Pretty cool photo + caption, right? Dan Cichalski sent it to me the other day. Fascinating shot on several different levels. One thing at at time:
• We can now add the Austin Braves to our list of minor league teams that have worn shorts.
• To my knowledge, this is the first time we’ve encountered a team wearing red shorts.
• According to the caption, these shorts were repurposed from regular baseball pants. I wonder how many other shorts-clad teams have done that, as opposed to having their shorts made from scratch.
• Sure, the red shorts are interesting, but they were just a one-game thing. The real story here, methinks, is that the Austin Braves were wearing red pants as a part of their standard road uni “a number of years” prior to 1966. Now that’s unusual. I’d love to know more about that.
• They don’t make baseball names like Hub Kittle anymore.
• The caption states that the red shorts were an attempt to get under opposing manager Chuck Tanner’s skin. Did it work? Yes, somewhat:
Wish I’d known about this when I interviewed Tanner a few years back for my ESPN column on Dave Parker’s masks. Now, of course, it’s too late, because Tanner died a few months ago. Too bad.
We haven’t done a raffle in a while, so here we go: I have an extra ticket to that Pop-Up Magazine sports-themed performance thing I’m participating in, so I’m going to give it away to a lucky reader. I believe the winner will even get to sit with me near the front of the theater (now there’s a thrill).
Obviously, please don’t enter this raffle unless you can actually attend the show, which will take place in Manhattan at 7:30pm on May 11.
To enter, send an e-mail to the raffle address by this Friday, May 6, 10pm eastern. I’ll announce the winner on Monday.
Signing on: As some of you know, Kirsten Hively recently launched Project Neon, which up until now has consisted of a blog and Flickr set devoted to NYC’s neon signage. Now she’s taking it a step further: She wants to develop an iPhone app that will function as a neon sign locator. If the NYC version of this app goes well, there may be additional versions for other cities.
The app will be free, but creating it is not. So yesterday Kirsten launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds. I hope you’ll consider supporting this excellent project.
Uni Watch Stirrups Club update: With May Day having passed yesterday, Comrade Robert Marshall is in particularly good cheer, and he has put together a new batch of stirrups to mark the holiday. I hereby surrender the floor to him:
Comrades ”¦
While the revolution fails to see significant inroads in MLB, it brings merriment to every revolutionary’s soul that more and more players rising up with right proper aesthetic on the college, high school, minor league, and even Little League levels — dire news indeed for the pajamist.
With those glad tidings in mind, here are our latest stirrup offerings:
• Our first selection was worn not by the Lions, but by the Tigers and Bears, oh my! While Okkonen shows the Tigers wearing these only from 1950-53, they clearly wore them in the late 1970s as well.
But wait, what is this?! I always assumed these stirrups had three stripes, but look at Alan Trammel — that’s a minimum of five feather edge stripes showing there in 1978. In the name of all things John Wockenfuss, did the increasingly lower pantaloons of the day mask what may have been the last great crazy-striped stirrup? Paul, please investigate! Despite this late-breaking development, the revolution’s version of this stirrup will have three feather-edged stripes. The five-stripe edition may surface at a later date.
• Next up: a color combo we have not had yet — that of the 1929-30 Boston Braves. Please note that there will be no white on the base here — just the cardinal and gold.
• The 1970 L.A. Angels stirrup was clearly inspired by what the Redlegs wore from 1939-46. And now you can wear them in 2011! (And yes, that’s a Seattle player in one of the Angels pics, but that’s a spring training shot from 1970, before the Pilots were officially re-christened as the Brewers.)
• And for our fourth and final stirrup of the month, we turn to the 1915-16 NY Giants. A great style, and in a color combo we don’t have enough of. I have a feeling when this is finished that this large-block primal color hose is going to be one baaaaaaaad…shut your mouth.
Our four new selections are shown here. But one final note, my dear comrades: It is my sad duty to report that Twin City Knitting — without informing me, I might add — raised their prices before our last order, and much more significantly then their usual increase. The revolution, alas, cannot absorb this on its own, so please read carefully when ordering, as prices and procedures have changed a bit.
From each according his strype,
To each according his stirrvp.
Thank you, Comrade Marshall. I, for one, have always loved that Angels design (and no, I’d never seen the five-striped Tigers hose before). Good work!
Membership update: A few more designs have been added to the membership card gallery (including Paul Hovey’s Padres-themed card, shown at right). The last eight cards shown in the gallery should be printed either today or tomorrow, and I hope to get them trimmed, laminated, and shipped before I leave for St. Louis on Wednesday.
As always, you can get your own custom-made Uni Watch membership card by signing up here.
On a serious (yet still uni-related) note: I got a rather poignant note the other day from Mets by the Numbers impresario Jon Springer. I’ll let him tell you in his own words:
My sister Jen has ALS — Lou Gehrig’s disease. It totally sucks, but it’s been great to see how her many friends have rallied for her and rewarding to be involved in ALS charity projects. One event we’re participating in this year is fundraiser called the Fiesta 5K. Our team, Jen’s Journeymen, has raised almost $7,000 so far.
The team is comprised of several members of the 1981 Harborfields High cross-country team, who were friends with my sister in high school. Their uniform top served as the inspiration for the design we’ll be wearing for the Fiesta 5K.
Jon’s a good friend, a pioneering uni-numerical blogger, and a great guy, and I can only imagine how he and his family are dealing with this. Anyone who wants to run with his team or support them with a donation can do so here.
Uni Watch News Ticker: For those of you who like to follow every little thing I do, I had a book review in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal. ”¦ Several readers noticed something about Prince Amukamara’s NFL draft photo-op: the return of the Giants’ old red neckline triangle. The Jints haven’t worn the red detailing since switching to the super-stretchy jerseys two seasons ago, but the triangle has still be present on the retail jerseys sold to fans. So Amukamara was apparently posing with one of the retail versions. ”¦ Look at this unusual hockey jersey I spotted on eBay. Never seen that chain-border treatment before. ”¦ Hauls of Shame editor Peter Nash has traced the various of Lou Gehrig’s 1938 road jersey from one auction house to another and another. It’s really interesting — recommended. ”¦ I think we’ve covered this before, but once more can’t hurt: A.J. Frey notes that Canucks goalie Kirk McLean had “Weird” written on the underside of his skate in 1994. ”¦ Also from A.J.: The Mets appear to have an interesting concept of their own history. He took that shot at Shea during a recent game. ”¦ Check this out: rubbers for your spikes. “Are people really going to bother with this?” asks Rick Friedel. ”¦ Laren Richardson has come across the ultimate butchery chart. ”¦ This is pretty great: The Orlando Sentinel has come up with an interactive page that allows you to see how Dwight Howard will look an another team’s uniform (major thanks to Steve Hoyle). ”¦ What’s with the one NNOB player? That’s Claudell Washington shortly after being acquired by the Mets in 1980. They hadn’t given him an NOB yet (with thanks to Andy Harris). ”¦ What’s so interesting about this shot? The guy on the right, at least according to the caption, is Paul Richards, who at the time was the Orioles’ GM — in full uniform! Shot was taken during spring training, 1957 (great find by Kenn Tomasch). ”¦ Shane Victorino was wearing a wire on Friday — unusual for a weeknight game (screen shot courtesy of Jason Hoffman). ”¦ How many sneakers did Gilbert Arenas wear this past season? A lot. ”¦ If you’re a Mets fan and have access to a super-8 projector, you might wanna pick up this old Casey Stengel flick. ”¦ Bryan Brazelton reports that Oklahoma baseball player Cameron Sitzer has been wearing a face guard. ”¦ Extremely disappointing news from the Bronx, where Mariano Rivera went back to low-cuffery on Saturday. ”¦ Kyle Hanks reports that U. of Washington freshman QB Nick Montana was wearing a helmet camera for the Huskies’ spring game. ”¦ R.A. Dickey has some interesting protocols for naming and writing on his bats (with thanks to Dan Chichalski). ”¦ Interesting bit of cross-sport Boston rooting going on at Fenway (good spot by Mike Delia). ”¦ In a vaguely related item, Michael Limpinski reports that the Phillies are selling Flyers-themed T-shirts. ”¦ The 2011 World Series logo has been unveiled. On strictly aesthetic terms, I really like it, but it doesn’t feel very World Series-ish to me. The washed-out colors feel more like November than October. Feels more like a Thanksgiving logo, no? ”¦ Neil Bisman was watching Friday Night Fights and noticed Hylon Williams Jr. clearly angling for some Uni Watch love. ”¦ Remember how Victor Martinez used to wear a first baseman’s mitt when catching Tim Wakefield? It appears that Salty was doing the same thing yesterday (good spot by Tim Antone). ”¦ The Cubs wore their blue alt jerseys yesterday — except for Koyie Hill, who for some reason was wearing his road grays (screen shot courtesy of Kevin Schlauch). ”¦ White Sox broadcaster Steve Stone has written a new book. According to this item, “The back jacket features photographs of Stone pitching for the White Sox and the Cubs ”¦ [but] Stone made sure the publisher used a picture of him in 1973 White Sox pinstripes, before the team switched to its regrettable late-’70s fashion statement: open-collared, untucked jerseys. ‘Those ’77-’78 uniforms were ugly,’ Stone said, shaking his head. ‘They were just horrible'” (with thanks to Marc Malfara). ”¦ While looking for something else, I came upon another catcher who wore a brimless helmet back in the day: Jose Azcue. ”¦ Interesting to see that the Yankee Stadium scoreboard is still using the old Blue Jays logo (as noted by Brian Cheung). ”¦ Victor Yoshida spotted this bizarre Tacoma Giants jersey at the Fan Go-Round at renovated Cheney Stadium yesterday. Crazy design, no? Not sure which year(s) it was used. Would love know more. ”¦ “I recently bought an authentic MLB jersey,” writes Louis DeGeorge. “For some reason, the tag says to ‘Log on to majorleaguebaseball.com,’ even though MLB has not used that URL for a number of years. As you may recall, MLB initially had to use the majorleaguebaseball.com domain name because MLB.com was taken by a law firm. Eventually MLB purchased the domain name from that law firm, but that was many years ago. Odd that they’d use the old domain name on a merchandise tag.” ”¦ Buncha great stuff from Jay Shelton. One thing at a time: (1) “I never was able to afford those cool magnetic NBA standings boards when I was a kid, so in 1981 I made my own using poster board, Flair markers, masking tape (to affix the team logo squares), and glue.” (2) “While I was at it, I created a fictional pro league of my own that I named the American Professional Basketball League. I remember trying to create teams based in cities that currently did not have NBA teams. Many do, now, such as Minnesota and New Orleans.” (3) Jay also sent in a Xerox of his original submission from the White Sox 1981 uni-design contest, along with a modern rendering of it. ”¦ Little Leaguers in Burlington, Vermont, are wearing jerseys that honor team names from Vermont’s baseball past (big thanks to Morris Levin). ”¦ Here’s Michael Orr’s latest round of MLS kit coverage. ”¦ Also from Michael: “Also, I’ve curated an exhibit at the Oregon Historical Society that features game-worn shoes and jerseys from the Portland Timbers during their NASL era (1975-82). From a uni-perspective, there are kits from 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980/81 (indoor goalkeeper), and 1982.” ”¦ Ryan Simmelink came across a baseball infographics site that I don’t think we’ve seen before. I haven’t had time to give it more than a skim-through, but it looks really promising. … Here’s the Seahawks’ seamstress sewing the nameplate onto first-round pick James Carpenter’s first jersey (with thanks to John Doodigan). ”¦ Saturday was Rickey Henderson Bobblehead Day in Oakland, and it turns out Rickey art-directed some dirt onto his bobble’s uniform. ”¦ About two miles from my house, a fellow Brooklynite has been updating this sign every morning for years. Today she can finally stop. Bravo.
Meow and Woof Dept.: Happy birthday to Uni Watch mascots Tucker and Caitlin, who turned six years old on Saturday. And big get-well-soon wishes to bench mascot Bizkit, who’s been under the weather. Feel better!
Do you mean Citi Field and not Shea in your ticker section?
I think link.
Ok Chief
Lukas can’t stop living in the past. Of course if he moved on, he couldn’t shill his crappy t-shirts. Keep buying, readers. He needs the $ to keep looking like a hipster douchebag. EABOD, Paul. You are a scumbag.
Wait, how does calling it Shea make him a scumbag? (I about missed the first s there, which would have made this a totally different post.) Granted, there’s more of an argument for this for the White Sox and Indians, but I definitely still call it Comisky and the Jake. Nothing really behind it other than that’s the names that spring to mind when referring to those stadiums.
Comiskey Park and Jacobs Field were actual names of the structures that the White Sox and Indians currently play in. Citi Field has never been named Shea. It would sort of be like calling Shea “the Polo Grounds,” no?
Thus the line “(T)here’s more of an argument for the White Sox and Indians.”
And you’re a troll. no, sorry. Tool.
easy solution Brian: don’t coem to the website. Nobody is making you. It’s a big internet, I’m sure you’ll find something you like.
Let’s go easy on Brian. Deep down, he’s really a good guy. In all my experiences, people who use acronyms have been pretty decent people.
I wonder if he made up EABOD all by himself? If not, then he’s a total EABOD.
Three feathered stripes or five, those Tigers ‘rups are also what the New York Knights should have worn in The Natural. Not what they did wear – the link wore navy hose with two or three narrow white stripes – but what they should have worn.
Actually, the Knights’s stirrups are quite true to their time.
Feathered stripes weren’t around much in 1939. That was a technology, apparently, that wasn’t widely employed until a few years later.
National League, 1939…
link
American League, 1939…
link
Multipe feathered stripes don’t show up unitl 1942 Indians and then ’46 Phillies.
And this is the ’37 Giants, the team the Knights “replace” in the NL.
link
Feathering isn’t a “technology.” It’s just a stripe pattern. If you can put one stripe onto a stirrup, you can put three stripes onto a stirrup. All feathering is, is three stripes. It’s just a stitching pattern of CBABC. You can see feathering at work on the link and link.
But you’re right that it wasn’t common in 1939. Indeed, it’s never been all that common. And the Knights stirrups are very true to their time. Can’t fault the art direction on that score! I just think that, as a matter of design, the Knights need to embrace orange as a secondary, rather than tertiary, color.
Sure, it is. It’s based on what the sockmaker’s equipment is cabable of…or what they want to bother with (and three wide equal stripes aren’t feathered stripes). You don’t think knitting a sock with three colors was a little more complex than from two colors? That it doesn’t require additional adaptations? Again, stay in 1939.
My point was that such striping was the exception rather than the rule and, because of that, the filmmakers were truer to the era by NOT making the Knights an exception. Would the feathered stripes have looked great with that Knights uni? Absolutely. But the ones chosen certainly aren’t wrong, and were perfectly representative of those seasons in MLB just before WWII.
Besides, in the context of the script, are we supposed to believe The Judge was the kind of owner who had a Finley-like interest in jazzing up the look of his team? Hardly.
The wardrobe crew knew what they was doing.
Actually, we agree. Would have looked good.
But not all that accurate for the time, nor for the tale told.
Probably Pop Fisher added them by about 1942, huh.
Now THERE’s a tweak project I’d like to see someone tackle! Show us the Knights unis for every five (or ten) years from 1939 until today.
Did they move to San Francisco in 1958, I wonder?
Ricko, if Okkonen is correct, then the Reds had feathered stirrups in 1936, which settles the question of technical capabilities. To reopen the question of whether feathered stripes were technically feasible three years later, you’ll first need to disprove Okkonen’s depiction of the 1936 Reds.
But you’re right that the art direction of the film got the period detail right. Even though we know for a fact that orange stripes with white feathers was technically feasible, it’s highly unlikely the Knights of the time would have adopted that design. Even before the Judge got involved, the team was teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, and since three color stirrups would likely have cost more than two colors, even Pop would have gone with the two color option. And actually Malamud describes much plainer Knights unis in the novel than the movie depicts, so we’re supposed to come away with the impression of a team that looks kind of cheap and ragtag. Not a team whose owner is sparing dollars (or thoughts) for such luxuries as looking good!
Didn’t say was impossible. Said all sock makers may not have had the capabilty, or the willingness to bother with it. Set up had to take more time (certainly more thread feeds coming in), more observation (more spools running, more chance for…issues), so socks with that striping pattern may even have been more expensive per unit.
Think about it.
Two stripes in one color (not counting the stirrups, which at that time were affixed separately) would need 5 thread feeds to knit stripes properly in position.
Two stripes with a feathered edge would need 9.
Three such stripes would mean 13.
Unless there’s some magical way of threading more than one thread from a spool, each means a individual spool as a source.
Big difference between a machine that could handle 5 spools and one that could handle 13. Not that they didn’t exist, but whether the more elaborate macchines would have been dedicated to baseball sockmaking. Pretty small percentage of market.
Better used to produce Argyles for the masses.
In fact, I said, “That was a technology, apparently, that wasn’t widely employed until a few years later.”
Didn’t say didn’t exist. Said it wasn’t used much. And, judging my Okkonen, it wasn’t.
Argue the fine details all you want, I’m grabbin’ me a pair of those Tiger beauties!!
-Jet
Ricko, forgive me if I over-read your “technology” comment. I’m liable to that sort of thing! Truth is, if we call feathered-striping a “technology,” then it is one that has never been employed widely enough for my taste. Darn fine way to decorate a sock.
And we’ll just have to agree to agree about the quality of the art direction that led to the movie Knights having decidedly plain stirrups. One of many details they got just right.
I’m still waiting for one (or more) of the talented people hereabouts to show us a NY Knights unis for each decade from the 1940s until today.
That, I think, would be interesting.
Take into account design styles AND how players chose to wear the uniform in each decade.
Did they have, say, orange adidas stripes on their cleats for a time in the 70’s?
Someone with a sense of humor might even show us how they fucked up a throwback a couple years ago. :)
Here are the cap, home and road references you’ll need to get started…
link
I’m looking at that link, and it looks like that jersey might never have had a name on it. Look at John Stearns to his right — the Mets placed the number very dar down and left a ton of space for the name. Was it an emergency jersey that was given to him until he could acquire his own jersey? Was #15 a number he’d requested?
(My copy of Mets by the Numbers is far away, or I’d check.)
Another argument for #15 being an eemrgency jersey is that it even looks a little small for him, but I could just be imagining that.
That date of 1883 on the Mets shirt is just goofy. I can’t think of any way that it makes sense. Too many digits are off to be a simple typo, and also completely wrong for claiming past New York teams. Weird.
Also… while I’m all for baseball teams wearing things a bit different, I don’t think shorts are ever a good idea. I guess pitchers who don’t have to bat could get away with it, but sliding into a base in shorts kinda sucks.
The New York Metropolitans played in the American Association (then a major league) from 1883-87.
Not quite as goofy as the Nationals’ “Est. 1905” patch. But close.
The 19th century New York Metropolitans, which were actually established c.1880, joined the American Association in 1883, although that franchise folded after 1887. The modern-day Mets have as much to do with the AA team as the modern-day Washington Nationals do with the Nats/Sens frnachises of old.
The link would look great on some link.
LOL, indeed.
I think I agree with Paul about it looking a bit too much like a Thanksgiving decoration… but, then again, retailers do seem to put that junk out in freakin September nowadays(since the Xmas stuff goes on the shelves November 1st), so….
Then again, it seems like the World Series stretches on to Thanksgiving these days…
There you go. The October Classic and March Madness, endangered monikers.
Yeah, the fall colors are kind of blah. The “WORLD SERIES” typography’s nice, though – it reminds me of the Fall Classics of my youth, namely the early 1980s. The font on the new one is a little less fancy in some aspects (the leading W and S), but a little more fancy in more subtle ways.
If I’m a team owner, I’ll put fall colors on my team because 1. those are my favorite colors, and 2. fall is when I expect to see my team still playing.
The gray-green, white and brown-tan bunting is gonna take some getting used to, though.
On the Dwight Howard jersey swap page, does anyone know why the Hawks jersey is white red and black? Does the Orlando Sentinel know something we don’t? or are they just plain lazy?
It’s dark blue on my monitor.
It’s one hell of a dark blue, but yes, it is actually blue.
also gotta love the afro on the Globetrotter version
/and the hair & makeup for the Miracle
anyone else wondering if any sports teams will be wearing some kind of patch or other *recognition* of the death of OBL? i doubt it, but at this point, i can’t say i’d be surprised to see it
america, fuck yeah
/done now
Gosh, I hope not. There are right ways and wrong ways to celebrate this sort of thing, and pretty much anything an athlete can do while playing a game will be a Wrong Way.
My nomination for a Right Way teams can mark the occasion today: Before the start of the game, when it’s time to sing the national anthem, play only an instrumental version and leave it to the fans to sing.
And maybe the crowd can actually honor and respect The National Anthem instead of cheering throughout the whole song or yelling certain words with an association to their team.
The way the announcers fawn over the Blackhawks fans disrepecting our country is just disgusting.
How about we stop playing the anthem before every single sporting event?
How about we stop playing the anthem before every single sporting event?
~~~
how about…we don’t
however, if you want to skip the GBA in the 7th inning stretch, i’ll be the first one to sign your petition
nothing wrong with the SSB at the beginning of the event, but after it’s over, lets PLAY BALL, and nothing but ball, k?
The Blackhawks fans going insane while the anthem’s sung is only the second most offensive thing to me about the Anthem being sung in Chicago. The most offensive, to me, is the way the singer takes the final notes higher, and just hangs that “BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAVE” in a way that just makes my ears bleed. It’s to the point that I just mute the broadcasts from the United Center until it’s time for the faceoff.
It’s one thing to sing the whole song a little differently, i.e. Jose Feliciano or Marvin Gaye, if you’re still doing it from the heart. But to sing the song straight, only to swerve on the final two notes – that just comes out as wrong to me.
Ok, fair enough Phil. No more GBA, bring back the peanuts & crackerjacks.
/and yes, the way damn near every singer has to try doing something different with the song instead of just singing it the way it was written is a bit annoying.
Yes on eliminating GBA. Not only is any patriotic song out of place in the 7th inning stretch – dude, just let us go get our beer, they’re about to cut off the taps! – but GBA is neither patriotic nor a song. It’s not patriotic, in that it doesn’t actually say one word of praise for America, or even claim that America has praiseworthy virtues at all. And it’s not a song, it’s a prayer. Even judged as a prayer, it’s a bad one, in that it lists a series of blessings God has already bestowed on America, fails to recognize them as such, and then pleads for God’s blessing.
If I were God, my response would be, “Dudes, those mountains, prairies, and oceans white with foam are my blessings. Would it kill you to maybe say ‘thank you’?”
Far as I’m concerned, every time a crowd at a ballgame sings “God Bless America,” an angel loses her wings.
I defy any and all of you blackhawk haters to say this is unpatriotic.
link
Not to mention, even beyond the content/sentiment of the lyrics, GBA ain’t the national anthem.
We don’t have to stand, don’t have to sing along…any more than if the crowd broke out in a chorus of “Do That To Me One More Time”.
Or we could just have the fans sing the national anthem and skip the singer. I usually get goosebumps whenever the fans sing it.
For what it’s worth, my Air Force friends sure love cheering during the National Anthem before a Blackhawks game, and the veterans who stand next to Jim Cornelison don’t seem to mind either. If you don’t like it, that’s fine, but spare me the “unpatriotic” nonsense.
Completely agree with Phil. I haven’t been to an Astros home game in a while, but there was a point at which they were cramming in “God Bless America,” “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” AND “Deep in the Heart of Texas.” It was brutal.
“link: Not just for sports victories/defeats anymore.”
Your link shows three white-tail deer. I think you’re looking for something like this…
link
WVU never misses a couch-burning opportunity.
Bah, you’re right. I was actually going for this:
link
Hey, Relax-O-Vision! Cool!
absolutely doubt it.
but you get the T-shirts right here.
link
OBL, RIP. (Rest In Pieces.) (No, I didn’t make that up.)
Best ending ever in a Choose Your Own Adventure book. Spoiler Alert! In link, at one point you’re offered a choice by the alien captain of the UFO that’s just kidnapped you to surrender or go in peace. If you choose the latter, the alien captain tells you, “I’m sorry, I meant ‘go in pieces,'” and then he kills you with his disinto-ray or whatever.
Rest In Piss
By the way, I love that song.
Uniforms, Fuck Yeah!
Interesting book review, Paul. Having not read the book, it does seem short-sighted that the author did not attach cultural significance to her efforts. Seems like that’s where the news hook is.
Otherwise, it feels a little hollow (or trendy!) to cover food trucks minus details on the grand ideas of the “under class” being co-opted by the creative class. Are food trucks a trend those folks (and consumer society) play with for awhile and dispose of?
Or, like rap music and returning to live in the urban core, is it a movement that’s here to stay? If the author’s not going to explore what seems like the real story, it doesn’t appear to be a very deep book?
The author actually wrote to me on Saturday night, and then she and I engaged in a lengthy back-and-forth yesterday. The upshot: She didn’t set out to write a book that included any cultural analysis, which I think was a huge error for a topic like this one.
Paul-I think that Maroon hockey jersey with the chain trim on front and back might actually be an indoor lacrosse jersey. Indoor or “box” lacrosse is hugely popular in Canada, especially amongst the First People (Native Canadians). Indoor teams usually wear a hockey jersey for their uniforms.
And this isn’t the first time I’ve seen that type of trim placement on a jersey. Back in 1974 the six-team indoor National Lacrosse League began play. Members were the league champion Rochester Griffins, the original Philadelphia Wings, the Maryland Arrows, Le Quebecois de Montreal, the Syracuse Stingers and the Toronto Tomahawks.
The Tomahawks jerseys had Red, Royal Blue & Gold trim in a zig-zag pattern on their White shirts in the same style as shown on the Maroon jersey. It was unique to say the least.
The league struggled during its two-year run. Several teams moved for ’75 including Rochester to Long Island and Toronto to Boston. Do you remember the Long Island team?
Great catch on Prince Amukamara’s NFL draft photo-op, but I may have another explanation. I mentioned this in the comments on Friday, but do you think it’s possible that they have an old on-field jersey hanging around for the draft pictures?
Other teams have done this – when the Rams drafted Chris Long in 2008, he was snapped posing with a link.
First time I’ve ever seen Joe Azcue called by his real name, Jose. Had to do a doubletake, as his cards always said Joe
link
link
True, but those cards hail from the same era that gave us “Bob Clemente”.
Helmet Cam is pretty common anymore. In fact I went to a few clinics this winter and one football tech company was selling what essentially looked like a small digital camera mounted on the top of the helmet, not the smooth flashy side one that Montana is using. I saw a few articles where Oregon has used it as a teaching tool for a few years and that Colorado used it at spring practice. I also came across this video from Arkansas State. Pretty fun to see the QB’s POV.
link
Not all that interesting that Orioles’ GM Paul Richards was in uniform, considering he was also the field manager.
At least he wasn’t also a third baseman at the time!
It was Richards, of course, who introduced the oversized catcher’s mitt for Gus Triandos to use when knuckeballer Hoyt Wilhelm came into the game.
I know that’s not big news. But I’m not sure some here realize how MUCH attention that got for baseball at the time. I mean, it was covered in straight newscasts, and in newspapers outside the sports section. Everybody wanted a look at the that big honkin’ mitt.
So he was. From ’55 to ’61. Good catch.
Next year’s 125th-anniversary home kit from Arsenal:
link
Like the simplicity, love the red socks. Not enamored of the overly-busy anniversary crest.
Agreed. But as long as it’s red with white sleeves, I’m basically good. That’s Arsenal. A wide white stripe on top of the sleeve is NOT a white sleeve; I hated those shirts.
I’m surprised that “arseblog” is about soccer. Just saying.
JUST ANOTHER MANIC MONDAY…
UW’s numbers drop sharply (reasonably enough) for Phil’s Weekend Edition, so I want to urge weekday-only readers to have a look at yesterday’s postings. The colorizers turned in some epic work, and Chance Michaels produced a wonderful survey of the history of the Brooklyn B and other Dodgers iconographic developments.
Still. hard to beat Mondays around here. Things I love:
** Kirsten’s “Project Neon.”
** Numerals on Paul Hovey’s new UW card.
** Those starting-pitcher infographics.
** Butchery chart.
** Tacoma Giants eyesore jersey.
** Jay Shelton’s Amrican Professional Basketball League.
** RP Marshall. There’s so much to like about The Moose, especially when you don’t need Rosetta Stone to figure out what he means. Everything about the Stirrups Revolution is wonderful, but I especially dig that neo-Constructivist poster of his. Moose was good enough to wrap each of his latest batch of bobbleheads in a pair of long striped socks, and one of my kids immediately put them on for his big soccer tryout this weekend. The new bobble itself is, of course, beyond great.
What Connie said… all of it…
-Jet
Paul Richards was GM as well as the Orioles manager. So that is why he most likely in full uniforn
Thanks for the support Paul!
That Mets shirt by the way is weird but obviously refers to the American Association team. This one that my friend Mark said he received this weekend as a birthday gift is more curious, probably just a typo:
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RPM- Not sure if its my PC or what, but every time I click on the links to the RUP revolution order page I get a malware/virus warning. Anybody else getting this? If not I will alert the IT crew here.
I was able to get there just fine.
I get the same warning (I’m at work, don’t know how it will be at home). I emailed Paul and Moose about it.
Regarding that Claudell Washington pic….the date of that game was June 14, 1980 and Steve Henderson had just hit a game winning home run in the bottom of the 9th against the Giants (being 1980, it was not yet referred to as a “walk-off”). What’s interesting is that Washington was aquired by the Mets on June 7th of that year….a full week before that photo was taken. Was the clubhouse attendant on vacation that week?
TONS of uni talk on Adam Carolla’s podcast today! His guest is Jacksonville Jaguars’ player Kirk Morrison, who discusses various uni regulations. They also bring up Pro Caps. Adam also goes on a rant about how the NFL is better at trying to make their uniforms uniform, unlike the MLB. Funny stuff.
Hey Paul, the sign you mentioned last in the ticker has been updated…
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I believe the correct answer is “in the ocean”.
“…white with foam.”
(How’s that for combining two threads)
I thought it was the 7th inning and we were singing.
My bad.
Nicely done fellas.
apparently there were link in football some time ago, but i link they go away.
apparently there were super hero outfits in football some time ago…
Wrong facemask.
Joe did wear a two bar BD-9 early on. They even experimented with an earlylink
Here’s a pic of what it looked like link
Know that. Absolutely.
By the time the Jets were beating the Colts in SBIII, though, he’d gone to the two-bar cage (and by ’69 preseason, the three-bar variety). In fact, I think it was sometime during the ’68 season that he abandoned the more common double bar.
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’69 preseason…
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Hence, a burgeoning super hero whilst donning the BD-9.
Hey, wait a sec… it’s AFL SuperPro!
About the pic of the Blue Jays old logo that I submitted:
I went to a Yankees-Blue Jays game last year and they were even using logos for the Jays I’ve never seen before–mainly alternate versions of the Blue Jay seen in their 2003 logo (the one with the red T and the Blue Jay holding a bat).
These “handmade” infographics should be a welcome change for anyone who’s close to infographic overload:
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Paul, maybe it’s just me…but I thought that Robin Yount was the Diamondbacks coach in 2002, not the Brewers. The Brewers came later on.
But after winning the World Series in 2001, the Diamondbacks staff coached the NL in the 2002 All Star Game.
Paul!
In a follow-up to the cross promotion/sports rooting going on at Fenway, the Red Sox also post (and update) the score of the Bruins playoff game in the last spot on the National League out of town manual scoreboard (since there are 16 slots with the ability to represent 8 games, but we all know there are only 14 teams in the NL). They’ve been doing that the last few years now for playoff games and other special occasions.
-M
***18 slots, wow now I really look stupid!
Now, I didn’t get much math as a history major, but I’m pretty sure there are 16 teams in the NL. Unless there was a joke there that I completely missed.
Nope Aaron you would be correct sir!
Okay, cool. I didn’t mean to call you out, but I didn’t want to be the only one out on the joke if I were missing it.
In response to Rick Friedel’s question about the Cleatskins, yes, I would use them in a heartbeat! I had a similar idea in high school when my cleats would get all chewn up from climbing up the rocky hill between the locker rooms and practice field or on the pavement between the stadium and locker room. In fact I may get some now… Thanks for the tip, Rick! :)
NP :)
“Remember how Victor Martinez used to wear a first baseman’s mitt when catching Tim Wakefield? It appears that Salty was doing the same thing yesterday (good spot by Tim Antone).”
Have seen that, but only briefly. Was wondering if it might not be a 13″ fastpitch softball catcher’s mitt. They are a kind of hybrid between a 1b mitt and a catcher’s mitt. Doubt it, but it occured to me.
Anyone get a real good look at it?
I like the way you included the news of bin Laden in the ticker today. That was awesomely clever.
Thanks, Kyle. Wanted to acknowledge it without going overboard.
I’m just impressed you were able to pull it off without starting a shitstorm, given the touchy nature of some commenters when you allude to politics.
Is there anybody reading this blog who is pro-OBL? That seems like a pretty safe topic.
link being used as a sign amid last night’s jubilant crowds in Washington, DC. And not even the stars-and-stripes uni. What are they, unpatriotic?
Also, a link on the OBL situation.
Interesting Uni/World News cross over here…
Padres will be wearing their camo’s in honor of the military tonight. I am a fan of the uni’s and what they represent (unlike some). However, this seems……unique.
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Jeez, even the troops won’t tell you they took Osama out, won’t take credit for it.
Probably why not a ton of celebrating among them in that part of the world.
A) They know the job is far from done.
B) They didn’t get him.
A Seal team did. Special Ops.
Exactly… Special Ops, which explicitly operates OUTSIDE military protocol and even international law.
I’m sure veterans and servicepeople are happy OBL is dead. But I doubt any of them are taking the slightest bit of credit.
“Explicitly operates outside military protocol and international law” ? Where did you get this idea? According to news reports, the mission was carried out by U.S. Navy SEALS, specifically DEVGRU, which is the former SEAL Team 6. DEVGRU’s C.O. is a U.S. Navy Rear Admiral. The unit is a United States Navy unit, operating under the chain of command of the USN, and absolutely within the terms of the Geneva Convention. The unit does deploy jointly with CIA leadership and/or U.S. Army Delta Force on occasion.
I’m equally sure a bunch of guys kicked back with a case of Bud after they got done, too.
Not gonna come down on either side of that debate.
Just saying that the troops know it wasn’t regular groundbounders who got him, that it won’t be taken with a military-wide sense of “job well done”.
The public, whose main concern with the military probably really is, “Thank God someone else is doing it, not me” will choose to see it that way, though. Evidence the breaking out of patriotic unis.
“groundpounders.”
Jeez.
I kinda liked “groundbounders”. Has a nice image to it.
The Nationals are breaking out their Stars & Stripes uniforms tonight too
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In the Nats’ defense, those uniforms aren’t any less classy for being worn to celebrate V-BL Day. That barrel can’t be scraped any lower, so whatever.
I bet Phil Cavarretta did not take the field at Wrigley on V-J Day dressed up like a B-29 pilot.
V-BL Day? I like the callback to WWII.
I kinda liked them.
Of course, the G-Men were shut out again, the third time on this road trip.
The Angels were the California Angels in 1970. They were the Los Angeles Angels from 1961-1965, then actually changed the team name in September of the 1965 season to the California Angels. You can even clearly see the interlocked “CA” on the hats and helmets in these photos (along with the very cool and unique halo on top).
Did they often play spring training games in their home park? Because that sure appears to be the Big A.
Maybe the Pilots were killing time, waiting to get the word whether their bus should head for Seattle or Milwaukee.
Re: Tacoma Tigers.
I’ll bet it was a Majestic/Sand Knit uniform the same year (or reasonable facsimile thereof) of the Lynn Sailors jersey that is referenced on this very site last August 10th:
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I’d say 1980.
Caught this on The Daily What today. I just found it interesting that the sign is mentioned here too.
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So what year is that Hub Kittle (you’re right Paul, I miss baseball nicknames too) photo? I’m guessing mid 60’s, would love to hear the follow-up on the red pants they originally came from.
As for finding neon signs(or just about anything else interesting) try waymarking.com. They may even have a smartphone app, although that doesn’t apply to me.
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If the late-70s Tigers stirrups had 6+ stripes, only one man could have worn them. Over to you, Rusty!
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and they DID! (the eyes are the first to go…)
that’s an AWESOME find ryan…
i’d never seen him with anything but 4 stripes before
freakin’ schweet
Wow. Six sets of stripes on stirrups? That’s not just crazy awesome… that’s kicking reason to the curb and going beyond the impossible!
On the NFL Shop, they’re selling the draft jerseys, which are just half of the first round picks with the number one on it–except for link as number 11, link as number 98, and link as number 77.
I’m sorry, but I can’t see spending a dime on new NFL gear with the threat of labor strife actually costing games. Get a new CBA in place, ensure that there is a season, and then I *might* be able to justify that kind of investment.
I know I am late to the party but I just put in my order for some stirrups and my Uni Watch membership. After a couple of years reading the blog I decided to make it official.
Welcome aboard!
Tonight was a scheduled Military Appreciation night at Nats Park. Had nothing at all to do with current events.
I’m sure you’re that the NFL “authentic” jerseys they now sell to fans are made for Reebok in Vietnam. The actual on field jerseys are manufactured by Ripon in Berlin Wisconsin at the old Sand Knit factory. The difference in quality is noticeable. If I’m going to pay over $200 for an authentic, I want the real deal. As far as I know the Ripon jerseys are no longer available to the public. I think this is a pretty dirty deal by Reebok. I’d love to hear your comments Nd those of Joe Skiba.
really?
Jay Shelton, link is awesome! Gives me some ideas…
Loved your other contributions as well.
Thanks, rpm. Shipment confirmed.
Oh! Is it True??? link