Uni Watch

Sunday Morning Uni Watch

By Phil Hecken, on October 24, 2021

By Phil Hecken & the SMUW Crew
Follow @PhilHecken

Greetings and good Sunday Morning Uni Watchers. I hope everyone had a good Saturday.

You all know I have a love/hate relationship with the Mighty Ducks of Oregon, and I’ve probably accused the team of “jumping the shark” — uniform-wise — a half-dozen times over the past decade-plus. And every time I think they can’t pull out anything more outrageous, more ridiculous than anything they’ve worn before, they continue to say, “HOLD MY BEER.”

Yesterday, the team debuted what they are calling their “egg shell” uniforms. Obviously, they’re meant to mimic a duck’s egg (shell), and from a certain aesthetic standpoint, I guess you could say they “succeeded.”

As soon as these uniforms were revealed on social media, the epithets were flying — I heard everything from paint splatter to duck (or bird) shit, with a few “this is what my shirt looks like when I ride my bike through a puddle” and even, “Oh, the Jackson Pollack uniforms!” If your goal, and I have to assume it is, is to attract recruits, is that really how you want your uniforms described? It probably doesn’t matter — I’m sure these were designed by a student/athlete a few years ago, as a departing gift to the underclassmen who would one day don them.

Honestly though? I didn’t hate them. It’s not something I ever want to see on a gridiron again, but for a one time deal (if they are indeed one-and-done), it was fun to see once. And unless you were watching the game from the sideline, you barely noticed the splatter at distance.

If anything, it looked like the uniforms had some grass or dirt stains. And, as has been their wont for more than a few games this season, the team held on to win a close game they should have won quacking away. If you watched the game (or even if you didn’t), what do you think about the uniforms? While you ponder that, I’ll turn the rest of the SMUW opening over to TJ and your…

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Sunday Morning Uni Watch
by Terry Duroncelet, Jr.

Call Week 8 “Giant Killers Week”, because a handful of Top 25 teams went down, and while others won, it didn’t come easy.

From Wednesday:

• Sweet helmets from Coastal Carolina, I just hope the results of Wednesday night’s game doesn’t give them the mothball sentence. Also, Appalachian State wore Pinktober decals.

From Thursday:

• Pinktober accessories for Charlotte.

From Friday:

• UCF wore the 5th edition (I think) of their Citronauts uniforms against Memphis (who didn’t look too bad themselves, I may add). This season’s offering is known as the “Mission V” uniform, and pays homage to the 40th anniversary of the Space Shuttle program (I’m probably getting the details wrong, but I believe it’s specifically referencing the year of the first crewed flight, which was April 12th, 1981). You can read up on the full lore here. Probably the only case in which chrome is the way to go. Also, “‘Nauts” WR Stephen Martin has a special connection with these unis. Rather than type a bunch of word salad, I’ll just link the video, and then the story.

• One of the few exciting all-white looks from a team formerly known as the Aggies in their game against a team currently known as the Aggies.

From Saturday:

• Oklahoma brought out their Woody Boi alternates against Kansas.

• Cadet grey alts for Army West Point.

• Dave Moravcik Jr. writes: “Not sure if I’ve ever seen anything like this before, but Kent State LB has a unique NOB. His last name is Lawrence-Burke, and as you can see, he has an abbreviated version of L-Burke.”. Here’s what that looks like in the uniforms that they actually wore in yesterday’s game against Ohio, but still good to note. As an aside, Kent State should bring out a throwback uniform and call it a FlashBack. The amount of sorry I am is none.

• Color me stimulated, Part II. With one of the same teams, at that! This really just verifies what I said literally a week ago: the SEC has what might be the best color palette amongst its member teams in college football. I thought I would prefer this, but I could honestly go with either-or. Also, I have NEVER, in all of my years of, well, existing, seen a program honor someone in any capacity by putting that person’s last name in the endzones (video). For those not in the know, Ole Miss did this as part of Eli Manning’s jersey retirement. The closest that I’ve seen to an NIE (Name In Endzone) treatment is the Baltimore Ravens, who contrasted the ‘MO’ in BALTIMORE in honor and memory of Ravens superfan Mossila Kingsley “Mo” Gaba, who passed away last year.

• Another contender for a beautifully-colorful conference is the ACC, a good example being Clemson vs Pitt. Clamp isn’t even wearing their orange trou, and this game still looked fantastic!

• #7 Penn State did their best Blue Bama impression (hate to break it to ya, but Georgia Southern’s got you beat) with their Generations of Greatness uniforms against Illinois. Ironically, they fell to Illinois after 9 overtimes. I also dug their endzones.

• FIU wore a modified version (H/T Blaise D’Sylva) of their old decals from when they first started their football program back in 2002 against Western Kentucky.

• Throwback uniforms for Virginia Tech against Syracuse.

• UAB wore their Children’s Harbor uniforms against Rice. If this is your first time seeing these (or need a refresher), you can read up on the lore here. They’ve even added a handy player name breakdown!

• Minnesota looking like the Grey Gophers (at least the alliteration still works here) against Maryland. At least when Army and UAB do it, it actually serves a purpose.

• HOLY TOLEDO, the Rockets looked bad against Western Michigan.

• Pinktober decals and stripes for South Alabama.

• For a BFBS costume, it’s OKAY. It ain’t bad. And I’ll forgive them for wearing it a week early before Halloween weekend, since their game against Pitt next week is on the road (closer look at the helmet, via Blaise).

That’ll do it for Week 8 (how is it Week 8 already? Time isn’t real). As always, a huge shoutout goes to Blaise D’Sylva for all of the helmet tips (and PLEASE check out his website if you haven’t already). Tune in next week for the one Saturday of the year where it’s perfectly-acceptable for teams to go ABSOLUTELY FERAL with their uniforms. See you next week!

• • • • •

Thanks, TJ. And now for the rest of your SMUW, starting with Jimmer’s 5 & 1.

Jimmer Vilk’s 5 & 1

After more than a decade in hiatus, the original “5 & 1” decider, Jim Vilk, has returned! Jim began doing the 5 & 1 many years ago, followed Catherine Ryan, Joe Ringham, Michael “Memal” Malinowski, and several guest pickers. Once again, Jim will pick HIS 5 best looking/1 awful matchup, and occasionally have some honorable mentions (both good and bad). You may agree and you may disagree — these are, after all, just opinions and everyone has one. Feel free to let him know what you think in the comments section.

If you have a game you feel is “worthy” of consideration for the 5 & 1, please either post it in the comments below or tweet Mr. Vilk @JVfromOhio.

Here’s today’s 5 & 1:

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I put on my Patriot League hoodie yesterday…the first time since early Spring. Welcome to the unofficial start to the Most Wonderful Time of the Year (which officially begins when we get back to Standard Time). It was a cool cloudy day in Ohio, which means it’s finally football weather!

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Honorable Mentions to

East Carolina/Houston

Colorful, but you need to beef up your jersey numbers, Pirates.

__________

Utah/Oregon State

White vs black does work, with readable numbers and interesting striping.

__________

5. UMass/Florida State

Somewhere between Very Good and Optimal on the contrast scale, even with similar-ish colors.

__________

4. Tulane/SMU

I can handle this much white during a night game, and the stripes really help.

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3. USC/Notre Dame

This classic would have ranked higher if the Irish didn’t have such small numbers.

__________

2. Cincinnati/Navy

My third choice of helmet for the Bearcats, but the sleeves and pants made up for it.

__________

1. Illinois/Penn State/Those beautiful retro end zones

Even though the Lions didn’t bring back the white collars, I’d still be happy if they stayed with this look.

__________

A … slightly less than honorable mention to

BYU/Washington State

Apparently it was Cheapo Electric Football Night in Pullman.

__________

&1. Rice/UAB

Hey Blazers, the Pro Bowl called and they want their unis back…wait…no, they said keep them.

__________

Find a sincere looking pumpkin patch, and I’ll meet you there next week.

• • • • •

Thanks, Jim! OK readers? What say you? Agree or disagree with Jimmer’s selections? Let him know in the comments below.

NCAA Uni Tracking

Uni Watch will again track the uniform combinations worn by the “Power 5” conferences. All of the 2020 trackers are back!

We’ve got Rex Henry (tracking the ACC), Dennis Bolt (tracking the PAC-12), Kyle Acker (tracking the B1G), and Ethan Dimitroff (tracking the Big XII AND the SEC). Rex, Dennis, and Kyle and are all returning from 2015, and Ethan is back after joining the NCAA Uni Tracking a couple seasons ago. Ethan will continue to track the SEC, and has swapped the B1G for Big XII (with Kyle).

Here are the Uni Trackers for the Power 5 Conferences (along with each tracker’s info):

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Rex is up first today (ACC):

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ACC

More Here.
Follow Rex on Twitter here.

• • •

And now, here’s Dennis with the PAC-12:

PAC-12

More here.
Follow Dennis on Twitter here.

• • •

And here is Ethan, with the SEC:

SEC

And be sure to check out Ethan’s WVU Mountaineer Tracker.
Follow Ethan on Twitter here.

• • •

And here is Kyle with the B1G:

B1G

Follow Kyle on Twitter here.

• • •

And here’s Ethan with the Big XII:

Big XII

Welcome to the 2021 Oregon Ducks Uni Tracker. This little project was originally begun way back in 2008-09 by Michael Princip, who retired after several seasons, whereupon the project was continued by Tim E. O’Brien. He, too, retired from the tracking, but the project has been ably kept up by the man who also tracks the Pac12, Dennis Bolt.

Here’s this week’s Uniform Combo for the Ducks (you can click to enlarge):

You can read about this uniform, and MUCH MORE, by checking out the Duck Tracker here and the color combo spreadsheet here!

Thanks Dennis!

MLB Playoff Uni Tracking

It’s BAAAAACK.Alex Rocklein has been tracking the jerseys of all the teams involved in the MLB Post Season for the past several seasons. The World Series is now set: Atlanta vs. Houston, with Atlanta defeating LA last night to close out their NLCS in six games. Although he sent me this graphic before the Dodgers/Atlanta game was completed, the graphic is correct for the jerseys worn (see full tracker). One small change: any team that has a front number on their jersey shows the number of the starting pitcher from that game (previously it was all #21).

Here’s the full tracker (which will get filled in as we go through the NLDS/ALDS, NLCS/ALCS and World Series):

I hope you guys enjoy this annual feature and you’ll thank Alex for all his effort with a quick “Thanks” in the comments below! Look for this feature every weekend until the World Series is complete!

Bulletin reminder: Paul here. As most of you know, it really bugs me that teams and leagues never refer to their uniform ads as “ads,” or to their uni advertisers as “advertisers” (instead using terms like “branding partner” or “helmet entitlement partner”).

One person who disagrees with me on this is Ben Thoma, a longtime Uni Watch reader who also happens to be a longtime veteran of the advertising industry. For my latest article on Bulletin, I interviewed Thoma about the language of advertising, and about whether a company’s logo on an NBA jersey is or isn’t an ad. You can check it out on my Bulletin page. Enjoy!

Also: In case you missed it on Friday, I’ve revived this awesome “Hit Sign, Win Stirrups” T-shirt, designed by the great Todd Radom. It was originally available as a limited edition in February of 2017. Lately I’ve had a few requests for it (apparently some of the originals have gotten a bit ratty over the past four and a half years), so I’ve decided to make it available once again.

Short- and long-sleeved versions are available here. If you want any other formats (women’s, kids’, hoodie, V-neck, etc.), drop me a line and I’ll hook you up.

Here’s a closer look at the design (click to enlarge):

Again, the shirt is available here. My thanks, as always, for your consideration of our products.

Uni Watch News Ticker
By Phil

NFL News: Hmmm. Despite what Jets owner Woody Johnson tweeted a few days ago, it looks like the New York Jets will be wearing green/white/white vs. New England today (from Ace Fuller). … You’re probably all aware, but just in case: the Packers will wear their 1950s-inspired throwbacks today against the Football Team. … The Saints are going gold/white/black tomorrow night in Seattle. … Mike Malnicof was “Randomly watching old NFL Primetime highlights of Raiders at Chargers Week 8 2004 & the Chargers had a jack-o-lantern painted at their 20 yard line”

College Football News: Our own Alex Hider tweets, “Rough day for this ESPN crew. The Findlay Bearcats?” If you read the replies to that, you’ll see a few other geographical mistakes. … That comes on the heels of this earlier spelling mistake (also from Alex).

Hockey News: The Vancouver Canucks brought back their wildly-popular “Flying Skate” look for their 50th anniversary season, and it was supposed to be “one-and-done”. But that may not be the case for long. … Throwbacks were worn by the QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltigeurs on Friday night. The Q has a history of interesting logos (from Wade Heidt). … Also from Wade, QMJHL’s Cape Breton Eagles wore pink sweaters and socks for breast cancer night on Friday. … The Maine Mariners threw it back on Friday night. Submitter Wade Heidt calls it “A look reminiscent of the old AHL Mariners. Wearing their old logo with the black and yellow. A nod to their new affiliation with the Boston Bruins.” … One more from Wade: 10th anniversary logo for the Sherbrooke Phoenix. … This is pretty cool — the Seattle Kraken have anchors on their red line (from Alison L.). … “King Crimson drummer Bill Bruford was pretty well known for wearing Boston Bruins apparel during the bands heyday,” writes Ed Hahn. “But I never say this set of overalls with the logo before.” … Check out this close-up of the Utah Grizzlies spooky season jerseys (from mr. big corona).

NBA News: ICYMI, Paul’s most recent Bulletin article focuses on the language of uniform ads (highly recommended). In a similar vein, this piece argues that “jersey sponsors represent a wide range of business interests that are, in many cases, interestingly congruent with the city and team the company has chosen to represent,” and refers to advertisers as “sponsors.” … New York Knicks superfan Spike Lee wore an interesting suit for the Knicks home opener (from Jason Tierney).

Soccer News: “Fascinating cultural appropriation scenario happening at Newcastle in England,” writes K.C.Kless.

Grab Bag: LKS Commercecon Lodz with team logo on the sides of their socks in Poland’s TauronLiga volleyball (from Jeremy Brahm). … Reader Max Weintraub writes, “After seeing the UniWatch piece on Paul Deaver and the different badge options his Department permits, I was pleased to see an Alexandria (Virginia) Sheriff Deputy wearing a pink Breast Cancer Awareness badge (yesterday) morning. She confirmed the Department permitted deputies to purchase them online.”

And finally… that’s a wrap for the weekend! Big thanks, as always, to the entire SMUW crew for all their efforts, and for Alex for his work on the MLB Playoffs uni tracking.

Everyone have a great week, and I’ll catch you here next Saturday.

Peace,

The Jersey Club Reimagines MLB’s ‘City Connect’ Jerseys and Caps

By Phil Hecken, on October 23, 2021

By Phil Hecken
Follow @PhilHecken

Greetings and a good Saturday morning, Uni Watch readers. It’s the weekend — we made it.

As you’re all aware, ~~Nike~~ MLB introduced the “City Connect” program this season (with seven of the thirty clubs participating this year). According to Nike, “The designs continue to explore a franchise’s connection to its city and its fanbase, each with distinct personalities, values, customs and traditions.” Reaction to the jerseys and caps (and pants) has been mixed at best, and as with many things these days, those who love (or like) the jerseys & caps have strong feelings in this regard, as do those who detest the entire program. But there’s no denying those who normally wouldn’t think about or discuss uniforms are doing so, and clearly swooshie has succeeded in the “there’s no such thing as bad publicity” department. Still, this hasn’t stopped designers from crafting their own “City Connect” concepts (including reader Walter Helfer, whose designs I featured on this site about a month ago).

Today, the “Jersey Club” (whose concepts in other sports I’ve hosted on UW before) have created a full slate of CC unis, including redesigning those for the seven clubs whose CC uniforms were worn this year, and I’m pleased to bring them to you. Since this is for the entire league, I asked they keep the descriptions to a sentence (or sometimes two) — although I’m sure if they wanted to produce an entire word salad for each one they could oblige. I’ll turn this over to the Jersey Club now. Their names (or pseudonyms as the case may be) are listed along with their Twitter handles, should you wish to check out more of their work.

Enjoy!

• • • • •

Jersey Club City Connect Concepts

In an attempt to shake up uniform design across the sport, Nike has been working with each MLB team to craft a uniform that expresses the personality and communities of each team’s home city.

The Jersey Club has taken on the task of creating uniforms for all 30 MLB franchises.

+ + + + + + + + + +

DESIGN RATIONALES

Casey Vitelli (@caseyvitelli)

White Sox

Represents the Chicago flag, in all its glory

__________

Giants

Represents ‘The City’ and SF being a city in fog.

__________

Nationals

A fauxback design, paying homage to past teams in Washington baseball history.

Blue Jays

Canadian flag inspired.

+ + + + + + + + + +

Jazz (@JazzUniTracker)

Cubs

Green cap and jersey pay homage to Wrigley Field and the NorthSide while reminding fans to “Be Alert for Foul Balls”.

__________

Yankees

Represents the Bronx Borough, the pride of New York City

+ + + + + + + + + +

Mike Joseph (@SunsUniTracker)

Diamondbacks

A nod to the Phoenix area’s public transportation system, Valley Metro – because it connects the valley

__________

Athletics

City of Oakland logo and wordmark a la the Warriors

__________

Angels

Disneyland inspired because that’s what I think of when I think Anaheim

+ + + + + + + + + +

Nick Mueller (@MLR_Studios)

Guardians

Based on the Flag of Cleveland and using the nickname Forest City.

__________

Royals

Kansas City is home to the Museum of Jazz, and the Negro League Baseball, and they even share the same building. I used the signage of the shade marquee outside.

__________

Mariners

Pike Place is the main inspiration for this one, creating a wordmark based on their neon signage.

+ + + + + + + + + +

Niranjan A. (@niranjangfx)

Dodgers

Inspired by the Hollywood Walk of Fame which recognizes LA’s illustrious entertainment industry

__________

Mets

Inspired by the Unisphere, a landmark built in Flushing Meadows for the 1964 World’s Fair

__________

Tigers

Pays homage to the city’s French heritage and automotive industry

+ + + + + + + + + +

Pete Rogers (@petemrogers)

Orioles

Inspired by the 1966 World Series jerseys and celebrating the nickname Charm City

__________

Red Sox

A tribute to the Green Monster, Fenway’s towering left field wall

__________

Rockies

A nod to Colorado’s ski mountains and Mile High nickname

__________

Padres

The retro look of the 70’s Padres with the Friar nickname

+ + + + + + + + + +

Ryan Meils (@ryaninsix)

Brewers

Pays homage to the city’s lesser known nickname, beer culture, and ‘80s uniforms.

__________

Twins

Pays homage to the city’s nickname and alternate logo.

__________

Atlanta

Inspired by the picket signs used in Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington.

+ + + + + + + + + +

Lance Hinesman (@Lance_Hinesman)

Marlins

Derived from Miami’s Seaquarium.

+ + + + + + + + + +

Seth Reese (@SethR94)

Reds

Big Red Royalty. The Reds’ City Connect jersey brings the Big Red Machine era of the 1970s back to Cincinnati, while declaring Cincinnati, Ohio as the true Queen City.

__________

Rays

Sometimes, The Devil is not in the details. The Rays’ City Connect jersey gives Tampa Bay another fauxback jersey. The favored color scheme of the late 90s returns with a slight twist.

__________

Phillies

A jersey inspired by the events of July 4, 1776. The Phillies City Connect jersey honors the greatest event in the city’s history w/ the beloved maroon and baby blue color scheme.

+ + + + + + + + + +

Z89 Design (@Z89Design)

Astros

Inspired by Mexican-American graffiti art and the city’s deep ties to the space program

__________

Cardinals

Uses elements from the city flag, coupled with classic colors

__________

Rangers

Joins the Arlington city logo with the iconic state flag

__________

Pirates

Yellow and Pinstripes representing rivets from the Clemente Bridge

• • • • •

Thanks guys! I have to say, there are some jersey and cap designs in this series I would absolutely love to see on the field. I would love to see what pants some of these designs would use. Readers, what say you?

Guess The Game…

from the scoreboard

Today’s scoreboard comes from ojai67.

The premise of the game (GTGFTS) is simple: I’ll post a scoreboard and you guys simply identify the game depicted. In the past, I don’t know if I’ve ever completely stumped you (some are easier than others).

Here’s the Scoreboard. In the comments below, try to identify the game (date & location, as well as final score). If anything noteworthy occurred during the game, please add that in (and if you were AT the game, well bonus points for you!):

Please continue sending these in! You’re welcome to send me any scoreboard photos (with answers please), and I’ll keep running them.

MLB Playoff Uni Tracking

It’s BAAAAACK.Alex Rocklein has been tracking the jerseys of all the teams involved in the MLB Post Season for the past several seasons. We’ve almost reached the World Series, with the Astros wrapping up the American League Pennant last night, and Atlanta and the Dodgers playing Game Six of their NLCS. One small change: any team that has a front number on their jersey shows the number of the starting pitcher from that game (previously it was all #21). Alex sent me the graphic below before the game was complete, but the jerseys are correct.

Here’s the full tracker (which will get filled in as we go through the NLDS/ALDS, NLCS/ALCS and World Series):

Short- and long-sleeved versions are available here. If you want any other formats (women’s, kids’, hoodie, V-neck, etc.), drop me a line and I’ll hook you up.

Here’s a closer look at the design (click to enlarge):

Again, the shirt is available here. My thanks, as always, for your consideration of our products.

The Ticker
By Anthony Emerson

NFL News: During Thursday Night Football, the broadcast package used an incorrect Broncos logo, with the upper lip and snout of the bronco cut off (from Daniel Hermanson).

College/High School Football News: Here are this weekend’s uni combos for Northwestern, NC State, Virginia Tech, Tennessee and Syracuse (thanks to all who shared). … Here’s a new one: High school team has street address down side of pants (from Chris Berumen).

Hockey News: The Blue Jackets have a new home helmet advertiser (thanks, Phil). … Here are the Lightning’s Stanley Cup Champion rings. The rings can be “opened”, for lack of a better term, revealing an additional inscription (from Wade Heidt).

NBA News: The Celtics’ gorgeous new Classic Edition unis made their on-court debut against the Raptors at the Garden last night. … Sports Illustrated named the best uni for every NBA team. I’m sure our readers will find nothing at all objectionable about this list (thanks, Phil).

College Hoops News: The University of Northern British Columbia women’s team have unveiled a new uni featuring a logo designed by an indigenous artist, the first to be worn across Canadian college athletics (from @rProDart).

Soccer News: Dynamo Moscow of the Russian Premier League wore a gorgeous one-off kit to honor legendary keeper Lev Yashin, considered to be the greatest keeper of his era. He was known as the Black Spider due to his all-black keeper’s kits. Unfortunately, Dynamo reverted to their standard home kit after a pregame ceremony honoring Yashin.

Grab Bag: Here are a few of the helmets that some F1 drivers will be wearing during this weekend’s US Grand Prix in Austin. Clockwise, that’s Daniel Ricciardo of McLaren with the Dale Earnhardt-themed helmet (closer look here), Lando Norris of McLaren with the stars-and-stripes helmet, Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes with the Austin-themed helmet, and George Russell of Williams with the sheriff-themed helmet (from Russell G. Flynn).

Uni Tweet of the Day

Remember when hoop unis had no makers marks, no ads, and exotic names like “home” and “road”?

The pinnacle of NBA dunk contests and uniforms… pic.twitter.com/m2NyuvAh0r

— 80s Sports N Stuff (@80sSportsNStuff) October 22, 2021

And finally… that’s all for today. Big thanks to the Jersey Club for their visions of MLB City Connect jerseys and caps, and Alex for his MLB tracking. Everyone have a great Saturday and I’ll catch you back here tomorrow with the SMUW Crew. Till then,

Peace,

The Ultimate NBA Uni Number Spreadsheet

By Paul Lukas, on October 22, 2021

Click to enlarge

NBA numerologist Etienne Catalan, who I recently interviewed, has really outdone himself by creating a chart that shows which uni numbers are currently roster-assigned for each NBA team (those are the vertical columns) and also which teams currently use each number from 00 to 99 (those are the horizontal rows). If you go to the spreadsheet version and click on each box, you can actually see who’s wearing each number for each team!

A few quick notes:

• The most-worn number in the league at the moment is 3, which is currently active on 23 teams’ rosters.

• The second-most popular numbers, with 22 teams apiece? 8 and 0 (I wouldn’t have guessed that one!).

• There are 13 numbers currently worn by only one team apiece: 36, 37, 38, 39, 46, 51, 54, 67, 71, 81, 91, 97, 98. (As noted in yesterday’s Ticker, the 97 is Celtics guard Brodric Thomas, who’s the first player to wear that number in NBA history.)

• The grey “R” boxes are for retired numbers. You probably knew already that the Celtics have more of those than any other team (22 of them). But which number has been retired by the most teams? That would be 32, which has been decommissioned by 11 clubs, followed by 10 (eight teams) and 24 and 33 (eight teams each).

You might be thinking, “Well, this is nice but it’ll be obsolete as soon as a player is traded, or injured, or released.” But Catalan tells me he plans to keep the spreadsheet updated with each NBA roster move. In fact, he’s been keeping this chart for two years but never shared it publicly until now.

Again, you can keep up with the updated spreadsheet here. Now we just need someone to create something similar for all the other pro leagues!

• • • • •

ITEM! New Bulletin article: As most of you know, it really bugs me that teams and leagues never refer to their uniform ads as “ads,” or to their uni advertisers as “advertisers” (instead using terms like “branding partner” or “helmet entitlement partner”).

Those of you who’ve subscribed to receive my Bulletin content via email should already be seeing this piece in your in-boxes. Everyone else can read it on my Bulletin page. Enjoy!

• • • • •

Click to enlarge

Too good for the Ticker: I love this 1960 photo showing the St. Louis football Cardinals’ owners, “Mr. and Mrs. Walter Wolfner” (for the record, Mrs. Wolfner’s first name was Violet), examining a pair of helmet prototypes. The caption says Violet Wolfner preferred the design on the left, but that’s not the one they ended up using — hmmmm.

Also, note the logo on coach Frank Ivy’s shirt in the background — almost looks more like a St. Louis baseball Cardinals logo. Never seen that one before, and it doesn’t appear on SportsLogos.net either. Interesting!

(Big thanks to Mark Haarmann for this one.)

• • • • •

By popular demand: This awesome “Hit Sign, Win Stirrups” T-shirt, designed by the great Todd Radom, was originally available as a limited edition in February of 2017. Lately I’ve had a few requests for it (apparently some of the originals have gotten a bit ratty over the past four and a half years), so I’ve decided to revive the design.

Short- and long-sleeved versions are available here. If you want any other formats (women’s, kids’, hoodie, V-neck, etc.), drop me a line and I’ll hook you up.

My thanks, as always, for your consideration of our products.

• • • • •

The Ticker
By Anthony Emerson

Baseball News: Here’s a 1979 video clip showing late-night TV host Tom Snyder asking Pirates stars Dave Parker and Willie Stargell about their uniforms (from Michael Ortman).

NFL News: The Nike logo on the pants of Browns QB Case Keenum and RB D’Ernest Johnson were backwards during last night’s game (from multiple readers). … The Big 10 Network had Big 10 coaches try to guess which NFL team had which throwback NFL logo. Real easy for us, kinda difficult for them (from Igancio Salazar).

College Football News: DL Amare Barno will wear Frank Beamer’s No. 25 for Virginia Tech versus Syracuse (from Andrew Cosentino). … Here is a pretty good high-level overview of Penn State football uniform history (from William F. Yurasko). … Here are this week’s uni combos for GT, TCU, Texas State, Illinois, Purdue, Virginia, Tulane, SMU, Ole Miss, Middle Tennessee, Oregon, West Virginia, and Oklahoma (thanks to all who shared).

Hockey News: New mask for Habs goalie Jake Allen (from James Beattie). … The WHL’s Vancouver Giants have a new third sweater (from Wade Heidt). … Also from Wade, the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires wore commemorative jerseys for their 75th-anniversary game. … The Blues have unveiled their uni schedule for this season (thanks, Brinke).

NBA News: The Warriors debuted their new throwbacks last night. … The Pistons’ new City alternate — or at least its base design — has leaked. … The Pacers teased their new City uni, which they plan to unveil on Nov. 1 (thanks, Phil). … With the regular season now under way, the Wizards and Grizzlies still don’t have uniform advertisers. They are currently the only two ad-free teams.

Soccer News: New third shirt for top-tier Argentine side Lanús (from Ed Zelaski). … USWNT midfielder Lindsey Horan reached 100 caps last night and players reaching milestones are usually made captain for the game so she wore this armband (thanks, Jamie). … This weekend, Everton will wear new warm-up kits, designed to pay tribute to the club’s American fans (from Mark Cartman).

Grab Bag: The U.K. Netball Superleague’s Wasps Netball have a new second kit (thanks, Jamie). … Ohio has a new license plate design, depicting the Wright Flyer carrying a banner declaring the state as the birthplace of aviation. Except the license plate depicts the Wright Flyer backwards. Oops (from multiple readers). … Dublin GAA has a new alternate jersey (from Phil Santos). … McLaren F1 driver Lando Norris is an Englishman, but you wouldn’t know that based on his helmet design for the forthcoming US Grand Prix (from Russell G Flynn).

A Deep Dive on Blue Jackets Prototypes and Oddities

By Paul Lukas, on October 21, 2021

For all photos, click to enlarge

Longtime Uni Watch reader/pal Teebz recently pointed me toward a website devoted to game-worn Blue Jackets jerseys. It’s run by a collector named Charles Cordle and is filled with really interesting information, including some stuff I hadn’t been aware of. Here are the three biggest things that jumped out at me:

1. The phantom Pro Player jerseys: The Blue Jackets’ first season was 2000-01, which was also the first season of the NHL’s league-wide uni deal with CCM/Koho. So for Columbus’s first few years, their white home jerseys were made by CCM and their blue road jerseys by Koho (this was when NHL teams still wore white at home). But when their uniforms were unveiled at a media event on Oct. 14, 1999 (as seen in the newspaper article at the top of this page), the jerseys were made by Pro Player. Here’s a look at those jerseys, complete with the Pro Player inner-collar tagging and rear-shirttail maker’s marks:

According to Cordle, the Blue Jackets collector/webmaster, these Pro Player jerseys “were used for the unveiling, press conferences for the first free agent signings and for early player and Stinger [the costumed mascot] appearances, but were never used on the ice in an NHL game.” Interesting! You can see more pics here.

2. The Velcro captaincy designations: For the Blue Jackets’ inaugural 2000-01 season, the “C” and “A” letters for captains and alternates were applied via Velcro. Here’s a series of photos showing, in order, the front of the blue “A” that went on a white jersey; the back of the “A” with the Velcro “hooks” (i.e., the stiff bits); the “A” cutout on the jersey, showing the “loops” (i.e., the fuzzy bits); and the “A” applied onto the cutout:

And now here’s the same sequence for a white “A” that went on the team’s blue road jersey:

According to Cordle, the Velcro format was used “for easy removal and replacement,” but only for the 2000-01 season. I’ve never seen that on a hockey jersey before! (Or maybe it’s more common than I realize and we just can’t tell while watching a game, which I guess is the whole point..?)

3. The prototypes: Prior to the 1999 unveiling, Pro Player produced several other design prototypes, including these (additional info on the first design can be found here):

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Good stuff, right? Again, Charles Cordle’s site, which was the source of everything I talked about here today, is here. Have fun exploring it!

(Big thanks to Teebz for pointing me toward Cordle’s site.)

• • • • •

Click to enlarge

Start ’em young: Meet Jack Gillis, the six-year-old son of longtime Uni Watch reader Austin Gillis. “Unfortunately, he prefers the camo-print navy and red socks that came with his team’s uniform,” says Austin, “but he was willing to humor me and wear these stirrups after I showed him some photos of all-time greats wearing stirrups.” Kid still needs to work on his blousing, but that will come with time. Not bad!

• • • • •

Click to enlarge

Reader serves as uni model: Who’s that in the Oklahoma City Fire Department uniform? None other than longtime Uni Watch reader Paul “Too Tall” Deaver, who’s an OKCFD lieutenant. He says the pink badge (here’s a closer look) is an October option for breast cancer awareness.

While we’re at it: Yesterday’s Ticker mentioned that police officers in Norman, Okla., had new rainbow badges for Pride Month, but Paul reports that they can also wear purple badges for domestic violence awareness.

• • • • •

The Ticker
By Paul

Indigenous Appropriation News: Dozens of schools are still using Native American team names and imagery in Michigan (from John Chapman). … Here’s an interesting and well-reported article on what the Bellefonte Area School District in Pennsylvania, which recently voted to eliminate the “Red” from its “Red Raiders” team name and eliminate its Native American imagery, will need to spend in order to update its gym floor and other school properties (from Gerry Dincher). … The University of Northern British Columbia has a new Indigenous-themed logo and uniforms designed by an Indigenous artist — a first for a Canadian university.

Baseball News: President Biden tweeted a photo of himself as a young boy wearing a baseball uniform (from James Gilbert). … Dodgers 1B Cody Bellinger didn’t use his own signature bat when hitting the home run that turned the tide in Game 3 of the NLCS (from Ted Taylor). … An Atlanta school has been renamed for Henry Aaron (thanks, Brinke). … I think we may have Ticked this before, but once more won’t hurt: The pattern mowed into Fenway Park’s grass looks like the Portland Trail Blazers’ logo (from Tyler Kepner and Andreas Papadopoulos). … Speaking of Fenway, here’s why a light was mysteriously flashing during last night’s ALCS game (from Trevor Williams). … Comedian Jerry Lewis played four innings for the Astros in a 1973 exhibition game — and went 1-for-1 with a walk! (From Trevor Williams.) … Also from Trevor: Here’s a great 1947 shot of Cleveland Municipal Stadium workers moving the outfield fence based on the opponent, as per team owner Bill Veeck’s instructions.

NFL/CFL News: Browns DL Myles Garrett happened to get hit with random drug tests after two games in which he wore sleeveless undershirts, so he says he won’t go sleeveless anymore (thanks, Phil). … A trade has resulted in some uni number reshuffling for the Cardinals. … In a related item, the player at the center of that trade — TE Zach Ertz — was still wearing an Eagles wristband during his first Cardinals practice (from Timmy Donahue). … Here are this week’s uni combos for the Titans, Browns, and Packers (thanks to all who shared). … Cowboys QB Dak Prescott, who has struggled with depression, has had “Ask 4 Help!” written on his wrist tape this season to support others with mental health issues. Good for him (from Trevor Williams). … New BC Lions owner Amar Doman said in an interview that some uni tweaks are in the works (from Moe Khan).

College Football News: Here are this week’s uni combos for Cincinnati, Iowa State, UCF, Memphis, and UNLV (thanks to all who shared). … Coastal Carolina wore teal helmets last night for the first time ever (thanks to all who shared). … Pinktober helmet logos last night for App State. … Pride decals this week for UConn (from Timmy Donahue).

Hockey News: The straps on Flames G Jacob Markström’s new mask have been painted with a flame pattern (from Joe Johansen). … Here’s a really good interactive piece on how the Kraken’s arena was rebuilt and designed to be carbon-free. Recommended. … The Flyers wore white at home last night against the Bruins (thanks to all who shared).

NBA News: The Bucks have the potential for what might be the all-time long-NOB lineup. … The Knicks debuted their new throwbacks last night. Lots of additional pics here. … Jefferson Penrod has spotted a small detail that was missing from my NBA Season Preview: The two City uniforms that have been rolled over from last season — Phoenix’s and Utah’s — do not have the diamond maker’s mark. … New Celtics G Brodric Thomas has become the first player in NBA history to wear No. 97. … A Houston brewery has launched a new Rockets-themed beer (from Ignacio Salazar).

College Hoops News: New uniforms for San Diego State men’s. … New uniforms for Eastern Kentucky women’s (thanks, Phil). … Kentucky plans to retire a jersey for former coach Tubby Smith in December (thanks, Phil).

Soccer News: Newcastle United is asking fans not to wear Arabic or Middle Eastern-style clothing if they would not normally do so (from Jason Criss). … New sleeve advertiser for Charlotte FC (thanks, Phil). … Top-tier Portuguese side CD Tondela is wearing Pinktober shirts on Saturday (from @mikeDfromCT). … In a recent Women’s FA Cup match between Kingfisher FC and Lichfield Ladies, Kingfisher defender Molly Gilmartin wore a sleeveless shirt — the only player on either side to do so (from Graham Clayton). … Mexico’s 2022 World Cup away kit has leaked (from Trevor Williams). … Also from Trevor: Serie A club Napoli’s “Armani” shirts appear to be just Kappa shirts with Armani branding. … New away shirt for Serbian side Red Star Belgrade (from Ed Zelaski).

Grab Bag: Here’s why Air Force Gen. Mike Minihan, the new commander of Air Mobility Command, wears only three ribbons on his uniform, instead of the usual much larger array. … After more than a decade, the Acura logo is returning to Formula One. … New logo for Canadian outdoor brand MEC (from Andreas Papadopoulos). … Here are the uniforms and logo for the Beijing Olympics torch relay (thanks, Phil). … New retro uniforms for Washington women’s volleyball (thanks, Phil). … The rap group Four-Eyed Horsemen ends each show on their current tour by wearing uni-style jackets, complete with NOBs and numbers of personal significance.

Sunday Morning Uni Watch

The Jersey Club Reimagines MLB’s ‘City Connect’ Jerseys and Caps

The Ultimate NBA Uni Number Spreadsheet

A Deep Dive on Blue Jackets Prototypes and Oddities

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