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Meet The Ex-Rays (Part II)

Rays Redesign2 550

By Phil Hecken

Back today with Part II of the Redesign The Rays contest. If you missed Part I, click here.

Lets see today’s submissions (remember, click on any photo to enlarge, and you can vote for your favorite designs at the end).

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Markham, Chris - Buffalo Rays

Chris Markham – “Buffalo Rays”


Markham, Chris - Buffalo Rays 2

The Buffalo Rays… hear me out on this one. We know Buffalo isn’t exactly the poster child for sunshine and warm weather (though it is beautiful during the summer when the majority of baseball is played), but it will be soon home to the largest solar factory in the Western Hemisphere. And with the Rays sun/solar brand already established, why not keep the name? They wouldn’t be the only pro team with a nickname that is at least a little ironic (Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Lakers, etc). They can even stay in the AL East. Buffalo is a city on the rise, and Terry Pegula has a couple billion dollars left after buying the Sabres and Bills to purchase a MLB franchise and build a mixed-use, retractable roof stadium to host the Bills and Rays, right?

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Miller, Randy - OVALS UNIFORMS

Randy Miller – “Indianapolis Ovals”


Attached is my concept of the relocated Tampa Bay Rays now the Indianapolis Ovals. A take on the racing heritage of Indianapolis without using the standard Racers, Checkers, Speed, Turbos, etc… I kept similar colors, though I ditched the yellow for gray.

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Miller, Trayton - CarolinaFULLSET

Trayton Miller – “Carolina Loggerheads”


This is my entry into the “Redesign the Rays” contest: The Carolina Loggerheads. I wanted to blend a growing city, a diverse fanbase, traditional southern charm, familiar area college colors, and an iconic regional animal together with this set. The logo contains the South Carolinian flag’s crescent moon flipped to make a “c” shape, the Loggerheads “LH” abbreviation, and a cute little abstract turtle that I like quite a bit.

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Nitram, Ren - Lynx Home

Ren Nitram – “Ontario Lynx”

Nitram, Ren - Lynx Road

Nitram, Ren - Lynx Alt Lynx Logo

[No Description Given]

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Peacock, Greame - Albuquerque Left Turns 1

Graeme Peacock – “Albuquerque Left Turns”


Peacock, Greame - Albuquerque Left Turns 2

Albuquerque, New Mexico. A city that could potentially host a team. Based on the Famous Bugs saying, The colours come from the Flag and bugs himself, with the font work based on the ‘Thats all folks!’ at the end of all WB cartoons.

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Polizzi, Ben - Indianapolis Drive Home

Ben Polizzi – “Indianapolis Drive”

Polizzi, Ben - Indianapolis Drive Away

Polizzi, Ben - Indianapolis Drive Alt2 Polizzi, Ben - Indianapolis Drive Alt1

It’s every Hoosier’s dream to have a Major League team in Indy. Take a look at a big league team with some racing flavor. Overall Description: All uniforms feature checkered trim on the right pant pocket and racing flags on the left sleeve. The alternate features checkered trim on the hat brim with a “finish line” stripe on the uniform/socks for a classic, clean look. Enjoy fellas.

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Raus, Peter - Claremont Citrus Home Uniform

Peter Raus – “Claremont Citrus”


Raus, Peter - Claremont Citrus Road Uniform Raus, Peter - Claremont Citrus Primary Logo

I’m a 15-year-old avid reader of UW. For the contest, I chose my hometown, Claremont, California. Known for its universities, Claremont’s history involves citrus farms. My team is based on this heritage; hence, the inception of the Claremont Citrus.

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Schoonover, Scott - buffalo wings uniforms

Skott Schoonover – “Buffalo Wings”


Schoonover, Scott - Buffalo Wings

Terry Pegula is going to buy the Rays, and move them to Buffalo to become…The Buffalo Wings. Get it?
They’re going to have the color scheme of their namesake, consisting of Deep Fried Brown, Caliente Crimson, and Buffalo Sauce Orange.
Home, Road, Cold Weather, and Wing Day Alts.
Wings Up!

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Schroeder, Eric - Vancouver_Mounties_Uniform

Eric Schroeder – “Vancouver Mounties”


Schroeder, Eric - Vancouver_Mounties_Logos

[No Description Given]

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Seher, Greg - Portland Pioneers

Greg Seher – “Portland Pioneers”


Attached is my idea, Portland Pioneers. Using the city flag for part of the logo, they have great color set on their flag with baby blue, yellow, and green. Unique for baseball and it showcases colors the Rays franchise has used in the past. Some simple and classy block lettering, and I threw in the 70s/80s thick shoulder stripe to make them a little different from every other team. Secondary logo using the Oregon state seal. The colored jerseys aren’t game alternates, but could be used for batting practice or spring training. I like to keep it old fashioned, white at home and gray on the road.

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Shay, Tim - Nashville Jersey Home

Tim Shay – “Nashville Railroaders”

Shay, Tim - Nashville Jersey Away

Shay, Tim - Nashville Jersey Alternate

Railroaders was selected as the nickname due to Nashville’s rich rail Heritage with the Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis Railway (NC&StL) that later became a part of the Louisville & Nashville (L&N) Railroad.
Color Palette Mimics the Original Paint Scheme of L&N Diesel Locomotives (Navy, Orange, Creme)
Cap Logo is the Letter N made from a Track Crossover to further tie in the Railroad Theme (Also Alternate Uni Logo)
Was going to put NOB, but decided to go NNOB after seeing the Numbers rendered in Steam Locomotive era font

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Shields, Charlie - Fayetteville Fallsox

Charlie Shields – “Fayetteville Fallsox”


My hometown of Fayetteville, Arkansas isn’t likely to ever get a MLB team, but if we did, this is my idea for a concept. Autumn is the most beautiful time of year here in the Ozarks, and I think the Fallsox would always play their best in October.

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Smith, Nate - Montreal Monarques

Nate Smith – “Montreal Monarques”


NAME: Montreal Monarques (i.e. Monarchs), synonymous with “Royals,” Montreal’s original baseball team.

UNIFORMS AND LOGOS: Similar to the ’92-’04 Expos with other cues from Montreal’s culture and baseball history. The silhouettes on the sleeve patch are of Mt. Royal, the city’s namesake, with the Cartier monument in the foreground.

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Sondoleski, Joshua - Portland Cascades 3

Joshua Sondoleski – “Portland Cascades”

Sondoleski, Joshua - Portland Cascades 2

Sondoleski, Joshua - Portland Cascades 1

PORTLAND CASCADES: Named after the mountain range that defines the Pacific Northwest, the team uses the rose as a symbol that winks at one of Portland’s many nicknames”” The City of Roses.

HOME UNI: The home uni is stripped back, using the team name across the chest, the rose as a patch on the sleeve and a simple cap. The uni piping is dark grey and repeated on the stirrups in the same weight.

AWAY UNI: The road uni is also stripped back, using the city name across the chest, the rose as a patch on the sleeve and a simple cap that incorporates the same road grey as found on the jersey and pants. The red of the jersey piping is repeated on the stirrups.

STUMPTOWN ALTERNATE UNI: The alternate uni features the rose on the chest as well as the player number. The cap has multicolored panels and the sleeve incorporates a patch that takes visual cues from a baseball but displays the boroughs of Portland as defined by the Willamette, the Columbia and Burnside.

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Tighe, Robert - Green Bay Rays

Robert Tighe – “Green Bay Rays”


Could Green Bay love a baseball team as much as they love their Packers? Naming the team after Ray Nitschke helps. “Green Bay Rays” flows off the tongue and it’s a great double entendre. Throw in the Pack’s gorgeous colors and you’ve got a Major League ball club.

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Torrez, Larry - Hiboux-2

Larry Torrez – “Montreal Hiboux”

Torrez, Larry - Hiboux-3

Torrez, Larry - Hiboux-4 Torrez, Larry - Hiboux-1

Pretty self-explanatory. quick mocks for a Montreal based team named… the Owls, or Hiboux because… why not.

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Vee63 - Vancouver Grays

Vee63 – “Vancouver Grays”


Since the Rays name has a double meaning, I decided to move the franchise to Vancouver, add a G, and turn the team into the Grays. This maintains the double meaning, referring to the weather (usually rainy), and also to the Gray Whale, which is local to the area.

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And there you have it — the second (and final) set of entries. The top 3 vote getters from today will move on to the finals next weekend. You may vote for up to three entries (and you can vote once per day).

Here’s the poll:

+ + + + + + + + + +

Rays Redesign Contest-Part II

 
pollcode.com free polls

+ + + + + + + + + +

As with yesterday, please give all the contestants a nice virtual round of applause (and hey, if you like some, let them know and maybe even campaign for them) in the comments below. Big thanks to everyone who submitted. Next weekend we’ll have the final voting for our winner!

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royal giants


Paul’s Latest ESPN Piece

In a move designed to coincide with the first throwback game in history (the “Turn Back The Clock” game played by the White Sox on July 11, 1990), ESPN ran one of Paul’s columns yesterday, and it’s a doozy.

Paul’s taken a very in-depth (and very well researched) look at The Best Throwback Uniform in the history of each Major League Baseball team (and it’s also apropos today since today the Cubs and White Sox will be playing a double tribute-throwback game this afternoon). Enjoy. I don’t agree with every one of his choices, but I’d say most of them are spot-on. Great stuff there and highly recommended reading.

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colorize this

Colorize This!

Occasionally, I will be featuring wonderful, high-quality black and white photographs that are just begging to be colorized.

Got a few this weekend, and they come from the colorizers you know and love, and one you may not know…

Enjoy!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

First up is George Chilvers with (wait for it) a football (soccer) colorization:

John McKie Southampton murdered wife colour - George Chilvers

Hi Phil,

A fairly standard (if somewhat blurry) picture of an late 19th century footballer. So why have I bothered to colourise him?

This is John McCoy (alias John McKie) of Southampton, a fairly competent right-back. Nothing to separate him from the bulk of players around in the late 1890s.

But on a Tuesday morning, October 23, 1906, the ex-Southampton footballer walked into Cumnock Police station in Ayrshire and, according to the Cumnock Chronicle, “quietly” informed the on-duty sergeant that he had “just cut his wife’s throat and he had called to give himself up”.

And so it was.

What had driven John McCoy to such a desperate act? Unfortunately, he chose not to take the stand during his trial, his defence team instead stating “that at the time when the accused is alleged to have committed the crime charged against him he was insane, and was subject to and acted under the influence of a maniacal paroxysm and sudden uncontrollable insane impulse which deprived him of his senses”.

The Southern Evening Echo ”“ who were also reporting the story with great interest – remembered him as being “a dashing defender, just over average height, lithe in build and with curly flaxen hair; he was the ”˜beau ideal’ of a footballer”.

A picture emerged of a tortured soul temporarily unbalanced by a massive sustained indulgence in alcohol, in the days leading up to the murder, a lack of any clear motive and the fact the case for the Crown did not produce sufficient medical evidence to “meet the special plea of the defence” was, just about, enough to spare John the hangman’s noose.

After just 20 minutes, the jury ”“ following direction from the judge – returned with a verdict of culpable homicide and John McCoy, ex-Southampton and Hampshire County footballer was sentenced to ten years penal servitude.

We talk today of players under stress and acting out of character. Bear a thought for the tortured mind of John McCoy.

George

. . .

Next up is Bruce Menard, who has a couple:

1962 (Jun30) Sandy Koufax 1st No-Hitter vs Mets in LA  (edit)color6BrdW - Bruce Menard


1962 (Jun30) Sandy Koufax 1st No-Hitter vs Mets in LA  (edit orig bw)

Phil,

Here’s the before/after of the colorization I made for the anniversary of Sandy Koufax’s 1st no-hitter (vs. Mets – June 30, 1962).

I’ve always loved that pic, “Koufax (0-4)” is too funny! Anyways, I thought a bit of color would bring it some new life.

Cheers!
~Bruce

. . .

1939 (Jul4) LG Day Speech (edit) x13 - Bruce Menard


1939 (Jul4) LG Day Speech x1 (raw)W

Phil,

Here’s the before/after of my colorization of Lou Gehrig standing near the microphones on July 4, 1939 at Yankee Stadium, right before he gave his “…Luckiest man on the face of the earth” speech.

I decided to only partly colorize the background (grass/sky/flag) in order to bring more emphasis on Lou.

Cheers!
~Bruce

. . .

1939 (Jul11) YS All Star Game DiMaggio Speaker (color  x800)11 - Bruce Menard


1939 (Jul11) YS All Star Game DiMaggio Speaker (pre  edit)

Hi Phil,

OK, here’s the last colorization of the weekend: Joe DiMaggio and Tris Speaker at the 1939 All-Star Game, Yankee Stadium (July 11, 1939).
The American League won that year by a score of 3-1, with The Yankee Clipper connecting for the only home run of the game in the 5th inning.

Cheers!

~ Bruce

. . .

We close today with one from Chris of Mancave Pictures:

Hy Myers, Wilbert Robinson & Batboy, Brooklyn NL, 1916 - Mancave Pictures


Meyers & Robinson

Hey Paul & Phil

Here’s my latest. I absolutely love the composition of this trio, and I wonder if it was carefully composed or if the photographer was just quick enough to grab it.

Chris

. . .

That’s it for today. Tremendous job, as always, George, Bruce & Chris.

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Too Good For the Ticker


Too Good…

for the Ticker

Got an e-mail from Jeremy Brahm, our Pacific Rim Correspondent, who has a bunch of stuff on Sumo and Volleyball. Wait…what?

I’ll let him explain:

. . .

Paul & Phil,

It is not often that you see sumo and volleyball go together.

Japan will be hosting the FIVB World Cup in August and September. Fuji TV is broadcasting the event and its volleyball mascot Vabo-chan is very recognizable.

Vabo-chan for the World Cup is even put in other countries looks.

The Dominican Republic though has a sombrero, so it is a little off.
Women’s look for this year
Men’s look for this year

Well, Fuji is on their promotional campaign and they found that sumo wrestler Fujiazuma had the same name as the company.

The maemawashi, the pre-match apron worn during daily ceremonies is usually sponsored by fans and sometimes companies. So Fuji TV has paid for an apron for Fujiazuma with Vabo-chan on it.

He’ll be wearing it for the Nagoya basho (tournament) in July.

Also, a lion statue in front of the Ginza Mitsukoshi station is wearing a Japanese volleyball uniform with the number of 26. There are 25 people named to the Japanese roster, so the 26 is for the Japanese fans.

Jeremy

Thanks, Jeremy.

OK. Now, onto the ticker…

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Uni Watch News Ticker:

Baseball News: Today, the White Sox and the Cubs will play the first of two throwback games where each team will honor one of its dearly departed (Sox=Minnie Minoso; Cubs=Ernie Banks). More details here. … This photo was on Uni Watch yesterday, but here’s a much higher resolution photo of JFK and Washington All Star baseball (from Bruce Menard, of course). … Oops – The Mets got crushed by the Toronto Maple Leafs Friday night (nice spot by Alan Kreit). … Take a look at the awesome Grateful Dead jerseys sported by the Tennessee Smokies last night (h/t Smokies Baseball). … Yesterday the Royals and Blue Jays played color vs. color — it was light blue vs. dark blue (h/t Nicholas Weber and Alex respectively). … The Buffalo Bisons wore these gorgeous uniforms, mimicking their parent club, the Toronto Blue Jays, and their Canada Day uniforms (h/t Leah Voit for the Bison news). … They’re selling ASG shirts just outside of the GABP in Cincy for the game (no surprise), but this one has an upside-down “8” (good spot by Dan Luther). … The Fort Myers Miracle did a Back To The Future thingy last night (h/t MiLB Promos). … Yesterday, the Rockies broke out the Memorial Day camo for military appreciation day (via Mike Nessen). More game photos here. … If you’re in or around Baltimore today, you might want to stop by OPACY and pick up a free Hawai’ian shirt (first 20K fans only). … Gotta love Royals backup catcher Drew Butera who not only goes gloveless, he also chokes up on the bat (nice grab by Paul). … Yesterday, the Dodgers held Juan Uribe bobblehead day, and he homered — which was pretty awkward, given that he plays for the Braves (h/t Mike Nessen). … Uribe may be gone, but he’s not forgotten: The Dodgers had a cutout of Juan Uribe’s head in the dugout last night (h/t Brian Porreca).

NFL/Football News: I know we’ve discussed this a bit, but Casey Baker writes, “I was on SB Nation and saw a post for the IFAF, an international football tournament. Here is a link for the article. I truly love Mexico’s helmets.” … “Jim Harbaugh has Nike value, from his Michigan hat on down,” writes Stephen Ceruolo. “The financial value of a coach wearing a hat. Ex-coach Brady Hoke, did not wear a hat on the sidelines.” … Check out this beautiful Niagara Football Uniform, circa 1935 (from Ryan Dowgin. … Here’s a look at the new Notre Dame/Wilson footballs for the 2015 season (h/t Warren Junium). … “Caught this from a clip of a high school 7-on-7 championship hosted by Bethel (TN) University,” writes Dustin Semore. “That’s the McKenzie High School Rebels with a very unique number. It looks like they dipped their hand in paint and held up the number of fingers their jersey number would be. You see the QB wearing 4 and the C wearing 5. Not everybody has it (the guard and a WR later in the video didn’t either).” … Yesterday’s Philadelphia Soul Military Appreciation game jerseys were “a visual cacophony” writes Lee David Wilds.

Soccer News: Hartlepool Utd new away kit has “The Great Escape” written under the badge to honor the previous season when the team avoided relegation after a season of being bottom of the league for 90% of the campaign. “Has there ever been a addition to celebrate mediocrity as much as this?” asks submitter Gareth Hammond. … We’ve probably seen a bunch of these already, but here’s Barcelona, PSG & European home jerseys for 2015-16. … Mike Engle writes, “33 is a common hockey goalie number, but in soccer, it’s 99% #1, with #12; 18; 23 sometimes being goalie numbers. Petr Cech has a new team at age 33 and after 333 Premiership games, and he wants to be the backbone, which has 33 vertebrae.”

Grab Bag: This is pretty cool: Objects matched with their pantone colors (from Mike Chamernik). … Serena Williams won Wimbledon yesterday (for the sixth time, no less), and has now completed her second “Serena Slam” — that’s four consecutive Grand Slams, but not in the same calendar year. She can win a full Grand Slam if she wins the U.S. Open this September.

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And that’s all for today, folks — if you didn’t already, don’t forget to vote for your favorite (you can vote for up to three) concept(s) for the Redesign the Rays contest. Big thanks, again, to all the submitters and best of luck to all. Next weekend we’ll have the top three from today’s vote (and the top three from yesterday’s contest) have a final run-off to determine the winner. Thanks also to George, Bruce and ManCave for the colorizations and everyone who contributed to today’s ticker. Oh, and Go Fed! Enjoy your Breakfast at Wimbledon, everyone. I’ll catch you next weekend.

Follow me on Twitter @PhilHecken.

Peace.

.. … ..

“If the only thing you can think of is slavery when you think of picking cotton, you’re the one with a problem.”

–The Jeff

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Comments (29)

    Nothing against yesterday’s designs, but I feel today’s crop is taking it up a notch (over-all). DAMN. Great contest.

    Agreed. Narrowing it to three was a little trickier. Yesterday’s designs mostly had good presentation, but the concept quality is a little higher today. Overall, this was a very well-executed contest.

    Wow, I can’t disagree more; today’s concepts were so unappealing that I only voted for two of them.

    The error with the Mets losing to the Maple Leafs is from a month ago and not Friday.

    The Rays have drawn less fans over the last two nights versus a contender than many teams do over just one night.

    With relocation becoming a stronger possibility with each passing day, the chances the Rays name would travel to a city outside Orlando are close to zero. Whether its the same ownership or not, the Rays name doesn’t exactly have the tradition even at the level of the Rockies. 2008-2013 was an era of unexpected winning baseball, but is also linked with poor attendance.

    The Rays logo and uniforms have been as bland as their stadium, can’t imagine a new city wouldn’t want a fresh start to galvanize their fan base.

    I believe that in that still shot from the 7-on-7, both players have the same hand on their shirts with just four fingers up. A lot of teams hold up four fingers at the end of the 3rd quarter because they focus on being a 4th quarter team, which I believe those shirts represent.

    The Barcelona home kit this upcoming year is actually hoops (I know, the blasphemy) for the first time ever instead of the vertical stripes, this is what they look like instead of the image in the above link. link

    Also, on the note of kits for next year, this link has been surprisingly accurate. link?

    Gotta say the Smokies/ Grateful Dead night was a peanut butter and jelly idea! Those Mexican Helmets are pretty bad ass too.

    It’s 11:05 in the east and I see the Montreal Monarques design is way out in front in the voting, but I don’t get it. It’s exactly like the Expos uniforms with a different name. Do we really miss the Expos (or thier uniforms) that much? I thought that “LEFT TURNS” design was very original (except for the logos which were repurposed SDSU logos) still the “Left Turn” is so obscure and think about it, you get to first, you better turn left for second, get to second, better turn left for third… and so on. THE WHOLE GAME OF BASEBALL IS ONE BIG LEFT TURN… GENIUS, SIR, GENIUS.

    I just wanted to say thanks for liking my idea,

    I’m pleased someone noticed the left turn thing also applied to the direction of play on a diamond.

    as for co-opting the logo’s from SDSU, i just didn’t have the time to draw up a brand new animal logo the week this comp run, i thought it better to get the overall idea down then miss out an important part of a concept. Shame as i’d love to have really gone to town with a bugs esq rabbit mascot concept.

    Yes, some of us do miss them that much. It would have been different if MLB in Montreal perished a natural death.

    And I also would have liked the mock-up to include the old-style number font (1969-c. 1989). But that’s just me.

    As I blissfully ignore this weekend’s contest while on my way to today’s Astros – Rays game, deep down I wish I could create 30,000 clones of myself and plant them in the stands of the Trop…(sigh)

    Those IFAF football uniforms are surprisingly creative and not awful. They almost seem like a Uni-Watch contest come to life.

    Some good stuff there. And Mexico especially just “looks” like Mexico, like their classic soccer kit.

    sure, the Monarchs might be the best *looking* of this group, but I’d hate for the contest winner to be an entry that was just derivative of the Expos.

    He’ll Hoke bare wore a headset key alone a hat during guys tenure at Michigan

    Hell Hoke barely wore a headset let alone a hat during his tenure at Michigan

    Dang Swype keyboard…and no edit feature in here

    Nice work on the colorization, Chris. Would you happen to have the names, ballpark and year of the original photo?

    Jerry

    Jerry,

    The original photo is from the Library of Congress, they date it as 1916. Here’s the listing: link – I believe it’s from the 1916 World Series, looks like Braves Field in Boston. The Red Sox played their ’15-’16 World Series home games there because it was bigger than Fenway Park.

    Cheers!
    ~ Bruce

    The summary in the LOC description says: “Summary: Photograph shows William Joseph “Lefty” Glennon, mascot of the Boston Red Sox baseball team and “Red” Monahan mascot of the Brooklyn Dodgers. (Source: Flickr commons project, 2014)”. The boy kneeling on the right was a Brooklyn cap, but a pinstriped uniform.

    The White Sox 59 throwbacks look great, but during the 50’s they never wore plain black socks. Each year during the 50’s featured a different red and white stripe pattern, which would have been nice to see. But most players WORE socks, so that was good.

    I truly love those Niagara football uniforms. Be warned, however: Niagara’s nickname is the Purple Eagles, and their team colors are purple and white, so beautiful though it may be, colorizing that photo might bring sadness to UniWatch Central.

Comments are closed.