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Uni Watch

Celebrating 100 Years of Wrigley

By
ernie

For all photos, click to enlarge

There were lots of fun touches at Wrigley Field yesterday, as the Cubs celebrated the 100th anniversary of the first game ever played at the old ballpark. One of my favorite bits was the Chicago Federals jersey that they put on the Ernie Banks statue outside the stadium — nice.

I’ll get to the game itself in a minute, but let’s stay outside the stadium for a second. They also had period-attired newsboys handing out replica editions of The Chicago Daily Tribune from 100 years earlier:

newsboy

replica trib

Also, the “Cake Boss” made a Wrigley-shaped cake, which was on display outside the ballpark:

cake

Those photos are all from reader Brian Crago, who attended the game. I know at least one other Uni Watch reader was planning to be in attendance, and he says he’ll be sending some photos shortly, so we’ll likely have those on the site tomorrow.

Okay, but what about the game action? As you know, the Cubs wore Chicago Federals unis, while the Diamondbacks dressed as the Kansas City Packers, and it was mostly what we’d been led to expect. You can see lots of photos here, but here are some highlights and notes:

• From what I could see, every single player on both teams went high-cuffed.

• As you can see in that last photo, the jerseys included Majestic and MLB logos. Disappointing, but whaddaya gonna do.

• Most — or maybe all? — of the Arizona players had their jerseys buttoned up all the way to the top collar button, which I find surprising. Kinda figured some of them would unbutton that top one.

• That last photo shows the D-backs’ navy batting helmets. Same thing for the Cubbies.

• We had been told that Arizona would wear their current logo as a right-sleeve patch, but instead they wore it on the left sleeve. Looked like shite either way, natch.

• The biggest problem was that the D-backs wore their usual red undersleeves, which didn’t match the rest of the uniform and created a miserable-looking sleeve/sock mismatch. Huge blunder. Come on, people — if you’re gonna spring for new unis and new helmets, can’t you go all the way with new undershirts?

• Would’ve been so cool if the umps had worn throwbacks as well, but they didn’t. (And as you can see in that shot, Arizona catcher Miguel Montero wore his usual red catching gear, but I think that’s a forgivable transgression.)

• It’s worth mentioning that both teams wore uniform numbers. That may seem obvious, but uni numbers hadn’t yet been invented in 1914, and the Red Sox and Yankees went numberless when they celebrated Fenway Park’s 100th anniversary two years ago.

• WGN got in the spirit by listing the teams by their throwback names.

All in all, not bad, although it could have been even better if the D-backs had gone without the sleeve patch and the red sleeves. A decent start for the Cubs’ ambitious 2014 throwback program.

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Question Time reminder: I’m still accepting submissions for the next installment of Question Time. In case you’re new to this (or need a refresher), Question Time works like so: Everyone is invited to ask me one — and only one — question on any topic. It can be uni- or sports-related but doesn’t have to be. Personal questions are fine, although I reserve the right not to answer ones that I think are too personal. Send your queries here, and I’ll do my best to answer as many of them as possible in an upcoming blog post.

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Mike’s Question of the Week: Each week intern Mike Chamernik comes up with a question for the Uni Watch readership (not to be confused with “Question Time,” discussed above). Here’s his query for this week:

If a piece of merchandise or apparel looks good, I have no problem using or wearing it, even if it’s promoting a team I’m not a fan of. My favorite T-shirt is a New Jersey Nets tee, I use an Atlanta Braves duffle bag, and I crack open bottles with a Green Bay Packers bottle opener. I mainly like the aesthetics of the logos and colors.

This approach also applies to my MLB hats. My favorites are a D-Backs home alternate (great color scheme), an Orioles road design (classic logo), and a Brewers ball-in-glove throwback (excellent logo, plus they’re my favorite team).

So my question this week is twofold: What is your favorite on-field MLB hat (not necessarily one you own, but your favorite that the players wear)? And do you have any issues with wearing merchandise of teams you don’t root for?

Intriguing question there, Mike — I like. Okay, people, you know the drill: Post your responses in today’s comments, and feel free to debate and discuss.

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Baseball News: With the D-backs wearing KC Packers unis yesterday, Chris Creamer came up with a good rundown of 10 MLB teams that have worn the uni of a team from a city other than their own (thanks, Phil). ”¦ Tequila sunrise jerseys and Northwestern-striped stirrups for Fishers High School in Indiana (from Shawn Crull). ”¦ Gorgeous striped stirrups this season for Potomac State College in West Virginia (from Don Schafer). ”¦ Yesterday’s Ticker noted that Boston College will be waving the bloody flag this Saturday. The school’s SB Nation blogger does not approve (thanks, Phil). ”¦ Worst of both worlds: The Asheville Tourists will be wearing pink camouflage on May 16. ”¦ Hinchiffe Stadium in Paterson, New Jersey, which I wrote about four years ago, is often cited for its association with the Negro Leagues, but it also played a key role in baseball’s Latino history (Phil again). ”¦ The West Virginia Power will be wearing 1970s/disco jerseys tomorrow, and the design is a doozy. ”¦ Awesome giveaway: The Mariners are having Beard Hat Night tomorrow (thanks, Phil). ”¦ Reprinted from last night’s comments: You’ve heard of tequila sunrise? Here’s a tequila sunset. Not sure what team that is, unfortunately, but it’s an interesting design (from Scott N.).

NFL News: Junior Galette of the Saints has tattoos of the NFL logo and Underdog — an interesting juxtaposition (from Brady Phelps). … I wouldn’t have thought this was possible, but the Bucs’ new practice jerseys are even worse than their old ones (from Andrew Cosentino). ”¦ Rams exec Kevin Demoff hinted on Twitter that the team is working on blue and white throwbacks and might even restore blue and yellow as the primary colors (from Thomas Hack).

NBA News: Drake was spotted using a lint roller on his pants during Tuesday night’s Nets/Raptors playoff game. So when the Raptors rebrand, maybe this should be their new logo (from Andrew Cosentino).

Soccer News: “Sport Recife came up with alternate kits that mimic the jerseys of three countries that will play in Recife in the World Cup this summer, with the word ‘welcome’ in Japanese, German, and Mexican,” reports Yusuke Toyoda.

Grab Bag: “Stopped by a Tim Hortons and could not resist the temptation of purchasing a Stanley Cup Donut,” says Rydell, who didn’t give his last name. … Miami has a new green football helmet, but it won’t be worn this season. ”¦ Terry Proctor’s latest vintage uniform catalog acquisition is this 1964 Wilson beauty. ”¦ Here’s a gallery of two dozen notable WWE masks (from Brady Phelps). ”¦ Nike’s latest golf club design was inspired by a football helmet (thanks, Phil). ”¦ Here’s something you don’t often see: old trading cards for boxing (from Ben Fortney). ”¦ Faaaaascinating piece about the typography on a penny. Highly recommended (big thanks to Mike Engle). ”¦ Illuminating piece on overlooked symbols in everyday life (from Kurt Esposito). ”¦ Apple Store logos and employee uniforms have been going green for Earth Day. The little green stem on the logo is a nice touch (from David Landesberg). ”¦ Congrats to intern Garrett McGrath, who’s written an excellent article about a New York archaeological company that finds all sorts of cool artifacts at NYC construction sites.

 
  
 
Comments (199)

    The text originally identified the guy in the picture as “a local pastry chef” and has since been corrected.

    Interesting QOTW. I have no problem at all wearing hats from teams that I don’t necessarily root for. I own about 12 different MLB team hats, but my favorite has to be either the Orioles’ white panel home cap or the Brewers ball-in-glove throwback.

    I own and wear caps from teams that I’m not necessarily a huge fan of, but I like their caps. For whatever reason, I don’t feel comfortable wearing any other item of clothing – jersey, t-shirt, jacket, necktie, etc – unless I actually root for the team, or it’s a souvenir from visiting the team’s stadium. Caps are different for me.

    However, even with caps, I can’t bring myself to own or wear caps from teams I actively dislike or root against. So one of my favorite caps of all time, the burgundy Mike Schmidt-era Philllies, I just can’t own or wear.

    I’m a Braves fan, but I own a blue Mets hat because my favorite colors are blue and orange. I don’t think I could bring myself to wear the shirt of another team, but I can wear any hat that i enjoy.

    I own several MLB caps, my favorite is a Mariners teal cap, with a blue bill (unfortunately, it no longer fits my huge melon). I also own both the home/road Tigers caps (favorite team and love the simplicity of the Olde English D), and a Chief Wahoo Indians cap (although it is in storage, and hasn’t been worn in years). Want to get my mitts on a Brewers ball/glove logo cap.

    Good man. Anything having anything to do with Mike Schmidt gets my blood boiling.

    My favorite hat is the Astros road cap. Perfect blend of blue and orange. I don’t have any problem wearing it as long as they’re not playing the Twins.

    My fav hat of recent years is the Barrelman hat from the brewers fan contest last year.

    I have no problem wearing hats or shirts or sweaters or kits from othervteams if i like the design.

    But i would not under any circumstance wearing merch from.a team i disliked, no matter how cool the design.

    That’s exactly my attitude with regard to which teams I wear, and the Barrelman cap is far and away the non-Nats cap I wear most often. Though I’ve become more of an active fan, rather than an indifferent observer, or the Brewers since they left the AL.

    I have a number of MLB hats for teams that aren’t the Phillies, but all my my Athletics cap have a reason. Angels because Mike Trout is from my hometown, Orioles because I live for MD, etc. I refuse to wear anything that represents another team from the NL East though. That just feels wrong.

    I am along the same lines as you Toddro. i have had many caps and player t-shirts over the years, this off season picking up a Trout Angels t shirt and Kershaw Dodgers t-shirt. I have had a red Astros hat that I loved the color of, and the previous issue Oakland A’s black hat. those two have to be my favorite other than the Phillies Traditional Red P and their alternate blue and red P. The Boston Red Sox B hat is also up there.

    I loved watching the Cubs game yesterday. I disagree with Paul on the mismatching sleeves and socks for the KC/Arizona Packers. I thought (for a few moments) it gave it a cool minor league look. Kinda along the lines of “we wear what we find” look a lot of minor league teams had bad in the day. HOWEVER, when I noticed the mark of the beast on the collars of the undershirts , that warm fuzzy feeling went away.

    The guilty school in those “tequila sunset” jerseys is Allen Community College of Iola, Kansas.

    In the Recife item in the soccer ticker, the language should be Spanish, not Mexican, though some folks might argue it’s correct as it is.

    @USASoccerGuy would be proud. Also, is there some situation where if that Racife story gets ticker linked enough times, Paul gets a free taco or someting. Probably the third or fourth time already.

    QOTW – Big fan of the Tigers’ white ‘D’ on navy. I’ve worn caps for some teams that I don’t root for (including said Tigers), but there are a few that are completely off limits as those are teams I actively dislike.

    Zero problem wearing gear from teams other than my favored Wisconsin-based sports teams. Own and regularly wear hats and shirts of many random sports teams–A’s t-shirt, New Orleans Hornets’ fleur de bee winter hat, 20-year-old Marlins cap, more minor league crap that can be counted.

    Quick story: Last summer I was pumping gas in my little town and an old burnout hippie dude that I know pulled up across the pump. I said hi, and he said, “so are travelling through from California?” I was like…”Jeff?” He was thrown off by my Radom-design Angels t-shirt.

    Favorite non-Brew Crew MLB cap? Probably the Tigers.

    I’m an Indians fan and I only feel right wearing their cap. But if I was braver about letting aesthetics guide me, I’d take Oakland’s green with yellow brim. So lovely. (Also the Dodgers, Braves lowercase ‘a’, Brewers ball in glove, Padres 70s throwback, and Mariners 80s trident ‘M’)

    I have ~300 hats total in my collection, so I definitely have no problem wearing hats of teams I don’t root for. I do NOT wear hats of teams I actively root against though. I will NEVER wear a Yankees or Red Sox hat, and I do my best not to wear a Blue Jays hat when they’re playing my O’s (though I have slipped up once or twice in my life on accident).

    The current Jays hat is pretty tough to beat, so it’s definitely up there on my list. As a PSU alum, I loooooooooooooved the Mariners throwback to the Turks from last year, and despite the opinion of a certain columnist here, I really love the O’s current alternate hat; upside down apostrophe and all. A correct apostrophe might make it 0.0002% better, but the upside down one certainly doesn’t ruin it for me. Others I like include the navy blue StL Cardinals road hat, the ball-in-glove throwback for the Brewers, the LA-with-halo throwback the Angels wore last year, last year’s and this year’s A’s road cap, the main Pirates P cap without the white outline, and both the all-navy and teal-brimmed Mariners caps.

    My favorite logo in all of sports, though, is the Mariners compass logo when used by itself; without the S or the surrounding wordmark. So if we’re counting BP hats, the list above would grow even more (like the A’s and Mr. Met hats), but if I can’t count those, I at least want to count all the BP hats the Mariners have had over the years and how appreciative I am that they’ve stuck with that logo for so long. That logo on an all navy hat is the best looking hat you could possibly get, in my opinion. Put it on a low-crown on-field 59-fifty and I may never take it off.

    I am always confused by the “O” and the “|” on a rocker switch. My Halloween fog machines have them and I never know if they are warming up or not! Gimme an indicator light will ya??!!

    link

    YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I flip the switch until I know the thing is working.

    Last year, Crumbs had Stanley Cup cupcakes, including the special packaging shown in the link. Haven’t seen if they have returned this season.

    link

    I am shocked that most people wear paraphernalia from teams other than their favorite. I would never do that based on the fact that I wouldn’t want people thinking I’m a fan of some other team.

    I think it’s important to be a little humble about this sort of thing. I have “rules” for myself – I would never wear another man’s name on my back, so the jerseys I own are either plain or NNOB. But neither am I outraged that other people hold to different standards and wear other guys’ names on their jerseys. It’s OK for them, even if it’s something I could never do. (Exception: People who wear JETER 2 jerseys. Them, I judge. Dude, show some respect, buy a $2 seam ripper, and take that NOB off!)

    Also, I’ve had some of the best stranger-conversations when wearing stuff from team’s I’m not a super-fan of. “Hey, you a [team] fan?” people always ask, which right there shows that it’s not automatically assumed that wearing the gear equals supporting the team. “Eh, mainly I really like their [colors/logo/some uni detail].” Then they open up about uni aesthetics, which really most fans, men especially, have opinions about but rarely feel “safe” expressing.

    My attitude has changed over the years, at different points, other team’s caps used to be my primary. Since I can afford more caps now than when I was a teen, I now have various Mets caps for various situations.

    Caveat: I do have a couple of minor league caps in regular rotation.

    For me personally, I think my wearing of other team’s stuff began to decline once I was out of HS and was interacting with people outside my immediate area. Everybody I grew up with (on Long Island) knew that of the 2 options available I chose blue/orange – despite what cap I was wearing.

    Once I was away from home, I was interacting with people that might actually have been Brewers fans or Pirates fans, so my wearing of their caps was more than just a fashion thing. I totally subscribe to New Era’s “Fly Your Own Flag” motto, these days if I travel my primary Mets cap comes with me because it elicits repose from other Mets fans in airports.

    As I’ve said to non-baseball observers before, these days, nobody is wearing a Mets cap unless they’re a fan.

    Yes, the Bucs’ practice jerseys are horrible. Embarassing might be a better word.

    I am a Cardinals fan so maybe I’m a little bias but I think the best on field hat is the Cardinals Sunday cap. As far as wearing other hats I stay in the NL Central with the Brewers glove hat and the Pirates regular “P” (not really a fan of the Alt even tho there isn’t a huge difference). As you can see I wear division rivals hats and am not ashamed. I am a fan of all baseball and hey when a hat looks good, a hat looks good!

    Shoot, I can’t remember which one is the Sunday hat. But yes, I’ll say that the standard red cap is sharp and a classic.

    Sunday hat is Blue with a red brim and A bird on the bat logo. There Red ones are classic but I think the Sunday ones are unique. Sunday hat is linked below:

    link

    I only wear jerseys for my team, the New Jersey Devils. I also only wear them to attend games in person, or for big days on the hockey calander, Draft Day, the start of the playoffs etc. I used to wear shirts, coats, and winter gear with the Devils logo on it, but no more. I only wear the logo to actively support the team. I don’t wear another teams logo just because I thought it looked good. I used to wear a lot of hockey jerseys of different teams when I as younger, but again no more. I no longer see these things a fashion, but more as support. That’s just me though. This question is making me reconsider as to why it has become just a support the team thing for me, so thanks for the food for thought.

    QotW: I never wear caps for MLB teams other than my own favorite.

    When I was really young I had plastic batting helmets of several teams because they were cheap ($2 or $3 I think) and I liked the various colors and logos.

    Now I will wear minor league caps (currently wearing Reading Fightin’ Phils – the aggressive “F” logo befits my last name) but the only MLB cap I wear is a Dodgers cap.

    QOTW – For shirts and the like, I (almost) always stick with my favorite team. The only reason the almost is in there is because I moved from Minnesota to KC, so I have acquired a few articles of Royals clothing to wear to their games when the Twins are not in town. I consider hats a different story. Being that I only wear 59-fiftys, and do not like the “fashion” styles, I have owned hats for about half the MLB teams and about a dozen or so MiLB teams. My favorites usually come from the minor leagues now. The Beloit Snappers green home hat has been my favorite for a while, but I think the El Paso “swinging chihuahua” alternate hat might have taken over.

    In my younger days I was more open to wearing stuff for teams I didn’t actually support, for example in 1995 I wore t-shirts for both the Panthers & Jaguars despite not caring about either team, but today it’s Raiders or nothing. I’m definitely no longer a fan of wearing another team’s gear for fashion. I wouldn’t wear a Nickelback shirt because people might think I like Nickelback, so why would I want to wear a hat or shirt for a sports team I don’t like?

    What about the converse: Does anybody not wear stuff for a team they actually like, because either it’s embarrassing to support the team, or one is embarrassed of the team’s crappy colors/logos/uniforms?

    I ask because your Nickelback example made me think of bands whose music I enjoy as “guilty pleasures” but would never want to be seen in public as being a fan of them. (Def Lepard, Coldplay, Counting Crows, basically everything I listened to in the late 1980s …)

    I think that there is a marked difference (in terms of self-exposure) between wearing gear from your favorite teams and gear from your favorite musical acts. Music preference is more of an internal process. It’s more personal and says more about who you are at your core.

    Sports can do this to some extent. Fore example, if someone wears a Yankee hat or Cowboy shirt outside of their respective territories, it makes a statement of subservience to the status quo or to the notion of wealth and power. On the flip side, if someone wears Browns or A’s gear, it’s more of statement of supporting the scrappy underdog.

    You can’t assume that, last paragraph, though. People can wear team gear for a variety of reasons: a favorite player, you have friends/family in that city, you might want to live there, you might just like the colors/style, etc. etc.

    I root for a lot of teams other than my favorites, and one of the reasons they make my list is because I like the uniforms. So I have no problem wearing their stuff. Won’t wear things from a team I dislike, even if it looks cool.

    Music is different, because the sound is THE important thing. I used to sell concert t-shirts during the 80s and 90s and let me tell you…there were a lot of bands I loved that came out with some really crappy shirts. Even though I could get the shirts at half price, I only ever bought one or two and didn’t wear them much.

    Great insight in your first paragraph. Sports affiliation does tend to be much more about group identity, whereas music (among other things) is much more about individual taste and preference.

    When I see dominant-team gear outside their home territories, I try to be generous and assume a personal or family connection to the team. Maybe they grew up in New York, or maybe their parents raised them rooting for the Cowboys, or whatever. Without that connection, I regard rooting for a dominant team to be the equivalent of going to the airport and cheering for gravity.

    Last year I bought a Lynyrd Skynyrd t-shirt on clearance more b/c I liked the retro feel of it than out of any great love for the band, even dating back to their heyday (they were competent & workman-like, sure, but equally derivative and limited).
    link?.out=jpg&size=l&tid=41815081
    I wore it when visiting my best friend from college, who had a laugh when I told him I was wearing it “ironically.” I wound up buying him one, which he wears in good health.

    But that said, I would never ever wear a t-shirt for, say, Journey, ELO, or similar dreck, regardless of how much I liked the design. A man’s gotta have a code.

    To answer arrScott…

    The Raiders have been bad for a long time, my daughter’s entire lifetime in fact, but we both proudly wear our Raiders gear!

    So, yeah, the team’s performance has nothing to do with whether or not I wear Dodgers and Raiders hats/shirts.

    However, I’ve never really owned Lakers gear because I don’t like to wear purple or gold (or tank tops). Even when they stink (like this year) I don’t hesitate to tell people I’m a fan. I just don’t wear the gear because of the colors.

    To answer arrScott:

    I have worn a logo that I don’t like (Buffaslug touque & Buffaslug Miller shirt) from I team I do (Sabres). Got the shirt very cheap at a thrift shop and the touque was a gift. Don’t wear either very often at all.

    The Buffaslug shirt is the only Sabres item I have bought
    that doesn’t have their original design. Other than that have only bought the original (pre-1996 or ‘vintage’) Sabres design items (jerseys, shirts, touque, cap).

    Why wear a Beatles T-shirt when you can wear a reproduction of their Shea Stadium suit or their 1966 tour suit? The Hipster ought to write up a story on “Beatle throwbacks” in honor of the GREATEST MUSICAL GROUP OF ALL TIME.

    link

    QOTW – I have owned gear from other teams in the past (San Jose Sharks jersey from their early days). But now I pretty much prefer to stick with gear of teams that I support.

    As for favorite on-field cap, I’ll go with the Atlanta Braves’ regular (home, but should be only) cap. The blue with red bill and the stylized A are a classic look. I’m also a bit biased because I grew up a Braves fan. (Now it’s a little painful because I’m a Nationals fan.)

    QOTW: good question! I rarely, and I mean RARELY wear any hat other than one of my half a dozen WVU ones. But if I were to wear one I would definitely put the rarely sighted Orange Miami Marlins hat. I’ve seen it so many times at Lids and not yet pulled the trigger on a purchase. Maybe this summer will be the time…

    One of my favorite hats from a few years ago was a black mariners logo on black cap that had ichrio’s name written in white on the back in kanji.

    My favorite hat is my old Yankees hat I got when I was about 15; almost 19 years ago. It was a mall kiosk, buy one hat from Rack A and get a free hat from Rack B. The Yankees one was the cheaply-made freebie, yet it fit wonderfully and still does to this day. Of course, it’s nasty and I’m deathly afraid of washing it. I bought it during the Mattingly/Paul O’Neil days, when I rooted for those guys. As a Reds fan, there was no harm in rooting for an AL team. Then came the free-spending Yankees regime, or at least came the time where I began to understand it and what it meant for small or mid-market teams like my Reds. So I began to despise the Yankees and still do to this day, yet I just can’t get rid of that hat…

    Favorite on-field MLB hat is the White Sox throwback for this year.

    I have hats for other teams but none are MLB. It is Cape Cod League or Korean Baseball League for me other than the White Sox.

    I don’t wear jerseys of teams I don’t root for, with the exception of soccer. Started getting kits of teams in the cities/countries I visit when traveling and will wear those around in the summer. Most work well in the heat and you don’t see many, if any, Hadjuk Split kits around.

    The shot that shows the WGN score graphic has the KC Packers but the uniforms have the KC Feds?

    “Feds” is not a team nickname, but rather a league designation. It’s akin to how sometimes you see teams from a city listed in standings or box scores as NY-AL and NY-NL, for example. Except several Federal League teams put the league designation right on their uniforms.

    I’ve sort of wished that the Nats would have retconned their name origin story to not have a team nickname, to just be the Washington Baseball Club, and to say that “Nationals” refers to the league, on account of being Washington’s first NL team after being so long an American League town.

    Also, the Chicago team was NOT named The Feds.

    Like KC (and I believe all teams in the Federal League) they had the league designation on their unis.

    The game yesterday was a recreation of the Kansas City Packers vs. the Chicago Whales.

    All the Federal League accounts I’ve read have suggested that the Chicago franchise did not formally adopt a nickname until the 1915 season. In the absence of a nickname, people would have called them the Feds to differentiate from the AL and NL teams already extant.

    It should be KC Packers vs. Chicago Whales. Unless the Cubs are going to start calling themselves the Nationals during non-throwback games.

    Scott was actually correct, in 1914 the team was simply called the Federals, distinguishing between the two teams already playing in the city.

    Interesting QOTW!

    I pretty much stick to my local teams when it comes to wearing gear. I don’t have a favorite on field Twins hat, but my favorite to own has been a navy hat with white panel and TC logo. Can’t remember the brand.

    I can appreciate great designs, but I just can’t bring myself to wear the clothing of another pro team. I will make an exception for defunct teams (i.e., Whalers, Seals, etc.) or some obscure/minor league teams (i.e. Toledo Mud Hens)

    I have owned many different hats from other MLB teams through out the years before I had a truly local team in the Rays. Now I will only own Rays hats and Pirates hats (They spring train in my hometown and I work with them as sponsor). My favorite on field hat was the Expos hat. There was just something special in its uniqueness.

    The pic referring to the umpire not wearing throwbacks shows Emilio Bonifacio wearing something looking like a mitten on his left hand. Link below shows it again. Can’t see that helping him hit the ball….must be to protect his fingers sliding if he goes for extra bases i guess. How long before we see a logo on it?

    link

    Sorry…I haven’t seen a pic of him with it while batting. Definitively for finger protection when sliding.

    I don’t typically wear uniform elements of my own teams (I do have a Phillies throwback jersey though in the baby blue). However I am a huge fan of the Oakland A’s yellow alt jersey and the alt elephant hat they used to have. Although being from Philadelphia, the A’s affiliation can work to our favor.

    The tequila sunset uniforms are worn by Allen Community College Red Devils from Iola, Kansas.

    I’m not seeing the Chris Creamer article about wearing unis from other towns, I’m getting a beta front page from thescore.com

    I’m only getting the lead, the jump is on that thescore.com page that I cannot find.

    I will never wear anything from a rival team but If I wear something from another team it’s usually for another player not the team

    Also, that WWE Mask (and Facepaint) page is wrong. Sting has never wrestled in the WWE.

    At least not yet.

    And don’t give me any of the “final WCW episode was on WWE TV” business, that was still a WCW match

    You’re right, but I think WWE has become a genericized trademark for all pro wrestling. Whatever, better than people still calling it WWF.

    My favorite on-field MLB caps are the Pirates mustard throwback cap and my second-favorite is the Astros orange-billed road cap. I’m OK with folks wearing stuff of teams that aren’t their favorites as long as they’re not trolls about it. In other words, if you’re not a Red Sox fan, don’t wear a Red Sox cap to a Yankees game just to be a jerk.

    Anyone else like the collars on the KC Packers jerseys? I think they look quite dapper. I wouldn’t mind if MLB teams brought that back. Gives some balance and bulk up there to even out the baggy jerseys.

    I also dig the non-logo hats they wore. I might have to pick one up. (Though I guess I could just go to any custom shirt/hat maker joint and get a plain one for a lot cheaper lol).

    One of the Cubs’ minor league affiliates (Boise, I think) wore collared 1908 throwbacks a few years ago; I have one of them. Aside from the excessively-creamy color, it looks absolutely amazing. The only problem is that the collar sands out so much that when I tried wearing it in practice on my own team, people were mocking it.

    As a fellow Cubs fan, I’ll have to look that one up! Thanks. I could see it standing out as it’s a big switch from the collar-less styles now. Wear it with pride. :)

    QOTW – 1st the easy part of the question. My favorite hats are Orioles home hat & Mets BP cap; I’m a sucker for cartoon characters.

    2nd part of the question – My wife & I are also trying to visit every MLB park. Though we are die hard Oriole fans, we actually try to not go when the O’s are the visitors so we can be what we call “fake fans” & we learn a little about a city’s traditions & such on our vacations. I buy a hat & t-shirt for each team we visit. After that visit, I try to not wear other teams’ gear on days the O’s are playing & if I happen to, I at least avoid wearing gear of AL teams. The major dilemma w/ my stance on other team gear is I have no idea what happens when we finally make our visits to Fenway or Yankee Stadium; I just can’t bring myself to wear those colors.

    I think your visits to Boston and New York are the times when you break away from your “fake fans” tradition and cheer for your O’s.

    For Mike’s question of the week, I’ll answer with the following: I have a collection of MLB caps that I’ll switch out and wear. In fact, although I am a Mets fan, right now, I’m wearing a Brewers Ball in Glove BP Yellow Front Panel cap that I got as a gift from my best friend, who’s in college in Milwaukee. MLB is the only league that I’ll do that, you will never find me wearing anything but Jets green for the NFL or Brooklyn Nets black and white for the NBA. The one exception to the rule is the NHL because I root for the Capitals and Islanders, and I also own a Canadiens beanie as a show of support for my friend who was drafted by the team.

    As far as my favorite cap, I’d probably say that my personal favorite, outside of the Mets caps, and the Mercury Mets cap I won at the QBC, is probably the Brewers Ball in Glove, the Diamondback’s A logo, Houston’s old shooting star logo (which by the way, I own that cap), and the Los Angeles Angels A logo from 2011 with the gold halo.

    I’m a Mets fan through and through, I’ve been collecting MLB caps for 2+ decades:

    My initial reaction was the Oakland A’s, color combo of my HS and a classic logo but I think they they ditched the all green cap, which was my favorite.

    Looking at all the primaries now, Blue Jays get points on uniqueness but I think the Twins interlocking TC wins. Great colors, classic interlocking letters.

    Alltime, Houston’s 90s style, link might be my favorite.

    QOTW: I’m a child of the 90’s, so I’ve always loved the black and teal look of the Marlins and San Jose Sharks. I wore both of their hats as a kid and didn’t think anything of it, I just knew I like the look. It didn’t hurt that no one in my school knew who the Sharks were, and the Marlins were (usually) too terrible to cause any conflict. I haven’t worn any of either’s merch in well over 15 years, though. I do still wear other team’s headgear (red and blue Sox has, black and yellow Pirates, white panel O’s, etc.), but I can’t bring myself to wear Mets, Phils or gNats…although I have a white panel Expos on my to-buy list.

    On the flip side, I refuse to wear the alternate Braves hat with the tomahawk logo. Not because I’m offended or anything, I just find it more clunky and cumbersome than attractive…especially when the plain white script A looks so nice and clean.

    Wouldn’t wear anything that didn’t represent one of my teams. Bucs, Rays, Lightning, and the University of Florida – that’s it. Think a little bit less of people as fans when they wear other stuff just to wear it, to be honest.

    I should add that I don’t wear much apparel of my own teams either, besides UF. In general, I don’t wear much team apparel. But if I do, it’s for one of my teams.

    Creamer’s rundown of teams wearing the uniform of another city reminded me of my favorite MN Twin’s trivia:

    The Texas Rangers and MN Twins were both originally from Washington. Washington is the current manager of the Texas Rangers, but used to play for the MN Twins.

    I have an on-field cap for every MLB team(no fashion caps)but I am a Cubs fan. I have no problem wearing other team’s colors and my favorite cap to wear would be my Blue Jays throwback with the two white front panels.

    Re. QOTW – The older I get, the less of a problem I have wearing other teams’ merch. I don’t follow a specific hockey or baseball team, so it’s not an issue with those jerseys, but I do own a lot of basketball jerseys that I’m more than happy to wear.
    I only have a couple of rules. First, nothing modern – if it’s not a throwback, I’m not interested (most of my NBA jerseys are old Sand-Knits from the 80s). Second, nothing from teams I hate, no matter how aesthetically pleasing. I’ll never allow a piece of Knicks or Lakers merchandise in my house.

    Now, when it comes to association football, it’s a different story – I’m a die-hard Man City supporter, and would never dream of wearing another football team’s merch. Just the thought makes my skin crawl…

    QOTW: I was a kid in Baltimore during the glory days of the franchise, and an Orioles hat is the only MLB hat that I have ever worn, despite later living in Red Sox and now Mariners territory for longer than I ever lived in Baltimore. (I have never been a fan of the white front panel, however.) I have been offered a number of classic hats while helping coach little league–Cardinals, Cubs, Tigers–but always declined.
    Non-MLB hats are a different matter, and I have worn various minor league hats over the years. In recent years have taken to wearing hats made by Ebbets Field Flannels because I like the shape, fit and materials.
    Stirrups are a completely different matter!

    QOTW: I’ve gone through phases where I’ve worn non-Red Sox hats, and phases where I’ve only worn a Red Sox hat, and I think I’ve settled somewhere in the middle. I have plenty of Sox hats – 4 different ones, plus a Portland Sea Dogs hat. But I also wear a Mets hat from time to time (I like the orange and blue and I feel ok rooting for them when they’re on and the Sox aren’t), and one of the 1995 era Seattle Mariners hats with the silver visor. I had it as a kid, and bought one because they were only worn on field very briefly. I do acknowledge that it’s pretty ugly.

    Nice question, Chamernik!
    Baseball, I am a Yankees fan, but I actually own more Expos stuff than Yankees stuff! This owes to me being a McGill grad in the post-Expos days, a diehard Habs fan, and the son of a Yankees hater. Let me tell you, the matching red white and blue from the same city looks great. I have a super-old Blue Jays hat originally from the mid-90s that I bought NWT in a Delray Beach flea market in 2008, and I used to wear it at McGill as a tribute to my plethora of Toronto friends and the last Canadian MLB team, but I had to be super-careful not to wear it on Yankees/Jays game days. I don’t wear it too often anymore because I just go for the Expos hat 99% of the time.
    I guess in theory, if I were to wear a team logo not of my favorite team, it would likely have some sort of throwback element and a personal story beyond “I like the look.” After all, wearing the black Jays cap of that era would have been a personal fashion crime, and I would have looked like an actual present Blue Jays fan, which is false. But in practice, I stick with Yankees, Expos, and Canadiens garb 99.99999999999% of the time.

    I make it a pretty hard rule to only wear stuff from teams I like, with a couple exceptions. I am a dedicated Blue Jays fan and have worn pretty much every jersey or hat they’ve ever had, but I found a Brooklyn Dodgers throwback at a resale shop several years back, and I make a point to wear it once a season, on Jackie Robinson Day. Respect where it’s due no matter who you cheer for. For a completely opposite reason, I sometimes wear an Appalachian State football shirt. As a Buckeyes fan living in Michigan, it gives me perverse pleasure to tweak Wolverines fan that way.

    My favorite onfield hat is the Mets blue one. I wear that one,yankees,Black and orange Giants and various Nats. I like those 4 teams much. I won’t wear another teams hat even if I like the hat. I guess 4 is enough and many people would say it’s 3 to many.

    QOTW: I have no problem with people wearing the apparel of another team, but with a couple of caveats: First, don’t wear the gear of an archrival. And please be knowledgeable to a degree of whatever team you happen to be wearing.

    If you are a Cardinals fan, you probably shouldn’t wear a Cubs hat. You’re free to, obviously, but it rubs me the wrong way. Same for Yankees/Red Sox, Mets/Phillies, etc… And if you’re a Mariners fan who likes to wear, say, a Dodgers hat, have at least a conversational knowledge of what the Dodgers are doing, who the manager is, significant injuries and so on.

    My favorite on field cap isn’t a cap at all…it’s a catcher’s helmet. I’ve always loved the TC logo for the Twins, and it killed me when they stopped using it for a while. The white T on the white panel is a bit quirky, but I really like it.

    link

    Great QOTW! My hat collection now numbers three digits, but here are my favorites: Black Mets’ road cap from three seasons ago, I like the way black “posterizes” the blue and orange. Solid black SF Giants’ cap, the San Francisco monogram is my favorite. New Orleans Saints’ black cap with gold fleur-de-lys, I picked the Saints as my favorites a long-ass time ago and they came through in a big way.

    Paul won’t like this, but I liked the Mets black hats from back in the day. However, I was nine in 1999, so that’s probably the reason why.

    QotW: I first bought a hat for a team I’m not an active fan of in 1999, when my friend from Cleveland who was a giant Indians fan died. I bought an Indians hat and wrote his initials on it.

    The second one I bought was an Expos hat that I got in their last couple of years when the whole contraction/they’re going to move situation was playing out. I always though the Expos hat/logo was one of the coolest in sports and wanted to get one while they were still around. (This was before intense constant throwback mania was really a thing and every past cap/logo became a thing you could get at basically any time.)

    That was it for a long time, and then around 2007 I started taking a few trips to ballparks around the country, and I buy the home team’s cap and one of those jersey-esque t-shirts with a player’s name and number at each park (except the Yankees, because ew.) So now I have about 12.

    I mostly just wear my Brewers or Cubs hats as those are my childhood teams and my favorites, occasionally tossing in the local Red Sox. Every once in a while I break out that Expos cap or my interlocking-TC Twins cap because it’s one of my favorite designs, but mostly the other ones just hang out unworn unless some particular reason comes up for me to wear one of the others.

    Over time, I have become less willing to wear gear of a team of which I am not a fan. When I was a kid, I was a Yankee fan and I had Yankee caps; but I also had plenty of batting helmets of different teams, and I’d wear them because of specific players (Rod Carew, Twins; Willie McCovey, Giants, etc.).

    After I became an adult, I was still a Yankee fan; but I would then wear only the hats of the Yankees and the other teams that I liked: the Giants, the A’s, and the Blue Jays. The only rule was that I wouldn’t wear the A’s or Blue Jays caps if they were playing the Yankees. (One time I forgot: I left for work wearing a green shirt and my A’s hat. Then it hit me that the Yankees were playing the A’s that night; so I went home and changed my shirt and wore a different hat.)

    Nowadays I am no longer a baseball fan; the team I support is Chelsea, of which I have three hats. I doubt that I’d wear that hat of another English team or of a big club in another European league.

    Though when it looked like Frank Lampard was about to move to the LA Galaxy, I was prepared to buy and wear that team’s hat. And I’ll probably get a NYC FC . I also wear Cosmos hats, mostly out of deference to their great history (though I love it that they’ve retained the logo in their current incarnation).

    So now I’ll wear hats only of those teams for which I have some interest, be it ardent (such as Chelsea), luke-warm (the Nets), or remote (the Galaxy, the Cosmos, NYC FC, and the New York Lizards of the MLL).

    I also wear hats of defunct teams which I formerly supported: the New York CityHawks and the New York Dragons of the Arena Football League, and the Newark Bears of the Atlantic League.

    I cannot bring myself to sport gear of teams to which I have absolutely no connection. In the last year of the New Jersey Nets, I went to their arena to buy some hats. There I saw the dazzling array of New Jersey Devils hats; and they all were beautiful. I really dig their logo. But I could never wear it.

    Likewise, a few years ago I was in Sports Authority, and I saw a great Rangers jersey (or “sweater”, in the parlance of that sport’s fans) with laces. Again: beautiful. But I could never wear that, either.

    I feel like these teams have large established fan bases; and I am not part of them. I get annoyed with people who wear, let’s say, a St. Louis Cardinal cap or a Detroit Red Wing jersey, but who cannot name a single player, past or present, from the team. So I really cannot become one of these people, despite the beauty of the hat or the jersey.

    Favorite Cap: Cleveland Indians, Chief Wahoo, Red visor. As for caps, shirts, jerseys of other teams, my rule of thumb is no problem, as long as it’s not a team in your division. A’s, Orioles, Phillies, Giants–OK. Tigers, Twins, Steelers, Bengals: definitely forbidden.

    I have recently started acquiring 5950 versions of NFL throwback logos that I like. Currently in my collection is Bucco Bruce, Patriot Pat and the Colts old school logo. I’m looking to acquire a Denver Broncos “D” and the Steelers i-beam guy.

    Aside from the Steelers, I would hardly think of myself as a fan of any of those other teams, especially New England! However, I feel I’m from a generation that kind of started hats/gear as fashion elements rather than solely team fan gear.

    I think there are a few exceptions in my own set of rules or whatever that I could not participate in, mainly chief rivals of the teams I root for. While I think the Brewers retro hat and uni is one of the best in MLB, I can’t wear it now due to the fact they have become somewhat bitter NL Central rivals (why couldn’t you guys just stay in the AL where you belong?!). Same with teams like the Browns, Ravens, Flyers. Because of the city rivalry with Philly, I too will never be able to wear one of my all time favorite hats, the Mike Schmidt era Phils.

    There are other teams that out of general dislike more than any rivalry I wouldn’t wear (or buy) for that matter. But I’m inconsistent. No to the Cowboys or Red Sox but I’ve never had a problem with the Yankees or Raiders.

    But I don’t really look down upon anyone who does their own thing. Live your life!

    If I ever see you in a Patriots or Broncos hat, I’m running you down with my car, Kubbie D.

    duly noted!

    I said collection, didn’t say anything about wearing! (that being said, that Patriot Pat hat would look good on July 4)

    Also, I remember when the Rockies and Marlins entered MLB, it was really different. That gear sold because it was new. I’m pretty sure I had gear from both teams. Part of it was the teal explosion of the time, but also it was just so new to us to have new teams, thus new gear.

    I also remember working at the Pirates clubhouse in the mid 90s and how inconsistent things were with New Era. Not all the caps had the MLB logo on the back or the triple-stitching (or whatever it’s called!). Kids would go through the racks to find the ones with the “raised letters”. Good times! My side business of gutting fitted with an exacto knife was also somewhat prosperous!

    I am a huge Dodgers fan, so I own more than my fair share of LA hats, but I also own a San Francisco Giants hat. For two reasons; one: as far as aesthetics are concerned, it’s a beauty. Two: I went to a Giants spring game in Scottsdale this year, and with keeping tradition I buy a hat from every new stadium I attend. But I feel the consensus that wearing a shirt or jersey seems almost alien.

    “I am a huge Dodgers fan…but I also own a San Francisco Giants hat”

    Pete, I respectfully disagree with the first part! :)

    I wear hats from other teams but only the teams from cities that I travel to and catch a game. Besides my hometown White Sox, I have a Rays, Brewers, Cardinals, Mets, and D-backs cap so far. I also have an A’s hat but have never been to Oakland, i just love the green and gold look!

    I wish we could dispense with the term “flag desecration” in relation to jerseys made from material with a stars and stripes pattern. Unless someone sits down and cuts up actual flags to make the jerseys, no flags are being desecrated. A flag isn’t a patch or a pattern of colors. A flag is a flag.

    Wrong. According to traditional flag etiquette, if it looks like a flag, it is a flag. Including flag patches and fabric with the pattern of any part of the flag. After all, a flag is a symbol. Saying that something that just looks like a symbol isn’t the symbol makes exactly as much sense as saying that this here character: A isn’t really the letter A, it’s just a collection of pixels that happens to look like the letter A. No, A is a symbol, and by definition anything that sufficiently resembles the letter A, is the letter A.

    Or if that’s too much high-falootin’ sophisticated hair-splitting, try the Shit On A Flag Test. Substitute “toilet paper” for “sports uniform” in your reasoning for why a particular flag-like pattern doesn’t really technically violate flag etiquette. Exact same pattern as the jersey, but people are wiping their butts with it in a public john. Would you regard that as desecrating the flag? Maybe not, and that’s cool; your standards have the virtue of being consistent. Me, I’m pretty much an absolutist on the notion that you don’t wipe your butt with the flag and call it “patriotic.” You also don’t smear a flag in the dirt, or rub it in the grass, or trample it under your foot, or grab at it and rip it, and all of those things happen to sports uniforms and the flags attached to them.

    Did I mention, Hey, you kids, get off my lawn?

    Speaking for myself, I have a hard time ascribing sacred status to anything that is mass-produced. So when I see a flag on something worthless, like a copy of the New York Post, I think its sacredness is compromised.

    Walter, that may be the best comment on this blog in a month!

    And I’ve heard this discussion of flag etiquette before and I just don’t understand where the line is drawn. Just because something has stars and stripes doesn’t make it a “flag”. Where does something like bunting come into play?

    But I understand where using a logo as “negative space” and imposing a flag in it would be considered against etiquette.

    Kek, that’s a great question, not just in practical terms but philosophically. I sort of tend to come down on it that if you could plausibly think that someone had cut up some portion of the flag to make the thing in question, then flag etiquette rules apply. So traditional bunting doesn’t apply, since no portion of the flag has a blue stripe between red and white stripes. Also, if all it is, is red and white stripes, well, heck, stripes are a thing independently of the flag. I guess it sort of has to have both stripes and some portion of the blue star-spangled union, either together or nearby, to get my curmudgeonly dander up.

    They should just put bunting on a cap or uniform then.

    Hmm, just got a tweak…er, concept idea…

    By this logic, the Georgia, Ohio, North Carolina, and Texas state flags desecrate the American flag because it contains the pattern of part of the American flag. Additionally, I hope you didn’t eat any candy canes last Christmas. I would say that red and white stripes constitute your so-low “pattern of any part of the flag” standard. Also, the point you addressed was not even one that I tried to make, but thanks for playing. I only said that I don’t like the term “flag desecration” in conjunction with these uniforms. I hardly think that wearing a uniform with white stars on a blue field or red and white stripes is the equivalent of burning or otherwise maliciously damaging a real flag.

    Kevin, the Flag Code has specific rules about wearing the flag, or any portion of the flag, and in particular contains an outright ban on using the flag on an athletic uniform. That has nothing to do with government bodies using elements of the national flag on their flags.

    Anyway, it seems that you object to using the Flag Code, or the established tradition of flag etiquette it represents, to call one thing “desecration” and another thing “respect.” (The Flag Code really does regard anything that appears to be the flag as fully the flag, and it really does ban wearing the flag on or as an athletic uniform.) Which is fine – sometimes traditions need to be rejected!

    arrScott, I wish this had been your first response. Much more rational and zero dickishness in this one. I can respect that and respectfully disagree with it. Thanks. Really.

    Just to explain: I don’t use the term “flag desecration” because I think they’re literally desecrating the flag; I use it as a way of mocking the bogus “patriotism” that these uniforms supposedly embody. It’s basically my way of throwing this bullshit back in their faces, similar to my use of “amateur pacifism” when referring to Pro Combat uniforms. It’s a shorter way of saying, “You think you’re honoring the flag? Fuck you, you’re DIShonoring it.”

    But here’s what I’m curious about: Kevin, why did you choose today to voice your complaint about the use of the term “flag desecration”? That term didn’t appear on the site today until you brought it up in your comment.

    Now, the term “waving the bloody flag” does appear today (a take-off on the term “waving the bloody shirt,” which has link that’s quite appropriate for this discussion), in relation to link. Did you simply mis-read it? Did you assume that any reference to a flag design must have included “flag desecration”? Or were you just looking for something to complain about?

    I don’t get to the site every day. Sometimes I read multiple days’ entries in one sitting. Today was one of those days.

    I’m not sure why you thought I was complaining. I didn’t complain. What I did was state a wish. Specifically, I said, “I wish we could dispense with the term ‘flag desecration’ in relation to jerseys made from material with a stars and stripes pattern.” Basically, I think the term is harsh, and I expressed a desire for it to go away. I know you’re using it for effect. We all do, I hope. I just don’t think it’s accurate or fair.

    Frankly, I don’t care whether teams/organizations/universities/etc. wear these uniforms or not. I don’t particularly like most of the designs they come up with, especially these ones that look “distressed” or whatever they want to call it. But intent is important to consider, and the people who are making and wearing these uniforms don’t have the intent to dishonor the flag. Saying that they are desecrating the flag, even if you don’t REALLY mean it and you’re just trying to make a point, because you or I don’t like the design isn’t very kind. I recognize that you’re not in the “kind” business, but I think that even in the critic business, accuracy and fairness are values we can agree on.

    It’s pretty funny how only certain opinions don’t draw instant ire from someone around here. I’ve got arrScott jumping on my case and now you, Paul.

    I hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the day.

    Dude, you basically ask me to change the way I handle something on my own website (something that didn’t even come up on the site today), then claim it isn’t a complaint (same exact thing, as you’re smart enough to know), and then act surprised when you get pushback.

    Welcome to life.

    I know better than to complain. You’ve repeatedly made it clear in the past that it’s your blog and that you don’t really give a tinker’s dam what most of us think, which is fine. It’s your world. We’re just reading in it. So it wasn’t a complaint; it was an opinion.

    The LAST thing I was when I got pushback was surprised. I was surprised that it took you almost three hours to get around to pushing back, maybe.

    Nonetheless, I hope you and everyone else have a good afternoon. I appreciate the content as always. Thank you.

    Hello Kevin B., I disagree, but I hate to see how you were treated. You didn’t deserve it. Maybe the terms “destruction” and “desecration” are being conflated. Damaging the flag, for reasons other than retiring the flag, is both destruction and desecration. Paul and others here are correct in the use of the word “desecration” is describing the lengths that many groups use the flag for self-promotion and revenue.

    The flag has no place on any sports uniform according to the United States Flag Code, and that use is considered desecration. But, even the National Guard doesn’t recognize or conform with the code: link
    The Stars and Strips forming the “B” of a Red Sox cap cheapens both the flag and the brand, and I applaud Paul’s coinage and use of the term “flag desecration caps”, et al. Sports uniforms have sadly become platforms for pandering and sops. For what it is worth (probably not much), I’ve been sufficiently inspired here to voice my opposition to MLB in the weeks prior to Memorial Day.

    Interesting thoughts, Richard. I guess what I see as being conflated are the idea of actual flags and fabric with patterns that look like a flag’s. For example, the Columbus Blue Jackets don’t desecrate the state flag of Ohio with their jersey. The “C” on their sweater contains the LOOK of the Ohio flag, but is not an actual flag. American military men wear flag patches on their uniforms into battle at the behest of our government as well. Examples like that are why I think that flag etiquette applies to actual flags but not other items which are flag-like in appearance.

    Now, my interpretation of flag etiquette is that if someone attached an ACTUAL flag to the jersey, or if someone cut up a flag for use as material for clothing of some kind (a la Kid Rock’s flag poncho), that would be flag desecration.

    It’s nice that two intelligent people can have a pleasant conversation while disagreeing in the Uni Watch comments section. I love our flag dearly, and I hate to see it mistreated as much as anyone.

    I have 3 Astros caps, Cardinals, blue Phillies, MB logo Brewers, Rangers, Saints, Texans and Chargers. I have zero issue wearing another team’s gear. When I was in middle school team gear was all the rage. Everybody had some kind of gear. Lots of Big East and ACC teams on the racks, even in SEC/Big 12 country. Even now I still see plenty of North Carolina hats on people, even if they no interest in college bball. I kind of miss those days of variety. Now it’s like everything is stocked by demographics.

    Note on the ticker: the “tequila sunset” jersey referenced in the baseball section is from Allen County Community College in Iola, Kansas, the Red Devils. They are playing the Fort Scott Community College Greyhounds in Fort Scott, Kansas, in that photo.

    Lotta good looking hats out there; besides my Cardinals and Rockies, off the top of my head I like the Dodgers, Giants, Yankees, Tigers, Red Sox, Royals, and Nationals.

    As for wearing other teams’ stuff… don’t think I would. When I was in my early 20s, back in the late 70s, I used to travel to Chicago from time to time, had a girlfriend from there, and I had a Cubs shirt I liked with the smiling bear logo and also a White Sox one (“South Side Hit Men”). Can’t really see doing that now, mostly because I almost never wear t-shirts any more. I guess I’d come down like this — I’d never wear stuff from a team I hate (Yankees, Braves, to name two). But I suppose I would if it were a team I have no strong feelings about. For example, my brother is an Indians/Bluejackets fan. If the Indians were in the Series or the BJs in the Cup Finals, I’d have no trouble wearing their gear in support.

    I grew up in the Metro Detroit area and when I was young (8 or 9) I was at Kohl’s and saw a Chicago White Sox hat that I really liked. My mom bought it for me because I just had to have it.

    The next day I came home from school and the White Sox hat was nowhere to be found. Instead, sitting on my bed was a brand new Detroit Tigers home cap. Apparently my dad (longtime Tigers fan) saw the White Sox hat and wouldn’t have any of it. Ever since then, I have never worn merchandise from a team I am not a fan of. Even now I live in Tampa and will not wear Rays gear.

    But I think Detroit is an interesting case in that regard. Detroit has all four of the major sports teams. If you grew up around Detroit you were a Tigers, Lions, Red Wings and/or Pistons fan. The only divisive sports team choice was Michigan or Michigan State.

    Interesting question and responses. As a lifelong Orioles fan I have lots of their caps (and a couple of tees although I don’t wear team-related tees very often).

    I have no problem with wearing caps from other teams as long as they are NOT the current caps. Two of my favorites are the late 50s era White Sox (white interlocking S-O-X with red outline) and the classic Milwaukee Braves cap that I happen to think is the best cap ever. I’d also like to pick up a ’62 A’s road cap, white crown-red brim. Finding caps in my size (8) makes things dicey.

    In the majors, my fave hats are Oakland (green with the yellow bill) and the old Cincinnati Reds white hat (with or without pinstripes) with red bill. I also have a St. Louis Cardinals throwback cap (the Country Slaughter era) with the red StL on a navy crown with a red bill. But that one has been worn so much it’s just about shot.

    Also in the closet is a throwback St. Louis Browns hat that is an exact duplicate of the Cardinals hat except that it’s brown instead of navy and orange instead of red. It was the penultimate Browns hat, the last one being an all-brown number with StL in white.

    Another favorite is the politically incorrect 1990s Chief Wahoo hat the Indians wore. Both versions: the navy with red bill and red button and the all-navy road version. I’m likely to be chastised here for ethnic insensitivity, but I don’t associate the cartoon Chief Wahoo with actual native Americans any more than I would view Notre Dame’s mascot as representative of Hibernian folks or Oregon’s duck embodying the characteristics of waterfowl. OK, got my target pinned on. Fire away.

    The funny thing is, I’m not a fan of any of the aforementioned teams, with the possible exception of the Indians, whose dreary American League history (except during the 1990s) is the story of a franchise only good enough to almost win championships. But I got their lids, mainly for the graphics and interesting color combinations.

    I actually prefer minor-league caps, which are often more edgy and interesting, both in color combinations and graphics. I have several favorites here:

    — The Augusta (Ga.) Green Jackets: Green crown, purple bill, a purple A combined with a graphic of a yellow jacket holding a bat and wearing a green jacket (it’s the home of the Masters, get it?).

    — Savannah (Ga.) Sand Gnats: Just a coincidence that it’s another Georgia team. This one has a khaki crown, dark green bill and the image of a sand gnat swinging a bat. I only wear it during the summer. Khaki would be inappropriate any other time.

    — Thunder Bay (Ont.) Whiskey Jacks: A teal crown, purple bill and large TB logo behind a superimposed image of a whiskey jack, a small, white bird indigenous to the region. Thunder Bay is on north shore of Lake Superior, I believe. When I wear this hat, people seem to think the TB stands for Tampa Bay and want to know what Tampa-area team this represents.

    On other subjects broached in today’s post:

    — I would love to see the Rams back in blue and white. The George Allen era ushered in a simple, all-white uniform with solid blue shoulder loops and blue stripes on the pants. Those Rams teams in the mid- to late-60s were always tough and in the playoff hunt almost every season, even though they never got to the top. But it was an intimidating uniform, especially with the Fearsome Foursome. The blue tops that they wore occasionally? Not so much.

    — A team I would like to root for but can’t get past their awful uniforms? Easy. The Seattle Seahawks. The Seehox once had one of the great NFL uniforms, in both blue and white. The metallic silver helmet, the silver pants, the striping, the number fonts. Classic all the way. Just check out photos from the Curt Warner/Dave Krieg/Cortez Kennedy/Kenny Easley era.

    Then they decided they needed an update. Some shade of dull blue no one seems to have given a name to. Wacky number font. A monochromatic mess, as dreary as a December Sunday in Seattle. The white road uniforms are slightly better and I’m hoping they will decide that since they won the Super Bowl in white, they will start wearing white at home as well. I doubt it, however.

    I’ve never understood why NFL teams want to look like high school teams. The Cardinals being another example of a team with a classic look that pretty much tossed it into the dumpster for some “contemporary” look that is hard to look at. Their old whites, especially, with their distinctive striping in cardinal with black accents. Why would you want to get rid of that?

    My favorite NFL team is the Pittsburgh Steelers, but I’m always distressed watching them with that goofy number font on their jerseys. I know, I know….it matches the font on the helmets. But so what? The black and gold uniform always had a workingman’s feel to it and the old block numerals were the perfect complement that said to opponents “This is going to be a rough afternoon.” And the TV numbers that were not quite on the shoulder, but not exactly on the sleeve either. Nobody else wore that and while it might have taken some getting used to (like the one-side helmet decal), it was the perfect look for this team. Not any more, apparently.

    The Cleveland Browns have had the same basic uniform design for about 70 years now. The unis were reportedly designed by Paul Brown. They changed from a white to an orange helmet in the early 1950s, but their whites are as close to a perfect uniform as I’ve ever seen. Put a photo of Brandon Weeden in Cleveland whites next to one of Marion Motley dressed the same and the differences are small.

    But I’m sure Nike will find a way to fuck it up with some whack “unique” number font that is almost indecipherable and a bunch of gratuitous graphic touches that supposedly honor the Browns’ and Cleveland’s history (more like “A tale told by an idiot. Sound and fury signifying nothing.”….The Nike graphics, not the history).

    End of rant.

    From Thunder Bay. In the past year got some Whiskey Jacks items used from a local thrift store and off local Kijiji:
    link

    link

    Also have items of current team, Bordercats of the Northwoods League, but their logos and colours aren’t as interesting.

    Someone on the Thunder Bay Kijiji is what looks like single colour Whiskey Jacks logo t-shirts in various colours and plans to make the teal and purple Whiskey Jacks hat available next month (they will ship but no idea of the cost):
    link

    Someone put together a super cut of every Stanley Cup presentation since 1949.

    What shocked me was if you pay attention to years 1949, 1950, 1957, and 1959 you see that the top portion of the trophy was detachable!

    You can see clearly in the 1950 portion the players lifting the top portion off of the drum.

    Has anyone else known about this?

    link

    QOTD: Intern Mike Chamernik: What is it that you like about the Dback’s “A” cap? In my opinion, as a Phoenix resident and fan of the Diamondbacks, I think they are the worst caps in the MLB. Although, I do like the “A” better than the atrocious snake “D” cap. That thing is like a disney-fied wal-mart kids special to me.

    My favorite on-field cap is either the Tigers, Royals, or Dodgers. I don’t have issues wearing other team’s merch, except to games vs that team.

    I rarely wear caps, but in the past I’ve had Red Sox, Padres, and late 90s interlocking “MB” brewers. Also, minor league caps were my favorites in the mid 90s in high school. I had the Ottawa Lynx and wore it out.

    I love the sedona red and black color scheme, and I like the geometry of the A – the jagged lines, the angles. I can see why people don’t like the Diamondbacks hats (and their unis in general) but I love them.

    Does the snake head and fangs within the “A” add to your like, detract from it, or not make a difference one way or the other?

    I forget what it’s called (not subliminal advertising, but “hidden” features within a logo – like the arrow inside the FedEx logo, or the Brewer MB/glove ball combo, or the snake head within the Dbacks “A” cap), but I think that’s what makes the “A” cap pretty interesting… just not as good as the classics.

    How come D-Backs junked that white cap they started out with back in 1998?

    Royals wore a gray cap on the road for a while, too. Why did they stop?

    I have a few, and in no particular order:
    – Tigers caps, home and road
    – Former Lakeland Tigers cap (think the secondary tiger-thru-the-D logo of the 90s, with an Old English L instead)
    – West Michigan Whitecaps, from the inaugural season; disappointingly not white, but black
    – Expos trois-couleur (a/k/a pinwheel). It’s a 47 brand; fit is not good, and they put the name on the back, but it’s wrong. Think back: the Expos originally had the pinwheel cap with the lower case wordmark, and when they redid the uniform to the solid blue cap with pinstriped home kit, they also changed to the script wordmark. Guess which one they used on the 47 cap? That’s why I come here every day, so I don’t feel like the only person that ever noticed such things.

    BTW, in years past I had an authentic Expos cap, purchased in Montreal, so (bonus!) of course it was in both languages. Don’t believe it was a New Era, maybe AJD? This would have been around 77 to 79.

    In response to Mike’s query of the week:

    I don’t have a favorite baseball team, so I wear hats based on their color scheme and/or cap logo. My three favorites are:

    1) link (love the style of the letters (typography and this is my favorite color scheme)

    2) link (I love all things seattle and I like the colors. Side note: I’ve never actually been to Seattle but I’m mildly obsessed with the city. Everyone I know thinks I’m weird.

    3) the Ball in glove brewers cap that Mike already linked to above. (One of my favorite logos, ever. So brilliant.)

    Those hats are nice. The Mariners have a really sharp hat, and I like the teal.

    Why can’t New Era release this hat WITHOUT the new era logo on the side? I would love to have this hat in my collection.

    link

    Last year when I was in Seattle I was offered a cup of coffee in a Derry City mug. Being a staunch Bray Wanderers supporter I obviously declined. Actually, I wouldn’t generally have cared, that kind of tribal fandom always leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Halfway around the globe however, I felt I had to stand up for my hometown.

    QOTW, Part 1: My favorite MLB cap belongs to the Toronto Blue Jays. I love a good graphical (as opposed to textual) logo, and the Blue Jays’ is one of the best in baseball. It’s well-balanced, easy to decipher even from moderate distances, and looks great with that splash of red from the maple leaf against the royal blue crown.

    The Baltimore Orioles are a close second. The cartoon bird is one of the most fun and whimsical logos in baseball. I like both the home and road versions for different reasons. The white front panels on the home version have a great retro ’80s feel that reminds me of watching baseball as a kid. But I think I prefer the black front panels of the road version, which gives the cap a more cohesive look.

    The Angels have my favorite cap with a textual logo. I love the little graphical flourish of the halo around the top of the A. I’m not always a fan of beveling, but I think it works on the Angels’ cap to give the A some depth against the red background of the rest of the cap.

    I have been known to become a fan of a team because I like their hat and want to wear it. The Brewers ball in glove hat is a prime example of this. It’s why I have something like 9 “favorite” MLB teams.

    The Brewers ball in glove hat is the best. It’s a shame that they don’t wear their alts full time because their regular uni is one of, if not the absolute, worst in the league.

    Agreed, John H.

    The pin-striped Brewers ensemble was a classic.

    Would love to see the Nationals come out in those mid-50s Senators pinstripes with the big, block W on the left breast.

    I have several MLB caps that I rotate through. The Expos were my team and I have one of their caps but I have no problem wearing other teams.

    I also have a bunch of jerseys because I love nice uniforms (go ahead, call me a weirdo) but I’m too old to wear them out of the house unless I’m showing off pride and support for one of my teams at a game or during a successful season.

    I used to wear any jersey that I owned when I was younger but now I would hate to be thought of as a NY Rangers fan if I were to go out wearing my beautiful white Henrik Lundqvist jersey while I actually bleed the black and gold of the Bruins.

    QOTW: As my kids were growing up and going through little league, I would usually buy the hat of the same MLB team as the team that my sons were on and wear that to their games. Sometimes the league used different colors for the LL team than the MLB team, so I would improvise and get the MLB cap that was closest to the LL team’s colors.

    As for my non-Phillies favorites:
    1. Brewers glove logo
    2. Tampa Bay “1979” faux-back
    3. White Sox 1984 throwback
    4. A’s traditional green w/yellow bill
    5. Orioles white panel/orange bill throwback

    QOTW – I have hats from several teams because for a while I was buying a hat for every stadium I went to and/or every team I saw. I have Marlins and Rockies hats from very early in their existence (either first or second season, I think), Dodgers, Padres, O’s, Yankees, Mets from the final season of Shea, and both red and blue Nats hats. I almost never wear any of them except the Nats, although since I live in LA, I did get caught up in a little Dodger mania during the playoffs last year and broke out my old Dodgers cap.

    I could be talked into wearing Broncos colors because several members of my family have lived in Colorado and are major Broncos fans – but only if it was the old bucking bronco / lighter blue colors.

    As for college, I went to Towson University in Baltimore, but I root for UMD. I have no interest in most of their stuff now that Under Armour has Oregonized them, but I have a Fear the Turtle cap. I also wear a UVU sweatshirt because it’s warm and one of my nieces went there. My sister teaches at Virginia Commonwealth, so I’d wear their colors. And though I hate pretty much everything about the Texas Longhorns, I love the burnt orange. Not enough to wear it, but…almost.

    ” I also wear a UVU sweatshirt because it’s warm and one of my nieces went there.”

    Forgive my ignorance. UVU – Utah Valley University? (I can’t come up with any other school whose initials are “UVU.”)

    QOTW, Part 2: I’m not opposed to wearing merchandise of teams I don’t root for, although over the years I have developed a certain set of protocols for doing so.

    When I was in my teens, I bought just about any MLB cap that I liked the looks of, as long as I didn’t actively dislike the team. (This ruled out the Yankees and the Giants, among a few others.) I also tried to buy a cap for any baseball team whose stadium I visited, major or minor leagues.

    I don’t have as many caps as I used to, but I’m still generally okay with wearing baseball caps of teams that I don’t necessarily root for. I only wear caps, though. I won’t wear any other apparel – t-shirts, jerseys, polos, pants, etc. – of other baseball teams.

    I don’t wear memorabilia (hats or otherwise) for other pro sports teams I don’t root for besides baseball teams. I don’t necessarily have a “rule” against it. For some reason, other pro teams’ gear just doesn’t appeal to me.

    Conversely, I seem to have acquired a rather substantial collection of merchandise from college teams that I don’t root for. My general rule is that if I’ve had a meaningful visit to a school (something like a walking tour of of the campus or a couple-day stay) or have a good friend or relative who went there, I’m okay wearing their apparel. I lean toward caps, but I also have a few t-shirts and sweatshirts.

    When I wear the cap of a team that I’m not a fan of, I usually choose it to roughly coordinate with whatever else I’m wearing. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but I’m not going to top a green shirt with a blue and red Cubs cap.

    Wearing apparel of teams I don’t root for can create some awkward moments, though. For example, a University of Virginia fan looked at me like I’d let him down when I didn’t know the correct response to his hearty “Wah-hoo-wah!” cheer after he spotted me wearing a cap with UVA’s crossed swords logo.

    And then there was the time I got taunted by a table full of Georgia Tech fans at a restaurant after the Yellow Jackets beat North Carolina. Unbeknownst to me, the game was on the TV just over my shoulder. As luck would have it, I just happened to be wearing a UNC hat a friend had given me. Of course, I’d picked it out on the sole basis that it went well with the blue and white plaid shirt I was wearing.

    I feel your pain: There’s a guy at my train station who always says “Big game tonight” when we pass, and I always have to double check my hat to see who’s playing.

    Great responses, everybody. I thought I might have been alone with wearing other teams’ gear, but I’m glad that’s not the case.

    Also, I think the Oakland A’s have great hats, too! The green with the yellow bill and the Olde English “A” is really neat.

    QOTD1: I have to say, Milwaukee’s ball-in-glove hat is fantastic. I loved it when I was a kid, and I love it now. If the Expos were still a franchise they might win, but for now, the Brewers take the cake.

    QOTD2: Growing up, I tried to collect as many hats as I could. I loved the ‘old-time’ baseball clubs like the Yankees, Red Sox, Pirates, Reds, Phillies, etc. Growing up in Kansas City, my tastes have trended to my home teams. I love how the major sports franchises here have pretty much stuck-to-their-guns with regard to uniform design. Nowdays, I literally cannot wear another team’s gear. I only wear Royals, Chiefs, Sporting KC, and Jayhawks apparel.

    QOTW: What is your favorite on-field MLB hat (not necessarily one you own, but your favorite that the players wear)?

    My favorite is the Cleveland Indians’ navy cap with the red block ‘C.’ Classy and simple. I’m an Indians fan, and while I like Chief Wahoo, I’ve wanted them to return to a simpler look for a long time. The cream home alts and the road grays do it for me.

    And do you have any issues with wearing merchandise of teams you don’t root for?

    It depends. I wouldn’t place a Yankee or Tiger cap on my head for all of Bill Gates’ money, but I went to more than my fair share of Pirates games as a kid, so I grab my Buccos cap when I’m headed to PNC Park, and I live in DC, so I pull for the Nats because I’ve been here for so long and I have so many Nats fans for friends, but I NEVER wear them when I’m not going to the game. It’s sad, too, because the cap that I have which seems to look the best of any hat I own is my Nats cap. Every time I see it I wish it was a Tribe cap.

    A bit off topic here, but if you’re an alum of one school, but did grad work at another, rival school, to which should be your allegiance?

    I’m an Oregon alum, but did some work at Washington State for a few years.

    Have a fair amount of Duck gear (and UCLA, Notre Dame, Tennessee and even Cal Poly, none of which I have any connection with) but zero from Wazzu. Just not that into them.

    Great question Buck! Personally, I only have an undergrad degree, but I remember talking to the guy next to me at the 2000 Pitt/Penn State game at Three Rivers Stadium (which was the last in the series until it restarts again soon). He was a Penn State fan but told me he got his master’s at Pitt.

    My guess is more people associate with their undergrad school. It’s more romantic, a lot more thought goes into it. A lot of people go to games and support the team as an undergrad, not so much after that, unless you go right after your undergrad. I think a lot of people end up going to grad school later in life and they go somewhere that might be out of convenience to where they live, work, etc.

    Your allegiance should be wherever you want.

    Speaking of rivals, anyone ever root for two rivals equally? Back when I was a kid, I couldn’t choose between Pitt and Penn State. I rooted for both separately, and when they played each other I just wanted a good game.

    “Speaking of rivals, anyone ever root for two rivals equally?”

    I’m close to that when it comes to Iowa State and Iowa. As I mention in a post below, I have degrees from both schools. Although I root for my undergraduate alma mater (Iowa State) when they play each other, I don’t have too much trouble being happy for whichever team wins. I definitely enjoy it more when both teams acquit themselves well.

    I agree with Vilk and BvK.

    I enjoy seeing Washington, Wazzu and Oregon State do well. As an Oregon alum and fan, I want those rivalry games to be meaningful with something on the line.

    I’d like to see Chris Petersen get the Huskies back to where the Ducks aren’t pounding them like 10 years in a row, with each win by at least 17 points. I don’t want to see the series go back to the days when the Huskies dominated but it would be nice to be a little more competitive.

    I also don’t want the series to turn into what the Civil War became for a while. For a while, it was like if Oregon State could keep it close, it was almost like a loss for Oregon.

    Can;t remember the last time the Ducks lost to Washington State. I mean, I’m sure it’s probably not all that long ago, but I’d have to look it up. Yeah, the Cougars have been that bad.

    But overall, I want the rivalry games to be something to look forward to and not just another date on the schedule.

    The only team I never get tired of seeing the crap kicked out of is Stanford. it can’t happen too often to a nicer bunch of guys. Well, them and Colorado — although the Buffs looked so clueless against Oregon a couple years ago I almost started to feel sorry for them.

    “[I]f you’re an alum of one school, but did grad work at another, rival school, to which should be your allegiance?”

    My theory is that if you were a student a school, regardless of whether it’s grad school or undergrad, it’s your prerogative to root for their sports teams if you wish. That remains the case even if you attended rival schools.

    For me, however, my primary loyalty lies with my undergraduate alma mater. I consider the college experience such a singular and formative time in an individual’s life that it trumps the influences of many other life stages.

    I spent several years growing up about a half hour’s drive north of the University of Iowa campus. My family and I went to plenty of sporting events over the years and I developed a strong rooting interest in the Hawkeyes.

    Things got complicated when I went to Iowa State University for my undergraduate degree. My loyalties were torn at first. I had no trouble being a fan of the Cyclones, but I was conflicted over whom to cheer for when the played Iowa. The longer I was in Ames, however, the more I grew to love my undergraduate experience. Eventually there was no conflict, and Iowa State topped the list of my favorite college teams.

    I still consider myself an Iowa fan, however. I root for them whenever they play anyone but Iowa State. That loyalty was solidified when I went to Iowa for my graduate degree.

    But Iowa State is still my first loyalty. The memories and friendships I made there remain just a bit more significant than my experience as a graduate student at Iowa.

    I would venture to guess that most people feel more strongly connected to their undergraduate school – first time away from home, living in the dorms, the “college experience,” etc.

    That is certainly true for me as I cheer for both UCLA (undergrad) and Georgetown (law school), but have a much stronger connection to UCLA. I went so far as to wear UCLA gear whilst in the Georgetown student section of a Georgetown-UCLA game. I probably wouldn’t feel safe doing that at a UCLA-USC game. Then again, I didn’t apply to USC for law school as I could not stomach the idea of being a Trojan.

    Thank you. I thought my eyes were deceiving me.
    I hope it’s tied on with a string up the sleeve of his uniform!!

    It’s one of those “mittens” baserunners wear (not worn during the at bat). I guess it protects previous injuries or prevents new injuries to hands and more likely their fingers when sliding/etc. on the bases.

    QOTW–Baltimore’s cartoon bird cap is my clear favorite–good on the team for not taking itself so damn seriously and injecting some whimsy and playfulness into their identity. Less beveling and angry animals means greater happiness.

    For whatever reason my feelings toward wearing team apparel has become complicated only in the past year or two. I won’t wear any pro team apparel for teams other than those I root for, with the exception of minor league teams. I used to travel a lot for work and liked to go to any minor league stadia near my clients and pick up an item. If someone in Boston has a question about or enjoys my Inland Empire 66ers shirt, I’m fine with that, but someone asks me if I’m from St. Louis because I’m wearing a Blues t-shirt, I just feel silly, same as wearing an Old Navy t-shirt featuring the name of a bar or a motorcycle shop that doesn’t exist.

    The only exception to this is for jerseys I bought in the past that have, by providence alone, become somewhat cool. Calgary Flames seatbelt Theo Fleury? Sure. Sabres Pat LaFontaine? Sure. Blue Jackets Rick Nash? Not for another 10 years and with some HOF-caliber performance.

    I also don’t have a problem wearing any random college team’s stuff, surely due to attending a college with virtually zero D-1 achievement.

    I’m an Oakland A’s fan but all through college I wore a new era 5950 (the ONLY hat I wear) original style Toronto Blue Jays (white front panel) cap.

    Went to LIDS with the wife last week to see what was new and she was encouraging me to get a home Baltimore Orioles cap. She’s not a sports fan and she thought the black, orange and white cap with the “penguin” on the front looked good. I had a good laugh, told her it was supposed to be an oriole and DID NOT buy it. LOL

    I wish I could find (or they made) a new era 5950 Indianapolis Indians “pin wheel” cap like they had in the 1980’s when they were a Montreal Expos affiliate. It was a great looking hat, basically just like the Expos except instead of that funky “M”, it had a nice, cursive “I”… They offer a non new era replica at Victory Field and online, but it wouldn’t fit my big head.

    Are you talking about the ’47 hat? I have that one (got it at Victory Field a few years back) I have a big head, but the XXL if you can find it SHOULD do you right.

    I will not wear caps of teams that I cannot stand. Cardinals/Mets/Yankees/Red Sox/Brewers gear will never be found anywhere near where I reside/work, etc.

    I do, however, have a bunch of caps for other teams. Due to the relatively small size of my head, I can’t wear the traditional on-field caps. A few years ago, I grabbed one of the New Era 3930 BP hats. This was the first round of that type and the Sm-Med size fit me perfectly. Later versions of these caps are markedly larger and I now look for the Kid versions of these types of cap. New Era only had these caps around for a couple years and then put out that crappy cap with the half moon additional team color above the ears. Those were dogs.

    I have a steady rotation of:
    Cubs: (with the walking Cub logo (the best logo in my opinion)and red trim along the edge of the bill. It’s showing its age and that saddens me.

    D-backs: Black cap with the old snake biting the baseball logo. Purple trim along the edge of the bill. link & link

    Braves: My latest fave because it fits so well. It’s a kid size and it’s lovely. link

    Rays: Old cap before all the piping started – Green scheme! My parents are snowbirds and I like the Rays a bit…..Just like the

    DC: Cool design – DC’s outlined in gold. This, but in all dark blue: link

    LA: Rarely get to wear it as it’s a newer version and it’s a bit too big for my head. Simple all blue with LA in white.

    Kansas City: I’ve got a green cap with the interlocking KC from the A’s days…..It’s a beaut – but not a 3930.

    As an aside – on every page I landed, this dude showed up – every page! link

    No one will read this since it’s late in the day, but here I go anyway…

    OTW 1: Brewers ball-in-glove throwback, or as I like to call it – the four fingered glove (three fingers plus the thumb).

    QOTW 2: It’s fun to see how each person has developed his/her own set of rules as to how wearing team merchandise relates to that person’s own loyalties. I’ll limit my response to baseball otherwise we’d be here all day.

    DODGERS- I’m a Dodger fan and wear my Brooklyn Dodgers hat is the one I wear the most. I have two Dodgers jerseys that I only wear to games.

    A’S – My wife is from Oakland, so I’ve adopted them as my AL team. I have a home (yellow brim) hat that I wear to games.

    ANGELS – Living in Orange County, the Angels are the nearest team to me. I don’t actively support the Angels but I don’t dislike them either. I will cheer for the Dodgers or A’s if they are in Ahaheim but will generally cheer for the Angels otherwise. I refuse to actually purchase any Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim merchandise so I wear California or LA Angels (PCL) hats to games, or the one red Angels giveaway hat that I have.

    PADRES/BLUE JAYS – I have a game worn Jose Cruz (Jr.) Padres jersey and a Jose Cruz (Jr.) Blue Jays t-shirt. I purchased the Blue Jays shirt when I was at Skydome simply because we share a last name and I sort of liked him as a player. I bought the Padres jersey at their off-season garage sale, again because we share the same last name. I wear the Blue Jays shirt around town as it seems fairly non-threatening to the Dodgers/A’s and my daughter’s school is called the Blue Jays. I don’t really have many opportunities to wear the Padres jersey but will break it out if I go to San Diego and the Pads are taking on the Giants.

    ORIOLES: I bought an Orioles giveaway jersey before I went to a Yanks-O’s game because there was no way I was going to cheer for the Yankees. I’d probably buy a jersey/hat/shirt of any random team that was playing the Giants if I was going to a Giants game and they weren’t playing a team for which I already owned merchandise.

    MINOR LEAGUES: I own several minor league t-shirts and hats with my favorite being a San Bernardino Stampede (now IE66ers hat). link

    D’BACKS: I have a pinstriped D’backs jersey circa 1998 that I’ve worn a few times to Spring Training and to a D’backs regular season game. I don’t really care one way or the other about the D’backs and don’t see them as a rival to the Dodgers, and they have one of the best Spring Training facilities in the Cactus League. If a game mattered, I certainly wouldn’t cheer for the D’Backs and have worn my Dodger jersey to the BOB/Chase before as well.

    RED SOX: I purchased a “B Strong” hat last year and occasionally wear this out and have worn it to Fenway.

    CERVECEROS: I bought a Cerveceros shirt at a Brewers spring training game and have worn it a couple times to spring training games.

    CUBS: I have a Cubs t-shirt that I wear to spring training games.

    WHITE SOX: I have a Konerko BP jersey. Konerko started out with the Dodgers and I’ve always rooted for him. I went to a White Sox game in Chicago a fews years ago and bought this on eBay for super cheap.

    A’S: In addition to the Oakland hat I wear, I also have a couple giveaway jerseys, and an Oakland Oaks (PCL) shirt and hat.

    TAMPA: I have a 2005-07 white Rays jersey with built in green sleeves. I got it for cheap at Ross or some such place. I love the look of the jersey but it just stays in the back of the closet.

    CONCLUSION: Perhaps I am a terrible person since I tend to buy gear to support almost any home team I go see, or maybe I’m a typical American consumer.

    Final thought: I don’t consider any of the teams for which I have merchandise to be a rival of the Dodgers. The Angels and Padres are little brothers to the Dodgers at best. Their fans hate the Dodgers, but I am generally indifferent to them. Having both A’s and Angels gear is a bit more dubious on a moral level but I’m the one who has to live with that.

    “No one will read this since it’s late in the day”

    Wrong. ;-)

    (By the way, interesting explanations for an eclectic mix of baseball apparel.)

    I just couldn’t bring myself to wear a cap from a team I don’t follow.

    Wish I could – the link is perhaps my most favorite caps ever. The gorgeous color scheme, the simple and distinctive logo. Beautiful.

    But I can’t do it, so I’ll stay with my teams. But I’m no fan of the Brewers’ current logos, so it’s link. And at the riks not just the Brewers; dirty little secret is that I don’t really love the Packers’ logo on purely aesthetic grounds. I much prefer link.

    Then again, I’m a Brooklynite. That means I also get to wear link.

    My favorite, current on-field cap is the Brewers alternate with the MB ball and glove. I actually like the look of the yellow front panels as on their BP cap better though. As for wearing other teams, I will wear the caps of other teams (except Dodgers and Rangers – 2 teams I despise), particularly if they’re playing a divisional opponent of the Giants (my favorite team). My son played on a Little League Dodgers team and I refused to wear an “LA” cap, and opted for the Brooklyn version instead, in some way to at least honor Jackie Robinson, not the Dodgers.

    Can someone tell me the difference (besides price $34.99 vs. 21.97, and MLB back logo) between these two New Era caps (1914 Chicago Feds, 1912 NY Giants)?

    link

    link

    The Chicago cap looks like it’s a slightly deeper shade of blue than the New York Giants cap. That’s totally worth an extra $13.02.

    Re: Question of the day

    I’m a huge baseball fan, specifically a huge Mets fan. I love baseball hats so my favorite hat is my classic blue with orange “NY” on field hat. It’s well broken in, very comfortable, and fits great. I have a habit of collecting and wearing MLB and MiLB on field hats. In that collection, I have a bunch of teams that I don’t necessarily root for. Just love the hats. During the baseball off-season, I tend to wear all different teams hats. During the baseball season, I tend to defer more to the Mets hats. Maybe crazy, but that’s me.

    I’ll be at that bizarre Asheville game and will take pics. It’s a really bad coincidence that the first time I’ll see my future home team play will be that game.

    I was at the grocery store tonight and I saw a guy wearing a Bucks sweatshirt. It’s rare to see a fellow Bucks fan in Chicago, so I wanted to go up to him and say, “Bucks baby, ohhhh yeahhhh!”

    But then I thought, what if he’s like me and he’s doing exactly what we’re discussing here today? I just kept walking.

    You should’ve given him the shout out! See my post below. I wear random gear specifically to spark excited commentary from strangers!

    The worst that happens is he says he just likes the look of the gear, and you’ve had a pleasant exchange with a fellow uni-phile.

    That’s an excellent point. Oh well, next time.

    But yes, a stranger giving me a compliment on a hat or shirt has happened a few times, and I enjoy it.

    Great QOTW!
    I want to address part 2 of the question. I am a huge proponent of wearing gear from teams that are not “my teams.” In fact, I find that I rarely wear a cap (or other paraphernalia) from “my” teams for one of two reasons: (1) to avoid hassle from strangers (as a Yankee fan who has chosen Boston as his home), or (2) because I am superstitious as all get-out, and I inevitably jinx my teams by wearing their gear in-season.

    My primary rule, like so many others, is that I will not wear gear from loathed teams (so, no Red Sox, Eagles, Cowboys, Patriots). I’ve made one exception: I own (and wear) a Ron Greschner Rangers jersey (the one with NEW YORK) on the front, because he was my first favorite player, before I saw the light and discovered the New Jersey Devils. My guideline for purchasing and wearing miscellaneous gear is a combination of aesthetic attractiveness and likelihood of sparking a conversation or a random “shout out” from another connoisseur of random sports gear. (I get all kinds of love for my Hakan Loob Flames jersey and Reijo Ruotsalainen Oilers jersey.)

    I actually find myself, living in Boston, wishing more people would wear random team gear. I got onto the T one morning and counted 8 Sox caps and 2 Bruins caps. And there I was, rocking my navy blue Nats hat with the DC on the front. The sheer lack of diversity among ball caps in Boston is perhaps the most striking visual example of Boston’s stubborn provincialism — at least vis a vis sports. It never ceases to amaze me what an outlier I am in wearing ANYTHING other than the local Big 4.

    In 2012 for the 100th anniversary of Fenway, the Red Sox played the Yankees. Makes sense to me. Why then, with surely several years to prepare for this, did the Cubs play Arizona for the 100th of Wrigley? Surely the Cardinals would have been much more appropriate. To me, playing Arizona is like if the Red Sox had played the Tampa Bay Rays for the 100th anniversary of Fenway.

    One thing that is surprisingly not mentioned (or I missed it terribly) is all the old players the Cubs brought out were in period appropriate jerseys.

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