As you no doubt recall, I spent most of last Friday’s entry gushing of the hosiery stylings of A’s prospect Corey Wimberly. After a bit of phone tag, yesterday I finally caught up with Oakland equipment manager Steve Vucinich (that’s him in the background of this shot), who was happy to chat about Wimberly, among several other pressing issues.
Uni Watch: So I’m very curious about Corey Wimberly.
Steve Vucinich: He just came up to me at the start of spring training and said, “Do you have any stirrups?” And believe it or not, I always carry ’em with me, even on the road, just in case. And I carry two sizes — the four-inch [opening] and the seven-inch.
UW [laughing]: You are a man prepared! So when you said, “I just happen to have some right here,” was he surprised?
SV: Well, what he actually said was, “Can you get me something?,” as if he figured I wouldn’t have ’em. And I said, “I got ’em here, no problem.” So he was kinda surprised. He was probably expecting to wait a day or two.
UW: And did you have the yellow sanitaries as well?
SV: I always carry those too. A lot of guys still wear those underneath the thicker sock.
UW: Now, Wimberly’s a pretty young guy. By the time he was growing up and watching baseball, stirrups were already on the decline. Do you know why he chooses to wear them?
SV: You know, I’ve been meaning to ask him and haven’t had a chance. He’s gotten pretty good coverage on it — I was listening to a game broadcast in the car the other day and the announcers were talking about it on the air, and they wrote about it in the papers in the Bay Area, so he’s really getting noticed for it. Where’d you pick it up?
UW: One of my readers pointed him out to me.
SV: And he wears them real long, like Vida and Reggie and those guys. In the past few years, anyone who wears stirrups has pretty much worn the four- or six-inch.
UW: Is he the only guy in camp wearing them?
SV: Actually, Rajai Davis just asked for them too, but I haven’t seen him wear ’em yet.
UW: Did he do it because he liked Wimberly’s look?
SV: I don’t know. In spring training I’m not down in the dugout as much as I am during the regular season. And one of our rookie pitchers just asked for ’em too. The thing I love about stirrups is, last year we had a turn back the clock game — we went back to 1968, which was our sleeveless uniform, and I made everyone wear stirrups. And guys did not know how to wear ’em. “Is the big opening on the back or the front?” Honest to god. They had noooo clue.
UW: So did you have to give everyone a little tutorial?
SV: It didn’t take long.
UW: Do you like the look yourself?
SV: Sure, I grew up with that. But if you go back 100 years, they were all wearing the solid sock. We’re doing a throwback game in August — we’ll be the 1929 Philadelphia A’s against the White Sox, and we’ll be wearing solid-white socks, or maybe off-white, with stripes on ’em [presumably like this — PL]. I’ve got Twin City Knitting making those for us right now. And I know we’re gonna take some hits because we’re not doing black shoes. I talked to Nike about that, and they said it would just be cost-prohibitive in this economic climate. Plus the guys would have to break ’em in for two or three days beforehand. And I said, “OK, but I know the Uni Watch blog’s gonna get on us for that.” And believe me that did enter into the conversation!
UW: I’ll cut you some slack on that one.
SV: Well, you like to get it right. We’re doing a turn back game in Seattle in May, and it’s gonna be the 1939 Oakland Oaks against the Seattle Rainiers. And this uniform is pretty neat — it’s got like a built-in green sleeve with some piping, and a patch, and “Oakland” across the chest in plain block two-color lettering, with a line underneath it. And the hats have the shorter rise in the front, the lower profile.
UW: When these throwback games come up and you make everyone wear the stirrups, do the players complain?
SV: You can get away with that for one day. They’ll be saying, “Hey, these pants aren’t as long as before.” That’s right, because I ordered ’em six inches shorter and you gotta live with it. But they get into it for that day — they really do.
UW: So now that you’ve got two or three players in camp wearing stirrups, did you have to go out and get more?
SV: I’ve got plenty in Oakland. Down here I just bring my road trunk, which normally has three pairs of the seven-inch and three pairs of the four-inch, so I may have to have some flown down from Oakland.
UW: Emergency stirrup shipment!
SV: Exactly.
UW: Now what about the kind with the stripes, which you guys used to wear? Maybe you should get some of those.
SV: You know, I was looking into that, and it looks like we stopped wearing those around 1970 or ’71, when guys were wearing their stirrups higher, so you didn’t really have the area that showed the stripe.
UW: You should show a striped pair to Wimberly, see if he wants to wear those.
SV: I don’t know if that’s part of our official uniform ensemble with MLB anymore. You know, the sample player they show getting dressed [he’s referring to the uniform guide posted in each MLB clubhouse — PL], he doesn’t have stripes.
UW: He doesn’t have any socks at all! His pants are down at his ankles! Anyway, is Wimberly gonna make the team?
SV: I think he’s ticketed for triple-A right now, because we’ve also got Rajai Davis, who does most of the same things and already has big league experience. But hey, Rajai might be donning the stirrups as well, so there you go.
And here’s a late-breaking item of related interest: According to this story, the Rangers wore stirrups yesterday against the Giants. Unfortunately, I can’t find a single photo or video clip from that game. Anyone..?
Burying the Lede: For those of you who care about that college basketball thingie that’s about to get underway, here are the special rear-jersey designs and sneakers that will be worn by Duke, Michigan State, Memphis (is that jersey embarrassing or what?), Gonzaga (wait, suddenly the Memphis design doesn’t look so bad), and Oregon (sorry, no sneaker photos available for them). Plus here’s the UConn sneaker design. Further details here.
And as long as I’m posting stuff for you sneaker-porn addicts, here are some snuff films of Nike’s Zoom LeBron VI Superman, the Zoom LeBron VI Hardwood Classic, and the Zoom LeBron James VI SVSM Saint Vincent Saint Mary’s (in Uni Watch colors, how quaint). I don’t know who this LeBron guy is, but he can’t design a sneaker for shit.
The Proctor Chronicles, Continued: Yesterday I linked to this photo of the Lakers wearing mismatched shades of purple. That prompted sporting goods scholar Terry Proctor to check in with an explanation:
Back when teams were responsible for actually buying their own uniforms, the Lakers’ duds were made by Galbraith and Tiernan of Inglewood, Calif. Galbraith and Tienan was a small cut-and-sew operation that made custom uniforms.
G&T bought their fabrics and braid trim from Yarrington Mills of Hatboro, Penna. The Lakers’ jerseys were made from Yarrington’s Stretch Nylon Eyelet Mesh, and their shorts were made from Yarrington’s #157 Medium-Weight Double-knit Stretch Nylon smooth-knit fabric.
Unfortunately the mesh was not as colorfast as the double-knit. It had a tendency to “bleed” after a few washings. I know this to be true because we used that Yarrington mesh for two sets of basketball uniforms back in the late 1970s. One set was white, the other was purple, and the school’s laundry person decided to wash both sets together. Big mistake! When she took them out of the dryer, one set was a light grape color while the formerly White uniforms had turned a lovely shade of lilac. The company did replace the uniforms- in double-knit.
So the Lakers’ garments were from two different fabrics.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Tim Thomas’s mask was damaged during last night’s Bruins/Blue Jackets game. When it became apparent that it couldn’t be repaired quickly, he wore teammate Manny Fernandez’s mask, which led to some rear-view uni number dissonance. … Hmmm, new ventilation system or wardrobe malfunction? (Screen grab courtesy of Bill Blevins.) ”¦ New uniforms for the Lotte Giants (with thanks to Jeremy Brahm). ”¦ Ryan Villopoto had some good luck wishes written on his helmet at Saturday’s Daytona Supercross (with thanks to Sean Clancy). ”¦ Chris Canty, who recently signed with the Giants, has a fairly unique facemask design, so Greg Riffenburgh suggested that I ask Joe Skiba if he’s making any special arrangements. I did just that, to which Joe replied: “Dallas actually sent over their stock of facemasks.” Cowboys and Giants staffers cooperating and helping each other out? Scandalous! ”¦ Erkki Corpuz notes that the UCLA basketball cheerleaders have worn at least 11 different outfits this season. ”¦ Nice gallery of Iditarod photos here. ”¦ Having just typed that last item, I’m struck by how frighteningly close “Iditarod” is to “Idiot A-Rod,” which just goes to show that everything leads back to that guy. ”¦ Coupla weird things about this, which is from the 1999 NLCS: First, that’s the smallest superscript “c” I’ve ever seen on a McNOB. And what’s with the radial arching? I know the Braves occasionally used radial arching for call-ups during their vertically arched era, but this was the NLCS — he’d been on the team throughout September and in the NLDS. Couldn’t they have given him a proper nameplate at some point during that span? (Thanks to Vincent Vincenzo for the screen shot.) ”¦ Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Here are some screen shots showing the Rangers’ two-tone batting helmet in MLB 09. ”¦ Nice story on the Mariners’ uniforms here. You’ll have to click on the “magnify” tab to get it at a legible size. ”¦ “Player exclusive shoes in soccer are extremely rare to non-existent,” says Greg Riffenbrugh. “The only real examples are Nike’s custom design for Ronaldinho and David Beckham’s exclusive colorway of the Adidas Predator (note the Beckham logo on the tongue). So I was surprised to see Fernando Torres of Liverpool wearing the Nike Total 90 Laser 2 in a new colorway in the Champions League game against Real Madrid on Tuesday. Is it a player exclusive? It’s possible, because it’s obviously in the Liverpool white and red and Torres is a relatively high-profile player. Or is it something he’s just previewing before it hits the mass market? That’s possible as well, because he and Wayne Rooney did similar with the original Total 90 Laser a few years ago. I’ll keep my eye out to see what happens.” ”¦ Jake Melbye was checking out Rangers camp yesterday and spotted country singer Charley Pride warming up in the bullpen. … New uniforms for Davidson. Very SoD-ish jerseys, but the shorts aren’t that billowy. ”¦ The stimulus logo is the subject of a good analysis here and a radio story here. ”¦ Jay Shive thinks he’s found the hockey equivalent of an underbrim inscription. That’s Flyers goalie Martin Biron, during last night’s game against the Sabres. Can’t make out the handwriting, unfortunately. ”¦ Great uni concept! Greg Cotharn‘s nephew drew that. Several more of his and his sister’s designs are displayed here. ”¦ A German soccer player is in trouble for pantomiming an ad, or something like that (with thanks to Nicole Haase).
So where is the media hype for Lebron going to St. Vincent St. Mary in 2010. Since he has a sneaker colorway for them like he did in New York.*sarcasm*
It is nice to see someone pushing the stirrup cause for an entire team, even if it is the Rangers.
link
1. Kudos to the eagle eye on the UCLA cheerleader uniforms. Deserves some close analysis. The basketball team still has the best uniforms in history, by the way.
2. On the Lakers’ mismatched threads: I used to notice that in Sports Illustrated and always thought it was more of a photography thing, because Kansas State had the same problem.
As for the Braves radial arching vs. vertical arching, I remember that Keith Lockhart would have radial arching while everyone else would have vertical arching.
Anyone have photographic evidence?
I don’t believe that the markings on Marty Biron’s mask aren’t an underbrim inscription – well not as we know them for MLB players. Usually mask makers and the mask painters/artists sign the inside ear flap of the mask, indicating when it was made or when it was painted. Sometimes, trainers add comments, like ‘practice mask’ or ‘game mask’.
Here is a sample of Andy Moog’s old mask: link
Chris
What does “RTL” mean on the Memphis unis and shoes? I am not a fan of any of those rear designs or shoes.
[quote comment=”317855″]What does “RTL” mean on the Memphis unis and shoes? I am not a fan of any of those rear designs or shoes.[/quote]
According to the article it stands for “refuse to lose”
something wrong with the mlb09 link. looks like a lot of pics from your trip to the heinz history center!
i want to shake the hand of the person that designs the UCLA basketball cheerleaders uniforms!!! also, job well done erkki!
and i love this: “McNOB” made me laugh at my desk! haha
fun post today! great work, paul!
Charley Pride is a former Negro Leagues player–he’s been a guest of the Rangers’ Spring Training camp every year since 1974 or so.
Great interview, by the way. Clubhouse guys are the best.
[quote comment=”317852″]1. Kudos to the eagle eye on the UCLA cheerleader uniforms. Deserves some close analysis. The basketball team still has the best uniforms in history, by the way.
2. On the Lakers’ mismatched threads: I used to notice that in Sports Illustrated and always thought it was more of a photography thing, because Kansas State had the same problem.[/quote]
See:
link
[quote comment=”317861″][quote comment=”317852″]1. Kudos to the eagle eye on the UCLA cheerleader uniforms. Deserves some close analysis. The basketball team still has the best uniforms in history, by the way.
2. On the Lakers’ mismatched threads: I used to notice that in Sports Illustrated and always thought it was more of a photography thing, because Kansas State had the same problem.[/quote]
See:
link
Actually, the K-State uniforms look even worse than I remember, and worse than the Lakers’.
Great interview! And good to see some soccer news that didn’t revolve around David Beckham.
Here’s to another early round exit by Gonzaga.
And Oregon? Oregon? Where are they going to wear their new unis, to bed at nighttime? Please.
[quote comment=”317857″]something wrong with the mlb09 link. looks like a lot of pics from your trip to the heinz history center![/quote]
Now fixed. Here’s the proper link:
link
BTW, that doesn’t look like the UCLA cheerleading squad … it looks like the “dance team” … the Bruinettes or whatever they’re called these days.
See pix 3 and 7, with the cheerleaders in the background, dance team in the foreground.
Not completely uni related, but check out this pic of the first baseball patent:
link
“McNOB”? That’s a great one. Put that in the glossary!
I find some irony and/or hypocricy that Nike thinks that making black shoes for the A’s is cost prohibitive, but has no problem producing a myriad of NCAA tournament specific unis and shoe designs
That Canty facemask was born out of necessity. I understand he incurred an eye injury when he was involved in a night club altercation back in college.
link
[quote comment=”317870″]That Canty facemask was born out of necessity. I understand he incurred an eye injury when he was involved in a night club altercation back in college.
link
Speaking of facemasks, I was hunting for pictures of Lanny McDonald for my article on Gary Roberts, and I came across link worn by Mr. McDonald.
[quote comment=”317869″]I find some irony and/or hypocricy that Nike thinks that making black shoes for the A’s is cost prohibitive, but has no problem producing a myriad of NCAA tournament specific unis and shoe designs[/quote]
the only irony in that is the fact that the cash-rich 15-25YO demographic won’t be running out to spend $150 per on a’s black cleats…that’s what makes it cost prohibitive — to nike — because they can only produce a couple hundy of the cleats, but THOUSANDS of the kicks
link. Reggie weeps as the O’s move on to the 1971 WS.
link.
I have said it before, and I will say it again… I love the SoD uniforms. They are, for the most part, clean, simple, and easy on the eyes. But, those new designs by Nike are just rancid. I don’t mind the shoes as much, but what is up with the graphics in the jersey? To me it is very gimmicky. If you want to try it with the Zags, or other MAC schools, and I’ll even give you Oregon,that is fine. But, don’t mess with classic b-ball schools like Duke, State, or Memphis.
On a different note, are we even gonna hear from MPowers today? I think he has printed off those pics. of the tournament Hyperdunks and will be in his room all day. Hahaha, just teasing you, Matt!
Oh, Chris Canty. I wish I’d known no one had pointed it out on here yet. We usually just call him “The Facemask” around my apartment.
[quote comment=”317866″]BTW, that doesn’t look like the UCLA cheerleading squad … it looks like the “dance team” … the Bruinettes or whatever they’re called these days.
See pix 3 and 7, with the cheerleaders in the background, dance team in the foreground.[/quote]
Yes, that’s the UCLA Dance Team, not the cheerleaders.
[quote comment=”317873″]link. Reggie weeps as the O’s move on to the 1971 WS.
link.[/quote]
That is an old-school dugout!
And sweet unis.
[quote comment=”317877″][quote comment=”317873″]link. Reggie weeps as the O’s move on to the 1971 WS.
link.[/quote]
That is an old-school dugout!
And sweet unis.[/quote]
The A’s must have lost because they did get hydrated. Where are the 8 million Gatorade cups?
[quote]Chris Canty, who recently signed with the Giants, has a fairly unique facemask design, so Greg Riffenburgh suggested that I ask Joe Skiba if he’s making any special arrangements. I did just that, to which Joe replied: “Dallas actually sent over their stock of facemasks.” Cowboys and Giants staffers cooperating and helping each other out? Scandalous![/quote]
BLASPHEMY!
I wish I knew how to remove the thought of the ‘Boys cooperating with ny before it bores a hole straight through my brain.
[quote comment=”317878″][quote comment=”317877″][quote comment=”317873″]link. Reggie weeps as the O’s move on to the 1971 WS.
link.[/quote]
That is an old-school dugout!
And sweet unis.[/quote]
The A’s must have lost because they did get hydrated. Where are the 8 million Gatorade cups?[/quote]
s/b “Didn’t get”
Great interview with Vuc…guy’s been there forever and seen a lot. You should do a more in depth one with him sometime, what with the A’s being such uniform “innovators” for so many years. Not sure if Vuc was in KC too, but certainly back to the move to Oakland.
[quote comment=”317880″][quote comment=”317878″][quote comment=”317877″][quote comment=”317873″]link. Reggie weeps as the O’s move on to the 1971 WS.
link.[/quote]
That is an old-school dugout!
And sweet unis.[/quote]
The A’s must have lost because they did get hydrated. Where are the 8 million Gatorade cups?[/quote]
s/b “Didn’t get”[/quote]
maybe it was just a bad angle and reggie had a hangnail… happens to the best of us! haha
[quote comment=”317876″][quote comment=”317866″]BTW, that doesn’t look like the UCLA cheerleading squad … it looks like the “dance team” … the Bruinettes or whatever they’re called these days.
See pix 3 and 7, with the cheerleaders in the background, dance team in the foreground.[/quote]
Yes, that’s the UCLA Dance Team, not the cheerleaders.[/quote]
ehhh… apples… oranges… really hot girls in skimpy clothes (i mean uniforms, for the sake of the comments section). ok, enough, i’ll stop!!! ;-)
Today’s items on basketball shoes reminded me that Waaaaaay “back in the day” (1970/71), we thought our basketball team at Mehlville (MO) High looked cool ’cause we wore link… y’know, like the link!
Nice to see the Panthers link to this day…
[quote comment=”317876″][quote comment=”317866″]BTW, that doesn’t look like the UCLA cheerleading squad … it looks like the “dance team” … the Bruinettes or whatever they’re called these days.
See pix 3 and 7, with the cheerleaders in the background, dance team in the foreground.[/quote]
Yes, that’s the UCLA Dance Team, not the cheerleaders.[/quote]
Let me go back and check again…
Brett Hull as a doll:
link
Was this common in the early 90s?
Charley Pride is a former Negro Leagues player—he’s been a guest of the Rangers’ Spring Training camp every year since 1974 or so.
That’s why I love hanging out here. My thought process: “Hey, wait, isn’t Charley Pride a former pro ballplayer? I’ll bet somebody in the comments knows.” Well done, u2-horn.
I love the late-’60s/early-’70s A’s unis, especially the gold helmets.
[quote comment=”317873″]link. Reggie weeps as the O’s move on to the 1971 WS.
link.[/quote]
Late ’71 also when A’s first went to white adidas. Prior to that, they wore white Riddells.
—Ricko
link
[quote comment=”317886″]Brett Hull as a doll:
link
Was this common in the early 90s?[/quote]
Only several players were made. Hull was one of them. They didn’t sell well either from what I remember.
Watching the Pens/Panthers game last night, I couldn’t help but think how close the Panthers are to having a great looking uniform. I think I could even forgive the goofy elbow striping and unnecessary piping if they could replace that goofy “Comin’ at ya!” panther logo with something more traditional.
link
The color scheme and proportions are really terrific, IMO.
[quote comment=”317888″][quote comment=”317873″]link. Reggie weeps as the O’s move on to the 1971 WS.
link.[/quote]
Late ’71 also when A’s first went to white adidas. Prior to that, they wore white Riddells.
—Ricko[/quote]
Don’t you want to go over there and say in the photo, “Don’t worry, Reggie. Your time is coming. You’ll win five World Series championships and have one of the most memorable games ever.”
He had a passion for the game, for sure.
LOVE the Wisconsin Spring Tulips gear…especially the alternate helmet “worn only during the three-week tulip planting season.”
Makes sense to me.
Regarding Charlie Pride…there was another Pride(Curtis) that played for several teams…no relation to Charlie.
link
On McGlinchy’s tiny C: In 1999, the Braves still had vertical arched NOBs, and only used radial arching for mid-season acquisitions. So that jersey would have been made for McGlinchy on short notice. Would there be some other place where one-inch letter Cs would be sitting around the clubhouse waiting to be used? Lettering for players’ bags? Locker nameplates?
On the UCLA cheerleaders: wow, the pajama look is spreading. Is there any doubt that the skirt-based outfits look much, much better than those silly loose pants?
The mismatched Lakers purple discussion brought me back to a color coordination problem that always bothered me with the Lakers, why in the late 80s 90s were they unable to match the Lakers purple on kneepads for Magic Johnson and went with blue instead
link
This photo …
link
… looks fairly recent. However, the logo on that duffel bag hasn’t been used since ’94. They must have a surplus of those things.
Nice job about stirrups, of which I, also, am a fan.
I wonder why reporters refer to “high socks”. I know it is a look, but the socks are all the same length; it’s the pants that are high. These are probably the same people who refer to “old” Braves Field, as though there is a new one someplace.
Any clues about why so many Hispanics don’t like to tuck in their shirts, and often pull them out of their pants on the field at a game’s end. Edgar Renteria was the first one I noticed, but David Ortiz, Jose Reyes and Hanley Ramirez are three others with these “habits”.
[quote comment=”317896″]This photo …
link
… looks fairly recent. However, the logo on that duffel bag hasn’t been used since ’94. They must have a surplus of those things.[/quote]
Equipment guys will use things for years until the need arises for a replacement. You’ll always see old trunks and duffels when a team hits the road- and they usually have a cool “retro” look to them.
I have a question for Paul, and possible, Mr. Vucinich.
He has a standard supply of sanitaries and stirrups that he brings with him on the road – entirely cool. Where does he order them from?
The reason I ask is that if he has a supplier, I’m sure they could use some additional business.
Like, namely, my entire ball team.
[quote comment=”317899″]I have a question for Paul, and possible, Mr. Vucinich.
He has a standard supply of sanitaries and stirrups that he brings with him on the road – entirely cool. Where does he order them from?
The reason I ask is that if he has a supplier, I’m sure they could use some additional business.
Like, namely, my entire ball team.[/quote]
He mentioned that he’s getting his throwback socks from Twin City, and I’m fairly certain that’s where he gets all his other hose. They’re the top name in the business.
Look here:
link
[quote comment=”317900″][quote comment=”317899″]I have a question for Paul, and possible, Mr. Vucinich.
He has a standard supply of sanitaries and stirrups that he brings with him on the road – entirely cool. Where does he order them from?
The reason I ask is that if he has a supplier, I’m sure they could use some additional business.
Like, namely, my entire ball team.[/quote]
He mentioned that he’s getting his throwback socks from Twin City, and I’m fairly certain that’s where he gets all his other hose. They’re the top name in the business.
Look here:
link
Thanks, Paul. I wasn’t sure if he got both the throwbacks and the stirrups at the same place. Much appreciated, sir!
Probably been mentioned before, but it is truly a shame that Alabama State goes NNOB:
link
link
[quote comment=”317902″]Probably been mentioned before, but it is truly a shame that Alabama State goes NNOB:
link
link
That kid couldn’t even get his name tattooed across his shoulders without running out of room!
I am pretty sure that those K State unis were not a laundy problem but somebody’s really bad idea. Before Bill Snyder came to the football team and brought the silver as an accent color their football and basketball teams used a 2 tone purple, if memory serves.
[quote comment=”317903″][quote comment=”317902″]Probably been mentioned before, but it is truly a shame that Alabama State goes NNOB:
link
link
That kid couldn’t even get his name tattooed across his shoulders without running out of room![/quote]
What a pleasure it must have been to annonce the wedding of his parents, Grlenntys Chief Kickingstallionsims, Sr. and Barbara R. Paulson ! (Take your husband’s name, Barbara. You know you want to.)
First, while I really, really like the idea of more pictures of cheerleader uniforms :-) that also begs the question of “does this belong in a blog of a different color”? But as long as we’re on the subject: that first picture with all of them holding up two fingers in the peace sign symbol: isn’t that specifically USC’s schtick? You’d think they would avoid the crosstown rival like the Plague.
And on the Iditarod: while I really hope advertising on the dogs is prohibited by rule, if it isn’t all of the contestants seem to be missing a golden (no pun intended) opportunity.
Picture four with the guy wearing a wolf hat: yes, that’s the spirit of the original mushers who needed this transportation mode to survive.
When was the last time the Oakland A’s wore a Philadelphia Athletics throwback uniform? I wonder, cynically, if the creation of that uniform is to prevent the MLS franchise in Philadelphia from trying to name itself Philadelphia Athletic or A.C. Philadelphia or some such.
I think Memphis is going with that goofy design to scare their opponents by making them think they’re battling the Decepticons.
[quote comment=”317906″]First, while I really, really like the idea of more pictures of cheerleader uniforms :-) that also begs the question of “does this belong in a blog of a different color”? But as long as we’re on the subject: that first picture with all of them holding up two fingers in the peace sign symbol: isn’t that specifically USC’s schtick? You’d think they would avoid the crosstown rival like the Plague.
[/quote]
[quote comment=\”317906\”]First, while I really, really like the idea of more pictures of cheerleader uniforms :-) that also begs the question of \”does this belong in a blog of a different color\”? But as long as we\’re on the subject: that first picture with all of them holding up two fingers in the peace sign symbol: isn\’t that specifically USC\’s schtick? You\’d think they would avoid the crosstown rival like the Plague.
[/quote]
That always bothered me, but they do that at the end of victories when the band plays the alma mater. They hold the two fingers open for victory, and during losses, they hold the two fingers up but they are closed.
link
Michigan hockey coach Red Berenson talking about the hockey team’s winged helmets, including the genesis of how they came to be, and why the wings are taped on rather than painted. Pretty great interview.
Yeah, but did any of the Uclan dance team go Trojan Song Girl commando?
Paul beat me to the punch on the Twin City Knitting source for stirrups…but I do want to say thanks for great entry today. Fun stuff.
Too bad MBL just doesn’t just make a rule that pants cannot extend any lower than mid-calf (period!), and then simply stop supplying longer pants to the players. Only negative is that these days we’d see a lot of hightops with stirrups, which looks like Little Leaguers of the ’50s playing in black Keds or Converse All-Stars. Those were great shoes, but that is a seriously dumb look.
(I have long held to a theory that the reason Buckner booted that easy grounder was because his Nike high tops looked SO unbelievably stupid with ribbon stirrups that it pissed off the baseball gods).
Sadly, though, as I mentioned over the weekend, in the 21st century baseball in MLB and in international competition has for the most part become a game that is played in long pants. Like cricket.
—Ricko
[quote comment=”317905″]Grlenntys Chief Kickingstallionsims, Sr.[/quote]How’d you like to be behind this guy in line while he signs his name to a check? :-)
“Okay sir, now can I see your license to compare signatures??? Yeah, well… close enough.”
[quote comment=”317884″]Today’s items on basketball shoes reminded me that Waaaaaay “back in the day” (1970/71), we thought our basketball team at Mehlville (MO) High looked cool ’cause we wore link… y’know, like the link!
[/quote]
Didn’t the Celtics always wear black Chucks?
[quote comment=”317913″][quote comment=”317905″]Grlenntys Chief Kickingstallionsims, Sr.[/quote]How’d you like to be behind this guy in line while he signs his name to a check? :-)
“Okay sir, now can I see your license to compare signatures??? Yeah, well… close enough.”[/quote]
His drivers license have a hinge? Y’know, for the fold in the plastic?
[quote comment=”317914″][quote comment=”317884″]Today’s items on basketball shoes reminded me that Waaaaaay “back in the day” (1970/71), we thought our basketball team at Mehlville (MO) High looked cool ’cause we wore link… y’know, like the link!
[/quote]
Didn’t the Celtics always wear black Chucks?[/quote]
Wore green adidas and others there for a while.
[quote comment=”317916″][quote comment=”317914″][quote comment=”317884″]Today’s items on basketball shoes reminded me that Waaaaaay “back in the day” (1970/71), we thought our basketball team at Mehlville (MO) High looked cool ’cause we wore link… y’know, like the link!
[/quote]
Didn’t the Celtics always wear black Chucks?[/quote]
Wore green adidas and others there for a while.[/quote]
Jo Jo White era.
In response to the Fernando Torres news, those are indeed a new colorway for the boot and will be on sale April 1st. For other soccer fans, I believe today will be the debut of Nike’s new Mercurial Vapor Superfly, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic set to wear them in Champions League today.
Today’s interview reminds me of the great stirrups worn by Esteban Loaiza for 2 games in 2007, with the A’s logo on them:
link
Can we get those handed out to the team?
It’s weird to see Orioles closer George Sherrill with a link. More evidence that the BP hats don’t like to be flat.
Not sure if this has ben mentioned, but rumors are flyin’ about new uniforms for the Lions. Story here link
Looking for pictures of the Rangers in stirrups, I came across this…
link
Those Gonzaga unis are an absolute disaster! They are the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Zags is a lame nickname. Do you ever see Duke with anything on a uni or otherwise that says “Dukies?” No.
Can someone please get that Gonzaga rear-uni design, change “Go Zags!” to “D- Bags!” and post it so I can save it for some Zag-bashing e-mails when they bow out in the second round? Thanks.
Don’t remember seeing this, but Kevin Costner may actually get a chance to be Crash Davis.
He has link in The Northern League that will play out of Gurnee, Illinois.
[quote comment=”317922″]Looking for pictures of the Rangers in stirrups, I came across this…
link
Now that’s ugly! (When did the Rangers start using that custom block font with the thorns attached?) They really need to make some thinner letters for Salty like link.
[quote comment=”317896″]This photo …
link
… looks fairly recent. However, the logo on that duffel bag hasn’t been used since ’94. They must have a surplus of those things.[/quote]
Yeah, that’s a pic from last season, the first the A’s wore that style of black uni (the player is Aaron Cunningham). The only logo I ever see on the A’s duffels, bat bags, ball bags, helmet bags, team chairs, etc. is still the older logo (and a somewhat lighter shade of green, not quite the forest green the team uses now). It drives me crazy that the A hasn’t been more standardized – compare the link to the link.
Also, Rajai Davis is now link.
Texas just started using that font on their unis, see Paul’s post link.
Good spoof of the stimulus logo here:
link
[quote comment=”317926″][quote comment=”317896″]This photo …
link
… looks fairly recent. However, the logo on that duffel bag hasn’t been used since ’94. They must have a surplus of those things.[/quote]
Yeah, that’s a pic from last season, the first the A’s wore that style of black uni (the player is Aaron Cunningham). The only logo I ever see on the A’s duffels, bat bags, ball bags, helmet bags, team chairs, etc. is still the older logo (and a somewhat lighter shade of green, not quite the forest green the team uses now). It drives me crazy that the A hasn’t been more standardized – compare the link to the link.
Also, Rajai Davis is now link.
Texas just started using that font on their unis, see Paul’s post link.[/quote]
The fact that the helmet “A” hasn’t matched the hat “A” since 1972 has bothered me since 1981. There has to be an explanation for this.
Beating Jeremy Brahm to it …
link
His name is Corey Wimberly and he is nimble.
link
Probably all over this already, but just saw this on CBS:
Kinsler, Guardado leading Texas Rangers stirrups movement:
link
First they ditched the helmet, now this. I like it.
[quote comment=”317927″]Good spoof of the stimulus logo here:
link
What do you expect from that network?
[quote comment=”317904″]I am pretty sure that those K State unis were not a laundy problem but somebody’s really bad idea. Before Bill Snyder came to the football team and brought the silver as an accent color their football and basketball teams used a 2 tone purple, if memory serves.[/quote]
I believe you’re correct. The lighter purple was almost lavender. TCU football many years ago
sported silver helmets and “light purple” home jerseys.
I love reading Terry Proctor\’s snippets. His knowledge of all things uni-related never ceases to amaze me!
[quote comment=”317933″][quote comment=”317904″]I am pretty sure that those K State unis were not a laundy problem but somebody’s really bad idea. Before Bill Snyder came to the football team and brought the silver as an accent color their football and basketball teams used a 2 tone purple, if memory serves.[/quote]
I believe you’re correct. The lighter purple was almost lavender. TCU football many years ago
sported silver helmets and “light purple” home jerseys.[/quote]
yecch (that’s the away, but you get the idea)
[quote comment=”317935″][quote comment=”317933″][quote comment=”317904″]I am pretty sure that those K State unis were not a laundy problem but somebody’s really bad idea. Before Bill Snyder came to the football team and brought the silver as an accent color their football and basketball teams used a 2 tone purple, if memory serves.[/quote]
I believe you’re correct. The lighter purple was almost lavender. TCU football many years ago
sported silver helmets and “light purple” home jerseys.[/quote]
link (that’s the away, but you get the idea)[/quote]
The “away” for whom? K-State or TCU?
[quote comment=”317936″][quote comment=”317935″][quote comment=”317933″][quote comment=”317904″]I am pretty sure that those K State unis were not a laundy problem but somebody’s really bad idea. Before Bill Snyder came to the football team and brought the silver as an accent color their football and basketball teams used a 2 tone purple, if memory serves.[/quote]
I believe you’re correct. The lighter purple was almost lavender. TCU football many years ago
sported silver helmets and “light purple” home jerseys.[/quote]
link (that’s the away, but you get the idea)[/quote]
The “away” for whom? K-State or TCU?[/quote]
TCU (see the helmets)– was to give you idea of the lavender used (as seen on the numerals and the socks) … sorry for the confusion
k-state
[quote comment=”317891″]Watching the Pens/Panthers game last night, I couldn’t help but think how close the Panthers are to having a great looking uniform. I think I could even forgive the goofy elbow striping and unnecessary piping if they could replace that goofy “Comin’ at ya!” panther logo with something more traditional.
link
The color scheme and proportions are really terrific, IMO.[/quote]
See, I kinda like the panther coming at me. In sports you rarely see a full animal in the logo, it is usually just a head with fangs that looks like it was cut off and shot up with steroids. Lose the piping and the dumbass elbow stripes, create a more traditional sleeve stripe and that is a damn nice uni.
There is still no ice in Florida though…
[quote comment=”317939″][quote comment=”317891″]Watching the Pens/Panthers game last night, I couldn’t help but think how close the Panthers are to having a great looking uniform. I think I could even forgive the goofy elbow striping and unnecessary piping if they could replace that goofy “Comin’ at ya!” panther logo with something more traditional.
link
The color scheme and proportions are really terrific, IMO.[/quote]
See, I kinda like the panther coming at me. In sports you rarely see a full animal in the logo, it is usually just a head with fangs that looks like it was cut off and shot up with steroids. Lose the piping and the dumbass elbow stripes, create a more traditional sleeve stripe and that is a damn nice uni.
There is still no ice in Florida though…[/quote]
I thought their unis with the shoulder triangle that came to a point on the sleeves were way better.
link
I do like their colors and the full panther.
[quote comment=”317925″][quote comment=”317922″]Looking for pictures of the Rangers in stirrups, I came across this…
link
Now that’s ugly! (When did the Rangers start using that custom block font with the thorns attached?) They really need to make some thinner letters for Salty like link.[/quote]
His font was thinner in the past:
link
When he came to Texas, one of the local papers actually talked to the equipment manager, who said he used the thinnest letters that they had available.
I bet that the size in that picture has to do with the Rangers not yet having “smaller” letters since they just introduced the font this year.
[quote comment=\”317919\”]Today\’s interview reminds me of the great stirrups worn by Esteban Loaiza for 2 games in 2007, with the A\’s logo on them:
link
Can we get those handed out to the team?[/quote]
Perhaps he was wearing the A\’s version of this link
Manchester United is supposed to be wearing a new uni tonight against Inter. The top is going to feature a patch/badge/insignia honoring their winning of link.
They can wear it for the Champions League games, but the Premier League won’t let them wear the badge for PL games.
Here’s the link.
Is calling the article about the M’s cool a way of telling us “Hey, look who quoted me?”
[quote comment=”317940″][quote comment=”317939″][quote comment=”317891″]Watching the Pens/Panthers game last night, I couldn’t help but think how close the Panthers are to having a great looking uniform. I think I could even forgive the goofy elbow striping and unnecessary piping if they could replace that goofy “Comin’ at ya!” panther logo with something more traditional.
link
The color scheme and proportions are really terrific, IMO.[/quote]
See, I kinda like the panther coming at me. In sports you rarely see a full animal in the logo, it is usually just a head with fangs that looks like it was cut off and shot up with steroids. Lose the piping and the dumbass elbow stripes, create a more traditional sleeve stripe and that is a damn nice uni.
There is still no ice in Florida though…[/quote]
I thought their unis with the shoulder triangle that came to a point on the sleeves were way better.
link
I do like their colors and the full panther.[/quote]
i always loved that old jersey and logo. kinda wish the panther had the broken stick in its hand to show a little more hockey
link
also, one of the best shoulder patches in the league!
link
and yes, there IS in fact ice in florida… and it’s SUCH a great day to go to the beach in the morning/afternoon, then off to an nhl gmae in the evening… i’ve done so a few times now. in shorts. i dont care how “traditional” you are! haha
[quote comment=”317945″][quote comment=”317940″][quote comment=”317939″][quote comment=”317891″]Watching the Pens/Panthers game last night, I couldn’t help but think how close the Panthers are to having a great looking uniform. I think I could even forgive the goofy elbow striping and unnecessary piping if they could replace that goofy “Comin’ at ya!” panther logo with something more traditional.
link
The color scheme and proportions are really terrific, IMO.[/quote]
See, I kinda like the panther coming at me. In sports you rarely see a full animal in the logo, it is usually just a head with fangs that looks like it was cut off and shot up with steroids. Lose the piping and the dumbass elbow stripes, create a more traditional sleeve stripe and that is a damn nice uni.
There is still no ice in Florida though…[/quote]
I thought their unis with the shoulder triangle that came to a point on the sleeves were way better.
link
I do like their colors and the full panther.[/quote]
i always loved that old jersey and logo. kinda wish the panther had the broken stick in its hand to show a little more hockey
link
also, one of the best shoulder patches in the league!
link
and yes, there IS in fact ice in florida… and it’s SUCH a great day to go to the beach in the morning/afternoon, then off to an nhl gmae in the evening… i’ve done so a few times now. in shorts. i dont care how “traditional” you are! haha[/quote]
Definitely agree with the shoulder patch… I guess the current logo is just a little cartoon-y for me. For me, when it comes to hockey sweaters, less is more.
[quote comment=”317945″]and yes, there IS in fact ice in florida… and it’s SUCH a great day to go to the beach in the morning/afternoon, then off to an nhl gmae in the evening… i’ve done so a few times now. in shorts. i dont care how “traditional” you are! haha[/quote]
I went down for a couple of games in January. Can’t beat going to the game in a jersey and shorts- reminds me of a deep run into the playoffs!
Oh- except for all the empty seats.
Roger,
I saw this story at about 7am on the west coast from one of my sites that I normally read. Actually I sent it to Paul after I saw it.
I know the story very well, I was shocked when I saw that Sanders had survived this long.
The Tigers that year were just on fire.
If you want to read about Bass and his time with the Tigers, read “You Gotta Have Wa” by Robert Whiting.
[quote comment=”317946″]
Definitely agree with the shoulder patch… I guess the current logo is just a little cartoon-y for me. For me, when it comes to hockey sweaters, less is more.[/quote]
Wouldn’t a simpler panther logo be MORE cartoony?
[quote comment=”317928″]The fact that the helmet “A” hasn’t matched the hat “A” since 1972 has bothered me since 1981.[/quote]I just have to ask: why weren’t you bothered about this during the period from 1972 to 1980?
:-))
Squiddie,
Last year was the first time that FIFA had teams wear the Club World Champion patch with AC Milan. They wore it immediately after winning it in December 2007. I am surprised that Manchester United did not do the same until today.
[quote comment=\”317945\”]also, one of the best shoulder patches in the league!
link
And for THE best shoulder patch in the league…
link
You’ve already been beaten to the “Idiotarod.” It takes place in NYC every January, only with shopping carts, rather than sleds: link
[quote comment=”317932″][quote comment=”317927″]Good spoof of the stimulus logo here:
link
What do you expect from that network?[/quote]
If you noticed, it is from the D-FW affiliate. Take off your liberal goggles and maybe you will realize that Fox News is the most balanced news network out there. I guess having the same amount of lefties and righties is too extreme for you though. I thought you were the “open-minded” ideology?
[quote comment=”317950″][quote comment=”317928″]The fact that the helmet “A” hasn’t matched the hat “A” since 1972 has bothered me since 1981.[/quote]I just have to ask: why weren’t you bothered about this during the period from 1972 to 1980?
:-))[/quote]
I was a toddler.
[quote comment=”317955″][quote comment=”317932″][quote comment=”317927″]Good spoof of the stimulus logo here:
link
What do you expect from that network?[/quote]
If you noticed, it is from the D-FW affiliate. Take off your liberal goggles and maybe you will realize that Fox News is the most balanced news network out there. I guess having the same amount of lefties and righties is too extreme for you though. I thought you were the “open-minded” ideology?[/quote]
Who said I was liberal?
[quote comment=”317948″]Roger,
I saw this story at about 7am on the west coast from one of my sites that I normally read. Actually I sent it to Paul after I saw it.
I know the story very well, I was shocked when I saw that Sanders had survived this long.
The Tigers that year were just on fire.
If you want to read about Bass and his time with the Tigers, read “You Gotta Have Wa” by Robert Whiting.[/quote]
Funny. I worked for a Japanese company, here in America. They tried making “You Gotta Have Wa” our department motto. They eventually laid everyone off and outsourced to India.
Wonder how much Coach Calipari got for allowing “refuse to lose” to be printed on the Memphis sneakers? 99% sure he got a copywrite on that phrase when he was at UMass.
[quote comment=”317951″]
Last year was the first time that FIFA had teams wear the Club World Champion patch with AC Milan. They wore it immediately after winning it in December 2007. I am surprised that Manchester United did not do the same until today.[/quote]
Maybe they’ve finally decided to play up their position as they drive to the Quintuple. Sigh.
According to the MU site they will wear the patch in FA And Carling Cup games and Champions League games.
link
[quote comment=”317937″][quote comment=”317936″][quote comment=”317935″][quote comment=”317933″][quote comment=”317904″]I am pretty sure that those K State unis were not a laundy problem but somebody’s really bad idea. Before Bill Snyder came to the football team and brought the silver as an accent color their football and basketball teams used a 2 tone purple, if memory serves.[/quote]
I believe you’re correct. The lighter purple was almost lavender. TCU football many years ago
sported silver helmets and “light purple” home jerseys.[/quote]
link (that’s the away, but you get the idea)[/quote]
The “away” for whom? K-State or TCU?[/quote]
TCU (see the helmets)– was to give you idea of the lavender used (as seen on the numerals and the socks) … sorry for the confusion[/quote]
link
We called them the lavender lovelies. An idea that more or less misfired. (More more than less.)
That said, the original concept looked a hell of a lot better than the throwbacks. For one the were less baggy, for two, the front number contrasted with the nicely outlined “Kansas State.” link
[quote comment=”317956″]I was a toddler.[/quote]We’ll trust that had you been aware, you would have been outraged.
[quote comment=”317959″]Wonder how much Coach Calipari got for allowing “refuse to lose” to be printed on the Memphis sneakers? 99% sure he got a copywrite on that phrase when he was at UMass. [/quote]Since the time it was copyrighted (trademarked?) by Pat Riley, has “threepeat” been needed by any pro team other than the Bulls?
A minimum eight-peat, my friends…
A few teams have needed to use “link.”
Indiana’s baseball team went with the ol’ abominable snowman look yesterday against Morehead St. The ones I find funniest are of the batters with long white pants, white top, and white helmet.
IU vs. Morehead St
The thing is that top with the script “Indiana” used to have red placket stripes and looked daaaaamn cool. I was mad because replicas weren’t available for sale.
Cant say I’m a fan of the all-white look on the diamond. Throw a red hat on there and it’ll be decent.
ooooooops
link
TCM right now has 2 Ronald Reagan movies. The 1st one came on at 8 and is called “Brother Rat” They had some baseball at the beginning
At 9:45 they will have Brother Rat and a baby. It says something about football coach Eddie Albert.
So it may have some football scenes. I never saw these 2 but I am dvring them.
[quote comment=”317961″][quote comment=”317937″][quote comment=”317936″][quote comment=”317935″][quote comment=”317933″][quote comment=”317904″]I am pretty sure that those K State unis were not a laundy problem but somebody’s really bad idea. Before Bill Snyder came to the football team and brought the silver as an accent color their football and basketball teams used a 2 tone purple, if memory serves.[/quote]
I believe you’re correct. The lighter purple was almost lavender. TCU football many years ago
sported silver helmets and “light purple” home jerseys.[/quote]
link (that’s the away, but you get the idea)[/quote]
The “away” for whom? K-State or TCU?[/quote]
TCU (see the helmets)– was to give you idea of the lavender used (as seen on the numerals and the socks) … sorry for the confusion[/quote]
link
We called them the lavender lovelies. An idea that more or less misfired. (More more than less.)
That said, the original concept looked a hell of a lot better than the throwbacks. For one the were less baggy, for two, the front number contrasted with the nicely outlined “Kansas State.” link
Loved the KSU unis of the 1970s-1980s.
They were old-school, unique, and were in no way an affront to uni sensibility – UW’s anti-purple sentiments aside.
I wish they still used them.
[quote comment=”317959″]Wonder how much Coach Calipari got for allowing “refuse to lose” to be printed on the Memphis sneakers? 99% sure he got a copywrite on that phrase when he was at UMass.[/quote]
link
link
New Mexico State will have a new helmet
For anyone watching the WBC right now, Francisco Rodriguez is rocking the Pedro Porthole.
[quote comment=”317970″]http://www.bleedcrimson.net/node/2131
New Mexico State will have a new helmet[/quote]
Pretty lame
[quote comment=”317972″][quote comment=”317970″]http://www.bleedcrimson.net/node/2131
New Mexico State will have a new helmet[/quote]
Pretty lame[/quote]
I agree and what about those teams that change helmets, unis or logos every few years or most of the time there is a new coaching change
“Player exclusive shoes in soccer are extremely rare to non-existent”
Euh… define player exclusive… in your remark it appears to mean that the shoe is branded with the player’s name. This has actually a pretty long history in soccer: I remember wearing a pair of Adidas ‘Gullit’ (red and silver on black) and know for a fact that there’s an adapted version of the Copa Mundials branded ‘Kaiser’ (for Franz Beckenbauer, who played in the 70s). I think I saw some Schmeichel branded Hummel shoes as well. And Pele has a line of shoes with Puma (I haven’t had the time to look up the soccer boots, but I’m retty sure they’re there.
to Greg Riffenbrugh: The Nike total 90 Laser 2 colorway that you saw Fernando Torres wearing is not exclusive. Sometimes certain players are given the boots before others and they debut them, similar to ronaldo and ibrahimovic’s debut of the nike mercurial vapor 5 superfly (uses nikes flywire tech) heres a link of manchester united defender Patrice Evra wearing them during practice before the match vs Internazional de Milan : link