By Phil Hecken
As you guys will recall, over the summer I pinch-hit for Paul for a month, and you fine readers were not only extremely well-behaved for the substitute teacher, but you also were very generous in my call for ideas for topics and subjects — so much so, that I received a number of contributions I wasn’t able to run during that month.
I was able to get to most articles, but a few (mostly those which fall into the College Football “Timelessly Representing” series) didn’t make it. Today is another one of those, and it comes from Clint Richardson, who was actually one of the first to start work on his article and upload a ton of the photos you’re about to see now.
Clint goes to Auburn, so he’s a Tiger through and through, and what he discovered one day is literally a treasure trove of Auburn history goodness. I’d be willing to bet that a number of these have never been seen on the interwebs before now (kinda like when we used to run the “Ricko Files”). For the photos below, click the image to enlarge.
So, finally (sorry Clint!), I am pleased to bring you …
Auburn Treasures from the Garage
By Clint Richardson
It’s amazing what you can find when you clean out your garage. My father was cleaning out our home garage one weekend, and we came across this box that had been in there for so long. The box itself was so worn, and it had old newspapers torn to pieces from a cat having her litter in the box so long ago (it didn’t mess up any of the contents, except the papers, thankfully). What I did end up finding were nearly 50 programs, magazines, and media guides for Auburn football from 1972 to 1990 or so. Man, these things are amazing! Being only 19, and being the Auburn history buff I am, this was the most amazing thing ever. Old pictures of campus, football, basketball, and anything else you wanted! I’m a student at Auburn now, and it’s amazing to me how much the place has, and even hasn’t, changed. I scanned all the covers, and some backs, of everything I found and Phil asked me to do a short write up to have it featured on UW. There are a couple of covers that I love so much.
Inside the Auburn Tigers is a monthly magazine sent out to Auburn fans. I in fact found the inaugural edition in this stack, which is pretty cool. This one I love specifically for the helmets. One, the orange facemasks during the Bo Jackson era were awesome. Would love to see those come back. Two, I love the two toned socks worn back then, need to get me a pair! And three, notice the black tape above the AU. In 1982, two of Auburn’s highly coveted freshmen players were killed in a car wreck. I believe another player died on the practice field that year as well (Florida’s game day shirt that year read “We don’t kill our players”). So, to pay tribute, every helmet donned this tape. This is the only time in Auburn football history, other than the expected and actually well documented evolution of the helmet design, that the team wore something different like this. They did wear a VS memorial on the back of the helmet in 2008 for Virgil Starks, but not quite the same page as this.
To view the slideshow full-size, click here
Although Auburn football is so well documented (much more than the basketball program; different story for different day), the one thing that isn’t as documented is the orange uniforms. In 1978, Auburn broke out the orange unis for the first time versus Georgia. And lost. Auburn only wore them one more time before they were all but officially banned. So to find a color picture like this is outstanding. The other thing I love is the socks on the lower picture. I absolutely LOVE that the traditional Auburn “Northwestern Stripes” are on the socks. (Don’t even bring up that they don’t match the pants. Do not do it!) Now THOSE are some socks I need! I would kill to see those on the field this year. Speaking of which, I do know a student equipment manager…
Some other tidbits-
• Love the orange belt. Want that back!
• Pat Dye has always had such an awesome, yet very simple, sense of Auburn style. Love the hats he’s always worn.
• The 1985 season media guide features Pat, Bo, and some unknown failure of a tackler (they all were against Bo). Its driving me nuts to figure out that guy’s uniform. . .but I think it was just a place filler to be honest.
• The 1980 Georgia game program shows the old Jordan-Hare Stadium seating. Orange and blue seats!! Too cool of a feature NOT to be added back! Sure beats factory grey bench seating we have now”¦
• Regarding the 1982 Nebraska game program with the space rockets, Auburn has an amazing aerospace program, and in fact, has sent more astronauts into space than any other school in the country. War Damn Space!
Media Guides:
For the full-size slideshow, click here
Game Programs:
For the full-size slideshow, click here.
Wow. Fantastic job with that Clint! You don’t have to be an Auburn Tiger fan to appreciate the beauty contained in these covers and images. Readers? Pretty sweet, right!
Uni Tweaks Concepts
We have another new set of tweaks, er…concepts today. After discussion with a number of readers, it’s probably more apropos to call most of the reader submissions “concepts” rather than tweaks. So that’s that.
So if you’ve concept for any sport, or just a tweak or wholesale revision, send them my way.
Please do try to keep your descriptions to ~50 words (give or take) per image — if you have three uniform concepts in one image, then obviously, you can go a little over, but no novels, OK? OK!. You guys have usually been good with keeping the descriptions pretty short, and I thank you for that.
Like the colorizations, I’m going to run these as inline pics — click on each one to enlarge.
And so, lets begin:
We begin today with Jeff Martin, who actually designed this cap as a Uni Tweak a while back. Pretty cool!:
Hi Phil,
I designed this Mets Cap in one of my “unitweaks” and my wife had it made up for me for Father’s Day. It just arrived today. I like the white bill look for a home uniform. (New Era By You, a little pricey $57… My wife is def a keeper for having this made for me.)
Jeff Martin
Next up is John Hixon, with a new sweater set for the Minnesota Wild:
Phil,
Minnesota Wild Sweater Ideas:
Attached, in case you would like to post one or two of these.
John Hixon
St. Paul, MN
We close today with Brandon Manzione who decided to put the “Houtston” Astros in new unis only one year after their current remake. Other than the Natinals riff, it’s really good:
Phil,
Here is my unit weak for the Houston Astros.
Although their new unis are a huge improvement, they are too retro, and not spacey enough. So I thought they could have a look that is a more simpler version of the rainbow unis that they are so famous for, a bit 80’s White Sox meets Astros rainbows.
Brandon
And that’s it for today. Back with more next time.
Guess The Game…From The Scoreboard
It’s baaaaaack.
OK, readers — you know the drill (and if you don’t it’s quite simple) — you simply need to figure out what game is being played using the clues found on the scoreboard. I would think this one is pretty easy, but you never know.
If you solve it, as a courtesy to other readers, simply LINK (go to Baseball Reference) to the game and post that link in your comment — feel free to describe HOW you solved it, using any clues you may have gleaned from the Scoreboard.
OK? OK! Post your answer (in link form) in the comments section below. Good luck.
Uni Watch News Ticker:
Baseball News: Beginning Sunday, the Yankees will wear “Mariano Rivera Final Season” patches on the left sleeves of their jerseys and on their caps for the final four home games of the season. This article shows the cap and patch. … Jason Heyward returned from the DL and was scheduled to be wearing the traditional face mask for his on-field return last night (thanks to Andy Chalifour). … The Cleveland baseball team is still using the old Astros logo on their game programs (h/t Jay Mazzone). … Looks like the Nationals have a patch memorializing the Navy Yard shootings that occurred on September 16th (thanks to Jonathan Binet) — they wore them last evening. … The Seattle Mariners will wear this patch in memory of their owner, Hiroshi Yamauchi, who passed away earlier this week (h/t @TheEmblemSource). … The Red Sox clinched the AL East last night, and here’s a logo to celebrate.
NFL News: Reprinted from yesterday’s comments — check out this 1929 New York Giants team photo: notice anything odd about the player in the back row, far right? … And in the 1931 photo, Leo Strawn noticed a number “0” (that 0 is also in the ’29 shot — same dude?) … Also from those NYG team photos: look at this 1962 Giants team picture. Hall of Famer YA Tittle, whose #14 was retired by the Giants, wearing #18 (great spot by David Feigenbaum). … Kurtiss Dilley asks, “Why does Philbin’s Aqua shirt not match the teams new aqua shade?” … The Detroit Lions’ Louis Delmas was fined $5,000 for wearing the wrong color socks. … After wearing ‘Niners jerseys at last weeks game, undercover cops will wear Jags jerseys this Sunday to prevent fan misbehavior.
College Football News: Hmmm. It took Under Armour nine months to create those “Pride” uniforms that Maryland might only use once. … The SMU Mustangs will celebrate their 1983 Sun Bowl team on Oct. 5 by wearing throwbacks. … Gah! Looks like Syracuse has a new helmet (I’m guessing that’s not quite finished). … Good Lord — Phil Knight Has His Own Locker In Oregon’s New $68-Million Football Facility (thanks, Brinke). … You know those flag desecration unis Fordham is wearing today? Apparently, they’re not just pandering. According to this article, they “were set to play on Sept. 15, 2001, but postponed their game after the September 11 attacks, which killed 39 alumni and students from Fordham, including two recent football players, and 43 from Columbia. Ever since, they’ve played for The Liberty Cup to honor those who were lost, and of course, the FDNY and NYPD.” … Here’s a neat article from WarBloggle.com, “The True Origin of the Old Tiger Head Logo,” (aka “Aubie” and “Sailor Mike”) which has been used by Auburn, LSU, Princeton, Pacific, Missouri, and many other schools who call themselves the Tigers (tip of the cap to Jonathan Lancaster). … Possible new helmets for Iowa State? I have my doubts, but anything is possible these days (h/t Taylor Atkinson). … Today’s featured guest, Clint Richardson was watching the Auburn-Mississippi State game from last week, and he noticed linebacker Jake Holland is wearing a Russell undershirt (Auburn is, of course, sponsored by UA). … Coast Guard will be wearing 1963 throwbacks today, to honor 50th Anniversary of undefeated team.
Basketball News: Here’s a really nifty app that allows you to make your own, custom basketball cards (thanks to Chris LaHaye).
Hockey News: The Capitals will be hosting the 2015 Winter Classic. In 2011, they played and wore these unis. I’d guess they will have a new (probably throwback) uni for the 2015 edition. … Speaking of “Classic” hockey games, could the Vancouver Canucks go beige for 2014 NHL Heritage Classic?
Soccer News: Nice find from Cort McMurray: Premier League clubs, including Manchester United, Tottenham and Norwich, have refused to back the rainbow laces campaign designed to highlight support for a campaign addressing homophobia.
College Hoops News: The Richmond Spiders are opting for a ”˜classic’ court design at renovated the Robins Center, and here’s a link to the article where that was found (thanks to Tommy Turner).
Grab Bag: Looks like some cultural difficulties with beach volleyball, bikinis and Islamic values at the Islamic Solidarity Games (from our Pacific Rim Correspondent, Jeremy Brahm). … “Totally non-sports related,” says Sean Clancy, “but ‘VF’ (Vanity Fair) has a neat slide show of ads that ran between 1913 and 1936. There’s some really cool stuff here.” … Tim Kurkjian has an extensive column on superstitions, with last Friday being Friday the 13th. Many uniform superstitions included. Of note: Torii Hunter cleans his shoes in-game if he slides and gets them dirty (nice find by Tom Mulgrew). … More from Tom: Technology meets clothing again. Colour-changing clothes could make tech fashionable (The collection was shown last week at the International Symposium on Wearable Computers in Zurich, Switzerland).
That’s going to do it for today. Thanks again to Clint Richardson (Follow Clint on Twitter @Clintau24), the concepters too. Remember, if you see any good candidates for the 5 & 1 tomorrow, you can shoot Catherine an e-mail at UW5and1@gmail.com you can also tweet at me for any weird, unique or good/bad uni happenings or matchups (and I’ll forward anything you send to Terry D. for SMUW or Catherine for the 5 & 1) and also don’t forgot to vote on this week’s UWFFL matchups. OK? OK! Hope you guys are enjoying the weekend ticker ”¦ have a great Saturday and I’ll catch you tomorrow.
Follow me on Twitter @PhilHecken.
Peace.
“Maybe I’m an old fart but I think the kind of detailed shading and modeling of Maryland’s hubris helmets is not appropriate for a football team. Keep it simple enough that a child ought to be able to draw it.”
–Walter Helfer
What the hell do police need to wear Jaguars jerseys for? No one is going to attack a Jaguars fan, they’re just going to point and laugh at them. Or maybe buy ’em a beer out of pity or something.
maybe buy ‘em a beer out of pity
Well then, I think you just answered your own question.
Too obvious – if you see someone wearing a Jags jersey, they’d HAVE to be an undercover cop…
Nice Auburn stuff…but minor correction: Auburn doesn’t have the most astronauts; Purdue (at least last I checked…don’t judge) held that distinction with ~20 or so. One of the service academies may have overtaken them recently though.
Philbin has been wearing blue this year (and I believe last year too during games). I believe his shirt matches the new blue the Phins have in their team colors.
It appears he’s wearing this shirt from the NFL Shop. Called “Navy Blue”: link
I loved the “old days” when coaches could dress themselves instead of being corporate shills and wearing whatever nike or Adidas tell them to wear.
“I loved the “old days” when coaches could dress themselves instead of being corporate shills and wearing whatever nike or Adidas tell them to wear.”
I miss the days when everything wasn’t covered in corporate logos.
Los Angeles does not deserve to be hosting an outdoor NHL game. In fact, anything south of D.C. (which itself is pushing it, but they at least get a fair amount of snow in the winter) does not deserve to be INVOLVED in an outdoor NHL game.
I believe D.C. averages about 10-12 inches of snow a year.
So, after learning that apparently the Mariner’s road uni hasn’t changed since 1993 which meant that the photo of Ibanez in left at Fenway could have been from any of his three stints as a Mariner, I simply set off on the hunch that this was a higher quality and thus more recent game.
Luckily the Mariners don’t often play the Red Sox, so sorting through the 3-6 box scores a year wouldn’t be a problem.
Nothing in 13, but then in 08, I got this.
link
Box score through the top half of the 6th matches,
According to here,
link
J.D. Drew was wearing 7 in 2008, he is up to bat with a 1-2 count and no outs, and will hit a home run off of the newly entered pitcher Sean Green who wore 54, so can be the pitcher with the last number 4.
link
I feel like there is something uni-wise I should be able to narrow down the year, without hunt and peck, but I can’t figure it out.
the Mariners added the compass rose to the S on their visiting uniforms in 2001, so you can rule out Raul’s first stint.
It’s a day game, and the M’s have played in Boston on Patriot Day a couple times, if I recall. I would wonder if the “4” on the board is Felix Hernandez.
Just checked the one Patriot’s Day M’s – Red Sox game I remember: April 17, 2006. (Just as I was flying back to Seattle after my most recent trip to Boston. I went to the game the day before.) M’s and Sawx traded one-run innings in the 1st and 2nd, so it’s not the game in the picture.
I think you got it, Justin. The pitcher numbers from the other games also match – for example, the 23 and 62 at the top on the right side are Zack Greinke (#23 for KC) pitching against Joba Chamberlain (#62 for NYY).
There were two pitchers wearing #62 in two different games, so this has to be in the last 10 years or so.
I wonder if United shunning the rainbow laces is just David Moyes continuing tradition. Alex Ferguson used to make the reserves and academy players wear black colorways over the flashier versions.
According to the clubs, they’re not upset with the anti-homophobia initiative; they’re upset because neither they nor the league were properly consulted on the idea. That definitely warrants mentioning, as it wasn’t included in the Ticker and is a very important part of the story.
There are also huge issues about the language used:
link
Sadly, in addition to the language issue mentioned by George, the other issue is, of course, commercial, in that Paddy Power is the sponsor, and many of these clubs have agreements with other betting companies, so they don’t want to upset their partners.
Why making a simple statement for tolerance and equality needs a commercial sponsor is beyond me, but that’s where we are now I guess.
Correct about Paddy Power, and also Stonewall don’t make themselves too many friends either, even among the LGBT community, by their approaches.
It wouldn’t surprise me if something like this was tried later in the season, with all clubs taking part. It does seem a little short notice for this weekend’s matches.
I have a friend who works for West Brom, I’m going to see if he’s able to snag a pair or 2 for me…
“Mariano Rivera Final Season” patches on the left sleeves of their jerseys and on their caps…
Holy shit. I thought I got about 6 hours of sleep last night. But I’ve actually been sleeping for more than 6 months? Today is April 1st?
1979. James Brooks and Joe Cribbs in the same backfield. Over 2,300 yards between them. Future Bengal great Brooks averaged 7.4 yards a carry… Didin’t realize he went to Auburn until today (when no. 21 on the cover of the 1979 media guide struck me as familiar). Thanks for the documentation Mr. Richardson.
Seeing them in action, love Everton’s third kit, although i wish the shorts had the stripe still.
Now, if they will just get another goal… :)
Your wish is granted!
The Richmond Spiders should be congratulated for exercising restraint and good taste in their court design.
As for the 1929 Giants picture, How does that happen? How can the number be put on without anybody realizing something is not right?
It is funny.
I think you have to remember the era, and that teams didn’t have huge numbers of back-up jerseys like now.
Yes – they probably realised early on that it had been done incorrectly, but the jersey couldn’t just be thrown away – it had to be used.
I don’t understand why they didn’t just photoshop a corrected number on the jersey ;)
You’d think that they could take the number off, or even add some fabric to it so that a 6 could be an 8.
Or were the jerseys handed out for the first time on Picture Day? Maybe he only just got the jersey, and they fixed it somehow after that.
Make those Astros uniforms full button fronts and you’ve got a winner. THAT’s what they should’ve went with.
Oh, and I’d also spell Houston correctly.
Why do people care if the jerseys are button fronts or pullovers? Is having a badly split wordmark and occasional ball stuck in the jersey really some kind of special thing?
Growing up in the 70’s as a Big Red Machine fan I LOVE pullovers (the Reds were the last team to ditch those I believe). However, I’ve never cared for the “henley” style jerseys with the 3 button placard. The reason I didn’t say go pullover instead of the three buttons is because of the negative image most people have of those today.
And orange hat at home.
Don’t like the front number placement, but that’s a nitpicking, the overall design is excellent.
Roll Tide
I don’t think that’s an undershirt for the Auburn player, I’m reasonably sure that’s the shoulder pads.
Just in case you catch flak for non-sports items, Mon Cher Philipe, please know that your link to the cavalcade of Vanity Fair ads made my little day.
The SMU Mustangs will celebrate their 1983 Sun Bowl team on Oct. 5 by wearing throwbacks.
I have a feeling they’re celebrating the 1983 Cotton Bowl team instead.
link
Yes, they also played the link but which one would *you* celebrate?
Yeah, no doubt edging out Pitt and finishing 2nd overall would be a better thing to celebrate than getting steamrolled by Bama.
Hip hip hooray! (3 x) for Walter Helfert’s last sentence.
The tone used on television or radio to bleep out one of the seven magic words… that’s what I hear in my head every time the camera focuses on a Maryland player. Visual !@&^$$&.
I can’t even watch… No ESPNU :(
Too bad the war chickens will lose the tiger bowl today GEAUX DAMN TIGERS!!!!!!
Wasn’t that superstition article linked here about a week ago?
for the rasslin fans, the new ESPN mag has a feature on Rey Misterio’s popular culture influenced masks, like the Captain America deisgn and ones done in localsports teams colours.
Love the return of Guess the Game. I’m pretty sure it’s 6/8/08 Seattle @ Botson: link
Ibanez played for SEA 96-00, 06-08 & 13. Picture looks newer. Line scores do not match any games Ibanez played at Fenway in 2013. They do match the game on 6/8/08. J.D. Drew led off the bottom of the 6th and wore #7. Out of town scoreboard pitcher numbers match. Greinke (KC #32) vs Chamberlain (NYY #62); Liz (BAL #62) vs Halladay (TOR #32); Sowers (CLE #45) vs Galarraga (DET #58)
The Tennessee qb in the second half seemed to have some sort of extra patch under the sec patch that rest of team isn’t wearing, couldn’t grab a screen shot. Anyone else notice?
Tommy Armstrong Jr started for Nebraska today. His backup was Ron Kellogg III. Next on the depth chart is Johnny Stanton IV. All three have the generational suffix on their uniforms. BTN just missed getting all three in the same shot.
link
link
While channel surfing through the games today, we saw Toledo-Central Michigan. The wife loved Central’s throbacks but met Toledo’s off-white with “If ‘meh’ was a color, that would be it.'”
At this late point in the season, how can the Indians still be using the wrong Houston logo? I guess that people in their office mess things up, just like employees do in every other office in America. I wonder whether they even give a flip when a fan points out the error.
Cubs reveal 100th Anniversary Wrigley Field logo, which will be worn as a patch on the home uniforms:
link
I seem to remember rumors that the Cubs would have new home uniforms, or some kind of home alternate, next season. I really hope they go back to the number-only, NNOB look that they had for many years. Even if they keep the names on the road, they look so much better this way.
BYU with royal blue chrome facemasks and the “Y” on the helmet is raised.
Love the helmet decal. They did the raised one last year, but this one seems to be going with the retro theme and is lighter in color, with metallic sheen. Very cool.
The Cubs are looking at all past uniforms .Hope they change back to the 1940 home and road uniforms
link
Guess I should mention, the article is about Georgia, Georgia Tech, & Northwestern players who marked “APU” in various places as a protest against the NCAA. According to the article, the National Collegiate Players Association intends for the protest to continue throughout the year, but I wonder if the NCAA would threaten suspensions for anyone who didn’t stop. And, more importantly, how many players would comply.
Damn. Every time I look at LSU’s UCLA stripes, I just want to make the Colts’ front office take a look and scream at them, “WHY CAN’T YOU GET NIKE TO DO YOUR STRIPES LIKE THIS? THE WAY THEY OUGHT TO BE?!?”
Not even going to get into UCLA and what they and their uni provider have done.
Anyone have the Tennessee-Florida game on DVR? Toward the end of the third quarter, there was a huge on-field graphic ad for New York Life insurance that popped up, much like the computer generated first-down lines and 2nd-and-nine graphics. Is this new? It’s definitely lame, and I don’t know if it’s better than having ads on jerseys. I know the NBA might do it someday, but wonder if there will ever be ads allowed by the NCAA to be placed on jerseys.
BYU-Team to the North needs to be one of the 5, color-on-color with BYU’s throwback looks great.
Aaarrrgghhh! Great minds think alike, eh?
BYU/Utah in the 5&1…
The game between the Red Sox and Mariners occurred on June 8, 2008.
JD Drew hit the go ahead HR in the 6th to give Boston the lead, and Papelbon came in for the close in the 9th.
link