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Days of Yore – Part II

Days of Yore hed 2 550

By Phil Hecken, with Jim Vilk

Last Sunday, Jim and I brought you the first in a short series of articles called Days of Yore, in which we argued for a number of uniforms that should, nay, need to return to the Major Leagues, even if just for one shining moment. If you’re not familiar with the concept, take a look back at that link.

We broke the unis down into four categories: (1) A “one-shot,” meaning a team would break out an old uniform and wear it once, then retire it again (similar to what the Cubs did in 2014 when they had their “decade” uniforms); (2) An “alternate,” meaning the team should introduce a retro uniform into the uniform rotation, to be worn as an alternate (and hopefully sparingly); (3) “Sunday Home”: A uniform to be worn on Sunday home games (the way the Mariners, Pirates and White Sox do); it would ONLY be worn on Sundays; and (4) “Just Go Back To This”: A uniform that should replace a team’s current uniform, and be worn as the standard home or road (or both). Click on any images below (or the splash) to enlarge.

It might not surprise you to see that in this part (since we’re primarily dealing with mid-century uniforms), I have more choices than Jimmer. Fear not, Jim will make up for that in Part III.

Here’s Jimmer with a short intro, and then we’re on to Part II:

There was a lot of positive response to the first part of this little endeavor.
That could change dramatically once you see how many teams I want wearing pullovers..

. . . . .

1940 New York photo

1940 New York Giants (PH): I’d almost want the Mets (who I may or may not pick for a throwback) to wear the road version, but I’d love to see the denizens of SF bust this out just once, and just for the home version. They’ve been black and orange for so long, I’d love to see them once in royal and red-orange. One and Done.

. . .

1942 Philadelphia photo

1942 Philadelphia Phillies (JV): You don’t have to be named Phil to love that Phils jersey, right? One and done.

. . .

1948 Brooklyn photo

1948 Brooklyn Dodgers (PH): Another team with a uni unchanged for so long, and virtually unchanged since the move to LA. I love the satin alt, with the thick piping, and I’d love to see this return (but not in satin) to the mix. Home Alternate.

. . .

1953 Chicago photo

1953 Chicago Cubs (PH): The Cubs have had a few fantastic unis throughout their history, and some of them come close to perfect. This is one of those (and they even wore it last year for the 100 year Wrigley celebration). Once was not enough. This home uni needs to be permanent. Everyday use.

. . .

1955 St. Louis photo

1953 St. Louis Cardinals (PH): The Cards are another team with a pretty established uni, but I’ve always loved this particular style (especially the script). It probably can’t replace the current unis, but I wouldn’t mind them wearing them a few times a season. Piping, zipper — all of it. Alternate.

. . .

1956 Cincinnati photo

1956 Cincinnati Reds (PH): I’m generally not a fan of vests, but this road with Mr. Red(legs) is so awesome, I’ll gladly make an exception. Pair the home rups with this and I’m a very happy camper. Road alternate

. . .

1956 Washington photo

1956 Washington Nationals (JV): Zipperific! Plus, if Dad would have gotten the call to The Show, he probably would have worn these cool unis. Sunday/alt.

. . .

1961 Kansas City photo

1961 Kansas City (Athletics) (JV): This is my one exception. I only want to see the Royals in the road version. One and done.

. . .

1961 Los Angeles photo

1961 Los Angeles Angels (PH): There were a few teams who “got it right from the beginning” and the LA Angels were one of those teams, particularly with these roads. The halo cap, the “LOS ANGELES” on the front. Perfect. The current team needs to make these roads their permanent ones. Go back to this road already.

. . .

1965 California photo

1965 California Angels (JV): The less red the better, Angels. Plus, if you’re not actually in LA, go back to being “California.” And the halo caps have really grown on me. Everyday use.

. . .

1965 Houston photo

1965 Houston Astros (PH): If you know me, you know I’ve been wanting the Astros to return to this full time for years (and I was so pumped when they threw back to it in 2010). But once isn’t enough, and the current harkbacks just don’t cut it. Just go back to this already.

. . .

1969 Montreal photo

1969 Montreal Expos (PH): Until Montreal gets another team, I’ll have to settle for the Nationals wearing these gorgeous duds at least once, both the home and road version. This is another example of a team “getting it right” from the beginning. One and done.

. . .

1969 Oakland photo

1969 Oakland A’s (JV): I’d love the MLB logo featured prominently on every jersey, but it really popped on these great uniforms. Sunday/alt.

. . .

1969 San Diego photo

1969 San Diego Padres (PH): The first Padres home is the uniform they should return to if when the finally “bring back the brown.” Perfect in every way, it wasn’t too campy (as later Pads unis would be), and it would work as well today as it did back then (I’d love to see the road too, but…just wait). Everyday Home Uni please.

. . .

1969 Seattle photo

1969 Seattle Pilots (PH): No, not for the Brewers, but for the Mariners. This road jersey (and unique scrambled eggs cap) was absolutely perfect for the ill-fated Pilots, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t see the light of day with the Mariners. Yes, they have 5 jerseys already, but this would be a perfect alternate road, no? Yes. Road Alernate.

. . .

1971 Pittsburgh photo

1971 Pirates (JV): Make those caps full-time! As for the rest of the uniform, I’d gladly settle for Sunday.

. . .

1972 Atlanta photo

1972 Braves (JV): I’ll give you 716 reasons why I want these: 715 for Hank, and one for the fact that Atlanta’s never looked better. Just Go Back To This.

. . .

1972 San Diego photo

1972 San Diego Padres (PH): Did I mention the Pads unis got campy as the years went on? This is certainly one of those, but it’s still a favorite of mine (but it’s gotta have the gold sanis!). That is not “mustard” folks, it’s athletic gold. I don’t think I could handle it every road game, so it would need to be an alt. Alternate Road.

. . .

1973 Oakland photo

1973 Oakland A’s (PH): Even though we did see the monochrome gold throwbacks once, I want to see them again. And I’d love to just once see the monochrome green unis (so bad it’s good). But that’s it. One all gold, one all green. One and Done.

. . .

1974 Milwaukee photo

1974 Milwaukee Brewers (PH): Remember how much I liked the ’69 Pilots road? I almost like the Crew’s ’74 roads as much, especially with the colored sanis. This needs to return in a big way and replace the Brewers awful road. Permanent Road.

. . . . .

And there, folks, is our second round for this little exercise. This one covers the gap from the end of the “classic era” to the modern age, including a few of the polyester age. Our final set will be ALL the more modern uniforms (many of which we grew up with) and that we’d like to see again.

What say you readers? Do you agree with any of these choices? Do you have a uniform in this range (1940-1974) you think you’d like to see brought back? Did we miss any? Are we nuts (don’t answer that). Let us know. We’ll have Part III soon, so make sure to check back often.

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EPL Tracker

Each Saturday or Sunday, Alex Gerwitz will be tracking the kit combinations (shirt/shorts/socks) of the teams in the English Premier League from the previous weekend and the current weekend.

Here is the EPL tracker for Weeks 24 & 25:

EPL Tracker Weeks 22 & 23

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rafflet ticket by ben thoma.jpg

Raffle reminder: Paul is giving a uni-based presentation next Thursday at the NYC offices of a big-shot architecture firm, and he’s raffling off the chance to be his guest at the presentation and at dinner afterward. Details here.

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Uni Watch News Ticker:

Baseball News: From the Virginia Tech Instagram account, it looks like Virginia Tech baseball will be rolling with matte batting helmets (thanks to Steve H.). … North Carolina has some new batting gloves and they made their debut yesterday. … The Omaha Storm Chasers are having several jersey-theme nights, including May 23rd, Autism Action Partnership, July 3rd, Stars & Stripes, July 11th, National Turkey Federation Outdoors Night, and August 1, Omaha Royals Night (thanks to Jeff Funke). … The Villanova Wildcats will be sporting 150 year patches “celebrating 150 years on the diamond.” … Not sure if we’ve seen this one before: Curtis Granderson with underbrim writing that reads “Don’t Think Have Fun.” (via Oliver Lee) … Look at this wonderful photo and amazing stirrup action on the 1966 St. Louis Cards (from James Ruffin). … The new Arkansas-Little Rock baseball uni set includes Phillies-style piping (thanks Paul). … The Minnesota Twins have released their 2015 promotions & giveaways calendar. Some cool stuff there. … Speaking of cool giveaways (and this may have been mentioned before), on May 25, the Dodgers will be giving away a Tommy Lasorda garden gnome. … If this Jayson Werth chia-beard isn’t real, it needs to be (h/t Jayson Werth’s Beard). … But wait, apparently there IS A CHIA BEARD, as one of the Nats promos (thanks to William Yurasko). William points out that contained within that article is the following: “Through its preexisting partnership with Majestic, the team will start making Curly W-branded merchandise in the colors of several local colleges. The Nats, of course, cannot use the marks of these schools, but there will be Nats logos on maroon and orange gear for Virginia Tech fans, for example. In addition to Virginia Tech, the Nats will sell their gear in the colors of Virginia, Maryland, Georgetown, George Mason, George Washington, American and the Naval Academy. Those items will be sold throughout the season.” William adds, “The missed opportunity is burgundy & gold Nats gear. I’ve seen some around, but it could be custom made. Of course, the red curly W cap was good enough for Sonny.” … Opening day for a lot of colleges yesterday, featuring this for the Pitt Panthers (h/t Paul) and this for Mississippi State. … Here’s the uniform for the Miami Hurricanes (thanks, Paul). Still with Nike, last hurrah. … Here’s The Citadel (Paul, again). … Here’s Notre Dame (h/t Tyler Freeman). … Here’s North Carolina State (thanks Paul). Here’s the Louisville Cardinals set (via Micah Brown). … The Cincy Bearcats weren’t just satisfied with any jersey and went digi-camo BP tops (via Chris Creamer). But they turned things around at game time and wore these sweet dark gray roadies with contrasting placket! Wow! (via Doug Smith). Doug points out the Bearcats have been “quietly doing it for a while now”. … Navy had some nice unis yesterday, in their first season with UA. … Here’s Auburn (via Clint Richardson). … The Florida Gators went with standard white unis (via David Doop). … Stony Brook had some sweet stirrups on display (via Michael Schwartz). … Rutgers went mono gray with scarlet caps and scarlet stirrups (from Dan and Tyler Freeman). The USF Bulls went with 50 shades of green (via Dave Doop). … Here’s what Oklahoma State wore (from Kyle Sutton). Here’s another look (via Joshua Dryer). … Some sharp new unis (and great ‘rups) from App State (h/t CA Daniels). … New camo BP tops for Nebraska (h/t Paul). … EMU went with a simple road gray (via “Dan-Splaining”). … As did Virginia Tech (via Sully). … The University of Arkansas wore cream colored unis (from Jimmy Shaddock). … Luther Baseball have alternate caps for this season (from Blaine Barthel). … Here’s a look at the Tony Gwynn Memorial Patch on SDSU. Nice (via CBS Sports).

Football News: Check out this awesome 1985 preseason program cover for a game between the Tampa Bay Bandits and the New Jersey Generals (h/t The Press Room). … Ever wonder what would have happened if The Drive failed? Here’s your answer. Of course, the Browns would have lost to the Giants in the Super Bowl anyway, but hey…you never know. … Here’s the Mount Union football uni (via Chris Beck). … Neat look at the planned improvements to the new Miami Dolphin stadium.

NBA News: The NBA All Star Game is, of course, tomorrow, and the unis aren’t terrible. But in 1977, the All Star Game was in Milwaukee when the uniforms matched the host city’s colors, and the unis were fantastic (thanks to “devin the dude”). Here’s a closeup of the shorts from that game (I think the only “I’d wear that” we’ll here on those will come from Jim Vilk). H/T to CodyTheChicken & Todd Radom. … Shortly after I received that, I was informed, “I’m let you finish but these are the best all star jerseys of all time by “SUPERCAMPION”). … Of course, Jim Vilk has his own opinion of the best NBA ASG unis (those are from 1981). … Last night’s Celebrity Game unis came complete with ads (h/t Uni Nation Blog). Sigh. … Here’s a look at OKC Thunder Seattle Sonics logos over the years. … “Paul George released his new PG-13 logo – not bad!” says Mike the Intern. I actually had similar sentiments prior to receiving Mike’s e-mail. But then, I happen to like “personal” logos. … Here’s a look at the Team USA jerseys for the NBA rising stars of the NBA All-Star Weekend (via Hornets). … And here’s a look at the world (Sean Golden). … And here’s how they looked together (via Hornets). … The floor of the Brooklyn Court resembles a subway stop sign for the ASG. Pretty neat (h/t Devin Kharpertian). … “The Biggest Thing in Fashion? An N.B.A. Player, of Course” (from TommytheCPA).

Hockey News: Here’s yet another example of the hockey helmet treatment matching what is also done for football: Bangor Rams Hockey. Here’s the football version (thanks to Paul Dillon). … Wow, check out this old Boston Bruins sweater (complete with Boston Cubs patch on the sleeve), worn by Eddie Shore. Old. Time. Hockey. (thanks to Kyle Clauss). Or are those really Boston Cubs uniforms (click the link in that tweet). … “Egads, the men’s ice hockey team at my daughter’s college is going all-in on the patriotic tip: camo PLUS flag desecration,” writes Scott Jamison. “Maybe the fact that they’re raising money for a veterans organization gives them a pass?” … Here are the Stadium Series helmet decals for the LA Kings (h/t Go Kings Go). And here’s an article with Quick & Jones on just that (thanks to Chris Bisbee). … Looks like Q-pac had some camoesque unis last night (via Swedes). Here’s another look. … “Eyesore pink AND purple cancer jerseys for the Greenville Road Warriors (last) night” says Cody Fields. … Speaking of unis that would make Paul physically ill, here are the Milwaukee Admirals doing something to Put Cancer In The Box (h/t Hotel Brooks).

Soccer News: Some Tampa Bay Rowdies – Pre-Season Uni Prep (courtesy of Jerry Kulig), who writes, “Festival of colors, to my surprise.” … Is this our first sighting of Nike’s new Norway kits?

College/Other Hoops News: Last night’s Toledo Rockets jerseys honored Toledo Mayor Michael Collins who tragically passed away after suffered cardiac arrest while driving during a snowstorm (thanks to Phil Burwell). … Thanks to Gregg Tiernan, here’s a look at some changes to college logos since 2014. Some have minor tweaks (color, size etc). … Here’s a very odd look for a hoops game. Not only is one time wearing white tops and red bottoms, they’re both wearing white tops! Maybe some kind of mixup (h/t to Paul and Scott Holland). … Last night the black and orange Beavers became pink Beavers for their “Dam Cancer” thingy (h/t OSU Beaver Dam). More Pink Beavers. … Speaking of pink-outs, Lamar had one Thursday night (from Ashly Elam). … And there was a pink out for Drake (don’t go there), from Parker Klyn. Here’s how those looked on court — a color on color matchup (h/t Sean Calhoun). … There will be another Pink Out (Play 4 Kay/Rally Against Cancer) by Vermont this week. … Georgetown ladies went pink too (via Georgetown Hoyas). … Neat old photo of Morris High School hoops — dig those belts (from Jeff Wilk). … Uni ads spotted at the high school level: Latham Western HS in Ohio’s shooting shirts (thanks to Alex Hider). … Fresno State is latest (and presumably last) school to add a memorial patch for Jerry Tarkanian (from Paul). … Toledo wore special warmups Thursday night for the Tie One On fundraiser. Looks like they missed on Angel Aparicio’s name juuust a tad (from Dan Bly). … What the hell is Bill Walton wearing? Apprently it’s this.

Grab Bag: “I was poking around that military site again and came across the below,” writes Jay Sullivan. “Sorry if you have seen this before but I thought it was pretty amazing if it was made by a POW. Then I saw this basketball jersey with the same flaming bomb. You are so right that MLB is missing the boat on using old military jersey designs for military appreciation.” … Did you ever wonder “What’s going on with the ‘D’ in the Disney logo?” Well, here’s your answer (h/t Jason Hillyer). … John Daly was a little early breaking out the St. Paddy’s Day trou, no? (thanks to Johnny Okray). … “I saw Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Pirates logos being used commercially in Ambergris Caye, Belize,” says Ken Traisman. … Due to extreme heat, Jimmy Florian competed in the NASCAR race at Dayton Speedway on June 25, 1950 without wearing a shirt, writes Graham Clayton.

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That’s all for today. Big thanks to Jimmer Vilk for his contributions to the Days of Yore, and Alex for the EPL tracker. And of course all of you who tweet at me, and who send in e-mails for the ticker.

Enjoy the NBA festivities tonight, and the rest of the sports today. I’ll be back with a very special NBA-centric post tomorrow, plus a special audio treat. Make sure to check back in then, OK?

And a Happy Valentines Day to all who celebrate.

Follow me on Twitter @PhilHecken.

Peace.

.. … ..

“If I knew about the leg thing I would have asked my boss if I could wear shorts while selling food and souvenirs in the seats…Makes me wonder why I wasn’t dating then — picking up some female companionship at a Force game should have been like shooting fish in a barrel.”

— Jim Vilk

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Comments (79)

    That battleship W Senators uni is pretty much the only one in Washington’s baseball history that I wouldn’t be happy to see the Nats wear as an alt.

    But man, I’d love to see the Nats don Expos powder blues sometime. Perhaps an interleague game in Toronto?

    I had a hard time with the Nats, man. So many to choose from, and the one I would still love to see is one they’ve never worn, but would really be my ultimate Nats uni.

    You may remember that one. The riff on the old Homestead Grays uni the Nats have worn.

    That would be one I’d really like to see (but that doesn’t count for this little exercise).

    I disagree with my distinguished colleague about an Expos uniform appearance by the Washington nine. The baseball heritage of the Capital is rich and should be explored more whether it be the AL, old NL or NNL. Also, the District’s $600 million + investment should result in “Washington” uniforms, even on the road.

    That being said, I fully support the return of Expos uniforms to baseball. I believe there is an AL East team that has a lease ending after 2022 and would be delighted if they could relocate to La belle province.

    Fair point. And like I said, I struggled with Washington unis — but to that point, until baseball rightfully returns to Montreal, I’d like to see those ’69 unis worn at least once. At least they’re the same franchise. Washington wearing anything pre 2005 would be “borrowing” (which I’ve come around to accept) another team.

    So until a team moves back up north, the Nats are our only hope for seeing those duds again.

    Another team that went pink last night was Argentina’s women’s field hockey team playing against the American side in a 1-1 draw played in Lancaster, Pa.

    link

    What about switching the “Phils” uni for one a couple of years later, when they “became” the Blue Jays? Odd thing was that they still had “Phillies” on the front, but added a bird on the left sleeve.
    I’m not good at linking, but saw one and believe that would be a nice one-off for a home game against Toronto.

    I would love to see the A’s make a permanent switch to gold helmets.

    Bill Walton…strange comments (Michael Jordan was average) and unusual outfits…must be the result of smoking weed for 45 years.

    I’d say both the A’s and the Pirates would really add some life to their uniforms by going to gold / yellow caps / batting helmets. And in both cases they’d be working within the tradition of their franchises. I loath the colored “softball tops,” especially the Pirates’, so really prefer those teams in white-white and gray-gray, and things like livelier colored caps and actual socks you can see sure give those traditional color schemes more of the kind of visual interest we old-timers grew up with.

    All I want is for the Red Sox to bring back the red crowned cap from the mid/late 70s as an alternate.

    I liked that cap, too. And if the stirrups (or better yet, the socks) were solid red, I might have picked that one for everyday use.

    I grew up with the Braves’ 1972-75 duds, so they’ll always have a special place in my heart. Giving out Aaron replicas on “715” day was an especially classy touch by the organization. But the feedback I’ve seen from the under-30 set tells me this beauty ain’t coming back. Shame. At least my memories remain intact.

    1969 San Diego Padres, yes! One of my all-time favorite uniforms, probably the one the Padres have ever donned that so adroitly blends the great original brown-and-gold color scheme with the later desire for a more classic look. Also yes on the ’69 Pilots, ’69 A’s, etc. There aren’t many teams that would go wrong reverting to what they wore in ’69 (at least from the perspective of this fan who was 13 that season).

    Couldn’t agree more. I was also 13 in 1969 and I just loved the MLB uniforms from that season. The expansion teams’ uniforms/caps that season were perfect. I also liked those early LA Angels and Houston Colt 45s/Astros unis and caps. Keep it simple and elegant (just like the Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox, Cubs, Dodgers, Cardinals, and Pirates). Sadly, today, the idea is to reinvent the wheel yearly or, in the case of college football, weekly.

    Minnesota’s promotions in May go from fur-lined hat to flip-flops within a week.

    But it’s unusual that both the flip-flops and the May cap giveaways are powder blue and navy. You’d almost think there was rehearsing going on.

    My spell check must’ve seen the June homestand sponsored by “Damn Yankees”

    Rebranding, not rehearsing…

    “I must literally be the only one on here who doesn’t want the Padres back in brown.”

    ~~~

    You spelled “on the planet” wrong ;)

    Normally I’d leave this alone, since these are just our opinions, but really…when a team is named after men who wore a certain color, wouldn’t it make sense to wear said color? Most teams have options, but unless you change the name (and San Diego could do that) you might as well embrace the brown.

    Sure. I get that. But brown, to me, seems a better fit for some dirty, cold-type city like Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Buffalo etc…A team in San Diego should wear colors reflective of the atmosphere of the city. Something vibrant like when the Marlins switched. I’m not a fan of them myself but the colors make sense for Miami. Brown just makes me think of the 70’s.

    If you key the colors to “San Diego,” then sure, bright vibrant colors. If you key it to “Padres,” then brown is a reasonable choice. A fairly dark shade, trimmed with old gold/tan/khaki (which go better with brown than brighter colors like orange or athletic gold).

    Navy blue works if you go with the history of San Diego baseball from PCL times.

    I’m actually 100% in disagreement — yellow, gold and orange (along with tan) are the absolute best complements to brown to my eye (Cleveland Browns, U of Wyoming, two of my favorites). The original Padres color scheme is beautiful, with the muted brown brought alive by the vibrant gold. And much of the San Diego metro area is filled with hills that are yellow / tan /brown brush most of the year — not that chamber of commerce image, but endemic to the area and its history, especially when one thinks of the missions and padres of the past.

    I wasn’t as clear as I might have been. To me, tan/khaki/old gold go better with brown as part of a Color set symbolizing the Padres (or the old SD Friars of World Team Tennis). To me, they better evoke 18th Century Californian Franciscan. If you think orange and yellow go better, it’s a perfectly valid opinion.

    Love the 65 Angels and 69 Padres….seeing my first ball games as a kid i saw these uni sets and have loved them since…go “back to the brown” padres and please do it right!

    This entry is the typical “older is better” Uni-Watch bullcrap. Progress happens, and some of the uniforms you guys want back would look so dated and out of place. The new aesthetic is far from perfect, but so was the old one that people around here constantly yearn for. The act is getting tiring and predictable.

    If we wanted every single team to wear these every single day, you’d have a point. But if you paid attention, a lot of these we just want to see sparingly, or just once. So you don’t have a point.

    As I’ve said in the past, there’s room for all kinds of looks in MLB. Keep some current ones, bring back some old ones and introduce some new ones. I don’t care what era it comes from, as long as it looks good.

    You might like part 3 better, unless you only want uniforms from this decade. Then you should just skip it.

    “This entry is the typical “older is better” Uni-Watch bullcrap. Progress happens, and some of the uniforms you guys want back would look so dated and out of place.”

    ~~~

    So your opinion (which is what these are) is more valid than anyone elses? And you must not read Uni Watch very often because there have been several modern uniforms that have come out recently that both Paul and I have liked, so the tired ‘typical Uni-Watch bullcrap’ (no hyphen in Uni Watch, by the way) doesn’t really have any validity.

    This is an exercise in seeing what uni(s) we’d like a team to throwback to (in some instances, but not very many, permanently — because the unis the team is currently wearing suck, from many standpoints, not the least of which are aesthetics and design — points open to debate surely, but it’s not like we ‘dislike’ a uniform because it’s ‘sick’ or ‘fresh’). Most of these are either one and dones or alternates, meaning the teams should wear their current unis, but these are simply unis we’d love to see in addition to the current ones.

    And I don’t think anyone is saying every ‘old aesthetic’ is worth bringing back (you don’t think some of the old unis sucked? Of course they did, but some didn’t). Not every uniform that’s shiny and over designed is good. You’ll look back in 20 years at some of today’s designs and say “what the hell were they thinking” — you’ll also yearn for some of today’s designs when they’re replaced by stuff you don’t like down the road. That’s how it works. Things are cyclical.

    You’ll also probably find you have a soft spot for uniforms you grew up with — it’s a built-in bias and we all have it — but that doesn’t mean those unis are any good. I’m sure anyone who’s not old enough to drink (or has been drinking for 10 years) thinks a LOT of the stuff in the 70s was horrendous. A lot of it is, but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be fun to see it one more time.

    The original Denver Broncos unis (excluding the socks, which were awesome) were probably universally reviled and most agree they were awful (they were hand-me-downs to begin with), but whom amongst us didn’t want to see them take the field one time (home & road) in 2010? That was great, if only to look back at what was NOT a good uni. But I’m glad we saw it. Same goes for the Steelers throwbacks. Aside from the socks, those are pretty bad. But I’m glad we got to see them again.

    Thanks for your thoughts, but please, understand that this is an exercise based upon an article seen elsewhere — we’re sort of playing by those rules. Except for maybe three or four uniforms out of this entire list, we’re not calling for a permanent return to any of the unis shown.

    Looks like the Rising Stars black jersey has a background of high-rise buildings with lights on in the windows.

    At first, I thought they were camo.

    Once I saw them, I realized that’s what they were. If you’re thinking of stairs in an urban environment, light pollution might obscure the real things, but the lights of skyscrapers aren’t a bad substitute.

    Your hearts are in the right place with this series, but I must throw a caveat out there. Any return to a uniform of the past may be disappointing. The uniforms now are cut differently, worn differently, the fonts are not recreated faithfully, striping not perfectly sized, stirrups worn wrongly, etc. For example, I can’t stand that the Mets do not use their linkon their current uniforms and those A’s monochrome throwbacks look goofy compared to the originals.

    The Pirates threw back to ’71 last year for their Sunday home games. I’m sure there were some disappointed fans, but I wasn’t one of them. They weren’t exact replicas, for sure. I didn’t care, though…I loved it.

    Speaking of the NBA All Star game…the current game will be played at Madison Square Garden IV, which opened Feb. 11 1968. Who cares you may say? What is interesting though, is that the 1968 NBA All Star game was played in the old, dilapidated Madison Square Garden III on Jan. 23, 1968. They missed by 19 days of having the game be the first event in the brand new arena! Wonder what they were thinking? The NBA season started earlier then, so the game was played in late January instead of mid-February. With better planning, the game could have launched the new arena. Was that the plan, but construction delays intervened? Did they want to say goodbye to the iconic old arena, a la Yankee Stadium? The sensibility of today’s marketing would likely have been to have it in the new building with a celebrity-filled red carpet gala.

    Speaking of the uniforms for the 1968 game…they portended to what the Knicks uniforms would look like in 1968-9, with the piping, numbers and beautiful vertically arched names. here is a slideshow of that game…also note the awesome warm ups in the days before templates:

    link

    Hey Phil, do you think the ’56 Reds uni should replace their current gray set or the red road alternate?

    Both, but if I only could pick one I’d say the red road. I know there is a lot of love for that, but I’d prefer teams stick to gray on the road (if they’re going to wear a colored top, then they should pair it with white pants; unless you’re the Mets. They shouldn’t pair ANYTHING with the pinstriped pants except pinstriped tops, which they will do with their home blue and camo tops this year. I’m also not a fan of the Mets road tops which actually try to match the gray pants. Just not a good look).

    C’mon guys, the Reds don’t wear Red alts on the road. The red alt is only worn during home day games. The Reds wear only gray on the road. link

    Nice to see the Pilots included in this list. The Mariners had a turn back the clock night in 2006 and wore the Pilots uni. It looked great. Would love to see more of it. Their new Sunday uni has Pilots stirrups. Too bad they didn’t go for the scrambled eggs on the caps.

    link

    Yes. Yes. A hundred thousand times yes.

    Seattle whiffed big time, not putting the “scrambled eggs” on the new alt caps.

    You know, I would really like to see the Mariners use the Pilots’ 69 road uniform as a road alternate. They could substitute the Compass Rose logo for the Pilots logo on the front of the jersey.

    Some good suggestions above, especially as to the Reds, Pirates and Padres.

    A few more:

    link (probably a one-off);

    link home – would have to be a one-off;

    link – a one-off worth doing after so many years

    link – this is the toughest. I think the White Sox’ current roadies are one of the best in the game, but these are sweet. Sunday alt?

    Definitely would like to see the Colt .45s throwbacks as often as the Astros are willing to wear them. And the Sox road design of that era was great, though I like the ’69-70 version with the white “Chicago” enough that I own a replica.

    The blue feather jerseys were what the Braves were wearing when I first started paying attention to baseball, but oh my goodness NO don’t bring them back! If they would go back to something other than their current uniform (which I think is fantastic!), I would like to see it be the pinstriped home uniforms from 1968 – 1971.

    It would be nice to see the Braves throw back to the 68-71 pinstripes at least once. They wore the 69 road uni last year at Wrigley Field. The tomahawk is great, though its nice to see the dark tomahawk from Milwaukee every now and then. Perhaps the feather uni wouldn’t be good for everyday use, but I wouldn’t mind seeing it on a regular basis.

    Here’s a great video, a 1987 feature on former Michigan Football equipment manager Jon Falk.

    link

    Also includes a bonus of Bo Schembechler talking about jersey sizing and fit.

    The ’61 Angels, 65 Astros, and 69 Padres I would love to see come back as your standard everyday unis.

    The only issue and I’m wondering if I am alone in this is can you really say you “play” in a city if you are outside the city/county limits. As always there are exceptions but if you call your team Los Angeles shouldn’t you be at least in LA County. I think that is the one that bothers me the most (and no don’t live in the LA area).

    The Pilots road unis are a big yes. I will probably get slammed by this idea but would love to see a complete re-branding of the Mariners as the Pilots. I know that they would be working “up hill” against the 1 and moved organization, but Pilots is still relevant in the Seattle area. Home to Boeing, pilots bringing in ships and yes on Pilot’s throw back day go with the Rainiers home uni.

    Rebrand them as the SuperSonics.

    /ducks

    I’m with you, Ted E. Anaheim Angels, East Rutherford Giants/Jets…these are rebrands that need to happen.

    /ducks again

    It actually takes a moment to “see” it, but it’s definitely there. The vertical line in the “P” forms the 1, and they kind of fudge the “G” to make a “3” (remove the vertical line from the G”. Also, the 13 is in different colors (do you have colorblindness)? If so, that may be why it’s difficult to make out.

    Here. Click on the link to enlarge — you should be able to see how the make the “13” with this:

    pg 13

    The Astros need to go to those full time. The Reds should go those home and away vests full time as well, or at the very least, introduce them as home and away alts.

    Anyone know why the Capitals are wearing throwbacks on the road while the home Kings are wearing a current uni?

    The Caps’ throwbacks are white, so they wear them on the road irrespective of what the home team is doing.

    In baseball news, I see the new commish says the AL will be the home team for the 2016 All-Star game, which is in San Diego. Makes a bit of sense, as the 2015-2017 games will all be in NL cities. Might as well let the AL bat last once in that span. But for us on this site, that means that the Padres players will be wearing road unis in their home stadium. Does that seem weird to anyone else? How often does that happen in any kind of game? I can only think of strange occurrences like the Miami game that got moved to Seattle (but the Marlins were the home team) or the time Toronto played a home game in Philly.

    WHy is Burt Reynolds on the covers of that BAndits/General program? Besides being an FSU football player. Nevermind, looked it up – he was co-owner of the Bandits.

    I think some of these unis could be adapted into decent faxbacks. For instance, take the ’69 A’s set, get rid of the number on front, add some placket piping and use the current “A’s” logo and you have yourself a winner.

    The Shell and Flame depicted on the old military uniforms is the branch insignia of the Ordnance Corps of the US Army.

    link

    Another interesting tidbit unrelated to uniforms is that the Ordnance Song, “Arms For The Love of America” was written by Irving Berlin.

    Go Ordnance!

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