As you’ve probably noticed via the ad just to the left of this text, our friends at Grey Flannel Auctions are running their annual Basketball Hall of Fame induction auction. I always look forward to this sale because, as I’ve been pointing out lately, basketball is by far the worst-documented of the major . . . → Read More: Auction Action]]>

As you’ve probably noticed via the ad just to the left of this text, our friends at Grey Flannel Auctions are running their annual Basketball Hall of Fame induction auction. I always look forward to this sale because, as I’ve been pointing out lately, basketball is by far the worst-documented of the major team sports, so any large grouping of NBA historical artifacts or photos is likely to have more surprises and revelations than a comparable batch of, say, MLB or NFL material. That’s certainly the case with this latest Grey Flannel sale, which is loaded with interesting items. Let’s take a look:

• Not sure what I like best about this jersey: the number font or the team name “Peoria Caterpillars.” Here’s the full auction listing.

• How sweet would it be to own this old Spirits of St. Louis jersey? (Full listing.)

• Coupla unusual things about the NOB on this mid-’70s Pacers jersey: It’s straight, and it’s on a nameplate (full listing).

• If only we could still have logos like the old Dallas Chaparrals mascot. One of my all-time faves (full listing).

• Look at the crazy lettering the Eastern Conference used for the 1977 All-Star Game. Interesting patch on the shorts, too (full listing).

• Love the heavily block-shadowed typography on this late-’40s Warriors jersey (full listing).

• Here’s another Warriors jersey, this time from the late 1950s, with a really fascinating design. Never seen that horizontal stripe before, and the gold outlining on the type is an interesting touch (full listing).

• There’s something endearingly simple about the NBA patch on this 1960s referee’s jersey. Interesting white border on the hem too, although that would’ve been tucked in, natch (full listing).

• Here’s the greatest hoops jersey ever, in all its chain-stitched glory. Holy moly, look at that texture! (Full listing.)

• Speaking of texture, this old Syracuse Nats jersey is begging to be touched (full listing, including one of history’s most awkward-looking hoops photos).

• I’m not too proud to admit that I have exactly zero memory of the Nuggets wearing this design in 1976-77. Nameplated NOB, too (full listing).

• It doesn’t get much cooler than Elvin Hayes and his one-letter nickNOB (full listing).

• Gee, ya think the Pistons’ late-’60s uni numbers were big enough? (Full listing.)

• Hey, who knew the Hawks used that Pirates-style font back in the mid-1960s? Not me (full listing).

• We all know how awful the Raptors’ early uniforms were. But I’d forgotten about their ridiculous NOB style (full listing).

• Man, nothing says 1970s like this Sixers font (full listing).

Want to see more from this auction? Look here.

A stiff belt: Yesterday’s ESPN column prompted a note from A’s equipment manager Steve Vucinich, who told me something I didn’t know about the team’s 1970s pants. Those look beltless, right? But Steve says no: “We, and a few other teams, continued to wear belts. The belt would slide into the striped waistband, which by the way was NOT elastic — just looked like it might be. The waistband would completely cover the belt. I believe we didn’t go beltless until Wilson began making our unis in ’82. I will have to confirm this by checking my special historic closet when we return from this road trip.”

Looking back, I feel like I’ve heard this before — not about the A’s per se, but about seemingly beltless pants actually having hidden belts. In any case, the pants certainly lacked visible belts, so it’s sort of the same thing, at least from a visual standpoint. Plenty interesting nonetheless.

Collector’s Corner, by Brinke Guthrie

Lot of great finds as we wind up the month here at Collector’s Corner. Let’s take a look:

• Ouch, $400 for a 1961 Detroit Tigers bobble. Cute little guy, though.

• Staying with the same period, here’s a 1960 “Washington DC Souvenir Baseball Catcher” — with blinking Vari-Vue eyes!

• Here’s a great-looking 1950s Montreal Canadiens “antique felt” patch.

• Huge set of 1984 MLB “Fun Food Buttons,” right here.

• Maybe it’s just me, but that doesn’t look like a dolphin on this Dolphins pennant. [It's a dolphin fish, rather than the mammal. -- PL]

• Here’s a really nice 1960s Buffalo Bills bank.

• The Indians were doormats during the 1970s, so why not a set of 1970s Indians placemats?

• And for PL, ’til we meet again, here’s a 1965 Ed Kranepool heat transfer and — wait for it — a purple Mets jersey.

If Paul wasn’t already planning to take a vacation from the blog next month, that last item would probably have sent him in that direction. I’ll have one Collector’s Corner column per week while he’s gone, instead of the usual two.

Seen something on eBay that you think would make good Collector’s Corner fodder? Send your submissions here.

FWHA! Update: New material over here. If you hear Wayne, y’know, being Wayne, feel free to let me know the details.

There is danger in the summer moon above: As most of you know by now, I’ll be taking the next month off from the site. Phil will handle weekdays, webmaster John Ekdahl will take care of the weekends, and you’ll all live happily ever after (or until September 1st, when I’ll reclaim the manager’s office from Phil). Although I’m taking a break from the site, I’ll still have at least two ESPN columns during August, and Phil will let you know when they’re up.

Speaking of ESPN, my annual college football season-preview column will be running on September 1st or 2nd. So if you spot new college gridiron uniforms being unveiled over the next few weeks, please let me know at this address. Thanks.

Try not to overwhelm Phil with too many Ticker submissions. Also, wish him luck in this weekend’s Clothesline Art Sale, where he’ll have several photographs for sale. Knock ’em dead on Saturday, buddy, and thanks a million for keeping the shop open in August — you’re the best.

Got a package in the mail yesterday from A’s equipment manager Steve Vucinich. Inside was the nameplate you see above, which clocks in at 16 letters — that’s two letters longer than Salty (and, as you can see, a few inches longer than Tucker).

The player in question was Eric Stuckenschneider, a Dodgers . . . → Read More: Sweet 16]]>

Got a package in the mail yesterday from A’s equipment manager Steve Vucinich. Inside was the nameplate you see above, which clocks in at 16 letters — that’s two letters longer than Salty (and, as you can see, a few inches longer than Tucker).

The player in question was Eric Stuckenschneider, a Dodgers prospect who was later claimed by the A’s in the Rule 5 draft. That nameplate is from a jersey that Steve lettered up for him during spring training of 1999, but Stuckenschneider hurt his shoulder that spring, was later farmed out, and never made the bigs. So why did Steve hold onto the nameplate for over a decade? “Because it was so unusual and I thought it might have some historical value someday,” he says. Which of course is precisely why I’ll now be holding onto it.

This isn’t the first time Stucky and I have crossed paths. He’s mentioned in this 2006 ESPN column, and the Ticker of this 2007 blog entry featured a link to this photo, although I didn’t remember either of those instances and only stumbled across them when I googled Stuckenschneider’s name.

New ESPN column today — look here. As for me, I’m off to Shea to catch this afternoon’s Mets/Cards game. See you tomorrow. — Paul

And they didn’t even hire me as a consultant: Did you know they’re shooting a movie of Moneyball? It’s true — with Brad Pitt as Billy Beane and Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Art Howe. Major mis-casting there, since Howe obviously should’ve been played by Gavin McLeod, but whatever.

Anyway, a reader who prefers to remain anonymous (read: He signed a non-disclosure agreement) is working as an extra on the film and recently wrapped up an all-night shoot at the Oakland Coliseum. The scenes that were being filmed took place during the final game of the Athletics’ 20-game winning streak in 2002. Did the filmmakers get the uni details right? Here’s our anonymous reader’s report:

I watched every game I could during the 2002 season, and I have to say that the wardrobe and research departments for this film absolutely nailed it. Gray underbills on the caps, the logos on the bases, the ads on the outfield wall, Eric Byrnes’s yellow shoelaces and impossibly tight pants, the Royals’ sleeveless jerseys with sleeve patches, the backwards American flags on the warmup jackets — even the out-of-town scoreboards were updated for each shot.

The only real error I noticed was that the bullpen ballboy had a cap with a black underbill (as well as sneakers that weren’t released until 2006 or 2007). He wasn’t wearing a helmet, though, so points for that.

The actor playing Mark Ellis was wearing low pants cuffs, and I have a suspicion that Ellis switched from wearing high cuffs to low cuffs after the 2002 season, but I haven’t found any solid proof yet. I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt, though, because every other player wore their uniforms exactly as I remember. [Some quick photo research indicates that Ellis began the 2002 season high-cuffed but switched to low-cuffery midway through the season. -- PL]

Unfortunately, they didn’t film any A’s players at bat, so I didn’t get to see if they got my favorite detail: The A on their batting helmets is a unique variant of the logo, and replica helmet manufacturers consistently use the A that appears on their caps instead. [We've discussed this many times here on the site. Steve Vucinich has tried to make all the headwear logos consistent since the issue was brought to his attention. -- PL]

Based on what I’ve seen, the people involved in the film have done their homework, so hopefully we’ll be able to enjoy a historical sports film without any glaring mistakes.

Membership Update: The latest batch of membership kits will mail out this morning (including Robbie Pesek’s Philly Eagles treatment, shown at right). As always, you can see all the designs we’ve created in the membership card gallery and get in on the membership scene yourself by signing up here.

Uni Watch News Ticker: Here are more shots of the new Pac 10 logo patches, although that logo apparently won’t be used for long, because the conference will be changing its name next year. … Appalachian State has a Pro Combat altnernate that they’ll be wearing against North Carolina Central. … Andy Chalifour notes that switch-hitter Jed Lowrie has been going double-flapped since recently returning to the Bosox. “In the past, he was always a two-helmet guy,” says Andy. … Giants equipment czar Joe Skiba has hooked up Keith Bullock with a new custom facemask. … I spotted a guy walking around Brooklyn in this amusing T-shirt the other day. … Remember last year’s ESPN column about Bruce Richards, the LSU fan who tailors his tailgating menu to LSU’s opposition? He can’t wait for Maryland to show up on LSU’s schedule now that a friend sent him this turtle-ish tailgating concept. … We all know the Browns deviated from their usual uni design in 1984, when they worn this design. But what I didn’t know — or if I did know, I’d forgotten — was that they began the preseason wearing orange uni numbers outlined in white on the home jersey, instead of the other way around. That photo, turned up by Jerry Wolper, is from 8/5/84. “As I understand it, the Browns were going to wear that jersey for the whole 1984 season, but fans couldn’t make out the numbers from the upper deck, so they scurried to change them,” says Tim Brulia. … Photo gallery of new Bundesliga 10/11 kits at the bottom of this page (with thanks to Patrick Runge). … Cool DIY project by Michael Candelmo, who made this Bob Sheppard memorial tee for himself. … Gabe Greenbaum notes that Rick Ankiel has been wearing gray cleats, at least on the road. … Robert Marshall‘s latest ingenious project: this T-shirt, which I believe he will soon be making available for purchase on Zazzle once he’s satisfied with the design. We definitely need to send one to Bob Brenley, who coined the use of “squatchee” to begin with. … Brian Wilson was fined $1000 for wearing his orange all-star cleats the other night. … SI is running another slideshow of NFL photos from one specific season. This time it’s 1975. Among the highlights: Charlie Sanders wearing high-tops and Bud Grant in purple slacks with a white belt (oof). The full gallery is here. … Hey look, Nike is doing something that doesn’t suck. … Michael Korczynski was trying to tell me something about Boomer Esiason’s cleats in this photo, but I’m more interested in the little Bengals wordmark on his socks. … The UFL unveiled a bunch of new uniforms yesterday. Phil will have in-depth coverage of this next week. … Warning: If you start clicking through the spectacular gallery of Depression-era color photographs, your productive day will be over. But it’ll be worth it — jaw-droppingly good stuff (major, major thanks to Matt Dubroff). … Uni number news for Auburn football (with thanks to Jeff Hunter). … Latest NFL team to add an advertising patch to their practice jerseys: the Packers (as reported by Jeff Ash). … Chad Bengal had fun on Twitter yesterday, showing off his four helmets, three pairs of gloves, and three pairs of cleats. … Mets reliever Raul Valdes got a rare at-bat last night and apparently wore Mike Pelfrey’s batting gloves for the occasion (screen shot courtesy of Cory Lewis). … If you scroll down a little bit on this page, you’ll see a 1910 Popular Mechanics item about football shoulder pads (wonderful find by Larry Cauley). … A SABR member who simply goes by “K.B.” sent out the following post on the SABR listserv yesterday: “I’ve been researching Marlin ‘Mott’ Stuart, who played in the majors from 1949-1954. Something I found particularly interesting about him was that in the last game of his first season in the minors, he pitched barefoot for the Mayfield Browns of the Kitty League. It was the way he had pitched as a semi-pro, saying it felt ‘natural.’” Interesting. Would that even be legal if someone tried it today? And if Brian Wilson wanted to do it, would he spray-paint his feet orange? … I don’t watch Entourage, but apparently the storyline lately has involved trying to bring an NFL team to L.A., and they’ve been using the old NFL logo (screen shots courtesy of Brandon Schwartz). … Check this out: German soccer players, circa 1986, wearing red leggings! Bernd Wilms says the Germans often did this in cold weather back in the ’80s.

Vacation Reminder: Tomorrow will be my last day on the site until September 1st. For the month of August, you’ll be in Phil’s capable hands on the weekdays, and webmaster John Ekdahl will be handling the weekends. Ticker contributions will be forwarded to Phil, but I’ll still be on the lookout for new college football unveilings. If any of those hit your radar screen, you can alert me at this address. Thanks.

When it comes to invasive species, things like kudzu and the Asian carp have nothing on the baseball cap, which has expanded far, far beyond its natural habitat. I could riff on all the ways in which the baseball cap has been culturally ubiquitous around the globe, but I already did that in . . . → Read More: In Which the Casual Friday-ization of the Entire Freakin’ World Reaches Its Logical Conclusion]]>

When it comes to invasive species, things like kudzu and the Asian carp have nothing on the baseball cap, which has expanded far, far beyond its natural habitat. I could riff on all the ways in which the baseball cap has been culturally ubiquitous around the globe, but I already did that in a live presentation two summers ago, so I’ll just point you toward the text of that speech, which is available in this PDF.

Still, there are certain people, and certain places, that you’d figure would be impervious to the baseball cap’s advance. It is hard to imagine, for example, Queen Elizabeth wearing a baseball cap. Similarly, I think it’s a pretty safe bet that nobody at a Tibetan monastery is wearing a baseball cap.

Or at least that’s what I’ve always thought. Now, however, I’d say all bets are off.

Yikes. As it turns out, this isn’t the first time Benedict has taken us out to the ballgame, although that photo looks like it was just a promotional photo-op — very different than choosing to wear a ballcap for your daily stroll. The crazy thing about this is that the Pope already has special Papal headwear, ranging from simple to elaborate. When you have that stuff in your wardrobe, why would you ever wear a Good Humor cap? Then again, this particular Pope appears to have a fondness for going off the headwear reservation.

In all seriousness: It seems to me that the informal cap (a) clashes with the formality of the Pontiff’s vestments, and (b) is undignified for a man of his stature. But I’m not Catholic, so who am I to say? How about it, all you Catholics out there — what do you think of Benedict eschewing the zucchetto and tiara for the ballcap?

And before you answer that, here’s the worst part: If you scroll down to the second photo in that article you’ll see that the Pope’s cap was an adjusta-strap model! Jeez, what’s a Pope gotta do around here to get his own custom-sized chapeau?

Meanwhile, what do you think the over/under is on New Era calling the Vatican and offering to let the Pope design his own cap? I give it three days.

National interest: Yesterday afternoon I interviewed Rawlings marketing exec Kurt Hunzeker for an ESPN column that will run later this week. He told me something really interesting that probably won’t make it into the column but is worth sharing here. He said, “In talking with a lot of our old-timers here at Rawlings, it seems we did a lot more unusual stuff with National League teams, because the National League was more progressive and more willing to take chances and try something new.”

We all know the leagues had separate administrative offices, separate umpiring crews, and so on, and we all know the N.L. was way ahead of the curve when it came to integrating minority players into the game (esp. Hispanics, where the A.L. lagged behind for years). But I’d never considered how these separate league cultures might play out in terms of uni design. So it makes sense that the Pirates were the first team to go to stretch-knits, pullover jerseys, and beltless pants. This may also explain why most of the more outré designs of the 1970s (Houston’s tequila sunrise, San Diego’s pee-’n'-poo, Atlanta’s feather sleeve, etc.) were worn by N.L. teams.

Uni Watch News Ticker: Giants closer Brian Wilson wore his orange all-star cleats last night, much to the displeasure of Marlins skipper Edwin Rodriguez. The umps apparently said, “Don’t look at us, we don’t enforce shoe-color rules, but didn’t the umps make CC Sabathia change cleats for precisely that reason back in the first game of the season? … Brad Wray spotted a guy wearing this very homemade Heat shirt at last night’s Astros game. … Here’s how the new Pac 10 logo will look as a patch. … Some EPL fans have finally figured out that teams changing their kits every single year is a bit of a scam (with thanks to Amanda Allen). … Lance Armstrong and his RadioShack team may face disciplinary sanctions because of that black jersey stunt the other day (with thanks to Jeremy Brahm). … New court design for the Cavs, and for some reason it doesn’t include Lebron’s face with a circle-slash, although I’m sure that was considered. … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Good video tour of the Redskins’ equipment room. … Striped socks are great, but what if you can’t wear socks? That shot is from the Sitting Volleyball World Championships, which recently took place in Edmond, Oklahoma. To learn more about sitting volleyball, check out this Wikipedia entry and this short video clip (another public service from Jeremy Brahm).

Robert Harvell’s photo archive continues to be a bottomless source of gridiron goodness. Here’s the latest batch from his collection:

• A wordmark on the sleeve is never a good idea.

• Ah, but how about a wordmark on the shoulders? Not sure I’ve ever seen that before.

• Something else I don’t . . . → Read More: The Robert Harvell Files, Vol. 6]]>

Robert Harvell’s photo archive continues to be a bottomless source of gridiron goodness. Here’s the latest batch from his collection:

• A wordmark on the sleeve is never a good idea.

• Ah, but how about a wordmark on the shoulders? Not sure I’ve ever seen that before.

• Something else I don’t think I’ve seen: NOBs rendered in a stencil font.

• Speaking of NOBs, I never liked it when the NFL zebras wore POBs (position on back). Always looked kinda rinky-dink to me.

• And speaking of rinky-dink NOBs, remember when the Chiefs and Raiders used that small-ish font? Did every AFL team do that, or just those two?

• Really interesting to see the red clips on the Snake’s facemask. Here’s another view.

• Man, remember when the Cowboys’ “silver” pants were basically charcoal?

• I have absolutely zero memory of this NBC Sports logo.

• Attention all DIYers: Please feel free to make one of these for me. Here’s another view. Texture, baby!

• I like how the old-school stripes on this jersey were modified to form a letter.

• When I go biking in Prospect Park these days, I see lots of female joggers wearing shorts with some logo — usually of a university — on their ass. Strikes me as somewhat less than classy. Little did I know that this concept had been in use years ago by the Redskins and Niners. (And I guess we could call this a related example. And look at that stirrup at lower right, in Uni Watch colors!)

• Here’s a great view of Wisconsin’s old “W” logo, fore and aft.

• You probably know that Raymond Berry used aviator goggles to fashion crude sunglasses for himself. What you probably don’t know — and I didn’t know it either — is that a U. of Chicago player did something similar years earlier.

• Speaking of goggles, here’s a good view of Joe Washington’s.

• Quick reaction: What do you think the “CB” logo on these shorts stands for? Of the several possible answers, I absolutely would not have chosen this one. Anyone ever seen that logo before?

• Not sure what I like better here: the schedule placard or the coach in high-cuffed pants.

• Man, the Giants’ old helmet uni numbers were huge!

Collector’s Corner, by Brinke Guthrie

Focusing on mugs, cups, and glassware today. They’re great collectors’ items for a couple of reasons: One, they’re functional. And two, a big ol’ mug lasts forever — it won’t wear out or fade like a T-shirt or pennant. Of course, your mom can drop it when she washes it, but that’s another story.

• We’ll start with a KC Royals mug sponsored by A&P. Bonus points if you know about A&P without looking it up.

• I remember this guy. I ragged on him in Dallas and I was only like 12. I called him “Bad Day Biittner.” [I was always fascinated by his surname because of the double-i. -- PL]

• This is supposed to be an Eagles helmet mug, but it looks more like a big green lump.

• Here’s a 1950s Detroit Lions “World Champions” glass. Sounds weird when you say it out loud, doesn’t it?

• For PL, here’s an orange 1960s Mr. Met cup.

• Here’s a classic: an NFL “double-bar facemask” mug from the 1970s!

• Man cannot live by beverage receptacles alone, so let’s turn our attention to this old NFL helmet poster. But what’s the team to the right of the Packers?

• The early-’70′s NFL Chiquita stickers are my eBay Holy Grail. This guy wants $20 for one sticker!

• Here’s a very nice late-’70s/early-’80s NFL pin set.

Seen something on eBay that you think would make good Collector’s Corner fodder? Send your submissions here.

Signal Flare: Hey, Mike Stratford — the package arrived. Thanks so much!

Uni Watch News Ticker: Turns out Jamie Moyer isn’t the only Phillies pitcher who’s wearing the team’s Liberty Bell stirrups. That’s J.C. Romero. Now we just need to get him to hike up his cuffs (good spot by Shawn Sweeney). … Now that the Twins are no longer playing in the Metrodome, the Vikings are painting the place purple (horrifying news from Matt Benz). … Tennessee State football is going back to a white helmet and NOBs (as reported by Jeff Hunter). … Jake Kurtz sent along some shots of the great striped stirrups worn by Storm Lake High School in Iowa. “None of them wear batting gloves, either,” he says. “A real old-school bunch.” … The logo for next year’s NHL All-Star Game has been unveiled. … We’ve seen the Wild’s 10th-anniversary patch before, but I think this is the first time I’ve seen a close-up of it in embroidered form, rather than as a jpeg. … More views of the new Pac-10 logo keep showing up, although the official unveiling won’t be until later today. … Striped socks vs. striped socks! That’s Manchester City and Sporting Clube de Portugal from Friday night. Additional pics here (with thanks to Jen Muller). … “I took this photo at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland,” writes Casey B. “It was at the top of the tram entering the hospital. How awesome is it that the medical department is wearing sweaters with the skull and crossbones?” … Lots of great photos of hockey old-timer Galen Head, mostly from his Johnstown Jets days, here (with thanks to Tim Gerland). … The KBO All-Star Game was last weekend, and Hong Sung-heun of the Lotte Giants entered the game wearing a fake beard — a follow-up to the wig he wore last year (thanks, Jeremy). … Last night provided our first look at the Yankees’ three memorials on their road jersey. … The Concussion Chronicles, continued: A new poster about concussion risks will hang in all NFL locker rooms this season. Further details here. It’s worth noting, by the way, that the author of that article, Alan Schwarz, is almost single-handedly responsible for many of the changes the NFL has made on the head-injury front over the past year. If not for the Pulitzer committee’s longtime bias against sports reporting, Schwarz would be polishing his first Pulitzer now and working on his second one. … While looking for something else, I found a great shot of Frank Robinson’s drop-down NOB with the Reds.

Reminder: I’ll be taking a one-month break from the site after this week. Phil will handle weekday posts in August, and webmaster John Ekdahl will handle the weekends. Ticker contributions will be forwarded to Phil, but I’ll still be on the lookout for new college football unveilings. If any of those hit your radar screen, you can alert me at this address. Thanks.

Bigtime jersey snafu at the start of the final Tour de France stage yesterday, as Lance Armstrong’s RadioShack team planned to wear black jerseys, all with the number 28, as a tribute to the 28 million people living with cancer. But Tour officials were not amused and insisted that the cyclists wear their . . . → Read More: Lance Gets Lanced]]>

Bigtime jersey snafu at the start of the final Tour de France stage yesterday, as Lance Armstrong’s RadioShack team planned to wear black jerseys, all with the number 28, as a tribute to the 28 million people living with cancer. But Tour officials were not amused and insisted that the cyclists wear their regulation red jerseys, which then caused additional problems because the red jerseys didn’t have proper uni numbers.

Jeremy Brahm was watching all this while it happened and posted excerpts from the Tour’s web site in yesterday’s comments. For those of you who missed that, here are those excerpts again:

14:41
UCI Make Ruling on Jerseys:
“The special black jerseys that are being worn by RadioShack will only be used in the neutral zone. The UCI has insisted that the nine riders who are leading the team classification must swap the black jerseys for the traditional red colors otherwise they won’t be allowed to start.”

14:45
Part of the UCI Rules:
“The UCI commissaire has announced that RadioShack MUST (their emphasis) change their jerseys and wear the official race number. If they do not swap their black tops for the red ones, they will not be allowed to start the race. It’s a gesture for a charity but now all riders have to wait for the change over because of this publicity stunt.”

14:52
The Longest Neutral Ride:
“The peloton is sauntering to the site of the official start. The reason for the late start is RadioShack’s antics a publicity stunt was conducted and now the riders have to remove their special-edition black jerseys, remove their race numbers and do a road-side swap with their official jerseys. The riders are now sitting in the gutter doing what the rule book says they should have done all along.”

14:55
Lance Objecting to Regulations:
“Lance Armstrong has his red RadioShack jersey on, but it’s over the black one with ’28′ on the back. He is yet to swap the race numbers and he’s riding along while teammates are changing their ‘dossards’. The start of Lance’s last day of competition is beginning with controversy.”

14:58
Lance to be left behind
“The official start is going to be called while Lance Armstrong is riding without the regulation outfit.”

15:01
Numbers flapping in the wind
“Lance Armstrong’s numbers have been pinned on in such a rush that they’re flapping in the wind like a first-year juvenile rider might start their first race. He is yet to arrive at the site of the official start but he has Popovych alongside for assistance should the peleton decide to start racing.”

Crazy stuff, and a sad ending for Armstrong. But really, he was kinda asking for it with that grandstand play, no? Good cause or no, the whole thing smacked of “I’m Lance, and I’ve made cancer my personal crusade, so I can do whatever the hell I want” entitlement. Good for the Tour officials for putting the kibosh on it.

Meanwhile, one additional cycling note: Team Garmin-Transitions unveiled an unusual skin suit for Saturday’s time trial stage. Good coverage of that is available here.

I’ve been on the road for the past few days and will be traveling back home today, so I won’t be active in the comments or responding much to e-mails. Back in the saddle tomorrow at Uni Watch HQ — see you then.

How many fingers am I holding up?: Very interesting article about NFL helmets and head injuries in yesterday’s New York Times. I recommend reading the entire thing; the sixth-to-last graf is particularly notable.

In a related item, the latest attempt to design a safer, more concussion-resistant football helmet comes from our own Michael Princip, who’s come up with something called the Bulwark American Football Helmet. “I absolutely love the vintage Macgregor E and H helmet models, as well as the lines and forms of rugby helmets,” he says. “So I’ve been tinkering with an idea in which newer technology polymers and urethane rubber are used on the outside of an inner hard shell, similar to how the ProCap was used. However, I do not feel that it has to be as bulky, or ugly — hence, the beautiful lines of those vintage Macgregor helmets for inspiration.”

Michael says this is an ongoing project that he’ll be updating in the weeks and months to come, so stay tuned.

Uni Watch News Ticker: Usain Bolt recent designed his own track outfit for a meet in Paris (with thanks to Cody Dannen). … Remember how people complained that the Cubs’ mid-1990s road jersey looked like it said, “Cuba”? Now Ebbets Field Flannels is selling an old Cuban design that looks very Cubs-inspired (as noted by Douglas Hirschman). … Steven Hom found some shots of Mike Piazza wearing a BP jersey and BP cap that I don’t recall having seen before. The jersey isn’t shown in Bill Henderson’s guide — the closest thing is this, but that has an NOB and no drop shadow, while the one in the Piazza pics has a drop shadow and is NNOB. Can’t say I’ve seen that cap before, either. Hmmmm. … Were you wondering what the USA team handball squad’s uniforms look like? Me neither, but here they are anyway (with thanks to Kenn Tomasch). … Daytona Cubs catcher Michael Brenly played most of last Tuesday night’s game with a hole in his pants (photo by Nick Hanson). … Henrik Zetterberg had people dress rather oddly for his recent wedding (big thanks to Michael A. Gargano). … Everyone’s telling me I’m gonna love Manchester City’s new socks — and they’re right. … New football uniform for Kansas State. “They seem to be reverting back to the old Bill Snyder-era unis, which I love,” says Jack Wilson. “Now if they would only start winning 11 games a year again.” … Jim Bouton’s classic Ball Four includes the following passage: “What baseball players do to each other is punch each other in the groin and say ‘cup check.’ Norm Miller pulled it on me today. Fortunately I was wearing it. When I was in the minors I got caught short a couple of times.” Ballplayers must not do that anymore, because Carl Crawford doesn’t wear a cup. … New Twins call-up Anthony Slama wearing stirrups and a moustache. “Tell me this kid doesn’t look like he should be pitching in the ’70s,” says Luke Kalland. … You know which sports used to have freakin’ huge uni numbers? Rugby and Aussie football (with thanks to Mike Hersh). … New football uniforms for Northern Illinois (with thanks to Erik Hanson). … With his extremely short-sleeved undershirt beneath his sleeveless jersey, Miguel Olivo came close to channeling Big Klu (or maybe just an NFL player) on Friday night (screen shots courtesy of Alex Higley). … The Cardinals are retiring Whitey Herzog’s No. 24. … As Phil noted yesterday, the Astros wore 1986 throwbacks on Saturday. But Doug Keklak points out that they also used tequila sunrise beverage cups for the occasion. … Hmmm, where are the white hoods? (Disturbing find by Nick Spehar.) … Why would someone bring these priceless 45s to the ballpark? (As noted by Tim Burke). … You know how most catchers now wear those little shoulder-flap attachments on their chest protectors? Buster Poset took a foul ball off that pad on Saturday, dislodging the pad and “causing it to sail, frisbee like to the backstop,” reports Sean Robbins. … The new issue of SI shows Miles Austin of the Cowboys on the cover — with holes cut in the toes of his cleats. Toenail problems, or just trying to channel Ed McAffrey? (Good spot by Keith Kimball). … 2011 MLB news from Michael Burnett, who writes: “I was at the Diamondbacks’ season ticketholders meeting, and President Derrick Hall said that sometime next season the Diamondbacks will wear a throwback uni to celebrate the 10th anniversary of winning the World Series.” … All six teams in the Japanese Central League will be wearing throwbacks for two upcoming mid-week series. The designs being showcased include the 1954 Chunichi Dragons, the 1995 Yakult Swallows, the 1989 Hiroshima Carp, and the 1948 Hanshin Tigers (with thanks to, of course, Jeremy Brahm). … The Bills will be wearing their throwbacks in Weeks 4 and 12. … I guess this training method went out of vogue once athletic directors started asking about the big budget line for axes (photo of the day, or maybe the year, from Scott Little). … Georgia Tech players wore gold jerseys for ACC Media Days yesterday, which is odd, since no gold alt was shown when they recently unveiled their new all-white set (with thanks to Clark Ruhland). … If you look at the second item on this page, you’ll see that someone recently hit the Lotto jackpot by picking the uni numbers of his favorite players (with thanks to Anil Adyanthaya). … Portsmouth had to borrow a set of uniforms over the weekend when their kits went missing (as noted by Rob Leavell). … The West Michigan Whitecaps wore Star Wars uniforms the other day. “Alas, the force was not with them — they lost to the Beloit Snappers,” says Dave Murray. … Marshall, which had switched to a green helmet last season, is switching back to white, but with a revised logo decal (as reported by Jake Keys).

By Phil Hecken, with Comrade Robert Marshall

You have been asking about this one for a while, and now it’s here. Time to hear from Comrade Robert Marshall who, amongst all his other Revolutionary Stirrup Party duties, is here to bring us the results from the “Design A Stirrup” contest. To refresh, the . . . → Read More: It’s A Rup-a-licous Day at Uni Watch]]>

By Phil Hecken, with Comrade Robert Marshall

You have been asking about this one for a while, and now it’s here. Time to hear from Comrade Robert Marshall who, amongst all his other Revolutionary Stirrup Party duties, is here to bring us the results from the “Design A Stirrup” contest. To refresh, the contest began about a month and a half ago, and it’s been worth the wait. I’ll now turn the remainder of this post over to Comrade Marshall:

greetings uniwatchers,

That’s all from the desk of the revolution for now,
~comrade 91200

OK…there you have it Uni Watchers. The “Design-A-Stirrup Contest” winner(s). Thanks to all who participated and of course, a huge thanks to Comrade Marshall for his herculean efforts in running this one. I’m sure we’ll be hearing more from Robert during August.

And speaking of contests, the Design A Baseball Jersey Contest is still going on, and the deadline is August 1. I have lots of submissions so far, but it’s not too late to get yours in. See the referenced post for official rules, etc.

Is Benchies just a reflection of the great American tableau? Here’s Ricko:

Everyone’s favorite protestors are at it again, offering diverse views on the compelling issues of the day. Nice to know so many Americans are so aware, so concerned, with things critical to our way of life. Is this a great country or what?

Here’s your full color Sunday Benchies.

Back again with more Uniform Tweaks, Concepts and Revisions today. Lots to get to, and if you have a tweak, change or concept for any sport, send them my way. Still finding the tweaks have slowed to a trickle, so if you have something you’d like to show, give me a shout.

Up first today is Chris Geis (who posts as “Geeman“), with not so much a tweak…but, well…an interesting concept:

I hooked up with Andy Thoele via UniWatch and he made this helmet a couple of years ago (even though we now know it never existed). I was going to buy it from him, but I never heard from him again. No worries, but it’s a cool helmet.

Chris

Next up is Adam Anderson, who has a new look for the Chicago Bulls:

Hi Phil,

The Bulls alt jerseys have just been god-awful since they introduced them back in the 90′s. They almost kind of look like the knock-off, cheap-o, Wal-Mart version of their Home and Away classic versions!

I always loved the ‘Chicago’ script on the old home jerseys, and thought that reincorporating it on the black alts would be perfect. I’m also a big fan of the striping on the Marquette & DePaul unis, as well as the current Cavs alt (it would definitely make LeBron feel at home with his new team…). So why not experiment with my favorites and see what happens!

Here’s the result — looks all right, and at least it’s better than anything the Bulls have come up with in 15 years…

Adam Anderson

In the third spot today is James Estrada, who has a wonderful concept for the Miami hoopsters:

I am proposing a name change to the Miami Heat in light of LeBron and Chris Bosh’s defection there. Couldn’t decide between Miami Cheat or Miami Cheese for the more apt name. Here are the “new” unis…

-James E.

And closing down the show today is Patrick Lange who has three separate tweaks:

With Nebraska moving to the Big Ten I thought it was time for a change for the Badgers.

Maybe if Jay-Z and Prokhorov would have shown LeBron these unis, the King would have chosen to join the Nets.

Finally I have a complete overhaul of the Minnesota Timberwolves, I would like them to readopt the Minneapolis and lose the Timber.

That’s all for today — keep the tweaks coming because I will be running them occasionally during the August weekdays.

Back at the beginning of the 2010 season, I announced the 2010 Uni Tracking that a number of us do. Last year, I devoted about four full weekend columns to it, and that was probably a bit much for most of us to take in one dose, so this year, I’ll occasionally post the updated tracking of certain teams as the trackers send them in. So, if you’ve been doing your due diligence with your team, send me your mid-season tracking reports, and I’ll post them as a “sub article” on the weekends. OK? OK!

Today’s tracker is Mike Vamosi, who has actually appeared before, and he’s a Royals tracker. But he’s updated his spreadsheet now and wanted to show it to us:

Dear Mr. Hecken,

I’ve gone back and redone my Royals uniwatch after seeing another fan set his up in excel they are probably similar to one another but thought I’d still send you the results.

–Mike

That’s all for today. Keep the updates coming — I’ll be sure to run them during the weekdays in August.

And last, but not least, the Houston Astros did another throwback thingy last evening, turning the clock back to 1989 through 1993; according to Mr. Okkonen, they should have been wearing white cleats, but last night they were outfitted in black ones. I didn’t see the game, but from all the photos on the wire, it looked like everyone wore stirrups. Their opponents, the Cincinnati Reds, did not participate in the throwback festivities, wearing their standard road pajamas.

Other than not wearing proper white cleats, the unis were pretty spot on. Of course, even back then, most guys wore their pants a bit longer than last evening. But as far as the uniforms themselves, they did pretty well.

Unfortunately, when guys who don’t normally wear stirrups are forced to do so, they sometimes wear them backwards (high tops don’t exactly help that look). What was surprising, however, is that Roy Oswalt, who has often gone high socked (although not stirruped), also had his on backwards.

Apparently stirrups are much more of a burden to today’s players than we would have imagined. Reader Brad Wray tipped me wise to this Tweet from Hunter Pence, who had this to say about the hosiery: “These stirrups are so uncomfortable. I can’t believe the old schoolers did it every day.”

The Revolution is not deterred. Respect for the proper hosiery is earned, not given.

OK, folks, that’s all for this fine Sunday. This will be my last weekend post until September, as I’ll be pulling an Ed McMahon and sitting in Johnny’s chair (that’d be Paul) and handling the weekdays in August, and John Ekdahl will be sliding into my weekends. Paul, of course, will be taking a much-deserved vacation to recharge his batteries for the upcoming football season.

There will be content (not as lengthy or involved as the weekends) every day, and there will also be tickers, so keep those ticker submissions going to the usual address. If you have any College Football Uniform News, Paul would like you to send that to him (I’m sure he’ll have more on that this coming week, and I’ll remind you guys periodically during August).

Cheers, and I’ll see you the first Monday in August.

These stirrups are so uncomfortable. I can’t believe the old schoolers did it every day. — Hunter Pence

By Phil Hecken

A short while ago, we looked at the first seven American League teams were they to try “monochrome”. A couple of them, maybe, might be worth pursuing, should teams wish to pursue such a sartorial statement.

Shortly after that article appeared, reader Chris Powers sent me a few of . . . → Read More: Monochrome in Baseball, Part IV]]>

By Phil Hecken

A short while ago, we looked at the first seven American League teams were they to try “monochrome”. A couple of them, maybe, might be worth pursuing, should teams wish to pursue such a sartorial statement.

Shortly after that article appeared, reader Chris Powers sent me a few of his own “suggestions” for some monochrome looks. I’ll include those which fall into the second half of the American League below, and those which pertained to the teams from the first half will appear (with short writeups) after this article.

Lets look at the second seven teams:

Minnesota Twins: While not a likely candidate for monochrome (no history of it in their past), they do have (and are wearing with increasing frequency) a blue alternate. Like most teams who have a navy jersey, going full-on mono is a very tricky proposition, since it would require socks (and striped ones at that) and more than likely pants and sleeve striping, plus a two-toned cap in order to break up the “blue.” And since the Twins have no history of striped hosiery, we’d need to “create” some. As far as monochrome-candidacy goes, they’re way down there. Plain socks are too plain, so you’d need to add some kind of sock striping. Meh. Might be a look for a Sunday night game inside the Metrodome, but with most teams playing outdoors, it just doesn’t seem like this look would work for the Twins.

The Verdict: The Twins already have like five different uniforms (two pinstripes for home, a gorgeous road, the blue top, and a vest they seem to have put away for good). They certainly don’t need to add blue pants — and they should just retire the alternate blue top entirely.

New York Yankees: Why did I even bother mocking them up? Good question — I guess “for the hell of it” would be the best answer. The tradition-bound Yankees wouldn’t even entertain an alternate top, much less consider a monochrome uni. (Although, it must be noted, in 1975, then-General Manager Gabe Paul had prototypes similar to this made up and was ready to make the switch to them as their road uniform, but was persuaded by Marty Appel, the team’s PR head, to scrap them). One can only wonder how that would have looked. It’s doubtful any of those prototypes have survived, but talk about a great white whale. Anyway, should the Yankees ever decide to completely lose their senses (or have a non-patch tribute to mourn the Boss), they could resurrect that reverse pinstripes, or just go monochome midnight blue. Of course, they might wish to wear the road “New York” version instead.

The Verdict: Sure.

Oakland A’s: As we move from the realm of the sublime and ridiculous to the much more likely, we find the Oakland A’s. While they didn’t “invent” monochrome, Charley O’s club was responsible for more than their fair share of uniform innovation over the years. Unfortunately, their only distinction these days is being the only club to wear a green alternate, and they do still wear their signature white cleats. But aside from that, they’re pretty non-descript. But boy do they have a history of monochrome, even pre-dating the polyester era (and in it as well). They even gave fans who’d never seen the gold monochrome a look at it this year, when they held a throwback game against the likewise monochrome-clad Pirates. What better club to bring back the monochrome look than the A’s?

But wait, you say, the A’s don’t even have a gold alternate top now. True, but it’s basically been confirmed that they will be ditching the ridiculous BFBS alt and replacing it next season with a gold one. So, even though the A’s are the one team with whom the softball top look is associated, how might they look if they went monochrome? Probably not so good with a hunter green combo — the socks would require stripes (which is never a bad thing) but then the white shoes look odd. But what about the gold? They need to start wearing this tomorrow. Other than their national league counterparts, the Pirates and Padres, no team ever wore gold so proudly as did the A’s and an all-gold alternate uniform, I think, would be great. All green? Not so much.

Chris Powers’ take:: A’s All green: Oakland A’s player in monochrome green. Features pants stripe and stirrups. Is it bad that they don’t match? Also note the yellow/gold sanitaries.

The Verdict: Bring on the gold. And don’t even think about the hunter.

Seattle Mariners: The Mariners are an interesting case study. They have, as do about 74 other teams, an alternate navy top (yawn). So, the idea of seeing the Mariners in all navy even if you jazz them up with some nifty striped stirrups, is still not a look worth pursuing. However, although it’s not currently a part of their current alternate rotation, they did bring back their 1995 teal jersey for a throwback game against the Angels earlier this season. What about turning that into a full uniform? Pretty loud, but for a one-shot (or once to thrice a year)? OK, maybe not.

Ricko’s take: I figured the Mariners might work with a teal and silver striped version of the last Griffith Senators’ socks.

Chris’ take: (1) Mariners All Dark Stirrups: Ichiro in Monochrome dark navy. Dual-toned stirrup and opposite pant stripe from other Ichiro image.

(2) Mariners All Dark Stripe Sock: Ichiro in Monochrome dark navy. Triple-striped high sock with matching pant stripe.

The Verdict: Seems as though the monochome blue (and about 1/3 of all teams could wear it) would be just as yawn-inducing as the current crop of navy alternate tops, and the teal, while at least unique (although not very “baseball-like”) is just way too much.

Tampa Bay Rays: Another interesting possibility. They wear two alternate tops. They just added some really neat stirrups (that some of them actually still wear), and one of those alts is a powder blue top. It would seem logical then, were they so inclined, to continue the powder blue right down to the pants. You just know someone (and the Royals would be the other candidate) to bring back the powder blues, so why not the Rays? The other option, of course, is the navy blue route. *Sigh*

The Verdict: Baseball needs to bring back the powder blues, and since the Rays are halfway there already, why not? As far as the navy monochrome? Aren’t there enough of those tops already? How about they retire that one yesterday.

Texas Rangers: The Rangers are a blue team…no wait, they’re a red team. Actually, they’re both and while I personally prefer it when they trend toward the red (a rarely worn look) over the blue, it’s clear they simply cannot decide which color to emphasize. So, even if the were to go monochrome, either in red or blue, it still won’t quite look right. So the only thing left to do is to split the difference. Blue helmet and stirrups with a red uni? Yeesh. OK, how about if we add some red stripes to the blue? Yeah, um…no. Texas needs to return to the red at home with the team name on the homes and stop with the schitzophrenic combinations. And the last thing they need is to go monochrome.

The Verdict: The Texas Texases have a very nice uniform; if they must wear red AND blue, let them stick with the red caps and white unis at home, and the blue caps and gray unis on the road.

Toronto Blue Jays: Closing down our look at the American League is a team many of us feel is most in need of a complete overhaul. Since we’re not looking at that, we’ll work with what they have. Interestingly enough, the best uniform the Blue Jays currently wear is actually already a colored monochrome. The problem is, it’s a road uniform they insist on wearing at home. Their other uniforms are atrocious. One of a few black for blacks sake teams, it’s hard to picture them (much less stomach) wearing more black. Even adding more blue to that outfit wouldn’t save it. Ah…but there is a solution. Ditch the black entirely and create a real blue monochrome road uniform. Either that or return to the powder blues they sported so beautifully all those years ago.

The Verdict: First step: ditch the black. Second step: get all new uniforms. Failing that, a powder (or even darker) blue road uniform would be better than what they have.

Chris also offered his suggestions for the following teams, listed in last week’s column:

Angels All Red: Scott Spezio in Angels red uni. Simple single stripe down the pants and triple-striped stirrups.

Angels All Red with blue: Monochrome Angels uniform on Scott Spezio. Added blue accents after Phil suggested a return to some blue in the Angels unis.

Indians All Blue: Jhonny Peralta in monochrome Indians pajama pants.

Royals All Blue: Monochrome Royals uniform worn by pitcher in pajama pants.

White Sox All Black: White Sox Alex Rios wearing monochrome black uni. White-black-white pants stripe with pajama pants look. Not too awful in this look.

White Sox All Black Thome: Monochrome White Sox Jim Thome with high stirrup and a thin white gray stripe.

That concludes our look at the American League. Clearly, monochrome for six of the seven teams we looked at today would be a mistake (except for perhaps the Rays in powder blue), but the A’s should immediately consider wearing the all gold uniform (and dropping the black). Like yesterday.

As previously mentioned, I’m not advocating for monochrome, but clearly baseball design seems to have reached another nadir; not that I’m longing for a return to the 1970′s but when almost every team has a colored alternate top, and many have two (and neither of them are necessary), it’s time to once again think outside the box. I think many of us appreciated the throwback game between the A’s and the Pirates, and while I don’t think anyone is longing for a return to polyester sansabelts, most teams seem to lack any type of creativity nowadays. “We’re bored with our standard white and grays, so lets add a colored top.” And when they get bored with that, well, many teams add a SECOND alternate top.

Should every team dress like the A’s or the Bumblebee Pirates or the Astros of the 1970′s? Of course not. But a few teams who did things like that back then may have gone against tradition, but they at least got points for trying. And because it was limited to a few teams, it was somewhat unique (to each team). Now — everyone has a softball top or two and that’s about it. At least we’re seeing some teams favor hosiery again, and that’s a good thing.

I’d say the White Sox and the A’s (in the American League) should explore a return to their monochrome past. And every team really needs to bring back proper hosiery and end the pajama nonsense. As Chris’ couple creations show, there’s NO WAY monochorme would look good with the long pants.

The National League, which I’ll look at another time, has some intriguing possiblities for monochrome.

Geez…Is everyone planning on taking the month of August off? What is this, France? Here’s Rick:

If Paul can take August off (and lord knows he’s entitled to it), I’m gonna skip a Saturday. Not to worry, things are in capable hands. Well, pretty sure they are.

Here’s your Saturday Benchies.

Back again with more Uniform Tweaks, Concepts and Revisions today. Lots to get to, and if you have a tweak, change or concept for any sport, send them my way. Still finding the tweaks have slowed to a trickle, so if you have something you’d like to show, give me a shout.

If you’ve been following the tweaks’ section lately, you’ll remember I got one mammoth set from Daniel Rerko, who actually sent along eighty-seven NFL separate tweaks. We’ve now reached the final batch of that giant set. As you remember, some of them were great, some weird and bizarre, and some even Daniel hated. Now then, is the fifth, and final, set:

49ers-No Stripes, Gold alt: Got rid of the weird stripes on the shoulders. Added a gold alternate that isn’t the best looking uniform ever.

Cardinals-Black Helmet, tie up loose ends: BFBS. But the black helmet looks nice.

Vikings-Old School: Inspired by the current alternate. Mustard yellow alternate is terrible, but I think the other two look really good.

Packers-Modernized: Terrible, ruining a classic. I feel terrible for even attempting this.

Lions-Old uniform, more black: BFBS. This is not a case where a black helmet works.

Eagles-the anti-BFBS: Replaicing the black with a silver element. The only remaining black is in the logos.

Titans-New Socks and Collars: Getting bored lead me to play with the socks, pants stripes and one of the collars. Other than that, nothing groundbreaking here.

Colts-Gray, modernized shoulder stripes, Black alt: BFBS. Just added some color to the the plain blue and white of the Colts. It turned out to be pretty bad.

Chargers-Greatest. Unis. EVER.: My favorite uniforms in sports history. I know this isn’t a tweak, but I needed to mention it as the greatest. All I did was just change the light a dark blue for the alternate.

Raiders-Silver Numbers, Minor changes: 50th AFL anni. jerseys without the older logo. The silver numbers with a black outline on a white uniform really appealed to me.

Cheifs-More Black: BFBS. Just trying to add some more color to a uniform. It turned out okay in some spots.

Patriots-Simplified, Red and Sliver alt: I just simplified the uniform, and turned the helmet white. I also gave two alternates a try.

Bengals-Simplified: Trying to fix a broken uni by breaking it even more. I like the old helmet, that is about it.

Browns-modern: Started with TV numbers on the helmet. Now i realize that the jersey stripes look like suspenders that a leperchaun should be wearing.

Steelers-Red Blue and Yellow: Steelers-Red white and blue to attempt an America’s Team uniform. Too bad Roethlisberger had to go ahead and ruin that one (Haha.)

OK. That’s going to close the book on Daniel Rerko’s tweaks, all 87 of them. Gotta say, he took some chances and came up with some crazy schemes, but they were still a lot of fun to look at. Thanks, Dan.

Back with more from the rest of the UW tweakership next time. Keep ‘em coming — especially now that the dog days of August are coming, and they’ll be getting some weekday play while Paul’s sitting around on his keester getting a much-deserved vacation.

Back at the beginning of the 2010 season, I announced the 2010 Uni Tracking that a number of us do. Last year, I devoted about four full weekend columns to it, and that was probably a bit much for most of us to take in one dose, so this year, I’ll occasionally post the updated tracking of certain teams as the trackers send them in. So, if you’ve been doing your due diligence with your team, send me your mid-season tracking reports, and I’ll post them as a “sub article” on the weekends. OK? OK!

Today’s first featured tracker is Brandon Davis who is tracking the Athletics of Oakland. I apologize in advance for the screen grabs, but Brandon sent me a PDF and for some reason I couldn’t turn it into a google doc. Brandon’s tracking is through the All Star break:

Phil,

Attached (Tracking Part I, Tracking Part II, By Starter & Jersey, Uniform #s I, Uniform #s II) is my uniform tracking for the Oakland Athletics through the 2010 All-Star break. The A’s are a better team at home at 26-20, including a 9-4 mark in black — that’s as many wins in black as the 2009 A’s donned the black jerseys (they finished 3-6).The A’s are performing poorly again in the green road alternate jerseys at 8-15. The A’s wore green at home for Earth Day though and won that game. As always, the starting pitching skews the jersey win-loss record since starters gravitate towards certain jerseys. Of the seven regular starters (including Justin Duchscherer and Brett Anderson since they were injured and not spot starters), only Duchscherer never wore white. Only three pitchers have worn black and every starter but Vin Mazzaro has worn the road grays (excluding Clay Mortensen’s sport start in green with the stars/stripes cap). The two pitchers who have not worn the road greens are both injured (Duke and Anderson).

A few other random tidbits:

- When wearing a special patch (mother’s day, father’s day, etc.) or cap (Memorial Day, Fourth of July weekend) the team is 6-1.

- The helmet decals have nearly all been converted to the newer style A implemented in June 2009 but Jack Cust and Kevin Kouzmanoff still have incorrect decals.

- Kurt Suzuki continues to use an all-green road catcher’s helmet despite the A’s eliminating the all-green helmet last season.

- At least five A’s have been wearing caps with gray underbrims.

I’m sure there will be plenty more to report by the end of the season!

Brandon Davis

Next up is Michael Burnett, who has been closely monitoring the Arizona D-Backs. Here’s Michael:

Hey Phil,

I have been tracking the Arizona Diamondbacks myriad of uniforms for the first half of the season. We have gone through an exciting opening day win, a dismal 10-game losing streak, beating the Yankees, a managerial firing, and are on pace for a 100 plus loss season.

Anyways, all of the uniforms except for one have a losing record. Ironically, the one that I hate the most (BFBS) is the only winning uniform. The uniform pattern is as follows: Sedona Red jersey for Wednesdays, Sundays, and holidays, Black jersey for Saturday home games, and grey and white for all other road/home games. The only exception is when they play a team like the Braves or Astros who wear red at home.

Attached is the graphical representation of the Uni-Tracking.

Here are the records:

* Sedona Red Cap, White Jersey, White Pants (10-12)
* Sedona Red Cap, Grey Jersey, Grey Pants (8-22)
* White/Red Cap, White Jersey, White Pants (1-0)
* Sedona Red Cap, Sedona Red Jersey, White Pants (6-8)
* White/Red Cap, Sedona Red Jersey, White Pants (0-1)
* White/Red Cap, Sedona Red Jersey, Grey Pants (0-1)
* Sedona Red Cap, Sedona Red Jersey, Grey Pants (5-7)
* Black Cap, Black Jersey, White Pants (4-3)
* White/Red Cap, Black Jersey, White Pants (0-1)
* When I am at the game (3-9)

Sincerely,

Michael Burnett

Thank you gentlemen. Alright, all you trackers, anyone who hasn’t yet sent in their updates, now is a great time to do so.

And finally, your Cream City Brew Crew did the throwback thing last night, against the Nationals, breaking out the 1997-1999 unis, designed by Uni Watch favorite Todd Radom. I was never a big fan of this design, and of course, it appeared as though all the Crew wore pajamas. Interestingly, it doesn’t look like they wore new helmets, but rather, repurposed their current ones with new logos. Either that, or they had a bunch of scuffed lids lying around.

Of course, you probably know that not only did Todd design the Brewers “MB” logo, he also designed the Nationals logo. In fact, his portfolio is pretty impressive. UW’s favorite golf pro, Johnny (on the spot) Okray was quick to point out that the jerseys were lacking the Jerry Dior logoman on the back. Nice touch, Brewers.

That’s all for this fine Saturday, folks. As you all have likely seen or heard, Paul will be taking a much deserved vacation (scroll down to “Big News”) during August — as such, I’ll be handling the weekdays and Ek will take my weekends. Most of the weekday posts won’t be anywhere near as lengthy or intricate as the weekend’s have become (I think we’re all thankful for that), but I’ll be bringing you content every day — if there is a topic you’re interested in seeing, or if you’d like to work on an article with me, drop me a line. OK? OK!

Everyone have a great Saturday.

So you won twenty games? Why didn’t you win thirty? — Charles Finley (to Vida Blue after the 1972 season)

By adding a black armband for Ralph Houk, I believe the Yankees have now become the first MLB team — and maybe the first North American sports team, period — to commemorate three different people with three different memorial gestures.

To be sure, this is not the first time a team has honored . . . → Read More: Let’s Hope Yogi Recovers from That Fall]]>

By adding a black armband for Ralph Houk, I believe the Yankees have now become the first MLB team — and maybe the first North American sports team, period — to commemorate three different people with three different memorial gestures.

To be sure, this is not the first time a team has honored three people simultaneously. The 1993 Dodgers memorialized Roy Campanella and Don Drysdale with one patch and Tim Crews with another, and the 2005 Blue Jays had one patch for manager Bobby Mattick, broadcaster John Cerutti, and player Doug Ault. But I can’t think of any previous examples of a team wearing three distinct memorials like the Yankees are now doing. And all three of them have been added to the uni in the space of a week!

That’s it for today, because I’m on my way out the door. I’ll be on the road until Monday evening but should still have a regular entry that morning. See you then.

Collector’s Corner, by Brinke Guthrie

Another day, another round of eBay finds:

• Now here is some legitimate Tampa Bay Rowdies stuff.

• Wow, look at this great 1960s Boston Patriots blow-up figure.

• Did you like that old “alternate” MLB logo? Here it is, on a belt buckle.

• Check this out — the 1961 Coca Cola “Ball of Fame.” [This type of rotating data-o-matic device is called a volvelle, and we'll soon be featuring an entry about them. -- PL]

• This Eagles helmet bank is beat-up but still very cool.

• Current version of Chief Wahoo isn’t un-PC enough for you? Try this version, from 1950.

• Here’s a familiar sight from the 1970s: Sparky (Captain Hook) Anderson on the phone to the bullpen. “Get Carroll up!”

• Got a kid who’s a Cowboys fan? Get him these sneakers. Kinda look like Riddells.

• Lukas alert: a ’68 Mets yearbook.

Seen something on eBay that you think would make good Collector’s Corner fodder? Send your submissions here.

Uni Watch News Ticker: Rod Barajas wore Mike Pelfrey’s BP jersey on Tuesday. … Mike Perrin has a baseball team called AppleKnockers, but they wear A’s uniforms, complete with striped stirrups and white shoes. “Tell me where you can find a better-looking uniform!” he says. … Rickie Weeks’s Brewers-logo socks were peeking out from his slacks the other day. “Exciting stuff,” says Joe Hasek, quite accurately. … Typo alert! That’s Braves outfielder Brent Clevlen on a minor league rehab assignment on Wednesday (good spot by Mickey Seward). … Cycling note from Sean Clancy, who writes: “At the prologue of the Cascade Cycling Classic in Bend, Ore., Floyd Landis wore a T-shirt when race officials deemed his skinsuit illegal. He was 19 seconds off the winning time.” … Scientists have created new fibers that can see, hear, and talk — sort of. Not clear yet whether this material will be used in uniforms (nice find by Tom Mulgrew). … The Bears are using a vaguely retro ticket for their games against the Packers and Vikings. I guess the Lions were deemed too pathetic to qualify (with thanks to Adam Hainsfurther). … Here’s yet another photo of Wilt not wearing No. 13 (with thanks to Matt Mitchell). … SI.com has a good gallery of 1985 NFL photos. Among the highlights: the best look I’ve ever seen of the Rams’ 40th-season-in-LA patch; Reggie White not wearing No. 92 (note the cut-off fingers on his gloves, too); Sweetness in a Roos headband; Marcus Allen with some serious high whites; some major mesh-jersey action from the Seahawks and Bucs; and John Stalworth in a Maxpro helmet. … Bill Pintsak pointed me toward a uni-reference site I hadn’t seen before. Haven’t had time yet to explore it fully — anyone care to weigh in with a yea or nay? … Oooh, check out this old Seahawks pin by Mad magazine’s Jack Davis (with thanks to Reuven Szleifer). … I hear through the grapevine that Nike will have another round of Pro Combat uniforms this season. Look for an announcement at the ACC media day for the season-opening Virginia Tech vs. Boise State game. … It may be the middle of the summer, but a little lobe of my brain is still thinking about curling. Jared Wheeler sent me that shot. … Good catch by Nick Minnott, who noticed Justin Smoak of the Mariners wearing an upside-down logo on his batting helmet. … New uniforms forthcoming next week for the UFL Never mind, nobody cares. … Autism-awareness jerseys on tap for the Brockton Rox of the independent Can-Am League. “I love the idea, not so sure about the execution,” says Matt Moschella. … Biggest uni numbers ever? Could be. “Caption said Mrs. Churchill was meeting the Canadian players,” says Ben Traxel.

FWHA! Update: Coupla new entries over on my other site.

Last Friday I wrote about a 1950s gadget designed to more accurately measure first downs. It turns out that reader Mako Mameli is interested in such devices, so he shared some of his research with me. I’ve put together a timeline based largely on his findings:

1954: Lou Peresenyi invents the Pere-Scope, which . . . → Read More: How Hard Can It Be to Measure Ten Yards?]]>

Last Friday I wrote about a 1950s gadget designed to more accurately measure first downs. It turns out that reader Mako Mameli is interested in such devices, so he shared some of his research with me. I’ve put together a timeline based largely on his findings:

1954: Lou Peresenyi invents the Pere-Scope, which is used in 21 college football games. [This is the device discussed in last Friday's post.]

1955: The Pere-Scope is used in the East-West Shrine Game.

1958: Peresenyi receives a patent for the Pere-scope.

1959: Henry R. Clime is granted a patent for “a novel instrument for sighting the exact position of the football on every down.” The invention is used the following year for a Colts intersquad game.

1960: An aerospace and automotive engineer named George Dicker watches a college football game played on a muddy field, notices the officials having a difficult time measuring first downs, and thinks to himself, “There must be a better way.” He will spend the next decade pondering this question.

1966: Theodore Goff and several associates receive a patent for “a visual instrument for use in determining the exact position of a football on a playing field,” which they say has been used successfully at the high school and college level.

1970: The Los Angeles Times publishes an article about George Dicker, who after 10 years has invented his device for measuring first downs, called the Dickerod. “Really,” he says, “my method is essentially the same as the chain gang. I’ve just eliminated the chain and the gang.”

1972: Dickerod business is booming, as Dicker has made 250 of the devices and claims they’ll be used in over 600 games during the ’72 football season, mostly at the high school level.

1973: George Dicker receives a patent for the Dickerod, described as a device “concerned with the measurement of the ten yard distance required in football games for the achievement of a first down, and the accomplishment of this measurement by one person.”

1974: The World Football League begins play, using the Dickerod to measure first downs.

1975: The WFL folds midway through its second season.

1976: A Texas operation called Sports Laser Co. convinces college bowl officials and NBC to use a laser-based measuring device in the Senior Bowl. (Lots of additional articles here.)

1993: Alvin J. Caywood receives a patent for “a device for measuring the position of a football on a football playing field.” It’s not clear whether this invention ever ends up being used in a game at any level.

So at least five different first down measurement devices have received patents (which means they were not only distinct from the chain gang but also distinct from each other), yet the chain gang stubbornly holds its ground.

One of the most interesting things about all this is buried within one of the Dickerod articles. When asked to assess the invention, the commissioner of the California Collegiate Athletic Association listed several potential problems, including this one: “What happens when the public misses the drama of the chain measurement?” Indeed. A gadget may be more precise (or it may not — I really have no sense of how accurate any of these inventions were), but it can’t possibly deliver the entertainment value of a chain gang measurement. Which is no doubt why the chain gang, despite all these attempts to build a better mousetrap, remains the gold standard.

Uni Watch News Ticker: Man, first Shep, then the Boss, now Ralph Houk. Will the Yanks add a black armband to go with the two new jersey patches? … Syracuse’s annual football uni revision is now circulating. … New uniforms for Utah State, too (with thanks to Ryan Hare). … Former Bucs safety Tony Bouie is now running for the state senate in Arizona and has ripped off the NFL logo for his campaign (with thanks to Matt Williams). … Tennessee football’s ticket design this season will feature a gallery of former coaches (with thanks to Lee Wilds). … A Texas high school has updated its logo after a copyright-infringement claim by Penn State. … Yesterday I ran a photo of Phog Allen in an awesome Kansas Jayhawks jacket. Now Michael Russek has provided a much clearer photo. Damn, that is one sweet jacket. … Paul Carr has launched a new blog about baseball caps. … Good contribution from Dan Cichalski, who writes: “Alyson Footer, who’s the director of digital media for the Astros, put up a blog post about the visitors’ clubhouse at Wrigley, with a video of the long walk to the dugout. It’s a neat look into the Friendly Confines.” … Here’s the latest batch of pin-up foxiness from Rob Ullman, who I had the pleasure of meeting during his recent visit to NYC. … Oooh, check this out: a Red Sox championship menu from 1912 (great find by Baroness Karen McBurnie). … Skip ahead to the 55-second mark of this video clip and you’ll see an odd sight: Wilt wearing No. 54 (good spot by Bill Scheft). … Hmmm, I didn’t realize the indie music crowd had so many NBA fans, but there were lots of NBA jerseys at the recent Pitchfork-fest (with thanks to Aaron Rich). … Larry Bodnovich wondered why some Indiana linemen in this 1981 shot had black tape inlining their helmet logos, so he inquired on a football message board. The response he got from another forum member: “Guards Jim Sakanich and Mark Filburn doctored their own helmets with the black tape, just to be different. Coach Corso didn’t let them keep the black tape! On a sadder note, the black star on the front of the helmets was in remembrance of teammate Kevin Burke, who tragically died of leukemia in the summer of 1981.” … Looks like the Penguins’ new red line will have inlaid white diamonds. … Y’know, I think I could get into soccer if the teams all dressed like this. That’s a Canadian team, not sure of the date (big thanks to Kevin West).

Two weeks ago I linked to two images of the Buffalo Braves’ inaugural road uniform. That prompted reader Johnny Woods to send me this action shot. He said it was from a 1971 book called Basketball: The American Game, which I hadn’t heard of before. So I found a copy for one whole . . . → Read More: Uni Watch Book Club: Basketball — The American Game]]>

Two weeks ago I linked to two images of the Buffalo Braves’ inaugural road uniform. That prompted reader Johnny Woods to send me this action shot. He said it was from a 1971 book called Basketball: The American Game, which I hadn’t heard of before. So I found a copy for one whole dollar on Amazon and ordered it.

As it turns out, it’s a really good book, at least as a photo resource. With basketball uniforms still so poorly documented (there’s no hoops equivalent to “Dressed to the Nines” or NHLuniforms.com), a book like this one can be full of surprises and revelations, along with the garden-variety “Hmmm, that’s interesting” eyebrow-raisers that photo books always provide. Here’s some of what caught my eye:

• One thing that really struck me was how many NBAers used to wear necklaces. Doesn’t that seem kinda crazy for as physical a sport as basketball?

• I always loved Wilt Chamberlain’s early-’70s headband. Thick in the front, just a string in the back — cool.

• Holy moly, look at that candy striping on the backboard support! Very reminiscent of old NFL goalposts, no?

• Lots to like in this old Celtics shot.

• Totally digging the Jayhawk logo on Phog Allen’s jacket.

• Oh man, how sweet would it be if Notre Dame went back to this design?

• Sleeved jersey alert! That’s New Mexico State, circa 1970.

• Always loved this classic photo of Jacksonville’s unique under-arched insignia.

• Hey, check out that uni number font — same one the White Sox used in the late ’70s! Not sure what team that is, unfortunately.

• Coupla noteworthy things here: First, note Oscar Robertson in the jaw guard at far left. Also, I hadn’t been aware that the Lakers had worn their team name on their shorts.

• Speaking of team names on shorts, check out the Warriors, Bullets (I like the diagonal flow), and, weirdest of all, the Hawks.

• Always fun to see the old Cincy Royals uni.

• Ouch! That’s Dave DeBusschere playing with a broken nose.

• Here’s a relatively rare sight: a photo from an ABA All-Star Game. Not sure of the year.

• So much going on in this photo. The Sixers’ old-school script, the Sonics’ bizarre below-the-waist stripe, the thigh pad, the mid-level tube sox being worn over striped stirrups (just like football players were still doing at that time), the big NBA logo patches on the shorts — it’s a visual feast!

• Here’s a front view of those gorgeous Seattle jerseys. Again, look at the NBA logo patch — it’s huge! I believe this is from the 1970-71 season, which was the year the logo debuted, and I’m pretty sure every team wore it on their shorts that season, as you can see here and here. That last photo also shows the Blazers’ inaugural road uni (another weird sub-waist stripe) and the Warriors’ cable car uni number.

• Speaking of big NBA logo patches, look at this ref! I’ve always wondered when and why NBA refs switched from zebra stripes to gray jerseys (I’ve asked the NBA folks and even they don’t know), and I’m wondering if this might provide the answer. Did the newly unveiled league logo provide the impetus to scrap the zebra stripes and move to a new logo-driven officiating design in 1970-71?

• Man, the Rockets sure had some huge NOB lettering.

• Nate Thurmond kept his socks up by taping them to his shins.

• Great photo, completely awesome caption — I’ll let this one speak for itself.

Want this book for your own library? Plenty of cheap copies available here.

And you may recall, it’s also the month when I shut down the site last year so I could recharge my batteries. It was just what I needed, so I’ve decided to take this August off as well. But the site will stay open this time, because Phil and Ek have generously offered to steer the ship while I take a break. Here’s what you can expect to see:

• Phil will handle the weekday entries. Don’t expect them to be as lengthy as his usual weekend opuses, although they may sometimes include some of those elements (a round of tweaks here, some uni-tracking there, etc.). He may also occasionally feature one of my old blog posts or ESPN columns from years past — a throwback entry, so to speak. And Brinke will continue to contribute “Collector’s Corner” once a week.

• Webmaster John Ekdahl will handle the weekends. His entries might be full-length or they might just be a photo and a caption. Either way, the site will be open for comments, discussion, etc.

• Although I’ll be taking a break from the blog, I’ll have at least two ESPN columns in August, and those will be noted/linked here on the blog, as per usual.

• Ticker contributions sent to the Uni Watch e-mail address will be forwarded to Phil during August. But there’s one particular category of news I’ll be keeping tabs on: new college football uniforms. If you have news to pass along on that front during August, please send it to this address. Phil will periodically post reminders about this.

I think that’s it. I truly appreciate that Uni Watch has become part of the daily routine for many of you, and I hope you can understand my need to take a short break. I have faith in your ability to survive in my absence, esp. with Phil minding the store in the interim. My last day before unplugging myself from the Uni Watch matrix will be next Friday, the 30th. I’ll plug myself back in on September 1st. OK? OK!

Culinary Corner: Reader Dan Cichalski and his wife, Casey Barber, stopped by Uni Watch HQ yesterday afternoon. Our project for the day: makin’ bacon. Casey had recently cured some pork belly and brined some pork loin, so we set those out on a rack, along with some corn, potatoes, dates, and nuts (also some peaches and tomatoes, but those were added after the photo was taken), and popped all of it into my smoker.

About 90 minutes four beers later, we had a bounty of smoked delicacies. Trust me, this photo doesn’t even come close to capturing how delicious the bacon turned out. Thanks, Dan and Casey!

Uni Watch News Ticker: Here’s another feature on Tour de France footwear, plus one about cycling jerseys (thanks, Bryan). … Cool eBay item here: a 1969 NLCS Shea Stadium press pass (as found by Roger Faso). … Interesting use of uniforms and logos in this Streinbrenner-centric cartoon (with thanks to Tom Mulgrew, who also sent along a very interesting little essay about typefaces). … We all know about Pittsburgh teams wearing black and gold. But Matt English has noticed a similar trope in Canada: “I remember reading about the founding of the Blue Jays and that it was almost a foregone conclusion that they’d wear blue uniforms, because Toronto’s traditional sports colo[u]rs were blue and white. That got me thinking: Do do all Canadian cities have their own traditional sports colours? Sure enough, each of the major older Canadian cities appears to have had its own sports colours. And although practically all teams from the 20th century followed these unwritten rules, there seems to be little documentation of these civic colour codes that I could find online.” Fascinating. Anyone know more? … Speaking of Canadian team colors, Doug Brei says many Saskatchewan Roughriders fans, who are passionately devoted to the team’s green/white color scheme, are having a hard time wrapping their heads around the team’s new throwbacks. … Doug Keklak has found what may be the first example of BFBS. “I italicized where it gets interesting and then bolded where it gets really interesting,” he says. … Several EPL clubs have banned that annoying trumpet thingie. … Yet another “worst soccer kits of the season” article (with thanks to Martyn Beeny). … The double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals will be wearing 1985 Royals powder-blue throwbacks on Friday (with thanks to Gage Matthews). … Reprinted from the SABR listserv: Mark Pattison reports that the Braves have a South African single-A prospect named Riaan Spanjer-Furstenburg. That makes for an 18-letter NOB (to put that in perspective, Salty has only 14), plus the hyphen. “His uniform squeezes it all onto one line, with smaller lettering than that for his teammates,” says Mark. … Finally got my hands on some screen shots of Willie Mays from the 1965 All-Star Game, where he wore a Cubs batting helmet for his first several at-bats before switching to a Reds helmet. … Phil did a very nice job colorizing that photo of George Susce from yesterday’s entry. … “I live in Hope Mills, North Carolina, which is very close to Fort Bragg,” writes Gerry Dincher. “Many of the kids here are army brats, and this year one of the youth league all-star teams has used the camouflage pattern for their uniforms. Not the best look, especially with the yellow helmet.” … Scott Stoddard sent along pics of his collection of newspaper signs and delivery tubes.