By Phil Hecken
Got a whole mess of stuff today, and a couple of announcements. Nothing really to constitute a “main article” but rather a bunch of smaller bits. So lets get started.
Uni Watch “Cold Case” File? It all started when a couple of weeks ago, Ricko announced to me he saw a member of the Cleveland Indians (possibly George Hendrick) in what appeared to be an all-blue uniform. Ricko believed it was at an All-Star Game (I believe he saw it on one of those ASG shows), and it was just a fleeting shot. Last weekend, I put out the call for anyone who had possibly any knowledge of the Indians ever wearing a monochrome blue uniform to please get in touch. Unfortunately, no one did, or if they said they had seen such a beast, no photographic proof was ever found. Like Fox Mulder, I want to believe there is such a uniform photograph out there.
This would most likely have occurred sometime during the Indians “Caveman uniform” (because of the font style) period. Now, the 1975 All Star Game was played in Milwaukee (which was in the AL at the time), the 1976 game was played in Philadelphia, and but George Hendrick didn’t play in this game, and the 1977 game was played in Yankee Stadium (resulting in another UW Cold Case). Even though the Indians at that time may have worn the blue tops at “home,” it’s far more likely that if they ever wore blue pants, it would have been on the road. Hence, 1976.
To date, no photos of the “all blue” uni turned up. But, there were some great finds by the readers. First, and this ran in the comments this past week, was this black and white photograph of the Indians wearing a blue top and red pants. But that’s black and white, you say, how can you tell it’s blue over red. Aside from several devout Indians followers who said it was so, it’s tough to tell. Apparently they almost never wore this combination. What we needed was photographic proof. Well guess what? We got it! (That shot comes courtesy of Bill Walsh.) Thanks Bill!
Finally, in an effort to help with the uniforms worn in the 1976 All Star Game, Larry Wiederecht provided me with this shot of the ’76 AL All Stars. There are three Indians pictured, Frank Robinson (wearing the red top with white pants), Bob Lemon (wearing a blue top and white pants), and Dave LaRoche (wearing blue top, but the pants are obscured). Could he be the “all blue” Indian? Interstingly, pictured right next to LaRoche is Goose Gossage, who is wearing the all blue Chicago White Sox uniform. Is it possible he’s the guy Ricko thought he saw?
Perhaps we can have the UW sleuths give this one last college try, and see if we can’t turn up some kind of photographic evidence of an all blue Indians uniform. We can’t let this turn into the mythical “blue pony” Rick swears was on that 1962 Broncos helmet. If this was, in fact, worn during an All Star Game, someone has to have a dvd or video tape of the game, right? Surely we can find a picture somewhere.
And on a completely unrelated note, in Friday’s ticker, there was a fantastic collection of photographs of the Bears playing in Wrigley. Sometime back in November, I believe, the topic of football fields in baseball stadia was brought up, and specifically the Bears playing in Wrigley. It was mentioned that due to Wrigley’s size, the playing field barely fit into the stadium’s dimensions, resulting in one of the endzones being “cropped” and actually ending up in the Cubs’ dugout. Back then, some discussion ensued and we tried to find close up pictures of that endzone/dugout. Nothing really close up was found. If anyone has or can point us to a close up shot of the dugout in the endzone, that would be great too!
Thursday’s column on the White Sox and the “possible need” for new uniforms (or at least some tweaks) was met by mostly positive reaction. That’s cool, not everyone has to like the idea. But, I did receive a number of E-mails from readers who were interested in taking a shot at “fixing” another team (including some who wanted to tweak NFL and college football teams). The football will have to wait, but I think the next team for which uniform changes are due is the Milwaukee Brewers. Now, I’ve already got one of the Crew’s finest fans on board for this one, but I would hope any of you graphic artists in residence would also like to take a shot at improving, tweaking, overhauling, etc. the Brewers, please give me a holler. There were lots of calls for teams (including the A’s, Blue Black Jays, Mets, Natinals and others) to be overhauled, but for the next round, we’re going to fix the Brew Crew.
Interestingly, I also received submissions for the Orioles (courtesy of Joe Hilseberg), Cardinals (from Kyle Kendall) and Astros (thanks to Brian Fletcher) — and the Astros are surely in need of a uniform overhaul. I also received two additional submissions from those who wanted to fix the Chisox. The first, from Richard B. Gallina would have the Sox look like so, and the second, from Adrian Brashier would give the Chicago boys this uni. There were many willing to try their hand at any team. Since so many of you out there are extremely talented, lets give the Brewers a shot, and proceed from there.
So if you want to join in, drop me a line and note in the subject line “Brewer Uniform Project”.
OK? OK!
Friday’s column on the Richfield Coliseum prompted Terry Proctor to send this nice followup note:
Dear Phil,
Your man Jim Vilk will be glad to know that the cloth-covered dark-blue permanent seats from the Richfield Colisum now hold the fannies of fans in Rochester, NY. When our War Memorial arena underwent renovations in the late ’90s one of the big questions was the seating. So someone went out and got “such a deal” on the old seats from the Coliseum and now more than 12,000 of them reside at the “Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial.” Like a lot of you out there we oldtimers still refer to the place as “The War Memorial” or “The War.” Old habits die hard. Hey, I attended the first event in the building as an eight-year old in 1955, a public trade show featuring Rochester’s finest companies. I’ve got a sacred right to call it by its real name! You know what they say about renaming a ship. The HMS Bounty was renamed and look how that turned out.
Thank you Terry!
Attention All Uni-Trackers: A number of you contacted me this week (I’ll try to follow up with an E-mail in addition to this announcement), but I know there are more of you out there. It’s time for round two of the tracking. I’d like to run the updates for your favorite team next weekend. If you can send to me, sometime this week, your UPDATED tracking sheets (however it is you are keeping track) as of July 31 (or later, if you wish). Since the response to the last tracking was tremendous, I’d anticipate this next round will also be good. Here’s what I’m looking for:
Your track sheet. If you do your tracking in Excel or a similar program, I would ask, if possible, that you send me screen shots of the first four months, since I don’t have Excel on either my PC or my laptop (just at work, and ya know — i never do any UW stuff at work ;)). In addition to your track sheet, if you can provide me with a brief writeup of your uniform analysis. About 1/2 as many words as most of you used in the first set of uniform tracking we did back in May. If you didn’t participate in the first set, take a look at the May examples if you’re unsure what we’re looking for. If there are any special trends, or anything you may have noticed about a particular uniform set, let us know. If your team has gone away from (for example, except for the Mets wearing “Los Mets” on Friday night, they hadn’t worn pinstripes AT ALL in a month — maybe this afternoon they will return to that) a certain uniform (whether it be due to losing, bad karma, weather, whatever) or have increased their wearing a certain different combination, let us know. Have you seen anything anomalous about their combinations? That’s the sort of stuff we need to know (or at least, I do).
When you’re ready (or if you have questions), send your submission to this address this week and put in the subject line “Uni Tracking for the (insert our team)”. Thanks!
This and That: Got a couple of submissions from readers while Paul was away that I’ll post below. Brinke Guthrie found this “Astro” uni news (fans of the Houston club needn’t worry) … Sneakerhead Matt Powers is on a roll, with the following: Tecmo Bo Air Trainer 1; Pics of the Bulls vs, Magic Defining Moments Pack 60 + AJ VII; New Griffey Swingman colors; Matt concludes with this: “And if you fools think that my collection is ridiculous, Jay Jones is KNOWN as the godfather of PE’s. Thank you Matt, I don’t know if we could have lived without that. … Justin Kerr had this to say about newest Phillie, Cliff Lee: “Cliff Lee made his debut with the Phils (impressively so, might I add). However, his cap was missing the blue button on top. I don’t know why, any ideas?” … Finally, Joshua Knudson notes: “Felipe Lopez was traded to the Brewers last week. I was watching Friday’s Brewers/Padres game and noticed Lopez was wearing a red Phiten necklace. Naturaly I assumed it was a Diamondbacks model. It kinda looks like the dback model.” Thank you gentlemen
Saturday’s Doings: OK, this has nothing to do with unis, but I just wanted to let you know I’m not completely insane and do sometimes do things besides UW stuff … I’m also a semi-decent photographer and wanna-be artist. Had some of my stuff shown yesterday, but surprisingly (and sadly), only sold one piece (out of four). Just for shits and giggles, here’s what I showed. Enjoy. Or not. Here’s what didn’t sell: “Boat in Accabonac Bay,” … “Maidstone Sunset” … and “Autumn Bridge”. And here’s the one I moved: “Sustenence-Route 27.
Guess The Game From The Scoreboard: Interestingly enough, I had been planning on running this one for a while, but reader James Craven also sent me this photo as a good “GTG” bit. So I’ll run it today. Probably pretty easy, since I believe it’s a somewhat famous photograph. Clues are all there on the board (and of course, James must have felt good in sending it because of the two teams playing and the victor). *sigh* Anyway, here we go. Don’t forget, date, location and final score. And, of course, how you went about solving the mystery. Ready? Guess The Game.
That’s all for today folks. Everyone have a great Sunday. Paul will be back tomorrow. I need a vacation.
I may have solved a two-year-old mystery.
I was reading link by Dan Valenti when I came across link The caption reads: “Smiles All Around — Hall of Fame Director Paul Kerr shares a light moment with two great sluggers, Hank Aaron and Willie Mays, before action in the 1976 Baseball Hall of Fame Game at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown. Aaron was finishing up his long and brilliant career, retiring as baseball’s home run king. Mays, three years after retiring from the Mets and 25 years after breaking in as a rookie with the New York Giants, pinch-hit a single in the game.”
I was intrigued by Mays’ pillbox hat, so I looked it up online and found this link entry. Amazingly enough, Paul was talking about a similar version of the picture I was looking at — albeit link
He asked: “What’s up with his jersey? The placket piping and lack of pinstripes make it look like he’s wearing an early version of the team’s current ‘snow white’ design. But that design didn’t exist back in the ’70s, when Mays was a Mets coach. What’s the deal?”
I apologize that this isn’t the best quality picture. (The archives in Cooperstown would have the original that Valenti used.) But I can tell, from looking at the book, that this is not link. It’s far closer to the 1976 road jersey that the Mets were sporting, at least link (I wasn’t alive then.)
Paul’s caption had betrayed him. The game wasn’t at Shea. The Brewers beat the Mets, 9-3, on Aug. 9, 1976 in an exhibition game in Cooperstown, the day this picture was taken.
Finally, my apologies if this inquiry was solved sometime in the last two years without my knowing.
– jude
In case there’s anyone who wanted to know, I followed up late in yesterday’s posts regarding if the TB Bucs wore orange jerseys at all in their 1976 inaugural season.
“I have checked via newspaperarchive.com, on page B-1 of the 9/20/76 Naples (FL) Daily News and two game action photos definitely indicate that the Bucs indeed wore white and the Chargers were wearing blue.
“For good measure, another paper, the Fort Pierce (FL) News Tribune from the same day has a third photo from that game and the Bucs are wearing white.
“I’ll post this tommorow also.”
The Bucs wore white for all 14 games in ’76 and lost every one of them.
However, I think the NFL record for wearing white all the time falls to the LA Rams, who never broke out their blue jerseys for three straight years; 1968, 1969 and 1970.
Re “Guess the Game”:
It’s this game:
link
Whoops, “How I Solved the Mystery.” Right.
Phil said it was a somewhat famous photograph (although I’d never seen it before, myself). Since the photo was famous, I figured it had to be because the game depicted was of some great significance. Given the home team, the stadium, the uniform number of the man walking away, and the general elegiac tone to the whole picture, I made an immediate guess as to the game, found the box score on Retrosheet, and thereby confirmed my guess.
Actually, that’s the visitors’ dugout.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I’ve heard Bob Brenly mention that he routinely took the squatchee off his cap in case he bumped the his head on a low dugout ceiling (such as the aforementioned Wrigley visitors’ dugout). Any chance the visitors’ dugout in San Francisco has a low ceiling?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
link (whoa, check out that attendance).
Method: I knew that the Mets only played their first two season at the Polo Grounds, so I just looked for any game where the Phillies were the visitors and they won the game by a score of 5-1.
[quote comment=”343449″]I’ve heard Bob Brenly mention that he routinely took the squatchee off his cap in case he bumped his head on a low dugout ceiling (such as the aforementioned Wrigley visitors’ dugout).[/quote]
Fixed.
Another Cubs fan obsessing about attendance … :)
To solve the riddle of all blue Cleveland Indian uniforms may only be solved by catching the Major League Baseball Network. They replay highlights and actual all-star games from the 1970s from time to time.
Here are some pictures of last night’s game between Detroit and Cleveland. Cleveland hosted Negro League night. Cleveland was in the Cleveland Buckeyes uniforms and Detroit was in a road Detroit Stars uniformes (I don’t remember them wearing a road Stars uniform before).
link
This is the first time in the last two season (at least) the Tigers have won in Negro League uniforms.
Interesting unis at the Tigers Indians game last night. Earlier in Detroit, the Tigers wore the Detroit Stars uniforms. The Indians wore Cleveland Buckeyes. Last night, it was the sm thing only reversed. A little like a “home and home.”
[quote comment=”343451″]
Another Cubs fan obsessing about attendance … :)[/quote]
Yep. Cuz we ALWAYS fill our ballpark. Especially for link.
Wrigley Field’s endzones:
link
link
A great thread of parks in football configuration:
link
[quote comment=”343454″]Interesting unis at the Tigers Indians game last night. Earlier in Detroit, the Tigers wore the Detroit Stars uniforms. The Indians wore Cleveland Buckeyes. Last night, it was the sm thing only reversed. A little like a “home and home.”[/quote]
First time for the Detroit Stars road unis, no?
Worn the homes several times.
—Ricko
Phil:
“Autumn Bridge” is awesome. Love the way the red leaves pop out, even from my monitor. I can only imagine how much better it looks in person.
In unrelated un-UW news, I’m making my Brooklyn debut at Puppets Jazz Bar (5th Ave and 11th Street) at 7. Click my name to go to my MySpace for more info.
[quote comment=”343457″][quote comment=”343454″]Interesting unis at the Tigers Indians game last night. Earlier in Detroit, the Tigers wore the Detroit Stars uniforms. The Indians wore Cleveland Buckeyes. Last night, it was the sm thing only reversed. A little like a “home and home.”[/quote]
First time for the Detroit Stars road unis, no?
Worn the homes several times.
—Ricko[/quote]
I don’t remember them wearing them before. But I have been wrong many, many, many times before. But I do know it snaps at least a two game losing streak in Stars uniforms. They lost to Cleveland at home this year and lost to Chicago at home last year.
[quote comment=”343457″][quote comment=”343454″]Interesting unis at the Tigers Indians game last night. Earlier in Detroit, the Tigers wore the Detroit Stars uniforms. The Indians wore Cleveland Buckeyes. Last night, it was the sm thing only reversed. A little like a “home and home.”[/quote]
First time for the Detroit Stars road unis, no?
Worn the homes several times.
—Ricko[/quote]
Yes. They have worn the home, but a first for the road.
[quote comment=”343445″]I may have solved a two-year-old mystery.[/quote]
Here’s all the links fixed to comment #1:
#1 link
#2 link
#3 link
#4 link
#5 link
#6 link
– jude
Don’t waste your time – the Brewers don’t need new unis. And they won’t change anytime soon – the merch is selling better than most teams, and not just the ball-in-glove stuff. They aren’t going to change now.
The biggest change would be switching from Brewers to Milwaukee on the road greys, but that’s it.
Re:Football teams playing in baseball stadiums.
In 1932, the NFL Boston Braves shared a stadium (I believe called Braves Stadium) with the National League team of the same name. The next year, they moved to Fenway Park. In part to avoid a team called “Braves” playing at the RedSox home field, they were renamed “Redskins”. Ironically they were coached that year by a Native American, Lone Star Deitz.
Have you hailed your Skins today?
[quote comment=”343462″]Don’t waste your time – the Brewers don’t need new unis. And they won’t change anytime soon – the merch is selling better than most teams, and not just the ball-in-glove stuff. They aren’t going to change now.
The biggest change would be switching from Brewers to Milwaukee on the road greys, but that’s it.[/quote]
They do need a new font for the numbers.
[quote comment=”343458″]Phil:
“Autumn Bridge” is awesome. Love the way the red leaves pop out, even from my monitor. I can only imagine how much better it looks in person.
In unrelated un-UW news, I’m making my Brooklyn debut at Puppets Jazz Bar (5th Ave and 11th Street) at 7. Click my name to go to my MySpace for more info.[/quote]
Yeah, Phil, that’s the best of a very good bunch. It should have sold as well.
Been listening to your performances on YouTube, Mike. That’s now the official soundtrack of my UW browsing experience. Wish I could see your performance, but I’ll have to wait for the iTunes version.
kyle kendal is 100% right on the flippin button. this is one of the great uni styles that has gone lost, and nobody rocked it like the cardinals. i have wanted to see this change for some time now, and it would be near the top of the list if i had the power.
[quote comment=”343462″]Don’t waste your time – the Brewers don’t need new unis. And they won’t change anytime soon – the merch is selling better than most teams, and not just the ball-in-glove stuff. They aren’t going to change now.
The biggest change would be switching from Brewers to Milwaukee on the road greys, but that’s it.[/quote]
I agree completely. Put “Milwaukee” on the roads, that’s it. I know there’s a lot of whining about the Brewers’ tightness with Miller, but the fact is—Miller Brewing Co. aside—the Brewers’ current set is quite obviously a baseball uni designed using elements (fonts, graphics, etc.) in the style of a traditional beer bottle label. As such, they are right on the money. The hat logo, though often ripped, is a really elegant design…for a team named “Brewers”.
Nothing against the “ball glove” era (I liked that uni, especially the last version with the home pins) but that was a design relating to itself, not necessarily to the team’s nickname. The could have been the Bison or Barons or Bombers or Bass or Boatmen and that uni still would have worked. The current set has everything to do with the nickname. From a design standpoint, that’s a pretty nifty thing.
—Ricko
Thanks, Terry, for the info on the Coliseum seats. I’d like to sit my fanny in them again sometime. And I too would call your arena “The War Memorial.”
The loge area had some blue seats, but if Rochester got 12,000 of them they must have been thoroughly refurbished. The main bowl seats were brown, orange or yellow. They were starting to show their age, so I could understand the need to give them another color. I’ll be sure to pass on this Did You Know to my fellow N.E. Ohioans.
Oh, and Phil, I’d have bought “Sustenence-Route 27”, too. Just too much a bit of Americana to ignore.
Not that I didn’t like the others, but that’d been my #1.
—Ricko
More pics from the Detroit/Cleveland Negro League game last night.
link
and then i continue to read to find…
af phil~
first off, i really like “boat” and “sunset”, those were my to favs. “boat” has a strong composition, and i like that it sort of resembles a water colour, while “sunset” i think i like because i like turner paintings, and again the composition is strong, a beautiful shot.
depending on where you were selling and how you were pricing, one sold is not a bad day, especially if this was in a gallery situation where sales can be sometimes difficult to come by. i would not be discouredged by that, quite the contrary.
i take it you are shooting digitally and then manipulating the images using a program like photoshop? or are you putting filters on you lenses? i’ll be in touch on that.
thanks for sharing that phil, it was uber nifty to see the work, i really did like it very much. i even tried to write a right proper gramarfied response to it too, just for you.
~rpm
[quote comment=”343471″]More pics from the Detroit/Cleveland Negro League game last night.
link
See photo #3 for ref: “Why we shouldnt’ wear predominantly light-colored shoes with our dark socks.”
Looks like Big Lyle Who Lives in the Basement and Runs Flat-footed. ;)
Or this (which we lovingly referred to as the “Phy. Ed. class at Our Lady of Perpetual Self-Gratification”)…
link
—Ricko
Wanna mess around with Steelers’ helmet?
link
—Ricko
[quote comment=”343474″]Wanna mess around with Steelers’ helmet?
link
—Ricko[/quote]
One of these days I gotta get me a printer.
I was just telling Phil the other day I’d like to help with the uniform projects. I have crayons and know how to use them…
[quote comment=”343449″]
Actually, that’s the visitors’ dugout.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I’ve heard Bob Brenly mention that he routinely took the squatchee off his cap in case he bumped the his head on a low dugout ceiling (such as the aforementioned Wrigley visitors’ dugout). Any chance the visitors’ dugout in San Francisco has a low ceiling?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
link (whoa, check out that attendance).
Method: I knew that the Mets only played their first two season at the Polo Grounds, so I just looked for any game where the Phillies were the visitors and they won the game by a score of 5-1.[/quote]
In one of Cliff Lee’s last starts in the AL, he was pitching against the White Sox, and I noticed the button was missing on his cap. My guess is that it is just something he routinely does with all of his hats.
I believe most of the Unis in the MLB look good, but some could use a few tweaks here and there. Unlike the NBA (where most of the uniforms are just over designed and excessive) MLB’s unis are clean, traditional and timeless. Of course there are a few blemishes but overall “the Show” is a well dressed league.
Oh and a tip of the hat to a wonderful job Phil has been doing. Salud!
As always Phil, great work!
Your artwork is quite nice.
For those of you not named Phil:
On the 30th, I went to Fenway:
link
As per Irwin Lukas, I dropped my peanut shells beneath my seat:
link
The festivities outside of the park were second to none:
link
link
link
To the point that it seemed that security had allowed some proofreaders from the Natinals to edit the scoreboard:
link
link
Ironic, no?:
link
Would you say, I had a plethora of good times?
link
The answer would have been yes, had it not been for those “Pesky” Alcohol Supervision Officials patrolling the grounds.
Teddie ballgame’s seat was nicely preserved:
link
Thankfully, my wife and daughters allowed me to sneak off for one day while on a family vacation.
I hope they didn’t miss me too much:
link
Pesky:
link
Majestic:
link
Beach Volleyball players:
link
HaHa
[quote comment=”343478″]As always Phil, great work!
Your artwork is quite nice.
For those of you not named Phil:
On the 30th, I went to Fenway:
link
Did you purposely pose with those two guys in the background? Those black and green replicas are sure to make some of us shudder. Looks as if you had a blast.
Hey Powers, where are the mistakes in the scoreboard? Are you thinking of 20-for-60 not equaling .328 for Cust and Varitek not being a Red Sox (maybe a Red Sock)?
[quote comment=”343480″][quote comment=”343478″]As always Phil, great work!
Your artwork is quite nice.
For those of you not named Phil:
On the 30th, I went to Fenway:
link
Did you purposely pose with those two guys in the background? Those black and green replicas are sure to make some of us shudder. Looks as if you had a blast.[/quote]
uh,yeah!
Nope, I was just hoping that:
A. The camera would make me LOSE 10 pounds.
B. The usher would get me and the Fenway sign in the shot.
C.By the time I walked around the entire park, that there would be a few empty seats near mine so that I could switch to an unobstructed view.
Hey Powers, where are the mistakes in the scoreboard? Are you thinking of 20-for-60 not equaling .328 for Cust and Varitek not being a Red Sox (maybe a Red Sock)?
Exactly:
20-60 would be .333, no?
1 Red Sock, 2 Red Sox?
[quote comment=”343483″]Hey Powers, where are the mistakes in the scoreboard? Are you thinking of 20-for-60 not equaling .328 for Cust and Varitek not being a Red Sox (maybe a Red Sock)?
Exactly:
20-60 would be .333, no?
1 Red Sock, 2 Red Sox?[/quote]
They were using goverment math?
er, government.
“Dear Mama,
Here are seeing photography of me being very much enjoying American basingball game.”
Go, Red Sockers!
Your son,
Ivan”
link
Whoa! If Denard Span isn’t on webgems tonight, ESPN just ain’t payin’ attention.
—Ricko
I doubt you will find an all-blue Indians uniform. Unlike the blue-on-red, an all-blue would require an item (blue pants) of which there has never been an evidence at all. We’ve always known they wore blue jerseys and red pants, so it was always theoretically possible that the combo could exist (though to this point we did not know about it, of course). However, keep digging; you never know what treasure trove might surface.
As for uni redesigns — once again, the A’s have some of the best uniforms in baseball. Ditch the black and bring back the gold, and that’s it. And how anyone could suggest changing the Cardinals’ uniforms is beyond me. (That worked real well with the football Cards, right?)
Nice uni on Mrs.Powers1634!
Teddie ballgame’s seat was nicely preserved:
“Teddie ballgame” and “preserved” should not be used in the same sentence.
link
1. Was that the same game as the one against the Red Sox in July 1977?
2. As for the 1976 All-Star Game photo, omeone could always call Dave LaRoache and ask him what he wore in that game.
In regards to the Cliff Lee blue button mystery…
Does anyone know if MLB players have custom hats made available to them by New Era, or are they just given the choice between the normal crown and low crown?
I know players are custom-fitted for their jerseys and pants and get the exact fit and measurements they want. When they’re traded, they’ll get new uniforms for them based on their inseams, sleeve lengths, etc. from their previous team.
Could this be New Era’s version of the “Natinals” fiasco (on a much, much smaller scale, of course)? They churned out a new cap for Lee and forgot to add a button?
The Indians have wore three different jerseys in the series vs. the Tigers this weekend. Friday they wore their white jerseys, yesterday was the Negro League ones and today was the cream color ones.
[quote comment=”343490″]http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2600/3770164326_093b201954_o.jpg
1. Was that the same game as the one against the Red Sox in July 1977?
2. As for the 1976 All-Star Game photo, someone could always call Dave LaRoche and ask him what he wore in that game.[/quote]
I can’t believe the A’s had only two All-Stars on that ’76 team. They were still pretty good then.
By the way, is Rusty Staub wearing a home Tigers helmet instead of the road one?
[quote comment=”343493″][quote comment=”343490″]http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2600/3770164326_093b201954_o.jpg
1. Was that the same game as the one against the Red Sox in July 1977?
2. As for the 1976 All-Star Game photo, someone could always call Dave LaRoche and ask him what he wore in that game.[/quote]
I can’t believe the A’s had only two All-Stars on that ’76 team. They were still pretty good then.
By the way, is Rusty Staub wearing a home Tigers helmet instead of the road one?[/quote]
Sorry, wrong link above. See:
link
[quote comment=”343489″]Nice uni on Mrs.Powers1634!
Teddie ballgame’s seat was nicely preserved:
“Teddie ballgame” and “preserved” should not be used in the same sentence.[/quote]
I thought that would have stumped everyone COLD!
I was a fan of the Brewers uniforms from the late 90s, when they went back to blue and gold from the 1994 design, but not the current Miller-inspired logo.
I say involve the ball in glove mb logo, but darken the color.
I think the current design, especially the navy blue alt looks horrible on the team, especially on Prince Fielder with all his tattoos.
BTW…I will probably making the trek down to Baltimore on August 12th to see the O’s and A’s.
Possible catastrophe hijinks afoot.
If any of you Ballmer folks have nothing to do for an afternoon, I would love to meet up with you, Marcus, Joe, etc.
All red Bosox helmets?
link
Home uni NOT at Fenway:
link
hey ev’vybody…back from ‘out east’…
just flipped on the mets, and, …(drumroll)…no pins (although, thankfully, they are in the equally pleasing snow whites & blue cap)
so aside from sticking “los” on the pins for latin appreciation night on friday, they mets have been pinless since june
[quote comment=”343499″]Home uni NOT at Fenway:
link
that’s not a home uni
The first thing the A’s could do is use the same shade of yellow on their hats and uniforms.
Freddy Sanchez wearing 21 (the reverse of 12) instead of the reported 28.
[quote comment=”343501″][quote comment=”343499″]Home uni NOT at Fenway:
link
that’s not a home uni[/quote]
Ah…I see the B under his arm…That is why you get the big bucks!
Unlike the NBA (where most of the uniforms are just over designed and excessive) MLB’s unis are clean, traditional and timeless.
Baseball unis are bland and boring, because the game is bland and boring. Basketball is uptempo and has extreme flashes of explosiveness hence the designs are loud and flashy… The designers targeted their looks to their audience. I think both MLB and NBA uniforms are overall pretty darn good.
[quote comment=”343494″][quote comment=”343493″][quote comment=”343490″]http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2600/3770164326_093b201954_o.jpg
1. Was that the same game as the one against the Red Sox in July 1977?
2. As for the 1976 All-Star Game photo, someone could always call Dave LaRoche and ask him what he wore in that game.[/quote]
I can’t believe the A’s had only two All-Stars on that ’76 team. They were still pretty good then.
By the way, is Rusty Staub wearing a home Tigers helmet instead of the road one?[/quote]
Sorry, wrong link above. See:
link
I am almost positve the Tigers only had one hat back then. They wore the white D for both home and road. I don’t think they started the home and road thing until they adopted this current set of road jerseys.
Watching Cubs-Marlins online, Micah Hoffpauir’s batting helmet sticker was peeling off during his at bat.
[quote comment=”343505″]Unlike the NBA (where most of the uniforms are just over designed and excessive) MLB’s unis are clean, traditional and timeless.
Baseball unis are bland and boring, because the game is bland and boring. Basketball is uptempo and has extreme flashes of explosiveness hence the designs are loud and flashy… The designers targeted their looks to their audience. I think both MLB and NBA uniforms are overall pretty darn good.[/quote]
I would almost agree, but if you’re into the game then baseball is definitely slow, but not always boring. SOME MLB unis are clean, traditional and timeless, but NONE are perfect. Some are nowehere near it. And yes, there are flashes of explosiveness in the NBA…in between the 27 timeouts each team gets per quarter.
Overall, I think sports unis are suffering from the same thing that’s plauging society. We’re slowly coming out of our pre-millenial angst and the jaded 90s (think of how many 90s songs used the word jaded and that’s why I use that word). We’ve been going through a bit of a minimalist phase in fashion: straightened hair (I miss big hair) and flip-flops, Casual Fridays spilling over into the rest of the week and so on. Sports unis reflected this trend. Case in point, the Tequila Sunrise Astros giving way to the bland blue and gold ‘stros.
The ’90s and early ’00s also saw the rise of gangsta rap and its influence (Sac. Kings and yes, the White Sox to a degree): the whole Real Men Wear Black line of doo doo. Suddenly BFBS was born. Many teams disdained flashy colors and had to have some kind of black in their unis. The NFL has some of this, plus they’re starting to believe their own press that they’re “gladiators” and “warriors” and all that. That’s why their unis are starting to resemble body armor.
Even though I don’t see the need for HDTV and big screens, I am happy for one side-effect: colors are making a comeback. Same as when color TV came out, fashions and team unis seem to be brightening up from the jaded era. Of course this means they’ll eventually go too far in the other direction, but such is life. I’d rather maintain a happy medium, but that doesn’t sell as much merchandise, I suppose.
As long as my favorite teams, and a few others, strive for a classic uni that’s pleasing to the eye, I can live with some teams drifting with the tides of fashion. Heck, if everybody outfitted their teams just right, this blog wouldn’t be as popular, would it?
Not sure if anyone has posted this over the last few days as I haven’t checked the comments, but Howie Kendrick of the Angels has been rocking stirrups and high cuffs recently, and Erick Aybar has been wearing high cuffs too (but only solid socks). Kendrick’s ‘rups wearing and comeback at the plate after being demoted to AAA seem to be coincidental! I’m not sure if they had to order them in specially as I’ve never seen any other Angel wear them since I’ve been watching the team
the game was july 14th, 1977. the mets had to play back to back double headers at the same time against pittsburgh. in the box score, fisk scored in cleveland after the throw home allowed g scott to go to second. blue tops and red bottoms
[quote comment=”343506″][quote comment=”343494″][quote comment=”343493″][quote comment=”343490″]http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2600/3770164326_093b201954_o.jpg
1. Was that the same game as the one against the Red Sox in July 1977?
2. As for the 1976 All-Star Game photo, someone could always call Dave LaRoche and ask him what he wore in that game.[/quote]
I can’t believe the A’s had only two All-Stars on that ’76 team. They were still pretty good then.
By the way, is Rusty Staub wearing a home Tigers helmet instead of the road one?[/quote]
Sorry, wrong link above. See:
link
I am almost positve the Tigers only had one hat back then. They wore the white D for both home and road. I don’t think they started the home and road thing until they adopted this current set of road jerseys.[/quote]
When Tigers went to doubleknits in ’72, the road uniform (shown nicely on LaFlore in the photo) included an orange-white “D” which lasted for several seasons. They did, I think, wear the same white “D” helmet home and road, though.
link
—Ricko
[quote comment=”343505″]Unlike the NBA (where most of the uniforms are just over designed and excessive) MLB’s unis are clean, traditional and timeless.
Baseball unis are bland and boring, because the game is bland and boring. Basketball is uptempo and has extreme flashes of explosiveness hence the designs are loud and flashy… The designers targeted their looks to their audience. I think both MLB and NBA uniforms are overall pretty darn good.[/quote]
By that reasoning, football must be really dull, too. All those stops and starts. All that waiting around while the teams huddle.
Each sport has its own individual pace. If someone finds a sport boring that doesn’t mean it IS boring. That’s just their opinion.
Personally, I think watching anything but the fourth quarter of an NBA game is a waste of time. But for those really into basketball I’m sure they enjoy every minute, and I’m not gonna but them, or basketball, down.
I don’t try to elevate the sports I enjoy (and justify my enjoyment) by diminishing other sports.
It’s not a contest between them. Or is it?
—Ricko
[quote comment=”343445″]I may have solved a two-year-old mystery.
I was reading link by Dan Valenti when I came across link The caption reads: “Smiles All Around — Hall of Fame Director Paul Kerr shares a light moment with two great sluggers, Hank Aaron and Willie Mays, before action in the 1976 Baseball Hall of Fame Game at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown. Aaron was finishing up his long and brilliant career, retiring as baseball’s home run king. Mays, three years after retiring from the Mets and 25 years after breaking in as a rookie with the New York Giants, pinch-hit a single in the game.”
I was intrigued by Mays’ pillbox hat, so I looked it up online and found this link entry. Amazingly enough, Paul was talking about a similar version of the picture I was looking at — albeit link
He asked: “What’s up with his jersey? The placket piping and lack of pinstripes make it look like he’s wearing an early version of the team’s current ‘snow white’ design. But that design didn’t exist back in the ’70s, when Mays was a Mets coach. What’s the deal?”
I apologize that this isn’t the best quality picture. (The archives in Cooperstown would have the original that Valenti used.) But I can tell, from looking at the book, that this is not link. It’s far closer to the 1976 road jersey that the Mets were sporting, at least link (I wasn’t alive then.)
Paul’s caption had betrayed him. The game wasn’t at Shea. The Brewers beat the Mets, 9-3, on Aug. 9, 1976 in an exhibition game in Cooperstown, the day this picture was taken.
Finally, my apologies if this inquiry was solved sometime in the last two years without my knowing.
– jude[/quote]
Nope. Mets jerseys were made by:
1974-1975 Rawlings (button front)
1976-1977 Goodmans (button front)
1978-1981 Rawlings (pull-over)
Different manufacturer…Different take on the script “Mets” on the jersey front.
That’s all. No early version of the team’s current ‘snow white’ design.
[quote comment=”343511″][quote comment=”343506″][quote comment=”343494″][quote comment=”343493″][quote comment=”343490″]http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2600/3770164326_093b201954_o.jpg
1. Was that the same game as the one against the Red Sox in July 1977?
2. As for the 1976 All-Star Game photo, someone could always call Dave LaRoche and ask him what he wore in that game.[/quote]
I can’t believe the A’s had only two All-Stars on that ’76 team. They were still pretty good then.
By the way, is Rusty Staub wearing a home Tigers helmet instead of the road one?[/quote]
Sorry, wrong link above. See:
link
I am almost positve the Tigers only had one hat back then. They wore the white D for both home and road. I don’t think they started the home and road thing until they adopted this current set of road jerseys.[/quote]
When Tigers went to doubleknits in ’72, the road uniform (shown nicely on LaFlore in the photo) included an orange-white “D” which lasted for several seasons. They did, I think, wear the same white “D” helmet home and road, though.
link
—Ricko[/quote]
You are right, I meant helmet but typed hat. I think the away helmets changed when they had that stupid D with the Tiger in it in 1995
link
Lots of Top 10 uni lists floating around these days. Here is one from an Devils fan ranking link. Sorry if I’m ‘green doting’ here.
Following their home opener loss of 62-7 against the Falcons, the Saints wore Black for their second game of 1973 season on the road (a dismal 40-3 whipping by the Cowboys, who started their second string where they could – even let the Dallas QB call their own plays – a novelty for Dallas at that time), and then wore White for final 12 games.
They wore White all 14 games for the 1974 season, and did not wear Black until the second half of the 1975 home slate – after moving into the Superdome.
The Saints went probably 32 games in a row wearing White.
[quote comment=”343512″][quote comment=”343505″]Unlike the NBA (where most of the uniforms are just over designed and excessive) MLB’s unis are clean, traditional and timeless.
Baseball unis are bland and boring, because the game is bland and boring. Basketball is uptempo and has extreme flashes of explosiveness hence the designs are loud and flashy… The designers targeted their looks to their audience. I think both MLB and NBA uniforms are overall pretty darn good.[/quote]
By that reasoning, football must be really dull, too. All those stops and starts. All that waiting around while the teams huddle.
Each sport has its own individual pace. If someone finds a sport boring that doesn’t mean it IS boring. That’s just their opinion.
Personally, I think watching anything but the fourth quarter of an NBA game is a waste of time. But for those really into basketball I’m sure they enjoy every minute, and I’m not gonna but them, or basketball, down.
I don’t try to elevate the sports I enjoy (and justify my enjoyment) by diminishing other sports.
It’s not a contest between them. Or is it?
—Ricko[/quote]
The sports themselves aren’t so much the problem – it’s the deluge of commercials and the way they break up the flow of the game.
I know we can’t make every game commercial-free like soccer. However, the heretic in me would allow ads on jerseys if it would lessen the amount and length of commercial breaks. Now, I would agree to this only if you replace the NOB with the sponsor name. That way the saying still applies: “You play for the name on the front of the jersey, not the back.” It’s not my ideal scenario, but I have kids – I know you have to pick your battles.
I didn’t mind Leaky’s comment this time, since he didn’t insist we agree with him. Plus he didn’t say baseball sucks…
Actually, Ricko, I think there is a contest between the sports. Take the NBA’s “I Love This Game” schtick. They’re always saying they have “the greatest athletes in the world,” suggesting we should be watching them instead of those inferior athletes in the other sports. The CFL’s “Our Balls Are Bigger” campaign also infers a sense of superiority (the balls are bigger, btw). MLB and the NFL both claiming the title of The National Pastime is another example.
By the way, Phil…PURPLE potpurri? I know the cat’s away, but he’s coming back soon. ;)
[quote comment=”343517″][quote comment=”343512″][quote comment=”343505″]Unlike the NBA (where most of the uniforms are just over designed and excessive) MLB’s unis are clean, traditional and timeless.
Baseball unis are bland and boring, because the game is bland and boring. Basketball is uptempo and has extreme flashes of explosiveness hence the designs are loud and flashy… The designers targeted their looks to their audience. I think both MLB and NBA uniforms are overall pretty darn good.[/quote]
By that reasoning, football must be really dull, too. All those stops and starts. All that waiting around while the teams huddle.
Each sport has its own individual pace. If someone finds a sport boring that doesn’t mean it IS boring. That’s just their opinion.
Personally, I think watching anything but the fourth quarter of an NBA game is a waste of time. But for those really into basketball I’m sure they enjoy every minute, and I’m not gonna but them, or basketball, down.
I don’t try to elevate the sports I enjoy (and justify my enjoyment) by diminishing other sports.
It’s not a contest between them. Or is it?
—Ricko[/quote]
The sports themselves aren’t so much the problem – it’s the deluge of commercials and the way they break up the flow of the game.
I know we can’t make every game commercial-free like soccer. However, the heretic in me would allow ads on jerseys if it would lessen the amount and length of commercial breaks. Now, I would agree to this only if you replace the NOB with the sponsor name. That way the saying still applies: “You play for the name on the front of the jersey, not the back.” It’s not my ideal scenario, but I have kids – I know you have to pick your battles.
I didn’t mind Leaky’s comment this time, since he didn’t insist we agree with him. Plus he didn’t say baseball sucks…
Actually, Ricko, I think there is a contest between the sports. Take the NBA’s “I Love This Game” schtick. They’re always saying they have “the greatest athletes in the world,” suggesting we should be watching them instead of those inferior athletes in the other sports. The CFL’s “Our Balls Are Bigger” campaign also infers a sense of superiority (the balls are bigger, btw). MLB and the NFL both claiming the title of The National Pastime is another example.[/quote]
Sure it’s a contest for entertainment dollars. Wasn’t talking about that. Was talking about among fans.
And, saying something positive about your game in a fun and entertaining fashion isn’t the same as blatantly saying something negative about the others. NBA doesn’t say, “Not as Boring as Baseball.”
I’m pretty sure MLB didn’t christen itself the “National Pastime.” That came from the media, I believe. Granted, they seized on it. In their defense, though, for a good half century or more it was absolutely true.
Now, “America’s Team,” that was something else again. By both teams that claimed it. LOL
—Ricko
There were some Bears at Wrigley shots in the epic movie “Brian’s Song”, but mostly of the end zone up against the outfield wall.
[quote comment=”343519″][quote comment=”343517″][quote comment=”343512″][quote comment=”343505″]Now, “America’s Team,” that was something else again. By both teams that claimed it. LOL
—Ricko[/quote]
Oh, that’s right. I forgot the Braves made that claim back in their powder blue days.
Unfortunately a lot of my friends make it a competition. I lost count of how many times friends and family have put down my interest in the USFL, CFL and soccer of all types. In contrast, the message board here is quite tame.
[quote comment=”343521″][quote comment=”343519″][quote comment=”343517″][quote comment=”343512″][quote comment=”343505″]Now, “America’s Team,” that was something else again. By both teams that claimed it. LOL
—Ricko[/quote]
Oh, that’s right. I forgot the Braves made that claim back in their powder blue days.
Unfortunately a lot of my friends make it a competition. I lost count of how many times friends and family have put down my interest in the USFL, CFL and soccer of all types. In contrast, the message board here is quite tame.[/quote]
Jim,
I have heard the same thing for liking Arena Football, the USFL and the CFL. Heck, I use to get crap in the 70’s for being a Red Wings fan in Detroit.
[quote]I lost count of how many times friends and family have put down my interest in the USFL, CFL and soccer of all types.[/quote]
two of those three are actual real sports tho, and one of them was even played here in america ;)
The game is from September 18, 1963. Phils over the Mets at the Polo Grounds.
[quote comment=”343518″]By the way, Phil…PURPLE potpurri? I know the cat’s away, but he’s coming back soon. ;)[/quote]
It’s a tribute to the late 90s era Milwaukee Bucks!
Did anyone else see this? The home plate from Shea stadium when up on the shuttle.
link
Shame on me for not mentioning it this morning, but good stuff, Phil. As the old cliche goes, I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like. I like those.
[quote comment=”343488″]And how anyone could suggest changing the Cardinals’ uniforms is beyond me. (That worked real well with the football Cards, right?)[/quote]
Cards unis definitely fall into the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” category. But here’s the thing. Of course the birds on the bat logo is great and the (home) caps are great. But the jerseys and pants? Plain white/gray. Is a little flourish too much to ask? Maybe some piping?
[quote comment=”343455″][quote comment=”343451″]
Another Cubs fan obsessing about attendance … :)[/quote]
Yep. Cuz we ALWAYS fill our ballpark. Especially for link.[/quote]
What’s shocking about the paid attendance of 1752
is that this was the last baseball game ever played at the Polo Grounds. The attendance at the last Jets game there was hardly an improvement. (See link)
[quote comment=”343505″]Unlike the NBA (where most of the uniforms are just over designed and excessive) MLB’s unis are clean, traditional and timeless.
Baseball unis are bland and boring, because the game is bland and boring. Basketball is uptempo and has extreme flashes of explosiveness hence the designs are loud and flashy… The designers targeted their looks to their audience. I think both MLB and NBA uniforms are overall pretty darn good.[/quote]
keep listening to grand funk railroad when you floss your shit
and dont step foot in the canadian alps
[quote comment=”343513″][quote comment=”343445″]I may have solved a two-year-old mystery.
I was reading link by Dan Valenti when I came across link The caption reads: “Smiles All Around — Hall of Fame Director Paul Kerr shares a light moment with two great sluggers, Hank Aaron and Willie Mays, before action in the 1976 Baseball Hall of Fame Game at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown. Aaron was finishing up his long and brilliant career, retiring as baseball’s home run king. Mays, three years after retiring from the Mets and 25 years after breaking in as a rookie with the New York Giants, pinch-hit a single in the game.”
I was intrigued by Mays’ pillbox hat, so I looked it up online and found this link entry. Amazingly enough, Paul was talking about a similar version of the picture I was looking at — albeit link
He asked: “What’s up with his jersey? The placket piping and lack of pinstripes make it look like he’s wearing an early version of the team’s current ‘snow white’ design. But that design didn’t exist back in the ’70s, when Mays was a Mets coach. What’s the deal?”
I apologize that this isn’t the best quality picture. (The archives in Cooperstown would have the original that Valenti used.) But I can tell, from looking at the book, that this is not link. It’s far closer to the 1976 road jersey that the Mets were sporting, at least link (I wasn’t alive then.)
Paul’s caption had betrayed him. The game wasn’t at Shea. The Brewers beat the Mets, 9-3, on Aug. 9, 1976 in an exhibition game in Cooperstown, the day this picture was taken.
Finally, my apologies if this inquiry was solved sometime in the last two years without my knowing.
– jude[/quote]
Nope. Mets jerseys were made by:
1974-1975 Rawlings (button front)
1976-1977 Goodmans (button front)
1978-1981 Rawlings (pull-over)
Different manufacturer…Different take on the script “Mets” on the jersey front.
That’s all. No early version of the team’s current ‘snow white’ design.[/quote]
Know what I think? Considering the Mets never wore that hat (or that jersey back then), I think Mays’ gear perhaps was lost or late or something and somone visited a vendor’s booth to commandeer a fan hat and a fan jersey. Mays may have worn them during bp, and that’s when the photo was taken. Sorta like the time a Tiger home jersey was cobbled together for Lou Whittaker in the ASG. Or maybe all the Mets wore such stuff for that game, seeing as they probably weren’t real serious about it. Any game photos from that day?
—Ricko
GTG is 9/18/63 and the final game played at the Polo grounds.
link
Casey’s 37 and the scoreboard were put me on the right track and the mention of it being an historically important game sent me to look at home games from 1962 on. At first thought it might have been the Mets first ever loss but then remembered they didn’t score a run until game 10. With Casey trudging off a field he played on 50+ years earlier it was easy enough just to look at the final home games for each year. Thought it might have been the 120th loss in ’62, but that was on the road. Got it the next year.
I also realize hundreds of people get these things before I do but the blog posts around 3 am JST and I usually look at this the following evening my time. I do want to comply with the game requests because it is a great idea. As a suggestion, could you please only post photos that can be blown up so we can see the player numbers on the scoreboard?
Thanks,
JinJ
Please do not put the Brewers in blue tops. I couldn’t stand to see them look anything like the Cubs.