriented), and — the real prize — a sleeve patch from the 1944 minor league Orioles. Thing of beauty, no? … This is really cool (nice find by Charles Neiswender). … But this is just ridiculous (blame Mark Doescher). … Jordan Wiley has created an interesting project: He’s created an a listing of the best logo treatment for each letter of the alphabet. In other words, this is A, this is B, etc. I don’t agree with most of his choices, but that’s kinda beside the point, cuz it’s an interesting little project. I wish he’d put all his letter choices side by side in one big composite alphabet (get working on that pronto, Jordan!), but for now you can check out his breakdown here. … On Friday I mentioned that I’d been surprised to learn that the Milwaukee Braves had offered stock to the public. That prompted the following from Terry Paffenroth: “The stock was a huge issue when the team’s new ownership started making the plans to move the team out of Milwaukee, because they had buy up that remaining stock from people, most of whom who were not about to sell and lose the team. The plan that eventually took shape was that minority stockholders who would not sell were given a letter saying that their shares were being voided in exchange for a voucher for season tickets — in Atlanta. And just for the first season. Next time I see my grandparents, I’ll try and find their old stock certificate, along with the letter and voucher. They small stockholders and were given two tickets. The largest number I have come across was for six tickets.” … Kentucky wore black uniforms on Friday. … The Fresno Grizzlies have some new alt/promo jerseys (with thanks to William Paul Barrett). … Check out this square-formatted NOB (nice find by Robert Saietta). … Tequila sundrise over Blacksburg. … Brett Crane notes that Kevin Youkilis is wearing his #20 elbow guard in the WBC, even though his WBC uni number is 21. … Maybe we’ve covered this before and I’m just suffering from brain-lock, but what’s up with the ‘Pops’ patch? … Here’s the logo for the 2011 Pan-Am games (with thanks to Jeremy Brahm). … Bob Ruffolo was inside the new Yankee Stadium on Saturday and took a bunch of photos. … The Rangers’ two-tone helmet lives on, at least for now, in a team commercial (screen grab courtesy of Josh Jarmon). … Lots of college basketball uni musings here. … Greg Riffenburgh notes that Arsenal’s Russian signee, Andrei Arshavin, has been wearing at least two different kinds of cleats, as seen here and here (that’s him in the background). … Soccer note from Joe DeLong, who writes: “I was watching Serie A soccer highlights on Sunday and saw that Filippo Inzaghi of AC Milan scored his 300th career goal and was immediately presented with a No. 300 jersey.” Details here. … Doug Keklak sent along this shot from the 1956 Johnstown High School yearbook. Weird to see that the whole team had uni numbers in the 70s and 80s — I realize those numbers were legal in h.s. hoops back then, but it’s still odd that they’d only use numbers in that range. … Luke Mohamed reports that Sidney Crosby, who normally wears a visor, was visor-free during part the first period of yesterday’s Pens game. … The 1898 Spalding Ice Hockey and Ice Polo Guide, which is believed to be the earliest hockey guidebook, is now accessible online — complete with ads. … Interesting 2005 story here about bunting — this kind, not this kind (nice find by Mike Ortman). … St. Paddy’s Week has officially arrived, as the Raptors wore green last night. … As promised, supercross racer Kevin Windham wore Saints-themed gear on Saturday (with thanks to Sean Clancy). … Don D. snapped this shot of an adult league hockey team called the Charlie Browns. “The uniform also has a shoulder patch with Snoopy biting through a hockey stick, à la the Sharks,” he adds. … Only in America, or so I’d assume (thanks, Phil). … Also from Phil: Think this guy’s got enough swooshes?
March 16th, 2009
Last month I wrote about all the great uni-related photos in Sports Illustrated’s The Football Book. Now I’ve gotten myself a copy of The Baseball Book, which has a slightly smaller but still significant trove of uni details. Let’s take a look:
• Here’s a 1950s shot of Nellie Fox. Note that the Sox insignia is a patch, not embroidered. Never noticed that before.
• Another Chisox shot, this one showing Luis Aparacio during the 1959 World Series, when the White Sox actually wore white socks.
• Next time we debate the pros and cons of base coaches wearing helmets, think about this photo. Can you believe how close to home plate those shutterbugs were allowed to get?
• This is an 1896 shot of the New York Giants, and I absolutely must have one of those sweaters.
• Couple of interesting things here, beginning with the Cards’ heavily ribbed stirrups. Also, look closely Bob Bowman’s (No. 26) right toe. Looks like he’s got a little metal plate and strip of leather there to keep the tip of his shoe from wearing through. And that leads us to…
• …this shot of Satchel Paige’s cleats, with a great view of precisely the same toe accessory.
• Amazing old Boston Braves jacket here.
• Decent view here of the yellow batting helmets that the A’s wore in 1967 (when they were still in Kansas City).
• Best uni-related prank ever. According to the caption, the player on the ground was actually an actor named Lou Archer, “who appeared in Babe Comes Home, Ruth’s second Hollywood feature.”
Loads of other great photography here — recommended.
Membership News: Got a brilliant card design request the other day from Robert Eden. He originally joined up back when the membership program was first announced, choosing the basic Uni Watch colors. But once he heard we were now accepting NCAA-themed design requests, he put in an order for an additional card (which anyone can get for $15, by the way) patterned after a Nebraska Cornhuskers tearaway jersey. As I think you’ll agree, Scott executed the concept quite nicely.
Meanwhile, Nina has finished adding all the Charter Membership code to the membership roster. If you’re a Charter Member, your number on the roster should be shown in bold. If we somehow missed anyone, let me know.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Yesterday’s post about uni numbers on pants prompted a response from Aaron Stilley, who pointed out a baseball example I’d forgotten about: the Kansas City Monarchs (additional views here, here, here, and here). “I agree it’s usually a bad idea, but for some reason I actually think it looked nice on the Monarchs’ unis,” writes Aaron, and I’m inclined to agree. … By now I think most of you are aware of the Minnesota high school hockey jerseys that are on display at the Xcel Center. But what you might not know — and what I didn’t know myself until Jeff Barak forwarded me some pics — is that the display also includes an incredible 1940s Coast Guard team jersey with a gorgeous chenille crest. Further info here. … The woman who designed the Lambeau Field 50th-anniversary patch is profiled here. … Alejandro Marci reports that Argentina has new soccer uniforms. “The jersey has a hidden drawing on the front,” he writes, “inspired by a traditional Buenos Aires decorative painting art form called Fileteado, which is most commonly used to decorate buses. That technique is also in a small patch located on the back of the neck. There’s also an awful colored field in the back, as a background for the numbers. Apparently it’s some new FIFA regulation for NTs.” … “As you know, the Giants typically apply each player’s last name to his batting helmet in large white letters,” writes Jason Taylor. “Until August, it appeared that Barry Bonds was no different. But I just noticed that his last name appeared in two other styles on the back of his helmet within about a week’s time. I’m guessing that it had something to do with him donating his 755 and 756 helmets to the Hall of Fame.” … Genius find by Jere Smith, who’s turned up a video clip from the 1988 NBA Legends Game, in which every single player wore FNOB — and in a totally weird format to boot. Details and full video clip here. … Several readers have noticed a subtle change made by the Bruins, but Paul Pokaski sums it up best: “The Bruins started the season with double-outlined lettering on their nameplates. This style was worn as recently as October 22 on the road against the Canadiens. Recently, however, the Bruins have been using single-outlined names on their road whites. They wore this style November 3 at Ottawa, and in their most recent game, at Toronto.” Very odd to see a team make this sort of change in the middle of a season. … You’ve gotta be kidding me. … Reprinted from last night’s comments: Lots of good uni-related soccer Q&A action here. … And The London Times’s picks for the top 50 soccer kits of all time here (with thanks to Iain Landon).
Holiday Schedule: We’ll have open chatter tomorrow. Maybe Friday too, or maybe I’ll put up some real content — not sure yet. And our usual open chatter for the weekend. Happy Thanksgiving to one and all, and remember, white meat’s for suckers — dark meat’s where it’s at.
November 21st, 2007
Yesterday was July 1st, which is traditionally celebrated as Canada Day up north. I’m told that from a strict statutory standpoint, this year’s version of the holiday is today, because July 1st fell on a Sunday. Doesn’t really matter from a uni-related standpoint, because the Blue Jays were on the road yesterday and are also on the road today, which means they won’t be wearing their special Canada Day uniforms for the home crowd.
What’s up with that? Couldn’t MLB have scheduled the one Canadian team to be playing at home for the country’s biggest holiday? And this isn’t a one-time thing — a quick schedule check reveals that the Jays were on the road on July 1st in 2005, 2004, and 2003. Then again, some of the Jays’ Canada Day designs have been decidedly better than others, as seen in these designs from 1997 (front, back), 1998, 2000 (front, back), 2001 (front, back), 2002, and 2006, so maybe it’s for the best.
Meanwhile, it turns out that some Canadian minor league teams wear special Canada Day jerseys too, as seen in this shot of the Ottawa Lynx. Check out the kid with the little flag — love that.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Did you know there was a World Cup of American Football? I didn’t, until Jeremy Brahm sent me these photos of what the Japanese team will be wearing. … Anyone else notice that the Giants’ Rod Beck memorial sleeve patch looks a lot like a Uni Watch membership card? … Vince Grzegorek stumbled upon a photo of Georgia College’s baseball team, which uses what has got to be the biggest name typography ever. … Ramon Castro was the victim of a multi-layer cap prank on Friday. More photos, and a short but priceless video clip, here. … Speaking of Mets-related pranks, someone appears to have hung a pink “I’m Gay” T-shirt (with Nike logo creep!) in David Wright’s locker. … The Indianapolis Star’s web site has a great photo gallery covering 60-some years’ worth of Indiana all-state hoops teams. Lots of awesome photos — well worth clicking through. The full gallery (which was brought to my attention by Kenneth Adkins) is here. … Nice Negro Leagues throwback game yesterday in K.C., with the Royals dressing up as the Kansas City Monarchs and the White Sox honoring the Chicago American Giants. The Royals/Monarchs had a “42″ sleeve patch for Jackie Robinson and a “22″ cap inscription for Buck O’Neil, plus the Royals coaching staff all wore uni No. 22. … Jonathan Carone reports that Presbyterian College (DII, moving up to Division I this year) has just unveiled new football uniforms, as seen here, here, here, and here. Assuming you can get past the team name (yes, they’re really called the Blue Hose, which should be reason enough to root for them), it’s particularly odd that their white and colored jerseys are based on completely different templates. … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: According to a paragraph buried in the middle of this column, at one point this season Ichiro actually asked now-departed Mariners skipper Mike Hargrove to wear a real jersey instead of a smock/pullover thingie. That is just too cool for words.
Holiday Schedule: Things will run as usual around here this week, except for Wednesday, when we’ll have an open thread. Plus I’ll have a doozy of an ESPN column on Thursday. OK? OK.
July 2nd, 2007
We have a lot to cover today, boys and girls, beginning with the Capitals’ uniform unveiling, which took place on Friday evening. Although I couldn’t make it down for the event, Uni Watch was nonetheless in the house, in the person of DC-area reader Mike Forgy, a longtime Caps season ticket holder who was generously provided with media credentials by the Caps PR office (thanks, Nate). Mike took several dozen photos, which you can access here, and filed the following report:
One of the first things that struck me when I walked in was that the staff already had polo shirts with the new logo. Meanwhile, I saw that face painters, magicians, and one of the facility’s two rinks were made available to fans as a pre-unveiling treat. (The unveiling would take place on the other rink.) Merchandise stands were being set up, and jerseys could be pre-ordered for a September delivery date for a pretty reasonable price of $99. It would cost another $60 if you wanted it personalized. A huge screen was also installed in the second rink, so people could watch the unveiling and draft as they skated.
I made my down to and across the ice (not easy with dress shoes on) and took my place with the rest of the photographers and videographers. Most had their super powerful digital SLRs with huge lenses. I was armed with my regular camera, which is about as small as a cell phone, and the camera my friend Jennifer loaned me, a Canon A620, which had a lot more zoom than mine.
The Caps play-by-play announcer came out and introduced some of the great Caps from years past: Yvon Labre, Rod Langway, Mike Gartner, Kelly Miller, and Sylvain Cote, all of whom wore the jerseys from their respective eras. I am not sure, but it looked like Rod Langway had a souvenir shop jersey, although at that distance it was hard to tell. The alumni were then shuffled off the stage.
Finally a large curtain fell and the new uniforms were there for everyone to see. The home reds were worn by Captain Chris Clark and Defenseman Jeff Shultz, while the away whites were worn by Brian Pothier and Ben Clymer, who then took to the ice and skated around.
Soon we made our way to a media area (which, unfortunately, wasn’t very well lighted) to interview the players. I talked to Pothier, Clymer, and Shultz, and they all said the same things: They love the feel of the jersey, though the underarm area seemed a little tight. They all loved the tight socks (here’s a rear view) and the garter system that attached inside the pants. The old socks were the heavy cotton, which did not breathe so well. Most thought this would be the biggest difference maker during games, more so than the jerseys. All the players said they preferred the white jersey to the red one, but all made the caveat that white is just more classic.
When asked what kind of input they had, Ben Clymer said, “When I put it on about 30 minutes ago … that‘s my first input.” Even the Captain, Chris Clark, said he had not seen them before his arrival at the complex earlier in the evening.
While talking to Ben Clymer, I realized there was one thing I had completely forgotten about: helmets! I asked Ben if the color of the helmets would be red and white (for the respective jerseys) and he seemed shocked with the question, like maybe someone forgot about the helmets. At no point did anyone come out wearing one, nor were they alluded to. Ben informed me the red jerseys would get a blue helmet, and the white jerseys a white helmet.
The media kit provided a booklet on some of the features of the uniform and branding program (the eagle in the secondary logo must always face forward, for example) and some great pictures of Olie Kolzig, who is the only Caps player to wear all five uniforms.
The Caps made a killing that evening selling new merchandise to fans (myself included). One of the T-shirts they were selling featured numbers and letters that were printed to look sewn on, as if they actually had some raised stitching. What’s odd is that the number looks like the old jersey material — shouldn‘t it look more like this?
First and foremost, thanks to Mike for representing Uni Watch at the event — much appreciated. As for the full uniforms, I still don’t like the new logo (that p is just a disaster), but the whites are clearly better than the reds, and the full treatment (name/number, breezers, socks) is better than the jersey by itself. I’m still not wowed, but it would be fair to say that if my initial assessment was, say, a solid C, I’d now upgrade that to a B-minus.
As you may be aware, several other teams unveiled (or leaked) new uniforms over the weekend, including the Blue Jackets, Hawks, and Kings (and, depending on whether you trust images of dubious origin, maybe the Islanders and Hurricanes too). I’ll have more to say about these in a few days on ESPN.
Meanwhile, this was also a good weekend for MLB throwbacks, and Uni Watch was in the house again — sometimes in more ways than one. Let’s start with Saturday’s Dodgers/Rays game in Tampa, where L.A. dressed as the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers (a team that included current Devil Rays coach Don Zimmer) and the Rays became the old St. Petersburg Saints (complete with a totally cool flamingo sleeve patch). The big news here, which I didn’t even realize myself until yesterday, is that both teams’ uniforms were designed by Uni Watch’s own Scott M.X. Turner, who worked on the job for Ebbets Field Flannels. And as you can see in this shot they were indeed flannels, not just old graphics sewn onto polyester double-knits.
Designing the Dodgers’ duds wasn’t too hard (it’s not like there’s a shortage of old photos), but Scott says the St. Petersburg uniforms were trickier, because all he had to work with was a few photos from old newspaper clippings provided by the Rays (additional views here and here). “This is what companies like Ebbets Field, Mitchell & Ness, and AIS often have to dig through to recreate historic uniforms,” he says. “Sometimes we get crisp images or, rarely, actual garments. This wasn’t one of those times. In the end, though, I just did the designs. It was Jerry [Cohen, Ebbets Field's owner/prexy] who single-handedly made the physical production happen, which was very, very hard, with hassles from all ends — MLB, the clubs, the various vendors, the shippers, customs, the whole thing.”
I hope to discuss all of this in an interview with Cohen in the near future, but for now we’ll make due with a note from Cohen that Scott passed along: “We pretty much made sure the teams would have to have stirrups (didn’t give ‘em a choice). Also, we know perfectly well that the Dodgers didn’t wear ‘Brooklyn’ in ‘55, but they wanted specifically to celebrate Brooklyn, so we did it that way.”
As it happens, reader Tim Burke was in the stands and snapped a lot of good pics, which you can see here.
A Uni Watch reader was also in attendance for Friday night’s Padres/Bosox game, which featured 1980s attire for both teams. As was well documented in the weekend comments sections, the Padres’ uni numbers weren’t quite right and the lettering Boston’s jersey insignia was too thin, among other problems, but whatever — we can still enjoy Tim Stoops’s slide show of the evening’s events.
Another thing that came up in the weekend comments: the question of how “BOSTON” should have broken across the Red Sox jersey plackets. Should it have been BOS TON or BO STON? This turns out to be something of a variable element in Bosox history, and reader Jere has just whipped up a treatise on the topic for his blog — recommended reading.
Finally, the Brewers and Royals wore Negro League unis on Friday night, and holy shit did they look awesome (additional pics here, here, here, and here). No Uni Watch readers were in attendance, at least not that I’m aware of, although Nicole Haase did provide a bunch of screen shots that provide better views of what the Royals were wearing. And if there’s one thing we learned, it’s that players can look equally lame-o in any era.
Membership Update: I mailed out about 60 membership kits on Saturday (would’ve been a few more except I botched a couple while trimming and laminating, so those will have to be redone), and Scott is busily working on the next batch. We hope to be caught up, or close to it, by the end of this week.
We now have 175 members, 143 of whose cards have been designed, and I don’t mind saying that I think it all looks pretty damn cool. Plus the card design process has taught me a lot about team colors, numeral typography, and so on, so it’s been, as Homer Simpson might say, an edumacational project, and those are always the best kind. Thanks again to all who’ve signed up.
Meanwhile I regret to report that laminating a Cheerio isn’t nearly as good an idea as I thought it would be.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Ever notice that after Bobby Richardson caught the last out of the 1962 World Series, he didn’t have his cap on? Some ace detective work by New York Times Yankees beat writer (and Uni Watch devotee) Tyler Kepner has turned up the bizarre explanation: The second base umpire asked if he could have Richardson’s cap just moments before Stretch McCovey hit the line drive that would end the Series, so Richardson gave it to him (look closely at the photo and you can see the ump carrying the cap). Full details here. … History was made Friday night in Seattle, as reliever Ryan Rowland-Smith — the first-ever MLBer with a hyphenated name — made his big league debut (with thanks to birthday boy Jeremy Brahm, who attended the game). … Always good to hear from Uni Watch baking consultant Elena Elms (she of the stirrup-frosted cookies), who writes: “The Raleigh News and Observer ran a small item in which Robert Woodard (6′2″ RHP, UNC-CH) explains why he wears high cuffs. I’ve seen most of his home starts in his four years here and never saw him wear them that way until about a month ago. The pale blue stockings give quite an colonial appearance to his uni, I think.” … Bob Weston reports that Cubs reliever Bobby Howry has “Phil. 4:13″ inscribed on his undervisor. … Hahahahahahahaha. … Cycling note from Michael Rich, who reports that Fabian Cancellara of Team CSC wore his No. 13s upside-down during the Tour de Suisse, as a way of avoiding any 13-related bad karma. … Garrett Hipple reports that Oregon State pinch-runner Braden Wells had a Virginia Tech logo decal (presumably another memorial in response to the shootings) on the back of his helmet in last night’s CWS game. … This is almost too good to be true. … Couple uni-related entries in this Q&A blog entry by Curtis Granderson (good spot by intern Vince Grzegorek).
June 25th, 2007
New ESPN column today — here’s the link.
Meanwhile: Last night I worked a volunteer shift at the very wonderful City Reliquary, where the gift shop featured a book I hadn’t noticed before: Mark Rucker’s Brooklyn Dodgers, a pictorial history of my home borough’s most storied franchise. After flipping through the pages for a few minutes, it became apparent that this was a mandatory purchase. Here are some of the reasons why:
• This shot, taken in 1868, shows something I haven’t seen before: Look closely and you’ll see that the players are wearing little cuff clips on their trousers, much like what urban cyclists sometimes wear.
• Check out the neckties on display in this 1884 team portrait. And this page shows contrasting neckwear styles.
• Somehow the lace-up jersey style always looks better on guys with bushy moustaches, no?
• Wanna learn something amazing? Read the caption to this illustration.
• Excellent view here of the old style of wearing your fielding glove on your belt while batting.
• I would give anything for this sleeve style to come back into vogue.
• Here’s the best view I’ve ever seen of the Dodgers’ 1916 tattersall plaid design from 1916.
• Think this sleeve logo is big? How about two of them!
• Here’s the earliest photo I’ve ever seen of a player wearing a windbreaker under his jersey (or maybe just the earliest windbreaker photo I’ve ever seen, period).
• Spectacular view here of the white slacks that umps wore on Sundays and holidays in the early 1940s.
And as long as we’re talking about historical stuff: You know how old fruit crates used to have really amazing labels? Roger Faso has turned up an artist named Ben Sakoguchi, who creates baseball-themed paintings in the style of those old fruit designs. Check out Sakoguchi’s full web site here.
Membership Update: Big day yesterday, as we topped 100 memberships — check out the ever-expanding active roster here. My thanks again (and again and again) to all who’ve signed up. If you’ve been thinking about getting on board, full details are available here.
Regarding benefits: T-shirts for those who’ve signed up at Level Two or above have been ordered and should start arriving right about now. Membership cards, fridge magnets, and digital art CDs will begin shipping this weekend. By this time next week, I hope to be completely caught up on everything. Thanks again (and again and again) for your patience.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Wednesday’s note regarding the Diamonbacks’ uniform schedule led to this communiqué from a source with the Astros: “Now, the ’Stros are wearing the brick red jerseys almost exclusively on the road as opposed to the gray. The road brick red is the only Cool Base we have and the owner likes the red. There has been a trend as we get down the stretch in previous years that we would wear them for certain games that did not fit the usual alternate jersey schedule. Red was usually only worn on Sunday. However, last road trip the owner asked for red on the road. BUT, we played the DBs and they had wore their red jerseys on Sunday… making us switch to gray for one game. Luckily we don’t change helmets or caps or pants.” … Good catch by Willet Hossfeld, who notes that Tyler Clippard appears to have removed the button from the top of his cap. … My two cents regarding the disastrous London Olympics logo: It reminds me of this. … The minor league Elmira Jackals have unveiled new home and road unis (much to the disgust of Bryan Long, who quips, “How boring are these things?”). … Reprinted from Wednesday’s comments: Randy Moss was asked about his temporary practice jersey number (6) and had this to say: “Sometimes you can be able to go back and get your number and sometimes you can’t. They really told me 6 was the available number that they have back in the equipment room, so I said, ‘Just give me a number and I’ll make it.’ I guess there is a little buzz around right now with me and number 6. I don’t really care about a number, all I care about is suiting up and going out here and winning on Sundays.†His official roster/jersey number is still to be determined. … Meanwhile, Todd Krevanchi notes that Moss has been getting rather creative with his gloves. … Latest Japanese baseball weirdness contributed by Jeremy Brahm: Hichori Morimoto in stilts. … Good view here of Rafael Nadal’s personalized sneakers (as spotted by Brinke Guthrie). … Good little comedy video here, showing what the NHL’s “super-sleek” third jerseys might look like (nice find by Jeremy Brahm). … Follow-up to Vince’s tattoo entry yesterday: Ryan Howard has a huge brand on his arm. Full details here (with thanks to Michael Milici). … Very nice early uniform catalog (extremely similar to one that I already have, so I won’t be bidding on it) here, and some great vintage unis and accessories up for auction here, here, here, and here. … Meanwhile, here’s a vintage print ad and a uniform company uniform print ad that I bought. … All NASCAR cars will feature a memorial decal for Bill France this week (with thanks to Adam Denobriga). … Steve Robeson reports that the Caps are having a fire sale of old merch. … Photo of the day (courtesy of Jon Klevorn). … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: The Orioles will wear Negro Leagues uniform on September 6th. Details here. … Yancy Yeater reports that the Washington Wild Things of the Frontier League will be wearing 1979 Cubs-inspired throwbacks tomorrow night. … It’s really small and hard to see, but it looks like Santa Clara had some killer basketball unis back in 1911 (taken from this article, which was forwarded by Tim Sheehan). … Today’s installment of the always-entertaining No Mas blog featured this shot of the first Hagler/Antuofermo, and you know damn well what part of the photo I immediately fixated on.
June 8th, 2007
For last Thursday’s entry about team captains, I put a photo of Captain Kirk at the top of the page. It now occurs to me that the original Star Trek series, which I watched a lot of as a kid (insert all the usual geek clichés here), had a very formative effect on my uni-watching predilections, because I was pretty obsessed with how the various characters’ Starfleet ranks were indicated by the gold braid on their sleeve cuffs (sort of like this). A quick recap:
• Kirk was a captain, so he had two solid braids with a dotted braid in between. Occasionally they dressed him in that green tunic-y thing (I believe because William Shatner had put on too much weight to look good in the standard uniform top), and it always bugged me that the tunic sometimes had the standard sleeve braids and at other times mimicked the sleeve braiding on the shoulders with the sleeves left blank.
• Commanders, like Spock, wore two solid gold braids.
• Lieutenant commanders, like Scottie, had one solid braid and one dotted.
• Lieutenants, like Sulu and Uhura, had one solid gold braid.
• Ensigns, like Chekov, had plain, unadorned sleeves, which always struck me as a bit of a gyp. Like, shouldn’t they get a single dotted braid or something?
• The occasional appearance of a Commodore, like Stocker or Decker, was marked by two gold braids with some sort of metallic foil in between.
There’s more, like all the different badges and such, but I never got into that stuff as much — then, as now, I was always more interested in the sleeve stripes. (Those who really wanna dork out on this stuff should look here, and there’s a doozy of a PDF file here.)
Much later, in the early 1990s — several years before I came up with the idea for Uni Watch — I got into the great 1960s TV series The Prisoner, and I noticed an ongoing discrepancy in the white piping on Patrick McGoohan’s signature black jacket. Sometimes the piping ran straight through the notch between the lapel and the collar (as seen here, here, here, and here), but at other times there was a small break in the piping (here, here, here, and here). Sometimes these two styles appeared within the same episode — or even the same scene. Bizarre. The people who produce The Simpsons must have noticed too, because they used both styles in this frame.
Obviously, it’s completely shocking that I was watching all this non-sports programming, but think of this as Uni Watch in its embryonic stages. I assure you that I was obsessing about stirrups and sleeve lengths and all the usual minutiae the whole time anyway.
Meanwhile, in actual sports news…: I’m trying to put the finishing touches on the roster of players who’ve worn particular uni numbers for particular reasons. As you’ll recall, I’m trying to get at least one example for each number from 0 through 99 — a tall order, it turns out. Here’s what I’m missing: 35, 48, 54, 59, 61, 63, 64, 67, 78, 82, and 86. (Update: Thanks to a slew of extremely helpful readers, all I’m missing now is 64 and 78.)
If you know of a player who’s worn any of these numbers for a specific reason, please get in touch as soon as possible.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Really interesting article here about Little Leaguers wearing Negro Leagues uniforms. … More swag at the White House. … The Capitals will unveil their new uniforms on June 22nd. … Confused by the Mets’ ever-shifting color protocols? You’re not the only one (with thanks to Jesse Spector).
April 24th, 2007
Personally, I loved yesterday’s 42-athon. In a sports world that’s become way too scripted and predictable, it was a kick to see scenes like this, this, and this. And even though I knew it was coming, it was still kinda startling to see 42 being worn by, say, Joe Torre or Derek Jeter. I even enjoyed the inevitable discrepancies between jerseys and other equipment (bonus points to the Devil Rays staff for their attention to detail).
A few specific observations:
• I liked how several teams used larger uni numbers than usual for No. 42, to make up for the lack of the player’s name. Teams that didn’t do this ended up with 42s that looked just a bit small (although in in at least one case maybe it was just a case of the numerals being overwhelmed by the size of the player).
• MLB equipment mangers are clearly out of practice when it comes to positioning uni numbers on a nameless jersey, because several players’ 42s were either a bit too high or a bit too low. One team that got it just right was the A’s.
• Those little helmet decals looked like total shit, and were the day’s one major misstep.
• Nice to see that several players went the extra mile by going high-cuffed. All the more disappointing, then, that Junior Griffey, who got this whole ball rolling in the first place, didn’t get the memo.
• Mike Cameron went a step further: high-cuffed pants and no batting gloves.
• Check out what MLB.com did for the roster pages of the all-42 teams — very cool.
• I’d been wondering if any of the umpires would get into the act, and one of them did: C.B. Bucknor. (In case you’re wondering, the first black umpire was Emmett Ashford in 1966, but umps didn’t yet have uniform numbers in those days.)
• The celebration extended beyond the world of baseball, incidentally: Check out what Jerry Stackhouse, had written on his sneakers yesterday. Stackhouse already wears No. 42, but I’m not sure if that’s a coincidence or if he chose that number as a Jackie tribute. Anyone know?
Ready to do it all over again next year? Actually, you won’t even have to wait that long, because the Indians are planning something similar later this season for Larry Doby.
Raffle Results: The winner of the David Wright BP jersey is Adam McCracken. Congrats to him, and thanks to all who entered. More raffles to follow soon.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Nifty little item available on eBay here. … Nationals pitcher Jesus Colome appears to be setting a new standard for uni bagginess. … “Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, traveling in Japan, was playing baseball the other day with students from Ritsumei University’s baseball team,” writes Jeremy Brahm. “He’s wearing a batting glove on his throwing hand, without the strap velcroed on. Someone needs to train the man if baseball is going to be successful in China.” According to this article, he wore uniform No. 35, to represent the number of years that China and Japan have had bilateral relations. … Interesting to see that the Yankees’ black armband in memory of Cory Lidle is even being worn by the team trainer. … Lots of chatter here about the Bears’ uniform combos (with thanks to David Bonetto). … Reprinted from Friday’s comments: Dodgers owner Frank McCourt has an interesting lining for his suit. … The Sharks have added a “WAS” memorial helmet decal for recently deceased goaltending coach Warren Arthur Strelow. Unfortunately, the best photo I’ve been able to find is this one — the little logo to the left of the “29″ on the helmet is the memorial sticker. … “I heard on the radio that UCF was dropping the ‘Golden’ from their nickname in favor of simply ‘UCF Knights.’ The radio report stated that the change takes effect June 14 with the here. … “I spent this evening at Lou Malnati’s, a local and very popular Chicago-style deep dish pizza joint,” writes Craig Glass. “They have display cases of memorabilia, and on my way out, my eye caught a gray baseball jersey sitting there that I did not recognize. Upon further inspection, about a quarter of the logo was missing but the outlining stitching was still visible. I looked closer and saw a clear lettering of ‘STL,’ with an ‘H’ across the whole thing. Moreover, the display included baseball cards that said ‘St. Louis AMER,’ which I suppose meant American League. Upon googling for more info at home, I discovered the existence of the Harrisburg-St. Louis Stars of the Negro Leagues in 1943, which explains the H. But then why are the baseball cards picturing white ballplayers?” Anyone know more about this? … Sean Dickie notes that Jose Calderon’s wristband doesn’t match his uni number. … How come the wax figure of David Wright at Madam Tussaud’s doesn’t have a uni number? … You probably know that Jackie Robinson played in the Negro Leagues before joining the Dodgers. But I hadn’t noticed until now that his KC Monarchs uniform included his uni number on the pants. … The Pirates are going to retire Paul Waner’s number. … As several readers noted over the weekend, the Pirates’ red vest and Ronny Paulino’s chest protector make for an unfortunate combination. … Reprinted from Saturday’s comments: An Iowa high school is considering a ditch the black policy. … Eric Duhs notes that Morgan Ensberg was wearing sunglasses during a night game on Friday. … The Steelers have unveiled a 75th-season logo, which will presumably become a jersey patch. … We’ve all seen plenty of cold-weather maneuvers over the past two weeks, but Michael Kissane notes that Andruw Jones went a step further yesterday, wearing a batting glove on his throwing hand. … Jeremy Brahm reports that the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team will wear pink jerseys on Mother’s Day weekend. … More from Jeremy: “Sevilla FC of Spain’s Primera Liga has had some funky fonts on their uniforms this year.” … Really interesting story here about a guy who makes custom umpires’ equipment (with thanks to Bill Gornall).
April 16th, 2007
We all know about the Negro Leagues. But what you might not know about — or at least I didn’t until reader Jordan Woodson recently brought it to my attention, although it wouldn’t surprise me to hear that everyone else was already clued in — is the Black Fives, a term that loosely and collectively refers to early all-black basketball teams between 1900 and 1940.
We don’t think too much about how basketball was segregated in those days, in part because even white basketball leagues were pretty ragtag and small-time back then (and maybe in part, let’s be honest, because the game is so overwhelmingly black today), but now a company called Black Fives is documenting and celebrating — which means, of course, merchandising — the history of this overlooked chapter in sports history.
And man, they’ve got some awesome logos and uni designs to work with. It makes for some really nice merch, much of which the company has produced in partnership with Nike. I love the two-tone design here, the classicism here, and the simplicity here and here (”IPC” stood for — get this — Independent Pleasure Club, a team that wore some killer accessories). They’ve got some nice long-sleevers and jackets, too. They even appear to have made a T-shirt just for me.
The only thing I don’t get: the line of “retro” footwear that Nike created to go along with the apparel. I mean, what exactly is retro about this? Okay, I can see they tried a little harder here, but you don’t have to hate the swoosh as much as I do to say that it just doesn’t work for a collection that’s supposed to evoke the 1920s. Kinda feels like they were doing all the shirts and jackets and just said, “Let’s do a sneaker line too, because we can.” An unfortunate lurch onto the wrong side of the “Is it good or is it stupid?” divide.
While writing this entry yesterday, I sent a note to Uni Watch design director Scott M.X. Turner, who I figured would know a lot more about Black Fives than I did. And sure enough, just before I went to bed last night, he sent this:
Black Fives was formed by Claude Johnson, an African-American entrepreneur during the hip-hop-loves-throwbacks rage a few years ago. He researched a lot of predominantly black colleges and black semi-pro basketball teams, then put out jerseys, fashion coats, and caps. That’s the good part. The bad part is that the jerseys, although all based on teams from before World War II, were all made of modern synthetics and sized like all the other maternity-dress jerseys that rappers like to wear.
I always liked what he tried to do — expose people to the history of pre-WWII black basketball. But I thought his clothing sucked. It always pains me to see history highjacked for fashion profits. I know the argument — if we can interest kids in their history by spoon-feeding them clothing, that’s a positive step. The Negro League Museum in Kansas City is more than happy to license crud, and I mean CRUD, with all sorts of made-up logos, jerseys, jackets, and caps. It’s pretty Faustian, if you ask me.
Also, kind of condescending. It assumes that authentic, fairly priced, historical apparel is beyond the intellectual and cultural grasp of black consumers who might be interested in black sports history that goes back further than Michael Jordan.
Hence, on the one hand, Black Fives is an interesting and positive thing. On the other, it’s just the latest cynical manipulation of history for profit.
Now, keep in mind that Scott actually works in the throwback uniform industry. This means his opinions are pretty authoritative, but it also means his standards may be a bit tougher than everyone else’s. Personally, I’m really disappointed to hear that Black Fives uses synthetic fabric, and I did notice that the size availability runs heavily toward the XXXL end of the spectrum, but I almost never buy throwback apparel anyway, so none of that is a make-or-break issue for me. For now, I’m happy to have learned a bit more about a historical juncture that I hadn’t known much about.
Uni Watch News Ticker: An inside source reports that this will be the Bengals’ 40th-anniversary logo (which, among other things, indicates that teams still can’t grasp the difference between a 40th anniversary and 40th season — but then that’s nothing new for this particular team). … This book looks worthwhile (as spotted by Eric Stangel). … Third paragraph of this page confirms that the Washginton Capitals will definitely be switching to red, white, and blue next season. … Reprinted from Monday’s comments: The annual spring training story about the utility guy with a shitload of gloves. … P.J. Mallardi notes that Tennessee’s men and women are both wearing VOLScholar patches (awarded to players who achieved a 3.0 GPA the previous semester). … Jeremy Brahm appears to have found a photo of the world’s longest bat. … Also from Jeremy: Lots of interesting tidbits from the Japanese Invitational High School Tournament, including low-rider sock stripes, pink socks, a very messed-up uni number (Update: See today’s comment #21 for lots more info on this), a catcher who’s somehow keeping his mask in his back pocket, serious brim foldage, and a macron (that’s the overbar above the O). The trickiest one for me is this one — love the stripes, hate the color scheme. … Fascinating article here about Joe Rogers, a college hockey goalie who wears a special catching mitt because the fingers on his right hand didn’t grow properly. … And then there’s the other end of that spectrum. … Wise guy. … Ria Cortesio, a female ump who works in the minors, will work tomorrow’s Cubs/Dbacks game (making her the first woman to ump a spring training game since Pam Postema). According to this article, Cortesio originally wore No. 5, because she was professional baseball’s fifth female ump, but more recently she’s worn No. 15.
March 28th, 2007
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