By Phil Hecken
Today we’ll be taking a look at the first set of uniform submissions for the Lewis & Clark Design-a-Uniform Contest, for the team known as the “Captains.” If you’re not familiar with the contest, please give that a read. The contest’s creator, W. Ross Clites will be asking readers to design uniforms for all of the teams in the Lewis & Clark League, and thus far we’ve asked for submissions for a total of three teams. The deadline for the first team (“Captains”) has now closed, and we’ll look at and you’ll be able to cast your votes upon those today.
Two other teams have been put to readers for concepts, the Diplomats and the Explorers. If you’d like to submit your concept for either team, the deadline for submissions for the Diplomats is Wednesday, March 5, and the deadline for submissions for the Explorers is Wednesday, March 12. Tomorrow, Ross will have a short write-up for the fourth team, so make sure you check back then!
At this point I’ll turn it over to Ross, who will go over the guidelines for voting, and then I’ll be back with some final words before we take a look at the entries from our contestants. Here’s Ross (these guidelines will likely accompany each set of voting):
Alright boys and girls, here is how the voting is going to go for each Lewis & Clark Baseball League team:
1. The hierarchy of importance goes primary logo, then uniform design, and then all rest (i.e. hat design, secondary logos, etc.) Cast a vote for the design with your favorite primary logo, first and foremost. Do not fault someone for going outside the design guidelines. Changing a wordmark or adding a third color is not a disqualifier for good thought process.
2. Your votes will take the field of applicants down to a final two per team.
3. We, the LCBL Executive Board will make the final decision on the winning proposal. However — and this is big — design is never complete and collaboration is paramount to success. We will likely settle on a combination of the final two submissions. We might love the logo of one, but prefer the jersey scheme of the other. In this, you will both be winners with full prizes to ensue. The possibility does exist for a total victory, of sorts. One designer could present the best looking jersey, logo, hat, and all the rest. Do not get offended when your submission gets handed back to you with redlined edits. We hate to hand out homework to the winning look, but tweaks may be requested. It is a studio project and not a math equation; the “right” answer takes some massaging of details.
4. With permission from both finalists, our graphics department will meld the two submissions together (if necessary) and place it in our common platform. This is done as a common denominator showcase for all twelve to look uniform when the contest has reached its end.
5. Someone, not even in the top two, could see an element (such as an awesome secondary logo) appear in the final iteration. We would never select the winner based solely on a minor design element, but we will also not let it go to waste. In this, all submissions could be part of a bigger design team. This contest — and frankly this site — was created to identify the best possible combinations of logos and materials in the sports world. This rarely comes from one person’s mind; we will reward any of those that play a part in making our on-field product the best it can be.
Thanks, Ross. A few words about the submissions below:
Some of the contestants sent one single image, others sent multiple images. Some contestants sent descriptions (in some cases, very lengthy ones), others had little or no description. In an effort to make the voting as fair as possible, I have put those who sent multiple images into one single image, and no descriptions of the uniforms will follow. If you’d like to see all the entries for the Captains and their write-ups/descriptions, I have hosted the entire set on Flickr. Keeping in mind Ross’ rules for voting, you may use these as an additional guide in determining which submission(s) you think are the best.
The submissions will be in alphabetical order and voting will follow. You may vote for any three of the concepts below. You may click on any image to enlarge. OK? OK. Here we go:
Bert Ayres:
Ryan Foose:
Alex Giobbi:
Tim Groves:
Cole Hammers:
Brady Ivie:
Jake Kessler:
Oliver Kodner:
Curtis Peddle:
Peter Scharl
Phillip Wilson
Now on to the voting. You may wish to scroll back and write down your top three choices before voting. You may vote for up to three entries.
That’s it for this week. Big thanks to all who submitted and good luck. Readers, feel free to offer your critiques, praise and even your condemnation. Feel free to lobby of any of the concepts in the comments below.
Uni Watch News Ticker:
Baseball News: “Did the Cardinals foolishly remove their numbers from the front of the uniform again?” asks Tony Carney. “They did this in 97 and 98 and it was such a disaster and there was such an outcry that they put them back on for 1999. Wouldn’t you be curious as to why DeWitt III would take the best uniform in sports and ruin it? For comparison, last year, these same team photos did include the number. So I don’t think this is just a team photo thing with generic jersey tops.” … The Cardinals also cast aside a spring training tradition by wearing red tops in their ST debut. … Kevin Burns writes, “Peter Bourjos should be a Uni Watch favorite for these comments: ‘New center fielder Peter Bourjos said that ever since Little League ball he had sported the high socks look that Jon Jay, his competition, had introduced for Sunday games last year. Bourjos said he had adjusted only once in his pro career when he had to wear a knee pad after his knee swelled following a diving attempt he had made for a ball’.” … Here is a link to photos of Red Sox spring training, and in the 4th and 5th photos pitcher Shunsuke Watanabe is wearing John Lester’s no. 31 and wearing stirrups over red sannies (great spot by James Apitz). … The Camden Riversharks sponsor is now IN their logo (h/t Nick Schiavo). … Yesterday, the Arkansas Razorbacks wore their “Friday throwbacks” (h/t Jake Nevill). … Since Ralph Kiner is a New Mexico native, the UNM baseball team is wearing this patch in his honor this year (thanks to Frank Mercogliano). … New Error? “Saw this on New Era’s website,” says Alex Hider. “Looks like they thought the Mets were around in ’34. Also, these are great but 75 bucks??” … Wow. The man who Paul once hypothesized had the most Yankee pinstripes ever has slimmed down a bit for 2014.
NFL News: “Check out the shop for NFLUK.com,” writes Joseph Bailey. “Is it me or do the custom jerseys have funky looking numbers? You can by jerseys with player numbers on it and those look fine. Maybe it’s just the website itself.”
College Football News: Several readers have pointed this out (including Rich Friedman, who was first): The Miami Hurricanes will have new uniforms beginning with the 2014 season. The release comes with the obligatory fellating of Swooshie: “Historically, UM has been a trend setter in college football for uniform designs,” Miami AD Blake James said. “There is no better design team than the group of experts at Nike, and we’re excited about bringing new uniforms to our team and especially our fan base that has been asking for a refreshed look.” … Is Maryland getting new helmets? This photo was taken at Maryland’s Spring practice featuring a helmet design not seen before (good spot by Demetrios Demetriou). … Is the Citadel getting chrome helmets? (apologies if this has been in the ticker before — I feel I’ve seen that already)
NBA News: Pretty good article here on the “Worst. Sports Card. Ever.” which takes a look at the 1970-71 Topps basketball cards (great find by Mike Monaghan). … Interesting observation from Charlie Hurth, who notes, “This picture was on the front of ESPN.com (yesterday) morning. If you compare Ray Allen and Birdman’s jerseys to Lebron’s, there seems to be clear difference in the white accenting of the words ‘HEAT.’ Allen and Andersen have much broader white stripes outlining the letters than James’ jersey does.” … The Philadelphia 76ers will be wearing an Allen Iverson Sixer Forever patch. Submitter Kyle Caffrey notes they’ll wear it for today’s game (or at least for warmups). That’s because “The Answer” is having his #3 retired by the Sixers. … The NBA has told LeBron James he can no longer wear the black mask. … The NBA will also donate all proceeds from Jason Collins’ jersey sales to LGBT groups.
Hockey News: Here’s a story with action photos of Pens’ goalie Marc-Andre Fleury wearing the Pittsburgh Steelers-themed mask (which he’ll wear in the Stadium Series game today at Soldier Field), with thanks to Aaron McHargue. … And speaking of the Stadium Series, is this the biggest Blackhawks logo ever? Gotta be in the running. … More outdoor puck: on Sunday, the Senators & Canucks will play their “Heritage Classic” game. With incredibly awesome unis. … An ICHL Hockey Team, the Stockton Thunder, with their GI Joe Jersey announcement (thanks to Rich Paloma).
Soccer News: It’s not quite soccer…and it’s not quite golf. It’s “Foot Golf,” and according to the video (do give it a look-see) it actually became an “official” sport in November of 2011. But that’s not important: CHECK OUT THE HOSE (big thanks to Terence Kearns for that). … And looks like there is another leak of the USA home kit for the World Cup (h/t Conrad Burry).
Grab Bag: Not uni-related, but still good: The Surprising History Of The Warner Bros. Logo (thanks, Brinke). Also from Brinke, Why The Oscars Logo Got A Makeover. … It appears Nike is controlling the weather off the Pacific coast, notes Joel Mathwig. … “This is not necessarily sports related, out side of the Bowling one,” writes Josh Wren, “but here is a list with pictures of Jobs that have become obsolete of technology.” … The following torn kit gallery comes courtesy of Sean Clancy, the results of crashing during a sprint for the line at the Tour de Langkawi.
That’s going to do it today, folks. If you’re wondering where the UWFFL is, there are two semifinal games in the International Division you can vote on at www.uwfantasyfootball.com and the winners will meet next weekend in World Bowl XVI.
Big thanks (again) to all the concepters who sent in their submissions for the first installment of the Lewis & Clark design-a-uni contest for the Captains. Tomorrow, the fourth design template will be revealed, and anyone wishing to contribute their submission for the Explorers and Diplomats can still do so (see above for deadlines).
Make sure you vote for your three favorite designs today!
I’ll catch you all tomorrow. Everyone have a good Saturday — enjoy the spring training baseball and the final Stadium Series outdoor hockey game.
Follow me on Twitter @PhilHecken.
Peace.
“We say shirt, not camiseta, so why should we say kit, not uni? The answer might be that the Angles speak English, just like us, kind of, and they invented the game, so maybe we should go along and say pitch and nil and unlucky et al”¦ But then we might be tempted to use their infuriating mismatch of singular and plural as in “England were defeated by a determined France today”¦” and that would be upsetting.”
–Conn Nugent
oops… should be linkleague.com Sorry ’bout that.
A heads up about the potential MD helmets: those aren’t University of Maryland. That’s the Maryland squad of the annual Big 33 game – a high school showcase with the best players from MD and PA. You can tell by the coach’s shirt, plus MD wore that logo on their helmets last year, I believe.
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yup. No UA in site–plus you see swooshes. Not likely on a Maryland field.
Why the hell does the NBA care what color Labron’s mask is? It’s a piece of safety equipment. For that matter, if the NBA is so insistent on clear, why are black masks even made available to players in the first place?
Because there’s no way to tell who it is under that black mask. ;-)
You know, I’ve read the rules for that Lewis and Clark design contest at least a half dozen times, and I still don’t understand them.
Given the constraints — you can’t change the colors, you can’t change the primary wordmark — everyone did a really nice job. And while I think Brett Ayers’s concept is fantastic (captain’s uniforms of that era were blue and scarlet; yellow had nothing to do with them), I couldn’t vote for it, simply because he didn’t follow the rules. But it was really great.
The guidelines also say:
“Do not fault someone for going outside the design guidelines. Changing a wordmark or adding a third color is not a disqualifier for good thought process.”
I therefore felt free to vote for my favorites, regardless of adherence to the original landmark.
*wordmark (Damn you, Autocorrect!)
Take Brady Ivie’s uniform, replace the bear with Tim Groves’ horsey, and there’s your winner.
I also love Curtis Peddle’s broken steering wheel C logo.
Great job, everyone!
I have to disagree with you about Brady Ivie’s design, Jim. As Ross pointed out link, the Captains are named in honor of William Clark’s posthumous promotion to the rank of U.S. Army Captain. As Ross explains:
“Remember, these men were not naval captains and the military uniform has evolved from their time. Anything nautical or modern need not apply.”
As such, I didn’t vote for Curtis Peddle’s design. Even given Ross’ willingness to be flexible with the rules, Curtis’ design seems to miss the point entirely of the Captains’ intended visual identity.
Scratch my first reference to Brady Ivie’s design. I meant to refer to Curtis Peddle’s design. Brady, I like your design. Sorry for the confusion. Curtis, I actually like your design, too, but I still don’t think it works for this contest.
I must admit I struggled a bit to come up with a concept for the Captains, but still pleased with how it turned out.I know that Lewis & Clark were not nautical captains, but with other teams in this league such as River Men and Navigators, how do those not lend themselves to a nautical type concept? Looking forward to the weeks to come, and thanks for the votes !
Johnny Manziel with NOB of home red sox jersey, tacky!
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I would argue that it is the oddities, eccentricities and general weirdness of the Topps 1970-71 NBA set that establishes them as the BEST cards ever….
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I collected baseball cards like a fiend. Basketball cards? Not so much. But for some reason, seeing those 1970-71 basketball cards evokes a flood of nostalgia, of very powerful memories, something disproportionate to their role in my childhood.
It’s weirdness that does it, the garish background colors, the sedate typography providing subdued counterpoint to the tonsorial adventurousness of the young athletes, the backwards jerseys: it’s 1971, and I’m in G.C. Murphy’s on Webster Street, fishing pennies out of the pockets of my bell bottomed plaid doubleknit polyester pants, to pay for a pack of Topps cards. Crackling over the PA, Tony Orlando and Dawn ask the musical question, “What are you doing Sunday, baby? Would you like to marry me?” I just scored Lew Alcindor in scraggly goatee and a green mock turtleneck, and the world is filled with possibilities.
Beautiful.
Around that same time, I had declared Connie Hawkins was my favorite player. I was delighted by this card…
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Not “in action,” not posed, but informal, approachable, offhand, in a practice jersey, eyeing the flight of some other player’s shot. This is the stuff that feeds imaginations.
CortM for comment of the day…and possibly the whole year.
Unlike you guys, I love action shots. That’s why I nominate the ’81-’82 set as the best ever.
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Anyone who has some of those cards…let’s talk.
I didn’t flip through all of the photos, but from the ones I did, it looks like those St. Louis jerseys are all blank. No numbers or names on the back, all looking very generic. Seems a stretch to say that since there were numbers for last year’s photo day that there is some kind of concrete expectation that’s always how it is, especially when a lot of teams just use blank jerseys for photo day. Seems far more likely they just went blank this year to save time/hassle.
Kee-reck.
No changes to the game jerseys. They just used generic jerseys for Photo Day.
Is the poll link working for everyone else? I get an error code.
JohnK
worked for me in firefox
On the maryland thing also….they only had their first spring practice this morning. Indoors.
Miami AD Blake James said. “There is no better design team than the group of experts at Nike,”
I guess those guys were out sick during the designing of the USSF’s new kits. Still really hoping that both those leaked kits are fake, I can deal with the plain home kit, but the away kit is garbage.
Also on the European NFL site instead of a Shopping Kart they have a “Basket” and its even designed as a basket so there is no chalking it up to a difference in names for things…
Do shopping karts not exist over there? I mean I get we are different cultures despite speaking the same base language, but you would figure that the virtual carrying case for our virtual shopping items would be called the same thing no matter which country you are doing the virtual shopping in. It just seems odd that our cultures differ enough that even the made up thing for internet shopping is different.
I figured the shopping kart was universally used, even if not as commonly used (I’m well aware that the American way of shopping is somewhat outside the norm, so whereas baskets are available but rarely used when at a grocery store (especially in more rural areas), karts my be available but rarely used in the UK).
Iirc, amazon.uk uses a shopping basket too.
That “1934 Mets” hat is actually a 1934 NY Giants hat; they moved to San Francisco in 1957. Everyone around here should know that.
Um. Did you even look at the ad?
Because the ad says
“New York Mets
MLB 1934 Heritage Collec…”.
“Everyone around here” is probably well aware of the fact that the Giants moved to SF after the 1957 season, but the ad is for the METS.
If they wanted it to be a SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS “MLB 1934 Collec…” they should have said that (using the NY cap), but they didn’t. All the other teams in the ad have been around since 1900 or earlier. So that’s shoddy work on New Era’s part, not on the eagle eyes of the submitter.
This quote from Conn: “But then we might be tempted to use their infuriating mismatch of singular and plural as in ‘England were defeated by a determined France today…’ and that would be upsetting.”
They’re more consistent than we Americans are. We use singular proper nouns for companies and teams and then switch to plural for pronouns:
“Chicago is ahead 3-0 / They are ahead 3-0”
“They” could just as easily mean “The Blackhawks/Bulls/Bears/Cubs/White Sox/Flames” in that context.
The NFL shield on the back of Marc-Andre Fleury’s Steeler mask for tonight’s game has been covered up with a Stadium Series logo.
Foot golf? I’m still calling it link.
Not the slightest bit uni-related, but I stumbled across this link, and my first thought was, “This must be Paul Lukas’s definition of hell.”
link