Skip to content
 
Uni Watch

The Greatest Sleeve Patch in the History of Ever

By

If you know anything about how the poultry industry works (and/or if you’ve seen the amazing Dirty Jobs segment that’s embedded above — if you haven’t seen it before, it’s definitely worth watching), then you know that baby chicks are separated by gender very soon after being hatched, so that the females can be sent to egg farms. The process of determining girl chick from a boy chick is trickier than you might think, and is called sexing (as in “We will now sex these baby chicks” or “I’ve been sexing chicks all day long and boy am I exhausted”).

I knew about sexing and how it fit into the poultry biz. But I didn’t know there was an organization called the American Chick Sexing Association. And I reallyreallyreally didn’t know that the American Chick Sexing Association once sponsored local sports teams (for all of these photos, you can click to enlarge):

back

I found that the other day on eBay. At first I misread “Sexing” as “Sexting” and thought it was something about, you know, sending dirty text messages to hot chicks, or maybe getting dirty text messages from hot chicks. Then I realized it was about chick sexing, like in the poultry industry. Amazing!

The front of the jersey is blank but beautiful:

front

This was a basketball warm-up top. The unusual thing about it (aside from the chick sexing thing) is that it has a sleeve patch — rare for a warm-up. And that patch is the best thing about the jersey. In fact, it may be the best thing in uni-verse, period. Check it out:

patch

Is that the best thing ever or what?! I love it. Best patch ever — even better than the mysterious Hale America “Pants” patch. (For more info on that one, look here.)

I did a little digging and learned that the American Chick Sexing Association — or Amchick, as it’s commonly known — was founded in California in 1937 and then moved to Lansdale, Pennsylvania (the city listed on the sleeve patch) in 1942. The founder was one S. John Nitta — that’s him on the far right — who later sold the business to his son, David Nitta, who in turn sold it to an employee. In 2006 Amchick moved to Fayetteville, North Carolina, where it continues to operate today.

I wanted to know more about the jersey, so I began by contacting the eBay seller, but he didn’t respond. So then I contacted Amchick, where the organization’s executive manager, Lisa Hong, patiently heard me out as I explained the unusual reason for my call. She was intrigued by the jersey — it’s part of her company’s history, after all — and said she’d try to find out more. After a few days, she emailed me with the following: “The only thing we were able to gather is that the founder of Amchick, Mr. John Nitta, sponsored several local teams and organizations during the 1950s. The jersey was likely from a local sponsorship in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. I wish I could have been able to find out more for you.”

I had one other question for Lisa: It seems odd that they put the organization’s full, unwieldy name on the back of the jersey (complete with the word “Sex,” which must have been fairly scandalous during the period when this jersey was in use) when they could have just put “Amchick” there. Personally, I’m glad they used the full name — it makes the jersey more interesting — but wouldn’t the nickname have made more sense? The company even trademarked “Amchick” in 1954, so it wasn’t just a slang term. Why not use it on the jersey? Lisa said it was probably a matter of organizational pride — they wanted to use their full name and say it loud, say it proud. Fair enough.

As for the eBay auction, the jersey is too small for me, so I won’t be bidding on it. Just as well, because Lisa says she plans to acquire the jersey herself, as a keepsake for the company. Nice!

+ + + + +

mask.png

Unmasking the Commenters: I recently invited the site’s commenters to tell us a bit more about themselves and give us a peek at what they look like, just because I thought it would be fun to pull back the internet’s curtain of anonymity. I’ll keep showcasing you folks as long as you keep sending in your photos and quick bios.

Big treat today, as one of the site’s most active and interesting commenters comes out from behind the mask. Ladies and gents, I give you The Jeff:

TheJeff2014.jpg

Hi. My name is Jeff Provo, and I’m an alco”” er, Uni Watcher. I post as The Jeff primarily because I don’t like my last name and because being just Jeff would be boring and a bit confusing since there are multiple Jeffs who comment. I’ve also posted on other logo/uniform sites as RaiderKtulu. I discovered this blog four or five years ago due to my interest in NFL uniform history, and I’ve stuck around because I enjoy the daily discussions in the comments section.

I’m about to turn 33. I grew up in Toledo, Ohio, where my high school wore purple and called themselves the Indians, so it’s easy to see why I often disagree with Paul. I now live in Columbus. I have a lovable but not very bright cat named Derpy. As a kid, I rooted for the Pistons, Tigers, and Raiders, but the only sport I still actively care about these days is football. I work third shift in retail. It’s rather mindless, but it pays the bills. When I’m not working, I spend most of my free time playing video games, listening to heavy metal, watching videos on YouTube, and occasionally creating sports uniform concepts, many of which have been showcased on weekend posts here. My favorite games are Skyrim and Minecraft, my favorite band is Symphony X, and my biggest uniform peeve is the use of gray facemasks by teams that don’t wear gray, like the Browns and Colts.

Thanks, Jeff, and happy almost-birthday. Although we often disagree on aesthetic matters, I always appreciate your passion and your contributions to the site. You help make Uni Watch a better place!

Do you want to be featured in “Unmasking the Commenters”? If so, send me a photo and a quick paragraph about yourself. You don’t have to reveal your real name, and the photo doesn’t have to show your face, but you must include a photo to be considered. Send everything this-a-way.

+ + + + +

12729206324_48f57e48aa_h_clipped_rev_1.png

PermaRec update: Remember my recent PermaRec piece about old employee I.D. badges? Thanks to some stellar research by a reader, we now know quite a bit about the person shown in one of those badges (shown at right). To get the full scoop, check out the latest entry on the Permanent Record blog.

+ + + + +

’Skins Watch: The Spokane Indians — that’s a short-season single-A baseball team — has made some excellent outreach to local Native American tribes in recent years, and one result is that team is poised to become the first baseball team with a Salish-language jersey insignia. See what can happen if a team treats Native imagery with respect instead of as an entitlement? (From Kenny Ocker.) … Good article about the controversies over Native American team names in Idaho high school (from Jamie Galindo). … Protesters held a small rally on Friday night outside a high school basketball game in Wisconsin to protest the name of the Mukwonago High School Indians (thanks, Phil).

Baseball News: Want to make your day? Check out this 1885 children’s book called Baseball ABC. Spectacular illustrations and great uniforms! (Great find by Patrick Lasseter.) … Matt Ryburn was watching footage rom the 1988 World Series and noticed that the paint job on Mark McGwire’s yellow batting helmet brim was a little different than everyone else’s. … In yesterday’s Ticker, Phil linked to a photo that showed the Pirates’ 1976 pillbox cap, only without the stripes. I mentioned to this Todd Radom, who promptly supplied some additional examples and said it’s what the team wore for spring training in ’76, which I hadn’t been aware of. … Some very colorful Japanese baseball unis from the 1970s are shown on this page. … When I hear the term “baseball pin-ups,” I usually think of Rob Ullman’s cheesecake artwork. But it turns out that “baseball pin-ups” also applies to this very cool vintage MLB book. … Nice Dave Parker tribute by Evan Longoria (thanks, Phil).

NFL News: Reader Keith Goggin was in a local discount store and found some old Hutch NFL Quarterback Club stuffed footballs, including one for the Oilers and several with the banned Jaguars logo. “They were brand-new,” he says. ”¦ Bill Kellick was watching some 1979 Bills footage and spotted some inconsistent NOB typography and a huge-ass mic on coach Chuck Knox’s headset.

College Football News: “My wife, a Wisconsin alumna, just received this coaster from the Wisconsin Alumni Association showing various iterations of Bucky Badger through the years,” says R. Scott Rogers. “Fun stuff, though it neglects to label the year for one of them.” ”¦ Not sure which team this guy played for, but check out the swoopy serifs at the base of his numerals. Reminds me of the serifs on the A’s cap logo (from Brice Wallace). ”¦ Also from Brice: Are those buffalo horns on this 1970s Marshall QB’s helmet?

Hockey News: Blackhawks did the St. Paddy’s thing for pregame warm-ups last night. Sabres, too. I find it fascinating that the NHL — the league that’s arguably the most in need of media attention, revenue streams, etc. — restricts its uni gimmickry to pregame. Pink, green, G.I. Joe — they’re all worn during warm-ups but never in the game itself. Personally, I prefer it that way, so I applaud the league’s restraint, but I also find it surprising (my thanks to Phil for the photos). … “On Saturday, March 2, 1968, my dad and I attended a New York Rangers game at the then-new Madison Square Garden,” writes John Adomaitis. “The Rangers played the Flyers that day, and it so happened that the roof of the new Spectrum Arena in Philadelphia had collapsed from snow. As a result, the Flyers stayed in New York and played their next game against the Oakland Seals at MSG the next day. As a bonus for us, they announced during the Rangers/Flyers game that all ticket holders could come back the next day and get in for free with the Ranger/Flyers stub, an offer we could not refuse. Here are the covers and some interior pages from the programs for those games. Man, look at those massive TV numbers the Seals used to wear — looks like they were larger than how they’re depicted at the NHL Uniform Database.

Soccer News: “Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund commissioned students from the Dortmund Technical University to put together an exhibition on the history of Borussia’s shirt,” says Bernd Wilms. “The exhibition will be shown in the club’s museum, the Borusseum, until the end of May. I wish more clubs took such a diligent approach to documenting this stuff!”

NBA News: Here’s one observer’s open letter to the NBA, asking the league not to put ads on jerseys (from Alan Tompas). … The Cavs did a pretty interesting full-court projection for Zydrunas Igauskas’s recent number retirement (from Gordon Blau). … Anything Worth Doing Is Worth Overdoing Dept.: The Celtics are playing tonight, so of course they’ll be wearing their new sleeved St. Paddy’s Day jerseys — but they apparently couldn’t wait until the actual holiday, so they wore them last night. … Meanwhile, Jeff Green and Jared Sullinger wore Irish flag-themed sneakers in that game (thanks, Phil).

College Hoops News: While picking up a six-pack at my corner deli the other night, I saw a Boar’s Head ad featuring sandwiches on basketball-patterned buns and a bracket-themed carving board. … “I was watching the a10 championships and saw the ‘champions shirts’ they got at the end,” writes Shane Rupert. “But I don’t recognize the logo on the shirts. The best pic I could find is from last year’s game (it’s the same logo).” I don’t know know that logo either — anyone? ”¦ “I was intrigued by this NCAA Final Four shirt because it includes the logos of all 68 teams,” says Seth Scheving. “But upon further inspection, I noticed Georgetown has accidentally been placed on the shirt in the East region, in place of George Washington. I wonder how long it will take them to notice?”

Grab Bag: “Disney is having a bracket-style competition for its biggest amusement park rides, and they came up with some incredible logos for the attractions,” says Ben Hendel. … Ever wonder what a big hit during a football game feels like? You can find out by wearing a new product called the Alert Shirt (from Leo Strawn Jr.). … While looking for something else, I came upon this very cool-looking packet of Coke-sponsored 1980s high school football program covers. Too bad they only show one of them, but it’s a beauty. … Nate Silver’s 538 site, which is launching on ESPN.com today, has a new logo: a fox. “It’s a reference to an Isaiah Berlin essay that contrasts thinkers he calls ‘hedgehogs,”‘who think the world can be boiled down to one big idea, with ‘foxes,’ who enjoy complexity and draw on lots of sources and influences,” explains Laurence Holland. ”¦ Big congrats to the New Girl, who ran yesterday’s NYC Half Marathon and looked sharp to boot. Proud of you, sweetie!

 
  
 
Comments (146)

    They’re mostly not bad… but calling the Cars themed one the Pistons is sorta creepy when you think about it. In a world with living cars, pistons are an internal organ… so it’d be like calling one of our teams the Livers or Kidneys.

    The logos are generally average and dull, but some of the team names are pretty brilliant. I particularly loved the Pirates and Hecklers.

    Unmasking the commenters is like seeing your favorite radio personality’s face for the first time. It’s so weird and so often so far from what you might expect. Case in point–The Jeff. At least in my case–not at all what I pictured in my head. Now we just need voice samples to completely shatter the preconception!!

    Yeah, The Jeff is nothing like I expected (not that I had any expectations).

    Thanks for unmasking, The Jeff.

    I’ve seen a pic or two of The in the past so that was no shocker. What I did not expect was to find out that he’s such a well-rounded individual!

    The Jeff……a vision of grandeur seldom seen on on this pedestrian planet of ours…..subtle elegance and charm.

    I read a lot of sports themed book, mostly baseball, to my twin daughters when they were toddlers. I would have loved to have that Baseball ABC book!

    Their favorite was Casey at the Bat, and my favorite rendition is the one illustrated by Christopher Bing. Gorgeous uniform illustrations. Highly recommended!

    How long is the new girl, the “new girl”? I feel like this is getting wished Happy New Year in August!

    Of course, I’m totally kidding!!!!! Congrats to her on the 13.1!!!

    The Cavs’ court projection was really nice. Floor projection is one piece of arena technology that doesn’t seem superfluous and I’m actually wowed by.

    My only complaint is that they showed Z wearing maroon more than the black/blue that he wore for the most of his career.

    Among Uni Watch fans who think those jerseys are abominations, Cavs fans who want to forget that post-Price and Daugherty but pre-LeBron era of futility, and basketball fans who want to expunge all non-Seattle Sonic memories of Shawn Kemp, I’m not surprised that most of the footage is gone. ;-)

    Minor quibble: It’s wrong to assume that the appearance of the word “sexing” would have been especially scandalous in the 1950s. For one thing, people would have been more aware of what “sexing” means, and that it’s not prurient. But more importantly, American culture used to be much more openly ribald than it is today, prior to circa 1960. The supposedly straight-laced fifties were kind of the last gasp of a long (seventy years or so) period of wink-wink-nudge-nudge how-you-gonna-keep-em-down-on-the-farm sexual overtness in American culture.

    Disagree. Like you just said yourself, it was all “wink-wink” — nobody used explicit words like “sex” or “sexing.” (And no, people were not familiar with what sexing meant — the process itself was still fairly new.)

    I have to agree with arrScott: people from rural, agricultural backgrounds tend to be a lot more frank than we think. My experiences with people who grew up in ranching and farming communities back in the 50s indicates that they would not have been scandalized by seeing “Chicken Sexing” emblazoned on a jersey. Do they do 4-H in Brooklyn? Because 4-H kids are not shy when it comes to tossing about the husbandry terms.

    I’m not sure how you can assert that people in a farming community would be unfamiliar with chicken sexing, a dozen years years after the process was introduced: that’s a little like saying that in 1985, Rod Carew was unfamiliar with the Designated Hitter Rule, because it “was still fairly new.”

    To arrScott’s point about openness, consider this: A religious leader named LeGrand Richards declared, “Today we talk about sex with an unembarrassed frankness that would have filled our grandparents with amazement and horror.” He said that in 1952, about the time of the jersey.

    Certain methodologies of chicken sexing may have been new in the first half of the 20th century, but the use of “sexing” as a verb to describe sorting animals by gender was not. And the newer techniques of visual chick sexing were widely disseminated by state and national extension services in the United States and Canada throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Google is chockablock with official publications on the topic from the era. And remember, at the time, nearly half of Americans were still rural (something like 44% in the 1940 census), with much of the urban population being farm-born.

    The Mr. Richards that Cort quotes echoes Paul nicely: Every generation assumes that its ancestors up to their grandparents were terrible prudes compared to society in one’s own time. We’re all of us almost always wrong in this prejudice. And Mr. Richards was speaking before Playboy launched and became, almost instantly, one of the most read and most culturally influential publications in the history of American journalism.

    Mr. Richards was speaking before Playboy launched and became, almost instantly, one of the most read and most culturally influential publications in the history of American journalism.

    You’re overplaying your hand, Scott. Think about it: Was Playboy more popular than Time? Or Life? Or The Saturday Evening Post? Or Reader’s Digest? Or a host of other mainstream publications at the time?

    Yes, Playboy was very influential. But the idea that it was a mainstream sales success is false — it was a niche publication. Many stores wouldn’t even sell it.

    If, say, Nike had a logo inspired by Isaiah Berlin, I’d be fanatically pro-Nike, I’m that big of a Berlin groupie. Are there any other logos, especially in sports, that are even tangentially connected to great philosophers?

    Sadly, the first thing I thought after clicking the link for the Isiah Berlin essay was “oh, neat, that must be why Sonic’s sidekick was a fox.”

    Of course Apple and Isaac Newton fits that, but for the athletic connex. It’s clear on the original logo, though less so on the ones that have been in use for the last 30+ years.

    The logo on the A10 Champ Shirts is from a company called Crons, a smaller apparel company out of Pittsburgh, PA. I first saw this logo back in 2011 when we played Massillon High School (OH) in the playoffs. Their jerseys and pants were made by this company.

    Here is link to their website.
    link

    The company does a lot of merchandising for the A10. As a former A10 rower, we got a lot of sweatshirts, t-shirts, and bags from them. That’s the only place I’ve ever seen the company though.

    Mark McGwire was one of a few players who wore Rawlings helmets in the late 1980s. They had a distinctive silhouette compared to the standard ABC helmets that everyone else wore. The brim had a weird cutout where it met the helmet.
    IIRC, the Twins were the only team who switched as an entire team; outside of the Twins, very few individual players on other teams switched and ultimately Rawlings pulled out of the helmet business.

    Interestingly enough, later on, ABC was acquired by Rawlings, and at the end of its run, Rawlings was producing ABC helmets with link
    I personally loved the ABC logo, with the letters wearing the helmets. I wish Rawlings still put their logo on the helmets.

    Hey The, are those minis or pockets in the background? I can’t judge your distance from them in the pic. Nice collection whichever the answer be.

    They’re the Riddell Pocket Pros. I’ve got the 2-bar throwback set, all the regular 32 teams from 2002-ish, the Revolution style up to last year, and a good chunk of the other throwback helmets. I’m still missing a few key helmets though, mainly because I don’t want to pay $120 for a single helmet.

    Oy… I just actually read my paragraph… Paul, you’ve got a misplaced “My” in the “I work 3rd shift retail” sentence, and I’m just ever so slightly annoyed that you changed my use of “the youtubes” into the proper “YouTube”.

    you’ve got a misplaced “My” in the “I work 3rd shift retail” sentence

    Sorry — will fix.

    I’m just ever so slightly annoyed that you changed my use of “the youtubes” into the proper “YouTube”.

    And now you know how I feel when my various editors tinker with my text. An editor’s job isn’t just to copy and paste — it’s to edit as he/she sees fit. You want total control over your text? Start your own website! (That’s what I did.)

    Anyway, I’d say making you “ever so slightly annoyed” is part of my job here, no?

    “I’d say making you ‘ever so slightly annoyed’ is part of my job here, no?”

    ~~~

    That’s pretty much ALL of our jobs…

    Am I the only one who found it odd that Grant Jackson was wearing a batting glove in that picture?

    He was a relief pitcher who had 252 plate appearances in 18 seasons. Additionally, he wasn’t with the Pirates until 1977, which would mean the Pirates wore the no stripe pillbox hats for more than one season. Guessing he was wearing a 1976 uni (complete with NL Centennial patch) in the spring of 1977?

    J. Daniel, I don’t believe the Pirates ever wore the no stripe pillbox hats after the month of spring training in 1976. It’s my recollection the Bucs wore the mustard striped hats in 1977 spring training with those white uniforms before transitioning to the multicolored uniforms with the black and gold pillbox hats for the regular season.

    In the Grant Jackson photo, it seems someone gave him one of the few no stripe hats laying around for that picture. We’ve seen other examples of this situation discussed here.

    Thanks Gusto!
    I shouldn’t have assumed the Pirates wore them for more than one season. It would seem strange to have ST only hats in multiple seasons in the 70s.

    There are multiple Topps baseball cards showing Jackson wearing a batting glove.
    link
    On his left (pitching) hand, even!
    link

    Yeah… definitely not a lede I expected to ever see, anywhere, ever.

    Enjoyed reading about The Jeff… I really ought to work on my own submission.

    The Baseball ABCs book made me think of an old episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, and a similarly laid-out short called “Alphabet Antics”. I could imagine Joel (or Mike) and the ‘Bots riffing on a short film version of that book.

    Those are “buffalo horns” on the Marshall QB’s (Reggie Oliver) helmet. I’m not 100% sure why they were there and inconsistent throughout the team, but it might have to do with people who are captains or people who signed on and stayed after the crash, because that would be 1971

    so i never comment, but the big mac picture reminded me of something…is it my imagination or did the twins of the late 80s/early 90s have different shaped helmets than other teams? was there a different brand of helmet they (and possibly other teams) wore? i feel like i have this image in my head of them being different. anyone know? sorry if this is well-worn ground.

    Earlier comment explains the shape of the helmets. Rawlings was the mfg. Most teams wore ABC helmets. (American Baseball Cap Co.)

    just saw it, thanks. glad to know after all these years it wasnt my imagination. interesting little subplot of helmet history.

    The picture of the player with the “swoopy serifs” seems to be taken at old Fairfield Stadium in Huntington, WV. Not sure what team that is. That certainly does look like buffalo horns on the helmet of “Young Thundering Herd’s” QB Reggie Oliver. Those photos look to be out of a collection of photos taken by Chris Spencer, a Huntington, WV photographer.

    “See what can happen if a team treats Native imagery with respect instead of as an entitlement?”

    I am somewhat amazed that more teams with Native-themed team names don’t form relationships with local tribes. It seems like a no-brainer from a PR standpoint. It engenders significant goodwill from several different demographics and helps to reduce criticism from those who oppose the names.

    And it’s not like there’s a downside to doing it. Who in the pro-Native team name crowd is going to have a reason to complain that their favorite team has the blessing of Native Americans in how it portrays its name and identity?

    That really didn’t work out well for the NoDak Fighting Sioux. Some of the natives were amenable, but some were intractably opposed.

    Right. But the ones who were opposed would have been opposed regardless. Like the original commenter said, there’s no downside.

    It’s a good idea in theory, but there aren’t exactly a lot of local tribes around the Washington DC or Cleveland areas. It wouldn’t really solve the issue anyway – the Florida State Seminoles have local blessing (and therefore generally get left out of the debate), but there’s still members of the Seminole tribe in other areas who are opposed to the team. A tribe in Maryland or Virginia saying that they’re cool with the Redskins doesn’t stop the Oneida tribe from complaining about it.

    Well, Washington is a special case. Hard to get “permission” to use a racial slur.

    But for teams using relatively benign names like “Indians”, or who use NA imagery in any way, partnering with a local tribe whenever possible is a great step.

    But there’s the slight inconvenience that for teams such as Atlanta’s National League entry, the local tribes are in Oklahoma.

    but there aren’t exactly a lot of local tribes around the Washington DC or Cleveland areas

    There are plenty of Native tribal groups around Washington, DC. Public ignorance of their existence is actually one of the biggest problems facing these communities. For example, several tribes have federal but not state recognition in Virginia or Maryland. A relationship with the Washington NFL team would help address this problem.

    Cleveland is home to one of the larger American Indian urban populations in America. The Indians front office reaches out all the time to other ethnic community groups for events and partnerships, so surely it’s not asking too much of their brainpower to figure out how to reach a Native American group or two. Heck, you don’t even need the White Pages anymore; about 10 seconds on Google will turn up several Cleveland-area Indian community organizations on the web and Facebook.

    And if a team using Native iconography really cannot find a native group to partner with because past ethnic cleansing was so successful that nobody is left in their region to talk to, then screw it, they don’t get to use the iconography. Maybe, just maybe, it’s appropriate for genocide to have some lingering minor inconvenience to the society that perpetrated it!

    Actually, arrScott, there are no federally-recognized Indian tribes in Maryland or Virginia.
    link

    That’s even though both, and especially Virginia, have conferred recognition at the state level.
    link

    Paul gets my point. Like I said, there’s no downside to partnering with local tribes. The worst possible outcome for teams is that the status quo remains.

    If the Dan Snyder reached out to local Native groups and got their support, it’s a PR coup. It doesn’t change the fact that other Native groups (like the Oneida Tribe) may still oppose the name, but it gives the team much more rhetorical cover than they currently have. If the team couldn’t find a tribe to partner with, or (more likely) the tribe wanted the team to make more changes to its identity than it was willing to make, then the team is no worse off than if they hadn’t done anything.

    On Friday, Olberman mentioned speculation that the Trademark and Patent Office could refuse to renew a trademark on the name “Redskins”, since they have historically denied trademark protection to names deemed racially or culturally offensive. This would mean that anyone could make and market items featuring the “Redskins” motif. Since the real value of the name is in marketing official team merchandise, this would force Snyder to change the name.

    That sounds fine, except I can’t see how the trademark people could declare the Native American helmet logo offensive, without effective calling any depiction of Native Americans similarly offensive. Snyder could rename the club “The Washington Americans” or something, and keep the Native mascot, which seems like a situation guaranteed to offend and outrage people on both sides of the argument, a perfunctory change coupled with a vigorous retrenchment of the status quo.

    My father grew up in Lansdale in the 50’s and 60’s. I wonder if he has any recollection of seeing a jersey like this during his time playing youth sports. Sounds like I have some sleuthing to do!

    Something I really find annoying about the NCAA tournament: terminology inconsistency.

    The “Final Four” has long been established to refer to the four teams remaning in the national semifinal round. However, the recent term “First Four” refers to the four games of this “opening round”, which involves eight teams.

    Of course, none of that nonsense would be necessary if the NCAA hadn’t been so hellbent on keeping the number of at-large bids intact. Because HEAVEN HELP US if that sixth or seventh Big 12, Pac-12 or B1G team has to go to the NIT instead!

    Agreed. First Four really is a clumsy wording, and it’s pretty obvious that they are trying to mirror the Final Four language. But I have a loooooooooong list of things that annoy me about the NCAA tourney.

    They should call those teams the”Early Eight” then, to correspond to the Elite Eight.

    Amazing patch. Incredible attention to detail on the chick, and its survived so well. Genuinely exciting to see something of that quality from an organization that I would imagine was very small at the time. Also, it’s not often that I see the abbreviation Penna for Pennsylvania. Wonderful find, Paul.

    Indeed. I’m especially pleased thet the organization is interested in acquiring it. How cool would it be to go into their offices and find that on display?

    Love that Bucky Badger coaster. Somewhere I have a gray shirt with the same images on it, the Bookstore was selling them about five years ago.

    Made me realize how bad the current update is, and how much I love the 1940s designs.

    Curious to get people’s thoughts on the Irish stereotyping that occurs around St Patricks Day. Seems very similar to the Native American cartoon-ish imagery with none of the outrage. Thoughts? (I’m not on one side or the other of this argument I’m just curious where people stand.)

    First of all, I think we’d need to clarify what we’re talking about when we say “Irish stereotyping”. Green beer? Puking in the gutter? Or images like the tricolor flag, clover, leprechauns etc?

    I would say it’s a variety of things. I don’t see much of a difference between Indians fans dressing up as Chief Wahoo and people dressing up as “leprechauns” and getting hammered at the St. Patrick’s Day parade.

    Leprechauns aren’t Irishmen; they’re figures from Irish mythology. If people were dressing up as Kokopelis, or Gahonga (the dwarf-like musclemen from Iroquois mythology, who tradition holds are responsible for the movement of rocks and boulders), then it would work. And if people were dressed as, I don’t know, the cast of “The Commitments”, only more colorful, grinning and madcap, then there’d be a parallel.

    I think Wahoo and Blackface is more apt than Wahoo and puking leprechauns.

    It’s also worth noting that while Irish people have faced many hardships, they didn’t have their continent stolen from them via a near-genocidal campaign of ethnic cleansing, nor are they a marginalized class in modern American society.

    If anything, the Irish diaspora essentially built modern-day American cities. St. Patrick’s Day, for all its drunken stupidity, is a celebration of the Irish rise to power.

    Soooooooo the Irish never had their land stolen from them? I wouldn’t tell that to people of Belfast. But hey let’s all go around and drink “Irish Car Bombs” and drink until we puke (because that’s what the Irish do!!!) and ignore history of oppression. Stereotypes are stereotypes and idiot frat guys dressing up on St. Patrick’s day is just as dumb as idiot frat guys dressing up in ponchos, sombreros and mustaches on Cinco de Mayo. If St. Patrick’s day parties don’t offend you, that’s fine but don’t marginalize a history of struggle in this country and in the United Kingdom.

    Agreed, Eric. I’m proud as hell of my Irish heritage but getting falling down drunk on March 17 is not my preferential manner in which to show it.

    I’ve made it a point to study The Troubles and the history of Irish immigrants (my family) so I agree that jovially celebrating with “Irish Car Bombs” is a bit disrepectful but by the time those start getting poured, nobody is in the mood for a history lesson.

    Also, Eric in Erie, if that happens to be Erie, PA, it’s nice to see another Uniwatcher from my hometown.

    Excellent post. Said it much better than I could have. Mainspark aka Patrick O’Neill

    No one’s saying it’s not stupid. But there’s a difference between a pseudo-holiday that’s celebrated by a group that’s basically gone mainstream, and a marginalized group whose cultural representation is mostly limited to caricature and condescending back-patting.

    I see your point, Hawk, to an extent. I would say the difference would lie in the self-stereotyping that seems ubiquitous to St. Patrick’s Day, i.e. “I’m Irish! Time to drink till I pass out!”
    As an Irish-American, which I have yet to see as a checkbox on an application, unlike Native American (another difference), I would say much of the cartoonish Irish imagery is, or at least started as, self-inflicted.

    We don’t really see too many Native Americans embracing the cartoonish stereotypes, whereas Irish-Americans do it all the time. There’s not much room for complaint when we started it. And the “We can make fun of ourselves, but you can’t make fun of us” argument doesn’t really hold water here.

    Paddywhackery never hurt anybody (amateurs notwithstanding). Whatever way you look at it, the Irish are not an oppressed minority and in fact are very much a part of the ruling classes in the US. In other words, the stereotypes are secondary to the reality, which is pretty much the opposite of the situation with Native Americans.

    Plus, here in Ireland St. Patrick’s day is most generally a day for stereotyping you Americans as geographically illiterate, inebriatorially inadequate and genealogically desperate idiot tourists so it basically evens out in the end.

    I’m an Irish American and I like St. Patricks Day fine, though I think some “plastic paddies” can come off as tacky. for me it fits into a similar category as inflatable decorations on your front lawn at Christmas time. A small peeve of mine, however, are 4-leaf clovers on St. Patty’s decorations. St. Patrick is famous for introducing christianity to Ireland by describing the holy trinity with a 3 leafed shamrock, not a 4 leafed clover. that is all.

    Yep. I explained the difference to my 8 year old daughter yesterday, and what do you know, she was understandably confused by all the “plastic paddy” decorations and knick-knacks.

    The Jeff is nothing like I expected. Mind. Blown.

    Why the hate for your last name though? Look at this clusterfuck of a name I’ve had to deal with for 35 years. I’d be happy to have something simple like ‘Provo’. Or Jeff.

    Because The’s last name is a capital of Mormonism, and he is decidedly non-religious.

    Well… without getting too specific, the combination of my parents’ divorce and my atheism has resulted in my not speaking with any of my family for the past 10 years.

    …and what Mike said doesn’t help either

    Just curious/nosy: Have you considered legally changing your last name? If not, is that because (a) it would be too much of a hassle, or (b) you feel an emotional attachment to your surname even though you don’t actually like it?

    I’ve thought about it, but it does seem like it’d be too much of a hassle. Being just “Jeff” with no last name would probably cause issues since I’m not famous like Madonna, Cher or Sting, and I don’t really want “The” as my actual first name. If I was going to ditch Provo and be Jeff Something Else, I haven’t figured out what the Something Else should be.

    Despite your fondness for the Raiders, I’m guessing that “Davis” wouldn’t be high on the list of options for new last names.

    If it’s any consolation, The, Provo has the following going for it: Shirley’s Bakery, home to the best raspberry sweet rolls in the world. Robert Redford lives there (well, he has a Provo mailing address). And it’s possible to get pretty decent pad thai.

    Provo: It’s So Much More Than Mormons!

    I was going to say, Jeff Provo sounds like a detective with a devil-may-care attitude in a hard-boiled crime film or a former college quarterback played by Keanu Reeves.

    I like that the NHL only does the special uniforms for pregame only but the gray side panels have got to go. Imagine if the Sabres had their yellow for the side panels, or the Penguins used their gold for theirs. Plus with teams with yellow or gold accents it would invoke the image of a pot of gold. I know some do not translate as well (the Blackhawks would have looked like Christmas) but to me the gray is just lazy.

    Not so much “special uniforms,” but “green practice jerseys (and teams have many colors of practice jerseys…for linemates, D-partners, the goalies, no-contact players, light contact players, etc…) that are nominally dressed up so they can be trotted out and then sold as ‘pre-game worn’ swag.”

    In the 2014 NCAA Shirt… any reason for the full wordmark for Oregon? As a graduate, I’m fond of the interlocking UO. But the green “O” is much more recognizable. I understand UCONN and PITT, but why no “O”?

    I’m honestly shocked that the Bulls have shown restraint and are waiting until tonight to unleash theirs upon the populace.

    I really liked the green and gold sleeveless (feels weird describing a basketball jersey as sleeveless) alternate they were wearing the last couple years, and thought if the Celtics ever made a change, green and gold was the way to go, but this sleeved version is too much.

    The Parker tribute shirt is from Homage, in Columbus. Im pretty sure their ads have been on this site before. Awesome gear, IMO.

    love their shirts.. i wear my state of Ohio one all the time.. some times even as a undershirt at work

    Watching the Cardinals play the Red Sox on ESPN now at Mini-Fenway (cool-looking spring facility), complete with green jerseys and caps for the Sox, green “off the team shop shelf adjustable” caps for the Cardinals, and GREEN BASES at first, second, and third (home plate does not appear to have been replaced for this game).

    The letter J in the Baseball ABC book, “stands for ‘JUDGEMENT’ the base-keepers shout.” Was that a thing; requesting “judgement” on certain calls? Could it be that obvious calls in a single-ump gentleman’s game would not be made?

    Yes. Generally speaking the “arbiter” was only asked for a ruling if the players couldn’t make one on their own. Originally balls and strikes were also “optional,” the idea was to allow the batter to put the ball in play.

    Reds wearing spring training green for St. Patrick’s day. Last year only green hats, not green jerseys, this year, all out. . . link

    Paul, note the link to your 3/17/13 Uni Watch article!

    Steve Smith to wear number 89 with Baltimore next season, as expected. However he’ll have “Smith Sr.” for his NOB as his yet unborn son will be named Steve Smith Jr.

    link

    Wow, awesome. How many other players have had Sr on a jersey? I know of Titus Young (same situation as Smith, in fact), but not many others. I don’t even think Ripken Sr or Griffey Sr did it, but I could be wrong on that.

    Unmasking the Commentators has been a nice addition. As Ricko has gone into semi-retirement, “The Jeff” has helped fill the void – he also for a while seemed to have a thing for being first to post on a weekend morning.

    World Women’s Curling Championship currently on the Cdn equivalent to ESPN (TSN), we are two different countries.

    Add me to the list of those that love these unmasking segments. I’d never picture “The” looking like a cross between Mikey Teutul and my cousin Mike. Hah!! It’s making me consider sending something in as well (even if I mostly only pop up on the weekends).

    “only on the weekends”? Hey, weekends count the same as weekdays — you should totally participate in “Unmasking”!

    I know comment #132 isn’t likely to be read, but factual errors should be addressed.

    In 1968, snow had nothing to do with the Philadelphia Spectrum’s structural problems. High winds took away part of the roof covering. About 30 seconds on Wikipedia here:
    link,
    would have taken care of that for you.

    Just caught Catch of the Day. Disappointed to not see any Adlers among them (I still have mine).

    Fantastic post. I had been examining consistently this blog site and i’m fascinated! Very useful data particularly the shutting portion :) My spouse and i cope with these info a whole lot. I’d been searching for this unique information and facts for a long period. Thanks a lot and greatest connected with luck.

    Just wanted to chime in that like John Adomaitis, my father and I (age 13) also went to that Rangers-Flyers game in 1968, and we too returned the next afternoon for the Flyers- Seals game! I think the reason they moved it to MSG that day is because it was a Sunday afternoon CBS Game of the Week and they were contractually obligated to show the game (from somewhere, I guess…).

    Thanks for the memory!

    Paul I am new to your website and am really enjoying it. I am however still torn between if you are an ahole or super cool.

Comments are closed.