[Ed. Note: Tonight is the annual Academy Awards presentation. In celebration of this, Doug Keklak approached me about authoring a piece detailing two movies near and dear to him, one of which is an absolute classic and referenced here all the time (“Slap Shot”), starring the recently-departed Paul Newman, while the other marked one of the earliest appearances ever of one-time stud and now scientologist and freak-show Tom Cruise (“All The Right Moves”), both of which were filmed in his hometown. Doug takes an in depth at the various uni-goodness found in both movies below. Enjoy. –Phil]
By Doug Keklak
In honor of Oscar Night, I thought I would share some uni-related memories of two movies filmed in my hometown of Johnstown, Pennsylvania: Slap Shot and All the Right Moves. Although these movies are very different in their tone and choice of sport, they share notable similarities as well. Both are set in dying steel towns. Both have central characters that are plotting their way out of said dying steel towns. Both include bona fide movie stars in Paul Newman and Tom Cruise (two men that would team up some years later to do The Color of Money). However, Cruise’s career was in its infancy when he set foot in the Flood City while Newman was a Hollywood leading man by the time Slap Shot was being filmed, having starred in such blockbusters as Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting.
Although many of you know me as a Pittsburgh guy, I’ve only lived there for ten years. I was born and raised in Johnstown, which is an hour and a half east of the Steel City. To many of us natives of Johnstown, these two movies are a sense of civic pride. For instance, there’s me with my mini-shrine to Slap Shot in a corner of basement with a chair from the arena I got when they upgraded as well as my MacFarlanes. While it’s most likely no big deal for natives of New York, Los Angeles and other large cities to see their cityscape on the big screen, for those of us from small towns there is something extra special about watching a hockey movie with scenes shot in the same arena they had their high school graduation. The same goes for a football movie with scenes shot in the same stadium that you played your high school ball at. So, while I’ve attempted to stay away from getting too sentimental in my post, focusing on uniform and equipment elements, it’s hard for some of those moments not to slip in so I apologize in advance.
Before I get into the meat of the post, I’d like to take a moment to explain the meaning of the title of the post. “Flood City?”, you may ask, similar to the way the Hanson Brothers did in a pregame locker room interview, “what are you talking about?” After the steel industry, when most people think of the City of Johnstown they think of floods and that is because we have suffered through three major floods. The worst of these was the Great Flood of 1889 but there were also notable floods in 1936 and 1977. The high water marks of these three floods are noted on the town’s City Hall. OK, that’s enough of a history lesson other than recommending David McCullogh’s Johnstown Flood and the Charles Goggenheim documentary The Johnstown Flood (which incidentally won the academy award 20 years ago for Best Documentary, Short Subject).
Without further adieu, as T.O. would say, “get your popcorn ready” and let’s take a stroll down memory lane:
ALL THE RIGHT MOVES: Generally thought of as the lesser of the two J-town movies, ATRM is by no means a wasted hour and a half, it’s just that it’s never been thought of as a classic and never really had the same cult following as Slap Shot has. Sure, some of it is cliché but if you haven’t seen this movie, you won’t be disappointed but you probably won’t be blown away either.
The movie is set in fictional Ampipe, Pennsylvania which derived it’s name from the American Pipe and Steel Company (also fictional and where the great majority of the townfolk are employed). Ampipe High’s football team was one of these varsity jackets being worn in town. I’m not sure if extras were able to obtain them or what, but they were a great conversation piece. As to my own memorabilia from the movie, I have an Ampipe practice jersey and a Knights pennant (although I didn’t get a good screencap of that, they were very similar to the Ampipe ones.)
Here’s Stefan Djordjevic (portrayed by Mr. Cruise) strolling across a bridge on his way to school early in the movie. My first sentimental item as those onion domes belong to my church!
Oh no! He gets to school meets up with his girlfriend Lisa (portrayed by Lea Thompson) and look them: both wearing Nikes!
A little bit later we are introduced to Coach Nickerson (portrayed by Craig T. Nelson) and although his character in ATRM was more hard ass than the role he would play on Coach as Hayden Fox, I’m convinced this role typecast him into roles as coaches (he was also a coach in Blades of Glory) and central figures of authority high on ego (The District). Anyway, you’ve got to love that foam front, mesh back coach’s cap. That’s total 80’s right there!
Although most, if not all the movie is shot either in the City of Johnstown or Greater Johnstown School District facilities, Ampipe was given the black and gold colors to most likely parallel the Steelers and other Pittsburgh teams. The ironic twist there is that although many extras in the movie were Johnstown High students, the uniforms worn by Ampipe those of Ferndale High School, a small school in a bordering borough. While Johnstown’s colors are blue and black, Ferndale had the black and gold in football, cheerleader and band uniforms that the movie producers were no doubt looking for.
I was unable to find any Ampipe player wearing anything other than a Bike helmet. You know, the props department could have done such a better job on those award stickers no? As an aside, seeing that gray mask really makes me wish the Steelers would have opted for it instead of the black on their throwback helmets.
Random 80’s goodness: Check out the forearm and elbow pads, you just don’t see those anymore, especially since interior offensive lineman can use their hands now … The power of the neck roll! … Old school down and distance marker … Ricko, you got a goofy looking wristband like that in your bag-o-bands?!? … Also, you might dig that Dave Parker tape job on the Ampipe’s kicker’s shoe! … Today’s high school coaches have all kinds of high tech gadgetry at their disposal — This shot shows an old peg board with tags for the depth chart — This was a mainstay in my locker room which extended through the mid-90s … This character was supposed to be a coach on a recruiting trip from Boston College. Is that a sweater that someone representing BC would have worn? I’m asking because I’ve never seen anything related to the school with just a “B” and I’m wondering if this is a Hollywood-type continuity error or legit gear … Although it’s no big deal in high school ball, where refs still wear stirrups regularly, it’s refreshing to see it in action, either in real or fiction football! … Two things here: peep the sleeve length and full stripes! Also, and I swear I NEVER noticed this pre-UW days, but some early logo creep from Russell Athletic (that logo is huge, even for me, a self-describe anti-logo creep!)
Ampipe’s rival: Walnut Heights: The game sequence in ATRM was between Ampipe and their archrivals Walnut Heights. These two schools were very different demographically. While Ampipe had the blue collar, ethnically diverse background, Walnut Heights were the yuppie, suburb WASPs with the great facilities and white collar families with more money.
Walnut Heights was the fictional name derived because an actual school in the area, Westmont Hilltop, shared the WH initials and their red and gray colors were used in the movie for uniforms. The Ampipe/Walnut Heights dynamic is not unlike the real-life perception Johnstown (the city school) has with the suburb schools (Richland and Westmont Hilltop) and the Catholic school (Bishop McCort).
That’s Walnut Heights’ coach Don Yannessa (playing himself). Although Yannessa only had the one speaking line, he was instrumental to the film as a consultant, especially to the game sequences. In real life, Yannessa just retired from a distinguished career as a high school football coach. A teammate of Mike Ditka at Aliquippa, he became the Quips head coach at age 31 in 1972 and coached there until 1988. He left Aliquippa for Baldwin in 1989 and stayed there until 2002. In 2003 he entered his last job as he coached Ambridge until his retirement last fall. Ironically, Ambridge was named due to the American Bridge Company. Ampipe was loosely based on Ambridge as well.
It’s a crappy shot, but the Walnut Heights award sticker is much better than Ampipe’s. If you decrease the size of the photo, you can make out the detail of the knight on the horse.
I won’t bore UW with the continuity errors that only locals would get, but I will show two uni-related items I have issue with: First, I was in attendance one of the nights the game sequence was shot and as you might guess, that rain was fake. Most of the night was spent watching players slide and get dirty in the baseball infield of the stadium. So, did these extras portraying Walnut Heights’ players spend all that time getting dirty and then hose off their white converse cleats?! How ridiculous does that look? The other questionable item is that although many pro teams and some college teams like to wear white at home, in Western PA it is extremely rare if not non-existent (I’m sure there have been some exceptions to that rule in the past 30 years or so). However, this was a home contest for Walnut Heights, yet they came out in their white jerseys. While I understand that Ampipe was in yellow and not a traditional road white, the home color for Westmont Hilltop’s jerseys (which as we mentioned are the inspiration of the entire Walnut Heights theme, not only from a uni-perspective but overall) were red. It would have been more realistic for the movie folks to go with the red and have a color-on-color matchup because that is much more common in the region than home teams wearing white.
That’s about it on ATRM, other than to say there are enough shots of the cuteness that was early 80’s Lea Thompson to fill an entire blog post (as well as one VERY NSFW picture in the gallery of photos that weren’t used for this post!) But, since that’s not the kind of blog this I’ll leave it at that. As a quality movie, I don’t think Leonard Maltin’s 2 1/2 stars is that far off.
All my screencaps from ATRM can be viewed here.
SLAP SHOT: Moving on to Slap Shot, I say this without any bias, this is my absolute favorite movie of all time. Not my favorite hockey movie. Not my favorite sports movie. My favorite movie, period. I am of the opinion that the late Paul Newman was the greatest American actor of our time and his portrayal of aging player-coach Reg Dunlop was absolutely brilliant (not to mention he did all his own skating). I’m only stating this because I want to get out of the way my feeling for the movie itself. Not that I don’t have the emotional attachment of it being filmed in my hometown, but I’m speaking only in terms of the quality of the movie. Some people watch Star Wars movies or Monty Python movies and know all the words, well, this is my version of that. I’ve seen this movie so many times I’ve lost track. I won’t watch it with someone that hasn’t seen it before because my reciting the movie word-for-word would probably be pretty damned annoying.
Leonard Maltin gives the movie 3 stars but another critic, the late Gene Siskel gave the film a mediocre review at first but upon further review said that was his greatest regret and that the Slap Shot was one of the greatest American comedies of all time. Of course I couldn’t agree more!
The movie is set in fictional Charlestown, home of the Chiefs, the toughest team in the Federal League. Other Federal League teams included the Hyannisport Presidents, the Peterboro Patriots, the Syracuse Bulldogs, the Broom County Blades, the Long Island Ducks and the Lancaster Gears.
Since Slap Shot has much more game action, this part of the post will break down each team in the movie, then the briefly the refs and finally a miscellaneous category as a “catch all”.
CHIEFS: Being that fictional Charlestown was really Johnstown, it made sense that the Chiefs cribbed the style of the actual minor league team that was in town at the time, the Jets.
Although the first Chiefs jersey we see on screen is the road blue, the first game action we see it at home in front of a less-than-capacity crowd at the War Memorial. I always wondered why Reg didn’t wear the “C” as he was a player-coach. Wouldn’t that make him the unquestioned on-ice leader? However, the honor of the “C” went to Johnny Upton (Allen Nicholls), who was also the only main character to wear a helmet on the Chiefs. Speaking of that helmet, what was up with it? What is that, a piece of foam or rubber on the back of it? Was that a popular, early-style helmet back in the day? I’m also not familiar with the brand name “LANGE“.
Alternates were Jim Ahern (Stephen Mendillo) and Jean-Guy Drouin (Yvon Ponton).
That’s Morris “Moe” Wanchuk (Brad Sullivan), the sex-crazed one of the bunch and although it’s a fictional character, that’s a good “athlete smoking” shot.
Aside from the Hanson Brothers (don’t worry I’m getting there), one of the more eccentric characters was Yvon Barrette’s portrayal of Denis Lemieux (no relation to the Magnificent One). Check out how his mask changed from the tame to the wild as the Chiefs’ personality as went from boring to old-time hockey. Also, who else forgot that Louisville Slugger made sticks?
Meet the Hansons: that’s Steve, Jack and Jeff from left to right, so masterfully “portrayed” by Steve Carlson, Dave Hanson and Jeff Carlson respectively. I put portrayed in quotes because I’m not sure how much of an act they were doing! As many of the other actors in this movie, these guys actually played hockey. In fact, the reason Hanson was called on to play the third Hanson was because the third Carlson Brother, Jack, was called up by the Edmonton Oilers to play in the WHA playoffs while the movie was being filmed (here’s a shot of him from his days as a New England Whaler). The real-life exploits of the Carlson Brothers were no doubt the inspiration for the fictional Hansons and to this day, the line between fiction and reality with these guys is blurred to a point of no return.
The Hansons were picked up by penny-pinching GM Joe McGrath (Strother Martin) from the fictional Iron League. In fact, the boys are all sporting jackets with the league’s logo on them. Although the Iron League doesn’t exist, it’s inspiration may have come from the first professional squad the Carlsons played for: the Marquette Iron Rangers.
What section of the Hansons would be incomplete without a few shots of the boys puttin’ on the foil?!
BULLDOGS: Without a doubt the biggest rival of the Chiefs in the movie, led by their coach and “chief punk” Tim “Dr. Hook” McCracken (Paul D’Amato), who also wears the “C”. Overall, Syracuse’s jersey is pretty bland seeing that their mascot is a Bulldog but whatever. Also, orange and black reminds me of the Flyers so of course I’m going to hate it! I will say this though, their goalie had a pretty cool mask.
GEARS: Lancaster was the first road trip for the boys but the game sequence isn’t that detailed, in fact, this is the only quality shot of the Gears’ jersey I could get. Looks inspired by the Detroit Red Wings and sort of reminds me of the logo the Johnstown Wings used later in the 70’s.
BLADES: This sported a multi-colored deep green, white, yellow and red ensemble (that’s “lard ass” Barclay Donaldson as portrayed by Ross Smith). Donaldson went sans helmet, but this player opted for a very nice dark green Cooper model. Speaking of helmets, check out this shot of their bench and mix-and-match approach taken by the players, some with no helmet, some with white and some with green. Here’s a shot of their goalie.
PATRIOTS: This was the most underwhelming jersey of the film, especially since the logo on the Federal League page that I posted earlier has such great potential for a hockey jersey. This is a shame too, because it’s this team that gives us one of the more famous scenes in the movie, the pregame fight with no refs on the ice.
DUCKS: The Long Island Ducks were actually the name of a team that played in the Eastern Hockey League in the late 60’s and early 70s. When the EHL disbanded, two leagues formed, the NAHL and the Southern Hockey League, with teams from the defunct league moving to where they fit geographically in one of those two leagues. The Slap Shot version of the Ducks wore a very distinct looking black, gold and white jersey with some wavy stripes at the top and a unique shoulder and neckline pattern. Yes, that’s Hanrahan, the goalie that Reg drives off the deep end by making some less than polite remarks about his wife! Here’s a slight consistency issue: although all the lettering and numbering on the Ducks’ jersey are either black or black trimmed in white, the Captain’s “C” is just white for some reason.
PRESIDENTS: Aside from the Chiefs, the Presidents are the only team we get to see in both their home and road unis. These unis are probably my favorite in the movie, aside from the Chiefs. I especially like the green road unis with the white shoulders (dig that old goalie equipment and mask and Northland stick). This was the first hockey uniform I can recall, real or fictional, with the front number on the top corner of the jersey. I viewed the sequence with their road jerseys several times to find a “C” or “A” but couldn’t find one. However, you can make out the “A” on the white home jersey I linked above. (Continuity error: that’s the same character, Brophy, in both shots, yet he’s wearing the “A” in one shot but not the other.)
REFEREES: Pardon the poor image quality on this shot, but for the movie you can see that while the linesmen wore traditional black and white zebra stripes, the referee sported red and white. Another nice touch were the names AND numbers on the backs of the jerseys. (A couple of other good looks here and here).
MISCELLANEOUS: I’m not sure what the deal is with both Lily and Ned Braden sporting this ratty looking St. Louis Cardinals hat. Neither Lindsay Crouse or Michael Ontkean hail from the midwest … Although the blue and black of my alma mater was snubbed in ATRM, it figures prominently in Slap Shot as the band plays at both the championship game and the celebratory parade … There was some talk in the comments not too long ago about whether the patch on the Chiefs’ jersey was a Federal League patch or a patch for the All-American City. This shot shows it was the latter … Grammar fail from the Charlestown fans! … Who’s that foxy lady with the 70’s flair? None other than Newman’s daughter Suzanne.
All my screencaps of Slap Shot can be viewed here.
Phil asked me to explain “what’s the story with that dog?” Reg Dunlop’s “that’s the dog that saved Charlestown from the 1938 flood” is a line that has confused local folklore for years! For the REAL story, check out these links.
Art imitates life: in Slap Shot, fictional Charlestown was going through tough times as the mills were closing and the Chiefs were going to fold. In real life, the Jets were forced to fold in due to the 1977 flood. They would have had to sit out the year anyway because the NAHL folded. Hockey came back for a two-year span that gave Johnstown fans the lowly Wings and Red Wings for the 1978-79 and 1979-80 seasons. Poor attendance and decreasing economic woes caused the sport of hockey to leave Johnstown until 1988.
It was that season that Johnstown was awarded a franchise in the now defunct All-American Hockey League. You want to talk about old-time hockey? That first season had games with all-out brawls on a regular basis (including goalies). The next season the ECHL was formed as the East Coast Hockey League and although the squad has struggled to average 2,000 fans a game in attendance, they are currently the sole charter member of the league that has survived.
When it came time to name the squad, the new owners wanted to name them the Jets but the previous owners would not relinquish the rights to that name. So what was their second choice? Obviously, the Chiefs!
The Hanson Brothers make regular appearances at the War Memorial and from time to time the Chiefs sport throwbacks of either the movie Chiefs or the Jets. People from all over the world make pilgrimages to the Cambria County War Memorial to say they were in the arena where Slap Shot was made.
Well, that’s all folks, I hope you enjoyed your double-feature of Flood City cinema. I’ll leave with the immortal words of Charlestown Sportswriter Dickie Dunn (M. Emmett Walsh): “I tried to capture the spirit of the thing.”
Thanks Douggie! I think it’s time to fire up Slap Shot on the ol’ DVD real soon. Lets try to keep the Slap Shot quotes to a minimum ;).
This and That: Got this note late last night from UW reader Jeff Shirley: “Phil, Here’s a closeup of the patch the Jazz wore tonight in honor of Larry Miller’s passing. I thought the patch looked great. I also thought you might enjoy the tribute, complete with the old school note. (too bad they didn’t wear the high striped socks too).” Nice touch. The Jazz basketball team owner Larry H. Miller died of complications from Type 2 diabetes Friday, Feb. 20, 2009. He was 64. … Talk about your color on color matchup … can someone who follows soccer please explain What the hell is on Pumas’ kit? … Dude (or is that a chick?) — You’re wearing the wrong color sweater … good to see there’s no logo creep in boxing … nice closeup here of Roberto Luongo‘s facemask — complete with vector wordmark … Interesting take on the “rent-a-player” joke … and despite shutting out the Dev’s 4-0, I still HATE the Isles socks they wear in their third uni.
Enjoy the Oscars. — Phil
If you love Slap Shot, you’ll probably enjoy the book “Slap Shot Original” written by Dave Hanson. I recently finished reading it, and there are many great stories from the filming of the movie. It doesn’t sound like those guys were doing much “acting”!
[quote]can someone who follows soccer please explain link is on Pumas’ kit?[/quote]
Good question. I’ve actually an link and I guess I assumed it was a, y’know, puma. But now I’m not so sure.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~“
OK, now that I’ve read the
tickerThis and That section, I really hope I have time to read the entire main entry today.The picture on the front of Pumas’ uniform is actually their logo.
Here is a picture of the logo with a Puma’s head in the background.
link
It is just a graphic representation of a Puma’s head.
link
Wikipedia says that the colors and nickname for Pumas is as follows:
The team got its nickname and colors out of their brothers from American football; back in the days of the establishment the Pumas Dorados de la UNAM were more popular than their football brothers, and the football team followed the example set by the American football team. The Pumas Dorados originally got their color as a tribute to the University of Notre Dame, because coaches from Notre Dame helped to develop the program of the American football team. Years later, the team got its nickname because its coach Roberto “Tapatio” Mendez gave motivational speeches to their players often telling them that they were like pumas. The nickname got to the ears of the press, who widely spread it; the nickname stuck with the public, and ever since all the athletes representing the University have been called Pumas.
On their website, it appears that the first time that they used the head logo as the design for the uniform was in the 1976-1977.
link
Even check out the Pumas on the stripe down the sleeve in 1980-1981.
link
I got a job working construction for the Johnstown Company
But lately there ain’t been much work on account of the economy
Now all them things that seemed so important
Well mister they vanished right into the air
Now I just act like I don’t remember
Mary acts like she don’t care
I guess you can argue the song references the name of a company – as opposed to a city, but I always asscociated this song to Johnstown Pa as well, as it seemed to capture the melancholy feel that existed as a back drop to both films,
Great job with this post today – I really enjoyed it.
Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau was in Slapshot — #7 for the Hyannisport Presidents.
I’m curious about link. Did they just take a Ferndale cheerleader uniform and slap an AMPIPE patch over the F?
Also, is ATRM the movie with a character named “Vinnie the Vooch” or something similar? I have a friend named Vince and another friend of mine started calling him Vooch in high school because of the character. The nickname stuck.
Later, that morphed into “Gooch” (Arnold’s nemesis on “Diff’rent Strokes”) because someone else thought that it was what we were saying. So now, we use the two nicknames interchangeably.
ESPN was just doing the hightlights of the Louisville game last night. The anchor noted that the coach is “making them wear no sponsored logo’d practive gear until they wina big game on the road” They won last night and after the highlights the anchor noted now they “get to wear their addidas logo’d gear again”.
Ah, that wonderful moment when Tom Cruise puts every puffed-up, NFL-wannabe, big-fish-in-small-pond high school football coach in his place…
“You’re not god, you’re just a typing teacher!”
Love it. Love it. Love it.
—Ricko
It looks like the boxing link also shows some cross-sport logo creep. That shirt he’s wearing, I believe, is the home shirt of River Plate of the Argentine Football Association.
I don’t follow the AFA very closely so I’m not sure who their current shirt sponsor is though…and it looks to have an extra crest as well.
Watching Slap Shot for the 1,497th time and never caught this until now: about 26:30 minutes in, No. 19 for the Gears is wearing – of all things – a balaclava.
Maybe it’s just me, but I find there to be a difference between “logo creep” and sponsorships.
I understand that in some way they’re the same thing. When Nike is outfitting schools, they are in a way sponsoring the program. But I consider that more as logo creep, using the jersey to get their brand across. It’s paid publicity. I’m sure part of it is that Nike offers up the most dough, but the reality is that for alot of athletes, the check is part of the uniform, and they like seeing it on there.
As for sponsorships, you’re basically whoring yourself out for money. Companies pay you and plaster the logo all over your gear for the publicity. The only intent on the part of the fighter is to have added revenue. The only reason he has an ecko logo is because of the sponsorship. As for the uniforms, the teams have to buy them anyways, the logo creep is just part of the bargain.
The Pumas’ head is based on regional American Indian art–like the old Seattle Seahawks’ logo.
And as we all know, the son of a Hanson brother would play hockey for the University of Notre Dame.
Two things today:
Doug.
Excellent job, my friend. Very well put together. I’m disappointed you didn’t mention about how my Erie Panthers always mopped the floor with them…huh…strange ;)
Second thing.
I had this dream last night, in which I was walking around an old arcade with a few friends of mine. The rest of the story is not important, but I do remember seeing this guy in a powder blue/black/white winter jacket. On the jacket there was “Penguins” baseball style script stitched in black on the back, a ‘smiling’ hockey puck on each shoulder, and the front had the iconic Skating Penguin on the upper left chest area.
I walk up to the guy and said, “This is going to sound incredibly weird, please don’t laugh at me. But I go to this site online, and they would die to see this awesome jacket. Can I take some pictures of it?” The man laughs at me. I go try to find my camera and its gone. So I didn’t get pictures.
UniWatch creeping into my dreams. Weird!
[quote comment=”315893″]I got a job working construction for the Johnstown Company
But lately there ain’t been much work on account of the economy
Now all them things that seemed so important
Well mister they vanished right into the air
Now I just act like I don’t remember
Mary acts like she don’t care
I guess you can argue the song references the name of a company – as opposed to a city, but I always asscociated this song to Johnstown Pa as well, as it seemed to capture the melancholy feel that existed as a back drop to both films,
Great job with this post today – I really enjoyed it.[/quote]
Sorry a little off topic but Bruce also referenced Johnstown in Highway Patrolman on the Nebraska CD by referencing a famous Johnstown song.
“Taking turns dancing with Maria while the band played ‘Night of the Johnstown Flood'”
Another interesting fact about the UNAM Pumas…they never wore an advertisement on their uniforms until around 2001. Mexico’s national bank Banamex was the first to appear. Nike had designed their uniforms from the mid 90’s-early 2000’s and interestingly were conservative in design.
I am from Pittsburgh and our high school hockey team used to play a Thanksgiving day tournament at the War memorial, it was pretty cool to play in the same building that they filmed Slap Shot in. later in life from 2001 to 2003 i worked for the Junior A hockey team Pittsburgh Forge and the GM of our building was none other than Dave Hanson, super nice guy and very professional although sometimes it was hard to take him serious with that haircut.
Every once in a blue moon he would throw out a Hanson brothers line,talk about surreal,when he did that it just brought you right into the movie for a second.
Harry Howell (3) and Andy Bathgate (9) will have their numbers retired tonight by the New York Rangers. These two men are truly deserving of this honor for their performance on the ice and their character off the ice.
Michal Rozsival had been wearing number 3. Starting tonight, he will switch to 33.
I have to say my favorite sports movie of all time is BASEketball. There are many unique uniform aspects in that movie, with the combo of baseball jerseys and basketball shorts. Plus, its just plain funny.
Solid work, Kek. That piece is excellent!
As always, great entry, Phil!
As someone stated, Boudreau is #7 on the Presidents. The current coach stated that he was never expected to get on camera, so he hot-dogged his way into the film. If you notice in the game against Hyannisport in the early going, #7 scores a couple of goals.
Boudreau has stated that he taught Newman how to take a slapshot during filming. Also, the apartment that Dunlop is trying to get some sleep in? That was Boudreau’s apartment in Johnstown as well. It was chosen because “it was the dingiest” of all the players’ accommodations.
How did Boudreau get these parts? He was a part of the 1975-76 Johnstown Jets team, the same season as when the 1977-released Slap Shot was being filmed.
Pretty cool, if you ask me.
I knew that Lange used to make hockey skates, as my brother had a pair of their goalie skates. I don’t think they make hockey equipment any more.
Lange now produces ski boots and accessories.
There’s a documentary out called link and part of it is about the link. One of the teams they follow is called the Federal League All-Stars.
Good enough movie, but a bit too much of the Kids Today syndrome.
Today is Pink Day at the ISU-KU game. Jayhawks are wearing pink jerseys with blue trim, while ISU is wearing their home whites with pink letters they wore last week vs Texas.
The link helmet may actually the same as the Northland “dome” helmet worn by Lanny MacDonald, among others. There’s some info link, but I can’t find anything definitive. I’ve got no idea what the foam pad’s about, though.
“Dude (or is that a chick?) – You’re wearing the wrong color sweater”
For God’s sake, is a fan wearing a different color jersey than the one their team is wearing that night really notable in any way (let alone worthy of some mild derision)? You’ve seriously never seen that before?
[quote comment=”315915″]”Dude (or is that a chick?) – You’re wearing the wrong color sweater”
For God’s sake, is a fan wearing a different color jersey than the one their team is wearing that night really notable in any way (let alone worthy of some mild derision)? You’ve seriously never seen that before?[/quote]
When you live in Edmonton, buying a home Flames jersey is like slapping the Pope. You just don’t do it out of poor taste. I’m surprised she wasn’t killed by the Edmonton fans.
Besides, if it offends you that much, just buy your mom a white jersey. LOL
[quote comment=”315916″][quote comment=”315915″]”Dude (or is that a chick?) – You’re wearing the wrong color sweater”
For God’s sake, is a fan wearing a different color jersey than the one their team is wearing that night really notable in any way (let alone worthy of some mild derision)? You’ve seriously never seen that before?[/quote]
When you live in Edmonton, buying a home Flames jersey is like slapping the Pope. You just don’t do it out of poor taste. I’m surprised she wasn’t killed by the Edmonton fans.
Besides, if it offends you that much, just buy your mom a white jersey. LOL[/quote]
Before I get destroyed for being mean, I’m only kidding, people.
She probably dropped $200 for those tickets. She can wear what she wants.
In all the Right moves the one game was played at Moe Rubenstein Stadium in Ambridge, PA. The same school where Don Yanessa coached until this past year and the place that the Ampipe name came from.
[quote comment=”315917″][quote comment=”315916″][quote comment=”315915″]”Dude (or is that a chick?) – You’re wearing the wrong color sweater”
For God’s sake, is a fan wearing a different color jersey than the one their team is wearing that night really notable in any way (let alone worthy of some mild derision)? You’ve seriously never seen that before?[/quote]
When you live in Edmonton, buying a home Flames jersey is like slapping the Pope. You just don’t do it out of poor taste. I’m surprised she wasn’t killed by the Edmonton fans.
Besides, if it offends you that much, just buy your mom a white jersey. LOL[/quote]
Before I get destroyed for being mean, I’m only kidding, people.
She probably dropped $200 for those tickets. She can wear what she wants.[/quote]
Ugh. Wear what she wants? I hope she’d still wear the jersey
Are you kidding me with how long your weekend posts are? Both today’s and yesterday’s could have easily been split into two posts over the weekend that would’ve be less time consuming than reading a novel.
Not everything is better when you split it in half, eh, Jefferson D?
The inspiration for Reggie Dunlop (some say):
link
I love Slap Shot. There are guys who have only the faintest idea who Eddie Shore is, but, thanks to that movie, know what bodily function should be undertaken in his regard. :-)
(No disrespect meant to the late four-time Hart Trophy winner.)
And to the man who played Reggie Dunlop? R.I.P.
Yeah, I don’t know what you’re getting at Tony, but all I wanted to say was posts have been really long lately. I mean, first we had Vince and his Open Threads. When Bryan came and started with some commentary and content it was a welcome change, at least to me. Eventually, I think we all kind of had enough with his style or whatnot, which led to his departure.
Now Phil is here, he posts quality content, takes advantage of the knowledge or talent of the commenters, and I think it’s a great thing. But when a Sunday post is over 3900 words, and over 7 pages without pictures when pasted into Word, I think we’ve gone a little too far.
[quote comment=”315925″]Yeah, I don’t know what you’re getting at Tony, but all I wanted to say was posts have been really long lately. I mean, first we had Vince and his Open Threads. When Bryan came and started with some commentary and content it was a welcome change, at least to me. Eventually, I think we all kind of had enough with his style or whatnot, which led to his departure.
Now Phil is here, he posts quality content, takes advantage of the knowledge or talent of the commenters, and I think it’s a great thing. But when a Sunday post is over 3900 words, and over 7 pages without pictures when pasted into Word, I think we’ve gone a little too far.[/quote]
The Sunday papers are always the biggest of the week, why not have the Sunday Blog be the longest?
Lange was a maker of Ski equipment boots and Ski’s and got into Hocket Equipment making the first set of molded plastic skates. They also made Hockey Helmets, the pad on the back came with the Helmet , most pro’s took the oustide pad off though. Players like Stan Mikita and Daryl Sittler wore the Lange: link
Huge ATRM’s fan! Wasn’t a western PA guy, but I did graduate in 1982 so lots of similarities. I saw the ESPN Classic version with comments added and they said they saw the sun once during the entire shoot. Also like “All The Right Moves On Ice” aka Youngblood. Any movies where the guy nails the likes of Lea Thompson and Cynthia Gibb are worth the watch.
Interesting and educational entry today.
This isn’t necessarily uni-related, but I thought readers here would be interested in this story from today’s Chicago Tribune. link
just watched the tigers and yankees on mlbn from 1976 where mark fidrych pitched a complete game. the tigers had a patch on their left sleeve, does anyone know what the patch was for?
so nice to get a johnstown related post. my pops’ side of the family is from there, had 15 or so family members die in the 1889 flood, etc. anyway, the town is always kicked around, it’s nice to see it mentioned in a good light. thanks.
as for the crit of today’s post. i am always amused by the dirt bags who can find nothing better to do then criticize. i personally think it is great that some people who read this blog on a daily basis are asked to contribute. if you think it is too long, here’s an idea, don’t read it, or find something shorter, like a cereal box, to read.
[quote comment=”315931″]as for the crit of today’s post. i am always amused by the dirt bags who can find nothing better to do then criticize. i personally think it is great that some people who read this blog on a daily basis are asked to contribute. if you think it is too long, here’s an idea, don’t read it, or find something shorter, like a cereal box, to read.[/quote]
^5
[quote comment=”315925″]Yeah, I don’t know what you’re getting at Tony, but all I wanted to say was posts have been really long lately. I mean, first we had Vince and his Open Threads. When Bryan came and started with some commentary and content it was a welcome change, at least to me. Eventually, I think we all kind of had enough with his style or whatnot, which led to his departure.
Now Phil is here, he posts quality content, takes advantage of the knowledge or talent of the commenters, and I think it’s a great thing. But when a Sunday post is over 3900 words, and over 7 pages without pictures when pasted into Word, I think we’ve gone a little too far.[/quote]
i appreciate the kind words, and i appreciate the constructive criticism on the length of the posts…i realize they’ve gotten long recently
however, today’s post was (for the most part) a contribution from doug keklak (kek), who obviously spent a LOT of time and effort to prepare it; i wanted to present it to you all the way he presented it to me…believe me, i have to code every single link, not to mention typeset the whole thing, plus find photos and code the inline pics as well…so it’d make my life a lot easier not to produce such long posts
but i do it because i enjoy it, and i think the readers enjoy it as well…what started out as ‘just’ the weekend gig has become somewhat of a passion for me, and i thank paul for giving me the opportunity…some of the posts i prepare can take over eight hours (im looking at you, POWERS), but when other readers put out for me, i feel it only fair to give it my all for them…i frequently edit these things into all hours of the evening
i love all things at UW, and im just like one of you all…a poster with a passion for all things uniform…i try not to make the posts controversial or political (though i’d love to), but im here for the same reason we all are — the unis
i will certainly make every attempt to keep my future posts shorter (i agree they’re getting long), but not at the expense of another poster who is doing me a favor by collaborating with me on something…
as far as your comments, i thank you for them…any comments, critical or otherwise, help me to make the weekend posts that much better (hopefully)…and to those who ‘grabbed my back’ so to speak, i thank you too
we’re all a sort-of family on here and im just grateful to paul for giving me the opportunity to have the bench coach title
cheers!
PH
Duke to wear new alternates against Wake Forest tonight.
link
Tell me about it, ya took the words right out of my mouth.
[quote comment=”315930″]just watched the tigers and yankees on mlbn from 1976 where mark fidrych pitched a complete game. the tigers had a patch on their left sleeve, does anyone know what the patch was for?[/quote]
According to sportslogo.net, They had a Bicentennial patch that year. Here’s a link
The Pumas shirt logo is indeed a representation of a puma’s face. Also, I always thought that the negative space created a stylized “U” for Universidad Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM), the official team name.
I skipped yesterday’s comments so I’ll post here: Kurt, I have purchased a couple of items from Worldsoccershop.com. They are reliable and their prices are competitive. I prefer eurosport (soccer.com), however, because I get a better discount with them and they usually have the same inventory.
[quote comment=”315934″]Duke to wear new alternates against Wake Forest tonight.
link
No way… seriously? They’re wearing those? Those are hideous!
[quote comment=”315933″][quote comment=”315925″]Yeah, I don’t know what you’re getting at Tony, but all I wanted to say was posts have been really long lately. I mean, first we had Vince and his Open Threads. When Bryan came and started with some commentary and content it was a welcome change, at least to me. Eventually, I think we all kind of had enough with his style or whatnot, which led to his departure.
Now Phil is here, he posts quality content, takes advantage of the knowledge or talent of the commenters, and I think it’s a great thing. But when a Sunday post is over 3900 words, and over 7 pages without pictures when pasted into Word, I think we’ve gone a little too far.[/quote]
i appreciate the kind words, and i appreciate the constructive criticism on the length of the posts…i realize they’ve gotten long recently
however, today’s post was (for the most part) a contribution from doug keklak (kek), who obviously spent a LOT of time and effort to prepare it; i wanted to present it to you all the way he presented it to me…believe me, i have to code every single link, not to mention typeset the whole thing, plus find photos and code the inline pics as well…so it’d make my life a lot easier not to produce such long posts
but i do it because i enjoy it, and i think the readers enjoy it as well…what started out as ‘just’ the weekend gig has become somewhat of a passion for me, and i thank paul for giving me the opportunity…some of the posts i prepare can take over eight hours (im looking at you, POWERS), but when other readers put out for me, i feel it only fair to give it my all for them…i frequently edit these things into all hours of the evening
i love all things at UW, and im just like one of you all…a poster with a passion for all things uniform…i try not to make the posts controversial or political (though i’d love to), but im here for the same reason we all are — the unis
i will certainly make every attempt to keep my future posts shorter (i agree they’re getting long), but not at the expense of another poster who is doing me a favor by collaborating with me on something…
as far as your comments, i thank you for them…any comments, critical or otherwise, help me to make the weekend posts that much better (hopefully)…and to those who ‘grabbed my back’ so to speak, i thank you too
we’re all a sort-of family on here and im just grateful to paul for giving me the opportunity to have the bench coach title
cheers!
PH[/quote]
… so then you post a page-long comment… way to appease the critics, Phil.
link
but when i am feeling like this, nothing goes better with my coffee, then a long uniread.
[quote comment=”315898″]
It looks like the boxing link also shows some cross-sport logo creep. That shirt he’s wearing, I believe, is the home shirt of River Plate of the Argentine Football Association.
I don’t follow the AFA very closely so I’m not sure who their current shirt sponsor is though…and it looks to have an extra crest as well.[/quote]
Yeah, that is a River Plate shirt. Their current sponsor is an oil company called “PETROBRAS” I believe. [I think it stands for Petrol Brasil and not some kind of fuel-powered support garment:)]
[quote comment=”315940″]link
but when i am feeling like this, nothing goes better with my coffee, then a long uniread.[/quote]
Wow. I’ve really been paying attention to baseball talk lately. I didn’t even realize he was back with the Sox. Now Ozzie’s “He’s not a model…. He’s not a jockey” comment makes sense to me. Duh.
Doug–
Great post as I’m a huge fan of “Slap Shot” and was fascinated to see the Lancaster Gears logo was exactly the same as the Saginaw Gears of the old IHL.
FYI — The white cleats our school team wore in the late 70’s were made out of a vinyl material that repelled mud. They would stay clean looking in muddy conditions. It was weird, but that photo is dead on. If you want, I can scan some yearbook photos to prove my point.
@Skycat — your guy is too young to have been the inspiration for Reg Dunlap, I’ve always heard it was this guy: link
does not link link, from a photo stand point, for the team that plays at 35th and shields
An interesting note related to the idea of “honoring” a corporation for their “support” like the Fex Ex/Memphis plan that was scrapped. In today’s Seattle Times, Ron Judd writes about one of Griffey’s complaints with management upon leaving the Mariners in 2000: “He wanted the M’s, always nautically attired in blue and teal, to come out on opening day at Safeco Field in red and white–to honor the stadium sponsor, Safeco Insurance.”
I think Griffey just has an affinity for red…I mean the turn ahead the clock M’s uniforms, Cincinnati REDS, Safeco uniforms, possible signing with Braves…okay maybe a stretch, but a hilarious story. Athletes and their delusions…
link
I was watching Slap Shot a few weeks ago, and noticed this: in the opening of the movie, when Denis Lemieux is being interviewed, he is holding a Cooper goalie stick. But during game play, he uses a Louisville stick.
Excellent weekend post yet again! Seriously, no apostrophe crap, no “what-are-the-Mets-up-to-today”, etc.
I’ve never seen the Tom Cruise flick, just not in my universe I guess. Thanks to the above poster about the bicentennial patch for the Detroit Tigers, I never knew that existed. I guess it’s based on the Hart Plaza fountain as seen here link
Love the Larry H Miller Patch, He was a great owner and will be missed.
Looks like Nike took that “tattoo” concept from the US Olympic hoops uniforms, and modified it for Duke. It resembles a lot of the Gothic architechture on their West Campus. At least they made it school-specific
kek,
Are you old enough to remember the intone for station ID that went:
“WJAC, channel six in Johnstown. Serving millions from atop the Alleghenies!”
Been away from the computer today, thought I’d respond to comments in one comment:
#1 “Slap Shot Original” I’m currently reading this now and forgot to mention in the post. On the cover, Hanson appears to be wearing the same Iron League jacket they wre in the movie that I elude to in the post.
#6 I’m guessing that’s EXACTLY what they did with the “FHS” that was no doubt on that cheerleader uniform. Fine effort from the props department too, coming up with that state of PA-shaped pin!
There’s a character Vinnie Salvucci and in the film he’s referred to as Vooch.
#14 Tony, I didn’t mention the Erie Panthers because well, the numbers don’t lie:
Chiefs vs. Panthers all-time:
88-89: 10-5-1
89-90: 1-9-1
90-91: 5-2-1
91-92: 5-2-1
92-93: 8-1-1
93-94: 8-1-1
94-95: 10-1-1
95-96: 4-1-3
TOTAL: 46-28-9
Oh, and the Chiefs were 2-0 in playoff series against the Panthers too. The 89-90 season must be the only one you remember!!!!
I kid, I kid. I’ve often said that the Chiefs/Panthers rivalry was awesome and we never had another one like it. I guess it’s Wheeling now, but it’s just not the same. There were some years when Hampton Roads would travel with a lot of fans and those games were interesting. (That and the fact that they were coached by John Brophy and he would literally sit on a bench outside of the pro shop in the common area of the arena in between periods and talk to fans.
#19 I can’t believe no one has called you out for saying that BASEketball is your favorite sports movie. My God.
#29 There is only one game scene in ATRM and I can assure you it was shot in Johnstown’s Point Stadium. As I eluded to in the post, real life Ambridge was part of the inspiration for the fictional Ampipe, I’m almost positive there was no portion of that movie filmed in Ambridge, especially the game sequence.
#53 thanks for the note on the cleats…didn’t realize that…just looked odd that they would be all muddy and shoes so white.
#62 yes, barely, I do remember that intone and the slogan in general.
In closing, I do realize the length of the post was long and it would have been better served broken out in two, one for each movie, but I thought that it’s Oscar day and not generally referred to as Oscar Weekend. I thank everyone that had kind words for the post.
Bathgate and Howell get old style authentic for their number retirement. Good for the Rangers.
That green yellow and red (or orange) uniforms were based on the old Philadelphia Firebirds NAHL jerseys, so much so that there were other notes on that.
For example, Syracuse Bulldogs were based on Le Jauros de Beauce, and the Long Island Ducks were based on the Syracuse Blazers. As for the referee shirts, the World Hockey Association’s red and white shirts were the basis for those, WHA refs who were in training in the NAHL wore the red and white stripes. Of course that was an improvment over red and blus stripes they wore in 1972-73.
[quote comment=”315951″]Looks like Nike took that “tattoo” concept from the US Olympic hoops uniforms, and modified it for Duke. It resembles a lot of the Gothic architechture on their West Campus. At least they made it school-specific[/quote]
Just noticed that tonight, figured I’d go to the source and see if anyone else saw.
[quote comment=”315955″]That green yellow and red (or orange) uniforms were based on the old Philadelphia Firebirds NAHL jerseys, so much so that there were other notes on that.
For example, Syracuse Bulldogs were based on Le Jauros de Beauce, and the Long Island Ducks were based on the Syracuse Blazers. As for the referee shirts, the World Hockey Association’s red and white shirts were the basis for those, WHA refs who were in training in the NAHL wore the red and white stripes. Of course that was an improvment over red and blus stripes they wore in 1972-73.[/quote]
Thanks for the note James, that explains the refs. I actually put a call out to my brother would have have attending Jets’ games and he said that wasn’t something he remembered but your explaination makes sense.
[quote comment=”315950″]Love the Larry H Miller Patch, He was a great owner and will be missed.[/quote]
Yes, nice touch on that, always loved those Jazz colors, even if Jazz as a name is a bit geographically challenged for SLC.
[quote comment=”315914″]The link helmet may actually the same as the Northland “dome” helmet worn by Lanny MacDonald, among others. There’s some info link, but I can’t find anything definitive. I’ve got no idea what the foam pad’s about, though.[/quote]
As a hockey player in the 1970s, I remember Lange as the company that made the first “molded” plastic boots for skates, as opposed to the traditional leather boots. (Perhaps that’s why they went into the ski boot business.)
As for the helmet, I actually wore one just like that, complete with the foam strip on back. It was called a “Stan Mikita” helmet because the Chicago Blackhawk star endorsed (and wore!) it. (It may have been made by Lange, but I only remember it as a “Mikita.”) It may have been ugly — and heavy, too — but it was quite protective. To my mind, it was the only hockey helmet that used suspended canvas straps inside the helmet to eliminate the head’s direct contact with the helmet itself in the event of a collision. As a goalie, I wore it with a cage face mask, and I never got injured; in fact, I never even got my bell rung by any whistling pucks. Now, as for that foam piece…who knows? A distinctively unattractive fashion statement, I guess!
these duke alternates don’t make much sense to me. on TV, it’s tough to see. sure, i get the concept, but what’s the point of wearing these on the court? and the fact that it’s only on their backs makes it pretty annoying, IMO. they should’ve just sold these as a fashion jersey. it looks like the players are wearing undershirts that just leak through to the back of the jerseys.
[quote comment=”315943″]Doug–
Great post as I’m a huge fan of “Slap Shot” and was fascinated to see the Lancaster Gears logo was exactly the same as the Saginaw Gears of the old IHL.
FYI — The white cleats our school team wore in the late 70’s were made out of a vinyl material that repelled mud. They would stay clean looking in muddy conditions. It was weird, but that photo is dead on. If you want, I can scan some yearbook photos to prove my point.
@Skycat — your guy is too young to have been the inspiration for Reg Dunlap, I’ve always heard it was this guy: link
Actually your guy is two years older than Brophy. Still, the origins of the Reg Dunlop character is a subject for debate:
link
1981 White Sox sporting their untucked black jerseys at Fenway Park on MLB Network.
Wait…I just realized that Michigan St. honored their 1979 championship team today, but wore SoD jerseys. Complete swing-and-miss there for the Spartans’ brass. The “State” script jerseys looked so cool and Nike could make money selling them to the fans, so why not wear them?
Also, today was “think pink” day at the Indiana-Ohio State women’s basketball game. The teams wore their usual unis, but the officials had pink whistles, there were pink basketballs in warm ups, everyone on the sidelines had the upside-down/”Y” pink ribbon, IU had special shirts for warm ups, and there was a lot of pink in the crowd.
So Nike fucked with link for tonight’s game…
wonder if this is a beginning of a trend in college basketball… I’m guessing its most likely so
[quote comment=\”315964\”]So Nike fucked with Duke\’s home jerseys for tonight\’s game…
wonder if this is a beginning of a trend in college basketball… I\’m guessing its most likely so[/quote]
And the link from Duke regarding the jerseys… comes with a link
Those 1981 White Sox jerseys are not black; they’re dark blue.
Another excellent weekend from Uni Watch. Keep up the good work, boys.
Not only was Bruce Boudreau in the movie as a player, his apartment was used in the movie as Reg Dunlop’s. Bruce says they wanted an “authentic looking hockey players apartment” and his won out. They didn’t touch a thing, just came in and filmed.
[quote comment=”315966″]Those 1981 White Sox jerseys are not black; they’re dark blue.[/quote]
Yup, and the Yankees also wear dark blue, right? Whatever.
I am not sure if you guys have ever covered this subject, but Gridiron Gang (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) was on FX over the weekend. Talk about a friggin’ logo creep. I don’t think there was a single scene without an Under Armor logo. The shots of the players faces were skewed just so they could squeeze in the “UA” on the lapel of the jersey, I had to change the station because of the annoyance.
The Charlestown Chiefs unis (directly modeled from the Johnstown Jets right down to the reverse color Captains/Alternate Captains C and As, the “All America City” patch and the logo script) are my all time favorites! Much better than the clown outfits being worn by most of the NHL now, if that’s not damning with faint praise. The Presidents were basically Minnesota North Stars uniforms and the Bulldogs were Flyers (without sleeve numbers).
Some of the replicas being sold look pretty good but A: they’re Air-Knit or mesh and B: most have names on the back, something the originals didn’t hae.
The Chiefs unis were identical to the Jets all right, and the Jets were identical to their (at some time) WHA parent club, the Minnesota Fighting Saints.
Probably a bit late to the party here…but here’s a trivia bit on “Slap Shot”:
Did you know that #7 of the Hyanisport Presidents is none other than Washington Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau?
I’m just getting around to reading this now as I was out of town all last week. My best friend and I are going to Johnstown for a Slap Shot pilgrimage as part of his bachelor “party”. If anyone could point me in the direction of shooting locations, other than the War Memorial, it would be appreciated.