A follow up regarding Maple, I learned recently that Maple was where Peter Capolino of M&N discovered the wool flannel that spawned the idea for the Mitchell and Ness reproduction jerseys. Maple used to make the jerseys for a few major league teams and had the fabric left over (from the pre-1970 years) when Peter went to see about getting a customer’s major league baseball jerseys repaired. Like you mentioned, Maple made the original M&N jerseys. I have a Maple made 1953 Satchel Paige St. Louis Browns jersey.
Regarding unusual sports poses, I was thinking of the drop kick for football. Hockey is a little more challenging. Perhaps a goaltender leaning on his hockey stick during a stoppage in play, like Ken Dryden?
This kinda makes sense because bunting is a uniquely "baseball" move. I'm not super-familiar with cricket, but I don't believe bunting is a part of that particular sport. Please correct me if I'm wrong...
The other poses on the tag don't support my theory, but the bunting pose certainly sets them apart from other branding on sporting goods. Plenty of other brands have a "pitcher in mid-windup, a batter about to swing, an outfielder reaching for a fly ball," why not be a little different?
Back when I was a serious card collector I always had one fun/oddball side collection going. Ballplayers at the bat rack had some nice cards. My favorite, and longest running, was 'Guys on the Phone'. I was teaching and coaching back then and kids would bring in appropriate cards to add to my stash. I had an old fashioned coiled phone handset cord strung on the wall of the gym and clipped these cards to it. I've stopped blogging but this entry still exists showing some of them.
The photo of Rizzuto bunting intrigues me because so many of the fans in the background look semi-bored. Was the score out of hand, maybe with the Yankees trailing? But if that's the case, why the heck is Rizzuto bunting? So I looked up the box score and play-by-play for the date shown in the caption, Aug. 11, 1955. In that game Rizzuto is recorded as going 1-2 with BB in the first, F9 in the second, BB in the 4th and a 1-6-3 groundout (not a double play) in the 6th. The play in the 6th could conceivably have been a bunt that was misplayed by the pitcher, but the Yankees were leading 4-1 at the time with one out and nobody on, so it seems unlikely that he would be bunting in that situation. That's a long way of saying that I think the date on the caption may be wrong; Rizzuto did have a sac bunt in the 3rd inning the day before, advancing two runners, both of whom eventually scored to make it a 2-2 game. But I still can't figure out why the men in the stands (and they are almost entirely men) look so bored in the early innings of a game featuring at 4 future hall of famers (Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Phil Rizzuto). Additional random notes: According to the internet, those fans paid $3.50 for box seats that go for about $500 today and, a few days later, the remnants of Hurricane Connie would dump over 13 inches of rain on the Bronx.
I agree with the setting a pick/screen in basketball, and sitting in the penalty box in hockey made me chuckle. How about signaling for a fair catch in football?
I still think about the bunt Frank Lary laid down on July 4th, 1961 in the 9th inning of the 2nd game of the double-header the tigers/yankees at the stadium.
Basketball's iconic move is always going to be the dribble (it's The Logo, after all!), and the workhorse moves are mostly off-ball (setting screens, boxing out) and wouldn't be obviously "basketball" on a tag.
For something that's fundamentally essential but still obviously basketball, I'd say maybe a chest pass or a one-handed shot like a teardrop. Solidly in both the "you're going to see this" but also "why are you showing this?" categories.
The house where I grew up was on a street with a small boulevard, about 20 feet wide, which had small trees planted every 40 feet or so. When I was 10 or 12, two friends and I made up a bunting game that we played on the boulevard. Home plate was one tree, second base was the next tree, and first and third were in between on the edges of the boulevard. I don't remember exactly how it worked, but we had hours of fun playing it.
A follow up regarding Maple, I learned recently that Maple was where Peter Capolino of M&N discovered the wool flannel that spawned the idea for the Mitchell and Ness reproduction jerseys. Maple used to make the jerseys for a few major league teams and had the fabric left over (from the pre-1970 years) when Peter went to see about getting a customer’s major league baseball jerseys repaired. Like you mentioned, Maple made the original M&N jerseys. I have a Maple made 1953 Satchel Paige St. Louis Browns jersey.
Regarding unusual sports poses, I was thinking of the drop kick for football. Hockey is a little more challenging. Perhaps a goaltender leaning on his hockey stick during a stoppage in play, like Ken Dryden?
This kinda makes sense because bunting is a uniquely "baseball" move. I'm not super-familiar with cricket, but I don't believe bunting is a part of that particular sport. Please correct me if I'm wrong...
The other poses on the tag don't support my theory, but the bunting pose certainly sets them apart from other branding on sporting goods. Plenty of other brands have a "pitcher in mid-windup, a batter about to swing, an outfielder reaching for a fly ball," why not be a little different?
Back when I was a serious card collector I always had one fun/oddball side collection going. Ballplayers at the bat rack had some nice cards. My favorite, and longest running, was 'Guys on the Phone'. I was teaching and coaching back then and kids would bring in appropriate cards to add to my stash. I had an old fashioned coiled phone handset cord strung on the wall of the gym and clipped these cards to it. I've stopped blogging but this entry still exists showing some of them.
https://5toolcollector.blogspot.com/2012/09/guys-on-phone.html
The photo of Rizzuto bunting intrigues me because so many of the fans in the background look semi-bored. Was the score out of hand, maybe with the Yankees trailing? But if that's the case, why the heck is Rizzuto bunting? So I looked up the box score and play-by-play for the date shown in the caption, Aug. 11, 1955. In that game Rizzuto is recorded as going 1-2 with BB in the first, F9 in the second, BB in the 4th and a 1-6-3 groundout (not a double play) in the 6th. The play in the 6th could conceivably have been a bunt that was misplayed by the pitcher, but the Yankees were leading 4-1 at the time with one out and nobody on, so it seems unlikely that he would be bunting in that situation. That's a long way of saying that I think the date on the caption may be wrong; Rizzuto did have a sac bunt in the 3rd inning the day before, advancing two runners, both of whom eventually scored to make it a 2-2 game. But I still can't figure out why the men in the stands (and they are almost entirely men) look so bored in the early innings of a game featuring at 4 future hall of famers (Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Phil Rizzuto). Additional random notes: According to the internet, those fans paid $3.50 for box seats that go for about $500 today and, a few days later, the remnants of Hurricane Connie would dump over 13 inches of rain on the Bronx.
Date shown in my caption is taken from the Getty Images caption. Getty info is sometimes wrong, so your conjectured scenario is possible.
When I saw “bunting” in the title of this post, I thought patriotic fabric or a pleated fan or some kind of decoration.
I have a few Frankensets of baseball cards and one of the ones I’m working on are cards featuring players bunting:
https://thecardboardclergyman.substack.com/
I agree with the setting a pick/screen in basketball, and sitting in the penalty box in hockey made me chuckle. How about signaling for a fair catch in football?
I still think about the bunt Frank Lary laid down on July 4th, 1961 in the 9th inning of the 2nd game of the double-header the tigers/yankees at the stadium.
Would the old-school "aggressively diving at nothing" football photos qualify? https://www.thescroller.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/vintagefootballphotos4.png
Also, I'm a big fan of the "punting with jazz hands" genre. Never could figure out how that would work in a game. https://www.ncaa.com/_flysystem/public-s3/styles/original/public-s3/images/2020/06/12/Reno-Gazette-Journal-Pat-Brady.png?itok=MruMk4AI
I feel like the hockey equivalent would be standing behind your own net with the puck allowing time to run off the clock.
One of the bunters in the image of the cards is Greg Maddux! Seems even odder to have one of the best pitchers of the generation bunting on his card.
Joe Morgan looks like he’d rather be swinging away.
Basketball's iconic move is always going to be the dribble (it's The Logo, after all!), and the workhorse moves are mostly off-ball (setting screens, boxing out) and wouldn't be obviously "basketball" on a tag.
For something that's fundamentally essential but still obviously basketball, I'd say maybe a chest pass or a one-handed shot like a teardrop. Solidly in both the "you're going to see this" but also "why are you showing this?" categories.
For hockey, I’d like to see a player sitting in the penalty box feeling shame.
The house where I grew up was on a street with a small boulevard, about 20 feet wide, which had small trees planted every 40 feet or so. When I was 10 or 12, two friends and I made up a bunting game that we played on the boulevard. Home plate was one tree, second base was the next tree, and first and third were in between on the edges of the boulevard. I don't remember exactly how it worked, but we had hours of fun playing it.
I would purchase this jersey to wear while I enjoy a stack of flapjacks as the tag along makes me crave maple syrup :)