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Uni Watch

Four NHL Teams Reveal Anniversary Logos

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Lots of nostalgia around the NHL at the moment, because yesterday marked the 50th anniversary of the NHL’s first wave of expansion, when the league awarded six new franchises to supplement the Original Six teams.

Those six expansion teams began play in 1967, and four of them — the Penguins, Flyers, Kings, and Blues — revealed anniversary logos yesterday in advance of what will likely be a series of big 50th-season promotions for the 2016-17 campaign. (Regarding the other two franchises: The North Stars are now the Stars, who did not release an anniversary logo yesterday, and the Seals, who later became the Barons, no longer exist.)

Notes, thoughts, etc.:

• I like all of the logos except the one for the Kings, which feels too contemporary. Yes, it includes the old throwback crown, but it would be better if the entire logo felt more history-based.

• Speaking of the Kings, they wore their throwbacks last night and added the new anniversary logo as a helmet decal (click to enlarge):

It’s not yet clear — at least to me — if this decal will be continue to be worn for the rest of the season, or if it was only a one-game thing until next season, or if it’s a throwback-only thing, or what. The logo will also be worn as a patch next season.

• The Flyers will wear their logo as a patch next season (I suspect all four teams will do so, although some haven’t yet announced that), and will also have a new third jersey, which they teased with this photo (click to enlarge):

It’s not clear whether the other logos will be worn as patches and/or decals next season, although it seems likely.

• I suspect many people will say that the Blues’ logo is too plain, but I really love its simplicity. Very classy look.

• Many observers are interpreting the use of classic yellow in the Penguins’ logo to mean that the Pens’ current throwbacks will become the team’s primary uni next season.

• Speaking of the Penguins, reader Zane Heiple notes that their patch shows three Stanley Cups, which could cause problems if they win the Cup this year. Do they have a four-Cup version of the logo set aside, just in case?

• One final thought: I like that they released these logos on the anniversary of the franchises being awarded. But keep in mind that these teams didn’t begin play until the 1967-68 season. So next year they’ll be marking their 50th seasons, not their 50th-anniversary seasons. I always think it’s better to mark the anniversary season, not the ordinal season. But that’s just me.

(Big thanks to all the readers who sent in info, and to Mike Chamernik for coordinating that info while I was busy yesterday.)

• • • • •

Click to enlarge

Rams redesign results: The results of our “Let’s redesign the Rams” contest are now available on ESPN (including the submission from Alex Rocklein, whose home uni is shown above). Enjoy!

• • • • •

Meanwhile, over in Denver:Who was that wearing a Broncos jersey over his shirt and tie while speaking at the team’s victory rally yesterday? None other than Denver mayor Michael Hancock. If you look closely (or if you click the photo to see a larger version), you can see that he’s wearing a Reebok jersey, not a current Nike model.

Some might say this means Hancock is behind the times. Others might say he’s just using the same jersey he’s been wearing for years (as seen in this shot from January of 2012). But I prefer to think he’s a man of discriminating tastes who said, “The hell with the Nikelace — I’m not wearing that crap!”

Well said, Mr. Mayor. (Even if you didn’t actually say it.)

(My thanks to Twitter user Big Ed for this one.)

• • • • •

T-Shirt Club update: The first Uni Watch T-Shirt Club design of 2016 is now available for ordering. In case you missed it yesterday, here’s the design (for all of these, you can click to enlarge):

Here’s how it looks on a shirt:

And here’s a closer look at the jock tag graphic, which will be appearing on all six of our shirts this year:

The Uni Watch ballplayer shown on the shirt is intended to evoke a time when sports graphics and mascots were built around fun, not ferocity. And as you can see, our ballplayer really Gets Itâ„¢ when it comes to wearing his uniform. Allow me to point out some of the details:

• He’s wearing a flapless batting helmet. (I wanted to have him also wearing his cap under his helmet, but that turned out to be too subtle a detail to render.)

• He’s wearing only one batting glove, on his bottom hand — an old-school style that was popular in the late ’60s and early ’70s (and is still used today by Hunter Pence).

• He’s written his uniform number, 16, on the bottom of his bat knob. No newfangled knob decal for him!

• His jersey is modeled after our 2015 “Home” T-shirt.

• His high-cuffery, blousing, and stirrups are all picture-perfect.

• His spikes feature that old-school flap over the laces.

(You may be wondering why our ballplayer’s stirrup design doesn’t match the maroon stirrup hanging from the top of each Uni Watch entry. We tried that, but there was no way to make it work unless we made the rest of the uniform more maroon-centric, which I didn’t want to do.)

The shirt is available here. And again, in case you missed it yesterday, here’s how this year’s T-Shirt Club program will work:

1. We plan to offer six shirts. They’ll be spaced out fairly evenly throughout the year, although we won’t necessarily stick to a rigid bi-monthly schedule.

2. Each shirt will feature an illustration devoted to a given sport. We’ve started with baseball, and the sequence after that will be hockey, basketball, football, soccer, and a mystery design for the final shirt of the year. (Spoiler alert: No, the mystery design will not be curling.)

3. Unlike last year, these shirts will not have a design on the back — only on the front. Also, there will be no sleeve patches this year. Instead, there will be a jock tag graphic near the lower-left hemline.

4. Just like last year, each shirt will be a limited edition that will only be available for a week (although we’re adding an extra day for this first shirt because next Monday is a holiday).

5. There will once again be a prize for people who collect all of the shirts for the calendar year. The prize will probably be another patch, and it will probably be designed to look like the jock tag graphic. (Hmmm, if you collected all of last year’s shirts and collect all of this year’s shirts, you’ll be on your way to collecting all of the “Collect ’em all” prize patches — a meta-collection!)

That’s it. Repeated thanks to my Teespring partner Bryan Molloy for all his hard work on this project.

One more time: This new shirt is available here. Thanks for your consideration.

• • • • •

The Ticker
By Mike Chamernik

Baseball News: Mark Trumbo will wear No. 45 for the Orioles (from Andrew Cosentino). … Bernie Stowe, a longtime equipment manager who was with the Reds in various capacities for a vast majority of his life, passed away (from Justin Evans). … Michigan State baseball and softball were the first programs in the nation to install electric heated fields (from @fiverse). … New spikes for Texas (from Mark Johnson). … Dan Bewley was looking around the Oklahoma Historical Society’s photo archives and found a great team photo. “There isn’t much of a description except, ‘The Gold Dust Flour and Supreme Flour Teams. 1895-1950,'” he says. “I wonder what those guys are wearing?” ”¦ The Indians will wear 1976 throwbacks on June 4. ”¦ Japanese baseball news: New “Marine Fiesta” uniforms for the Chiba Lotte Marines, and the Hanshin Tigers will wear 1975 throwbacks for the April home series against Yomiuri (both of those from Jeremy Brahm).

NFL News: This is really neat: Harry Halloran charted the date of every Super Bowl, which really shows how the game’s spot on the calendar has moved later and later over the years. … Kary Klismet went to a Potbelly sandwich shop in Denver and saw an odd pennant. Not only does the Broncos helmet on it have an orange facemask, but it also calls them the 1977 World Champions. Denver lost Super Bowl XII to Dallas. … This week at a New Jersey bakery, Dane Drutis found a Panthers-Broncos cake that had last year’s SB logo. Also, the Panthers logo is outdated. … Roughly 100 former players are expected to file lawsuits against helmet maker Riddell over anti-concussion claims (from Phil). ”¦ NFL players and other athletes can’t endorse beer products, which is a bit silly (from Brinke). ”¦ Now that the season is over, the NFL’s logo is reverting back to its regular color scheme (from Jerry Nitzh).

College Football News: Here’s a recap of the best and worse Big XII uniforms from this season. … Texas sure liked horizontal stripes in 1894 (from Mark Johnson).

Hockey News: The Seals and North Stars wore prototype jerseys during a preseason game 50 years ago. … Dion Paneuf was traded from the Leafs to the Senators yesterday, and Ottawa’s team store already had his jersey for sale. Phaneuf will switch from No. 3 to No. 2 (from John Muir). … As was mentioned yesterday, the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers will be renamed the Cheese for a game in March. The players will have different kinds of cheeses as their NOBs (from Brian Kerhin). … Because they are covered in pads and equipment that are difficult to remove, goalies try their best to avoid having to use the bathroom during games (from Brinke).

Basketball News: The Heat will retire Shaq’s No. 32. … New alternate shorts for Kansas. They’re apparently going to be part of this throwback uniform. ”¦ The numbers and NOBs used by First Love Christian Academy in West Virginia sure are hard to read (from @cDubya242). ”¦ Remember how the Kings scrapped their “Year of the Monkey” T-shirt giveaway after DeMarcus Cousins complained about the monkey imagery being used on first day of Black History Month? Now the Warriors have quietly removed the monkey sleeve patch from their Chinese New Year jerseys (from @JerseyChaser).

Soccer News: New logo and wordmark for the Premier League (from Randy Williams). … Juventus’s Paul Pogba got a Poké ball, from Pokémon, shaved into his head. … Amando Moreno wears No. 293 for Club Tijuana. … The Orlando Pride, a new NWSL team, showed its primary kit, which includes purple shirts and light blue shorts (from @wdw_ben). … The Houston Dynamo are letting fans color in the club’s soon to be unveiled alternate kit (from Ryan Dunsmore). ”¦ New away kit for Switzerland. ”¦ New secondary jersey for Orlando FC (from Terry Mark). ”¦ The Seattle Sounders apparently have a new jersey in the works (from @PleatedFront).

Grab Bag: Georgia legislators are seeking to pass legislation allowing religious messages to appear on public school sports uniforms (from Phil). … Paris unveiled its 2024 Olympic bid logo.

 
  
 
Comments (128)

    “sorry, we can’t honor your people because we inadvertently offended someone else in a very indirect manner…is there any chance we can change it to the Year of the Walrus or something?”

    Thus, the totally uninformed, knee-jerk state of much of the racial discussion in America these days. Difficult to make progress on racial issues when people are getting worked up over the completely innocent/legitimate presence of a monkey on a t-shirt.

    So having a concern about saying “We’re celebrating Black History Month, here’s a shirt with a monkey on it,” is not legitimate?

    You don’t think that action might be just a little tone deaf to the current discussion going on in the country?

    so we have to skip every Year of the Monkey? They are totally unrelated.

    This would be like if Paul was actually offended by the pork roll swastika and went into the kitchen to raise hell.

    I didn’t say anything had to be skipped, I said the concern was legitimate and that writing off someone’s (reasonable) concern as “uninformed” or “unrelated” does more harm then good.

    my stance is if we continue to see the offensiveness in innocent acts like this, we will continue to live in an overly-PC world. I don’t see this as a “(reasonable) concern” at all.

    First of all, Black History Month isn’t “celebrated,” it’s “observed.” Observing Black History Month doesn’t mandate the exclusion of consideration of anything else, nor should it.

    Second, the shirt in question was doing neither of those things. Rather – and quite manifestly – it was celebrating the Chinese New Year. So if anything, to me the tone-deafness comes in removing the monkey patch, which arguably insults the 30% of the nation’s Asian-American population (approx. 6 million) residing in California.

    While Boogie Cousins may (or may not) have had a valid basis for taking umbrage at Sacramento’s (initial) decision to commemorate the first day of Black History Month with a t-shirt giveaway celebrating the Chinese New Year, no conceivable basis exists for taking umbrage with a jersey that does so respectfully on its actual date itself.

    “writing off someone’s (reasonable) concern as “uninformed” or “unrelated” does more harm then good”

    Except for when that concern IS unreasonable an uninformed. As long as we run around looking for reasons to be offended, or responding/acquiescing to people taking offence where none should be, we will never make progress on the actual issues that need to be addressed. Cousins being offended by the legitimate presence of a monkey on the shirts is his problem, not ours, and I think the Kings did a disservice to the fans, and we do a disservice to society in general, every time a Marcus Cousins gets their way.

    And you don’t think there’s anything wrong with closing out on one culture’s innocent use of an actual animal in a non-racist way?

    I can’t stand the ignorant loud mouths with their hashtags, grouping together without any consideration on an intelligent level.

    “So having a concern about saying “We’re celebrating Black History Month, here’s a shirt with a monkey on it,” is not legitimate?”

    It’s not ‘We’re celebrating Black History Month, here’s a shirt with a monkey on it’, it’s “we’re celebrating Chinese New Year (Year of the Monkey), here’s a t-shirt with a monkey on it”.

    Now, for Black History Month, here’s a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT t-shirt to accommodate THAT.

    TWO SEPARATE THINGS. Not difficult to understand.

    I should note, it’s not “people”. It’s basically two people: Marques Johnson and Demarcus Cousins. They pressured the Kings to remove those shirts and I’m assuming the Warriors followed suit by removing those patches.

    NOBODY ELSE cares about this. There haven’t been protests, there haven’t been hashtags, there’s been NOTHING. In fact, a fair amount of the black media coverage of this story (and again, there hasn’t been much) has been against Cousins, stating how ignorant and misinformed he is.

    There are legitimate racial issues being debated in this country right now. This hasn’t been debated. At all.

    Blame exactly two people for this.

    I’m less bothered by the 2 people who brought it up, and more bothered by the leadership of the teams that acquiesced to their ignorant complaint.

    Could not a Chinese person say THEY are offended that their culture, which is totally innocuous in this case, is being treated as such? Certainly they could make a strong case since this monkey is not directed at African Americans in any way, shape or form. The Year of the Monkey shouldn’t be offensive to anyone at all is the point.

    Well maybe if Americans hadn’t collectively chosen to be disgusting racist pigs for 200 years, we wouldn’t have to deal with shit like this.

    Lee

    Hardly. Simple empirical observation that the exact type of racial insensitivity wrongly suggested by some to have occurred in this instance ACTUALLY do occur, with disheartening frequency, throughout the international sporting community. As opposed to, you know, this here land of collectively willful disgusting racist pigs.

    I feel it is a waist of time to get upset to what is basically a marketing ploy to tap into China and Chinese Americans as expanding revenue stream.

    NBA Marketing Exec 1 – “Hey, if we had some of our teams wear jerseys with hanzi, it could really help us in China.”

    NBA Marketing Exec 2 – “Yeah, and we can have them wear ’em around Chinese New Year!”

    Head of Marketing – “Isn’t that in summer or something?”

    NBA Marketing Exec 2 – “Siri, when is Chinese New Year?”

    NBA Marketing Exec 1 – “Yeah, June, I think.”

    Head of Marketing – “We don’t play in June, right?”

    NBA Marketing Exec 2 – “Siri says, “February”!

    Head of Marketing – “We play then!”

    NBA Marketing Exec 1 – “Black History Month is February.”

    NBA Marketing Exec 2 – “Let’s do both!”

    Head of Marketing – “Outstanding! I like critters and fuzzy stuff. Put some on stuff”

    NBA Marketing Exec 1 – “Um, okay, well I guess we can do something with this years animal. Unless, of course it’s…”

    NBA Marketing Exec 2 – “Siri says, “Monkey”.

    Head of Marketing – Funny! More money!

    Proofreading – second paragraph, “Those four expansion teams began play in 1967, and four of them”
    Those six expansion teams

    Second paragraph should start “Those SIX expansion teams began play in 1967, and four of them “

    It seems like the Dallas Stars don’t celebrated their 1967 anniversary ever since they became the Dallas Stars, and only have had logo’s for starting in 1993.

    While the Stars haven’t had any special anniversary logos that include the Minnesota era since moving to Dallas, it may be simply because their last major anniversary – the 25th – came when they were still in Minnesota. They could conceivably have a franchise 50th anniversary logo coming for next season, and then have a separate 25th anniversary logo for their time in Dallas the following season.

    If the Houston Astros can bombard us with 4 anniversary logos in under a decade (45th anniversary of the founding of the Colt .45s; 45th anniversary of becoming the Astros; 50th anniversary of the franchise; 50th anniversary of becoming the Astros), then why can’t the Stars do a 50th and a 25th in consecutive years?

    Like the Kings design. Trying to blend old and new to me. Also like the Flyers design. Blues is too simple, just doesn’t look like any effort went into it. Not sure why the Penguins had to include the Stanley Cup. Kings pre-game show said it would be worn as a patch next season.

    I would have been floored if the Pens hadn’t included their impressive Stanley Cup win total in the Expansion Six logo. Teams like the Blues, Capitals, Canucks, and Sabres can talk about the level of difficulty in just reaching a SCF. Only four NHL teams have actually won more Cups since the Pens were born, so the logo reflects the history. One could say the two stars on the Flyers logo reflected their Cup win total, surprised the Kings didn’t take advantage of this opportunity.

    Next season will actually only be the 49th season for these teams because of the season that was cancelled due to the lockout.

    49th season, maybe, but it’ll still be the 50th anniversary of their founding. None of those logos say “50 seasons”.

    “NFL players and other athletes can’t endorse beer products”

    Which is why it is now clear that Peyton will be retiring; or considered himself retired immediately after the SB. He with his “gonna have a few Budweisers” comments.

    Yep, this wasn’t the first time. Which makes me wonder what’s going on with he and Budweiser (if anything). Seems odd that he would be so specific if he weren’t being paid, but apparently he can’t be sponsored by them. Weird.

    I think if the Rams promote being “back home” would be an insult to St. Louis. St. Louis WAS their home for 20+ years, they moved. They are back in LA, but saying home would be a slam saying St. Louis wasn’t truly their home. Being friends with several players here, they sure thought St. Louis was home and even more. Their Super Bowl win will also always be for St. Louis, not for LA.

    It will be interesting to see how will they conmemorate the 20th anniversary from their SB victory in 2019

    I’m thinking they won’t emphasize this much, if at all.

    Dang, it’s already been two decades? I’m getting OLD!

    Nah, born in Cleveland but raised in LA.

    The NFL has already link about the Rams “returning home”. Frankly, it’s a great way to market the team in LA – a rare success story for fans who got their team back. Sucks for St. Louis but them’s the breaks.

    I don’t think a team that’s changed ownerships, and literally only has the name can ever really have a home if they’ve moved more than once.

    Teams are businesses, not public (unless you are the Packers).

    These LA fans, many of which really never were fans and too young to remember the Rams being good in LA, are happy for NFL back. The Rams is just hip to root for since they used to be there too. Once they get in a few losing seasons I want to see who really cares.

    Leaving St. Louis is an insult to St. Louis. Talking about leaving St. Louis is neither here nor there. The Rams spent nearly fifty years – the most important years in the history of American pro football – in LA. By any reasonable standard, the Rams are in fact “back home.” And that’s also how LA fans will by and large experience the Rams, as a prodigal son that has returned home.

    The real insult to Lt. Louis? Leaving local taxpayers holding the bag for several million dollars in outstanding debt on the now-vacant Rams stadium.

    Well if by “most important” I’d always say being the best team in the NFL, some say in history, would be the most important years – those years were all in St. Louis.

    Good luck in LA, but LA can never own the best the team ever had to offer.

    Wish the Penguins would revert back to their 1967 unis and colours next year. Maybe they will do it as a throwback.

    would be nice to see them ditch the vegas gold and go with the “classic” black & gold colors for their primary unis and bring in a blue throwback as an alt.

    The Seals became the Barons, who merged with the North Stars, and then “unmerged” to form the Sharks. I guess the Sharks like to consider themselves an expansion team,mouth they really are the step-child of the Seals-Barons.

    I had always heard the Seals became the Barons who then merged with the North Stars who then became the Stars, not the Sharks. The Sharks came about as a deal with the Gund brothers who sold their shares of the North Stars to garner an expansion franchise in San Jose.

    Right, but to say that the North Stars “unmerged” to form the Sharks is correct, because the Gunds took some North Stars players with them over to the Sharks. And, in compensation, the North Stars participated alongside the Sharks in the expansion draft

    It was the Gund brothers who owned the Barons by the time the franchise met its demise, and the “merger” saw them gain control of the North Stars. The dispersal draft allowed the Stars to acquire some of the Barons’ players, and the Stars shifted from the Smythe Division to the Adams (where the Barons had been) only because the 1977-78 Smythe had 5 teams and the Adams had 4 teams, and the 1978-79 Adams would otherwise have been left with just 3 teams.

    The Stars came about because the Gunds decided they wanted to put a team back in the Bay Area, and the NHL didn’t want the Stars to move there, so they arranged for the creation of an expansion franchise, which became the Sharks, and the Gunds sold the North Stars so they could then begin building the Sharks. As a result of this unique deal, the Sharks did get to pick a handful of Stars players, and then both teams participated in an Expansion Draft to fill out the rest of their rosters.

    As far as the history of the Seals/Barons franchise, the NHL and Stars consider it a separate franchise that terminated in 1978, and as for the Sharks, they consider their history to start with the Gunds being awarded the expansion franchise in 1990 upon completion of their sale of the North Stars. To the Sharks, the Seals were just another team that played in the Bay Area before them.

    The Sharks came about, not the Stars. (Bad proofreading job on my part.)

    In summary of the above, though, the North Stars/Barons “merger” was more the North Stars getting new ownership and picking over the carcass of the Barons franchise than a true “merger of equals”.

    Fascinating stuff, Rob S. I recall reading within the past few months that the Barons merged with the North Stars (I’d previously assumed the Barons, whom I’ve heard referenced in the past, simply ceased to exist). But I didn’t know the whole back-story behind the Sharks. I was 7 at the time, and was aware of their expansion-hood, but didn’t realize the owner had split from the North Stars.

    The Flyers will also have a new third jersey next season for their anniversary. Claude Giroux is wearing it in the teaser photo above, they just haven’t released a full image.

    I was going to look into that since it doesn’t look like any of the sweaters they are currently wearing

    I don’t think Harry Halloran’s dates for the next two Superbowls are right, unless the NFL is moving the big game to a Monday!!!

    While I wouldn’t put it past MLS to have another “FC” team, the name of Orlando’s entry is actually “Orlando City SC,” not “Orlando FC.”

    NFL mobile app icon back to red/white/blue. Quite startling after seeing the garish gold for the whole season.

    Talk about “bonafides”!

    What the mayor’s old jersey says to me is “I’ve been a fan since before this year” and “I have better things (i.e. Mayor stuff) to do rather than get a new replica every season.”

    PS “Mayor Huddles” is a cool nickname.

    The graphic with the Super Bowl dates is interesting. This casual football fan wants to know: Besides the season expanding from 14 to 16 games, what are the reasons for the Super Bowls occurring later in the year? Is it just that the season starts later these days?

    One error in the graphic: The 1997 SB (XXXI) was on 1/26, not 1/27. How did I notice that? 1/27 is my birthday :)

    The delays that come to mind comparing the earliest super bowl dates to the later dates in more recent years are:
    1. the increase from eight playoff teams to twelve (mandating that early playoff bye for the top two teams in each conference);
    2. the regular season bye week stretching a 16 game season to 17 weeks; and
    3. the bye week before the super bowl (didn’t happen for, eg SB III and SB IV).

    All good points.

    Most will remember that the first February Super Bowl (2002) was the result of the 9/11 attacks. Like American flag pins on suit lapels and stickers on helmets, February Super Bowls are here to stay.

    I guess with all 4 teams likely wearing the anniversary patch on the shoulders, the Leafs will probably do the same with the 100th season patch and I guess all jerseys will have a NHL 100 patch of some sort on the front. Looks like we’re going to have some crowded jerseys next season in the NHL.

    Also, do the Kings wear 3 patches with the All Star game coming?? Anniversary patch on one shoulder, all star the other and NHL 100 on the front? There could be multiple games with 3 patches per team this season as 4 of the 5 teams with patch worthy seasons are rumored to be in outdoor games (Leafs – Winter Classic / Heritage Classic, Blues – Winter Classic, Pens / Flyers – Stadium Series Happy Valley)

    Probably! Pittsburgh Penguins once had three patches too: NHL 75 on right front, team’s 25th on one shoulder, and Badger Bob Johnson on the other shoulder.
    If the NHL does a 100th anniversary patch for everybody, that would be a great excuse to make all front numbers (looking at you, Buffalo, and still keeping an eye out on San Jose) go away and then hopefully get lost forever.

    To the Grab Bag portion…sheesh. If you want your kid to have religious messages on their school uniforms enroll them in the local Christian Private school. Public school is supposed to be no religious endorsement.

    The bill is probably quietly supported by the Georgia association of lawyers, who stand to start the clock on massive billable hours the minute the first message shows up on a uniform.

    I’m black. And while there is certainly a tense racial climate in this country right now (which is honestly no worse than it’s ever been, it just makes for good news now) there’s nothing at all racial about those Year Of The Monkey shirts/patches.

    It should also be noted that Demarcus Cousins wasn’t necessarily the one who first complained about this. Bucks commentator Marques Johnson, a man old enough to know better, noted the shirts during shootaround, conferred with Cousins, and then Cousins (who probably isn’t old enough to know better) complained to Kings staff and had them removed.

    In any event, yeah, this is silly. The NBA is trying to appeal to several fanbases (China and blacks this week, Whites and Hispanics next month) at once and no group has a monopoly on that reach. I’m no more offended at the Year Of The Monkey shirts/patches than I was at Year Of The Chicken.

    On a completely unrelated note: I do find it a little odd than the NBA still hasn’t really fully embraced BHM or MLK Day with an actual uniform yet. Why are there unis for EVERY other occasion (St Patrick’s Day, Hispanic Heritage, NASCAR (?), Asian Heritage, at one point Valentine’s Day, Christmas, Halloween, Mardi Gras, the Military, etc.) but nothing explicitly black when this league is 80% full of black players?

    The Black History Month shirts and the MLK warmup shirts are cool, but why hasn’t the NBA taken the full plunge with a special uniform like it has for every other occasion?

    There should only four teams that play on MLK Day: Knicks vs. Bulls, Hawks vs. Wizards.

    Don the Knicks with New York Renaissance jerseys & the Bulls with Harlem Globtrotters (since the team is really a Chicago team).

    Washington vs. Atlanta doesn’t have to vary. Although, I think retro jerseys from the mid 60’s would be a nice touch.

    (I understand how nicknames, “Bullets” and “Wizards”, are not the most theme appropriate, but c’est la vie).

    I am not so big on black history month. As someone from Native American ancestry, there is no Native American history month. What there SHOULD be is history that is the truth of this nation that includes as much as it can of all peoples regardless of color. Not trying to stir the pot either. It’s just my opinion.

    All the being said, I do believe the NBA should have something for Dr. King. He was a man of peace with a vision for this country that skin color would make no difference and only character would. A vision would should all embrace.

    Take heart! November is Native American Heritage Month, and has been by order of Congress since 1990. That’s only four years later than the first congressional resolution recognizing February as Black History Month.

    No qualms about the Kings’ 50th patch. I’d rather that a patch look good in context (which, let’s be real, will mean on the jersey), and with that in mind, it’s quite common for teams to stick to modern colors or themes when celebrating anniversaries.
    The Vancouver Canucks got started in blue and green, but their 25th patch was in black red and gold. link.
    Same deal for the Washington Capitals. Would you believe this team ever wore red white and blue, based on link?
    Even the LA Kings had the same deal. Their 25th, new colors for sure, but link.
    So back to the LA 50, modern LA font, old crown, and black/silver/gold/white colors in the patch cannot look bad with any jersey they trot out. It will even still good over purple! So with all due respect, I’m a fan.
    Penguins and Flyers 50? Maybe just one thumb up as opposed to two, but they’re good.
    Blues 50? Honestly doesn’t look like a logo at all. Looks like a placeholder, like the Blues were asleep at the wheel but they’re totally working on one, except they can’t have nothing right now because everybody else has one.

    If we want to be really technical, the St. Louis Blues were founded in 1983 when the league revoked the previous franchise from Ralston Purina and issued a new franchise to Harry Ornest.

    link

    link

    I’m not interested in being pedantic, but its an interesting story (particularly as we’re talking about the franchise connection between the Seals and the Sharks). For six weeks in 1983 the St. Louis Blues didn’t exist.

    Denver’s orange facemask on the pennant is just artistic license. The white background needed contrast, and they didn’t want blue with a blue helmet.

    link

    It’s the same logic behind the yellow arrowhead on the Chiefs helmet: one less color to print.

    Mayor Hancock is a Bronco thru-and-thru. In college, he was a Hastings (NE) College Bronco, like me.

    ESPN.com just posted an article “predicting” the next 25 Supe winners. Some of them are teams that don’t exist (yet), with some pretty interesting logos:

    link

    I’m intrigued by that Northstars-Seals preseason screen shot. I have only seen the Seals’ green pre-season jerseys (basically the regular season jersey with the wordmark “SEALS” above the logo), so this is the first time I’ve seen a white version… which is actually the jersey worn by the MINOR LEAGUE SAN FRANCISCO SEALS!! link

    And of course the N.Stars were wearing their pre-season version with the downward-pointing serif on the “N”, which was changed for the regular season.

    Fascinating stuff…
    -Jet

    Mentioned this yesterday, but should have been more direct about it.

    Paul – do you and/or the artist mind if we use the T-shirt club graphic as a social media profile pic?

    Oh man, those LA Kings throwbacks… except in my world they would never BE “throwbacks” because they would NEVER change from those original gold/purple beauties. My interest in the team faded when they became black/silver and other later iterations of hideous black and dark, dark purple… ugh….

    -Jet

    Great article about Goalies. But at least those guys get breaks between periods and TV timeouts. Try being a beer league goalie like me. Once you step on the ice, you don’t leave until the game is over (about 90 minutes). Gotta time your hydration, you know.

    I know they have no relations but I think the Sharks should honor the now defunct Seals. Like how mlb teams wear negro league or other league unis. It would be nice to see the Seals uniform back on the ice.

    LOVE the new t-shirt – just ordered! I am already thinking about the commemorative patch … Paul, I hope you will offer sweatshirts and hoodies again this winter. My patches will need a home!

    Fair enough. It’s definitely a distinct style, and it’s exactly the feel I was looking for. But I realize it may seem too corny or cartoon-y for some folks.

    Not to pile on but the caricature is too much for me as well. But I also understand that I am not the bellwether of fashion. And if that is the exact feel you were looking for than who the hell am I to judge.

    Like I said, we were going for a very specific feel, and I realized it might not click for everyone. The one thing I feel really good about is that it’s FUN, and it communicates FUN. (OK, maybe not *your* idea of fun, but you know what I mean.) I hope that even those who don’t like it can appreciate that aspect of it — it’s fun, it’s positive, it basically says “YES.”

    I’m a Flyers fan, and I think the 50th Anniversary logo is just awful. As a graphic designer by trade, this looks to me like a quick, first-attempt at a design that needs LOTS of work to mold into a finished design with any strength.
    Let me start with the most obvious: the attempt to tie into the state of Pennsylvania with the “keystone” shape (state symbol) which is “anchoring” this design. For starters, the keystone shape has a FLAT bottom as opposed to this angled base.
    Besides the erroneous shape, the state of Pennsylvania supports TWO hockey teams, so why even use a symbol for the state at all? How about something more specific to Philadelphia (eg, Liberty Bell), wouldn’t that be more appropriate?
    Next, the black and white line weights are too close to being equal in width. That makes the overall design way too busy. And too many black outlines. Is the one in the keystone shape really necessary?
    Thirdly, the Flyers logo is the smallest element in this whole big mess. Why?
    This logo needs quite a bit of refinement from a design standpoint.

    1. the bottom of a Keystone does not need to be flat.
    2. They used the same keystone design for the captaincy patch on their Winter Classic sweaters a few years ago.
    3. I don’t think the Flyers have ever used the Liberty Bell for any design, that is generally used by the 76ers and the Phillies. The Eagles don’t use it either.
    4. Pittburgh doesn’t use the Keystone in any of their designs since they are the Steel City, a Keystone wouldn’t exactly work too well. Philadelphia has more history, so the Keystone makes more sense.
    5. The Flyers emblem isn’t the focus point. The patch is for the 50th anniversary, so the 50 is the biggest part of the patch. (besides that apt keystone)

    I like the patch.

    The thing that really bugs me about this logo is the way the white outlines INSIDE the design on the number and ribbon extend in some parts to the outside WHITE SPACE. I agree about the P logo being too small and the way the edges of it connect with the edges of the insides of the 5 and 0 is also a design no-no…

    -Jet

    As the LA Kings gold sweaters were their version of white back then, wasn’t the Kings-Bruins technically a “white on white” game? ;)

    NO! But good observation. The Bruins wore gold as their dark jersey in 66-67. When the Kings entered the league the following season, Boston’s dark jersey became the familiar black.

    HOWEVER, there was a “white-on-white” in the WHA. In the first 3 seasons, the Chicago Cougars wore white at home and yellow as their dark jersey. The Philadelphia/Vancouver Blazers wore yellow at home and orange as their dark jersey. So Chicago visiting Phil/Van was a YELLOW-ON-YELLOW affair (unless one of the teams agreed to wear their other jersey)… would be real interested to see if any photos exist of such a game!!!!!!!!!!

    -Jet

    Those Seals “prototypes” may have been leftovers from the San Francisco Seals.

    link

    Also, here are some shots of those North Stars preseason sweaters and logo.

    link

    Yes, they were using the SF Seals minor-league jerseys in pre-season for “white” and the green jerseys were their prototypes with the SEALS wordmark that was removed for the regular season

    -Jet

    “One final thought: I like that they released these logos on the anniversary of the franchises being awarded. But keep in mind that these teams didn’t begin play until the 1967-68 season. So next year they’ll be marking their 50th seasons, not their 50th-anniversary seasons. I always think it’s better to mark the anniversary season, not the ordinal season. But that’s just me.”

    Not only that, but a lockout canceled ’04-’05, so 2016-17 will be their 49th season in the league. So with that in mind, would that end up making ’17-’18 both the 50th season and 50th anniversary season, or 50th & 49th?

    Either way, the cities were awarded franchises 50 years ago yesterday but technically will not be celebrating 50 anything on-ice until October 2017. Seems pretty silly if you ask me.

    To my eye, those are pretty good soccer uniforms.

    But terrible Columbus Crew uniforms. So not nearly the worst kit in MLS, but possibly the worst kit the Crew have ever worn. (Then again, I liked their original kit and shield.)

    I don’t know if this has been mentioned here before, but Skydome is moving to an all-dirt infield (similar to Tropicana) for next season.

    link

    Farewell forever to the sliding pits!

    CONFIRMED!!!!

    Flyers season ticket holders will receive a game-worn 50th annv. jersey. One jersey per account, folks.

    Freakin’ awesome!

    Wow guys, Great rams entries, Definitely cool. So crazy that very few if any had the same concept. Good Job. I’m glad I did it, seeing mine in there with all of the other readers is very cool.

    I’m Caucasian, so please someone fill me in if I’m missing the mark…
    Its such a disgusting term when used in a certain way, but is “Year of the Monkey” really that big of a deal? Is that seriously where peoples minds go whenever they hear the word monkey?!?! I’m sure the juxtaposition of the two events would get a couple snickers from a few immature bigots in the crowd, but to remove the shirts for those .1% of basketball fans? I think they just made it a waaaaay bigger deal by acknowledging it.

    Also, could someone please explain the 50 seasons vs 50th anniversary thing? Never understood the difference.

    An anniversary is the same as a birthday. When you’re born, for example, you’re starting your first “season”; when you turn one year old, you’re marking your first anniversary and starting your second season.

    A married couple will celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary exactly five years after their wedding date. That’s their fifth anniversary, and it’s also the start of their sixth year.

    Teams used to routinely celebrate anniversaries. A team that played its first season in 1962, for example, would wear a patch in 1982 (which is their 21st season, but their 20th-anniversary season).

    But now teams increasingly celebrate the ordinal season. Under this system, a team founded in 1962 would wear a patch in 1981 (which is their 20th season but only their 19th-anniversary season).

    NBA and NHL teams muddy the waters even more, because their seasons span across two calendar years. So a team whose first season was, say, 1967-68 might wear an anniversary patch in 1986-87 and put “1967-1987” on the patch, which is misleading.

    To me, it’s simple: We all understand anniversaries and birthdays. When we turn 19 years old, we don’t celebrate the start of our 20th “season” and pretend that it’s a milestone — we wait until we actually turn 20.

    So me it’s simple: We all understand anniversaries and birthdays. Stick to that system.

    Watching the Senators/Red Wings game tonight, long-time Leaf Dion Phaneuf’s first game with the Sens. They showed a close up of his gloves, and talked about how Ottawa’s trainers had painted the blue part, black. On close up, you could still see traces of blue.

    The black trim with the yellow triangles on the Hanshin throwback uniforms looks the same as the vertical sleeve stripes on the bumblebee Pirates dugout jackets. Would you guess the Hanshin Tigers were suited up by Descente?

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