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Posts filed under 'Player Names/Nameplates'
Got a note the other day from Brian Schulz:
Is it just me, or does the whole thing about giving someone a framed jersey just seem pretty ridiculous? I thought about it when you recently wrote about Gordie Howe getting the No. 17 jersey from the Wings. Now, I had my jersey retired from my high school and I thought that was a pretty cool deal, because I never had an old jersey of mine from back in the days. However, these pro guys must have jerseys and mementos piled up all over the place. Do they really need another jersey framed for them?
It’s a fair point, but I think these framed jerseys are at least as much for the fans as they are for the honoree. It’s all part of the spectacle. I bet some honorees — not all, or even most, but some — just trash the framed jerseys afterward, or give them away, because their trophy rooms are already stocked to the gills.
All of which brings us, in a roundabout way, to the case of one Joe Hilseberg. By now, most of you are probably familiar with Joe, who’s been an invaluable Uni Watch contributor for years now. And unlike most of us, he’s walked the walk: He used to work in the shop that does lettering and stitching for the Orioles and Ravens, and he later used that work experience to create some unique groomsmen’s vests for his wedding.
Anyway: In late March, Joe asked for my mailing address. He didn’t elaborate, I didn’t ask him for details, and I’d forgotten all about it by this past Monday, when a package arrived. I opened it and was surprised to find this.
Pretty nice, right? It’s fairly big (about 18 inches square), and the stitching is really nice. And unlike Gordie Howe, I don’t have a big trophy room filled with treasures from my legendary career, so I was genuinely stoked to get my framed “jersey.”
There was no note inside, no card, nothing like that. What had I done to deserve such a swell present? I quickly dashed off a thank-you note to Joe. Here’s what he wrote back:
You have just received the prototype Name Frame! This is my new business/product that I’m working on right now. I’m working on doing all of the legal stuff so I can start selling them. I searched far and wide and saw that nobody offered this product — very cool, authentically done, custom-stitched jersey art.
And that leads back to you. It has been the joy of your site that made me determined to figure out a way to get back to doing something I love. Talking about jerseys, lettering, and tackle twill all of the time has really fueled my desire to make this happen. Initially I had hoped to open my own custom-lettering shop (which may be possible down the road), but that market has already been tapped. I needed something different, something fun, something people would want. Then I got my Uni Watch membership card, and that’s when it hit me: Make a full-sized framed version!
I’m targeting high schools and universities that might want to give these as an award or unique keepsake. Or maybe parents who wants one for their letter-winning child. Legally, I can’t recreate all the MLB styles, but if this takes off I don’t think it’s going to be a hard sell to MLB to start licensing these. What kid wouldn’t want one of their favorite player? And then it’s on to the NFL, NHL, NBA… It could be huge.
NameFrame.net is up right now, but it’s in the VERY early stages of development. I plan on eventually having an interactive designer application and all that jazz.
So in short, thank you for keeping my mind on jerseys, lettering, and all of the intricacies that make athletics aesthetics so enjoyable for me!
Wow — thank you, Joe, for the kind words. Glad to have provided the inspiration for your new venture.
Incidentally, those who frequent the comments section may be aware that Joe usually weighs in on the side of nameplates, instead of direct-sewn lettering. So how come my Name Frame NOB is direct-sewn?
“Honest answer: They’re a bitch to find,” says Joe. “And if I cut them myself out of material, I have to pay $10 a plate to have the edges serged. Oh, plus I knew you don’t like them. But if someone wants one, I’ll do it!”
As if that weren’t enough, two other readers sent me uni-related treasures this week. First, remember the Mets pin-up girl that Rob Ullman created for me? He just sent me the actual artwork, all signed and everything.
The kicker came on Wednesday, when I went out for a bike ride and came back to find that the UPS guy had left me a package from Mitchell & Ness historian Jared Wheeler. I opened it up, and whoa — 11 pairs of striped stirrups, including two gorgeous woolen models (plus several of them featured a really cool label design). These were a gift from Jared and M&N prexy Peter Caporino, who recently told me how he’d compiled a big backlog of stirrups back when he was outfitting the models for Sports Illustrated’s all-time all-star team photo.
Seriously, am I a lucky fella or what? Big thanks to all these people who’ve showered me with uni-related goodness — you’re all aces.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Good assortment of Oregon jerseys, including a few prototypes, here (with thanks to that Joe Hilseberg guy). … Soccer question from Claude Reifsnyder, who writes: “In Wednesday’s Champions League match between Liverpool and Arsenal, Liverpool wore a black jersey. As I’m sure you know, all EPL teams are supposed to use the standard league font, so how did they get away with the adidas-stye font on the back of their jerseys?” … Awesome find by Jeremy Gooch, who came up with an old college photo of Jerry Rice wearing vertical sleeve stripes. … Further info on San Diego’s third base coach’s box at the very bottom of this page (with thanks to Brian Hilemon). … “Nothing makes a woman feel more petite than posing for a photo next to Boog Powell,” writes Elena Elms — unless it’s posing with the Nationals’ mascots. … What company’s logo is that? … Okay, it’s official: This whole Lego thing has gotten out of hand. Disturbing details here (blame John Latham). … Looks like the Magic will have new uniforms next season. … Did those Phillies throwbacks look totally hot or what? Lots of photos here. … Yet another Nationals player with an upside-down “I”: Paul Lo Duca (spotted, once again, by eagle-eyed Michael Zakrzewski). … Karl Anderson attended last night’s Wild/Flames game and, like all fans in attendance, received a fan-appreciation patch identical to the one that the Wild wore last night. … Let’s just be glad that Cecil Fielder never tried what Prince did yesterday. … Incidentally, you see Alfonso Soriano in that last photo? I don’t know who’s paying him to wear those eye-black stickers, but I have a feeling he’s gonna get a note from the league office pretty soon about them. … Not sure how much stock to put in this, but the rumor mills says that Iowa State’s new basketball uniforms will look like this. … The WNBA’s Atlanta Dream (yes, that’s what they’re called) just unveiled their new uni, which is about as boring as all the other WNBA unis. Details here (with thanks to David Kendrick). … Some great equipment switcheroos last night in Atlanta, as Justine DeCotis explains: “The Braves had Chris Resop, a RHP, on the mound and a left-handed batter, Adam LaRoche, was coming up for the Pirates. So, they went to the bullpen and got a Royce Ring, a LHP. But instead of taking out Resop, they took out the left fielder, Matt Diaz, and put Resop in left field. So Ring pitched to LaRoche and then they took him out and brought Resop back from left field to the mound and put Gregor Blanco into left. Resop pitched the rest of the inning. When Resop went to left, he took Diaz’s glove to wear and Diaz took Resop’s glove to the dugout. And then when Blanco came in to play the outfield he took Resop’s pitcher’s glove back out and gave it back to him.” As LI Phil is already beginning to post in a comment, the Mets did something similar during an extra-inning game around 1985ish, when they shuttled LHP Jesse Orosco and RHP Roger McDowell back and forth between the mound and the outfield depending on who was batting. … Cap question from Sean Deitrick, who writes: “What’s the deal with the Texas Rangers’ blue cap with the red “T,” which the team lists as its official road cap? I’ve e-mailed some of the beat writers for the team but haven’t gotten a response. The even appears is most video games produced since its original inception [and is also still listed as the road cap in the MLB Style Guide — PL], but it’s never used in road games and I don’t think it’s appeared in a game since Esteban Loaiza was traded. … The Mets plan to unveil “a new Shea logo” (it’s not clear if this means a new Shea Stadium logo, or a William Shea logo) at next Tuesday’s home opener. It will be displayed alongside the team’s retired numbers. Details here. … Good all-purpose hockey goalie site here (with thanks to Thomas Harris). … Jack del Rio and his suit will be around for a long time. … More about that controversial new swimsuit here. … You rarely hear about tampered boxing gloves anymore, but here’s a brutal reminder. … The New York-Penn League wants your help in designing a new logo (with thanks to Matt Nelson). But before you enter, see today’s comment #22.
April 4th, 2008
New ESPN column today — here’s the link.
Meanwhile: Everyone loves to hear about unusual NOBs, like Andy Messersmith’s “Channel” or Elvin Hayes’s “E” (complete with history’s biggest quote marks). Photos, however, aren’t always so easy to come by. I’ve read (and written) abut Jim Grant’s “Mudcat” jersey, for example, but I’ve never actually seen it. Same goes for Ken Harrelson’s “Hawk,” Dick Allen’s “Wampum,” and most of the oddities worn by the 1976 Braves (Jimmy Wynn’s “Cannon,” Ralph Garr’s “Roadrunner,” Jerry Royster’s “Rooster,” and several more).
One of the most storied of these examples is the case of Giants infielder Johnnie LeMaster, who in 1979 was getting booed so vociferously by the Candlestick fans that he wore “Boo” on the back of his jersey for one game. The crowd supposedly laughed when they saw it — and then booed again. Or least that’s the story I’d always heard, but there were never any photos. This page, for example, notes that LeMaster “showed some gallows humor for the Giants, once stitching the word ‘Boo’ on the back of his jersey,” but the photo doesn’t show the NOB (and isn’t even from the right season).
Then, a few days ago, Ethan Rowley sent me this — paydirt! It remains a mystery how fans could boo anyone with such picture-perfect stirrups, but the universe can be inscrutable like that sometimes. Another mystery: How did LeMaster get the equipment manager to go along with this little scheme?
Ethan found the photo, incidentally, in a book — specifically, this book, which as you can see is available almost for free at Amazon.
Danger, Will Robinson!: Be forewarned: The link I’m about to give you is so addictive, and has so much great stuff, it will probably shoot your entire day to hell. It’s for photographer Steve Dewing’s site, and it’s a friggin’ mother lode of MLB pics from the 1960s and ’70s. This period, of course, straddled the changeover from flannels to double-knits, so on the one hand you’ve got fuzzy jerseys and classic stirrups (often striped!), and on the other hand you’ve also got lots of fodder for the “What were they thinking?” file. I’m particularly fond of this shot — not just a haloed helmet, but dig those color-blocked stirrups. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a good photo of them.
As you can see, the image quality is sensational, the colors are super-saturated, and most of the pics are ones I’ve never seen before. I’m tellin’ ya, people, this site is like crack — once you enter, kiss the rest of your day buh-bye. Check it out here, if you dare, but don’t blame me if you end up swimming in a puddle of your own drool. (Feel free, however, to blame Don Sherman, who brought the site to my attention.)
Uni Watch News Ticker: Tragedy, tragedy. … Beau Stahnke attended the Giants/Packers playoff game two Sundays ago and has finally thawed out enough to send along some photos. Among the highlights: Korey Hall with a big chip off of his helmet; Vernand Morency with maybe a few too many handwarmers in his pocket; Koren Robinson looking macho stupid with his socks down; and the Pack’s cheerleading squad. … Dan Richardson has contributed what I believe is our first-ever Ticker item about lacrosse throwbacks. The team in question is the New Westminster Sr Salmonbellies — North America’s oldest established lacrosse club, going back to 1889 — who play in the Western Lacrosse Association in British Columbia. They’ve taken the team’s 1950s uni (also seen here) and used it as the basis for a throwback design, as seen here. Lots of additional pics in this photo gallery. … Last week I ran a Ticker item linking to this photo. Will Shepard informs me that this is actually part of a series of manipulated brand-centric images by the artist Hank Willis Thomas. They’re part of Thomas’s “B®anded” series, which you can access on his site. And if you think I don’t like Nike, wait until you see his stuff. … Here’s something I’ve never seen before: Billy Bucks with his uni number inscribed on his sunglasses (good find by Greg Riffenburgh). … Did you know Jackie Robinson also played basketball? Full details here. … What’s he smoking, and where can I get some?
January 31st, 2008
For most of my life, I feel like color schemes have pretty much made sense. There are color combos I really like, like green/gold/maroon, and ones that I don’t like, like most pastel combinations. But whether I like them or not, I feel like most of the combinations I’ve seen over the past four decades have made a certain kind of intuitive sense.
Lately, though, I’ve been seeing color schemes that I simply don’t understand. Foremost among these is pale blue and brown, which I now see practically everywhere. Doesn’t work for me at all, but it’s obviously working for someone, because it’s becoming unavoidable.
I also don’t get the Seahawks’ combination of steel blue and neon snot. The latter hue makes no sense — it doesn’t match up with or complement, um, anything. It just sticks out out like a sort whatsis. And I say that as a guy who’s a lifelong fan of green.
So it was pretty horrifying to see lots of the Seahawks wearing green-trimmed footwear on Saturday. I mean, really, is this any way for an NFL player to look? Or this? The term “offensive line” has never been more literally accurate. Looks like some of the players even wore green shoelaces (as if Matt H.’s green-trimmed muff weren’t bad enough). Seriously, is there anyone who doesn’t think this looks way better?
Even worse, the fans seem to be embracing the radioactive jade shade. Fortunately, the ’Hawks will be playing in Green Bay next weekend, so we should see fans with a greater sense of decorum.
In other NFL news from the weekend:
• Matt Hasselbeck broke a thigh pad in the third quarter, which led to third-stringer Charlie Frye pulling down his pants and removing one of his own pads to give to Hasselbeck. Details in the middle of this page (with thanks to Nick Collecchi).
• I’ve written several times about the Giants’ curved nameplates, which match up with one of the rear jersey seams. But Mike Slesinski has spotted something new: Amani Toomer appeared to be wearing a completely different tailoring template yesterday, which (among other things) had the effect of pushing his nameplate much lower. Mike also thinks Toomer’s front tailoring pattern is new, and that his red triangle patch at the base of the collar is wider, although I’m not sure about either of those claims. Joe Skiba, fill us in!
• Did you see that new Mac commercial with the football referee? He’s clearly supposed to be an NFL ref, since he goes under the hood for a video review, but he’s not wearing NFL zebra stripes or NFL socks. More egregiously, his pants are cuffed WAY too low — lame. (Thanks to Randy Williams, John Okray, Chad Todd, and Phil Hecken for the screen grabs.)
Uni Watch News Ticker: The Portland Lumberjax are taking their name rather literally (with thanks to Travis Demers). … Mr. Horse Collar is changing uni numbers next season (with thanks to Patrick Nance). … Good catch by Jon McKay who noticed two officials wearing white hats during the Independence Bowl (apparently the umpire lost his black cap). … Friday’s entry about players wearing earplugs led to this from Andy Head: “Freddy Garcia, then pitching for the Mariners, pitched with earplugs in for much of the 2003 season because he had suffered perforated eardrums from flying on numerous team flights with a cold the previous season.” … Bit of a pad controversy for Rick Dipietro. … Bruce Menard sent along this awesome old St. Louis Cardinals team portrait. Dig those double-breasted jackets! … Check out the bizarre pants Washington State wore in the 1994 Alamo Bowl (additional pics here, courtesy of Jon V. Buerstatte). … At the 2:28 mark of this video clip, you’ll see something rare: Randy Moss with an “R. Moss” nameplate, which he apparently wore for one game in 2000 (good find by Nick Noyes). … You expect to see plenty of logo creep in a game called the Under Armour All-Star Game, but this is still a bit much (with thanks to Brandon Pratt). … Fun bit here about Les Miles’s hat (as forwarded by Minna H.). … The other day I asked if anyone knew the story behind Fresno State’s three different-colored merit decals. Anthony Johnson found the answer here). … Interesting FNOB find by Roy Ellingsen, who writes: “I’ve just returned to Norway after a quick visit to the Czech Republic. There, I saw that Sparta Prague’s leading points scorer, Petr Ton, wears ‘Ton Petr,’ as you can just about see here, right below the number. It’s common to use family name before given names in Eastern Europe. Petr Nedved, for example, wears ‘Nedved P.’” … Speaking of FNOB, Erik Little was watching some old Rams footage and spotted Ron Brown with the rare double-decker FNOB (road jersey too, but poor image quality). He also spotted this guy. “Not sure who that is,” he writes. “The only Rams LB with #59 that I can confirm is Bob Brudzinski. Not really a good shot, but the surname seems lowered to allow for a first name (à la Ron Brown’s jersey).” Can anyone shed more light on this one? … Stripe-o-rama yesterday, as Stoke City faced Newcastle in Round 3 of the FA Cup (with thanks to Morris Levin). … “Damaso Marte, who plays for the Pittsburgh Pirates, is playing in the Dominican Winter League for the Tigres del Licey,” writes Jean Oliva. “He’s wearing No. 143, since his regular number (43) is retired by the team.” … Speaking of uni numbers, scroll down to the middle of this page for a history lesson in Cubs uni number protocol (good find by Jeremy Brahm). … “I was at the Bruins game on Sunday afternoon and noticed something I’d never seen before,” writes Jeffrey Israel. “People were getting their jerseys personalized as they waited in the middle of the Garden concourse.” … I had planned to bid on that Packers dickey, but the price got way out of hand — dang.
January 7th, 2008
New ESPN column now up. This is the one about uni-related memorials — big thanks to all who contributed info.
Meanwhile: Got a great note the other day from reader Kenn Tomasch, who’d gotten a bunch of interesting screen grabs while watching a replay of the 1969 Rose Bowl. Here’s his report:
The officials didn’t wear uniform numbers or their position abbreviations. Instead, they had big “Rose Bowl” patches — I don’t believe I’ve ever seen that before or since. Also, the head linesman and line judge wore armbands, like NHL referees — the line judge’s were green (you can see them in that last photo) and the linesman’s were red.
Ohio State fullback Jim Otis’s jersey had sleeve stripes and NOB while his teammates did not. The announcers mentioned that Ohio State had elected to go with the “mesh” (tearaway) jerseys “because of the warm weather,” so Otis must have decided not to wear the flimsy mesh jersey. Also interesting that OSU had names on the backs of their jerseys for the 1968 season, when even NFL teams didn’t yet (although AFL teams did, obviously).
How flimsy were OSU’s mesh jerseys? This flimsy [also note the player wearing the padded helmet, à la Willie Lanier — PL]. When Ray Gillian’s jersey tore in the fourth quarter, and he was sent off to get a new one. The torn one came right off, revealing how little padding college players wore in 1969.
Awesome stuff. I’m especially intrigued by the officials’ armbands and the Lanier-style helmet. If anyone know more about either of these, please speak up.
Uni Watch News Ticker: As promised, here’s a full-size photo of Moose Johnston wearing a Packers helmet in the 1994 Pro Bowl after his Cowboys helmet was stolen. Thing is, it doesn’t really look that weird, because the Pro Bowl is such a crazy quilt of helmets anyway. … Scott Turner came up with some interesting baseball cards while doing some historical research: “First, I never knew that the Swingin’ A’s wore gold pants with their gold jersey. Second, Bernie Carbo was clearly told ‘Don’t worry, we’ll crop above the waist.’ And note the cartoon on the back of Pedro Borbon’s card. My, how times have changed.” … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Good article here on UGA’s helmet decals. … This game-used Roger Pavlik cap has the best underbrim inscription ever (great find by Jason Taylor). … We’ve all seen teams that wear the school name on the back. But Zevi Lowenberg notes that Northeastern simply wears a big “N” (bigger/better photos welcome, if anyone’s got ’em). … Great video clip here of Ryan Zimmerman catching a ball in his jersey. … Hmmm, life imitates art?
January 3rd, 2008
Got a note the other day from reader Mike Engle, who tipped me wise to an eBay item that, if legit, would definitely add a new chapter to the MLB database (or at least to my database — maybe everyone else knows about this already).
As you can see in the eBay listing, what we have here is supposedly a game-used Tim Wallach jersey with an “Expos” nameplate. According to the seller, “What is very unique about the jersey is [that] the Expos nameplate on the back is covering the name Fuentes, so instead of giving the rookies a new jersey, they just covered up the name with Expos.” Although he didn’t spell it out fully, what he appears to be saying is that this was done for September call-ups.
I’d never heard of this practice before, and I was rather skeptical, especially since there are tons of bogus “game-worn” jerseys floating around out there. So I checked with Bill Henderson, author of the awesome MLB Game Worn Jerseys of the Double Knit Era (which everyone reading this really ought to own), to see if he had any insights. His response:
I’ve seen jerseys like this before, like this one. I don’t have a for-sure explanation, but someone once told me that when NOB jerseys were sent to the minors where they didn’t use NOB, this was used as an alternative to either pulling the nameplate off the back (lots of work) or covering it with a blank nameplate.
Hmmmm, interesting. The minor league explanation would only make sense if the farm team had the same name as the big league club. And as it turns out, yes, Montreal’s Rookie League and low-A affiliates were indeed called the Expos back then, so it’s possible that this was a repurposed minor league jersey. But the idea of Wallach having worn the jersey in an MLB is much sexier. In lieu of any hard proof either way, let’s look at some evidence on each side of the question, beginning with factors that argue in favor of this having been an MLB jersey:
• Tim Wallach did indeed have a cup of coffee with the Expos toward the end of the 1980 season, appearing in five games.
• Although Wallach wore No. 29 for the rest of his career, he wore 58 during that brief 1980 stint with the ’Spos.
• The raglan sleeves match the Expos’ jersey style from 1980. So does the tagging.
• The eBay seller has 100% positive feedback, based on over 2000 transactions.
On the other hand:
• The Expos’ NOBs were radially arched back in 1980. So even if they did use “Expos” as a cover-up nameplate, it seems odd that the lettering would be vertically arched.
• Although you can see the name “Fuentes” underneath the team nameplate, the Expos didn’t have anyone on their roster named Fuentes in 1980 (or for the two seasons immediately before and after).
• I’m still having a hard time accepting that any MLB team would have done this.
If anyone knows more about this, I’m all ears.
Uni Watch Injury Report: Thanks to everyone who sent me kind wishes regarding yesterday’s waterboarding oral surgery. I was pretty worried when I got to the doctor’s office and found him wearing — I shit you not — a purple-striped dress shirt. Fortunately, he changed to green scrubs a few minutes after that.
Anyway: I’m told that the procedure was a success (or at least that’s the preliminary assessment — I have to go back for a follow-up visit next week), and the post-op discomfort has been pretty manageable so far. Basically, my mouth feels like it’s in a sling, but not in a cast. In sports parlance, I’d say my status is “day-to-day.”
Worst part, at least for now, is that I can only eat oatmeal, pudding, yogurt, and similar squishibles. (Note to intern Nina Dubin: If you’ve got a few minutes, please head over here to Uni Watch HQ, and on the way pick up some steaks, chops, and a blender. Thanks.)
Uni Watch News Ticker: Shame on me for not remembering that the person shown in this photo (from yesterday’s Boston party report) was none other than Mario Fontana, aka the guy responsible for the great Little Fenway report about six weeks back. Sorry for the brain-lock, Mario. … Friendly reminder: Today and tomorrow are the last days for getting the 15% discount at Victory Pennants. Just enter the code “uniwatch001″ at checkout. … The Texans will be wearing solid red tonight, which promises to be a design debacle for the ages. … Yesterday’s link to the Yankees design error in MLB 08 for Playstation 3 didn’t work, so here it is again. … Throwback jerseys are big holiday sellers in Pittsburgh (with thanks to Tom Konecny). … Bill Guerin’s four-stripe shoulder patch, representing the Isles’ four Stanley Cup championships, has been missing lately. Details here (with thanks to Peter Sowinski). … The Astros acquired pitcher Ryan Houston today. As several readers have pointed out, he will become the only current MLBer to wear his surname on the front and back of his jersey (at least when the ’Stros are on the road). Last player I can recall doing this was Curtis Pride, who played with the triple-A Nashua Pride a few years back. … Jere Smith has put together a great blog entry about the Massachusetts bicentennial patch the Red Sox wore in the mid-’70s. Check it out here. … The Brewers designated Matt Wise for assignment on Wednesday. But as this page explains, “Wise’s fate became obvious on Monday, when the Brewers introduced Gagne at Miller Park in a No. 38 jersey that still technically belonged to Wise” (excellent find by Dan Cichalski). … Cork Gaines has spotted Rays skipper Joe Moaddon (whose continued employment remains a deep mystery, but that’s another matter) wearing what appears to an alternate cap. Upon close inspection of the brim, this looks like a BP or fashion cap to me, but we’ll see. … File this one right next to the titanium necklace stories (along with the Tooth Fairy, the Great Pumpkin, etc.). … Did you know that there’s a number-retirement controversy lurking in Red Wings history? I didn’t, until Steve Moeller forwarded me this excellent story. Highly recommended reading. … Four NHL players are secretly wearing those heated skate blades that we first discussed back in October. Behind-the-scenes factoid: Over the past month or so, I’ve arranged on two occasions to test-drive the blades myself for an ESPN video shoot, but in each case the manufacturer has fucked up at the last minute, forcing us to cancel. Hope their product is better than their publicity department.
Tomorrow: A bunch of new Uni Watch raffle items, just in time for Christmas.
December 13th, 2007
Okay, it’s official: The Bears have a serious problem with their helmet decals. It’s been brewing for a couple of seasons now, as the occasional player has shown up with a broken wishbone-C logo on his noggin. But last night it was practically a pandemic, as Alex Brown, Olin Kreutz, and Adrian Peterson all sported headwear malfunctions.
Giants equipment czar Joe Skiba has mentioned to me that helmet decals get more brittle in cold weather. But the NFL has been playing winter games for decades, and I don’t ever recall seeing a rash of decal destruction like the one currently being exhibited by da Bears. Decal guru Chris Willis, if you’re reading this (and I know you are), any idea what’s going on here?
Speaking of helmet decals, both teams were still wearing the “21″ memorial decal for Sean Taylor. No surprise that the ’Skins would continue to wear it for the rest of the season (they’re still wearing their “21″ jersey patch, too), but I raised an eyebrow upon seeing the Bears wearing it, since NFL deaths don’t usually get the league-wide memorial treatment for more than one week. In fact, none of the league’s three off-season deaths (Darrent Williams, Damien Nash, and Marquise Hill) resulted in league-wide remembrances. The last player to get memorialized by all 32 teams was, I believe, Pat Tillman in 2004, and that was only for one week.
Two other notes from this game:
• Mike Engle notes that Todd Collins was sporting double sock stripes.
• And Todd Davis points out that Mike Sellers appears to be the latest convert to the Schutt Ion helmet (here’s another view).
(Special thanks to John Okray for the screen grabs.)
Uni Watch News Ticker: Giants equipment director Joe Skiba cryptically advises us that we keep an eye on Plaxico Burress’s nose bumper this Sunday. … Speaking of Skiba, he’s been featured in a series of video reports on the Giants’ web site. You can see the latest one, which is about tailoring footwear for specific field conditions, is available on the team’s home page. … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Twin City Knitting is marketing a set of team-logo stirrups. Very nice, although I’d prefer to see a higher foot opening. … The Royals’ powder blue alt jersey doesn’t look as bad with the white pants as I had expected. Certainly no worse than any other solid-over-white MLB combo (although that isn’t saying much). … Speaking of the Royals, Steve Johnston reports that Alex Gordon is switching uniform numbers, going from 7 to 4. … Here’s something you don’t often see: Kari Lehtonen wearing a practice jersey that he had already autographed (with thanks to Jeff McRae). … Coupla excellent NOB finds by Jere Smith: First, check out Rudy Tomjanovich wearing “Rudy T.” And if you go to the 1:18 mark of this video clip, you’ll see several views of Elvin Hayes wearing “E” (complete with the world’s biggest quote marks), as seen here and here. … Great Uni Watch party last night in Boston — big crowd, really great people, and a reporter from the Globe was there to cover the event. Only problem is that I kept getting distracted by a TV screen that was featuring the Bruins/Habs game, which was a serious thing of uni beauty. Full party details coming next week. … It has come to my attention that communiqués sent to me via the “Contact” link at the top of the page haven’t been getting through lately. So if you want to get in touch, just e-mail me directly.
December 7th, 2007
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
Big uni-related story in the NFL yesterday was the range of Sean Taylor memorials. Here’s a quick rundown:
• The Redskins wore a “21″ jersey patch. The Redskins’ coaching staff and owner wore it, too.
• In addition, Clinton Portis wore a Taylor tribute T-shirt under his jersey (here’s another view).
• John Eubanks wore a Taylor do-rag. At first I thought this was one of the towels that fans were given, but now I think it was actually the sleeve from a Taylor jersey.
• All teams wore a “21″ helmet decal. This led to some pretty crowded rear-helmet groupings, especially for the Broncos (who already had their dual memorial for Darrent Williams and Damien Nash) and Browns (who added that “BW” decal this week in memory of Hall of Famer Bill Willis — not to be confused with the “BW” decal for Bill Walsh that the 49ers have been wearing all year).
• I was hoping we’d see some facemask stripes, like Taylor sometimes wore. Didn’t happen, but Antonio Pierce of the Giants did something similar: He taped Taylor’s uniform number onto his mask. This was the only personalized tribute to Taylor that I spotted. (Special thanks to Ryan Perkins for the screen grab.)
Meanwhile, in non-Taylor developments:
• Tommie Harris had “Psalms 91″ (which also happens to be his uniform number) written on his Breathe Right strip.
• The Jets took the unusual step of wearing their Titans throwbacks on the road in Miami.
• Joseph Addai was showing some serious skin in the 2nd quarter.
• No photo yet, but I saw for myself that Dallas Clark’s American flag decal was still missing — a particularly egregious omission when you consider that the equipment staff had to add the Sean Taylor decal to his helmet, so you’d think they would’ve noticed the missing flag. Bryan, whose wife went to high school with Clark, is still working on getting the full story on this one.
• Also no photo, but several readers reported that Braylon Edwards was wearing white shoes and going bare-calved, NCAA-style, early in the Browns/Cards game. Then he added brown socks but still had white shoes. He eventually switched to black shoes like the rest of the Browns.
Uni Watch Calendar Update: Several meet/greet opportunities coming up over the next week. Here’s the deal:
• December 6th: Marc Spears of the Boston Globe and I will be fielding questions from students in a media seminar class this Thursday at Boston University. I’ll be convening a Uni Watch party at 8:30 that evening at Boston Beer Works, which is right across from Fenway Park. Meanwhile, if anyone wants to attend the seminar class, which begins at 6:30, the professor has graciously agreed to accommodate a few extra people. If you’re interested, get in touch and I’ll let you know where to go.
• December 10th: The completely wonderful City Reliquary, of which I am a proud card-carrying member, will be holding its annual benefit gala at the Automotive High School Auditorium, and I’m one of the two featured speakers this year. I’ll be doing a Power Point presentation about Brooklyn Dodgers uniform history, but the real attraction is the other speaker: Lawrence Weschler, author of Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder and Boggs. The evening will also feature a short documentary film, a live samba band, and — if you shell out a lot of extra $$$ — dinner at Bamonte’s, one of Brooklyn’s oldest and most storied red-sauce Italian restaurants. Full details here.
• Sometime in January: I’m going to be one of four presenters at the inaugural edition of a new speaking series called “Adult Education,” which is being curated by my longtime pal Carrie McLaren (editrix of the excellent consumer-culture magazine Stay Free), who describes the series as “sort of grownup show-and-tell,” complete with visual aids. The theme of this first installment will be “Micro-Genres”: Carrie, who’s mildly obsessed with chimps, will be talking about people who’ve tried to raise chimps as part of the family; longtime Uni Watch pal Liz Clayton will talk about painfully obvious fast-food restaurant conversions (she has an entire site devoted to this phenomenon); Jim Hanas will talk about “meta tourism” (i.e., photos of tourists taking photos); and I’ll be talking about the strange world of trade magazines (Elevator World, Hay and Forage Grower, American Funeral Director, Demolition, and so on, each of which is as obsessively subject-specific as Uni Watch is). The exact date is still TBA, but it’s definitely going to be on a Tuesday in January, and the venue will be Union Hall, which is conveniently located around the corner from Uni Watch HQ. Further details on this one as they become available.
Membership News: I’m happy to announce that we’ve now gone over 500 enrollees. But I can’t announce who the 500th member is because that was a gift membership and the gift-giver has asked that I keep the order secret until Christmas.
Speaking of which, remember, this Wednesday is the deadline for ordering a discounted gift membership for the holidays.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Lots of pics here from the upcoming hoops movie Semi-Pro (with thanks to Mike Nachreiner). … Bizarre uniform sighting here (courtesy of Eric Trager). … Looking for new and creative ways to lace up your cleats or sneakers? Look here (with thanks to Mike Blinn). … Roman numeral alert: Charlie Coley III of Charlotte (with thanks to intern emeritus Vince Grzegorek). … “Once upon a time, Marquette had a football team,” writes proud Badger State booster Nicole Haase. “Here’s a pretty cool collection of 1940s program covers.” … “Check out the difference in the helmet stripe thickness for the two players in green, who play for Mentor Lake Catholic High in Ohio,” writes Tim Snyder. “I figure it’s some kind of merit award, but they also use more conventional merit decals.” Anyone know more about this? … Paul Bridge reports that Utah Valley University, which will have D-1A status by 2009, has some new logos. Details here. … Very odd NOB typography being for Jonathan Zebina of Juventus (and, presumably for the rest of their players): The “Z” and the “E” look like a “2″ and a backwards “3.” It’s apparently so fraught with confusion that the “E” ended up being applied backwards for Saturday’s game against AC Milan (all this courtesy of Jeremy Brahm). … Mizzou’s Stryker Sulak had some sleeve patch problems on Saturday (with thanks to James Wortham for the screen grab). … Nice little recap of Lakers uniform history here (as forwarded by Matthew Wolfram). … Ryan Perkins notes that R.W. McQuarters of the Giants had some helmet decal issues yesterday. … Several readers noted that Wabash wore some ill-advised pants in Saturday’s D-III quarterfinal game. … Georgia will wear black in the Sugar Bowl. … Speaking of black, Texas A&M’s hoops team wore their black alts yesterday. … “The Barbarians, an invitation-only rugby club that plays a handful of matches per year, took on the newly-crowned world champions South Africa,” writes Eric Bangeman. In addition to wearing classic black-and-white uniforms, the Barbarians ask each player to wear the socks from his home club, which makes for some interesting hosiery contrasts.”
December 3rd, 2007
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