In today’s Ticker: The Reds go 3D, the original sketch for the World Baseball Classic logo, and more.
Uni Watch News Ticker for March 21, 2023
Posted in:
Baseball
MLB
- It looks like the Reds are bringing back 3D helmet decals, which they last wore in 2019. (From Joanna Zwiep)
- It appears as if MLB has updated the Jackie Robinson Day cap patch. (From @nrkastroll)
More
- Graphic designer and friend of the site Todd Radom — who designed the original World Baseball Classic logo — tweeted a photo of his initial concept sketches for the logo.
- Speaking of the WBC, depending on your perspective, Japan found either a very satisfying or creepy way to lay out their catchers’ gear ahead of a recent game. (From Noah Berger)
- New yellow jersey design for Baylor. (From @squatcheeontop)
Football
NFL
- Somehow, Topps was able to predict how former Colts OL George Kunz would wear his jersey. Kunz was traded from Atlanta to Baltimore ahead of the 1975 season, and Topps airbrushed over his Falcons uni for his card that year. Strangely, they depicted his UCLA stripes dropping below his shoulder line — a style Kunz ended up wearing that season. (From @NFL_Journal)
More
- This blog attempts to answer the question of when teams began putting strips of tape with player names on helmets during practices to help identify them. (From @FoFStrife)
Hockey
NHL
- The Capitals will wear Women in Hockey warm-up sweaters on Thursday. (From our own Jamie Rathjen)
College
- Mount Royal University, which won the Canadian National Women’s University Hockey Championship on Sunday, employs strange placement for their Calgary Flames Foundation patch. It’s on the bottom right side of the jersey, almost down by the hip. (From Noah Sidel)
Minors/Juniors
- The Kitchener Rangers wore throwbacks on Sunday as part of a year-long celebration of their 60th season. (From Wade Heidt)
- Several WHL teams wore mismatched socks on Sunday to mark the upcoming World Down Syndrome Day. (From Wade Heidt)
- The Kamloops Blazers of the WHL will wear Pride jerseys on Wednesday. (From Wade Heidt)
- The Iowa Wild unveiled a new jersey that commemorates the team’s 10th season. (From @sean_janko and Evan Sandberg)
Basketball
NBA
- ESPN spoke to several NBA and WNBA players about the impact and legacy of the Eastbay catalog, which recently went out of print after 43 years. (Thanks to all who shared)
WNBA
- The Mystics’ arena doesn’t have a corporate-advertised name, but it may get one soon. (From Bryan Martin Firvida)
More
- Over the weekend during studio coverage of the NCAA Tournament, Charles Barkley told a story about how he used to wear his uniform into the shower after games in order to get it clean during road trips. (From Mike Chamernik)
- The 1952-53 Ondossagon High School in Wisconsin took the concept “no frills” to another level. (From Bryan Martin Firvida)
Soccer
USA
- Longtime Uni Watch favorite Hal the Hot Dog Guy has hung up his apron, but he’s coming out of retirement this Saturday at an Oakland Roots SC game.
International
- Scotland: New championship trophies for the Scottish Women’s Premier League and its second tier league, SWPL 2. (From our own Jamie Rathjen)
- Argentina: New kits for Lanús. (From Kary Klismet)
- France: As part of a campaign to fight discrimination, players for RC Lens swapped NOBs over the weekend. Players wore their own numbers, but instead wore a teammate’s name on their back. Have we ever seen that before? (From Kary Klismet)
- Guatemala: New home and away uniforms for Guatemala’s national teams. (From Kary Klismet)
- Greece: New home, away and change kits for the Greek men’s national team. (From Kary Klismet)
- Ireland have also unveiled new uniforms for their men’s national team. (From Kary Klismet and @rscottrogers)
- Sweden: Malmö FF have unveiled new home and third uniforms. (From Kary Klismet)
Auto Racing
- NASCAR driver Austin Dillon’s Andy’s Frozen Custard car last Sunday in Atlanta had a tiny ice cream cone sticker to indicate the jacking location. (From Chris H.)
Volleyball
- Ferris State University has opened a new arena. (From Kary Klismet)
Grab Bag
- The Rochester Knighthawks of the National Lacrosse League wore military appreciation uniforms on Sunday. “The Knighthawks already wear fatigue green as one of their regular colors, so this special uniform was not far off the brand,” said Wade Heidt.
- English cricketer Nat Sciver-Brunt, who is married to teammate Katherine Sciver-Brunt, was wearing “NSB” as her NOB during Women’s Premier League. Both had been going FIOB previously. (From @rscottrogers)
- Last week, we Ticked the obituary for influential high jumper Dick Fosbury, who changed the sport forever by creating the now-ubiquitous “Fosbury Flop.” What we didn’t mention was Fosbury’s appearance at the 1968 Olympics, where he wore mismatched shoes. (From Bryan Martin Firvida)
- The Australian Football League has painted a Toyota ad on pitches this year that depicts two players lifting a trophy. But to many, the ad more resembles the female reproductive system. (From Bryan Martin Firvida)
- This piece explores the history of the Michelin Man mascot. (From Kary Klismet)
- Those who win the 2023 All Star Tournament for the mobile game Candy Crush Saga will be presented with championship rings. (From Kary Klismet)
- New mascot for the All India Police Athletics Championship. (From Kary Klismet)
Comments (14)
I may be in the minority, but….. 3D helmet logos look hideous – so do plastic/rubber (Whatever they are) sleeve patches for that matter.
Agree!!
Man, up until 80s (mostly), most mascots were CREEPY!
One of my ‘favorites’ :
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Correction: Mount Royal University won the USports Women’s Hockey Championship 4-3 (OT) over Concordia University. link
LOL I was going to say the same thing.
Here’s another issue with the patch though – it seems to use the pre-2021 Flames logo (from when the logo was still outlined in black). The Flames Foundation itself uses the most current logo, but that patch looks older.
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Fixed!
“This blog attempts to answer the question of when teams began putting strips of tape with player names on helmets during practices to help identify them.”
Here are a couple of pre-1950’s “NOT” (Name On Tape) examples(?) from the NY Football Giants:
Mel Hein 1940’s-
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Benny Friedman 1930’s-
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Bonus…#0 player in background!
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ChrisH: Thanks for adding links to those pictures. The images are great. I added a postscript to my story crediting you and included three of the images as well.
Love going down rabbit holes like this!
One more to add…
Found 1 Texas A&M Aggie from teams circa 1930’s/40’s with a possible NOT:
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… sourced from this collection:
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PS-
And while Gallaudet College ‘may’ have invented the huddle, they only had 1 player (lower right)with NOT in this pic from one of theirs “circa 1940” (I think it’s from later):
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I really like both of those new Malmo kits
Going along the lines of the Eastbay catalog, I recall getting the Starstruck catalog 20+ years ago. They sold hats, clothes, merch, etc from all sports but my favorite section was the Minor League caps which were hard to find back then, barring visiting the individual stadiums. I spent way too much time and money perusing that catalog!
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I wonder if Topps was truly prescient, or if Kunz liked the rendering of the shoulder stripes on his card and decided to adopt it as a Colt.
In the confusing world of cricket, Nat Sciver-Brunt is not teammates with her wife on her WPL team; they’re teammates when they play for their national team, England. Katherine Sciver-Brunt went undrafted in the WPL draft, and is stepping away from various formats and leagues. They’re FIOB when they play together, and apparently Nat is NickNOB or InitsOB when playing solo. Katherine looks likely to retire before Nat, so eventually Nat can drop the initial and be Sciver-Brunt for England.