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And So It Goes…A Thank You To All

thank-you-road-sign

By Phil Hecken

Well, dear readers — we’ve arrived at the last Thursday in August — which means this is my last weekday lede (at least until Paul’s next vacation or next Summer, whichever comes first), and I wanted to take a minute to thank everyone for your support and for bearing with me these past four weeks. It’s been a fun ride, but I for one (and I’m sure many of you) am glad it’s over.* I am still amazed that for eleven months out of the year, day-in and day-out, Paul is able to provide amazing content for all of us to enjoy. It ain’t easy.

* (I’ll still be back tomorrow, but the lede will come from Morris Levin, who has been gracious enough to provide a segment for us every Friday during Paul’s sabbatical — Thanks, Morris!).

I’d like to thank all those who submitted columns during the month (and there are actually a few I didn’t get to — those will probably come on the weekends), and one I’d actually hoped to run today (a really GREAT column), but unfortunately the timing just didn’t happen.

I also want to offer my thanks to Johnny Ek, for taking a couple of my weekends while I tended to the weekday store, Brinke, for his “Collector’s Corner” every Tuesday, and especially Garrett McGrath and Mike Chamernik — the Uni Watch “interns.” Their invaluable assistance with the tickers during the month has been a tremendous help. Great work, all of you.

And I’d especially like to thank our leader, Paul, for having the faith in me to handle the month (not just for 2014, but for the past four or five years) while he takes a much-deserved break. The time off allows him to pump out some killer ESPN columns and recharge his batteries as we gear up for a great fall…

Speaking of the autumn…

I have once again assembled a great lineup of special segments and experts who’ll bring you many features in the coming months. First and foremost, I’m pleased to announce that Terry “TJ” Duroncelet will be back with his awesome “Sunday Morning Uni Watch” segment. That’s always a huge hit. Joining TJ will be Catherine Ryan, who’ll be returning for the “5 & 1” segment (and she’ll likely be joined by a couple of guests also providing a 5 & 1 over the coming weeks), and Tim E. O’Brien, who’ll be back with the “Duck Tracker” (and also a few other teams).

I also be back with Rob Holecko, who has firmly established the “UWFFL” will be back for another run, and Alex Rocklein will return with his “MLB Playoff Uni Tracker.” Of course, there will still be the colorizations and concepts, plus some new contests and other special sections.

I’m also pleased to introduce a new collaborator, Alex Gerwitz, who will be bringing us the “EPL Tracker.” What’s that, you ask? Well, let me introduce Alex and let him tell you all about it:

. . .

Hello fellow Uni Watchers,

There have been many great uni tracking projects over the years, but, surprisingly, I’ve never seen one for the English Premier League. This is meant to be a simple 3-color graphic showing shirt, shorts, and sock combinations for each match. If you want to see the actual uniforms…er, “kits”, you can find them all in the official Premier League handbook.

Alex

Thanks, Alex. And since the Premier League is already in full play, here is how the EPL tracker will work (click either image to enlarge):

EPL Week One

Week One

EPL Week Two
Week Two

. . .

But mostly, I want to thank all the Uni Watch readers and contributors for their support — that’s why we’re all here and what makes this blog so great. I can’t speak for Paul, but I know I couldn’t do it without you. You’re all aces.

And finally, this fall I will be (finally) completing my “Capstone” (basically a Masters’ Thesis), and it’s on a subject that has been a touchy one on Uni Watch for the past several years — the possible (probable?) renaming of the Washington Football team. If you would like to be considered for an interview on this topic (only serious queries) — I would love to talk to you. You can be for or against the renaming (I’m looking to hear both sides of the issue). If you have an interest (especially if you are a Native or a member of the media), please drop me a line.

OK, I’ve babbled on enough — I’ll be “back” tomorrow with one last post, then I kick off the weekends starting September 6th — and I can promise you you will NOT want to miss that one.

So, now I will turn the blog over to Paul, who has a few words himself.

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And now a few words from Paul: The New Yorker runs a weekly contest in which readers are invited to supply the caption to a blank cartoon. This week’s cartoon, shown above, is uni-related, so it would be great if a Uni Watch reader ended up as the winner. Submit your entries here.

And as long as I have you here:

•  I’ve written a new ESPN piece about the Blues’ new uniforms — check it out here.

• In case you missed it yesterday, my annual NFL season preview is now available over at ESPN.

• While we’re at it, my college football season preview, which was posted on Monday, is available here.

• You can still order a Uni Watch 15th-anniversary patch here.

• Uni Watch memberships are, as always, available here.

• I was in Chicago last weekend for a wedding, and while I was there I finally had the pleasure of meeting intern Mike Chamernik (and his lovely girlfriend, Stephanie) in person:

IMG_3784

Great to finally shake your hand, Mike — thanks for all your hard work and contributions to the site.

I also met up with Uni Watch reader Jordan Cutler, who’s part of the family that owns the landmark Chicago hot dog emporium Superdawg. He treated me and my friends Tim and Karen to free food and great stories (that’s Jordan in the center and Tim on the left, all three of us wearing the same sneakers; click to enlarge):

IMG_3792

Thanks so much for your hospitality, Jordan — and don’t forget to follow up on those illustrations we discussed!

My Chicago trip also included a trip to my friend Bob’s audio master studio, where I saw something very, very cool:

• Speaking of cool, a few days ago I was at a bar that had a little ritual I’d never seen before:

Okay, that’s enough for today. Tomorrow is the last day of my annual August sabbatical from the blog — I’ll be taking the site back on Saturday. check that, Johnny Ek will handle this weekend, and I’ll take the site back on Monday. Mega-thanks to Phil, Garrett, Mike, Ek, Morris, and all the other contributors who’ve kept things humming this month — you’re the best.

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Garrett McGrath - Cropped

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

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Mike's QOTW

Mike Chamernik’s…

Question of the Week

Every Thursday Intern Mike Chamernik poses a uniform-related question to the readership. Here’s today’s:

. . .

The other night I was looking into the team nicknames for some of the Chicago-area high school teams I cover. Normally, I run across a lot of standards, like the “Warriors,” “Wolves,” “Bulldogs” and “Wildcats,” but Genoa-Kingston had a gem. Their teams are known as the “Cogs.” The Cogs! I love it.

The nickname is unique without being gimmicky, and I enjoy the technical, automotive theme. I like that each player is known as a Cog – a part that makes the team as a whole run smoothly.

What are some of your favorite high school, college or minor league team nicknames, and why?

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Too Good For the Ticker


Too Good…

for the Ticker

Interesting detective story today from Jason Loomis:

Hey there,

I’ve been a long time reader of your site and big time Brewers fan. I have about 20 or so Brewers authentics in my collection. A few years ago, i sent in a pic of me in full throwback pinstripe uniform and you ran it on your site. Got a pretty cool response from other readers.

Anyways, on to my point here. I’ve long wondered what Prince Fielder has stitched on the inside of his jersey up near the top button. I’ve included pics from all 3 of his teams. I mostly noticed it of course watching him here in Milwaukee. Either way, at Miller Park this past weekend i found a game issued jersey from 2011 of his in a sale the team store was doing. Of course it had the patch, so i looked at it and found it says “Success”. I think thats amazing that he has that in there, and wonder if he changes it up or not. Either way it’s a cool uni detail that im not sure was ever covered on your site. If it was, my mistake.

Thanks for the time and keep up the great work!

Jason Loomis

Click on any images below to enlarge:

photo 1 copy

photo 2 copy

photo 3(5) photo 1(8)

photo 2(8)

And BOOM. Thanks for sharing, Jason!

OK, now onto the ticker…

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Today’s Ticker was written and compiled by Mike Chamernik

Baseball News: Here’s a color shot of the Phillies’ usher unis in this 1970 brochure (from Jonathan Daniel). … “Check out this screenshot of Kirk Gibson playing for the Michigan State Spartans,” says Ross Yoshida. “It shows him wearing 2-in-1 stirrup socks! I had no idea those things existed way back then as they didn’t really gain traction in MLB until the late 80s/early 90s.” … The Cubs called up Jorge Soler the other day, and he will be the first player in team history to wear No. 68. … Paul was at last night’s Mets game and spotted three fans wearing three different David Wright jerseys, all with incorrect NOB styles.

NFL News: A Seahawks fan has the team’s logo on his glass eye (from Brinke). … Here’s a look at how NFL teams found their brand footing (from Brinke). … Someone at the website Fiverr.com will design unis for your fantasy team for $5. Several members of Justin Cliburn’s league got their teams mocked up, and here are some of the best results. …The Packers quarterbacks wore all-denim outfits to their Welcome Back luncheon. Aaron Rodgers looks stunning in a denim fedora and bolo tie! (from Dennis McMillan).

College & High School Football News: New field design for UConn (from Phil). … West Virginia will go all-white versus Alabama in its season-opener. … Looks like this Nike graffiti slogan will be all over Minnesota’s TCF Bank Stadium this season (from Thomas Hack). … USF is an Under Armour school, but that didn’t stop coach Willie Taggart from posting a photo with a Nike-clad Bulls fan to Facebook back in May (from Josh Claywell). … Lost Lettermen graded the new college football unis (from Phil). … Looks like Oregon State will wear white helmets for the Beavers’ home opener this weekend (from Andrew Edwards). … Texas A&M might wear all-white tonight, too (from Phil). … Boston College’s football equipment staff has its own Twitter account and they posted a shot of the crew getting the helmets ready. Can’t miss the Under Armour logo in the foreground, though (from Andrew Muccigrosso). … Florida State will wear helmet stickers for the Kidz1stFund. … New helmets for Abilene Christian (from Phil). … “Vanderbilt marketing put out a pic to show what they are wearing [today],” says William Edge. “However on the actual new black helmets, the back bumper is black, not white. Also the star “V” on the pants is on the side, not on the front of the hip as shown in the photo. Sloppy work.” … Murray State has a new helmet, complete with a cool racing stripe, and new home jerseys. The team switched logos and is wearing the alternate logo on the sleeve. This news comes from Zach Bogard, a punter for the Racers. How about that for a first-hand source? … “Here’s a pic tweeted out by a player for Las Vegas’ Bishop Gorman of its helmet to be worn this weekend against Anaheim, Calif.’s Servite,” says Jeff Seals. “This is what they wore last week against Arizona’s Brophy Prep. They’re the Oregon of high school football.”

Hockey News: Darin Wernig wrote a book on the history of St. Louis hockey, titled “Gateway City Puckchasers.” Cool stuff! The book will be on sale in late November but you can preorder here. … “The Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League posted on its Facebook page today the players’ head-and-shoulders photos for the upcoming season,” says Mike McLaughlin. “Some of the new, official photos show CCM branding on the sweaters while some don’t have any front branding. Interestingly enough, in pictures from training camp earlier this month the sweaters have Reebok wordmark branding (some on the front, some on the back).”

NBA News: A shop in Hoboken, New Jersey, specializes in selling outdated Knicks and Rangers apparel (from Phil). Very interesting. Related: I just bought a LeBron Noche Latina “El Heat” shirt-jersey on clearance. … Lammert Wijnsma made some awesome personal logos for Nerlens Noel and Andrew Wiggins. … Wiggins took some photos in his new T-Wolves uni the other day (from Phil). … Brinke reports that Chris Paul’s new Jordan shoes have a Chevron logo on the bottoms, in honor of Paul’s grandfather. This reminds me of my favorite SportsCenter piece ever, and the reason I’ve been a CP3 fan since 2002. Yes, it’s dusty in here.

Soccer News: Watford’s new away kit is a throwback to what the club wore in 1914 (from Graham Clayton). … During the Steaua-Ludogorets UEFA Champions League match today, Ludogorets goalkeeper Vladislav Stoyanov was redcarded in the last minute of extra time. As Ludogorets had no substitutes left, they were forced to use defender Cosmin Moti for the last minute and then the shootout. As goalkeepers have to wear a separate-colored jersey, but Moti did not have his own, he had to borrow one from substitute goalkeeper Ivan Cvorovic, which of course had Cvorovic’s NOB (thanks to Gregory Koch).

Grab Bag: A study found that tennis outfits impact on-court results (from Phil). … Fashion retailing company Zara scrapped selling kids shirts that looked like concentration camp uniforms (from Brinke). … The captains from teams in the 2014-15 Aviva Premiership — England’s top pro rugby union league — have great socks (from Scott Sidor). … Here’s an NFL Films video of the original National Lacrosse League from 1975. “Wood sticks, short shorts, modified helmets,” says Chase Martin. … Jeremy Brahm found a bunch of Korean cartoons for different sports. “I think that it is from the Korean Olympic Committee and it has all of the sports with a graphic,” he says. … The Carlton Blues wore their throwback jumper a few AFL matches this season to celebrate 140 years of Aussie Rules football. The fans liked the look so much that the club is considering reviving the historic guernsey and logo (from Leo Strawn, Jr.). … I was on Reddit last night and I came across this great short tale about a Samburu tribesman in a Nike commercial.

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Everyone have a great Thursday. Catch you tomorrow.

Are you ready for some football?

Peace.

.. … ..

“Boise State claims its trademark covers all non-green football fields… I would love to see someone install a red or yellow field without seeking Boise State’s permission. Something tells me Boise’s trademark doesn’t extend quite as far as they want people to think it does.”

–BvK1126

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Comments (143)

    RE: QOTW, All from Michigan Upper Peninsula high schools, Watersmeet Nimrods (you knew someone was going to post it), Bessemer Speedboys, Ishpeming Hematites, Kingsford Flivvers, Gwinn Modeltowners, and one non-UP school, Gladwin Flying G’s.

    From north central Ohio, the Shelby High School Whippets.

    A whippet is like a greyhound, and is described as lively, gentle, friendly, quiet, intelligent, affectionate. Most of these qualities would never be used to describe a modern mascot. That’s why I love it.

    When it comes to the minors, my favorite name has to be the Montgomery Biscuits.

    I second the Whoopee. Macon Music was also kind of catchy for a team name. I keep hoping Macon will name a team the Bacon, but they keep going with boring names like Macon Mayhem and Macon Trax (bonus boring points for using -x instead of -cks.)

    To me, the Augusta GreenJackets or Nashville Sounds probably have the best current name.

    I always appreciated my high school’s unique nickname. I lived in a lakeside community on the west end of greater Cleveland, and our teams were called the Shoremen and Shoregals.

    I always liked the uniqueness of my high school’s nickname. We were the Monsoons (“Blow ’em away, Monsoons!”). I like my local MiLB team’s nickname (Las Vegas 51’s) because it fits with the locale so well. I also stand with many others here in admiration of the name and logo of the Mongomery Biscuits.

    RE: QOTW, cool high school nicknames:

    I’m in Georgia and somebody already mentioned the Johnson HS (Savannah) Atom Smashers. I would add the Cairo HS Syrupmakers from the southwestern part of the state and the W.D. Mohammeh HS (Atlanta) Caliphs.

    The Georgia High School Association has a neat database of historical high school mascots. Try playing for the Jefferson Mud Turtles or Broxton Gold Nuggets: link

    RE: QOTW – A couple of rugby league teams from my home state of New South Wales, Australia:

    1. Young Cherrypickers – the town of Young (population approximately 7,000) is known as the cherry capital of Australia, and hosts the annual National Cherry Festival. The local team are known as the Young Cherrypickers. The nickname is unique and relevant to the town.

    link

    2.Parkes Spacemen – the town of Parkes (population approximately 10,000) has a radio telescope observatory located nearby. As the telescope looks up into space, the local team are known as the Parkes Spacemen. Once again the nickname is unique and relevant to the town.

    link

    Kirk Gibson was already playing for the Tigers in 1981. That photo is from several years earlier.

    Good point. I didn’t compile the ticker, but the photo identifies it as “Circa 1981” so that’s possibly where the confusion may come in. Gibby started playing for the Tigers in the late summer of 1979, so the photo is clearly from before then.

    QOTW: Rocky Ford Meloneers, Brush Beetdiggers, Aspen Skiers, Gateway Olympians, Fort Collins Lambkins and, surprisingly still around, the Lamar Savages. All of these are from Colorado.

    A couple of SoCal additions: Laguna Beach Artists and the unbelievable Compton Tarbabes. Even back in the 80s when I worked in inner city LA, that stuck out. Turns out that Compton College’s mascot is the Tartars, so the HS got the junior version. A case where first appearances are deceiving.

    Here’s the background on the Tarbabes: link

    Torrance High School (of Beverly Hills 90210 fame) is also called the Tartars and uses this logo: link

    We’ve discussed it here before, but the Rocky Ford Meloneers have what I think is the link. I mean, who doesn’t love watermelon? link is pretty awesome, too.

    My HS alma mater’s nickname was pretty good. The Farmers. The reason was that the original colonial era name of my NJ home town was Connecticut Farms. Nice nod to local history.

    Just a sampling of unique and cool names from high schools in PA:
    Northampton Konkrete Kids
    Mars Planets
    Chief Logan Mingoes (defunct)
    Boiling Springs Bubblers
    Dobbins Tech Speedboys
    GAR Grenadiers
    Smethport Hubbers
    Williamsburg Blue Pirates (as opposed to what, Green Pirates?)

    For all the Philadelphia Public League fans out there -Dobbins is the Mustangs.
    West Philly High School is the Speedboys (and Speedgirls).

    QotW:

    The greatest nickname in history, hands down, belongs to the Glenville (OH) Tarblooders.

    Other favorites include the North East (PA) Grape Pickers, the Steelton-Highspire (PA) Steamrollers (sometimes just Rollers), and the Fredonia (NY) Hillbillies.

    Some schools I played while in HS in Central Illinois:

    Hoopston-Area Cornjerkers (Jerkers for short)
    Fisher Bunnies (Jr. High was the Scotties like the little dog)
    New Berlin Pretzels (I know of at least 2 other schools in the midwest that also use this)
    Arcola Purple Riders
    Effingham Flaming Hearts

    There are more but those are the ones I actually played at some point.

    We were the Rockets which was only odd because why was a farm town high school named after the aerospace industry?

    there’s a great book about the odd Illinois nicknames and how they came to be:
    link

    The Freeport (IL) Pretzels are one of those other Pretzels. Having grown up in Illinois, it was always neat at state basketball tournament time hearing about these school nicknames you’d never heard of before. Some of my favorites:
    DeKalb Barbs (barbed wire invented there)
    Cobden Apple Knockers
    Rock Island Rocks
    South Beloit Sobos
    again, the Effingham Flaming Hearts
    Hebron Green Giants (the smallest school to win an all-class state basketball championship in IL in 1952 (I think))
    Pekin Chinks (a former state championship team, who’s nickname has pretty much been expunged from state records) -they’re now the Lions, I believe
    In Utah, the Jordan Beet Digger
    In Wisconsin, the Monroe Cheesemakers
    In Wyoming, the Gillette Camels (a perennial athletic power)
    Cool discussion, by the way.

    Gillette HS’s name is actually Campbell County HS. The “Campbell Camels,” get it? (groan)

    The Wyoming State Penitentiary is in Rawlins, hence the Rawlins HS Outlaws. Akin to the Yuma (AZ) HS Criminals.

    Pekin is now the Dragons. So they kept the influence just way less offensive. The town was named after Beijing (Pekin at the time) so that’s why they have the Chinese influence.

    Cairo (GA) HS are the Syrupmakers.

    My all time favorite college nickname- the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs.

    I second the Banana Slugs. Because seriously, a mascot like this has to strike fear in the the hearts and minds of its opponents.

    link

    Oh although I didn’t play them, there is the tale of the Carthage (IL) Blue Boys, one of the best small school football teams in the state. D3 Carthage College (now in Kenosha, WI) was founded after the HS in Carthage, IL. They took on the name “Redmen” which at the time was a nod to the high school. Probably right way the association to Native Americans happened and they used that kind of imagery until the NCAA put the rule in place in 2004. The team then became the “Red Men” again connecting back to the high school that still has the same name.

    Ok last update:

    A great local one here in Indianapolis: Speedway Sparkplugs. Speedway is of course home of the Indianapolis 500.

    I go out to Indy every year for the 500 and am a proud owner of a “Speedway Sparkplugs” sweat shirt. Love that nickname.

    RE: QOTW — the Cozad Haymakers in central Nebraska. I grew up thinking it was just a farming reference — I didn’t get the punching aspect until I was older.

    Also in Nebraska, a local newspaper columnist would occasionally propose renaming the Ogallala Indians the Ogallala Aquifers. That would be a nickname!

    Random note – I was at the coaching clinic for my daughter’s soccer team the other night. It was at a high school gym and noticed it had banners for all the schools in the conference, with a logo for each group.

    In the banners, I found an link, an link (the school’s wordmark is a ripoff of the Wisconsin “W”, btw), an off-color version of the 80s Philadelphia Eagles logo and link, plus a take on the Syracuse S. There was also a Blue Devil, but it wasn’t the Duke mascot, plus Rams and Falcons that may have been ripped off from elsewhere but I couldn’t place the origins.

    QOTW:

    Chattanooga Lookouts (it’s even better if you pretend there’s an exclamation mark between the ‘t’ and the ‘s’). I became aware of the Lookouts through link.

    I’m partial to non-ferocious animals. Greyhounds, Terriers. Robins, Blue Jays, Ducks. Gophers, Beavers. And historical/geographical allusions: Quakers, Plainsmen, Sooners, Cowboys, Vols, Elis, Lord Jeffs, Dutchmen, Gaels. And economic actors: Cornhuskers, Miners, Whalers.

    Well, the NESCAC probably does have the best compilation of odd team nicknames. In addition to the Lord Jeffs (Amherst) and my beloved Jumbos (Tufts), there’s also the:
    – Bantams (Trinity)
    – White Mules (Colby)
    – Polar Bears (Bowdoin)
    – Camels (Connecticut College)
    – Ephs (Willams) (short for “Ephraim,” though pronounced with a long “e”).

    Granted, the Bobcats (Bates), Panthers (Middlebury), and Cardinals (Wesleyan) are pedestrian, and the Continentals (Hamilton) just kinda pathetic (I’d’ve gone with “Duellists” myself, though given how that ended for the school’s namesake I can see why they didn’t. “Illegitimate Bastards”, anyone?). But the conference as a whole? None too shabby.
    link

    No question about it: NESCAC is the best nicknamed conference in the country. And — thanks to your Jumbos, scottrj — it also features a team with the way-underutilized color combo of brown-and-blue.

    Speaking of the Lord Jeffs, they put out a tweet showing their new football jerseys, one of which is black with purple numbers:

    link

    I’ve generally considered Scotland to be a rich vein of cool names which, while not necessarily being particularly clever or novel, have a definite poetry and grandeur to them. Heart of Midlothian, Queen of the South and Inverness Caledonian Thistle for example all sound more like Royal Navy ironclads than football teams.

    QOTW

    The high school athletic conference that I was a part of while growing up in rural Wisconsin had about 12 teams in it. Not one, but TWO of these teams were nicknamed the Midgets. The Hurley Midgets and the Butternut Midgets.

    The Butternut Midgets! That is tremendous.

    A million ideas of what their mascot/logo/uniforms would look like running through my head…

    “… (that’s Jordan in the center and Tim on the left, all three of us wearing the same sneakers; click to enlarge)…”

    Excellent footwear, men, especially with the Superdawgs as background. Only Paul, I noted, wears shorts that are shorter than today’s typical cargo-pant lengths and — in the bargain — feature a plaid pattern not commonly worn in recent times. Nice touch!

    Well, he’s only “getting away with it” until the good folks at Getty Images find out about it.

    QOTW: I’m gonna be pretty biased here and pick my two favorite names, based on association: link and link My high school mascot, Rams, is pretty generic–there’s actually link not only in the same division but the same COUNTY called the Rams–but everyone knows who the link and have the state championships to back it up.

    As for Penguins, the unique thing about YSU is that they are the only NCAA member school at ANY level to have the Penguins as a mascot. You would think more schools would have the nickname Penguins (heck, at least link use the name link), but somehow Youngstown State has had exclusivity on the name in college for 80 years, and has only had to share it professionally for less than 50. Even better, the major professional team that YSU shares the nickname with is link

    I was thinking about how weird it is that the two major-ish sports teams named “Penguins” are both in rust belt cities, rather than places you’d necessarily associate with ice or Antarctica.

    Well, both are in the northern US, and we get some pretty decent snow. Both YSU and the Pittsburgh Penguins have used live penguins as mascots, too, but that didn’t work out too well. But we do have link as well as link to keep the paying customers fans happy, especially the kids.

    Probably because he’s small enough that the NFL hasn’t noticed yet. Also, the uniforms are completely photoshopped and the player isn’t mentioned by name, so one might argue that he isn’t really profiting from the NFL. Depending on the uniform in question, he could just as easily use NCAA, CFL or even Arena Football players.

    I don’t think the NFL will care, since they’re concerned about the use of NFL logos and uniforms, which are obscured here.

    The people who will care are the photo agencies, and the guy is definitely profiting from Getty/AP/Reuters/Gannett/whomever. And it doesn’t take a lot of digital wizardly to figure out where the photos came from.

    Thanks, Phil. Really good work the last four weeks. I’m constantly impressed by your relentless hustle and passion with Uni Watch.

    And as always, great examples, everyone. I love the Speedboys (and Speedgirls), the Whippets, the Savages and, especially, the Sparkplugs.

    One of my favorite parts of the book “The Breaks of the Game,” David Halberstam’s book about the 1979-80 Portland Trail Blazers, is that the team’s GM was enamored by bush league team nicknames. He loved the Maine Lumberjacks of the CBA.

    QOTW:

    This is something I’ve always been fascinated with. I have an enormous list, so I’m just going to list a few of my favorite:.

    Purdue University Boilermakers (NCAA)
    St Louis University Billikens (NCAA)
    Agnes Scott College Scotties (NCAA)
    UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs (NCAA)
    IPFW Mastadons (NCAA)
    Fort Wayne Mad Ants (NBA D-League)
    Speedway High School (IN) Spark Plugs
    Frankfort High School (IN) Hot Dogs
    Montgomery Biscuits (MiLB)
    Savannah Sand Gnats (MiLB)

    As a native Savannahian, I forgot about the Sand Gnats. D’oh!

    Also, one of the local Savannah high schools is the Johnson HS Atomsmashers.

    In Illinois there is New Berlin High School and they are known as the Pretzels. My former college offensive coordinator, Barry Creviston, is now the head coach and I believe AD there.

    New Berlin Pretzels, it’s not a contest but that one is hard to beat.

    Not sure if anyone else watched the Georgia State game on ESPN U, last night, but Georgia State had some odd shading or patches on their jerseys. A darker blue splotch seemed to randomly placed on different players.does anyone know why?

    Two high schools in VA:

    Montevideo Maroons
    (makes me think of “What a maroon!” from B.Bunny cartoons)

    Elkton Elks
    (for sheer lack of imagination)

    Alamosa HS in southern CO used to be the Maroons, but about twenty years ago changed to the Mean Moose.

    My HS was the Wilde Lake Wildecats. To this day I’m not sure if that name qualifies as unimaginative or ingenious. Neither, probably.

    The funny part is that yes it was obvious but they still went ahead and gave the Poca High School (WV) the nickname of The Dots. Sure they have a lot of “fun” with that one.

    I recently moved to southern Ohio to cover high school sports. The nickname highlights:

    South Webster Jeeps-Not the car, the mystical creature. The logo looks like some sort of tiger or monkey with a big nose and a long tail. As far as I can tell, the creature is based on a character from an old Popeye comic strip, Eugene the Jeep. Here’s the Wikipedia page: link

    (Sciotoville) East Tartans-Refers to Scottish culture, specifically the pattern on thier clothing. Unfortunately, East does not have plaid uniforms.

    High School

    Orofino (ID) Maniacs
    Huntington (OR) Locomotives
    Wasco County (OR) Redsides
    Camas (WA) Papermakers
    Tillamook (OR) Cheesemakers
    Sisters (OR) Outlaws
    Arlington (OR) Honkers
    Blaine (WA) Borderites
    Chelan (WA) Goats
    North Beach (WA) Hyaks
    Eagle (WA) Eagles
    North Medford (OR) Black Tornado
    Madras (OR) White Buffaloes
    Oregon Episcopal Aardvarks
    South Eugene (OR) Axemen

    And two state high schools I think could have come up with more creative nicknames:
    Concrete Lions
    Soap Lake Eagles

    Gotta say, I am blown away by that Prince Fielder jersey detail. Can’t believe it’s never surfaced before. Great, great spot!

    Thanks! It’s always bugged me, and it was just random chance seeing the game issued jersey just on a rack.

    UGA to wear memorial helmet decal Saturday for Coach McGill.

    “The decal spells “MAGILL” with the Georgia power “G” used in the lettering.” – #UGA Athletic Association

    I should’ve edited this instead of just pasting.

    Obviously, Magill (not mcGill)…and hashtags outside of the twittersphere are one of my pet peeves.

    I liked the Casper Ghosts of the Pioneer League. At one point they were the Butte Copper Kings that I also liked.

    Also gone are the St. Catharines Stompers of the New York-Penn League. There’s an independent minor league team called the Sonoma Stompers, but it’s just not the same.

    Jacksonville had a minor league ice hockey team called the Lizard Kings in the ECHL.

    There have been two teams called the Odessa Jackalopes. The original played in the CHL minor league and the current plays in the NAHL junior league.

    Good calls.

    “Stompers” refers to the stomping of grapes for wine, and St. Catharines and Sonoma are both serious wine country.

    link

    The St. Catharines Stompers are now (after a couple of moves) the Brooklyn Cyclones.

    I wouldn’t mind buying a jersey with a player who’s no longer on the team (I could remove the nameplate if it really bothered me)… but at half price, the Ranger jerseys are still $70 and I’m not paying that much for a polyester shirt!

    -Jet

    Plus, there are former players who still capture fans’ imagination (Sprewell comes to mind). And there’s something cool about wearing a LIN 17 jersey (though they probably don’t have that in stock).

    Eh, the Champions League match was yesterday. I said “today” yesterday, but now it should say “yesterday.”

    Two of my favorites I’ve seen mentioned, the Freeport Pretzels and Effingham Flaming Hearts … but in the town just a couple miles down the road from Effingham, my brother-in-law teaches at the home of the Teutopolis Wooden Shoes!

    Irvington(NJ) Campers, are now called the Blue Kinghts.

    Yuma(AZ) Criminals, largely known as the Crims.

    Whoa, check out the Navy uniforms for this Saturday’s game. For one time use, I really like these. They are based on the Naval “Summer Whites”. link

    How outstanding has Navy been in recent years with their special helmets?

    This new set is just fantastic all the way through. Clean but undoubtedly different.

    I’ve got 3: My coworker went to Washburn U, and they are the “Ichabods” (let’s go ‘Bods!). There was also a high school near me in Ohio with the nickname “Freddies” and the mascot was a rooster. Finally, I always loved the Franklin & Marshall Diplomats (as in, let’s go Dips!)

    I’d forgotten about the Ichabods! I even gave them a good review of their uniforms five years ago, back when I loved me some Div. II ball:

    link

    I like the football uni mock-ups, but after seeing that first one, I can’t get Monty Python out of my head. “It’s a Mr. Death here, something about the reaping?”

    Also, that Seahawks glass eye is beyond freaky!

    Favorite names. Well, I’m not too fond of schools that slap the word “Lady” in front of every women’s team name. It’s lazy and paternalistic. So on that note, I’m partial to my alma mater, McGill University, which is home to the Redmen for men’s sports other than baseball, the Redbirds for baseball, and the Martlets for all women’s sports. Martlets are mythical birds with no feet, so they are in perpetual flight. It’s a metaphor to perpetual scholarship at McGill, so there are three martlets in our crest. LOVE IT.
    When I was a kid, there was a ECHL team in the New Orleans Brass’ division called the Augusta Lynx. That was clever. You see, it’s a predatory big cat, and also a homophone for “links” at the Masters.
    Last but not least, the Jack Benny 39ers, a middle school in Waukegan, IL.

    Coincidentally enough, I’m from Waukegan, and while the 39ers is great, Robert Abbott Middle School also has a top-notch nickname. They’re the Rams.

    But see what they did? It’s an acronym!

    While Queen’s is athletically superior in every respect to McGill, we did have an unfortunate period when our womens teams were called the Golden Gals (instead of Golden Gaels). That didn’t last very long.

    Re: QOTW

    The Columbus Xoggz (former USISL soccer team) simply for the reason that it makes one wonder “what the hell is a Xogg?”

    I’m really surprised, though, that nobody has mentioned the Macon Whooppee: link

    Actually, it makes me question how to pronounce it. Is it Ex-Oggs or Zoggs?

    As for the Whoopee, they were mentioned 3 hours ago, yo.

    In Michigan, Midland Dow High School Chemics were a rival school of mine, Located in the city that Dow Chemical is located.
    Such an odd mascot that accurately reflects the town.

    I’ve always loved 76ers/49ers/Ottawa 67s teams based on years.

    Peterborough Petes of the OHL, what is a Pete??

    The Art of Fielding.

    I liked the New York Mammoths in the Henry Wiggens books.

    Garrison Keillor had the Lake Wobegon Whippets. You could buy Whippets shirts and hats.

    Just read the college football preview and was reminded of this article. Illinois changed the number outline on their blue jerseys from blue to orange.
    link

    American Fork (UT) Cavemen
    Jordan (UT) Beetdiggers
    Shelby (ID) Russets
    Texas City (TX) Stingarees

    And the best of all, The Conway (AR) Wampus Cats

    QotW: My favorite high school nickname is my alma mater’s. The De La Salle Institute “Meteors”.

    Meteor: The light phenomena which results when a meteoroid enters the Earth’s atmosphere and vaporizes; a shooting star. (Courtesy NASA)
    link

    It’s a nickname that should have much wider usage. I love anything that has to do with astronomy.

    Nice to have a unique name, but…The only problems:

    Shooting stars die out

    AND

    Your friends can pick on you as a MEAT-EATER

    from a proud Meteor

    wait, i’m confused about the quote regarding Boise State having the only non green football field… Eastern Washington has an all red field with black end zones, sporting no green…

    There are now several schools who have non-green fields. I think the point of the quote is that each school who does a non-green field needs to get some sort of approval from Boise (and if it’s a blue field, I could see that, but the red and purple/gray and purple etc. fields probably wouldn’t be needing BSU approval).

    ^^ What Phil said. ^^

    This article explains how Boise controls which teams get to install non-green artificial turf fields:

    link

    You’ll notice that the article talks about how Eastern Washington sought and received permission from Boise State to install their red turf.

    My point is that the reason teams ask Boise’s permission is because Boise says its trademark covers all non-green turf fields. In reality, Boise’s trademark application only covers blue turf. But it’s cheaper for teams to just go and ask Boise for permission (Boise apparently grants licenses for free) than to challenge the extent of Boise’s trademark rights in a legal battle, so Boise gets to act all blustery like they own the entire concept of non-green artificial turf.

    The Wampus Cat is a half-woman, half-mountain lion beast, who eats truculent children.

    Three high schools — one in Arkansas, one in Louisiana, and one in Texas — use the Wampus Cat as their mascot.

    Some California high schools:

    Hayward Farmers
    San Benito Haybalers
    Venice Gondoliers
    Yuba City Honkers

    QOTD: My personal biased favorite, the Wabash College Little Giants

    More mighty Div III NCAC schools:
    Kenyon Lords/Ladies
    Wooster Fighting Scots
    Oberlin Yeomen/ Yeowomen
    Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops
    Denison Big Red
    Hiram Terriers

    Some Indiana high schools:
    Jimtown Jimmies
    Plymouth Pilgrims/ Rockies
    LaPorte Slicers
    Logansport Berries whose mascot is Felix the Cat

    Great job Phil. Its hard to fill a site based on uniforms with content in August when baseball is the only major sport on.

    I grew up outside of Lancaster, which is outside of Columbus, Ohio. The small towns around the area had some pretty unusual names. The two that I can recall right off the top of my head (both played in the Muskingum Valley League) were:

    Philo Electrics
    Crooksville Ceramics

    Not “Electricians” and “Ceramic-makers”.

    Just “Electrics” and “Ceramics”.

    Oh, and great job, Phil!

    I can’t imagine doing what you and Paul do on a daily basis. Those of us who love Uni Watch appreciate you both!

    Another one, although this isn’t a nickname, but it bears mentioning. There is a color scheme that was brought to my attention long ago, and I have yet to find a more original one:

    Heliotrope and Puce

    link

    Out of Indiana, I’ve always been partial to my first employer, the River Forest Ingots, who are obviously in steel country.

    Pius XI high school famously has the “Lady Popes”

    I’m a proud Univ. of Delaware Blue Hen, a nickname that probably merits mention. My only regret is that they didn’t refer to the women’s teams as the “Lady Blue Hens.”

    QOTW:

    My favorite MiLB names are –
    Montgomery Biscuits
    Modesto Nuts
    Asheville Tourists
    Kannapolis Intimidators (named after Dale Earnhardt)

    Thief Rivers Falls (MN) High School
    ‘The Prowlers’

    Blloming Prairie (MN) High School
    ‘The Awesome Blossoms’

    International Falls (MN) High School
    ‘The Broncos’
    Although Broncos is not unique as a nickname, this is the hometown of Bronko Nagurski and the teams are named after him.

    Morehead (MN) High School
    ‘The Spuds’

    Sauk Centre (MN) High School
    ‘The Main Streeters’
    Author Sinclair Lewis was born in the area, and he was the first American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. One of his greatest novels was “Main Street,” modeled after Sauk Centre and published in 1920.

    QOTW: The now-defunct Monroe High School in Monroe, South Dakota, was known as the Wooden Shoe Canaries. When I was doing a quick Google search on Monroe, I came across link, which lists some other great old South Dakota high school nicknames. My favorites from that list (other than Monroe):

    Sturgis Brown (HS) Scoopers
    Polo Bears

    Sheldon High School in Sheldon, Iowa, is known as the Orabs, a contraction of the school colors of orange and blacks.

    QOTW:
    Thunder Bay Whiskey Jacks (defunct: Northern League)

    Whiskey Jack is another name for the Canada Jay or Grey Jay.
    link

    Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees

    On the topic of Gibson and the Two in Ones.

    I remember being in the old dugout box seats in Dodger Stadium in the late 70’s (I think ’76). A really cool seat, in that you saw the game the same way you’d see it from the dugout. Anyway, I recall a play at the plate where Cesar Cedeno ran over Steve Yeager and I noticed very clearly that Cedeno was wearing two in ones.

    The reason this sticks in my memory is that there wasn’t a need for Cedeno to run over Yeager, and I heard exclamations out of the Astros dugout of “Oh boy what an a$$” when he did it followed by “Good Play” when he got to the dugout.

    My other ideas for The New Yorker caption:

    I didn’t ask for the team to have matching pant blousing, I just asked for a matching blouse.

    Don’t think they let my wife into her ballroom dance class wearing my cleats.

    I guess I said the rose goes in the front one too many times.

    This is what happens when I try to find baseball cleats in my size in September.

    OFF TOPIC:
    I’m trying to recall a story I read on UNIWATCH a few years back about a football team (college, I think, or maybe high school) that had different helmets (or maybe some jersey element) for some designated players on the team. It was sort of like a captain’s patch, but for things like best tackler or some other designation. Maybe I’m misremembering, but it’s driving me crazy. ANYBODY REMEMBER SOMETHING LIKE THIS?

    Got a couple of unique high school mascots in Kentucky:

    Ashland Blazer Tomcats/Kittens
    Ballard Memorial Bombers
    Bowling Green Purples
    Bracken County Polar Bears
    Bryan Station Defenders
    Campbell County Camels
    Carlisle County Comets
    Christian Academy of Louisville Centurions
    Danville Admirals
    Estill County Engineers
    Glasgow Scotties
    Greenup County Musketeers
    Harlan County Black Bears
    Hopkins County Central Storm
    Lloyd Memorial Juggernauts
    Paris Greyhounds
    Silver Grove Big Trains

    Hey Paul – Uni-Watch,
    I realize it’s the pre-season but two guys on the Patriots are wearing #35 tonight. Is this normal? They can’t find another number for one of these guys? I’m sure it’s not the first time this has happened but pretty funny nonetheless.

    #35: DB, Daxton Swanson, Patriots
    #35: RB, Jonas Gray, Patriots

    At least they’re on different sides of the field.

    【?14】マルハニチロ お茶漬?瓶詰?かに缶詰合せ KM-50M<※【お歳暮?おせいぼ?出産内祝?お返し?ギフト?結婚内祝?快気祝?香典 返し】>sb13
    座布団?長座布団 link

    【?11】磯じまん 和の瓶詰 W‐30<※【お歳暮?おせいぼ?出産内祝?お返し?ギフト?結婚内祝?快気祝?香典 返し】>sb13
    座布団?長座布団 link

    It’s one level of un-original to have your town/school name line up with a traditional nickname and mascot like the Elkhorn Elks (WI high school) or some mentioned earlier.

    But one of these would compete for the un-original crown, or maybe it has reached the point of awesome. 6 of the 12/13 schools in the DIII Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (St. Benedict and St. John’s are partner schools) include, with my increasing incredulity:

    St. Catherine University Wildcats (St. Cat’s Cats)
    Saint John’s University Johnnies
    University of St. Thomas Tommies
    Augsburg College Auggies
    St. Olaf College Oles
    Gustavus Adolphus College Gusties

    A little late to the party, but my high school in Macon, GA was named after the author of “The Marshes of Glynn.” We were the Lanier Poets.

    Our colors were orange and green.

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