|
|
By Paul Lukas, on October 20th, 2020
The World Series begins tonight, as the Dodgers and Rays will face off in the neutral site of Arlington, Texas. This will mark the first time that the entire Series will be played in a single ballpark since 1944, when two St. Louis teams — the Cardinals and Browns — met in the Fall Classic. At the time, they both used Sportsman’s Park as their home stadium, so the entire Series was played there.
While the neutral site is something we’re not used to, many other aspects of this World Series are fairly standard, including the arrival of the annual Uni Watch World Series Preview. I have to admit, I didn’t think I’d be writing this particular preview this year, because I didn’t think the MLB season would hold together all the way to the World Series this year. I’m very happy to have been wrong about that.
As usual, I’ve selected 10 uni-centric fun facts regarding this year’s Series participants. Here we go (for some of the photos, you can click to enlarge):
1. Red Letter Number Day
We’ll start with an easy one, because most of you probably know this already, but people still occasionally ask me why the Dodgers have red front-jersey numbers when there’s no red anywhere else on their uniforms. Uniform designer and historian Todd Radom came up with the answer a few year back, when he found an old article indicating that the Dodgers had actually planned to add the red numbers as a special addition for the 1951 World Series. As it turned out, the Dodgers didn’t make it to the ’51 Fall Classic (Bobby Thomson took care of that), but the red-numbered uniforms had already been ordered, so team ownership decided to use them for the 1952 season, and the numbers have been part of the Dodgers’ look ever since. (Additional info here.)
2. In the Navy
The Rays have worn their navy alternate jerseys for 12 of their 14 postseason games so far (the two exceptions were Games One and Seven of the ALCS, when they wore powder blue and white, respectively), so it seems fair to expect them to wear a lot of navy in the World Series as well. One exception is likely to be Game Five (if necessary), because that will take place on Sunday and they will be the home team, which means they’ll probably wear their home-Sunday powder blues. Aside from that, I foresee a lot of navy. Good thing they’re not facing Atlanta.
3. Sock Hop
If the Rays do indeed wear the powder blues for Game Five (or any other game), then we’re all in for a, uh, treat, because outfielder Hunter Renfroe (above left) and infielder Willy Adames (right) like to accessorize that uniform with some truly heinous socks. Obviously, I’m a longtime proponent of high-cuffery, but I might make an exception in this case!
4. Mood Indigo
Speaking of navy, this will mark the the 15th consecutive World Series in which at least one team has worn some shade of blue somewhere on its uniforms. (I’m including the Yankees’ midnight blue, although I realize many people think it looks black.) The last blue-free Series? White Sox vs. Astros in 2005.
5. Where You From?
The Dodgers have been the road team for only four of their postseason games so far, and they wore their alternate “Dodgers” greys — rather than their “Los Angeles” primary greys — for all four of those games. That’s no surprise, as they’ve been wearing the alts more than the primaries for several years now. They have home-field advantage in the World Series, which means they’ll be the road team for Games Three, Four, and Five (if necessary), and it seems like a safe bet that they’ll wear the alternates for those games. Since the Rays don’t even have a jersey with “Tampa Bay” on the chest, this could be the rare World Series in which neither team’s regional identifier appears as a chest insignia. The last time that happened? It also involved the Rays, when they faced the Phillies in 2008.
6. Multiple Single Digits
Another World Series rarity — and maybe a first! — is that each team’s roster includes a pitcher with a single-digit uni number: L.A.’s Jose Urías (who also appeared in the 2018 Fall Classic) and Tampa’s Blake Snell (making his World Series debut). Imagine if they ended up facing each other as the starting pitchers in the same game! That might set the World Series record for the lowest combined uni number total for a pitching matchup (well, not counting the pre-number era).
7. NOB Job
The Rays generally keep their NOB lettering fairly level. But outfielder Randy Arozarena and pitcher Shane McClanahan’s surnames, despite being a relatively manageable nine and 10 letters long, respectively, are apparently too unwieldy to be handled with a gentle arch, so instead they get the Salty-style treatment (and McClanahan has the bonus of wearing a McNOB).
8. Mod Squad
Dodgers infielders Kiké Hernández and Justin Turner both modify their jerseys. Hernández has his sewn shut, so it’s effectively a pullover (you can learn more about that here), while Turner has his collar narrowed (more info here). So much for uniformity! (Turner also has the bonus uni notability of having that ubiquitous pine tar smudge running through his NOB.)
9. What’s the Opposite of “Subtle”?
This year’s World Series logo, which appears at the top of this post, is not exactly long on charm or playfulness. But whatever, it’s just a logo. When rendered as a sleeve patch, however, it’s not just brutal — it’s practically brutalist. A suitably joyless symbol for this largely joyless year.
10. Formal vs. Casual
The two managers take very different approaches to their attire. Rays skipper Kevin Cash (who was uni-notable in his playing days for being among the first MLB catchers to wear his helmet with the brim facing forward), like many of his managing brethren these days, just puts on a pullover, leaves it untucked, and calls it a day. By contrast, the Dodgers’ Dave Roberts is among the last — maybe the last? — of the big league skippers to suit up in a full uniform for every day.
Dishonorable Mention: Fun While It Lasted
This will be the first World Series sullied by the presence of the Nike maker’s mark on jersey chests. Based on how the other postseason rounds went, this will presumably also be the first Series with ads projected onto the pitcher’s mound. Sigh.
———
And there you have it. If there are any other good Rays- or Dodgers-related uni tidbits that I overlooked, feel free to post them in today’s comments. Enjoy Game One tonight!
• • • • •
• • • • •
Photos via Icethetics; click to enlarge
New Pens, Flyers jerseys apparently leak: The images shown above, which began circulating yesterday, apparently show the designs for the Penguins’ and Flyers’ entries in the NHL’s new “Reverse Retro fourth jersey” program. I could explain what that means, but Chris Smith of Icethetics, who broke this story, has already done a really good job of that. For the full scoop, go check out his report. You won’t be sorry.
• • • • •
• • • • •
Photo by Mickey Torres; click to enlarge
South Grand Prairie update: Remember South Grand Prairie High School in Texas, where the baseball coach recently removed the Native American imagery from his team’s uniforms but the football coach didn’t want to talk about his use of Native imagery on his team’s uniforms?
“This is not the first time controversy has surrounded the South Grand Prairie football team’s imagery,” says reader Chris Huff. “In 1985, a [Black] football player was dismissed from the team for protesting the team’s 10-year-old tradition of running onto the field with the Confederate flag. That led to the state education board banning the Confederate flag at school events.”
The photo at the top of this section, which Chris also provided, is from a SGP game on Nov. 9, 1985. The combination of the Rebel battle flag and the Native American spear logo on the helmet is quite the double-whammy — ugh.
In my interview with Art Senato, the SGP baseball coach, he said the school is “majority Hispanic” and “definitely a majority-minority school.” I’m guessing the demographics were a bit different back in 1985.
• • • • •
• • • • •
Collector’s Corner
By Brinke Guthrie
At my Cincinnati high school back in the day (mid-1970s), the sneakers of choice were Adidas and Puma. Nike was lurking — my senior year, our basketball team switched from Converse Chucks to the Nike Blazer. But Adidas and Puma were the popular brands, especially the Puma Clyde (“The Essence Of Cool”) or the Clyde III. A lot of the guys wore the navy style you see in this 1985 Clyde Frazier Puma ad. (I wore the gold suede with black.) The Clyde III was also popular since it came in royal blue suede with yellow, our school colors. Had those, too.
(As an aside, I might’ve been the first at my school to wear Nikes — specifically, the white canvas with the powder blue swoosh “Allcourt” tennis shoes. I distinctly recall someone pointing to the heel tab and asking, “What are Nikes?,” which he pronounced like “Mike.”)
Now for the rest of this week’s picks:
• Staying with sneaks, drawings of Cincinnati Reds star Johnny Bench and New York Knicks star Willis Reed were featured on this 1970s Keds shoebox.
• This 1970s NFL football bank has never been used but the decals are a bit dried out.
• Coca-Cola was the sponsor of this 1970s San Francisco 49ers helmet sticker.
• Philadelphia Phillies fans will love this 1980 World Champions step stool.
• Billy Martin looked awfully cheerful on the cover of this 1983 New York Yankees program. (He is shown kicking dirt on Blue, though.)
• The Union 76 Sports Club printed up this Fine Points of Basketball Defense booklet, starring “Boston Celtic Center” Bill Russell.
• Caricatures of popular St. Louis baseball announcers Dizzy Dean and Johnny O’Hara were featured in this 1940s Falstaff beer ad. “Hiya Fans! Welcome to the Series!”
• Infielder Tom Brookens hit just .246 for the 1984 Detroit Tigers, but since they won the World Series, he made it onto a limited-edition Coca-Cola can.
• Signatures of the 1960 World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates were featured on this commemorative glass.
• Baseball stars Pee Wee Reese and Jackie Robinson were showcased on this 1949 record called Slugger at the Bat.
• • • • •
• • • • •
Click to enlarge
Who are those masked men? Reader David Staples strapped on his Uni Watch mask yesterday and went to vote yesterday in Columbia, S.C. And who should end up in line behind him but U.S. Senate candidate Jamie Harrison, who’s visible in the background of David’s selfie.
“There were cameras everywhere filming him and taking shots, and I am in a ton of these shots,” says David. “The mask’s gonna be everywhere! I’ll keep my eyes peeled to see if we cameo in anything.”
• • • • •
• • • • •
The Ticker
By Alex Hider
Baseball News: Los Angeles Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas has authorized all firefighters to wear a Dodgers cap while on duty until the end of the World Series (from Jakob Fox).
.
NFL News: Our first three items are from Mike Chamernik, beginning wih the news that Fox broadcasters Joe Buck and Troy Aikman were caught on a hot mic criticizing the pregame military flyover at Sunday’s Packers/Bucs game. … This comprehensive video details each team’s stadium and relocation history. … This may have been mentioned in the past, but Tua Tagovailoa became the NFL’s first lefty QB since 2015 on Sunday. … I’ve never seen anyone add an “FC” to the AFC and NFC logos like the Eagles did in this sign commemorating their 1980 conference championship (from Arthur J. Savokinas). … Paul noted yesterday that Patriots wide receiver Isaiah Zuber still has the wrong “Z” on his NOB. The Pats featured a shot of that egregious NOB error as one of their “photos of the game” (from Rob G). … The Colts have a new team airplane, which includes the team’s old wordmark in the paint scheme (look to the right of the door) (from @WeberKing).
College Football News: All Indiana University teams will wear a social justice patch on their uniforms this season. The football team, whose 2020 schedule begins this weekend, will also wear it as a rear-helmet decal (from Kary Klismet and @btownm00se). … New gold helmets for Western Michigan. … Kentucky QB Terry Wilson wore an undershirt on which he wrote, “Records R Broken” on Saturday, referencing the Wildcats’ first win in Knoxville since 1984 (from @BigBlueNat1on). … Nice move by Northwestern, who has added team record by uniform combination statistic to its team program (from Taylor Crabtree). … Miami will be wearing orange jerseys on Saturday (from Phil).
Hockey News: Jets C Nate Thompson will be the first player in team history to wear No. 11 since the franchise moved from Atlanta. That honor would have belonged to Rick Rypien, but he died by suicide before joining his new team in 2010. Thompson, who has dealt with substance abuse issues in his past, says he is wearing the number to honor Rypien’s battles with depression (from Mike Chamernik and Wade Heidt). … C Adam Gaudette has returned to the Canucks, and he’ll wear No. 96. He wore No. 88 in his first stint with the team (also from Wade Heidt). … New mask design for G Tyler Muszelik of the USNTDP (also also from Wade Heidt). … New sweaters for Western Michigan (from Joseph Zurek).
Basketball News: If this retail shirsey leak is any indication — and such leaks have generally been accurate indicators lately — the Lakers will be getting a white alternate uni with blue type (from Rafal Niewiadomski). … It appears that Georgetown will be wearing a more simplified uni set this season (from Dave Giordano). … The city of Alexandria, Va., has renamed a portion of a city road after Alexandria native Earl Lloyd, the first Black player to appear in an NBA game (from William F. Yurasko). … The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture has added one of Kobe Bryant’s jerseys to its display on social activism in sports (from Kary Klismet).
Soccer News: Tottenham has announced its men’s and women’s teams will wear poppies for Remembrance Day on Nov. 7 and 8. Jamie Rathjen believes that’s the weekend when most other EPL and Women’s Super League teams will choose to wear them as well. … Couple of Liga MX notes from Ed Żelaski: Pumas wore pink numbers Sunday, presumably for cancer awareness, and Atlas has a new Day of the Dead jersey.
Grab Bag: Cross-listed from the college football section: All Indiana University teams will wear a social justice patch on their uniforms this season (from Kary Klismet and @btownm00se). … Mark Divine sent along a photo that includes logos for every Big Ten school’s Hillel Club logo. … Google has updated the icons for its workspace applications (from Brinke). …Also from Brinke: Roger Federer has a new sneaker line with Swiss running company On. … The Police Service of Northern Ireland has introduced a new uniform for the first time since its formation in 2001 (from Timmy Donahue). … Also from Timmy: Premiership Rugby club Leicester Tigers have agreed to sell the naming rights to their stadium for the first time since it opened in 1892 in order to survive the pandemic. … Speaking of Premiership Rugby, new jerseys for Bath (from Sy Hart). … More rugby from Sy: New jerseys for SX10, a rugby tens team comprised of Kenyan and South African rugby sevens players. … New jersey set for French volleyball club Tours VB (from Jeremy Brahm). … Rep. Sharice Davids, one of two Native American women currently serving in Congress, has incorporated a feather design into her campaign logo (from R. Scott Rogers). … Some Marines will now have red patches on their utility covers (Timmy Donahue again).
• • • • •
• • • • •
By Paul Lukas, on October 19th, 2020
For most photos, click to enlarge
Good morning! Greetings from Uni Watch HQ, where all three inhabitants continue to be safe (although one inhabitant had to go to the vet on Friday due to a case of fleas). Hope all’s well at your home, too.
So: Study in contrasts last night in the Bay Area, as the 49ers wore their white throwbacks at home and the Rams went mono-blue. This game was an NFL uni rarity, as neither team wore TV numbers! Lots of additional photos here, here, and here.
A subtle detail regarding those Niners throwbacks that you might now be aware of: The package includes a throwback helmet logo. Here’s a side-by-side comparison — regular logo on the left, throwback on the right:
But they still had the current logo, not the throwback logo, at midfield:
In addition (and as you can see in that throwback helmet photo), the Niners added a “74” rear-helmet memorial decal for defensive lineman Freddie Dean, who died last week:
I’m not 100% sure, but I think this memorial decal was just for last night’s game, not a season-long thing. I’ll try to confirm. (Meanwhile, the Bears still haven’t uni-memorialized Gale Sayers.)
In other news from around the league yesterday:
• Weird situation in Carolina, as the Panthers wore their blue alternate jerseys for the third time in the season’s first six weeks (and for the first time at home):
The Panthers have worn white for their three other games, so they’re in the odd position of already having maxed out the use of their alt jersey for this season without yet having worn their primary black colored jersey. They’re scheduled to wear white again next week, and then the black jersey will finally make its 2020 debut the week after that.
• The Browns wore white over brown in Pittsburgh — the first time they’ve worn that combo from their new uni set. It made for a very nice-looking game:
• Since that Browns/Steelers game was taking place in Pittsburgh, Cleveland wide receiver Jarvis Landry wore cleats featuring portraits of the late Pittsburgh-based rapper Mac Miller:
Embed from Getty Images
• In yet another note from that game, Browns cornerback Kevin Johnson’s biker shorts-style pants looked even more minimalist than usual, thanks to his untucked undershirt and white leggings:
• With Bill O’Brien no longer coaching the Texans, interim coach Romeo Crennel has brought back the team’s captaincy patches:
• Here we are in Week Six and Patriots wide receiver Isaiah Zuber still — still! — has the old/wrong font for the “Z” on his nameplate:
• Titans wide receiver A.J. Brown, who played college ball at Ole Miss, repped his alma mater on his gloves:
• At one point, Ravens cornerback Marcus Peters went bare-legged:
He didn’t do this for the entire game, but it wasn’t just a random thing either, because we’ve seen him do this before.
• Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagoviloa made his NFL debut. His facemask spelled out “808” — the area code for his native Hawaii:
We’ve seen something similar before from another Hawaiian NFL quarterback: Marcus Mariota.
• This isn’t new, but I hadn’t noticed until yesterday that Bears coach Matt Nagy has been wearing a triple-striped mask:
Embed from Getty Images
• Although not specific to yesterday’s action, it’s worth noting that line judge Sarah Thomas, who previously had to tuck her long hair under her cap, is wearing a snap-back cap this season, so her ponytail can stick out. Here’s a comparison — last year on left, this year on right:
• In addition to the aforementioned 49ers, two teams wore white at home: the Buccaneers and Dolphins.
(My thanks to all contributors, including Allan Bell, Lance Harris, Ryan Kelly, Jefferson Penrod, Lucas Paquetá, Matthew Wolfram, @mrvinhtran, @notquay, and @1007MountainDr.)
• • • • •
• • • • •
Coastal elites: After the Dodgers won the National League pennant last night to set up a Rays/Dodgers World Series, Twitter-er Colin Short noted something interesting: Due to pandemic-induced scheduling oddness, we’re currently in the midst of a 30-day period in which three of the Big Four pro titles will be decided. The first two of those went to Tampa Bay (the Lightning) and Los Angeles (the Lakers), and the third — the World Series championship — will go to another team from one of those two cities. So this year’s Fall Classic is sort of like a Tampa/L.A. 2020 tiebreaker.
As for the World Series uniforms, it’s no contest (duh), as the Dodgers’ timeless look runs rings ’round the Rays. I’m juggling a bunch of different obligations today, but if possible I’ll try to put together a World Series uni preview for tomorrow.
• • • • •
• • • • •
South Grand Prairie update: Last Friday I published an interview with Art Senato, the coach who recently removed the Native American imagery from the baseball uniforms at South Grand Prairie High School in Texas.
In the interests of equal time, I thought it would be good to do a similar interview with the school’s football coach, Brent Whitson, about why he’s chosen to retain the Native imagery for his sport (including the new inflatable tunnel shown above), so I emailed him over the weekend, leading to a brief back-and-forth. Here’s how it went:
Hi, Brent …
Paul Lukas here. I’m a former ESPN and Sports Illustrated columnist, and I currently run a website called Uni Watch, which is about uniforms and logos. (Yes, it’s a very specific niche!)
On Friday I published an interview with SGP baseball coach Art Senato, who talked about how he recently decided to remove the Native American imagery from the SGP baseball uniforms. You can see that interview here
In the interests of equal time, I’d love to do a similar interview with you about how you’ve chosen to *retain* the Native imagery in the SGP football program.
Interested? Hope so! Let me know.
Stay well,
Paul
———
Paul, I appreciate your interest. The only imagery that could be characterized as any reference to Native Americans in our program is our SGP spear logo and the spear decal on each side of our helmets. No conscious effort has been made to retain or remove the spear. It is simply the symbol of our Warrior Football program and a tribute to Warriors.
I don’t see any reason to interview about a non-issue in our program.
BW
———
Hi, Brent. That’s [sic] for getting back to me! Just to clarify, I think it would be fair to say that the use of the spear imagery is not a “non-issue” — rather, it is very much part of the issue. And there’s also the new inflatable tunnel.
But if you’d rather not discuss any of that, that is, of course, your prerogative. I appreciate your response — stay well.
All best,
Paul
———
I guess I think more of the use of cartoon-like images that are the issue. But I still think it is in our best interest to not discuss any of it.
Again, thanks for your interest.
BW
And that was the end of that. Disappointing. Leaving aside the issue of whether the spear icon is no big deal, it seems pretty self-evident that the inflatable tunnel is the very definition of a “cartoon-like image.” Perhaps Whitson feels differently, but I guess we’ll never get to hear why. Too bad.
• • • • •
• • • • •
Click to enlarge
Press Pin update and IMPORTANT question for pin customers: As of this morning, there are fewer than 40 Uni Watch 2020 Press Pins remaining. If you want one, they’re available here while supplies last.
While we’re at it, here are the approximate inventory numbers for all of the Pin Club releases:
• January (pennant): 350 made, 80 remaining
• February (Abe and George): 350 made, 130 remaining
• March (St. Paddy’s Day): 250 made, 45 remaining
• April (signed baseball): 250 made, sold out
• May (Indy car): 250 made, 45 remaining
• June (uni-ty): 300 made, 35 remaining
• July (bobble): 500 made, 35 remaining
• August (scoreboard): 250 made, 40 remaining
• September (football ref): 250 made, 70 remaining
• October (jack-o-goalie): 250 made, 55 remaining
Looking ahead, designer Todd Radom and I would like to keep the Pin Club going in 2021. With that in mind, we wouldn’t mind some feedback from you folks. For example:
• For this year, we’ve put the words “Uni Watch Pin Club” on the front of each pin. Do you like that, or would you prefer it if we scrapped the words “Pin Club” and just stuck with “Uni Watch”? (Making that change would certainly give us more design flexibility.)
• Similarly, we’ve included “2020” on each pin this year. Again, do you like that, or would you prefer that the year be engraved on the back, along with the month? (Again, this would give us more design flexibility.)
• Many of this year’s designs have been seasonal or holiday-themed. Do you like that, or do you not care about a design matching up with its launch month?
• If you have any other suggestions or thoughts about this project, we’re all ears.
You can respond in today’s comments, or feel free to email me directly. Thanks!
• • • • •
• • • • •
Tasty, but bittersweet: Back in early March, I began working on a story for InsideHook about New Corner, a very special 84-year-old Italian restaurant I’ve long admired in an out-of-the-way part of Brooklyn. Unfortunately, the timing was bad — I filed my story just as the pandemic shutdown hit. So we put the story on the shelf and figured we’d run it when the restaurant reopened.
Earlier this month, the word came that New Corner will not be reopening. I suggested to my editor that we go ahead and run the story now (with an explanatory author’s note appended to the top), so it can serve as a requiem of sorts — not just for New Corner, but for all the restaurants and other local businesses that the pandemic has claimed.
My editor agreed, and the story was finally published last Friday — more than seven months after I originally filed it. You can check it out here.
• • • • •
• • • • •
The Ticker
By Jamie Rathjen
Baseball News: MLB is putting people’s tweets on batting practice balls used during the World Series (from Ignacio Salazar). … Fenway Park is one of many stadiums being used as a polling place, and the “I Voted” stickers there are Red Sox-themed (from Steve Flack).
Football News: A graphic during BYU’s game on Friday featured a blue helmet for them, which I don’t think they’ve worn recently as a throwback or otherwise (from Gregory Lyons). … Cross-posted from ice hockey: Ohio State women’s goalie Quinn Kuntz has new pads that feature one of the entrances to Ohio Stadium (from Moe Khan).
Hockey News: Maple Leafs C Jason Spezza said he offered his No. 19 to new signing Joe Thornton, who had worn that number for every NHL season since 2000-01. However, Thornton declined and is wearing No. 97 for both the Maple Leafs and Switzerland’s HC Davos (from Josh Claywell). … Ohio State women’s goalie Quinn Kuntz has new pads that feature one of the entrances to Ohio Stadium (from Moe Khan). … The Junior A Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Camrose Kodiaks and Drumheller Dragons played a color-vs.-color preseason game on Friday (from Wade Heidt). … Writer and radio host Justin Bourne posted some old jerseys worn by his dad, former Islanders and Kings center Bob, including ones from minor league baseball and celebrity softball (from @markinvictoria).
Basketball News: The British Basketball League’s Cheshire Phoenix have a new logo (from Timmy Donahue).
Soccer News: Real Madrid’s second kit is pink this season, so both the men’s and women’s teams wore it at home this weekend for breast cancer awareness. … In the NWSL, the Orlando Pride wore a pink patch designed by center-back Toni Pressley, who actually returned to the team about a year ago after surviving breast cancer. … Scottish teams are wearing the annual Show Racism the Red Card charity patch for the next two weeks, but it seems that primarily women’s teams did so this weekend and men’s teams next weekend. … Kansas’s women’s team wore both pink and a Black Lives Matter/unity patch on Friday. … A D.C. United blood shirt that almost saw action yesterday was numbered 96, an apparent reference to MLS’s first season or DCU’s first championship (from @OlegKvasha).
Grab Bag: The new NASCAR Cup Series team owned by Michael Jordan and Cup driver Denny Hamlin appears to want its car to have No. 23, though Jordan said it’s up to driver Bubba Wallace and ultimately car numbers belong to NASCAR (from Christopher Hickey). … New kits for Ireland’s County Down’s Gaelic games teams. … The Australian Football League’s grand final is being held outside Melbourne, in Brisbane, for the first time ever, and a piece of the Melbourne Cricket Ground’s grass is being added to the grass at Brisbane’s Gabba for the occasion. Of course, that was almost immediately criticized both as bad optics during the pandemic and as a waste of money. … Also in Australia, landmarks in Perth, including the city’s main stadium, Optus Stadium, turned green to support the West Coast Fever in Super Netball’s grand final. … The next two items are from Timmy Donahue: The Portland, Ore., police are to have ID numbers stenciled on their helmets worn during protests. … Police officers in Newburgh, N.Y., have new uniforms.
• • • • •
• • • • •
Click to enlarge
What Paul did last night: An absolutely perfect fall setting out on the porch yesterday — perfect in its crisp autumnitude, its autumnal crispitude, its October magnificence. As I’ve mentioned before, October is my favorite month, and it completely lived up to my expectations yesterday.
Also, if you look above the Tugboat Captain’s head, you can see that we now have a new porch participant. Here’s a better look:
Our landlords added him to one of the porch planter boxes yesterday. He makes an agreeable drinking partner, so we’re happy to have him on board. Maybe today we’ll try to name him.
As always, you can see the full set of Pandemic Porch Cocktails™ photos — now well over 200 of them — here.
By Phil Hecken, on October 18th, 2020
By Phil Hecken and the SMUW Crew
Good morning Uni Watchers! Hope everyone is doing well. The uni news today is of course the NCAA, but if you’re a baseball fan, how great have both LCS’ been? Game 7 between the Dodgers and Braves today, and yesterday the Rays, after going up three games to none, lost three straight to the Astros, and donned white tops for the first time this post-season, holding on for the victory to advance to the big dance. The question now becomes…will the Rays wear white tops as the home team in the World Series, or return to the blue softball tops? Are they superstitious or just a little stitious???
Anyhoo. Back to the college gridiron. In what could have been one of the best looking games yesterday, the West Virginia Mountaineers wore their classic (and best) uniform combo, blue helmets and jerseys, atop gold pants. Some guys looked fantastic:
Unfortunately, many of the ‘eers decided to wear high gold undersocks, ostensibly looking like they were wearing gold tights — not a good look at all.
It wasn’t the whole team, but enough to make me question their sartorial choices. If only they had worn blue undersocks with that combo. It would have been the best looking game yesterday. Rock Chalk looked equally good in their white/white/blue unis — several guys wore their white socks high (which is fine) while others opted for partial bare legs (also fine). Unless you’re going for a color rash look, guys, please, DO NOT WEAR SOCKS THAT ARE THE SAME COLOR AS YOUR PANTS!
OK, enough of my old man ranting at a cloud. Let me now turn it over to TJ for the rest of your…
• • •
Sunday Morning Uni Watch
By Terry Duroncelet, Jr.
How is it two weeks until Spooky Christmas already?
From Thursday:
• I know all-black vs all-white is about as common as drinking water these days, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Arkansas State/Georgia State being black-and-red vs white-and-blue.
From Friday:
• BYU not only wore the royal roads on Friday against Houston, but they also wore grey facemasks in that same game. Neat. And according to donkey from shrek on Twitter (…), it was done as a nod to Gifford Nielsen, BYU’s first college football HOFer. On a related note, here he is playing against the Utes. Check out those numbers!
• Tulane wore mono-black against SMU. Even though they missed the aesthetic mark by not going all the way with black helmets, the unis were met with good intent; they were Tulane’s Wave Of Change unis, in recognition of the ongoing fight against racial and social injustice. From that same game: what’s more rare than good news in 2020? How about a kicker wearing #62? From L.J. Sparvero: “This is from Friday’s Tulane-SMU game. The Tulane kicker (Merek Glover) wore number 62. When is the last time you saw a kicker wear that number? (Or any number in the 60s for that matter?)”
From Saturday:
• Contrast Matters: “I ain’t keen on Louisville’s togs, but I’ll Take It” Edition. Notre Dame still has the best helmets in college football 9 years later.
• Doug Keklak spotted a sideline jersey swap, but this was no ordinary swap: this was a swap to ZERO! I’m completely unsure and probably wrong, but from what I could match up, I believe this is Aggies sophomore RB Ainias Smith.
• SO CLOSE to being a looker, but the Gamecocks kinda spoiled it by going mono-garnet instead of garnet-over-black.
• Here’s a look we haven’t seen in a while (or at least, I haven’t).
• At this point, it’s no secret that I like high-contrast games. That being said, not every match has to be glorious colors vs all-white. Sometimes, seemingly-simple approaches make all the difference, like this weekend’s matchup between Ole Miss and Arkansas. If there were no other apt time to wear the light blue helmets, this is definitely the perfect application.
• Now see, THIS is what I’m talking about! It’s October, why not bring out the all-black? And I do mean ALL-BLACK. Plus, it contrasts well with North Texas’s pleasantly-vibrant Kelly and white unis. Also, for those wondering why I’m being so lenient on what is otherwise (and objectively) BFBS, read Week 5’s post for context.
• The quality of these next images could be better, BUT! Wake Forest has been doing a fine job on their racial and social justice decals. I don’t have all of them logged, but a couple of weeks ago, they wore decals with Breonna Taylor’s name on them, and yesterday, they wore decals with George Floyd’s name. Huge thanks to Rex Henry for tipping me to the Floyd version.
And that’ll do it for Week 7. Next week promises to be… A B1G ONE. See you then!
• • •
Thanks, TJ! And now for the rest of your SMUW…
 Memal’s 5 & 1
Following in the footsteps of the original “5 & 1,” Jim Vilk, Catherine Ryan after him, and finally Joe Ringham, in 2019 we introduced a new “5 & 1” (five good looking and one stinker) uni-vs-uni matchups — Michael “Memal” Malinowski. Like Joe, Catherine & Jim, Memal 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.
Here’s Memal
• • •
As I was trying to decide who the &1 was this week I realized it’s been a pretty great looking college football season so far this year. As the height of fall foliage nears and the stakes for some teams continue to rise the season will hopefully continue to get better and better!
__________
Honorable Mentions
Duke @ NC State, Western Kentucky @ UAB
__________
5. Coastal Carolina @ Louisiana-Lafayette
Some teams use weekday games as an occasion to break out an alternate uniform, but the Chanticleers and Ragin’ Cajuns stuck with their regular home and away sets. I’m a 90’s child and a fan of teal so I loved how it contrasted with vermillion on the field.
__________
4. Louisville @ Notre Dame
I know I put Louisville in the &1 a few times this year, but I generally like their look and I was happy to see they took my favorite combination to South Bend, red/white/red. The Fighting Irish looked as they’re supposed to look and it provided a brilliant contrast on a cloudy Indiana afternoon.
__________
3. Kentucky @ Tennessee
I have a love/hate relationship with the Vols orange pants and I can’t put my finger on why half the time they look so good and just “meh” the other half. Yesterday it probably had something to do with the Wildcats wearing blue/white/white and sporting the checkerboard sleeve design in Neyland Stadium, home of the checkerboard endzones.
__________
2. Pitt @ Miami
From the beautiful weather to how the teams looked down on the field, it was a very bright looking day in Miami Gardens! I didn’t realize it until I saw this game that I’ve missed seeing the Hurricanes in orange jerseys and all the extra orange uniform pieces they wear with them. Their white/orange/white set looked magnificent against the gold/white/gold of the Panthers.
__________
1. North Carolina @ Florida State
Some teams look better under the glow of the floodlights and, to me, the Seminoles are one of those teams, especially when they go gold/garnet/gold. I don’t know what it is with the lights at Doak Campbell Stadium, because the Carolina blue really seemed to pop as well! It turned into an exciting contest and was certainly a feast for the eyes!
__________
&1 North Texas @ Middle Tennesse State
This week’s &1 is definitely a sacrificial lamb, for though the Blue Raiders wore not the worst example of a mono-black uni set, the Mean Green looked terrific in green helmets/white/green. It made me wish Middle Tennessee would have stuck with at least a blue jersey and silver helmet and put themselves in position for an honorable mention. All and all this wasn’t an awful looking game, but in a week where there were no cringe inducing uni-matchups it earns the bottom spot for all it left me wanting to see.
• • •
Thanks, Memal! OK readers? What say you? Agree or disagree with Memal’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 2019 trackers are back! Unfortunately, not all of the conferences are back. Here’s how the trackers would track, if all the schools were playing:
We’ve got Rex Henry (tracking the ACC), Dennis Bolt (tracking the PAC-12), Kyle Acker (tracking the Big XII), and Ethan Dimitroff (tracking the B1G 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 continues his dual role of tracking both the B1G and the SEC.
But this year the B1G and PAC-12 aren’t playing at all. So we won’t have tracking for them this season. UPDATE: Both the B1G and PAC now will try to play in the 2020 season.
Here are the Uni Trackers for the Power 5 Conferences (I’ve left all the previous tracker info in their usual slots, even if the conferences aren’t playing. In case you want to click on any of the links):
+ + + + + + + + + +
Rex is up first today (ACC):
• • •
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 Big XII:
Big XII
Follow Kyle on Twitter here.
• • •
And here’s Ethan with the B1G:
B1G
Meet The SMUW Crew!
I can’t believe I haven’t done this before, because the entire crew has been doing this for a number of years (some longer than others), and I never really gave them their proper due. So far we’ve “met” my Duck Tracker and PAC-12 Tracker, Dennis Bolt (and it now looks like he may end up being busy this season after all), Memal (who brings you the 5 & 1), Terry Duroncelet, who writes most of the main article, Ethan Dimitroff (SEC & B1G Tracking) and Rex Henry (ACC Tracking). Today we’ll meet the final member of the SMUW crew, Kyle Acker, who tracks the Big XII.
So please everyone, here’s your official introduction to Kyle, along with his photo (click to enlarge) and bio:
Name: Kyle Acker
Current City: Annapolis, MD
Former college and pro footballer, currently working as a graphic designer and High school football coach. Early uni influence started in the hip-hop era of the late 90s, taking trips to Philly to stock up on my collection of Mitchell & Ness jerseys. Without a doubt my favorite jersey is the Toronto Raptors unis, Tracy McGrady’s rookie year (even though it is about three sizes too big). If you can believe it, I’m still trying to find a Jowan Howard jersey from his stint with the Miami Heat. I’ve been hooked on uniforms since NCAA Football on PlayStation 2 when they started adding all the jerseys in the game, and Oregon started doing the things they do. I discovered UW while aimlessly wandering through ESPN, and the early previews of college uniforms piqued my interests and I wanted more.
I’m a fan of all Chicago teams: Bulls, Bears, Blackhawks, Sox (over Cubs). But despite my Chicago roots, I like Saints, and Oregon Football (mostly because of the uniforms). Salisbury University alum with an interest in art, football, and movies.
Thanks, Kyle!
OK — now we’ve “met” the entire SMUW crew. Please give each and every one of them a big thanks for all they do for all of us!
MLB Playoff Uni Tracking
We’re more than halfway through the playoffs, and almost to the World Series, and over the past couple weekends Alex Rocklein has been tracking the jerseys of all the teams involved in the MLB Post Season. Here’s the full Wild Card round jersey matchups (click to enlarge):
We have not one but TWO game sevens in the League Championship Series — the Rays (having won the first three and losing the next three) switched into white home jerseys for the series finale last night and won, advancing to the World Series. The Dodgers, after going down 3-1 against the Braves, rallied to take the next two, to knot that series at three games apiece. Game Seven is tonight.
Here’s Alex’s up-to-date uni tracking through last night’s games:
Alex will continue to add to this graphic through the World Series’.
Click to enlarge
And now a quick word from Paul:
In case you missed it earlier this week, the Uni Watch 2020 Press Pin is now available. And it’s going fast — as of Friday evening, there were only about 40 of them remaining from our numbered edition of 200. As you probably know by now, this year’s design is a riff on the 1951 Dodgers World Series press pin, with a mask thrown in to capture the spirit of this crazy year (click to enlarge):
While we’re at it: If you missed the launch of the press pin, you may also have missed the announcement of the latest addition to the theoretical T-shirt menu (click to enlarge):
Wouldn’t it be fun — you know, just hypothetically — if these shirts were actually available? If you’d like to talk about that — or about any of the other menu items — shoot me a note and we can discuss that lamentable state of affairs.
Uni Watch News Ticker
By Phil
Baseball News: ICYMI from the other day: Here are the home and away uniforms for the new Johnstown Mill Rats of the Prospect League (from Zane Heiple. … Here’s a look at some new bobbleheads commemorating the 1942 Negro League World Series, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (from Matthew McLaughlin). … C&D coming? Max Weintraub says the logo on this truck in Virginia looks familiar. Here’s a closeup. Looks like they came close to nailing the script font too. … “I know many enjoyed Mookie Betts’s catch (Fri)day, but the catch of the day (yester)day is apparently Fried Pollock,” observes Robert Kahn. … “Pete Fairbanks came in for the Rays in relief in the 8th and you can see his undershirt logo through his jersey,” notes Brad Phillips. … And here’s our first look at the 2020 World Series logo patch on a cap (from @NYYDJ2).
NFL News: Yesterday’s ticker had this item: “Does anyone recognize this logo Colts head coach Frank Reich is wearing on his sweatshirt in this pic?” Reader Terence Schull replies: “That shirt was produced by a t-shirt place in Indianapolis called The Shop. They are not licensed to use NFL logos so they use INDY instead. Evidently Coach Reich likes to buy local products…good for him!” … The Buffalo Bills will be wearing mono-blue against the Chiefs for their Monday night showdown. … Chase Claypool, Steelers wide receiver, is from Canada and his nickname is, amazingly, “Mapletron.” This is his logo (from Jason Bernard).
College Football News: The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers wore a patch to honor Myrtle Beach police officer Jacob Hancher who was shot and killed responding to a domestic violence call earlier this month. The football team wore the patch during its 30-27 win over Louisiana on Wednesday. … When (and if) the PAC-12 resumes play this season, UCLA will still be outfitted by Under Armour even though the university is suing the apparel company for breach of contract. … Penn State is giving it’s inaugural jersey #0 to safety Jonathan Sutherland. … Delaware is rolling out an alternate black uniform next spring (from Kevin McGuire). … Looks like we have the new University of Cincinnati third jersey that hasn’t been unveiled yet (from Jase Greenberg).
Hockey News: Some of the Toronto Maple Leafs have new numbers (from Mike Chamernik).
.
.
Soccer News: Is there a Houston Dynamo rebrand possibly in the works? (from Al Gruwell). Here’s some more on that.
.
Grab Bag: Great spot from Jakob Fox who notes, “Foo Fighters drummer had 864511320 on his cutoff shirt. Those numbers correspond to Vote out Trump. 86 – cancel; 45 – trump; 11320 – Election Day”
And finally… Thanks to the entire SMUW crew, as always, for their great work, and to Alex for the MLB Playoff Uni Tracking.
Everyone have a great week and I’ll catch you back here next weekend. Enjoy the World Series (and game seven of the NLCS), and all the pro gridiron action this week.
Peace,
PH
By Phil Hecken, on October 17th, 2020
By Phil Hecken
What’s up everyone? Hope everyone had a good week and you’re all staying safe.
A couple weekends ago, I did an interview with Bowen Hobbs, who also graced us with two divisions of NFL concepts (the whole shebang — logos, alternate logos, uniforms, helmets, etc. etc.). It was a tremendous undertaking and if you missed that, please click here. Last weekend we had Volume II of that undertaking.
I’m back again today with Bowen as he brings us the final three divisions (NFC North, NFC South, and NFC West). There’s a lot to get to, so I’ll turn it over to Bowen right now.
• • •
NFL Redesigns, Volume III
By Bowen Hobbs
Hi everybody! It’s Bowen Hobbs back with a collection of redesign concepts I developed for the NFL. Each team has a team signature (primary logo + team name), primary icon/logo, secondary logo, “coaches cap” logo (minimal typographic logo), a custom font, and four uniforms (home, away, alternate, and throwback). As with my other series, one of my goals was to make each redesign feel like the team without using any of their current symbols, except on throwback uniforms. I also changed the one-shell rule to a two-shell guideline to allow for more accurate throwback designs.
__________
NFC North
Chicago Bears
 
 
While the Bears’ brand is a classic, a few small things have always bugged me: The wishbone-C is used by other teams such as the Reds and Twins, and the stripes don’t match on their home and away uniforms. My redesign starts with a walking bear in a triple-striped jersey complemented by a football and four six-pointed stars. The typeface is a serifed inline font with a low x-height, while the secondary mark is a football-C with three-stripes and four stars. The uniforms feature three single-color stripes on each sleeve and a sublimated pattern on the torso that mimics the padded shirts of yesteryear.
__________
Detroit Lions
 
 
There is a lot to like regarding the Lions’ current brand, from the updated lion logo to the team removing black from its official colors. My Lions redesign starts with a stoic lion inside a shield as the primary icon. An updated William Clay Ford memorial stands in as the secondary logo. The wordmarks use a modernized blackletter font, while the numbers opt for a two-toned sans serif. The helmets use a double-stripe along the jawline instead of down the center. The two-stripe theme extends to the jersey collars, sleeve stripes, and pant legs.
__________
Green Bay Packers
 
 
Growing up in Packer country, I know there is no way to updated the oval-G, so I went in a totally different direction. The new primary logo is a cheese wedge-G, while the secondary is an old-timey football player against the state of Wisconsin. The new typeface combines the team’s stencil letters and block numbers into one font. The uniforms feature two striping patterns: one for the vertical stripes on the helmet and pants, and one for the horizontal stripes on the sleeves and socks. The sleeves are forest green on the away and alternate jerseys.
__________
Minnesota Vikings
 
 
I confess: I genuinely like the Vikings current uniforms. My Vikings concept updates the viking mascot logo using a steel helmet and new horns. A swinging Thor hammer is used for the secondary mark. The font is a mono-weight serif with a knot in the M. The helmets are satin purple with the viking head on each side. The uniforms bring back the V-sleeve design from early concepts for the team when they were born, with the alternate in grey.
__________
NFC South
Atlanta Falcons
 
 
While I like how the current Falcons logo is a bird and an F, its placement on the helmet has always been troublesome since the F is backward on the left side of every helmet. My redesign makes the F letterform in the logo more overt. A stylized wing inside a circular badge is the secondary logo. The font uses flair serifs and notches to communicate the speed and talons of their namesake. The helmets start with a red-to-black fade on the shell, with the stylized wing used in place of the F-bird logo. The wing theme is continued throughout the design on the sleeves and pants.
__________
Carolina Panthers
 
 
The Panthers branding has looked dated since it came out, using too many outlines and cluttering the jerseys with numbers, striping, and redundant team logos. My Panthers concept goes for a more minimal approach, removing the superfluous silver and focusing on black and blue. The primary icon features a panther standing on the state of North Carolina with a CP, while the secondary mark is a revised panther head. The font is tall and strong with a low x-height. The uniforms use a claw mark design on the sleeves and collarbone area, while the pants feature a single stripe containing claw marks.
__________
New Orleans Saints
 
 
Coming up with a new logo for the Saints seemed daunting at first, until I remembered their lovable mascot Gumbo the Saint Bernard. I placed Gumbo inside a shield that makes room for his halo. The secondary logo is the fleur-de-lis from his nose. The font embraces New Orleans history with a look that complements the wrought iron fences in the Big Easy. I opted for white helmets with an outlined broad stripe down the middle. The outlined broad stripe is also used on the sleeves and pants. The home uniforms are gold with white numbers, while the white aways use gold numbers. The alternate are black with gold type.
__________
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
 
 
My goal with the Bucs was to blend their rich chromatic history into one scheme. I started with the Creamsicle Era and added pewter, using it as a key line for a reimagined Bucco Bruce. The secondary features a pylon with a tattered pirate’s flag. The wordmark uses a custom curvy serifed typeface that recalls the pirate history of the Gulf, while the number use a modified block font for legibility. The uniforms mostly follow the throwbacks, but with a pewter collar and facemask.
__________
NFC West
Arizona Cardinals
 
 
While the Cardinals have always used a cardinal head as their logo, I wanted to try out using the full bird. I updated the team’s color scheme to cardinal red, white, black, and copper (to reference the state’s mining history). The secondary logo places AZ inside a football with sun rays that resembles the state flag. The font is a custom block serif that takes many cues from styles of the past. The helmets apply the cardinal head as an all-over treatment instead of a sticker on each side. Sublimated sun rays are used on the cap sleeves and pants of a relatively restrained uniform set.
__________
Los Angeles Rams
 
 
Full disclosure: I made this concept before the Rams unveiled their current uniforms. This Rams concept combines the classic ram head logo with a style more similar to their Greatest Show on Turf logo. The secondary combines the horn with the shield shape of Beverly Hills signage. The font plays on old LA with sleek lines and an art deco feel. The helmets use the updated ram horn from the primary logo, while the uniforms use the Northwestern stripe of the Norm Van Brocklin era. The white away jerseys use royal blue cap sleeves with yellow stripes.
__________
San Francisco 49ers
 
 
The 49ers haven’t used a logo of an actual 49er since the 1960s. I thought that would be a good place to start with this redesign. To play on the mining theme and acknowledge the team’s early years, I also added silver to the color scheme. In addition to the miner primary logo, I developed a secondary mark of a football and pickaxe. The uniforms take the next logical step from their armpit stripes of the 2010s and lower the striping to the ribs, similar to Northwestern University.
__________
Seattle Seahawks
 
 
What is a seahawk? Turns out it’s an osprey. My redesign brings the primary logo closer to an osprey than the current mark. The secondary is a one-color silhouette of the full-bodied bird. The font is a modern block with wing accents on the S’s. The uniforms feature feathers around the collars. I decided to make the primary home uniform lime green, as it is the team’s unique signature color, with the aways in white and the alternates in navy. The throwbacks are a modernized update on the 80s uniforms.
• • •
Thanks, Bowen! If you missed the original post, please note that one of Bowen’s goals with the redesigns is just that — every team gets a new treatment (even if every team, as he readily acknowledges, doesn’t need it). So when judging his designs, please bear that in mind.
Love to hear what you guys think of these in the comments below!
OSU Men’s & Women’s Hoops Unveil New Unis
Yesterday, the Ohio State Buckeyes unveiled new uniforms for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams. A couple notes:
• For the first time Ohio State men’s and women’s basketball will don identical primary home and away uniforms for the 2020-21 season.
• For the first time in program history, the women’s team will have names stitched on the back of the uniforms.
Here’s a few looks at the new unis (click any photos to enlarge):
 
The men’s team now will boast six possible uniform combinations:
• Primary home and away (shown above)
• Scarlet “Clark Kellogg” era uniform worn each of the last two season
• Gray “Jim Jackson” era throwbacks from the last several years
• Two alternates (still yet to be released)
MLB Playoff Uni Tracking
We’re more than halfway through the playoffs, and almost to the World Series, and over the past couple weekends Alex Rocklein has been tracking the jerseys of all the teams involved in the MLB Post Season. Here’s the full Wild Card round jersey matchups (click to enlarge):
And here is the updated tracking with the Division Series and Championship Series in both leagues added in. Unfortunately, last night’s Dodgers/Braves game ended after Alex had sent in his tracking, so that score is not reflected, but everything else is up to date (the Dodgers won, 7-3, if you didn’t yet know, so that series is now 3-2 in favor of the Braves).
After winning the last three games, the Astros took a 3-0 Rays lead and tied it up, forcing a game 7 today. If you’ll notice, the Rays have worn their blue softball tops in every game except one (when they wore their powder blue tops). Will they change it up again today? This also would set up an interesting World Series if they make it, against the Braves (if they make it), who have worn their blue softball tops for every road game. Would Tampa Bay wear their navy tops at “home” (as they have done in almost every game so far)? Would that “force” the Braves to wear gray tops? Or would we possibly see a blue jersey vs. blue jersey matchup in the big dance? It’s still a bit to early to predict that as we don’t yet know our World Series opponents. But it’s food for thought…
Also, Alex points out that only 11 of 44 games played have featured a traditional white vs. gray matchup.
Alex will continue to add to this graphic through the World Series’.
 Guess The Game…
from the scoreboard
Today’s scoreboard comes from Billy Sundae.
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.
So THAT’S What You Did With That Patch…
Got an email earlier this week from my pal Jimmy Corcoran who wanted to share a great “DIY” (photoshop) project with the readership. This one is fantastic.
Here’s Jimmy:
Hey Phil,
I saw this jersey on ebay, if it was a size XXL I would have bought it and made one for myself. If Uni Watch had a softball team that played an annual game every July 4th I believe this could have been the jersey the team wore from 1991-97. With a green Uni Watch hat, white pants and Oakland A’s style stirrup socks, this is a uniform anyone would be proud to wear. And win or lose, after the game when team Uni Watch are eating hot dogs and sharing some cold beers with the team they just played, if you spill some mustard on the jersey no problem.
Play Ball!
Jimmy Corcoran
Here’s what Jimmy created…
That’s great! And I think we need to look into forming a UW softball team, even if it’s just for the unis!
Click to enlarge
And now a quick word from Paul:
In case you missed it earlier this week, the Uni Watch 2020 Press Pin is now available. And it’s going fast — as of Friday evening, there were only about 40 of them remaining from our numbered edition of 200. As you probably know by now, this year’s design is a riff on the 1951 Dodgers World Series press pin, with a mask thrown in to capture the spirit of this crazy year (click to enlarge):
While we’re at it: If you missed the launch of the press pin, you may also have missed the announcement of the latest addition to the theoretical T-shirt menu (click to enlarge):
Wouldn’t it be fun — you know, just hypothetically — if these shirts were actually available? If you’d like to talk about that — or about any of the other menu items — shoot me a note and we can discuss that lamentable state of affairs.
The “BEST OF” Kreindler’s Korner
Hey guys & gals. You’ve enjoyed Kreindler’s Korner for several years now, mostly on the weekends, on Uni Watch, but with the recent coronavirus outbreak, Graig’s time is just too precious and he needs to tend to other things besides coming up with a new writeup each weekend.
So, going forward, for as long as the COVID-19 situation is bad in New York, I’m going to run a few “Best of’s” until Graig returns.
Here’s today’s offering:
• • •
Title: “A Giant Killer”
Subject: Chief Bender, October 24, 1911
Medium: Oil on linen
Size: 12″ x 16″
The client who commissioned this painting is a big Chief Bender fan. He went after this particular image probably because it’s one of the more iconic shots of the Hall of Famer. But also, and perhaps more importantly, that sweater. It was a challenge to make it actually feel like a sweater, and at the same time, bend and fold in space effectively. It had to feel hand-sewn, and noticeably different from the Athletics uniforms, which had to feel different from Bender’s skin. It’s all a game of relativity that starts with that sweater. I don’t think I’m alone in saying that I wish those things would make a comeback.
• • •
Thanks, Graig! You can (and should!) follow Graig on Twitter.
The Ticker
By Anthony Emerson
Baseball News: The family of the late Pete Frates, a baseball player diagnosed with ALS who started the ice bucket challenge, is auctioning off memorabilia to help victims of ALS (from Joe Giza).
.
NFL News: Does anyone recognize this logo Colts head coach Frank Reich is wearing on his sweatshirt in this pic? (from Brian M. Spiess). … The Browns have revealed their uniforms for tomorrow’s game against the Steelers (thanks, Brinke). … The Packers will wear their green home unis in Tampa (thanks, Phil).
College/High School Football News: This year, Notre Dame’s practice helmets include shamrock merit stickers, like the buckeye stickers on Ohio State’s helmets (from @Atxprogress). … New unis for North Dakota (from Greg Enkers and Tim Purdon). … New unis for Missouri S&T (from Patrick J. Murphy). … Miami is going white-orange-white today (from Josh Lefkowitz). … The following are all from Phil: Virginia Tech is going white-maroon-white against Boston College. … West Virginia is going blue-blue-gold today. … South Carolina is going black-red-red. … The LA Times speculates that UCLA coach Chip Kelly’s connections with Phil Knight from his Oregon days might lead UCLA to Nike once their Under Armour deal is up. … The head coach of St. Albans (W.V.) High wears a suit to school and wears a tie on the sideline because, as he explains it, “When you dress up for things that are important to you, it is a necktie mentality.” (from Brice Wallace). …
Hockey News: Kings first round pick Quinton Byfield will wear No. 55 (from Jakob Fox).
.
.
Pro Hoops News: The Nets’ ad patch deal has expired. Here’s hoping no one pays up to replace the old company (thanks, Phil). … People who vote at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena get a special basketball-themed “I Voted” sticker. I would vote just for that sticker! (from @Bulldog_Darryl). … Looks like Italian team Olimpia Milano took a little inspiration from some NBA teams with their logo.
College/High School Hoops News: Arkansas men have new practice jerseys (from Matt Snyder).
.
Soccer News: Burnley have finally gotten around to releasing their new third kit for this season (from Jim Howicz). … Here’s a great — albeit brief — video on Nike’s first ever soccer kit, for the NASL version of the Portland Timbers back in 1979 — and that the kits were actually produced by an English company, who sewed Nike’s logo onto them (from @texastrevor). … Did you know Chilean side O’Higgins has advertised McDonald’s on their kits by using French fries as their uni number font? They even have a little dab of ketchup (from Ryan Bush). … After scoring during Paris Saint-Germain’s win against Nîmes Olympique, PSG striker Kylian Mbappé revealed a shirt with a message of support for a young PSG supporter with cancer. More information here, en français.
Grab Bag: Gmail is getting a new logo, as Google is replacing its iconic envelope with a multicolored M (from Kary Klismet). … Ever wonder why passports look the way they do? This BBC article has your answer (from Wolfie Browender). … FC Porto’s handball team was forced to change kits at halftime during their Champions League match against Pick Szeged due to a kit clash. Since Porto was the home team, I imagine Szeged didn’t bring a non-clashing kit (from Julian Orlando). … I have no idea how Payne Stewart golfed comfortably at the 1987 Masters, but damn did he look good! (from Matt Rashford). … Coca-Cola is discontinuing Tab after almost 60 years (from @walbergLines).
And finally… Big thanks to everyone who contributed today, especially Bowen! Great stuff everyone.
Here’s where I’d normally post a sunset pic, but as I intimated last weekend, the summer place is now closed for the season and I’m back at home base — so, no more sunset pics for a while (perhaps I’ll throw a “best of” in now and then). Gonna be curling tonight — or at least what will amount to curling during COVID — lots of new rules and regulations designed to keep everyone safe (or as safe as possible), but at least we’re attempting to get things back to *normal*. Nothing will be normal in the truest sense of the word, of course, but normal-er.
Everyone have a good Saturday and I’ll catch you guys tomorrow!
Peace,
PH
|
|
