By Phil Hecken
Last evening, to much fanfare, the St. Louis Blues unveiled new jerseys, and boy — did they score the proverbial hat trick with these beauties.
Let’s take a look, shall we? (Click on most photos to enlarge).
First the homes:
And now the roads:
And if you want, a short video.
Definitely a winner there. For those of you who don’t follow hockey (or have short memories), this is what the homes and roads looked like up until last night. Not only did they have the piping and cut known as the “Bettman Bib,” the rear of the blue jerseys had this annoying white stripe, which seemed to serve no purpose other than to highlight the “Reebok” logo. Likewise, the white jerseys had the same design, only using a dark blue stripe. The new sweaters eliminate this noxious element.
In fact, these new jerseys look like more of a harkback to what the Blues wore from 1998 through 2007 (before Reebok introduced the “Edge” template):
Bottom: New 2014-15 Jerseys
In fact, the main difference between the new sweaters and the 1998-2006 versions appears to be a new break (white stripe on the blue jersey, blue stripe on the white jersey) on the sleeve and hem, and a slightly tweaked collar. The diagonal striping on the sleeve has also been straightened out slightly.
While not “throwbacks,” these certainly harkback nicely. Gone are all the bumpersticker of the Bettman bib-era, and these return to a simplicity of the past. A very nice return. Well done, St. Louis. Well done.
Alouettes Unveil New Third Unis
By Mike Styczen
The Montreal Alouettes released their “signature” sets this week.
The unveiling took place at CFB Bagotville, near Montreal, as the uniforms are designed to honour the Royal Canadian Air Force’s 425 Tactical Fighter Squadron, the Alouettes.
The 425 Squadron has an official squadron patch and two unofficial patches. The unofficial patches form the basis for the signature helmet: three quarters of the helmet is red, and the top front quarter is blue. Very interesting looking, and very unique (and in my opinion a better look than the Calgary and Jacksonville multicolour helmets). The helmet also uses the stylized bird from the squadron patch, and in place of the ‘425’ of the patch substitutes ‘MTL’.
If the rest of the uniform were as interesting, it would be a winner. Unfortunately the uniform is a drab monotone gray. The most notable features are feathers (very similar to Oregon) on the shoulders and on the legs, and some pointless sock striping.
Honestly – I could see the Alouettes staying with this helmet permanently. A blue and red helmet is (in my mind) an iconic look for them. Paired with their distinctive red, white and blue uniforms it would be a much better look than their current silver helmets with the cartoon bird.
Unlike the other teams that have revealed so far, there’s no mention of a team motto hidden anywhere in these jerseys. If they don’t find a way to use ‘je te plumerai,’ I’m going to be very disappointed.
Collector’s Corner
By Brinke Guthrie
Back in the day, I always dug seeing that “Official Licensed Product” logo. This was before EVERYTHING had a logo. It usually meant I was standing in front of an NFL Shop display at Sears, feverishly calculating what Cowboys (and later, Bengals) stuff I could scam out of my mom.
• Check the packaging on this Rawlings-made Oilers jersey — it’s got the that official Seal Of Approval. And did anyone besides me (Bengals) have one of these zip-front sweaters with the pull-ring thing, like this Falcons model? Oh, let’s toss this 1970s Falcons thermal mug in there, too.
• Two KC Chiefs helmet logo thermal mugs here, too — one with the classic double-bar and the other with a lineman facemask.
• This McDonalds promo Red Sox fanny pack is also referred to as a “Butt Bag.”
• Here’s a nice Green Bay Packers poly-shell pullover from Starter — these were well made.
• Speaking of The Pack, here’s a pretty cool “NFL Heritage Series” poster for the Acme Packers.
• Are you a Cowboys fan? I had this Nike pullover that was released during their first tenure as team supplier- this is reversible and a very nice item.
• Now, do these look comfortable or what? A pair of 1980s Cubs shorts from Logo 7, the predecessor to Logo Athletic.
• Pat Patriot graces this 1970s NE Patriots belt, little chipping though — with one of those enameled helmet logo plaques used as the buckle.
• Yes boys & girls, there WAS a time when Nike didn’t own the NFL. In the late 90s, Puma was allowed to put their brand on NFL merch, like this Vikes crewneck sweatshirt.
• Look at the cover on this 1960 Colts @ Niners program– does this guy look like a scary clown or what?
• The seller of this auction has a few more different NFL carboard helmet displays for sale — this one is for the late 1960s Eagles look.
• This is a pretty nice looking NFL logo wall poster — the creator had to use two each for the Pats, Broncos and Bucs to make it 35 total- five rows of 7. (Wrong Jags logo, though. And the seller has a UK Yahoo address which means it’s most likely being printed in someone’s London basement, and no chance it’s an authentic item. Like so many things on The Bay.)
• A new style BP cap for the Detroit Tigers signed by Andre Dawson? Nope, a 1976 Denver Bears cap signed by Andre Dawson who played for them in ’76 (thanks to Gary Olson).
And now…a few words from Garrett McGrath
In 1989, three events would come to define NYC: the Central Park Jogger attack, the murder of Yusef Hawkins, and the election of the city’s first and only black mayor.
I discuss how these events unfolded and what they mean to us today in my article for The Wilson Quarterly.
Please check it out and share.
–Garrett
Uni Watch News Ticker
Today’s Ticker was mostly written & compiled by Garrett McGrath
Baseball News: In case you missed this, the Toronto Blue Jays are suing the Creighton Bluejays in order to have them change their similar looking logo (from Andrew Rader). … Is this the end of humanity? To help fans deal with their 4th straight losing season, the Minnesota Twins are giving away limited edition Zubaz pants at their Friday, September 19th game against the Cleveland Indians (from Graden Claassen). … “I went to the Cubs game on Friday for Kerry Wood bobblehead day and was struck immediately by what I thought was a stunning lack of detail: Wood didn’t appear to have a belt on,” says Jordan Mayblum. “Upon further investigation (the bobble was from his 20 K game), I found that every picture shows his jersey overlapping and obscuring his belt. So it’s really more stunning attention to detail. Thought I’d share.” … Curtis Granderson wore a Great Lakes Little League jersey in tribute to the Jackie Robinson West team (thanks, Paul). … Here’s a fantastic look at the evolution of the A’s logo (from Todd Radom). Also from Todd, this tidbit: The Philadelphia A’s played more than 8,000 games from 1901-54, but only wore “Athletics” on their unis for one season — their last.
NFL News: Are decorated thigh pads a thing? Has anyone else seen other players wearing them? … At least three people wore hybrid Redskins/Ravens jerseys to the preseason game on Saturday (from Tommy Turner). … After losing the rights for several years, Tudor Games is back to selling NFL uniforms for their electric football games (from Jim Vilk). … Part 1 in a series of in-depth looks at the history of the Carolina Panthers uniforms during their 20 year existence (from Jeremy Baker).
College Football News: Article explaining why Under Armour went conservative in their design of Notre Dame’s football jerseys (thanks, Paul). … Vanderbilt will wear black matte helmets at their opening game of the season (thanks, Phil). … The University of Pennsylvania added a fourth uniform for the upcoming season, a gun metal gray jersey with matching pants and red and blue down the sleeves (thanks, Phil). Here’s another shot, and one more. … The Idaho State new uniform has leaked online (thanks, Phil). … The Oklahoma Sooners are going to wear “traditional” uniforms for their home opener on Saturday (thanks, Phil). … “While there has been no official showing of Louisiana’s new uniforms, they do have this design on the posters, as well as they wore these uniforms to fan day Sunday,” writes Devin Porche “I just wanted to help you update the Ragin Cajun’s uniform situation.” … Is Iowa State going camo? The twittersphere is pretty sure those are ‘shopped (notice the player on the right in his regular red jersey, with media mulling about). Big thanks to Clint Richardson for finding that shot.
Hockey News: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum will be honored in this memorial patch that the New York Islanders will wear this season before the teams move to Brooklyn (thanks, Phil). It’ll be sad to see the team leave the old barn.
Soccer News: ESPN FC has posted a series of infographics on the kits of the Premier League. Pretty cool stuff (from Nathan Haas). … Last three from Yusuke Toyoda: Sporting Kansas City’s midfielder Benny Feilhaber wore (unofficially) the shortest shorts in MLS history. They are a new adidas prototype. … The Raith Rovers will pay tribute to WWI era teammates who fought and died in the war together with special kits. … Warrior Football, the kit manufacturer for Liverpool and Stoke City, will be re-branded as New Balance in 2015-2016.
NBA News: Great and well researched online video and article about the evolution of the Team USA Basketball jersey (thanks, Phil). Definitely worth a read and highly recommended.
Grab Bag: A New York Times article about the overuse of towels by competitors in tennis (thanks, Paul). … Yesterday, we shared information about how a hang bag manufacturer is making bags out of the Baggie wall from the old Metrodome. Turns out the company is already selling bags made from the Metrodome roof (from Patrick O’Neill). … Trek Bicycles honored retiring cyclist Jens Voight with a custom bike with unique details (from Sean Clancy). … SANFL team Glenelg has their sponsor’s name running diagonally across the yellow slash on the front of their jersey (thanks to Graham Clayton). … “The picture on Uni Watch less than a week ago about someone getting shot and killed in the stands at Polo Park triggered something else I remembered seeing,” says Will Scheibler. “From the ‘Looking Back’ article in my local paper (May 31, 2009). While it’s not completely clear in the reference that it was a ball player that got grazed by a bullet, the title of the article in one of the papers the next day (Aug 31, 1955) was “Bullet Grazes Ball Player’s Head During Game at Stadium”. I’d get the original 1955 news articles but the branch of the public library that has the local papers on microfilm is closed this week for renovations.” … Baylor Athletics’s Ferrell Center gets new hardwood floor (via @BaylorPride). So did Iowa State’s Hilton Coliseum (via Wes Peters). … adidas and Nike are promoting similar colors at the U.S. Open (h/t Cork Gaines).
And that’s it for today. In case you somehow missed it, yesterday Paul’s 2014 College Football Preview dropped over on the Mothership. Definitely worth a read. Thanks to Mike for the CFL roundup — should have another tomorrow as the Hamilton Ti-Cats will be releasing their third uni sometime today — also Brinke for the CC, and Garrett for the ticker. Make sure you give Garrett’s article a read too. OK? OK!
I’ll be back tomorrow — and so will Paul over on ESPN as his 2014 NFL Uniform Preview column will run. So be sure to check back then. You guys and gals have a lovely Tuesday.
Follow me on Twitter @PhilHecken.
Peace.
“Perhaps (the Cubs) decided to throw back to ’94 because that was the first time since 1908 they could say no other team won more World Series titles than them for that season.”
— Ryan M.
Maybe Creighton ought to sue the Toronto Blue Jays for taking their name since Creighton existed as the Blue Jays long before Toronto did. I hate this silliness.
It’s hard to claim a nickname as your own (although, dammit, aren’t there enough different kinds of bird for everybody to have a unique one?) but where Toronto may have a leg to stand is the bird’s presentation. Toronto has always used the vignetted profile of a bird’s head; Creighton probably would get a pass had they used a complete body, like the St. Louis Cardinals.
Right – “Bluejays” or “Blue Jays” are likely too generic to be a protected trademark. There’s clearly a case (though I don’t know if it’s a winning one) to be made against the logo.
makes me wonder if Toronto ever sued Creighton when Creighton was actually literally stealing Toronto’s logo in the 80s: link
The Toronto Blue Jays are not suing Creighton. They filed an opposition to Creighton’s federal trademark registration application with U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. There is a major difference between filing a lawsuit for trademark infringement and opposing someone’s application for trademark registration.
Looking at the collector’s corner item about the NFL logo poster, I never realized that all the NFL logos are either straight ahead or insinuating motion to the right. Except the Eagles
So… if Tudor just now got the NFL license back, why are they selling the Bills with red helmets and navy jerseys? Looks like it’s still the old Seahawks too.
I’m also really really tempted to fire up the photoshop and see what the Blues would look like using only shades of blue – IE, replacing the yellow with sky blue.
Let me know when they put some gold pants on the ‘Skins too!
PS: Their bouncing/expanding dropdown menus are Ay-Noy-Ing!!!
This is a pretty nice looking NFL logo wall poster – the creator had to use two each for the Pats, Broncos and Bucs to make it 35 total- five rows of 7. (Wrong Jags logo, though. And the seller has a UK Yahoo address which means it’s most likely being printed in someone’s London basement, and no chance it’s an authentic item. Like so many things on The Bay.)
It’s also using old versions of the Lions, Seahawks, Panthers, Bucs & Dolphins. Maybe it’s just a few years old.
I do like that the Raiders logo is in the middle though.
And its also not official because Dallas has their own licensing agreement… you won’t find any Cowboys logos on merchandise with the other 31 teams … a fact my cousin found out the hard way when he bought his son a set of NFL pajamas that had all the logos… well, except for his beloved blue star (hahahaha)
Minor grammar thing: an end parenthesis is missing in the baseball ticker.
I don’t understand Ryan’s quote.
There wasn’t a World Series that year, so every team won 0 for that season.
…yeah, kind of a dumb quote really
I’m a Cards fan; I like to find light-hearted ways to point out the futility of our rivals from Chicago’s north side. A bit of a stretch, sure, but how else do you explain their selection of 1994 for throwbacks? It’d be one thing if they chose to celebrate the anniversary in increments of 10 (i.e. ’94, ’84, ’74, etc.), but that’s not the case.
Why didn’t Toronto sue back when Creighton actually used their logo, maple leaf and all?
Well, I bet they have maple trees in Nebraska, but weaving them into the school’s mythology would take some doing. Tell me, did they use the baseball stitching when associating the insignia with different sports?
It’s possible that Toronto gave Creighton permission to use its logo back in the late ’80s and early ’90s. If Creighton was using the logo without permission, Toronto would have had a great case to sue Creighton for trademark infringement. Most likely, though, the issue would have been resolved with a cease and desist letter, long before it ever got to the lawsuit stage.
Didn’t click the UA/ND link because I know this isn’t the case, but I’d like to think they went conservative because they finally realized that outfitting the nation’s teenagers in neon everything, plastered with meaningless sayings is pretty dumb.
Eh. Kids will always like shiny stuff.
Though I wept a little tear for the English language here:
The team’s Shamrock Series jerseys are more unique.
I think warrior changing to new balance branding is prob a good thing. Kind of silly that new balance didn’t try to build their existing brand, like nike did when they got into soccer. Just hope they don’t do anymore of that silly camo look for soccer teams, no es bueno
I think they really wanted to blow up the Warrior brand, which was stuck in the lacrosse/Eastern Seaboard niche. And NB has a more staid image, with the serious runner crowd and the retro sneakers, while Warrior had the more aggro image that was more fitting with the soccer replica market.
That’s the first time I’ve heard anyone describe current soccer replica buyers as being one that is looking for an “aggro image.” While there are certainly soccer fans that are looking for a taste of hooliganism/bad old aggro days, I’d say they are in the minority. Perhaps, Warrior/NB finally realized that.
Maybe “aggro” wasn’t the right word, but there’s definitely something that Nike/Adidas/UA are going for that New Balance doesn’t seem to capture.
When I see NB, I think “runner dad”. Warrior seemed to fit better in the space where Eric Cantona is running an underground 3 vs 3 tournament in a repurposed freight ship.
UL-Lafayette, not Louisiana.
Yep. ULaLa (then University of Southwestern Louisiana)tried to change their name to University of Louisiana in ’84, but the state legislature actauuly passed a law forbidding them to do so.
The seem to be doing everything in their power to brand themselves as UL without legally changing their name.
And that’s foolish, for two reasons: they are never, ever, ever going to unseat LSU as the heart and soul of Louisiana collegiate football, so why try? And “Oooh-La-La” is the most entertaining school name in the country, so why not make the most of it?
Wow, the Blues’ unis look so much better. The enormously flared shoulder panels on the 2007 jerseys always looked clownish to me (and I’m glad Nashville didn’t use contrasting shoulders when they adopted that template a few years ago).
Another thing that makes me happy about the new Blues unis – no lace-up collars! (It’s still on the alternate, but it’s still and alternate.) It would’ve been nice to see the return of the pre-2007 collar pattern (New Jersey implements that style of striped collar well), but a solid collar is fine as well.
The stripes are nice and bold; they’re larger than the 1998-2007 stripes, and provide a nice traditional look without having to resort outright to past striping patterns.
Kudos to the Blues; they hit a home run. My quibble, and it’s a minor one, is that I’d like to see some striping on the breezers. Blank trousers aren’t the epidemic they used to be, but detailing on the pants is much appreciated.
I personally think the Reebok logo is too large and too prominent on the back of the sweater, but I guess it is better than having jersey sponsors on the front.
Major upgrade.
Nitpick time: Was I apparently mistaken that the old StL jersey had some reference to the St Louis Arch, especially across the back?
I’d say more of a ground rule double than a home run.
The 1979-84 jerseys were the best the Blues have had.
Another team rebels against the Reebok “template”! Much improved!
I agree with all of your points Rob, especially the emboldening of the striping.
Also the crest and numbering are perfectly sized. I’m glad they didn’t just make the alt jersey their primary, even though the alt had been much better than their primaries since it was introduced.
My only minor gripe is the inclusion of navy. The uniform would look even better if the light blue replaced every instance of Navy.
Hockey’s bounce back to tradition coming out of the 2007 RBK redesigns has been great (stadium series aside). It’s great to see so many hockey teams looking like hockey teams.
Yes! They basically eliminated all the shitty elements and reverted back to one of the best jerseys in hockey.
Penn: “We’re like the Oregon of the Ivy League.”
Yes. Yes you are.
Most interesting thing to me about the EPL infographic is how many sponsorships were from gambling/betting businesses. I guess neither the EPL or FIFA have the same qualms as American sports leagues about such.
For better or worth, the Brits have a more liberal attitude towards bookies – there’s a William Hill or a Ladbrokes in pretty much every city center in the UK. I suppose there are off-track betting locations in New York, but those are way more limited in scope and numbers.
Though a lot of the gambling kit sponsorship is targeted to the Asian market, where gambling is HUGE.
I guess one way of rationalizing it is that while low-level soccer does have a match-fixing problem, that’s more affected by organized crime that run underground gambling rings rather than the legal betting shops, who are better equipped and more willing to expose odd betting patterns.
Is the Blue in the new Blues sweater a lighter tone? It’s not as light as the 70s-early 80s sets, but it just seems lighter.
I believe many futbol stadiums in england have betting shops on the stadium grounds.
They do. Here’s a pic from White Hart Lane.
link
Not to mention sideboard ads encouraging viewers to place bets on the game. Can you imagine something like that during an NFL broadcast?
Re: Blues’ new sweaters. Sorry, not a fan of black in the uniform. Hasn’t black in the sports world “jumped the shark” yet? Must be a generational thing. For me, the Blues will always be blue and yellow.
That’s not black. It’s a dark blue. They’ve used that since the late 90’s pre-Edge jerseys.
It’s not black, it’s navy blue.
Tom and DJ are correct. It is navy blue. I guess my point is better expressed by quoting from SB Nation – St.Louis Blues Game Time by hildymac
“The use of the darker blue though, is where an issue lies. Because the navy blue is so dark, it verges on being black. And if you’re going that dark, there’s not much difference between the blue and black…… if you’re going to be blue, just own it and be blue and use a shade of blue that looks unmistakably blue.”
I see your point, but after the hideous red that creeped onto the jerseys from the mid-80’s through the horrid diagonal hems, the navy blue easily won me over when they added it.
Tom, You are correct about the red. Overall, the Blues possess one of my favorite sweaters and logos since they entered the league.
I know I’m in a minority but I like the navy on St. Louis. If any team were to have multiple shades of blue it would be the Blues.
With the inclusion of gold numbers and trim I think the Blues pull off that design feature better than most teams. Certainly better than the Jets and Blue Jackets. Or anybody in the NBA.
The Blues’ new unis are a big step up in overall design, but the navy blue has bugged me ever since they started using it.
One blue is enough imo: link
“The use of the darker blue though, is where an issue lies. Because the navy blue is so dark, it verges on being black. And if you’re going that dark, there’s not much difference between the blue and black…… if you’re going to be blue, just own it and be blue and use a shade of blue that looks unmistakably blue.”
In other words, “How much blacker could it be? Some. Some more black.”
For years, I thought the navy blue in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ uniforms was black, for exactly that reason. The more vibrant shades of blue marginalize the tiny amount of the hue in navy. In fact, navy blue was a mighty rare NHL color until the expansion that brought the Blue Jackets and Panthers, and suddenly it was everywhere.
The St.Louis Blues look like the St.Louis Blues again. A+
Not sure how many gamers we have here, but I got my copy of Madden at midnight, got home and immediately started playing. The biggest thing of note is that it does not have the new jerseys for the Eagles on it. I would have to do some digging to find the article, but the NFL basically regards the EA folks as a 33rd franchise. This means that they get the team jerseys and stadium blueprints at least a year or two out so they can make sure that the in-game details are as accurate as the real-life details.
Sadly, Madden has a number of uniform errors. The throwback uniforms are the worst. The Seahawks “1980’s” uniforms use the wrong shade of blue, the Patriots “1990’s” uniforms also use the wrong blue. The Titans/Oilers have a “1960s” uniform which is clearly intended to be the 1980’s (and the pant stripes are too thick). The Redskins’ 1994 throwback uniforms have white numbers instead of gold. The Raiders’ 2009 AFL throwback uniforms use the white shield from 1994 instead of the proper silver shield. The 49ers “1980s” helmet has the wrong logo, and the team’s 1996-2009 uniform isn’t even in the game for some reason. I’m sure there’s other issues as well, but those are the ones that bother me the most.
Madden does have a history of still getting things wrong. For a while the Eagles’ 1960 throwbacks (before the Eagles did the 1960s throwback a few seasons ago) had the current decal instead of the old silver wing. Last year the 1987 Throwback had no decal on the helmet.
I’m not looking at this as “Madden is perfect” but more as “We know that Nike is having issues with the Eagles’ jerseys, and apparently that issue lead to them not being in Madden on the release day”
Pretty sure the tweet about Feilhaber’s short was a joke. If you look they are clearly rolled up, so nothing new.
One other thing interesting about the Tudor NFL licensing….they have the Broncos in the blue jerseys and white only, not orange, which is now the main “dark” jersey.
Wow, a day of extremes. St. Louis changes their unis so much for the better, while Montreal adds an alt uniform that is beyond stupid looking. I love the superhero shot of the Montreal player with smoke in the air. Looks like that guy needs a shower (perhaps from the stinky uniforms).
You say “I could see the Alouettes staying with this helmet permanently”, yet in none of the links or pictures provided is a clear picture of the helmet.
I still have no idea what it actually looks like.
Lee
This one (it was in a linked photo, not inline)
link
Yeah, I see its blue in the front, and red in the back. But still, have no idea what it actually looks like.
Thanks though.
Lee
Really? Great and well researched evolution of the Team USA Basketball jersey?
Exactly 8 years ago to the day…
link
I am (surprisingly) liking the lime-green Slovenia uniforms in their friendly with the USA.
Here is a good SI article about the July 4 1950 semi-accidental shooting at the The Polo Grounds: link
One of the first tell tale signs the PG may NOT have a lot of time left.
The Iowa State unis have to be photoshopped. Look at the guy on the left, No. 63. He doesn’t have the shoulder stripes that the others do.
Todd Radom’s presentation of the Athletics evolution of the “A”/”A’s” is a bit inaccurate, if not misleading. The current iteration of their “A’s” emblem on the gold jersey did not emerge this season (2014). The gold jersey debuted in 2011. Now if 2014 is a reference point, then the new green alternate jersey would apply.
Come on, you guys are better than just typing whatever fans submit. The Twins Zubazpalooza has nothing to do with their losing seasons. A lot of teams have been doing Zubazpalooza for the last 3 seasons and they require a “special ticket” for a certain area and to choose size.