Skip to content
 
Uni Watch

Talking Posters With Blue Jackets Designer Anthony Zych

By

Paul here. I’m on vacation this week, but before I left I interviewed Anthony Zych, the guy who’s designing those awesome Blue Jackets posters that I wrote about a few weeks ago (that’s him above). Here’s the link.

line 3

Too Good For the Ticker


Too Good…

for the Ticker

Phil here.

I received an e-mail from Brice Wallace, who has a great little pre-Thanksgiving story that’s perfect for today. Enjoy and click on any photo to enlarge.

Here’s Brice:

. . .

Thirty Thanksgivings ago, football helmets weren’t used just during that holiday’s games. A few also served as musical instruments.

The Pioneer Red Regime, the nickname for the Wayne High School band in West Virginia, performed a two-part sports-themed show during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City in 1985. In front of the NBC cameras, the band first performed “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” with the majorettes wearing bright yellow caps and using yellow Whiffle bats as if they were batons. That part of the show concluded with the majorettes being called “out” by a pair of trumpeters.

That quickly was followed up by “You’ve Got to Be a Football Hero,” during which the band’s four snare drummers wore ”“ and played ”“ football helmets, sans facemasks. During the baseball tune, they had the helmets resting on the drum heads but tucked in so they could still play their instruments, and then put them on quickly for “Football Hero.”

playing helmets 1

playing helmets 2

playing helmets 3

It’s difficult to see in this video, but you can catch glimpses of the drummers playing their own helmets and the helmet of the drummer to their right ”“ while wearing them.

For the drummers, playing the helmets was fun but also had its drawbacks. Smacking the shoulder of a wooden drumstick onto a football helmet shell is deafening to the performer.

Band director David Perry had used the baseball and football tunes as elements in marching band competition repertoires several years earlier and condensed them for the Macy’s performance. For the parade, he also was able to retain an eight-count trombone solo near the end of “Football Hero” that’s from “Sons of Marshall” as a shout-out to his alma mater, Marshall University, which is the nearest university to Wayne.

I was a volunteer percussion instructor for the band and carried the helmets from the parade starting point along Central Park, all the way to just before Herald Square for the NBC performance. Let me tell you, there is no easy way to carry four, facemask-free football helmets during that long of a march. I also helped out by making the script-with-tail decals on the side of the helmets, meticulously cut from red contact paper (better than paint for adjusting alignment and covering up nicks and scratches). Each decal sported the name of the drummer: Tom, Shelley, Lisa and Camille. Each helmet also had hand-drawn merit stickers on the front, noting awards the drum section had earned during that autumn’s marching band contests. The day of the parade was too wet and cold for the drummers to wear eye black, which we fashioned from short strips of black electric tape. I also designed a couple of hand-drawn logos that were used on band member T-shirts that fall, and both had sports connections: The city silhouette was inspired by the New York Mets’ logo, and the face on the balloon logo was inspired by the Cincinnati Reds’ Mr. Red logo used in the ’70s.

We knew it then and we know it now: Performing in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We all feel very fortunate to be involved, especially with a slightly different but nonetheless crowd-pleasing performance.

I’ve included a photo of the band during the performance, a helmet close-up and images of the logos.

Tom's helmet used in 1985 Macy's parade

Wayne High in Macy's parade 1985

Wayne High secondary Macy's parade logo

Wayne High Macy's parade logo

Thanks.

Brice Wallace
Roy, UT

Thanks, Brice! Great stuff.

OK. Now, onto the ticker…

line 3

Uni Watch News Ticker
A Mini-Ticker for Your Turkey-Day Getaway
By Phil

Baseball News: Oooohhhh… Check out this photo of the 1950 “Wisconsin” baseball team. Says submitter Johnny Okray, “Gorgeous uniforms.” … Here’s the latest DIY tie from Wafflebored. … Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman has lasik surgery and, thus, will no longer need to wear goggles. “It’s too bad!” says Andrew Cosentino. “I loved the look.” … Yesterday, Willie Mays received and Yogi Berra’s son accepted (posthumously for the Yogi) the Prexydential Medals of Freedom, and of course, The Say Hey Kid was wearing his favorite cap (nice spot by Jordan Mayblum). … The Cubs released renderings for the Wrigley renovations, which include a new plaza and clubhouse (thanks to Mike Chamernik).

NFL News: Seems as though the World Wide Leader is still using the old Browns *logo* on its banner ads for Monday Night Football (h/t Larry Napoli). … Yesterday, the Minnesota Vikings Facebook posted a link to their team photos for their start. “I found the 1981 photo to be very interesting,” says Ryan Hickok. “In it you can distinctly tell that the players are wearing 2 different shades of purple jerseys. I thought it was interesting.” … If you scroll down to the bottom of this article on the Washington football team, you’ll see an interesting question about the burgundy pants (from TommyTheCPA). Also in there is a question about the SpeedFlex helmet.

College Football News: Here’s a look at all of the helmets Virginia Tech has worn in 2015. Note the 1987 throwback on the right (from Andrew Cosentino). … And here’s a look at the helmet and jersey the Hokies will wear for their final regular season game under Frank Beamer (h/t TurnDownForFrank). … Last night Bowling Green wore a new combo, and for the first time this season, a stripeless helmet (h/t HustleBelt).

Hockey News: This is kinda cool: a gif showing the history of all NHL logos (from J. Walker). … Yesterday the Chicago Blackhawks revealed their Stadium Series sweater. Meh. Here’s more on that. And here’s the full “explanation” of all the shit going on (h/t Chris Creamer). … And here’s the Minnesota Wild Stadium Series uniform. Here’s another view. And here’s the jerseys the refs will wear for the Stadium Series games (h/t Bizbo). … The Arizona Coyotes will wear their black kachina style uniforms on ‘Throwblack Friday’ on Nov. 27 (from JC Crawford).

NBA News: The Philadelphia 76ers will be honoring the late, great Moses Malone with a tribute game on Tuesday, December 1 (h/t ThomPucks). The “Chairman of the Boards” passed away on September 13th of this year. … An Atlanta reporter made a rap video about his favorite basketball team (the Clippers), and makes a reference to their uniforms (from Eric Wright). … Reader PK Richardson “Was watching the NBA games on TNT last night via the Sling TV mobile app and noticed that the Graphics Team over there apparently couldn’t get an updated graphic and think the games are part of the Opening Night 2014′ series.” … Color vs. non-Color alert: Last evening, the Hawks wore red at home against the Celtics. Boston wore gray sleeved jerseys (from Mike). … In a real color vs. color game, the Warriors in “The City” throwbacks played the Lakers (via Cody).

College/High School Hoops News: A basketball player at Evanston Township High School, just north of Chicago, was shot and killed before the 2012 season. On Monday night, Evanston honored Dajae Coleman by wearing warmups with Coleman and No. 3 on the back. The team’s seniors were classmates with Coleman (from Mike Chamernik). … New basketball court for UC Davis (from Eric Lee Bankston). … Southeastern Louisiana has some serious candystriping going on, on their warmup pants (from Doug Smith). … This is kinda odd: Wake Forest vs Vanderbilt were using an Indiana basketball last evening. Anyone know why? (h/t Nick Burt). They’re all playing at the same tourney in Hawai’i, so maybe that’s why (but even so, wouldn’t they use one or the others’ balls)?

Soccer News: Manchester City FC will be changing its badge. How so? After “conducting a consultation with all of its Cityzens members,” so “The Club has therefore been working with our designers to establish a badge which most authentically reflects both Manchester City Football Club and the city of Manchester and which takes into account the feedback received during this consultation,” (from Mitch Homie Quan). … FC Santa Claus (yes, that’s their name) have new kits that make a ton of sense (h/t Zed Minor). Here’s a bit more on that (from Randy Williams).

Grab Bag: The Republican National Convention, which will be taking place in the summer of 2016, in the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Cleveland), has introduced a new logo. Here’s more on that. … “The Battle at Bristol will be sponsored by Pilot Flying J.,” writes Andrew Cosentino. “I guess that everyone needs that corporate money grab!” … Reader TommyTheCPA sent this in. Posted without comment. A Pair of Boxers for $400? Men’s Underwear Goes High-End. … A local design professor is proposing a new city flag for Columbus due to the poor design of the current one (from Kevin Mueller).

line 3

OK guys — that’s it for today. Don’t forget to check back for the link to Paul’s interview (coming soon)! Paul will be back tomorrow for a Thanksgiving blessing, so I’m going to take the opportunity right now to wish everyone a Happy Turkey Day (or at least those of use living in the You Ess Aaaaa). White meat may be for suckers, but … well, I’m a sucker, OK!

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone. Peace

— Phil

line 3

 
  
 
Comments (54)

    on the Man City badge, its funny that the fans want to change it ( but i understand why )

    the badges the fans like the most is the round crest, but that was ineligible for registration as a trademark so they created the current eagle crest,

    funny thing, before the round crests, the team played with the city of manchester coat of arms on there chests, and the eagle was meant to closely represent that and the cities identity, and also the clubs first period of success. its odd that fans want to move back to a crest that perhaps doesn’t represent there city as much as the current one, nor there successful periods.

    City supporters have never really liked the eagle. It has been an object of derision from supporters of other clubs (“What do the stars on Citeh’s crest represent? Nothing at all.”) It has a vaguely Aryan vibe, which has never set well with the blue collar, populist sentiments of City’s fan base. Younger supporters associate the crest with the recent glory days, but for older fans, the roundel has always been first in their hearts. I participated in the survey, and I am very enthusiastic about what’s coming.

    To be fair, that Franco Harris jersey is advertised as a “retired player limited jersey,” not a throwback (even though the heading advertises throwback jerseys). Not sure why anyone would want a retired player’s name and number on a modern jersey, but I don’t think they just screwed this one up.

    that Franco Harris jersey is advertised as a “retired player limited jersey,” not a throwback (even though the heading advertises throwback jerseys). Not sure why anyone would want a retired player’s name and number on a modern jersey, but I don’t think they just screwed this one up.

    I can’t ever see myself buying one of these, but they do make them for a bunch of retired players.

    link

    Oh, goodness, I remember seeing that band’s performance when I watched the parade on TV thirty years ago; I especially remember the drummers wearing those helmets with their names on them! Being in college at the time, I still enjoyed watching the marching bands taking part in the parade. But hearing NBC’s self-serving commentary has turned me away from this parade over the years.

    Redesigning the Blackhawks jersey is like performing plastic surgery on Selma Hayak, you can’t do much better. The 2009 NHL Winter Classic Blackhawks and Red Wings jerseys were the best redesigns of any Winter Classic game IMO. This Blackhawks version just doesn’t stack up…

    It’s…different. I suspect it will sell fairly well for that reason, but it will still be a one-off.

    But as I opined last night, the construction of the sweater is interesting: crew neck and substantial shoulder yoke. I think it could be adapted rather easily to make a throwback of the Blackhawks’ original Art Deco-style black-and-white sweaters.

    *Selma* Hayak?

    Anyway…

    “The 2009 NHL Winter Classic Blackhawks and Red Wings jerseys were the best redesigns of any Winter Classic game IMO.”

    The game in Minnesota isn’t the Winter Classic. It’s a Stadium Series game, which is a whole ‘nother thing, aesthetics-wise.

    Google search for “Prexydential” returns 4 hits; Uni-Watch, some kind of Mexican message board summary page, Black Friday Deals, and “On God and Donald Trump‎-Donald Trump presidency campaign Spirituality of the president” LOL.

    Re: the Wake Forest/Vandy game – I am sure neither team wanted to use the other’s basketball, so the compromise was using a neutral ball. Neutral site, neutral basketball. No (perceived) advantage for either team.

    I’m boarderline obsessed with uniforms and logos. The other day I was walking through Macy’s and spotted this banner for my team. It shows the logo history of the team.

    link

    Here’s a Houston Rockets one I found online. Pretty cool. It can only present 4 logos, so the banner may skip some….but it’s still pretty neat.

    I’m thinking about a DIY project to get all my logos/patches framed.

    What made the logo designer try to make the rocketship look like a World War II-era plane? Painted-on teeth don’t belong on rocketships! Did it have a name, too, like “My Space Lady”?

    Interesting that the RNC logo shows a LEFT-handed guitar.

    Wonder if Fender will have an issue with them using their (I believe) trademarked headstock shape.

    ???

    Ha. I thought it was interesting they chose to have the elephant standing/stomping on a guitar’s neck with all the other options they had to depict the Republicans stomping on something’s neck: Muslims, immigrants, women, environment, health care, low-income citizens, climate . . . They had so many choices, I guess they went with a safer one.

    Here’s the tweet from Johnny O.

    There are a total of 2 comments, the second of which says “there is no Wisconsin baseball team”

    No idea if that person knows what they are talking about, so I figured it was better to quote “Wisconsin” than to be wrong.

    Funny. Because I know someone who pitched for the Badgers in the late 80s.

    But… if some asshole tweets it, it’s gotta be true, right?

    so anyway…

    Yes, it’s true that there is no baseball team at the University of Wisconsin NOW.

    In 1950? Yeah, there was a team.

    Wisconsin eliminated its baseball team in 1991. That there is an excellent picture of their 1950 squad. Big Ten, as you can tell from the scores listed in the caption.

    Had a work colleague played baseball for Wisconsin in the mid-to-late 1960s. Loved to tell the story about being in right field in a game against Arizona State when someone hotshot by the name of Reginald Martinez Jackson hit one his way. Said he didn’t even bother to get up out of his defensive stance – just craned his neck around and watched the still-rising ball disappear over the fence.

    from
    link
    “While at Wisconsin, Gillette also played varsity baseball and “was a ten and two-fifths man” on the track team”

    Looks like they had a team.

    And
    Baseball is Wisconsin’s oldest in-
    tercollegiate sport, tracing back to
    the spring of 1870 when diamond
    enthusiasts on campus formed a
    club known as the Mendotas.
    link

    So, if someone made the original UW baseball team… did that mean they made it over the Mendota Line?

    Jeez, the drummers in helmets bit is a classic!

    80’s marching bands rule!! I know. I was in one that looked almost identical to the one in the article!

    LOL!

    Actually those different Vikings purple reminded me of my high school. Back in the day like in the 1930’s my school colors were originally purple and gold. The problem was the purple dye would fade after the jerseys would be washed. So, eventually they switched to blue and gold. The blue held up better.

    Purple dye is rather unstable. I think it’s been talked about on these pages, regarding James Worthy’s Lakers’ uniform.

    It took longer than I care to admit, but watching the hockey logo gif, only four teams have never changed their logo: Flyers, Oilers, Panthers, and Predators. A couple seemed to change only in a slight size adjustment – and that may have been just the graphic artist’s work error.

    Not important, only interesting, maybe only to me.

    Frightfully important, if you ask me. Just a handful of teams have committed to the identity they used on Day One. Among them, the Flyers, Chicago Bulls and Colorado Rockies. You need to have a lucky convergence of factors: A lack of franchise moves, a strong brand, and commitment across several changes of ownership to that identity.

    True! What the Rockies have transcends their cluttered logo. Of course, the busy turnstiles might have something to do with it. But in terms of branding, my mental image of the Rockies goes, “Baseball… Mountain… Purple.” Ba da bing! It’s even been able to withstand shaky performances on the diamond. Even if they’re seldom the first baseball team to spring to mind, they must be the envy of many a franchise.

    From my Vikings uniform expert friend; “Also in the mid to late 80s, they had jerseys that were two different shades of purple.”

    link

    From the “interesting” question/answer about Washington’s pants… it says that the NFL only allows 2 sets of pants, which is completely false. Multiple teams have 3.

    I read that section myself with suspension of disbelief, knowing it was bullshit but playing along anyway.

    I’m pretty sure that’s just Bruce Allen making a statement (whether or not he knows it to be false) and the writers buying it. If you recall, the ‘skins only days ago wanted to wear white pants and were told “no” by Allen/Snyder.

    It’s just a douchebag GM on a powertrip.

    That being said, the burgundy over gold is one of the better unis in the game, but he just doesn’t like the burgundy (good) or white (bad) pants.

    1. Willie Mays is the greatest baseball player of all-time
    2. I used to live in the bay area and like the Giants
    3. My autographed Mays baseball that he signed for me at a card show when I was 10 is my prized possession.

    BUT

    It is wildly disrespectful to wear that hat to the ceremony. You could say Mays is a legend and a senior citizen and he can do whatever he wants, but he’s not above the president. If you’re going to make the effort to wear a suit, don’t wear a (decade old, unwashed) hat. This isn’t the NFL draft.

    Is it just me, or does number 25 in the Vikings picture look like he’s wearing a third different shade of purple?

Comments are closed.