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Uni Watch

Closet Case, Vol. 3

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I’ve had some very good eBay luck lately, scoring a bunch of excellent uniforms and related items. Let’s take a look, beginning with this beauty:

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I wore this one while emceeing last month’s Open Mic Show-and-Tell at the City Reliquary and got several nice comments. I paid too much for it ($40), but I couldn’t resist the barber pole striping on the sleeves. Same design on the back. The numbers are screened, not sewn, but it’s really heavy-duty, high-quality screening, so I don’t mind so much.

One thing that interests me: the Durack label. I’ve seen this brand name a handful of other times, always on durene shirts. Given the obvious similarities between the two words, did Durack specialize in durene? I asked Terry Proctor, who said: “I remember them — a small cut-and-sew house from Phila. that made your basic T-shirts and softball-type jerseys. Looked very similar to the maroon shirt w/ white sleeves you bought a while back. I don’t know about their company name. It could be from ‘durene’ or it could be part of a contraction.”

Next:

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This one was $24. Durene again — tasty. The numbering is sewn tackle twill, as is the lettering on the back. Great bar name, right? It’s near Eau Claire, Wisconsin. And although I generally prefer woven tags rather than printed ones, there’s something very nice about this Russell Southern tag design.

Next:

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A steal at $20. Durene yet again. As you can see, it’s very similar to the early North Stars design, except the white yoke doesn’t extend onto the sleeves and the collar doesn’t have the gold trim. Blank on the back. Printed tag is slowly fraying to death. Goes reallyreallyreally well with the vintage Pro Keds I bought earlier this year. One odd annoyance: The collar opening is a bit snug, so I’m always afraid I’m gonna rip a seam when I pull it over my head. Hasn’t happened yet, though.

Next:

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This one wasn’t from eBay. Warren Humphrey, who runs the awesome Both Teams Played Hard site, sold it to me for a mere 30 clams. I love everything about it, from the ribbed mini-check pattern to the tackle twill lettering on the back and the “Action-Tailored” Rawlings tagging. A real prize.

And now, as you’ll see, I’ve saved the best for last:

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Bargain of the century at $52 (and yes, in case you couldn’t tell by now, I really like the color green). This one has so many interesting details, we’re gonna need a bulleted list to go over all of them:

• This is by far the softest, most comfortable wool jersey I’ve ever owned. It’s definitely wool, but it feels more like cotton — almost felt-like. Even the sun collar feels nice and cushy against the back of my neck. Remarkable.

• Pretty rare to see green and orange on a uniform, right? The only two examples I can think of, both from the world of college football, are Colorado State and Miami, and they were both orange with green trim instead of the other way around.

•  The green jersey came with green pants and orange/green stirrups (the latter with some very nice hand-darned repairs), which combine to create a tremendous green-orange-green color-blocked effect on the lower legs. Too bad I didn’t have an orange undershirt to use for those shots.

• I love the vertically arched felt lettering, which appears to have been hand-cut. What does “Warsaw” refer to? Well, the uniform came from a now-defunct sporting goods shop called R.S. Elliott Arms in Kansas City (here’s an obituary for the shop’s president), and there’s a town called Warsaw about 100 miles southeast of KC, so that might explain it.

• The left sleeve has this groovy Phillips 66 patch.

• The back has a big Osage Oil Co. patch. At first I thought that must have been a subdivision of Phillips or something like that. But then I noticed a buried treasure: On the inside of the jersey, you can see that the uniform was originally for a team called the Phillips Flyers, and then the Osage Oil patch was added later on to cover up the Flyers team name. (You can still see a little bit of the “P” peeking out from under the patch.) It’s super-tempting to remove the patch and see the original lettering underneath, but I worry that I’d damage the jersey in the process. Meanwhile, if you google “Osage Oil,” you learn a lot about an Indian tribe in Oklahoma. And if you google “Phillips Flyers Missouri” (among several other terms I tried), you don’t come up with much of anything. So I can’t quite figure out the story behind the path that this uniform took, at least for now.

In case you haven’t been keeping a running tally, my total expenditures for these five items was $166. If you add in the shipping charges, the grand total is $193 — less than you’d pay for a single “authentic” jersey in any of the four major sports (plus way cooler, natch). Still can’t understand how anyone shells out for those overpriced polyester things, but hey, different strokes and all that.

And here’s a bonus item — not really a uniform, but similar in spirit:

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Picked this one up for $20 last weekend at a vintage sale that my friend Liz McGarrity was running out of her apartment. It has nothing to do with sports, but it still has a uni-related feel to it, no? Nothing on the back, but that’s okay. A nice one to go out on.

+ + + + +

ESPN reminder: In case you missed it yesterday, here’s my latest ESPN column.

Year-end giveaway reminder: Remember, the annual reader-appreciation giveaway is now in progress. Details here.

Uni Watch News Ticker: Sometimes a blocking sled is really a sled. That’s Bill Willis and Lin Houston at a Browns practice, circa late 1940s. And that’s one sweet-looking jacket (great find by Dan Smith). ”¦ Did you notice that Brett Favre’s towel had a backwards “4” the other night? Here’s why (with thanks to Nicole Haase). ”¦ Here’s another case of an expansion team pulling a uni switcheroo in spring training: The 1977 Mariners’ powder blue road jerseys featured the city name on the front, but in spring training they had the team name. Both of those shots were taken at the M’s spring training facility on 3/6/77, and the guy on the right is original team owner Danny Kaye. “Seems like a pretty significant expenditure for a first-year team to change out their entire set of road unis right before the season,” says Michael Turner). ”¦ Here’s a breakdown of ugly cycling jerseys, although some of them don’t seem so bad to me (with thanks to Stephen King). ”¦ I’m not sure of the story behind this, but check out this 1939 shot of Teddy Ballgame wearing No. 5. Mark Weinstein sent it to me but says it’s “of unknown provenance.” Anyone know more? ”¦ Here’s a new one: a rugby game postponed due to missing shoe inserts (with thanks to Chris Bisbee). ”¦ Yesterday I ran this photo of a New York Female Giants player. Kirsten was intrigued, so she found some additional shots of the Female Giants, including a killer team portrait. ”¦ Don’t think I’ve ever seen this before: a Canadian five-pin bowling sweater. ”¦ If there are any North Dakota State alums out there, you really need to buy this shirt. ”¦ You can just barely see it in this photo, but Sasha Vujacic was still wearing his Lakers sneakers when making his Nets home debut on Sunday night. Here’s a fuller but smaller view (with thanks to Will Rausch). ”¦ Michael Thompson normally wears No. 22 for Northwestern, but his gear was lost in transit on the way to the Wildcats’ recent game at Madison Square Garden, so he had to wear a No. 2 jersey (and Nike sneakers, instead of his usual Adidas) with NNOB (with thanks to Matthew Robins). ”¦ Marty Hick sent along pics of the various croquet socks he’s worn this season. ”¦ The Ravens and their fans like the all-black look (with thanks to Bryan Starkey). ”¦ The mighty Fleer Sticker Project has come up with a major coup from the Topps archives: a rare shot of Julius Erving in a Hawks uniform. ”¦ If you skip ahead to the 7:30 mark of this Super Bowl XLIV video recap, you’ll see an interesting discussion about cleats (good find by Caleb Borchers). ”¦ Huge find by Jerry Wolper, who came up with this article about how the original baseball cap buggies were introduced in the 1971 World Series and were used in Baltimore but not in Pittsburgh. The article includes lots of info about the carts themselves — did you know, for example, that the seats were cushioned with bases? … Phil and I will both be off the grid for most of today. Johnny Ek will be checking in from time to time, but I’m sure you’ll all play nice anyway, right? Right.

 
  
 
Comments (145)

    Danny Kaye!? He starred in my favorite made for TV movie, Skokie. (My Hometown!) Here is the best scene: link (2:30 mark it gets really good)

    I saw the Mariners photo and I thought, “well, that looks like Danny Kaye.”

    The original Mariners owner. Who knew?

    Crosby (Pirates), Hope (Indians), Kaye (Mariners)…

    I always think about their connection to baseball at this time of year because all three show up in significant Christmas films.
    Crosby in HOLIDAY INN and WHITE CHRISTMAS.
    Kaye in WHITE CHRISTMAS.
    Hope in THE LEMON DROP KID (film that intro’d the song “Silver Bells”).

    –Ricko

    You’ll notice the road & home jerseys even have different Mariners wordmarks, which doesn’t even make any sense.

    We’ve seen some terrific artifacts from Paul’s closet lately, but that Warsaw jersey absolutely takes the cake. Wow. The fact that it even comes with what amounts to archaeological layers of its own history? Double wow.

    I’ve always wondered, though: Why was it the practice back in the day to terminate baseball jersey placket piping like that, instead of just running the piping all the way down the placket? I suspect it comes from the evolving shape of plackets on men’s shirts generally and jerseys in particular. Until around 1900 full-button plackets were rare; dress shirts typically had a one-third to one-half placket, which required a bit of sewn-in decoration at the bottom of the placket, where the fabric of the shirt was bunched together in a pleat. That’s right about the bottom of the sternum. The modern black-tie look, with pleated shirt and cumberbund rising to the chest descend from this. Anyway, I figure that (A) men were accustomed to a bit of decoration at mid-chest and (B) early jerseys typically had the same placket style. So having placket piping terminate in mid-chest was a natural phenomenon. Perhaps when full-button plackets came in, it just seemed natural to extend the point of termination lower, presumably below the beltline. But you often see the placket-piping terminus peeking out as jerseys become more loosely tucked; that can’t have been thought of as a good look even at the time. And since the solution is both obvious and easier to sew, it surprises me that the terminating placket piping lasted as long as it did (at least 40 years).

    About the truncated piping: I think it’s part of the evolution from pullover henley jerseys:
    link

    That one doesn’t have piping (I don’t have time to find a more appropriate photo right now), but some of them did, and the piping only went as far as the buttons. Once things transitioned to full button-fronts, the piping most likely just kept pace with the button depth.

    Exactly what I was trying to say, except my first draft of anything is verbose crap. Anyway, the question for me is why the piping retained the henley-style terminus beneath the last button for at least two generations rather than following the placket itself all the way to the bottom of the garment, considering that doing so both solves an obvious aesthetic problem and is easier to sew. I’m sure you’re right about where the phenomenon comes from, but why did it stick around for a good 40 years or more?

    Maybe a potential answer is that the terminating piping comes to a point either just above or just below the belt, depending on a player’s body type, and in that era, neckties were generally worn shorter than they are today and thus terminated at the same point. Nowadays, most men wear neckties down to their fly, well below their belts (and look ridiculous doing so). Anyway, the old terminated placket piping creates a shape that fits the profile of men’s neckties, and this was an era when more men wore neckties more often than today. So perhaps that general front-of-shirt profile just looked more natural at the time.

    I don’t know if it’s related to the early 20th century henleys. The Braves used the truncated piping link, decades after henleys had fallen out of fashion.

    And in the Braves’ case, that uniform was link a quarter-century (and nearly a dozen uniform overhauls) after they link.

    The question is why was terminated placket piping the norm so long after plackets themselves had evolved from partial-front (henley) to full-front. If the henley pattern created a sort of aesthetic norm, and then that norm persisted long after the henley itself was forgotten, then the distance in time between any one team ditching henleys and adopting terminated placket piping would not matter.

    And in fact aesthetic norms frequently survive long past any rational connection to their origins. See for example the fact that men wear neckties at all today, fully a century past even the semblance of a connection to their functional service in keeping closed one’s collar, or see also the continued use of lapels on men’s jackets nearly two centuries past the time when one needed the flexibility of buttoning a jacket to the neck or leaving it open to midriff.

    I’m wondering whether EFF has plans to make Warsaw jersey repros. Man that’s a good looking uniform. It’s seriously blown away my previous objections to monochrome color baseball unis. Turns out it’s not that solid-color baseball unis are bad; it’s just that red monochrome unis are bad. Green (and therefore presumably blue or gold) works just fine.

    What I mean is that, growing up in the Midwest and Philly in the 1970s and 1980s, my basic attitudes toward monochrome baseball unis are shaped by the Indians and Phillies in red and maroon.

    Or maybe it’s the flannel and the fit that makes monochrome more palatable. I like the Warsaw uni, but if that were done with today’s fabrics and cut (especially the pajama-pants look), I don’t think I’d care for it.

    Looking through the Topps photos, does that shot of Jerry West show him with his jersey on backwards? The numbers seem large, the collar looks high, and it has his name across the top. That has to be backwards right? Now the question is: why?

    Topps didn’t have the license to show NBA jersey logos. ABA, yes, but not NBA. So Topps NBA cards from that era routinely showed the players in warm-ups or backwards jerseys.

    If that NDSU shirt was my size, I’d grab it. Being from the Northeast, I know a surprising amount of people that go there.

    Well, maybe just two. But it’s surprising.

    That picture of Ted Williams wearing #5 is also in the Ted Williams Hitters Hall of Fame at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

    I sent that picture in and it was posted in the Ticker in early April ’09. We discussed it then, but I don’t remember if we came up with a solution then either, or not.

    1. Those Pro Keds are pretty cool, PL. As for the jerseys, great finds, of course. But do remember that their sizes tend to run to less-than-Large and that your svelte self can look very good in a snug shirt. That can’t be said for most of our tending-to-ursine colleagues. Better we buy the hundred buck XXL re-issue.

    2. My native Ireland features green-and-orange in its national unis, but generally with orange as an accent rather than a dominant element, as it is with, say, UMiami. You’ll also see green-and-orange in the national kits of India and Cote d’Ivoire. I sponsored a basketball team once, with shirts that had green letters and logo on a solid orange background. Those shirts are in a barn, however, awaiting curatorial attention.

    3. Who else is in for the New York Female Giants Fan Club?

    >>Those Pro Keds are pretty cool, PL. As for the jerseys, great finds, of course. But do remember that their sizes tend to run to less-than-Large and that your svelte self can look very good in a snug shirt. That can’t be said for most of our tending-to-ursine colleagues. Better we buy the hundred buck XXL re-issue.<< There are plenty of large vintage jerseys floating around on eBay. I only buy things that will fit me, but there's lots of stuff that will fit you. No excuse for not buying vintage! >>Who else is in for the New York Female Giants Fan Club?

    Start a Facebook page!

    You’ll also see green-and-orange in the national kits of India and Cote d’Ivoire.

    In the case of India, only if the national flag is part of the uniform. The sporting color of India is light blue, a neutral color that denotes secularism (the saffron orange represents Hindus, green, Muslims).

    Is it possible the Mariners spring training jerseys had the team name, rather than the city name, so that they could be used during the season for a minor league affiliate? There must be some logic to having one uniform in spring training and another during the season.

    It’s interesting the Mariners did this, while the Seahawks just one year earlier decided to go their entire first season with no helmet logo until they chose their decal design in 1977.

    I’ve read Uniwatch for a long time now and I just need to ask this question. Why is it that any uniform from more than 50 years ago is an “amazing classic”? Honestly, that Warsaw uniform is a piece of crap. If the Florida Marlins came out with this uniform design today, I doubt you’d give it this much of a positive feedback. But since it’s from the old days, it’s great. And the oil company on the back- I thought Uniwatch was against advertisements? But I guess if it comes in wool, has a cool logo and doesn’t belong to the major leagues then advertisements are given free leeways.

    I’d venture to say that if the Nike swoosh was invented in the 1800s and was on every old time baseball uniform, you’d be all gaga about it.

    Perhaps this is a generational thing. I’m 24 years old and while I do admire some old uniforms, I think most of them are crap. Thank goodness for technology to keep all the logos and letterings uniform (with exception of some snafus here and there as this website is good at capturing).

    Well, I cannot speak for Paul, but plenty of old designs are discussed and dismissed on these pages.

    I’m against corporate sponsorship, but this appears to have been from a company team. Not the same thing at all.

    Plus, you have to consider the item as a product of its time. If the Marlins came out with this today, the reaction wouldn’t be good (except for the color scheme, I suspect). But this is a vintage garment. The weight of the fabric, the color scheme and the manufacturing techniques are all part of its story, and can all be appreciated.

    >>If the Florida Marlins came out with this uniform design today, I doubt you’d give it this much of a positive feedback.<< If it was rendered in wool, with vertically arched felt lettering, you can bet I'd give it a thumbs-up. >>And the oil company on the back- I thought Uniwatch was against advertisements?<< Actually, Uni Watch (two words, please) is NOT opposed to all uniform advertising -- a local sponsor on a Little League uni, e.g., will always be fine with me. But in any case, that's all moot here, because the Phillips patch on the Warsaw jersey was not an ad -- the team was called the Phillips Flyers! It was most likely a Phillips factory team.

    It seems like someone with this opinion pops up every time Paul is showing off some older items from his collection. Fred, not to be a smartass, but I think you need to remember that (mostly) everything on this site is Paul’s opinion. It’s all subjective. You can agree or disagree with what he posts, but I think you have to agree that the stuff is interesting, regardless of whether you would ever want your favorite team to wear it.

    Just because Paul says it’s a classic, doesn’t mean it is to you. But coming on here with this opinion isn’t going to win you many friends. Just take what he says with a grain of salt, click on links you enjoy, and try to chill.

    Easy, Chris. He’s allowed to challenge my opinions (although he shouldn’t be surprised if I then defend them). He’s also allowed to accuse me of being hypocritical (although he shouldn’t be surprised if I then point out that he was working off a faulty premise). It’s all fair game.

    OK, I’m off to Long Island for the day. See you all tomorrow.

    — P.

    Chris, so I can agree or disagree but having an opinion that goes against Uni Watch isn’t going to win me a lot of friends? An opinion that goes against Uni Watch can usually be termed as a disagreement, FYI. And I have been clicking on the links in the past and just “chilling”. Thought I’d say something today and I got an answer, thank you very much.

    Enjoy Long Island, Paul. If you come back and care to look at the comments again, I have two things. Wool is rather outdated and I don’t think I’d enjoy wearing an uniform of that material if I’m playing ball in Texas in July. If you have any insight on why would it should remain the material of choice for baseball uniforms, I’d like to know. It’s no secret why the stretchy, breathable fabrics are so popular nowadays: it’s comfortable. If it’s just something you like because it’s a reminder of the past, then I can accept that.

    The second thing is advertisement. I didn’t realize it was an uniform for a company so I take that back. But to what extent do you think advertising should be allowed on uniforms? I can understand an innocent logo from a mom ‘n pops store on your 7 year old kid’s baseball t-shirt is part of life but how far are you willing to push it? That’s probably as far as I would go.

    I don’t think anybody would really argue that wool should still be the fabric of choice today. Didn’t Seinfeld cover that one already? I think it goes back to the texture thing, and Paul feels that something has been lost there with the new blends.

    While I think I may have phrased it wrong, I don’t think having an opinion that is contrary to the majority is in any way wrong. I just think there are better ways to disagree than, for instance, calling something another person likes “a piece of crap”. Everything that we debate on here is based on subjectivity – I like this, I don’t like that, etc. All I’m saying is the tone can bring you favorable or unfavorable responses, and yours seemed to be a bit confrontational. If that wasn’t your goal – my apologies for assuming.

    FWIW, I’m 27 and enjoy a lot of the old stuff Paul shows. So, is it generational? Who knows. Maybe I’m just an old fart in a young man’s body.

    No, I think you’re right Chris. I think Fred’s tone IS confrontational, as evidenced above and now below.

    There are more tactful ways to ask questions than, “Oh, so you like X, but you don’t like Y? I Bet if Y did Z, you’d like that, huh?!”

    For whatever reason, Fred has decided today is the day to break his silence and rattle some cages.

    Paul makes it clear he hates everything purple. I like purple myself. I think he’ll be ok if I think that something he likes is a piece of crap. :) But obviously I enjoy the website and what he has to display. I just found it a little confusing that people would bash some of the new uniforms that come out but glorify the old ones that are worse looking. But like you said, different times, different materials, different concepts. I have a better understanding now of why you guys appreciate the older baseball uniforms. Have a good Christmas guys and hope you don’t go to those minor league hockey games anytime soon.

    “Thank goodness for technology to keep all the logos and letterings uniform.”

    For some of us, that’s not necessarily a good thing. The quirkiness of items made without the aid of computers and hi-tech fabrics have more charm to many people, Mr. Lukas in particular. The unerring uniformity of modern designs can get boring (with the exception of the “Natinals”) makes the overall appearance of the uniform blend into the one another with nothing unique or special about them.

    Fred —

    Paul may have some quirky tastes, but we all do, for sure. I think what he appreciates, though, is that old uniforms and clothes were made well, and made to last. I appreciate that too. Some of the big clothing manufacturers do too and that is why they are making old-school, rugged, quality clothing here and there.

    I understand where you are coming from and I was there when I was 24 too. You’ll find that your tastes on many things will change over the years.

    — Geeman

    And Fred — after reading your recent posts, let me also bring you some good news: With age you will mellow somewhat and use a more respectful tone to all. Most of us outgrow being snotty little kids.

    I don’t think it’s generational. I’m also 24 and definitely skew more towards Paul. Most of my clique would as well. It’s all personal preference.

    Paul is a huge fan of texture, and a lot of that gets lost with current fabrics. You can’t see the fabric of a polyester blend the same way you can wool, for example. If that’s not important to you, then you aren’t going to have the same feelings. And nobody is going to begrudge you that.

    What might get people more worked up is not understanding the advertising thing. The whole “company team” thing has been covered, but I don’t think anybody here really worries too much about a small maker’s mark on a jersey. Is anybody that upset over a Nike swoosh on a shoulder or the Reebok logo on a football jersey? Not really. Would we prefer it not be there? Very possible, but nobody is going to get too worked up about it. The bigger problem is when the maker dictates what schools will be wearing (With the school’s consent, of course. They aren’t blameless here.) and many times changing a very traditional, well-loved look and replacing it with something “cutting edge.” Look at the whole Pro Combat thing for an example.

    That said, I don’t love green nearly as much as Paul does. I probably would not wear many of these particular items.

    >>I don’t think anybody here really worries too much about a small maker’s mark on a jersey. Is anybody that upset over a Nike swoosh on a shoulder or the Reebok logo on a football jersey? Not really.<< Um, yes -- really. Or at least I am. I hate maker's marks on uniforms. But that has nothing to do with the jersey being discussed here. The team was called the Phillips Flyers, so it had Phillips logo patch. Same as the Dodgers having a Dodgers patch. Simple. The end.

    And sometimes “classic” and “vintage” are sort of interchangeable—especially in conversations such as the one today—in which case no reason for any noses to get out of joint.

    Yes, the 1960 Broncos unis were ugly. We got that. But they ARE classic. Perhaps classic in their ugliness, but still classic.

    —Ricko

    I’m also a big fan of brown & gold. Wore it proudly in high school, our football unis were just like the Steelers throwbacks with brown shirts instead of black. Our baseball unis were very similar to the Padres early ones, solid white with brown & gold piping. It looked great.

    You know, the use of “classic” in this discussion started when Fred said this:

    Why is it that any uniform from more than 50 years ago is an “amazing classic”?

    But here’s the thing: I didn’t use the term “classic” even once in today’s entry. And frankly, I don’t think the Warsaw uni is a “classic”; I just think it’s a really cool uniform with an interesting backstory that I’m still trying to figure out.

    Yet another case of a straw man argument getting everyone worked up. I don’t mean to sound cranky, but I expect more of you people.

    Paul, I’m chiming in late on this, but I just wanted to say that the shots of you posing in the Phillips uniform gave me a reason to laugh out loud. I love it!! You’re a case all right, but in the best possible way. Wonderful stuff. It’s nice to see someone who has such a passion for what they do. Have fun with this and enjoy it. It’s a great find. Congratulations.

    From the Fleer Sticker project that Condor uniform might but my second favorite NBA uniform behind the old Golden State Warriors unis

    The Pittsburgh Condors were an ABA team that folded years before the merger.

    Speaking of the Condors, from very late last night:

    For what’s it worth, I know the trim colors on the Condors’ home whites in ’71 were Red and Athletic Gold. Saw them play the Virgina Squires (and Julius Irving) in November that year. Had to be ’71 because my partner and I stopped in Pittsburgh on the way back from the WHA introductory new conference, et al, in New York. Have the game program at home somewhere.

    –Ricko

    Ricko,

    Was link your game? [Reference to not being able to see uniforms deleted.]

    For the record, newspaper coverage of Condor away games was terrible.

    German club Werder Bremen added orange as a 3rd color a few years ago to its traditional green/white kits. This has been somewhat controversial with the club’s supporters.
    link

    This may mean absolutely nothing, but…

    At 8:30 (or so) this a.m. with traffic flowing about as good or better than it ever gets at that time of day, there was a helicopter hovering over Winter Park (Viking office, training facility), the way one did on both “Favre Days”.

    It wasn’t there because of any freeway issues, that’s my point.

    As I said, maybe nothing. Just thought I’d mention it.

    —Ricko

    I’m trying to say this without making a “short” reference…but Paul is fortunate that so many things out there fit him. Almost everything I stumble across is, at the largest, about the size of Men’s Medium thesedays.

    And it ain’t like I’m huge (no Teebz ref. intended, lol), at 6’2″, 200 (again, finally), but very few items in XL seem to have survived.

    Of course, people WERE smaller then. lol.

    —Ricko

    Yes, I’m short-ish (it’s OK to say so — it’s a statement of fact, not a value judgment). But I see tons of vintage stuff out there that’s way too big for me. There’s enough for most body shapes and sizes, trust me…

    Ah, if only Boog Powell had played for every team in every era, I’d be able to get any vintage jersey I wanted.

    Pretty cool that we have the same body frame… Except that I’m about 45 85 years younger.

    (fixed)

    ;)

    Those Atlanta Hawks uniforms were made by Russell Athletic and were the centerpiece of their new “Team Specialist Dealer” program of uniforms to compete with Sand-Knit but at a more reasonable price. We sold four or five sets of the Hawks-style pin-striped uniforms. You should have seen the Hawks’ warm-up. Breakaway pinstriped pants with a cardigan-style short-sleeved jacket that featured pinstriped trim around the full facing of the neck and front and pinstriped sleeves. They were worn with a mock-turtle neck pullover shooting shirt. They were some wild duds.

    No, that’s Version II of the Hawks pinstripes. More from around ’75 I think. The first one was a cardigan-cut with the snaps just up to above the waist. And they had no triangles on the sleeves. The body of the jacket was a solid color with solid pinstriped sleeves.

    The Pro-Keds are outstanding. But I bet, deadly for your feet, just like Chuck’s are. NO padding, NO arch support. And once you’ve had plantar fasciitis like I have..you DON’T want it again.

    Multiple casts and cortisone shots straight into your arch will do that for ya.

    Brinke…it is a curse that I am forced to live with…our beloved Air Trainers are way too narrow at the tips so that if and when I wear mine, my poor pinky toe bears the brunt.

    link

    link

    These were my favorite tennis shoes. As the story goes, McEnroe was @ Beaverton, saw those on the shelf and just grabbed them, tho they were for cross training and still in development.

    Other favorites; let’s see..
    Diadora Borg canvas (very rare; only saw one pair and grabbed them)..Nike Wimbledon (a classic..)

    Air Tech Challenge..
    link

    Oscillate/Sampras
    link

    And the shockingly ugly but felt great and I got ’em for free; the Air Zoom Pounce.

    Aside from those Pro Keds, Chucks are the only sneakers I’ve worn for, oh, 25 years now. Not the only footwear, mind you, but the only sneakers. My feet don’t seem to mind.

    you are lucky. i woke up one morning, got outta bed, right foot hit the floor..

    (imagine someone taking an ice pick and jamming it into your arch)

    ..and I literally shot backwards into bed. like reversing the film on a movie.

    had three separate visits to the doc, and chucks- tho desirable- are too risky.

    NEW BALANCE|Official shoe of =bg=

    That Warsaw uni is a thing of beauty, and yeah, if that came out today, we’d be saying how ugly it is. And it WOULD look damn ugly if rendered in the modern polyester with perfect lettering. Like Paul, I don’t want to wear polyester. I hate it. I was collecting hockey jerseys in the 70’s just about the time they started switching over from durene, and I wish all of these “throwbacks” and “vintage” unis being made today would go all the way and be made of durene or wool!!! The old unis have character, texture, the lettering may not be perfect but that’s the charm…

    -Jet

    And because we like “vintage” uniforms here, do we overlook that the green on the stirrups doesn’t match the green on the uniform? Dallas Cowboys anyone?

    Well, at least with the vintage stuff, poor color matching is more from the technical limitations of the time. Aging has something to do with it as well. The Cowboys could change their mismatched silver, but it’s been a part of their look for so long, they choose to retain it for the sake of tradition.

    Danny Thomas was one of the original owners of the Miami Dolphins and voiced the main character in the Christmas cartoon special Cricket on the Hearth (1967).

    And on a less random note, people always point at the Cowboys for wearing mismatching silvers, but is it not the case that the pants are SUPPOSED to be a different color than the helmets? Haven’t the pants always been a sort of greenish bluish silvery blend while the helmets are just plain silver?

    On the celebs-as-owners topic: Bob Hope was once a part owner of the Cleveland Indians. Didn’t Bing Crosby have an ownership stake in a professional team as well? If so, I wonder if there are/were other comedy teams who had their finger in the professional sports pie?

    Bing Crosby was a part-owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Recall the recent stories about a recording of Game 7 of the 1960 World Series being discovered in Crosby’s wine cellar.

    I also remember an old Minute Maid commercial in the 70s with Bing and his children, one of whom (it might have even been Mary Frances) was wearing a Pirate jersey.

    A total sidebar, but hopefully interesting nonetheless…

    We know Bing Crosby was a tyrannical father, and apparently he was a real sumbitch to work with, too. But Danny Kaye made him laugh.

    In WHITE CHRISTMAS (which I believe is on again a few more times this season), when the two of them send up the “Sisters” number, there is a point where Kaye absolutely cracks up Crosby…and it’s the take they used.

    A side of Crosby almost no one ever saw in real life, captured forever on film.

    —Ricko

    I COMPLETELY forgot about the story where he didn’t want to listen to the Pirates game live, hence the recordings. Damn my memory.

    Hope & Crosby were mentioned upthread. Ricko went further to say that all of these celebrity owners are also associated with classic Christmas entertainments.

    Yes, that’s true.. but that was a later addition – I think they introduced the other silver pants when their royal blue jerseys were switched to navy. I guess they thought a more silvery silver goes better with navy.

    The Cowboys just don’t know what the hell they’re doing. 2 silvers, 2 blues, black outlines on the stripes for no reason, white jersey & blue jersey being different styles… they’re almost as big of a mess as the Bills, they just manage to look better because they still have a simplistic design.

    The different shades of silver were added largely in an attempt to make the colors appear uniform on television.

    It’s hard to get different fabrics to show up the same color, and this was their solution. But we’re in the HD era, gentlemen. Time to go back to standardized shades.

    I was amazed to see one of those ballcap buggy-carts tooling around Wrigley Field in the Fergie Jenkins documentary “King Of The Hill”…the Cubs might have used it to drag the infield back in 72-73 but I don’t believe it was ever used to deliver pitchers to the mound. Anyone remember?

    Doubtful. The bullpens at Wrigley Field have been where they are for a very, very, long time — certainly since Fergie’s days. The only difference between 72-73 and today has been that the dugouts have been lengthened. The distance between the bullpen and the pitcher’s mound is far too short to justify the use of a cart.

    That is a nice story and an even nicer solution for the kid’s disability….but whoever wrote that article should note that if the mother was “bawling her eyes out” that she wouldn’t be “balling them out.”

    Gene Autry owned the Angels and also wrote “Here Comes Santa Claus” and “Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer.”

    This is beginning to look like a conspiracy.

    Well, Autry did write “Here Comes Santa Claus”.
    He heard some excited kids shouting that at a parade, and the song developed from there. Used it as the finale song in one of his later films, THE COWBOY AND THE INDIANS.

    “Rudolph” was brought to him, and he didn’t want to record it. But his wife (his first wife, not Jackie) told him it was a good song, and he should. Originally, it was the B side. Honestly don’t know what the A side was.

    —Ricko

    What a coincidence…you featured just enough shirts to do a 5&1.

    5. link White letters + ribbed mini-checkered pattern = sensory overload.

    4. link The numbers are a little too close to the the neck, though.

    3. link That does look comfy, and the color scheme is great.

    2. link The snug collar opening would be a deal-breaker for me, but the rest of the jersey is awesome.

    1. link Bigger numbers and a v-neck would have made this a virtually perfect jersey.

    And the “&1” link I think Everton link might like that for an alt jersey…

    Can’t say I am surprised so many Ravens fans like the all black look. I was kind of surprised though how many liked the Purple over black combo they wore a few weeks ago. Man that was hideous on a Buffalo Bills/Neon-Green-Seahawks level.

    I actually really do like the Ravens look of Black jerseys over white pants the best of all thier combos. IMO they should make that their primary home uni. They can keep the all black for “special” games I guess.

    Aren’t the Ravens one team that should be able to go all-black? Kind of a similiar argument to the Cardinals especially should never have a black jersey?

    Awesome letter! Better than Dan Gilbert’s post-“Decision” rant.

    Speaking of the Cleveland Stadium Corp. logo, at home I have a great little matchbox (with matches still in it) with that logo on it. The box is cobalt blue and the logo is in raised silver lettering. Very nice.

    I had an idea for a DIY hockey jersey and I was wondering, without looking at old pictures, is there some place that list all the patches teams have worn ? Thanks

    Seems like a lot of bowls that have the time and the ability to do so (as opposed to, say, the Humanitarial Bowl, where the Boise State turf is difficult to alter) decorate their end zones in the same way as the participating teams.

    you know how i wondered how paul would look in his warsaw uni with orange sleeves?

    check it out

    that was sent to me by none other than JERRY REUSS

    great job, jerry!

    I’m seeing Paul as a reliever. Maybe one of those left handed specialist types. Could be a utility infielder, late inning defensive replacement….no, definately the one out guy in the eighth.

    lefty set up man…definitely…

    maybe even a closer in a pinch

    remember he’s like rickey henderson — bats right throws left…so infield’s tricky

    SportsCenter paying a lot of attention to Aaron Rodgers switching from his olde-skool Riddell helmet (link) to a more protective model on his return from a concussion. Based on the practice footage, he will be switching to a Schutt Air XP (link).

    Teammates were goofing on how he looks in the new helmet, but the shell itself is pretty unobtrusive (link), particularly compared with the Schutt Ion (link) and Riddell Revo Speed (link).

    Wow, I’m seriously considering bidding on that duckpin/curling sweater! But I have a question: the seller notes the pit-to-pit measurement at 23 inches. Can I translate that to mean it’s a size 46 in today’s world? The seller also lists it as a size Large. I usually wear a 44 or 46 suit, depending on the cut. I’ve never bought clothes from ebay before, I have to try it on before I buy it. Link here
    link

    Forget about sizes — a pit-to-pit measurement is better than a size. Take a few sweaters that fit you well and measure them from pit to pit. If they’re in the 23″ range, you’re golden. Simple as that.

    Maaco Bowl Mascot Edge: I did some research and the Ute indian tribes were introduced to the horse by Spanish explorers in the 1600’s. Therefore a Ute can tame a wild Bronco.

    Uni Edge: I’m a northwesterner through and through. That being said I prefer Boise State’s unis to Utah’s. The all-white look with random red patches is not super appealing. Neither are the Boise monochrome blues but they win because of their offset logo helmets that are really cool.

    Wowee wo wo’s!
    I love every shirt I see.
    Paul has exquisite taste in tops, and I am green with envy. Pun intended.
    I hit the thrifts at least once a week in search of vintage doozies. I wish I had the dedication to sites like ebay to find that type of gold.
    Unfortunately, I am a timid bidder.

    As for that image of Teddy wearing #5 I believe it goes some thing like this
    When Numbers began appearing on Baseballs unis. your number was your slot in the batting order.(the same reason that ruth and gerhig wore 3&4 respectively.

    so that favors Navy right?

    They have pumps ready for the field my question is how the fans will get there, based on the news coverage that place is unreachable, the entire surrounding area is flooded, covered in mud or a travel nightmare. (is the comment section for the picture talking about the Polish equivalent to the Air Force 1 crashing for anyone else)

    I got a tweet from the Poinsettia Bowl account that the rail line that serves QualComm is up and running and will be ready for the game tomorrow.

    I have a small version of what happened in San Diego in my neighborhood. I live in Blythe, a small SoCal desert town some 200 miles northeast of San Diego.

    There’s this small valley in my neighborhood that kids would play football and baseball in (I’ve occasionally taken my bike through it), and when I found a picture of that valley on my friend Mario’s Facebook page, this was the site:

    link

    The area directly around Qualcomm floods just about every time we get a decent rain. The trolley would be a go no matter what, but actually it hasn’t rained very much since this morning, and I don’t think it’s supposed to tomorrow at all. The problem is the south side of the stadium is very close to a river bottom, so this is a yearly issue.

    watching the Boise State – Utah game, its clear Boise should ditch the gray numbers in favor of white ones, or at the very least use the white-gray fade ones they are wearing tonight.

    I say add a little bit more orange (in a design that makes sense i.e. no license plate and whatever that is on the front)to the jerseys they are wearing tonight and make those the new home. Should probably move the numbers to the shoulders and mirror the bronco on either side too, it looks kinda cool but the asymmetric look should be a once a year thing (if ever).

    I agree – the Steelers can get away with one helmet logo because of the tradition, but otherwise you need a logo on both sides or just go with no logo like the Browns or the 1976 Seahawks.

    Wasn’t it the block S that was only on the right side?

    Or did they do that for a while with the Spartan logo as well?

    It was the Block S (they had the 88 Rose Bowl against USC on ESPN Classic the other day) and it looked bad, I feel Gold is the only colored helmet that should ever be blank, Penn State is the exception (and that’s mainly because Gold shells are the only ones teams have been able to “rock” well (Navy, Army, BC, ND) and not later ditched in favor of a logo)

    I am an NDSU alum and would like to get that shirt but it’s not my size. Being that I live in the Fargo area, I’m looking to see if I can find an NDSU alum who wants it. :)

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