By Phil Hecken
We’re back today with the final set of contestants (Part III) of the USA Baseball Jersey Design Contest (if you missed part one, with it’s long description and the first 18 contestants, click here, part two with the second set of 18 contestants is here). The final group (sets V and VI) will be revealed today — with VOTING — so be sure to cast your vote below. As with the first four sets, BE SURE TO VOTE AFTER EACH SET OF NINE IS SHOWN. You can vote for as many (or few) as you like, but you can only vote once. It’s that simple. The top two vote getters FROM EACH SET will advance to next weekend’s final vote. I’ll have the winners from yesterday’s and today’s voting next weekend, when we’ll have our final voting on the top twelve designs.
All set? Let’s get started!
Scott Novosell (aka “Skyline Jackson”)
Matt Yancey
Jesse Alkire
Peter Wajda
Phil Roberts
Kevin Cunningham
Brady Ivie
Shane Regel
Jimmy Donofrio
AND NOW”¦VOTING FOR THE FIRST NINE TODAY ”” “SET FIVE” (You may pick as many as you like)
And now the second nine
Bryan Phillips
Charles Noerenberg
James McNamara
Erik Kidd
Jason Jokhai
Phill Pemberton
Deb Reiser
Dan Kennedy
C. Todd Davis
AND NOW”¦VOTING FOR THE SECOND NINE TODAY ”” “SET SIX” (You may pick as many as you like)
And that’s it for today. Great stuff, yes? Make sure you voted in BOTH polls. The top two from each poll will advance to the final round.
Let all the concepters know what you think in the comments below!
And The One That Got Away…
I wanted to give a special “final” shout out to Jimmer Vilkanova for helping coming up with the idea for a “redesign the USA jersey (and cap)” contest. Even though he played no part in the contest (that was my choice — I’m sure he would have if I’d asked), he didn’t think he was eligible to participate in it. But he did send in (via Twitter) this entry — it was received after the deadline, so I didn’t include it (rules are rules) but I still wanted to show the Uni-Sphere Jimmer’s effort.
Dig:
Notice the classic HUGE numbers Jim used. And I love the bunting for sleeve striping! Good job Jimmer — too bad it was after the deadline, or, in the words of Marlon Brando in On The Waterfront you coulda been a contender.
And Now…ALL Your WBC Entries
…in one sideshow.
Now that we’ve seen all the submissions, I’ve put together a little slideshow of all of the contestants’ entries. Enjoy.
If you can’t see the slideshow below, click here to see the set or here to see the show.
Uni Watch News Ticker
By Phil
Baseball News: Check out the green pinstripe throwbacks the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks will wear on April 28-30 (from BigDaddy45). He adds, “The throwback uniform is the 1980 Nankai Hawks model. It used in only 1980.” … Who are the greatest Mariners ever to wear that uniform? This article attempts to answer that question. … Yesterday’s ticker contained a photo of Henry Aaron that some people believe shows him wearing a uniform other than “5”. It’s possible, I’m sure, but no other photos exist showing this possible double-digit. Other photos of Aaron, including one apparently signed by him, clearly show it’s just the number “5”. Even high-res photos show just the 5. Color photos as well. The venerated Baseball Reference also only shows him wearing 5 or 44 in his career. So what might account for the possible “mystery” digit? UPDATE Just found this photo that appears to show Aaron wearing a “2” (as a second digit), so maybe he was assigned “52” in spring? If so, then either BR needs to be updated or it was solely an ST number. UPDATE #2 According to this Reddit, it’s from Spring Training 1954 … These Crying Jordan softball jerseys need to be mass-produced immediately. … “In case you’ve not seen these — O’Connell High School (Arlington VA) has some seriously blue Tequila Sunrise uniforms,” says Andrew Kling. “There’s a gallery on this page from the Washington Post. The second one is probably the best.” … The Florida Gators’ softball squad had some unique cleats last night. … Jesse Alkire thinks the Cubs should really go for the gold (unis). … Howard Softball wears Under Armour jerseys and Russell pants (from Chad Kollas). … Goddam it Stance socks suck (from Ed Sidawi). … Here we see new uniforms for the Fubon Guardians in Taiwan, the CPBL. (They’re a new team.) From Graveyard Baseball. … Here’s a good shot of Kurt Suzuki wearing the Tyler Flowers style shock absorbing catcher’s mask (nice grab from Glen Macklin). … Tweeter Matthew Gibson “Found my 1984 Rex Putnam High yearbook and a couple pics of the 1998 World Series MVP” Scott Brosius. … Here’s a look at some of the historical Braves jerseys at the new SunTrust Park (from WillChitty4).
NFL News: OOps! Apparently the Vikings now play in the NHL (from Nate Heinrich). Also posted in hockey. … Like many all of us, Andy Johnson thinks “Color rush unis are awful. But what if the teams didnt have to go full unitard and wear alternate jerseys or pants?” … It wasn’t just the alternate helmet rule proposal the Eagles withdrew the other day, they actually took back four of their five proposals. Key quote from that article (which still doesn’t mean the alternate helmet rule change is dead — emphasis mine): “The Eagles withdrawing those proposals doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t eventually be taken up: The league could still ultimately decide to adopt one or all of those proposals. But it does mean the Eagles won’t be pushing for a vote next week.”
Hockey News: OOps! Apparently the Vikings now play in the NHL (from Nate Heinrich). Also posted in football. … Here’s what a proposed Columbus vs. Detroit outdoor game could look like, with teams swapping colors (pic posted by via 1st Ohio Battery, from Bring Jimmy Home). … Here we have a rare spotting of the Captain’s “C” on a goalie jersey (from Radio Guy).
NBA./Basketball News: A couple people pointed out this photo of the Wizards in their sleeved “throwback”, and note how the angle looks like a U (or conjoined twins) is formed. … Last evening, LeBron James wore goggles to protect a corneal abrasion in his right eye (from Mike Chamernik). However, much as he disliked the feel of the original black sleeved shirt, he tossed them away (also from Mike). Guess he’s persnicketty about stuff (I can empathize). … Not quite uni-related, but funny: A dad called out his son’s bad grades with hilariously ruthless sign at Cavaliers game (from Sarah Beccio). … The NBA report from Zach Loesl Color on color for Cleveland and Washington, and color on gray for the Knicks and Spurs.
College/High School Hoops News: Although Wisconsin ended up losing to Florida in overtime on Friday, Aaron Rodgers was in attendance, wearing what looks like a specialized Milwaukee Bucks cap (anyone know), he was happy when Zak Showalter hit a buzzer-beater three at the end of regulation to tie the game. After Showalter hit the shot, he flashed Rogers a discount-double-check, prompting the shot of Rodgers in the cap. Yes, they’re pals. More here. … ESPN still can’t get the chyron graphics correct (from Will W.). … When the top basketball players from the Boston Public Schools hit the court Saturday for the Boston City League All-Star games, they were wearing custom uniforms created by Mathmatik Athletics (from Paul Friedmann and also Tim Walsh). … The “color tracking” graphic by Alex Gerwitz is now in an easier-to-read bracket format. … Absolutely brutal apostrophe catastrophe from ESPN (nice grab by Michael Driscoll). … Here’s Conrad Burry’s look at the Elite Eight. … On the women’s slate, Oregon and Maryland went color vs color. “It’s a Uni Watch (green vs yellow) special!” exclaims submitter Andrew Cosentino. … Before any of the Elite Eight games were played, Conrad Burry prepared a look at the logo matchups. … James Gilbert notes that Coach Cal’s jacket has the old UK logo. … Connor Hynes asks if the “Teal court design in San Jose a nod to the San Jose Sharks.” … Tweeter Steve Carlson notes that Xavier’s J.P. Macura was basically wearing a full body suit in yesterday’s game vs. Gonzaga. It didn’t take long for twitter to point out the irony of the situation, as he was once wearing no pants at all. And the jokes kept coming. … From Alex Hider: “Ohio HS Tourney: Stars on the floor presumably stand for location of the 8 teams in the finals (4 divisions).”
Soccer News: “I don’t like using the same kit if we get beat” says Everton’s longest-serving kit-man. Read more about that here (from TRiCKETT). … Looks like the new FC Bayern kit has leaked (from Patrick Thomas). … The Charleston Battery wore a Nike all-black kit for last night’s USL game against FC Cincinnati. They normally wear a yellow and black striped kit. It’s the same template as FCC’s (which they will wear April 22 in a blackout game against Louisville City). More here. From Brian Henke.
Grab Bag: OK, I’d wear these: Check out the custom game day dress shoes for Marquette Univ. lacrosse coach Joe Amplo (from Kevin Mueller). … I don’t follow lax much, so I don’t know if this is the norm or a rarity, but there was a nice color vs. color match yesterday between Maryland and North Carolina (from James Gilbert). Here’s another shot (from Matt Shevin). … Reader Charles Rogers thought this Cardinal Motel might be of interest. “From this lovely blog,” he adds. … Here’s a Bowling shirt Paul would love (from Christian Zummer).
And that’s it for today. Big thanks to ALL the entrants in the Redesign the USA Baseball contest. Good luck to the third and final 18 today. Make sure you vote (in BOTH sections). I’ll have the yesterday’s and today’s winners, along with our first four next weekend, for a final vote-off.
Everyone have a great Sunday, enjoy the last of the Elite Eight games today, and everyone have a great week. Because…we have real baseball next Sunday, followed by the Most Wonderful Day of the Year (the *real* start of baseball season and the NCAA Final). But until then…
Follow me on Twitter @PhilHecken.
Peace.
“As a Yankees fan who would rather play catch on I-95 than wear any Bosox gear, I roll my eyes at the ceaseless hyping of the rivalry. From my point of view, it just means I have to suffer more games on ESPN and Fox.”
— Jon Rose (clearly channelling Jimmer Vilkanova)
I really don’t like the backwards American flag on the sleeve. I understand the idea that if it were a real flag and you were moving forward, it would be facing that direction, but it’s a patch. The symbol/image of the flag has a default direction for use in printed applications like this. I realize that many of these baseball submissions included the backwards flag because the military uniforms have it, but I don’t like it on the military uniforms either. If you want to put the flag on a uniform, just have it facing the right way, or put it on the front or left side instead of on the right side. There were a few submissions in this contest that I would have voted for but didn’t because they had the stupid backwards flag.
I also couldn’t vote for any of the submissions that included powder blue uniforms. I know many of you grew up in the powder blue road uniform era, so are nostalgic about them, but it just looks so dated now.
I agree. Well put. A person is not wearing a waving flag. They are wearing an inanimate patch. Therefore I feel it should follow the blue field in the upper right rule.
Sorry, I see I made no sense there. Of course I meant upper left.
Dudes,
Please keep going, there is no sense in any of this conversation.
That being said what I do like about all of this jibber jabber is this, it never occurred to me to even “think” about a reverse flag patch being considered odd or not being worn the “right way”. That was jarring to me. So I had to remind myself why Government (ours) does this. So thanks for that.
Here’s a “backward” flag tip for you, you might not want to call that “stupid” around military types who made the choice to serve. Moving forward carries a whole different meaning to them.
What’s really strange is that I don’t see a reason for the backwards flag on any of the examples that use it today. They don’t have flags on both sleeves; they’ve just chosen to put the flag on the right sleeve and have it backwards for some reason. The designers could have easily switched the elements to put eh flag on the left and have a “normal” upper left oriented flag.
The “reverse” Swoosh on NFL jerseys at least actually made sense since they appear on both sleeves. I guess it would be akin the MLB patch being worn reversed because it was on the opposite sleeve. Obviously the patch isn’t a flag, but I’m guessing this is how it feels to those who don’t think the reverse flag makes sense.
As to Eltee of DC’s point about calling it “studid” and thus disrespecting the military, it is probably wise to not call it stupid, because even though we all know that we meant that the design element is stupid, others will take it that we meant that the military is stupid. That’s stupid, but that’s how it is. For example, if the Army were to design and manufacture (well, contract a company to make) uniforms that were itchy and made them sick (like the American Airlines uniforms allegedly did to AA employees and crew), you’d call the uniforms stupid, but then you wind up insulting the uniform/soldier/country because of miscommunication or people hearing it out of context, next we’re gonna have a stupid fight or argument on our hands.
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Yes, I want to make it perfectly clear that I don’t think serving in the military is stupid at all. I was only referring to having the backwards flag on the sleeve. If moving forward is such an important concept that must be represented on the uniform, then put the flag on the opposite sleeve. Isn’t “not flying the flag backwards” as important a concept as “moving forward”?
Also, baseball is different from other sports like football, basketball, hockey, and soccer in that you are not trying to move forward and take ground that is being defended by your opponent. A batter, pitcher, and catcher stay basically in the same place as pitches are delivered. Many times a fielder needs to back up to effectively field a batted ball. This isn’t seen as retreating but as playing well.
Even if you successfully move forward around the bases and score a run, you end up right back where you started.
My preference would be a more general.
Elements of flag on a jersey I’m all for.
The flag of the country itself, whether ‘backwards’ or not, is minor points off for me. Most often looks like an element that is slapped on for it’s own sake jarring up a more coherent design.
I only see seven stars on the court, not eight. One of them must be hidden under The Ohio State Univ– er, logo.
On Aaron. That could be a minor league or ST game. But there’s another digit next to that 5.
I thought about that — especially the possibility he got the number in ST — but this doesn’t look like a ST or minor league game photo. Short sleeves, full stadium (plus, it’s color action photography, which in Spring Training — or a minor league ‘rehab — would have been extremely rare).
HOWEVER — I did find this photo, which looks like an ST game, and in which he appears to be wearing a “2” as a second digit.
Maybe he did get assigned 52 prior to 5.
Gonna update the ticker with this one right now.
UPDATE #2 According to this Reddit, it’s from Spring Training 1954
I’m thinking Jesse Alkire has a good shot at winning this whole contest. Lots of good entries, but his stands out for me.
Thanks for the shoutout, Phil. It was fun making that concept.
I agree, his entries look like real Nike jerseys you could buy and wear. His jerseys are the only ones I voted for in that set and as of right now he is blowing away the competition by over 100 votes. I think we have our winner, but the ironic thing is he didn’t even submit a cap design! I think if he wins Phil should ask him to send in at least one cap design, I’d like to see the hat that goes with those jerseys.
You’re right. Give us a cap, Jesse!
I didn’t vote for any concept that used the term “America” as a word mark. We’re either the US, USA, United States or United States of America. America could refer to any country in North, Central or South America
I’m not a fan of “America” on any of these either. I am originally from Canada and “America” is from the Canadian Arctic to Patagonia. I never liked that imperial use of a term that actually represents dozens of cultures. It’s the United States of America, OF America. not ALL OF America.
But people from the USA are referred to as Americans, and on American soil when you say “America” it means you’re referring to the 50 states in the US, I’ve never heard an American say America intending it to refer to the entire New World (North America, Central America, and South America). This is something every American learns while growing up. For example, the song “God Bless America” is about the USA, not every country in the Western Hemisphere. When an American wants to refer to North America, Central America, and South America as a whole they say “The Americas”, plural. Saying “America” when referring to all three areas is incorrect and would lead to confusion. If you disagree with me just check Wikipedia and you’ll see I’m right.
“America could refer to any country in North, Central or South America”
I hate this argument so much. There are 35 sovereign countries in North and South America. One. ONLY ONE!!!! Has the word ‘America’ in it’s name. So no, ‘America’ will never refer to Brazil, or Canada, or Peru, or Cuba, or any other country on the continents.
Wow. All of the redesign entries have been absolutely terrible. None of them are even close to looking better than the current set. Only a couple cap logos are better than the current as well. There’s way too much tackiness in these designs.
Don’t mince words Josh, what do you really think?
You sound almost as if you were going to have to buy one whether you liked it or not, you know, the Under Armor school of marketing.
Wow, Josh’s comments are absolutely terrible. None of them are even close to being better than the current comments.
I wonder if the US will keep the current uniforms since they’ve actually won while wearing these (like how the Cavs won wearing black sleeved-jerseys) instead of going with something better. Or maybe they already have something down the pipeline and try to sell more jerseys, like how countries have new soccer jerseys every World Cup because people will pay retail for a new jersey even though a four-year-old jersey is/should be much cheaper. Or like the St. Louis Rams/Houston Rockets switching after winning the Super Bowl–because events have already been set into motion.
Some of the ‘tackiness’ is what was originally asked for in this contest:
“That’s it! You have one week from today to send in your submissions. I’m hoping to see designs that fall into two separate but distinct categories: classic USA designs (something that will stand the test of time for years to come) but also some “‘MURICA” unis, featuring all kinds of camopander and flag desecration. Because, why not? America, F*** YEAH. Let’s see if you guys can’t come up with something that just SCREAMS U!S!A!.”
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Wow – Blue Jackets’ red jersey mockup – I like it.
Alkire’s red USA jersey i awesome too, though I’d prefer more traditional sleeves. Really like Ivie’s (1980s-ish) and Kennedy’s (1920-ish) shirt designs.
I notice that two of the USA entries (Brady Ivie and Deb Reiser) use a number typeface very close to the one popularized by the Montreal Expos.
I also liked James McNamara’s red pinstripes, and the cap logo that’s part home plate and part shield. ANy numismatists will be reminded of how many different striped shields have been on US coins.
The font I used is styled after late 1800’s lettering as nod to early baseball history. One thing this voting format didn’t allow for was the background on why a design choice was made. Head-to-head voting based on order received doesn’t do the work much justice.
The motel archive in “Grab Bag” is well worth a look.
I was hoping that someone in the redesign contest would have just used the American Flag as the cap logo – for that matter, I would have liked for all the countries in the WBC to use their native flags on their caps as well (and none on the sleeves). Now get off my lawn!
As someone with a flag fetish I love the idea of requiring all WBC teams to have a patch of their country’s flag somewhere on their uniforms, but I don’t think a rectangle would look good front-and-center on a baseball cap. As some participants in this USA baseball design competition have done, I think putting the flag on the side or back of the hat would work better and look better. That way if one country’s baseball team has it’s own logo, they can still put it on the front of the cap.
I noticed at least three submissions from three different people in the USA baseball design contest have almost identical “United States” cursive chest wordmark scripts:
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What gives? Is there some “Baseball Jersey Cursive Script Generator” app or website that lets you type in text and it spits out a perfectly kerned chest wordmark? I mean, the similarities are uncanny!
Thanks to Phil for running this contest, and props to all of the contributors for stepping up & giving us such a tremendous set of concepts to consider. Really appreciate the time & effort that y’all put into this endeavor!
I’ve really enjoyed this contest. Makes me wish I had some design skill of my own. Of all the design elements that have been shown here, the one that struck me the most on a positive note was the idea of powder blue uniforms. It’s a traditional baseball motif, and it works because blue (if not specifically the powder version) is one of the USA’s colors. I love it!
The two things that I do not like that I’ve seen a lot here are jerseys that say “America” on the front and white-fronted caps. The “America” thing bothers me because it’s not a unique identifier of our country. We are the United States OF America, which to me indicates that there’s more to America than just us. I should probably get over it, but it is what it is.
As for the white-fronted caps, I don’t really have a good reason. They just look bad to me. I think it’s because I associate that look with cheap hats that say things like, “Southern Feed Store” on them.
I’d have liked to see someone use the old style Expos tricolor hat with USA superimposed on it.
And I agree. I didn’t vote for any uni concept that said “America”
Powder blue unis would look too late 70’s and early 80’s, and not in a good way. It was a trend 40 years ago so why would you want such a dated look on new uniforms? When on a national stage USA baseball’s uniforms should be pushing the boundaries of uni design and be cutting edge, like how uniforms in the Olympics show off the latest trends. Plus, when you want to imply American patriotism in a design, people use royal blue or navy blue. I don’t care that powder blue is still blue, it’s not a color people wear on patriotic holidays in the US. Therefore it isn’t American and doesn’t belong on the uniforms of a baseball team representing the USA.
As far as referring to the USA as “America”: people from the USA are called Americans, and on American soil when you say “America” it means you’re referring to the 50 states in the US, I’ve never heard an American say America intending it to refer to the entire New World (North America, Central America, and South America). This is something every American learns while growing up. For example, the song “God Bless America” is about the USA, not every country in the Western Hemisphere. When an American wants to refer to North America, Central America, and South America as a whole they say “The Americas”, plural. Saying “America” when referring to all three areas is incorrect and would lead to confusion. If you disagree with me just check Wikipedia and you’ll see I’m right.
Jimmy Donofrio got my vote…what sold me was the NOB…Archer.
After seeing so many USA baseball entries, I felt inspired. Unfortunately the contest deadline passed long ago. Oh, well. link
The ST photo of Hank Aaron is interesting in that it was the year that the Braves moved from Boston to Milwaukee. The logo on the helmet is ambiguous, and the brim isn’t painted red.
In addition to my gripe about the “reverse” flag on the right sleeve, I saw too many Team USA redesigns with softball/trucker style caps. Not classy at all.
Great entries and a great contest!
I thought the submissions by Charles Noerenberg and Dan Kennedy really stood out.
Dan’s throwback jersey is sooo cool while Charles had a great modern take on the look.
Love the hat.