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Up Pere-Scope!

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Mike Hersh recently sent me a bunch of new wire photo submissions. I’ll be cobbling them into the latest installment of our wire service series soon, but today I want to focus on three of the photos Mike contributed, which are interesting enough to merit their own entry.

Some quick background: I’ve been following football for nearly 40 years. During that time I’ve occasionally heard proposals to come up with some sort of electronic gizmo that could definitively measure whether a team has made a first down, similar to the Cyclops gizmo used in tennis. “Bringing out the chains takes so much time, plus it’s inexact,” goes the argument. “So we’re developing a device that will be faster and more accurate.”

I didn’t realize someone had already come up with such a device way back in 1954! Granted, that device isn’t electronic — it’s more like a sextant or a surveyor’s tool. The caption mentions that the device was used in 21 games that year and that officials were considering using it in the East-West Shrine Game the next day.

That leads us to this shot, which shows the gadget in use. This photo has the same date as the previous one, but this time the caption says the gadget will be used in the Shrine Game. This caption also tells us that the device is called a Pere-Scope, after its inventor, Lou Peresenyi — the guy shown in the previous photo. (Four tangential points: (1) I assume the linesman removed his cap to get his head right up to the eyepiece. (2) Kinda unseemly for his undershirt to be showing, no? (3) Striped whistle lanyard! (4) I know I always say this, but it’s so weird to see a zebra wearing a shirt with a button placket, button cuffs, a shoulder yoke, a collar, etc. More of a standard men’s dress shirt than a jersey.)

I wanted to know more about how the device worked, and I figured Peresenyi probably patented his invention, so I poked around and found the patent. (Interestingly, he didn’t even apply for the patent until the fall of 1955, a full year after the device was used in those 21 games.) Patent wording is always dense and difficult to slog through, but I recommend clicking through the document and reading as much of it as you can handle — it’s a clever device.

Was the Pere-Scope ever used after the 1954 college season? I haven’t been able to turn up any other references to it. Anyone know more?

Meanwhile, there’s this shot. No caption, no date. I’m guessing this is a component of another first down measurer, right? Like, there’s a scope or a beam on the other side of the field that coordinates with the thing shown here — or is this something else entirely? If anyone knows more, fill us in.

It’s interesting that the NFL, for all its high-tech radio helmets and instant replay, for all its control freakitude, has stuck with something as old-school and inexact as the chain gang. Imperfect as it is, it’s one of my favorite aspects of the game. Here’s hoping it never gets superseded by a gadget.

Update: The Pere-Scope was indeed used in that Shrine Game — here’s an article about it.

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Collector’s Corner, by Brinke Guthrie

We begin today with a message from Greg Stamps:

“My mom occasionally mentions the wax Astrodome souvenir my grandpa bought for her. I thought it would be cool to try and track down one of these wax Astrodomes down for her. I’ve looked before but never been able to find anything like what she’s describing.”

If anyone knows more about this, please contact me. Meanwhile, here’s another treasure hunt, from Matthew:

“Desperately trying to track down the old Hutch little pro uniforms from the late ’80s — the ones with the two-barface mask. I search eBay every day,but almost always come up empty. I want to collect one from each team, box or no box as long as the helmet, jersey, and pants are there. Of course, I am willing to buy them.”

If you can help out Matthew, you can contact him directly.

Now on with the show:

• Interesting font on this 1960s Eagles decal.

• Here’s the elusive old Broncos logo — but not on a helmet.

• Another NFL button, this time for official Atlanta Falcons boosters.

• How to watch hockey, circa 1951.

• This 1947 booklet called “What Men Know About Women” (must be a quick read) includes a Cincinnati Reds schedule on the back.

• Ryan Connelly passed along this bowling photo especially for PL. [Very cool. Thanks! — PL]

• Finally, in light of this week’s events, a signed George Steinbrenner 8×10 with Billy Martin. Those were great commercials.

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Seen something on eBay that you think would make good Collector’s Corner fodder? Send your submissions here.

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A lot of mileage from one listing: Brinke originally had this eBay listing included in his “Collector’s Corner” rundown, but I’m hijacking it, because there’s a lot to discuss here:

• Man, major separation between Al Oliver’s helmet and cap.

• Look at the guy in the background — low-cuffery alert! Based on the sleeve patch, this photo is from either 1978, ’79, or ’80 — very early in the low-cuffery timeline for someone to be wearing his pants that long. I realize it’s probably a spring training shot and doesn’t necessarily indicate that the player in question ever wore his pants like that in a real game, but it’s still intriguing. Anyone care to speculate on who the player might have been?

• This looks like a really interesting eBay item — over 300 Rangers photos from the 1970s on a CD. I’d bid on it myself, but the seller says it’s intended for viewing on Windows PCs, not Macs, which means I’m out of luck. I strongly urge someone out there to snap this up and share the results, which I’m sure will have lots of uni-notable treasures.

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Attention NYCers with a clue: For years I’ve been telling anyone who’ll listen (and quite a few people who won’t) that white meat is for suckers and that the only part of a chicken worth ordering is the thigh. I figure those biotech guys will genetically engineer an all-thigh chicken one of these days. But until that happens, there’s a new restaurant that’s the next best thing.

The place is called the Commodore, and it’s on the corner of Metropolitan and Havemeyer in Williamsburg (the old Black Betty space). They have fried chicken, described on the menu like so: “Three thighs and a biscuit, $10.” That’s it — thighs only.

None of which would matter if the chicken weren’t good. But I had a batch of it last night and am happy to report that it is good. Crispy, juicy, and slightly salty, it’s everything fried chicken should be. Very respectable biscuits, too (my order came with four of them, not one — cool), accompanied by some nice honey butter and a vinegar-y hot sauce. I mixed a bit of the latter into the former and got some serious sopping going with my biscuits.

The restaurant itself is a Billyburg nightmare, so get your order to go and eat it outside (but ask them to include some napkins, because they didn’t give me any). It’s a lot of food for ten bucks, so you could even split it with someone. Just promise me you won’t waste it on someone who likes white meat.

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Uni Watch News Ticker: Major news on the Gazoo front, as Justin Morneau has announced that he’ll wear the new slimline S100 — or whatever it’s called — when he returns from the DL next Friday (big thanks to Aaron Kusch). ”¦ Here’s a page with quotes and video about the new Man U kit (with thanks to Richard Grossman). ”¦ Here’s the latest article about minor leaguers adjusting to the S100 helmet. I’ve put in a call to my Rawlings contacts regarding the redesigned S100 that was used in the All-Star Game, but no response yet (article link courtesy of William Beebe). ”¦ What do the Islanders have that no other team has? An official cupcake supplier (thanks, Brinke). ”¦ Pretty cool Gordie Howe Hockey School pennant. ”¦ Very cool item that Brinke somehow missed: a Shea Stadium seating chart typesetter’s block (great find by Roger Faso). ”¦ Also from Roger: Rare shot of Dock Ellis as a Met. ”¦ The Packers have announced that their throwbacks will be worn on December 5th (with thanks to Jeff Ash). ”¦ We’ve seen pics of the Play-O-Graph before, but check out this — sort of similar, but not as much fun (thanks, Vince). ”¦ Pretty cool photo of the Fighting Sioux’s ice being painted (with thanks to Kelly Hellman). … That’s some radial arch! (With thanks to Ed Stenfeld). ”¦ Remember those groovy little NHL cartoon patches we were discussing a few months back? Tris Wykes was poking around on eBay and found some old NFL decals in a similar vein. ”¦ Late-breaking all-star item: Rafael Soriano was wearing some sort of Rays-branded sleeve during the home run derby. Here’s another view (with thanks to Darin Nelson). ”¦ Bet you’d forgotten that the Angels used to wear logo stirrups (but Charlie Shields didn’t). … Phil found a photo of Bosox outfielder Darnell McDonald wearing Mueller-branded eye black back on July 4th. ”¦ The Penguins will release their Winter Classic jersey later this fall. … Speaking of the Pens, Terence Kearns recently DIY’d a couple of Penguins varsity jackets for fellow Uni Watch readers — this one for Ryan Connelly and this one for Rob Ullman. ”¦ Austin Blom says someone at the Phoenix Suns team store told him that all NBA teams will be using a new fabric this fall. Anyone else heard anything about that? ”¦ Possibly the most frightening thing any of us will see today: diminutive songwriter Paul “It’s Not Easy Being Green” Williams and friends in basketball uniforms (I’ll never sleep soundly again, Kevin Walsh). ”¦ The Niners are expected to retire Jerry Rice’s No. 80 at their home opener (thanks, Brinke). … Very interesting checkerboard-patterned socks for Aston Villa. Too bad about the swoosh, though (with thanks to Coachie Ballgames). ”¦ Unfortunate uni match-up last night in Minnesota, as the White Sox and Twins went black vs. navy.

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You asked, I listened: Some of you have complained about my critiques of a certain radio broadcaster. Fair enough: There will be no more critiques of that broadcaster on this site. Instead, those critiques will now be published on this site.

Never let it be said that I don’t respond to the will of the people.

 
  
 
Comments (189)

    The Villa kit with the chequered socks actually has the same pattern on the sides of the shirt.

    link

    Very cool. I love that detail.

    Once again, Nike continues to create distinctive yet classy kits. Wish their college football division was paying attention.

    Except like last year when Villa, Arsenal, and a few other nike teams had a very similar away kit. And that just looks like the Croatia kit tbh, so its not a brand new design. On average I think they’re doing about the same thing as they do for college football.

    Difference is that even when they use a standard template, Nike’s soccer designs are classy, where their college football designs are garish.

    I don’t mind them using similar designs for multiple home uniforms, since soccer teams are identified by their color scheme. Nobody’s going to mistake the claret-and-blue Villans for Croatia.

    I don’t want to shill for Nike too much here, but I think their branded kits are above average. More important, their Umbro brand is cranking out the best sports uniforms on earth…

    link

    link

    link

    That’s mostly true Chance. Guess I’m still a little bitter about Arsenal not having the white sleeves the past two years.

    I wish they would all ditch the lame ads on the front. So ugly. That removal is one of the many things that could be improved in soccer.

    The ads used to be cool, like when Wolves wee sponsored by link or Hibs were sponsored by link, but nowadays it’s all just a bunch of crappy online betting sites.

    After watching the sport for a few years I hardly notice or care about the sponsors, except when they clash. Its like how adidas or nike now make their logos team colors, just seem like a normal part of their uniform. Now when you have teams that have more than one? Hideous.

    Ah, must be the music from ONE ON ONE. That’s Robbie Benson seated, and “Henry Steele” did play at Western.
    link

    Did you know Benson is the voice of the “Beast” in Disney’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST? Not exactly the guy you’d think of for such a voiceover role.

    —Ricko

    “…all the way with a red hot poker.”

    Fantastic movie! Incredibly dated now, but still one of the great sports movies.

    I will watch this one whenever it is on, just for the “red hot poker” lines and Annette O’Toole.

    There is a new fabric being introduced to the NBA this season. I don’t know much about it, though. I have heard it also entails a change in construction methods, as I don’t believe the numbers/lettering are going to be twill anymore, but rather some other method of applique that saves weight/isn’t as abrasive or something.

    At one point I had read on this site that the Colts would have a throwback jersey for this season. Is there any update on that? Will it be similar to the Turkey Day jerseys they wore against Detroit a while back?

    I think it was established that the only difference was going to be the use of the blue helmet with the horseshoes on the back instead of the white one, and still using the throwback jersey with the three stripes on the sleeves.

    At least I remember someone here posting a comment along those lines after Paul mentioned that the Colts were throwing back. Correct me if I remembered that wrong.

    Could Paul Williams’ shorts be pulled up any closer to his armpits?

    I sure hope Timberwolves GM David “The Meerkat” Kahn doesn’t read this blog, otherwise the guys in that picture will be the new starting five at Target Center.

    Zzz… May I suggest marinating boneless thighs in “Louisiana” Brand Hot Sauce (not Tabasco), some hot sesame oil, and onion powder; and then grill them over charcoal… You’re opinion of thighs might very well change…

    I’ve never seen a picture of the Dicker-rod either, but link is a patent issued to George Dicker in 1973 for a football yardage measuring device. I have no idea if this is what the WFL ended up using.

    link is another device patented in 1993. This one doesn’t seem as complicated as Dicker’s.

    and in child size…. link That’s Big Beau on the 4th of July. He wanted a fauxhawk (or a Beauhawk) to go with it but Mom put the kibosh on that.

    Wow. So much red. Isn’t that a bit disconcerting? Y’know, to feel like you’re at a Nebraska home game?

    —Rico

    Now that was uncalled for Ricko. Those deserters are and embarassment to the color red. :)

    I work for Toronto’s Triple-A affiliate (Las Vegas) and they sell the tatoo sleeves at our team store also.

    Ricko,

    What do you think of this concept?:

    link

    …to go along with your infamous Mult Colored softball Uni!

    Also, conceptualized some UW ones here:
    link

    and here:
    link

    Stewarty & Strauss make amazing jackets! Worth the $ if you have it!

    Oh, man, only saw that just now (8:25 CDT).

    That’s really fun. Seriously, um…eclectic.

    The Amazing Technicolor Letter Jacket.

    —Ricko

    Thanks guys!
    Now, I gotta work on a NYR for me. I LOVED Joe DeAngelis’ project that Paul chronicled here:

    link

    Hmmmm….need ideas….must get back….to the lab

    This question has probably already been covered at some point here on this site, but I haven’t noticed. What’s with the little logos on the bottoms of every number on most pro soccer jerseys?

    In England they use a standardised style with FA premier league logo

    link

    In Portugal it’s the same

    In Italy every team can choose freely so they put team logos

    link

    link

    The MLS has their own league logo on the bottom of their numbers. How did the whole idea get started, though? Do the teams/leagues see it as just another space for advertising?

    It was common in Europe before MLS adopted it.

    It actually makes more sense there, since promotion/relegation means that teams can play in different leagues from year to year (as if the bottom MLB teams were moved down to AAA at the end of the year and the top AAA clubs took their place).

    Newcastle United, for example, went from the link (top level) down to the link (2nd level) and is now back up again.

    I think it’s more of an way to autenticate leage approved merch. Similar to how MLB have Logo Man on neck line of Authentic Jerseys not Replicas, NHL has that huge Jock Tag on the front of theirs as well, etc. Some leagues around the world don’t have standardized letter/number. Like Spain for example. Real Madrid have their club badge at the bottom of the #’s here:

    link

    Barca does too:
    link

    The English Premier League has one set for all the clubs:
    link

    with it’s logo on the bottom as well…

    Another thing that the Soccer world does, that no other sport does (or at least does notably) is that teams from different leagues will play against each other.
    In Europe you have UEFA’s Champions League. Here in North America you have Superliga. (Not to mention the America tours that several European teams have taken to doing) The league logo on the numbers is just one more way to ID where the team plays.

    Except that the Premier League numbers are usually limited to Premier League matches (or sometimes competitions run by the same association, such as the FA Cup).

    Sometimes clubs wear the same numbers without the league logo, sometimes they have a link.

    The spot of the ball is completely inexact, but yet the measurement has to be perfect. Always found that strange.

    Can I get an A-MEN!?!?!?!??!

    (Amen!)

    As for the Hagin site – Thank you!!! Oddly, I’m greatly amused by the antidotes there … they just seemed very out of place here.

    Wow … must of been a little more tired than I thought this morning. Though maybe it was Freudian … Paul – what WOULD your antidote be? Who would you like to see in that broadcasting chair? Not a criticism, mind you … just curious about what announcer(s) are at the top of your list.

    I’d love to see Ed Coleman, who does the pregame show (and who fills in when Hagin or Rose is on vacation, as Rose is right now), get the gig. Very solid, knowledgeable, high on character but low on ego.

    Kevin Burkhardt, the “man in the stands” on SNY, would also be good. He’s actually quite impressive, but I’m assuming he’s gearing up for a career in TV, not radio.

    “The restaurant itself is a Billyburg nightmare, so get your order to go and eat it outside”

    You’re not kidding, Paul! Checked out the Yelp photos and ‘Look at this f*cking hispter’ (link) could camp out there for a year and never run out of material.

    “This 1947 booklet called “What Men Know About Women” (must be a quick read)”

    Yep, that’s the joke – link.

    It’s an old prop joke, but I’ve never seen it combined with a team’s schedule before.

    Okay, it’s Friday.

    Athletes named–or nicknamed–after uniform parts, or elements/equipment of the game.

    I’ll start…

    Harry “The Hat” Walker.
    Jersey Joe Walcott.
    Shoeless Joe Jackson.
    Donald Driver (and no, Wedge Biggs from STAR WARS doesn’t count).
    Dick “Dr. Strangeglove” Stuart.

    Next? Anybody?

    —Ricko

    Kenny Irons
    (and anyone with the last name Wood, probably.)

    There’s a couple minor leaguers with the last name Belt.linkis the best of the bunch.

    Takeo Spikes

    Cue Nerd Alert:

    It’s actually Wedge Antilles and Biggs Darklighter, not Wedge Biggs

    And lesson learned…I should have read the other comments before posting. Sorry.

    Is “herb” a current uniform/equipment part? It was for alot of my teamates in High School!

    FWIW, the chains on the football field provide something very valuable for something of this nature – transparency.

    While you see players and fans argue about the spot, you don’t see them argue about whether the nose of the ball is past the sticks – and everyone in the stands and on TV can see the same.

    Something like the pere-scope doesn’t provide any transparency.

    And Ricko – it’s Wedge Antilles. Biggs was a separate character.

    ed

    Yes, I hate it when I look at a comment of mine and realize I booted it.

    So, in the first film C-3PO says to Luke, “We’re the property of a ‘Captain Antilles’.”

    Not deep enough in Star Wars lore to know, but always wondered…any connection?

    —Ricko

    And then stolen again on Wednesday, if the events reported in the article are accurate.

    Seriously – they blocked in her car until she gave them the pendant?

    So teams can do navy vs. black (Braves-Mets, Twins-White Sox)? Seems that MLB should step in and disallow that. I also don’t understand why the Twins even bother with the navy jersey at home when they’ve got such nice white and cream uniforms to wear.

    No they shouldn’t step in and stop anything.

    /begin mini-rant

    Baseball is the one sport where you don’t need to worry about color contrast between teams, let them wear what they want. Close calls in baseball come down to ball in glove before foot on base, or a tag being made before foot on base. They could go black vs black and it wouldn’t really matter… though it would admittedly make it a bit hard to tell who’s playing at a glance – but unless you’re watching the game at a bar with no sound, that really shouldn’t be much of a problem.

    /rant over

    “Baseball is the one sport where you don’t need to worry about color contrast between teams, let them wear what they want.”

    while technically true, and certainly more so than other sports, there are situations where picking up simply the color of the uniform (at a quick glance) IS important

    aside from the fact that it looks like shit for BOTH teams to wear softball jerseys, there are practical considerations as well — one example would be a runner rounding second on a deep single (or double) looking for the third base coach…if both the coach and the third baseman, in a split second’s glance, look identical, it could lead to some problems

    is “color vs color” (as it were) as important in baseball as other sports? no…but that doesn’t mean it makes it right

    that being said, you want more color in baseball…stay tuned for “monochrome in baseball part iii” coming this weekend

    I’m not necessarily advocating for two teams to wear the same color – but that bit of confusion would effect both teams, so I wouldn’t really have a problem with it either.

    And I’m all for colored monochrome uniforms. I’d love to see things like the Reds wearing red jerseys and red pants on occasion. …or all the time… and they could still have a couple different hat variations if they wanted.

    As a lifelong Sox fan I have to say I’m so sick of the black “alternates.” There’s been quite a debate on a fan board over the ridiculous overuse of the black jersey this season. I would gladly welcome some rules from management because I really should have seen my team wear their awesome home pins more than 7 times this season!

    I have coached Little League baseball, and it is common for teams to wear virtually the exact same color uniforms. I have seen several occasions where the players became confused because of the similarity in colors. In on case, a player thought the runner on third base was the third baseman and threw the ball at the runner. One incident like that in MLB will stop this silliness of teams wearing similar colored jerseys.

    Know what really sucks when teams are in pretty much the same color (and this happened to me in a softball tournament down in Illinois, with both teams in gray with red-visored black hats). You’re playing right field, you run down a base hit, someone yells “three”. You come up to throw and find five people…
    a) your cutoff man
    b) your shortstop covering second
    c) the runner
    d) your third baseman
    e) the third base coach
    …all relatively in a line in your field of vision and looking pretty much alike.

    What did I do? I just threw it in there among ’em and hoped or the best. :)

    —Ricko

    Didn’t Ubaldo Jimenez want to wear that stupid sleeveless black jersey a few weeks back but the Rockies were forced to link? Why is it OK for the Sox to wear black but the Rox can’t?

    (Yes, I just copied and pasted what I wrote link. So what?)

    Well, then if there is some kind of rule that forbids navy vs. black, why weren’t the twins required to wear pinstripes?

    obviously there IS no rule that forbids blue (navy) vs. black, or you wouldn’t have those types of games

    minnesota was the home team, yes? i guess they can wear whatever they want, forcing the road team to adapt…why the rox didn’t wear their black vest is a good question, except maybe their equipment manager had some sort of epiphany and decided the clash might not be the most aesthetically appealing matchup

    of course, any matchup involving the rockies black vest will rank very low in terms of aesthetic appeal

    The Twins probably told the Rockies that there WAS a rule preventing them from wearing the black vests, and since the Rockies are the team that that thinks the black vests are cool, they believed them.

    oh, man! I was at the Field Museum in Chicago 15 years ago and they had a mold machine that made a submarine (they have a sub there) and one that made a dinosaur! So cool!

    I love a good Mold-A-Rama.

    The Milwaukee County Zoo has those machines everywhere, themed to the nearby exhibits (black bat outside the nocturnal house, etc).

    My son is building up quite a collection at his grandmother’s house (we limit him to one mold per trip to the zoo).

    Both of the Chicago-area zoos have them. Lincoln Park only has a couple (hey, zoo admission don’t cost nothin’, what the hell do you expect?) but Brookfield has a dozen or so.

    The mold-a-rama machine is truly a delight for all the senses.

    Well, maybe not taste…

    On those NFL cartoon decals, I love how the Dolphins and Falcons characters have facemasks that don’t protect their nose and beak, respectively. Also, the Jets one looks more fitting for their Titans game, no?

    I wanted to see if there was a significance to the broken red field on the Rangers sleeve patch in the Al Oliver photo and noticed that on Creamer’s site, it says the patch was worn in the 1976 season:
    link

    Were the dates removed from the patch (as it appears in Oliver photo) and it was worn in subsequent seasons?

    In the mysterious device photo, the stadium in question looks like Legion Field in Birmingham, no?

    Any possibility of The Commodore opening a franchise in Ohio? I LOVE fried chicken thighs!

    Wonder if the chain gang union kept the pere-scope from being used. It seems simple enough – I’d rather have that than instant replay.

    Black vs. navy in baseball? Not my ideal matchup, but they did have white vs. gray pants. That made it somewhat tolerable.

    Aston Villa socks? De-swoosh them and I’d wear them. That reminds me, I noticed I’m suffering from my usual post-World-Cup malady – as much as I dislike the sponsor ads on soccer jerseys, I absolutely despise them after seeing a month of sponsor-free jerseys. A patch on the sleeve or shoulder is one thing. I could live with that. But when the sponsor is so much larger than the team logo, that just stinks.

    I love biscuits, too. Now I’m hungry.

    3 things:

    1) While looking at the patent for the Pere-Scope, if you scroll down to page 2, you’ll see a bird’s eye view drawing of a football field. The odd thing about it is the goalposts are at the END of the endzones, not on the goaline. Weren’t goalposts still on the goaline in 1955?

    2) When I was a kid, I did a tap dance routine to the song “You Gotta Be a Football Hero” at a recital dressed in one of those Hutch football uniforms from the 80’s. It was a Giants one (they had recently won the Super Bowl against the Broncos and were a local team so I’m guessing that’s why they picked them. Plus, Broadway shows and dancing is huge in New York City so I guess it’s just an obvious choice.) I still have the jersey and pants (not sure about the helmet). The jersey was number 56 (Lawrence Taylor) and originally blank on the back but the organizer of the recital had my last name and 56 printed on it. I ended up finding a Hutch helmet (Patriots) at a flea market about 6 years ago. Matthew, you say you want the helmet, jersey, and pants, but you don’t want the shoulder pads?

    3) That Texas Rangers photo cd: why wouldn’t it be viewable on a Mac? Macs can read cds burned on/for a PC.

    The answer to 3 depends on exactly what’s on the CD.

    If it’s just some stupid Windows-only viewer program that no one would actually bother using and a bunch of separate JPG files in a sub folder, then your Mac would see those files and you could still get what you wanted off the disc. If they’re in some proprietary format where you actually need the viewer program, then it doesn’t work.

    The pads are just as optional as the box. I’m quite interested on the Pats helmet, though.

    Almost forgot, get in touch with me via the email in the main post and we can chat about the gear you have. I’d love to see photos. Thanks.

    “1) NFL goalposts were at the goal line in 1955, but not college goalposts.”

    Interesting. I know NFL goalposts moved to the back in the early 70’s, but what year did goalposts move from the goal line to the back of the end zone in college football?

    Where can I get just 1 or 2 pairs of 9 inch purple stirrups online, not a minimum of 6?

    “What do the Islanders have that no other team has? An official cupcake supplier ”

    If they need some publicity, just have an Islander break into the shop at 2am for a snack attack. Worked for the Seahawks official donut supplier Top Pot. link

    Don’t know about this blue roof? Pretty sure it’s going to look like a giant decal, er shit. They should have stuck with white. Cooler and a little more subdued.

    I here ya Mickel, still this blue roof really takes away from the nice design of the stadium. The architects must be pissed. Simply a huge ass billboard/placard for Qwest.

    Wayne Hagin’s diatribes remind me of longtime Blue Jays radio announcer Tom Cheek. If you tuned in mid-game, good luck figuring out the score or who was pitching or at bat. Tom was usually off on some story that had nothing to do with the game, stopping only to say “and the pitch…ball one on the batter”. It always frutrated me that he couldn’t just say “ball one to Moseby” or something along those lines.
    Cheek’s counterpart was Jerry Howarth, who usually covered the middle innings and was the complete anti-Cheek. Howarth would give you a recap of the first 3 innings and would be over-descriptive of everything like where the foul balls landed and that the sun was “gleaming off the royal blue batting helmet of Garth Iorg”.

    Jersey Joe Walcott, because he was born in New Jersey, not for a jersey?

    Umm, that really wasn’t the point.
    I doubt Eric Wedge was named after a golf club.

    I have a buyyd who plays reciever for Arizona state and he posted this picture on his facebook….and while I’m a fan of SOME of the pro combat uni’s (which this appears to be) I dont even know where to start with this

    jeebus…it wasn’t bad enough that the “nike sweat box” became apparent as soon as a player began sweating…now they’re just saying “here it is” — how long before they start making that in the shape of a swoosh?

    but you know what? if they’re going to go nuts with garish designs like this, why not go all the way?

    as long as the uniform manufacturers are driving the college university uniform design train, they might as well have total free reign over it

    I believe that’s a concept, not a real uniform. I’ve seen that template a lot of places, mainly at Chris Creamer’s boards, so I’m thinking that it probably originated there.

    Hey Paul,

    Remember a couple weeks back when the site underwent a re-design and you asked for feedback about the site? Are you planning on posting the feedback/responding to it on Uni Watch? I seem to remember that you said you were going to address it in a future post.

    Yes, but I’ve been super-duper-busy, and there’s a LOT of feedback to sift thru. So I’m not ignoring it, honest, but it’s part of a very long to-do list. Soon-ish, I promise.

    Here in my hotel room in Nashville at 3 pm, much too warm/humid to be back outside. Nashville Sounds game tonight though!

    Just wanted to ask Paul and the rest of the uniwatchers if they’ve ever been to Hatch Show Print here. Definitely a must-see if you’re in town. Cool posters, mostly musical but I did find a few baseball ones including this one I purchased: link

    I know it’s hardly uni-related but from a design standpoint, it’s awesome. I took photos which I’ll upload to flickr later.

    The other day I posted a link to the Omaha Nighthawks (UFL) jersey mock-up, now the real thing is available.

    link

    Happy fortieth anniversary of the opening of Three Rivers Stadium, and of the introduction of beltless doubleknit uniforms.

    Oooh, excellent point — I hadn’t thought about that anniversary.

    In fact, that sounds like a good lead-in to an ESPN column. Hmmmm…..

    Two things about tonight’s Yanks/Rays game:

    1) Those patches look HUGE. Granted, that’s what I usually think about any patch the first time I see it. But still — did I mention they’re HUGE?

    2) As an additional gesture to Bob Sheppard, they’re not using the P.A. system tonight — nice. Except they’re still playing the goddamn PC Richard “whistle sound logo” each time a Yankee pitcher strikes out an opposing player. Classy.

    Your baseball uni question of the day:

    The number of MLB teams that have never worn a sansabelt uni, home or road is _______ ?

    (Expansion teams since that era not included, of course).

    Ricko

    Hmmm… Mets, Expos(/Nats), Phillies, Dodgers, Yankees, and Angels. (By the time the NL expanded in ’93, the trend had passed.)

    as Michael Kay and Ken Singleton talked about the stirrups over blue sanitaries they commented that “that’s the way the uniform is supposed to be worn”…. but they failed to mention that almost all the Yankees (and Rays for that matter) go ‘sans-culotte’ and wear them “the wrong way”…

    also couldn’t help but shake my head as I watched/heard the clip of Steinbrenner from the mid-70’s talking at spring training to the team saying: “you wear the uniform the right way”… wish pant length would’ve been included in his no beard/side burn/long hair policy!

    nybatt

    Anyone who thinks anything but light-colored sanis under stirrups is in any way “tradtional” or the “way stirrups should be worn” doesn’t know what they’re talking about.

    Period.

    And yes, I know about the ’69 and ’70 White Sox. Saw them play in person both years, in fact. One team experimenting with something for two seasons does not even come close to being “traditional”, “common”, “standard” or “typical”.

    You can’t advocate, say, red stirrups under navy stirrups, or green under gold, and call yourself a “traditionalist.” Well, you can, but you’d be wrong.

    I’ve got nothing against the colored tubes. Just don’t tell us dark-colored sanis are in any way common in the history of baseball. They just aren’t, and that’s all there is to it.

    (And Giants did wear orange for two or three seasons, yes, but that’s still significantly brighter than the black stirrups they wore with them).

    —Ricko

    Good lord, CC Sabathia looks like a circus tent with a breeze blowing through it out there. I realize that he’s a big guy, but there’s no need to wear a jersey that’s 14 sizes bigger than necessary.

    the yankee radio blowhards are rambling on about how ugly the Rays stirups are. They compare them to the Wicked Witch in Wizard of Oz. I like the Yankees, loathe their announcers.

    Randy Choate is blue-over-blue as well.
    Shoppach has the whites, but man. This has gone horribly wrong.

    Figured it would. First sign of it was when they played he Twins here. Players today just don’t have the white sani thing in their life experience. They’ll mess with it, but have trouble seeing it as an everyday way to wear baseball socks.

    Sorta like a bowtie for most men. Might be fun to wear once in while, but every day would just feel…weird.

    —Ricko

    Uni-related, but not sports-related:
    First look at the uni for the Green Lantern movie:
    link

    Not bad, but I was hoping for Alan Scott, not Hal Jordan:
    link

    Me, too. Gimme the red-shirted, blonde Lantern any day.
    Plus, I’d wanna see who was cast as Doiby Dickles…and hear him call the hero “Lantrin” alla time.

    —Ricko

    My dad says “Lantrin.” He also called the Dodgers’ phenom pitcher of the 80s “Fernando Venezuela.”

    Haven’t bought a comic in a few years, but I believe Alan Scott and Jay Garrick link are still going strong. They’ve been blending old and new in the JSA series.

    Five images of Doiby Dickles—sidekick to the Golden Age Green Lantern—here…
    link
    (provided as a public service for those who didn’t know WHAT the hell I was talking about)

    —Ricko

    Keith Hernandez just commented that he “doesn’t like the stripes” on Barry Zito’s socks… this from a Cardinal that wore AND showed stripes for some of his career?? Interesting..

    also sounded as if Gary Cohen didn’t realize that the striped socks are a new feature this season for the Giants…

    Ironically, in the Yankee game Michael Kay incorrectly stated that the striped stirrups were the “official socks of The Rays”….

    oof!

    nybatt

    Hernandez may think, as many of us here do, that stripes that high on a tube sock make it a soccer sock, not a baseball sock.

    And if that’s the case, he’s right.

    —Rcko

    no

    hernandez is just an idiot

    /heard that quote too and it made me want to smack him silly…

    Well, yes.

    Or maybe he just thinks of the Giants in solid black socks. Afer all, the three orange sripes were there only in 1947, the first year the Giants changed to black and orange.

    After that, the stripes went bye-bye until this year.

    Trust me, I am NOT a Keith Hernandez apologist…although I do LOVE those Just For Men commercials with Clyde. “He SCORRRRES!”
    (insert eyeroll)

    —Ricko

    Majestic has the dugout jacket on sale.

    link

    As that look is a couple years old- a new design for the Fall Classic?

    I am SO gonna get one this Christmas.

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