By Phil Hecken
OK, kids. The entries from the “reimagine a USFL team in another sport” (or something like that) contest are all in, and today we’ll be looking at the entrants in three categories: Baseball, Hockey and Soccer/other. There were some 16 basketball entries (though several of those came from one submitter, for different teams) — and we’ll look at those next time.
I didn’t ask for descriptions, so most entrants didn’t provide any. But we’ll show the entrants in each of the first three categories and provide voting after each set. In some categories, there are multiple submissions from one entrant. Treat each separately for voting purposes. OK? OK!
Let’s start with baseball (for any images below, click to enlarge):
Baseball
Carlos Foglia:
Tampa Bay Bandits
D.P. McIntire:
Jacksonville Bulls
Andrew Seagraves:
Houston Gamblers
New Jersey Generals
Munch Suchland:
Tampa Bay Bandits
Hockey
Ian Borkowski:
Portland Breakers
Brady Ivie:
Birmingham Stallions
Curtis Peddle:
Chicago Blitz
Will Scheibler:
Jacksonville Bulls:
Andrew Seagraves:
Houston Gamblers
Soccer & More
Mark Hinkley:
New Jersey Generals (Soccer)
Andrew Seagraves:
Charlotte Gold (Soccer)
Halifax Towne Breakers (Soccer)
New Jersey Generals (Soccer)
Washington Federals (Soccer)
Club Denver Gold (Gaelic Athletic Association)
Rochester Federals (Curling)
Allentown Blitz (Bowling)
Adelaide Hills Breakers (Rugby)
Peter Wajda
Arizona Wrangers (Soccer)
And there you have it — the first round of USFL Reimagined Designs. Make sure to cast your vote in each category!
Classic Ballpark Scoreboards
I’m pleased to continue with a favorite weekend feature here at Uni Watch, “Classic Ballpark Scoreboards,” which are created by Gary Chanko. You probably know Gary best for his wonderful colorizations, but he has been a solid contributor for many years, and this is his new project. This segment will appear every Saturday on Uni Watch.
Here’s Gary (click on image to enlarge):
Classic Ballpark Scoreboards – Series II
by Gary Chanko
One of the first postings in the Classic Baseball Scoreboards series was Connie Mack Stadium. Back then I was experimenting with different concepts for the scoreboard illustrations. The original Connie Mack Stadium scoreboard only captured the prominent “Ballantine Beer” upper portion. This time we’ll look at a representation of that entire scoreboard.
Connie Mack Stadium Redux
Home of:Philadelphia Athletics (1909-1954) and Philadelphia Phillies (1938-1970)
Last baseball game:October 1, 1970; Demolished: 1976
The original posting (above link) provided background on the scoreboard, so I won’t bother to repeat the interesting facts here.
Ballantine Beer remained a centerpiece atop the scoreboard until the ballpark was closed. The adverting slogan above “Ballantine beer” seemed to change each season. In 1964 (I’m guessing here) the slogan read “TOTEM HOME PENNANT.” Phillies fans know what happened here.
For this illustration I selected the “Save Herman Ballantine” advertising pitch. I only have vague memories of this ad campaign. I believe it dealt with a fictional president of the brewing company (Herman) that discovered someone had changed the Ballantine brew recipe. Perhaps someone has a better recollection of the story and can fill in the details.
So back to the scoreboard, it depicts a Phillies game in progress with the Cardinals on July 10, 1969.
A New Thing to Know
• The 64-feet high Ballantine scoreboard was in play; balls hitting the Longines clock were home runs. Only one player ever cleared the scoreboard – Dick Allen.
Before the massive “Ballantine” scoreboard was installed in 1956, Connie Mack Stadium or Shibe Park (before the Phillies moved in) featured a rudimentary manual scoreboard in right field. In the next edition of Classic Baseball scoreboards, we’ll survey that installation.
If anyone is interested in purchasing a digital copy of these posters, Gary is working on an online purchase option. In the interim you can contact him directly at Classicscoreboards@gmail.com.
Too Good…
for the Ticker
Got an e-mail from Gene Sanny, and while it’s not particularly long — it’s got some very interesting pics with it.
You can click the images to enlarge:
Hi Paul/Phil,
When I was younger and collecting football cards, I noticed on some pictures that were close-up enough, I could see that some of the players had some bars cut out of their face masks. It became an obsession of mine looking for face masks like that, and recently I was looking around the web for some helmet pics and stumbled upon Dan Ross’ USFL Breakers helmet and it was like the Holy Grail for me, because you could see actual saw marks in the rubber and metal of the mask. I’ve attached it here along with a few others.
1. The Dan Ross helmet
2. Another Breaker
3. John Kasay, wearing a modern version…. basically what became of these first two as an example…. i guess they just started making them that way in the first place so they wouldn’t have to saw them off.
4. Bill Johnson, Denver Gold USFL
5. Kenny Stabler…. another good shot where you can really see the metal in the center of the mask and where it would connect up on the forehead area.
6. Garo Yepremian when he was with the saints. Didn’t see a lot of Dungard masks get cut like this…. you can see near where it connects to the side of the helmet, that it’s been hacksawed away at…. more so on the far side of the picture. The near side almost looks like they used black electrical tape to cover any protruding metal.
7. Steve Grogan in Superbowl XX against the Bears. This shot really shows on the inside of the front of the mask the “bumps” that were left behind after cutting. This type of mask, without the double bar like this had before the cutting, actually existed, so i’m not sure why he would just cut out the bottom of the middle 2 bars like that… lucky face mask? If the final score was any indicator, I’d say not.
Well, that’s it…. I thought I’d share an old obsession with you… kinda therapeutic.
Gene Sanny
Thanks, Gene. Great Stuff.
OK. Now, onto the ticker…
Uni Watch News Ticker:
Baseball News: The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim recently told their ticket workers to continue tending to late-arriving patrons as the national anthem plays (thanks to Jon Solomonson). … Is the Rays’ powder blue jersey with these striped stirrups the “best stirrup/uni combo” in the league? Brian Porter thinks so. … As the Houston Astros turn 50, our pal Todd Radom takes a look at how they came to be. … The Salem Red Sox will be wearing camo jerseys every home Friday this year (h/t MiLB promos). … Yesterday the St. Louis Cardinals celebrated Red Schoendienst’s 70 years in uniform with videos, a pre-game ceremony & uniform patch (h/t Eric Spoonmore). Here’s a closeup look at the patch (via Thomas Qualls). … Last night at Parkview Field, the Fort Wayne TinCaps wore Padres-esque jerseys — with the current script, but IN BROWN! #BringBackTheBrown. … Lackawanna College has got some camo going. … Neat Facebook video showing Kris Bryant’s new jersey was created (thanks, Brinke). … May 2 (not May the Fourth) is Star Wars night for the Jacksonville Generals, so here’s what they’ll be wearing (via MiLB Promos). … On Sunday, two MiLB franchises (Mets and Astros AAA Affiliates) will wear uniforms honoring Jerry Tarkanian. … “Some people get their Christmas or Valentine’s Day cards postmarked through certain post offices (ex. Santa Claus, IN; Loveland, CO…),” explains Tom Nichol. “However, there are other, little-known postmarks authorized for local community events. I thought you’d get a kick out of this sweet one saluting former Pittsburgh Pirate Kent Tekulve. The cache (combination of postcard, stamp, and postmark) is sweet! The reason for all of this? The Wilkinsburg Stamp Club is having their annual stamp show this weekend.” … “My son recently started little league, and I was overjoyed to discover that the league issues knicker pants to all of its players!” exclaims “Uniform Guru”. “Apparently the league president refuses to allow any other pants. The majors division teams even wear striped socks and I’ve also seen them in stirrups too. I don’t have any great pics but you can see a slideshow of some pictures here.” … What’s up with A-Rod’s helmet? (good spot by Jason Yeckley). … Whoops: Crew Chief Jerry Meals still wearing his Jackie Robinson Day iron on patch two days later (h/t Curtis Galvin). … For the first time since they reintroduced their orange jerseys, the San Francisco Giants wore orange brim caps (h/t Sons of Johnny LeMaster). … Tonight, in what will be the most beautiful game of the year, the Angels and Astros will throw back to 1965. Awesome. … The Minnesota Twins are going with ‘business/casual scoreboard photos for some reason (from Nathan Gruber).
NFL News: “The internet is officially out of ideas,” writes Jonathan Daniel. Why? Because someone has now created NFL logos as butts (this trend clearly jumped the shark months years ago). … Players selected in the NFL Draft will be getting redesigned hats (thanks, Paul). … Asa Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens has switched to a “possibly toxic uniform number,” (according to Stephen Murphy).
College Football News: Over the past few days there has been talk of new UNC football unis. Will they have argyle on them? What do you guys think of this possibility?
NBA News: Here’s (what I hope is a tongue-in-cheek) article explaining how the new Washington Wizards’ logo is loaded with sexual imagery. Pretty sure it’s a goof, but funny regardless.
Hockey News: In a game that took place Thursday night, the Russian National Hockey Team wore “CCCP” (Soviet) sweaters for the first period of their friendly against Finland. It was actually Finland who suggested this. … These St. Louis Blues-themed pancakes are impressive (thanks to Elena Elms). … Here’s a shot of Ottawa coach Dave Cameron paying homage to Mark Reeds (nice screen shot by Matt Larsen).
Soccer News: When Saturday Comes, an outstanding journal of English football, has launched a website featuring photography from its pages. Notes submitter Cort McMurray, “It’s well worth a look.”
Grab Bag: Check out this old lacrosse commercial. Submitter Connor Wilson says, “An instant classic. I love that the orange uniforms just say ‘lacrosse’ running vertically down the front. Makes me want a Pepsi.” … Is this the best auction item ever? That’s World B Free’s mink coat, which is currently going for bargain-basement prices (thanks to Jonathan Daniel). … Also from Jonathan, are these the best socks ever? … Warrior Lacrosse brand has partnered with the Grateful Dead, collection will be sold starting 5/1 (via Darren Rovell). … Check out this picture of David Letterman in a Notre Dame shirt (via Matthew Moss). … “Wisconsin’s adidas contract ends next year and there are rumors of Under Armour or Nike taking over,” says Alex Bauer. “After the hideous basketball tournament uniforms adidas forced them to wear, I hope they make the switch (preferably Nike).”
That’s going to do it for today. Everyone have a great Saturday — big thanks to all the USFL concepters (make sure to vote) and to Gary, Gene and all those who submitted for the ticker. I’ll be back tomorrow with more. Catch you then.
Follow me on Twitter @PhilHecken
Peace.
“That Chicago Sky logo always looks like it’s giving me the finger.”
–Johnny
Great submissions all around. I especially liked the work in the Soccer & More category. Wish I could’ve voted for both Federals designs, the Blitz bowling shirt, and the Wranglers concept. I went with Peter’s Wranglers kit, because it’s my favorite of all the entries in the whole contest. But it was painful to have to choose!
I was perusing ESPN.com just now & saw a couple of slides they’d posted regarding the NBA’s first round playoffs matchups. What caught my eye was that I didn’t realize they’re still using the same conference logos they adopted over 20 years ago.
link
link
You’d think, what with all we read in the press release b.s. surrounding uni redesigns, they’d go for something more hip and edgy and appealing to kids–something more simplistic like “The East” and “The West” with a whole lot more black.
I sure wish it was “the Houston Astros of The National League henceforth and forevermore.”
Amen.
And send the Brewers to the AL Central, moving the Royals to the West.
Although I’m getting used to the idea of Houston and Texas being division rivals. I can live with that, I suppose, but the Brewers still feel out of place after all these years.
No one from Wisconsin complains about them not being in the AL anymore – other then our division killing us right now
The Giants finally got Orange Friday right… For the last few years they always paired the black caps with the orange jersey. The orange billed caps were meant to be worn with the jersey with the “Giants” script – to somewhat match the style of the 1977-1982 uniform. Unfortunately for them, they are playing like the 1979 team.
Re: Wizards logo and sex:
I guess I wasn’t the only one with a dirty mind ….
I didn’t know how much I liked the J-Bulls, Breakers and Stallions motifs until I had to vote.
Fascinating how the Boston Breakers scheme link link. It’s currently on its second sport, third team* and fourth* league (*depending on how you count).
PS If Finland and Russia (or the Soviet Union) can play a hockey “friendly”, anyone can.
Love the feature on the sawed-off facemasks – great stuff!
While there’s a better than good chance that the Badgers will switch uniform providers next year (the relationship with adidas and the athletic department isn’t as cozy as the article implies; there have been both on-field and retail supply issues for a couple years), I’d be utterly shocked if they went with Nike. UW has long refused to deal with Nike over their overseas production & payment issues. If there’s a switch, it’ll be Under Armour.
USFL reboot: all the ones I really like are in the same category: Mr. Hinkley’s Generals and Mr. Seagraves’ Jersey Generals, Washington Federals and Denver Gold. Tiebreaker goes to Denver Gold. I’d wear the life out of those!
I am not usually a big fan of these redesigns, but Inabsolutely love Andrew’s NJ Generals soccer kit, especially the white version. I would but one today if it were available!
It’s funny that… “Team owner Judge Roy Hofheinz went on record as favoring ‘Stars,’ a reference to Houston’s expanding role in the space program.”
I always associated Texas with stars and being the lone star state. Growing up, I thought the team chose the name primarily because it was the Greek prefix for “star” and the space program was secondary.
There are many stories about how they got their name. The one that makes the most sense is they were to going to be the Astronauts and sensing it would be abbreviated in the papers as Astros (like Yanks, Phils, Cards), the team chose that. Then, the stadium was named after the team (like Yankee Stadium and Tiger Stadium).
Re: Wizards logo/ Mwa….no you weren’t the only one with a dirty mind, that’s the first stuff I thought when I saw it.
Re:USFL CONCEPT REDOS…..all excellent by everybody. BRAVO!!! So many difficult choices to vote for in each category.
I, for one, thoroughly enjoyed those NFL butt logos.
I was hoping someone would do a Tampa Bay Bandits baseball concept, and I was not disappointed.
Wasn’t expecting bowling or curling shirts, so consider me extremely pleased.
Great stuff, everyone! Now I have to go back and vote. Not gonna be easy…
As someone who is into facemasks almost as much as the rest of you are into stirrups, I’m kicking myself for not knowing that Stabler was missing a piece of his. His teammate Harold Hart and the Cowboys Aaron Kyle had similar masks but they were of the more traditional RB style masks. But they still looked out of place. Like when QBs like Don Meredith and Marty Domres wore the full RB style masks with the pieces still on them.
I think argyle will look good on Carolina’s football unis. It’s better than the dreck they’ve had the last two years or so …
Missed opportunity for the Generals with Star Wars Night. Why go with R2D2 and C3PO when your name is the Generals? Both Han Solo and Obi-Wan are referred to at times as “General” in the movies. Or get a little deeper and use General Grievous! How hard is that?
Wowzers! Thank you for all of the votes for my Breakers set! I am shocked, quite honestly. And since Phil didn’t include descriptions for the submissions that included them, here’s what I said about my Breakers concepts:
The home and road are inspired by the Islanders’ “Fisherman” jerseys of the ’90s, but toned down a bit. The alternate jersey is inspired by the Breakers original football jerseys, mixed with a bit of Montreal Canadiens meets Cliff Engle sweater design
Regarding the other amazing entries, Curtis’ Blitz hockey-modified logo and Andrew’s Generals MLS set are top-notch in my book! Great work, everyone!!
Want to echo my thanks as well to everyone as well! A lot of great concepts today :)
Also, thanks for everyone’s feedback! Much love, y’all!
I don’t understand why this blog includes a ticker item today, “In a game that took place Thursday night, the Russian National Hockey Team wore “CCCP” (Soviet) sweaters for the first period of their friendly against Finland. It was actually Finland who suggested this.” after it profiled those uniforms much more effectively in a ticker item Friday. Having ticker items listed redundantly in a window of a few days occurs quite often here. Do the ticker organizers not read the blog on the days they aren’t coordinating it? Just saying . . .
The Boston/New Orleans/Portland Breakers USFL stuff is about the best looking defunct uniforms I’ve ever seen. Simple, clean with great colors. Love, love, love the helmet.
It’s such a good set it works on other sports too as proved by your contest.
In regards to the Too Good for the Ticker Section about facemasks; I can’t believe no one has noticed or picked up on Marcus Mariota’s facemask during his last season at Oregon. If you look closely and compare it to the “stock” version of that facemask he has two extra horizontal bars that stop right before the middle section of his facemask.