Skip to content
 

Sons of the Father

mannings

By Phil Hecken

So yesterday was my birthday (thanks to all UWers who wished me well), a birthday I happen to share with Eli Manning. Ironically, today is my dad’s birthday (a birthday he does not share with Archie Manning). Peyton Manning played last night in an epic game against the Chargers (despite the overtime loss). But the fact that Peyton Manning and Eli Manning, both Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks, may some day (perhaps sooner rather than later) face each other in a “Manning Bowl” Super Bowl got me to thinking: are Archie’s boys the greatest sports offspring in history? Are the Mannings the greatest sports family ever? Both sons are Super Bowl Most Valuable Players, and Peyton was just named NFL MVP for the third time.

We know how the sons of Archie rank as players. Certainly, it’s hard to argue with their football pedigree. Only because Archie had the misfortune of spending most of his career with the woeful Saints, and ending it with the equally awful Houston Oilers (1982-1983) and Minnesota Vikings (1983-1984), where the teams posted a collective record of 6-35, did he not achieve greater football glory. But Archie wasn’t all bad — he went to the Pro Bowl in 1978 and 1979. His overall numbers don’t lie: He ended his 13-year career having completed 2,011 of 3,642 passes for 23,911 yards and 125 touchdowns, with 173 interceptions. He also rushed for 2,197 yards and 18 touchdowns. His 2,011 completions ranked 17th in NFL history upon his retirement. Had he played for better teams, it’s doubtful his record as a starter, which was 35-101-3 (26.3%), would be the worst in NFL history among QBs with at least 100 starts.

You know all about Eli and Peyton, so I won’t discuss them further. You probably know they have an older brother, Cooper (famously featured in this ESPN commercial). Cooper was also a football player growing up, (he was once an all-state high school receiver, catching touchdown passes from Peyton), but doctors diagnosed him with spinal stenosis (a narrowing of the spinal canal) before college, leading to an early end to his career. Imagine how much more famous the family would be if Cooper had made it to the NFL.

Certainly the Mannings are football royalty, the greatest family ever to grace the gridiron. They may be the greatest father-son(s) team in sports, although one could argue Bobby and Barry and the Griffeys in baseball, the Earnhardts in stock car (as well as other famous families), Dick & Pete Weber in bowling, and Bobby and Brett Hull in hockey certainly approach the Mannings’ status. But since Archie had not one, but two, immensely successful sons, I am wont to think the Mannings are the kings of the sports family tree.

And now, a personal note: I wanted to thank Paul and all the UW readership for bearing with me these past few weeks as I worked into the role of bench coach. I apologize if this post was not up to my usual snuff, as I spent most of Saturday with my dad, who’s been recovering from West Nile Virus (here’s a pic of us this summer). He has spent 99 days (so far — a week of which was in a coma and close to death, and the rest of the time with first  a feeding tube, then a PEG,  which wasn’t removed until two days ago) recuperating in the hospital  and then a rehabilitation facility, so I’ve been spending most of my evenings and weekends with him. But he’s coming HOME on Monday (and he and my mom only live 10 minutes away from me), so I’ll be able to devote more time to UW now.

Thanks to all of you for being so supportive (and to those of you with whom I speak off the boards, I’ve really appreciated all your kind words and thoughts). So Happy Birthday Dad, and many, many more! Cake at home on Monday will be the best ever!

 
  
 
Categories
NFL
Comments (132)

    The Alomar brothers in baseball were pretty good, and Roberto should be a Hall of Famer. He and Sandy played in All-Star games together and they both played in World Series.

    The Dimaggio brothers were great, too. One is already in Cooperstown and Dom has been mentioned for enshrinement.

    That’s fantastic to hear that he’s coming home. West Nile is some seriously deadly stuff, especially for someone your dad’s age.

    And there’s no reason to apologize. Today’s post might not be strictly Uni-related, but it’s still well-written and well-thought out. It’s not as though you simply wrote something like “Peyton & Eli: best sports offspring ever? Discuss.” and called it a day. (Which, under the circumstances, would have been perfectly acceptable.)

    You’ve had to deal with that and still knocked out what you have? Dittos on no need to apologize, been a pleasure reading you on the weekends. Keep up the great work and enjoy that cake tomorrow!

    psh, two days in a row of birthdays? Try my family: my father is Dec. 17, my youngest brother is Dec. 18, and mine is Dec. 19. Throw in my mother’s Dec. 29 birthday for good measure and you’ve got yourself a December to Remember. (And the other brother’s in May…freak).

    Would never claim this family had the status of the Mannings, but since we’re thinking of fathers and sons, here are the Howes (Gordie, Mark and Marty), playing for the WHA Houston Aeros against the original Whalers. Have no idea why is color-on-color.

    link

    —Ricko

    Very well written! While I cannot argue numbers or the success of the Manning family, as a Chargers fan, I can’t help but have a bit of a sour attitude toward Eli. When he came out and said that he would not play in San Diego, that hurt. Who wouldn’t want to play in one of the best cities to live in? Now, I know that things ended up well for the Bolts, but I just struggle rooting for a guy that completely disrespected an entire community.

    And Phil, my thoughts and prayers are with your dad! Blessings, and good health!

    Shame on me. All the Howe photos aren’t from the same game. Mark, lower left, is playing the New York Golden Blades (purple and gold).

    Phil, a happy belated birthday! I’m glad to hear that your Dad is able to return home and is progressing in his recovery. I’ll keep you guys in my thoughts.

    Back to the topic: The Matthews family. Grandpa Clay, sons Bruce and Clay, and now the new Clay (DE at USC) who is on the rise and should get drafted fairly high come April.

    I can’t believe Archie Manning’s facemask. I didn’t know that style went back that far. It’s so popular amongst quaterbacks (and wideouts) today. I can’t remember who I first saw wearing one. I know Mark Bulger was up there. It might have been Priest Holmes.

    Following up on the comment about the Chargers and powder blue. It’s interesting when you look into it to learn how the definitions of color names – even the names we throw around all the time – are actually pretty slippery & change over time. Wiki entries indicate that even royal blue is not what it used to be – it’s brighter now. Powder blue used to be a dark blue. Azure/sky blue/powder blue/cornflower blue etc. are difficult to sort out precisely.

    One thing is for sure, though, and this I learned from Ricko: the Chargers never wore that combo from yesterday back in the ’60s/’70s. It was a darker blue with the white pants; the “powder blues” were always paired with gold pants.

    The Chargers wore the powder blues with white pants from their inception in 1960 up to 1965. In 1966 they changed the pants to gold. They wore the powder blues and gold combo until 1973. In 1974 they went, in my opinion, in the wrong direction with the darker blue jerseys and the helmet color change from white to dark blue.

    Now, the powder blues are a revised version of the original design. I like it, but the original Chargers jersey from the 60’s is still the best.

    that’s great that you and you’re father share a weekend of birthdays! my dad and I have a similar situation with mine being on Monday (tomorrow) and his the following Tuesday. The 5th and 6th of January are always a lot of fun for link

    and on that note, i wish you and you’re dad a happy birthday, and i hope you have an increase in the good health department!

    Great job on you’re posts so far, i have enjoyed our weekends on UniWatch these past weeks.

    “Ironically, today is my dad’s birthday”

    No, that is not ironic. Notable maybe, but certainly not ironic.

    “Cooper (famously featured in this ESPN commercial)”

    While you’re looking up the definition of “ironic,” you should also look up “featured.”

    [quote comment=”308650″]The Chargers wore the powder blues with white pants from their inception in 1960 up to 1965. In 1966 they changed the pants to gold. [/quote]
    Not true; the jerseys they wore in that 1960 to 1965 period (thru 1967 in fact) were darker than the powder blues they introduced in 1968. Check out the San Diego Chargers Uni History link.

    thanks all for the kinds words everone

    …heading out now, but just caught this on ESPN…the ravens will be wearing this shirt under their jerseys today (sorry for the poor quality screen grab, but it says, “What’s Our Name?”)…this is a reference to “what’s my name, fool? what’s my name?” a quote muhammed ali kept yelling while winning a 1967 decision against ernie terrell, who had insisted on calling him cassius clay…

    guess the ravens are looking for a little respect

    (1-1 on my ‘old school’ picks thus far, so i need a ravens win and a vikings win [or very close loss] to pick up two more playoff picks today)

    I feel the Sutter boys of NHL fame are of note in regards to family dynasties. I know none of them were the best in the league but it is quite impressive for 6 brothers to make it to a professional league and not only that, but each played at least 10 seasons in the league.
    In the same vein today there are presently 3 Staal boys in the NHL (Eirc, Jordan and Marc) and there is a fourth one on his way through the junior system and he is almost certainly going to play in the NHL. Who knows what their future holds but Marc is already showing himself to be a reliable and confident defensemen in only his second season in the NHL while Eric has already won a Stanley Cup, played in two All-Star games (getting the MVP in his second) and scored 100 points in a season; barring an injury it is safe to say those two are going to be staples of the league for years to come. Jordan is also a good player (finished third in rookie of the year voting) but I don’t know enough about to say how good.

    [quote comment=”308654″][quote comment=”308650″]The Chargers wore the powder blues with white pants from their inception in 1960 up to 1965. In 1966 they changed the pants to gold. [/quote]
    Not true; the jerseys they wore in that 1960 to 1965 period (thru 1967 in fact) were darker than the powder blues they introduced in 1968. Check out the San Diego Chargers Uni History link.[/quote]

    ’61 card showing almost navy blue (and a bit more old gold) of ’60 LA Chargers…
    link
    ’62 card showing flat-out royal of ’61 that accompanied moved to San Diego…
    link
    ’63 SI cover showing ’63 royal…
    link
    Blue got a little lighter for a couple seasons…
    link
    Royal returned in ’66 with first gold pants (saw them play in person that season at Balboa Stadium), then were almost navy again in ’67 with, strangely enough, powder blue high socks…
    link
    Definite powder blue followed that…
    link

    —Ricko

    thinking about the manning brothers and watching the colts yesterday in all-white made me think…ever wonder what the colts would look like with blue pants?

    link

    not a bad look, why do the colts only have one pair of pants?

    [quote comment=”308656″]I feel the Sutter boys of NHL fame are of note in regards to family dynasties. I know none of them were the best in the league but it is quite impressive for 6 brothers to make it to a professional league and not only that, but each played at least 10 seasons in the league.
    In the same vein today there are presently 3 Staal boys in the NHL (Eirc, Jordan and Marc) and there is a fourth one on his way through the junior system and he is almost certainly going to play in the NHL. Who knows what their future holds but Marc is already showing himself to be a reliable and confident defensemen in only his second season in the NHL while Eric has already won a Stanley Cup, played in two All-Star games (getting the MVP in his second) and scored 100 points in a season; barring an injury it is safe to say those two are going to be staples of the league for years to come. Jordan is also a good player (finished third in rookie of the year voting) but I don’t know enough about to say how good.[/quote]

    There are also 2 current Sutter offspring playing in the NHL from those. I would also suggest the Gretzkys (because Wayne was just that good) or the Richards.

    All-Star MVPs don’t count.

    This uni has always intrigued me. The year of the “budget” jerseys.

    One-color lightning bolt on shoulders (only time in team history, and was that way both home and road).
    No TV numbers, both home and road.

    And, having looked at it in color, and comparing “blues” between them and opposition in black and white photos, it appears they wore three different shades of blue.
    1. Almost navy jerseys (same color loops and numbers on road).
    2. Royal blue Bolt on pants
    3. Powder blue socks.

    link

    —Ricko

    [quote comment=”308656″]I feel the Sutter boys of NHL fame are of note in regards to family dynasties. I know none of them were the best in the league but it is quite impressive for 6 brothers to make it to a professional league and not only that, but each played at least 10 seasons in the league.
    In the same vein today there are presently 3 Staal boys in the NHL (Eirc, Jordan and Marc) and there is a fourth one on his way through the junior system and he is almost certainly going to play in the NHL. Who knows what their future holds but Marc is already showing himself to be a reliable and confident defensemen in only his second season in the NHL while Eric has already won a Stanley Cup, played in two All-Star games (getting the MVP in his second) and scored 100 points in a season; barring an injury it is safe to say those two are going to be staples of the league for years to come. Jordan is also a good player (finished third in rookie of the year voting) but I don’t know enough about to say how good.[/quote]

    Here here, Blake. All I could think of was “link!” while I read Phil’s article.

    Best of luck to your dad, Phil!

    [quote comment=”308658″]thinking about the manning brothers and watching the colts yesterday in all-white made me think…ever wonder what the colts would look like with blue pants?

    link

    not a bad look, why do the colts only have one pair of pants?[/quote]
    If it ain’t broke…

    [quote comment=”308646″]I can’t believe Archie Manning’s facemask. I didn’t know that style went back that far. It’s so popular amongst quaterbacks (and wideouts) today. I can’t remember who I first saw wearing one. I know Mark Bulger was up there. It might have been Priest Holmes.[/quote]

    HUH?

    [quote comment=”308658″]thinking about the manning brothers and watching the colts yesterday in all-white made me think…ever wonder what the colts would look like with blue pants?

    link

    not a bad look, why do the colts only have one pair of pants?[/quote]

    Because have been wearing that uni since late 50s (except one goofy year in Baltimore with silver home pants).
    link
    link

    They tried royal pants once or twice. Looked like frickin’ Duke. Definitely not up to traditonal high uni standard of the Colts. To a great extent Colts unis are like the Yankees…the look has been around for so long, and generally stood for success, there’s no reason to cheapen it just for the hell of it.

    —Ricko

    The Ravens are looking for respect?

    Aren’t they favored? Haven’t some people picked them to go to the Super Bowl?

    [quote comment=”308665″][quote comment=”308658″]thinking about the manning brothers and watching the colts yesterday in all-white made me think…ever wonder what the colts would look like with blue pants?

    link

    not a bad look, why do the colts only have one pair of pants?[/quote]

    Because have been wearing that uni since late 50s (except one goofy year in Baltimore with silver home pants).
    link
    link

    They tried royal pants once or twice. Looked like frickin’ Duke. Definitely not up to traditonal high uni standard of the Colts. To a great extent Colts unis are like the Yankees…the look has been around for so long, and generally stood for success, there’s no reason to cheapen it just for the hell of it.

    —Ricko[/quote]

    LOL. Or maybe silver pants were in Indy. Either way was something they did when they weren’t riding high.

    [quote comment=”308660″]This uni has always intrigued me. The year of the “budget” jerseys.

    One-color lightning bolt on shoulders (only time in team history, and was that way both home and road).
    No TV numbers, both home and road.

    And, having looked at it in color, and comparing “blues” between them and opposition in black and white photos, it appears they wore three different shades of blue.
    1. Almost navy jerseys (same color loops and numbers on road).
    2. Royal blue Bolt on pants
    3. Powder blue socks.

    link

    —Ricko[/quote]

    That uni was worn only in 1967.

    Also note teeny tiny NOB. Also their first year in San Diego Jack Murphy Qualcomm Stadium.

    Thanks for sharing, Ricko!

    Well, if there’s anywhere that an oddball, one-year uni would be appreciated, it’s here.

    Year before (’66) was odd in that helmet bolt was one-color (solid navy). That, too, was a one-year thing.

    I’ll echo what everyone else has said… screw today’s column, spending time with your father is always more important.

    But I liked the column anyway, if only because I got to see that great commercial with the Mannings taking the ESPN tour…

    football royalty …..tough to beat the Nessers!!!

    link

    I used to work for Joe Carr’s son. Even got to see his original share of stock in the Packers!!

    Phil,

    Good luck to you and your family and I hope the New Year brings good health to you all.

    As for your entries, they have been nothing short of great. They are well thought out, throughly researched, and a joy to read.

    I absolutely love how you realize that there are UWers here that have niche interests and have called upon them to enlighten the rest of us, even Teebz. That is a great example of faith in your UW brethren.

    Keep up the great work!

    [quote comment=”308671″]think team matters? switch teams for archie manning and terry bradshaw.[/quote]

    Absolutely makes a difference. Archie must have had flashbacks every time he saw David Carr get drilled with the Texans. That’s almost exactly the NFL situation he was stuck with: expansion team, horrible o-line.

    Unfortunately, Manning finished with an almost-equally awful Vikings team in ’84 (3-13, coached by the also-awful Les Steckel), and the Bears sacked him 10 times in his final NFL start.

    “This,” his must have thought, “is where I came in.”

    (Manning wore #4 with Vikings, btw; punter Greg Coleman had #8)

    —Ricko

    On a uniform note, Last night, I posted pics of Maryland’s Under Armour cleats from the Humanitarian Bowl, complete with the Terps wordmark on the medial side of the shoe.

    Utah wears UA and had something similar in the Sugar Bowl:

    link

    link

    Alabama also had a nice Team Exclusive touch added to their unis. They were wearing Nike’s newest gloves, complete with a houndstooth pattern, symbolizing their famous former Coach, Bear Bryant, on the palms:

    link

    As promised, Matt Ryan in LT’s:

    link

    [quote comment=”308653″]”Ironically, today is my dad’s birthday”

    No, that is not ironic. Notable maybe, but certainly not ironic.

    “Cooper (famously featured in this ESPN commercial)”

    While you’re looking up the definition of “ironic,” you should also look up “featured.”[/quote]

    and you should look up the definition of “tool” because that’s what you are.

    [quote comment=”308665″][quote comment=”308658″]thinking about the manning brothers and watching the colts yesterday in all-white made me think…ever wonder what the colts would look like with blue pants?

    link

    not a bad look, why do the colts only have one pair of pants?[/quote]

    Because have been wearing that uni since late 50s (except one goofy year in Baltimore with silver home pants).
    link
    link

    They tried royal pants once or twice. Looked like frickin’ Duke. Definitely not up to traditonal high uni standard of the Colts. To a great extent Colts unis are like the Yankees…the look has been around for so long, and generally stood for success, there’s no reason to cheapen it just for the hell of it.

    —Ricko[/quote]

    to paraphrase a line from the movie johnny dangerously…

    they wore blue pants once……once

    link

    actually it was one season but that was enough.

    Regarding families, there are several other stock car families that could be lumped into that list:

    Bobby Labonte (Brother)- 1 Cup Championship, 21 Cup Victories
    Terry Labonte (Brother)- 2 Cup Championships, 22 Victories

    Bobby Allison (father) – 1 Cup Championship (5 runner-ups), 85 Victories, 3 Daytona 500 Victories
    Donnie Allison (brother to Bobby) – 10 Cup Victories
    Davey Allison (son to Bobby) – 19 Victories, 1 Daytona 500 Victory, carrer cut short due to fetal helicopter accident

    And easily the greatest stock car family:

    Lee Petty (father) – 3 Time NASCAR Cup Champion, 54 Career Wins, Inaugural Daytona 500 winner
    Richard Petty (son) – 7 Time NASCAR Cup Champion, 200 Career Wins, 7 Daytona 500 Wins
    Kyle Petty (grandson) – 8 time Cup Winner
    Adam Petty (greatgrandson) – Career cut short due to fatal accident

    10 Championships and 262 Wins. You’ll be hard pressed to find that between a father/son pair in any other sport, yet alone 4 generations of a family having success at the top level of any sport. Actually from 1949 (the sports inception) to about 1994 there was at least one Petty in the field whom had a threat to win. I’d like to see the Manning’s keep that kind of dominance up for 45 years

    Spend time with your Dad. Mine would have been 72 yesterday (sniff) and you’ll never regret spending more time with him.

    My first thought was also Sutter – its made more impressive because four of the six brothers have gone on to coaching and managing in the NHL after their playing days.

    There’s only one Sutter currently in the NHL. Brett (Daryl’s son) is currently on the farm team after a short stint in Calgary.

    someone mentioned archie’s facemask earlier on. i barely remember him wearing that one with the double bars up top but i do remember him wearing an eric dickerson style mask with the oilers. it may have only been for one or two games but i do remember it. can’t find pics of it, though.

    I have always thought that the Colts unis would look even better..hold on..with a muted silver trim between the shoulder and leg stripes.

    Did they try this once? I seem to recall it, tho maybe not.

    [quote comment=”308653″]”Ironically, today is my dad’s birthday”

    No, that is not ironic. Notable maybe, but certainly not ironic.

    “Cooper (famously featured in this ESPN commercial)”

    While you’re looking up the definition of “ironic,” you should also look up “featured.”[/quote]

    And you decided to take time to write this post because of……what exactly?

    [quote comment=”308680″]someone mentioned archie’s facemask earlier on. i barely remember him wearing that one with the double bars up top but i do remember him wearing an eric dickerson style mask with the oilers. it may have only been for one or two games but i do remember it. can’t find pics of it, though.[/quote]

    Here ya’ go:

    link

    ED had two vertical sidebars, which this does not.

    link

    Archie’s mask was actually the same that Eli wears now:

    link

    [quote comment=”308657″][quote comment=”308654″][quote comment=”308650″]The Chargers wore the powder blues with white pants from their inception in 1960 up to 1965. In 1966 they changed the pants to gold. [/quote]
    Not true; the jerseys they wore in that 1960 to 1965 period (thru 1967 in fact) were darker than the powder blues they introduced in 1968. Check out the San Diego Chargers Uni History link.[/quote]

    ’61 card showing almost navy blue (and a bit more old gold) of ’60 LA Chargers…
    link
    ’62 card showing flat-out royal of ’61 that accompanied moved to San Diego…
    link
    ’63 SI cover showing ’63 royal…
    link
    Blue got a little lighter for a couple seasons…
    link
    Royal returned in ’66 with first gold pants (saw them play in person that season at Balboa Stadium), then were almost navy again in ’67 with, strangely enough, powder blue high socks…
    link
    Definite powder blue followed that…
    link

    —Ricko[/quote]

    Not sure about this, but I find the color sometimes represented in old photos can be a little off – in terms of shades.

    I found it more with the colour purple. Based on the photos I saw of the Minnesota Vikings in the 1970’s – they’ve either greatly altered the shade of purple in their uniform, or the pictures are off. The purple reflected in the photos – was normally a lot more muted, darker shade purple, than the gaudy/vibrant shade they wear today. The shade in the pictures – was much closer to the No 5 pencil in the Laurentian colour pencil set of my youth. Quite frankly I think it’s a far more appropriate shade for a NFL uni, as it looks tough – more like a deep bruise.

    As an aside – today probably represents the only day in NFL history where the two play off teams wearing the dark jersey will be both wearing purple)

    [quote comment=”308683″][quote comment=”308680″]someone mentioned archie’s facemask earlier on. i barely remember him wearing that one with the double bars up top but i do remember him wearing an eric dickerson style mask with the oilers. it may have only been for one or two games but i do remember it. can’t find pics of it, though.[/quote]

    Here ya’ go:

    link

    ED had two vertical sidebars, which this does not.

    link

    Archie’s mask was actually the same that Eli wears now:

    link
    thanks but i found the same archie pic you did. however, i remember him wearing one with the vertical bars and thinking how odd it looked for a quarterback to wear that. it seems that it would obscure your peripheral vision. it still seems odd to me to see a wide receiver wear it.

    also….looking at the pic of archie at the top of the page, i like the larger size of the fleur-de-lis on the helmet. the smaller ones they use now never looked right to me.

    There’s also the Andrettis (Mario, Michael, Jeff, John, and Marco) in Indycar/Formula One racing.

    Also, they might not be as successful as the Mannings, but the Hasselbeck family (Don and sons Matt and Tim) certainly have done well in the NFL.

    [quote comment=”308677″]they wore blue pants once……once

    link

    actually it was one season but that was enough.[/quote]

    yup…was in 1995…(at least according to FUP&P)…they wore the gray/silver pants in the mid 80s (baltimore & indy — 1982-86ish i think)

    [quote comment=”308676″][quote comment=”308653″]”Ironically, today is my dad’s birthday”

    No, that is not ironic. Notable maybe, but certainly not ironic.

    “Cooper (famously featured in this ESPN commercial)”

    While you’re looking up the definition of “ironic,” you should also look up “featured.”[/quote]

    and you should look up the definition of “tool” because that’s what you are.[/quote]

    And that’s enough of that, thank you. No more.

    Listened to the first quarter of the Ravens/Fins game on the radio while out for my daily bike ride (I have a little radio that fits into the rack where most cyclists put their water bottle). If you want to hear something really funny, tune in Westwood 1’s radio broadcast and listen to Dennis Green doing color commentary. The guy has the raspiest, hoarsest voice outside of an emphysema ward — whose idea was it to put him in the booth? The fact that he’s working alongside the best in the biz (Marv Albert) just emphasizes how hilariously awful he is.

    [quote comment=”308688″][quote comment=”308677″]they wore blue pants once……once

    link

    actually it was one season but that was enough.[/quote]

    your pic and my pic appear to both be from the buffalo game. did they only wear the blue pants for the one game or were they worn on the road all season?

    yup…link…(at least according to link)…they wore the link pants in the mid 80s (baltimore & indy — 1982-86ish i think)[/quote]

    [quote comment=”308668″][quote comment=”308660″]This uni has always intrigued me. The year of the “budget” jerseys.

    One-color lightning bolt on shoulders (only time in team history, and was that way both home and road).
    No TV numbers, both home and road.

    And, having looked at it in color, and comparing “blues” between them and opposition in black and white photos, it appears they wore three different shades of blue.
    1. Almost navy jerseys (same color loops and numbers on road).
    2. Royal blue Bolt on pants
    3. Powder blue socks.

    link

    —Ricko[/quote]

    That uni was worn only in 1967.

    Also note teeny tiny NOB. Also their first year in San Diego Jack Murphy Qualcomm Stadium.

    Thanks for sharing, Ricko![/quote]

    No love for the mid 70’s Air Coryell navy and yellow combo? Shocking!

    [quote comment=”308691″][quote comment=”308688″][quote comment=”308677″]they wore blue pants once……once

    link

    actually it was one season but that was enough.[/quote]

    your pic and my pic appear to both be from the buffalo game. did they only wear the blue pants for the one game or were they worn on the road all season?

    yup…link…(at least according to link)…they wore the link pants in the mid 80s (baltimore & indy — 1982-86ish i think)[/quote][/quote]

    your pic and my pic appear to be from the buffalo game. did they only wear those pants for that game or were they standard road game issue for that season?

    A couple of notes:

    All of USC’s basketball players wore high whites against Oregon the other day.

    Also, Churchill Odia ripped his shorts. I didn’t get a picture… damn.

    Now, I’m off to see U of O throttle UCLA.

    Phil:

    Belated happy birthday, thanks for a continued series of excellent weekend posts, & (most of all) great news about your dad\’s health.

    UW is a better place because of your presence here.

    Anyone notice how the Marquette jerseys have “AL” on the front? Is this something they’ve been doing for a while? I’m guessing it’s for Al McGuire, but he’s been gone for seven years now. How often is it that sports teams have a decal or initials of a former teammate or coach more than one season after that person has passed away??

    link

    This is long, and I apologize for the length, but I hope this will show exactly which family in hockey is viewed as the greatest due to their longevity.

    The first family of hockey is, in my mind, probably the greatest story. The Sutter brother – consisting of Brian, Darryl, Duane, Brent, Rich and Ron – won six Stanley Cups between them, and certainly have the family record for NHL games-played at 4994 regular season contests.

    Every player went through the Red Deer Rebels of the Alberta Junior Hockey League before moving on to play for the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the WHL.

    Brian, the second-oldest brother, was the first to be drafted when he went 20th overall in the second round by the St. Louis Blues. He was also the only Sutter drafted by a WHA team when he went 36th overall in the third round to Edmonton. Brian posted 303 goals and 333 assists in 779 NHL games. He played his entire career with the St. Louis Blues, and his #11 is retired by the team.

    Darryl Sutter was drafted in 1978 by the Chicago Blackhawks in the eleventh round at 179th overall, making him the Sutter brother with the lowest draft standing. After not being offered a contract by Chicago, Darryl went to Japan and won the MVP award there. He returned to the Chicago and was sent to the AHL where he won the AHL MVP. Darryl also played the fewest games of the six brothers, appearing in 406 games with 161 goals and 118 assists. Darryl did something rather unique in hockey – he drafted his own son, Brett, in 2005.

    Duane “Dog” Sutter, as called by his teaamates for his yapping, was the next Sutter to enter the NHL when he was drafted 17th overall in 1979 by the New York Islanders. Duane is the most successful of the Sutter brothers, having won the Stanley Cup four times during the Islanders’ dynasty in the early 1980s. In 731 games, he posted 139 goals and 203 assists.

    Brent Sutter was the fourth Sutter to make it to The Show when he was drafted 17th overall in 1980 by the New York Islanders, eerily similar to his older brother Duane. Brent won two Stanley Cups with the Islanders in 1982 and 1983. While with the Blackhawks late in his career, he was coached by his brother, Darryl. Brent’s off-ice achievements are certainly well-known. He bought the Red Deer Rebels of the WHL, and coached and managed them to the CHL’s Memorial Cup in 2001. He coached the Canadian World Junior teams to gold medals in 2005 and 2006, posting a remarkable 20 game unbeaten streak at that time (19-0-1). He retired as the last active member of the Islanders Stanley Cup dynasty. His career numbers showed him playing in 1111 games, scoring 363 goals and 466 assists to make him the most prolific scorer of the Sutter family.

    The twins were the next Sutters to make it to the NHL, starting with Ron Sutter who was drafted 4th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1982, making him the highest-drafted Sutter. Ron is the only Sutter to have played in his home province of Alberta when he played for the Calgary Flames in 2000-01. Ron was also coached by his brother, Darryl, when he was with the San Jose Sharks. Ironically, Ron’s career is the only one not to have stopped in Chicago. Every other Sutter brother played for the Blackhawks at some point in their careers. He played in 1093 NHL games, posting 205 goals and 328 assists.

    Rich Sutter was the last of the Sutter brothers to enter the NHL as he was drafted 10th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1982. Rich didn’t spend much time in Pittsburgh as he was reunited with his twin brother, Ron, in Philadelphia five games into the 1983-84 season when he became the first Sutter involved in a trade. Rich appeared in 874 games in the NHL, scoring 149 goals and 166 assists.

    Gary, the seventh and lesser-known Sutter brother, never played in the NHL. The oldest of the seven brothers, Gary taught his brothers how to skate, but he didn’t think he was good enough to play in the NHL. He declined an offer to play major junior hockey because he was about to be married, and he quit hockey soon after. However, the Sutter brothers have always maintained that Gary was the most talented brother, and definitely the best skater.

    However, the Sutters still have a legacy going.

    Brett Sutter, Darryl’s son, was drafted in the sixth-round in 2005 at 179th overall — the same draft position as his dad. Brett has appeared in three games for the Calgary Flames, scoring one goal. He scored that lone goal on December 23, 2008 — his first game in the NHL – against the Anaheim Ducks

    Brandon Sutter, son of Brent, played for his dad as a Red Deer Rebel, and was drafted 11th overall by Carolina in 2007. Brandon was the first of the second-generation Sutters to play in the NHL. Brandon scored his first goal October 23, 2008 against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

    Shaun Sutter, Brian’s son, was drafted 102nd overall by Calgary in 1998 in the fourth round, but never played an NHL game. He currently is playing in the British Elite League.

    Brody Sutter, Duane’s son, was drafted by the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades this past summer and won’t be NHL draft-eligible for another year. In 18 games in the WHL this season, he has two assists.

    I chose them over the Howes, Hulls, and Staals simply because eight Sutters have appeared in NHL contests – simply unheard of in professional sports.

    [quote comment=”308693″][quote comment=”308691″][quote comment=”308688″][quote comment=”308677″]they wore blue pants once……once

    link

    actually it was one season but that was enough.[/quote]

    your pic and my pic appear to both be from the buffalo game. did they only wear the blue pants for the one game or were they worn on the road all season?

    yup…link…(at least according to link)…they wore the link pants in the mid 80s (baltimore & indy — 1982-86ish i think)[/quote][/quote]

    your pic and my pic appear to be from the buffalo game. did they only wear those pants for that game or were they standard road game issue for that season?[/quote]

    They were them at Carolina in 1995, when the Panthers played their home games at Clemson. Jim Harbaugh was the Colts’ QB.

    Last night’s game was not only a true classic, but a beautiful uniform matchup — a flashier uni vs. a traditional uni, and both are first-rate.

    Paul had a Page 2 ESPN article that included the Colts in blue pants. Back in the Marshall Faulk era. Here is the link sorry it’s just a copy&paste thing I still haven’t got a good grasp on the html thing…

    link

    [quote comment=”308696″]Anyone notice how the Marquette jerseys have “AL” on the front? Is this something they’ve been doing for a while? I’m guessing it’s for Al McGuire, but he’s been gone for seven years now. How often is it that sports teams have a decal or initials of a former teammate or coach more than one season after that person has passed away??

    link

    Don’t forget the Chicago Bear’s Jersey with the “GSH” on the sleeves…Papa Bear passed away on October 31, 1983…!!!???!!!

    Watching the Dolphins today, I’m reminded of the rumor I read hear months ago that Bill Parcells was aiming to change the complete look of the team. This may have been addressed since, but since I haven’t heard anything, does anyone know if the Dolphins are thinking of doing a uniform overhaul? Or was that news just a rumor?

    You’re right, Archie’s numbers don’t lie: 125 td to 173 interceptions, while completing only 55% of his passes. He also only had more TD’s than INT’s in two seasons.

    Don’t blame Archie Manning not living up to his billing as the second overall draft pick by “playing on bad teams”. Bad teams don’t throw interceptions, QB’s do.

    [quote comment=”308675″]On a uniform note, Last night, I posted pics of Maryland’s Under Armour cleats from the Humanitarian Bowl, complete with the Terps wordmark on the medial side of the shoe.

    Utah wears UA and had something similar in the Sugar Bowl:

    link

    link

    Alabama also had a nice Team Exclusive touch added to their unis. They were wearing Nike’s newest gloves, complete with a houndstooth pattern, symbolizing their famous former Coach, Bear Bryant, on the palms:

    link

    As promised, Matt Ryan in LT’s:

    link

    check out antrel rolle’s PE’s from yesterday

    link

    [quote comment=”308678″]
    Davey Allison (son to Bobby) – 19 Victories, 1 Daytona 500 Victory, career cut short due to fetal helicopter accident[/quote]

    Helipad: not a recommended occupation for those with child.

    Sorry…back to uniforms now.

    [quote comment=”308702″]Watching the Dolphins today, I’m reminded of the rumor I read hear months ago that Bill Parcells was aiming to change the complete look of the team. This may have been addressed since, but since I haven’t heard anything, does anyone know if the Dolphins are thinking of doing a uniform overhaul? Or was that news just a rumor?[/quote]

    Perhaps they wanted to resurrect this prototype…scroll half way down the link to view….

    link

    My birthday is today also.

    My brother’s birthday was the 2nd.

    My uncle’s birthday is the 6th.

    My mom’s best friend’s birthday (She was soooo hot back in the day. The best friend that is.) was the 3rd.

    As fa as Archie’s facemasks, anybody know where one could find a pictorial list of all the Dungard masks besides Helmet Hut?

    [quote comment=”308692″][quote comment=”308668″][quote comment=”308660″]This uni has always intrigued me. The year of the “budget” jerseys.

    One-color lightning bolt on shoulders (only time in team history, and was that way both home and road).
    No TV numbers, both home and road.

    And, having looked at it in color, and comparing “blues” between them and opposition in black and white photos, it appears they wore three different shades of blue.
    1. Almost navy jerseys (same color loops and numbers on road).
    2. Royal blue Bolt on pants
    3. Powder blue socks.

    link

    —Ricko[/quote]

    That uni was worn only in 1967.

    Also note teeny tiny NOB. Also their first year in San Diego Jack Murphy Qualcomm Stadium.

    Thanks for sharing, Ricko![/quote]

    No love for the mid 70’s Air Coryell navy and yellow combo? Shocking![/quote]

    Air Coryell was still royal and gold (well, the helmets were more navy, yes…so were the Giants, Rams and others of that era, just a fluke of coloring plastic, I guess; only recently that Giants helmets have actually been royal, as bright as their jerseys). And I loved those Fouts-Chandler-Winslow unis…but the subject was when powder blue came into the Chargers color scheme, so we didn’t go there.

    Found this from 1963.
    link

    Side-by-side Charger blue and Oiler blue. While they look similar in spots, they ARE different colors.

    Couple things I’ve learned from doing this for 50-some years. One, best idea of color will come from direct sunlight situations; can’t trust cloudy days or domes. Two, powder/columbia blue virtually never photographs as royal, or anything but light gray in black and white. I have watched games and seen hundreds and hundreds of photos of, say, the Houston Oilers, UCLA football and North Carolina (football AND basketball) over the years and have never seen one instance when the unis looked royal, or that they’d be royal.

    On any color, dye lots can differ. And a change in manufacturers can mess with the shade of any color, too. But even with such variations, true powder blue is a fair benchmark. Just not dark enough to photograph more intense than it is. Royal and navy, that’s a different story.

    This, for example…there is simplyno way on earth these are powder blue jerseys…
    link

    I certainly hope no one thinks my info on the color of Charger jerseys is based on a few photos I found today. It involves a helluva lot more checking and at-the-time observation than 15 minutes searching the Internet on a Sunday morning in 2009.

    —Ricko

    [quote comment=”308704″][quote comment=”308675″]On a uniform note, Last night, I posted pics of Maryland’s Under Armour cleats from the Humanitarian Bowl, complete with the Terps wordmark on the medial side of the shoe.

    Utah wears UA and had something similar in the Sugar Bowl:

    link

    link

    Alabama also had a nice Team Exclusive touch added to their unis. They were wearing Nike’s newest gloves, complete with a houndstooth pattern, symbolizing their famous former Coach, Bear Bryant, on the palms:

    link

    As promised, Matt Ryan in LT’s:

    link

    check out antrel rolle’s PE’s from yesterday

    link

    JP, I think we both have the same source material!

    And Eric B. from KC:

    I din’t undestand why a QB would wear that mask either.

    I’ve only ever seen one other QB wearing the E.D. mask and guess who it was:

    link

    link

    link

    Phil: glad to hear your dad is getting better. Good luck and please tell him Happy Birthday from Chuck.

    I always thought Mr. Giambi had to be the best dad on earth. Both sons make it to the bigs and a daughter that plays softball in college. For any little league father that lives his dreams through his kids (not a good personality trait btw,) that is one helluva achievement.

    Until of course both of his sons turned out to be dipshits.

    No mention of Notre Dame wearing black yesterday? Maybe they’ve done it before (I’m not sure), but I think its noteworthy and disgraceful, especially since ND thinks they are above everyone else.

    link

    [quote comment=”308681″]I have always thought that the Colts unis would look even better..hold on..with a muted silver trim between the shoulder and leg stripes.

    Did they try this once? I seem to recall it, tho maybe not.[/quote]

    Yes, they did. You’re right. The road version of the “silver pants” home set was silver between the shoulder loops and the two royal pants stripes. The home pants had only a single royal stripe and that horseshoe/player number graphic on the hip.
    link

    —Ricko

    Colts also wore mesh pants around that time.
    (scan his huge, but needs to be the see the mesh in the pants).
    link

    —Ricko

    [quote comment=”308712″]No mention of Notre Dame wearing black yesterday? Maybe they’ve done it before (I’m not sure), but I think its noteworthy and disgraceful, especially since ND thinks they are above everyone else.

    link

    I agree.

    BTW, During Eagles/Vikings pregame, I noticed an infrequent occurrence, A Viking in a Schutt helmet, especially since the player has always worn Revos:

    link

    link

    link

    link

    [quote comment=\”308689\”][quote comment=\”308676\”][quote comment=\”308653\”]”Ironically, today is my dad’s birthday”

    No, that is not ironic. Notable maybe, but certainly not ironic.

    “Cooper (famously featured in this ESPN commercial)”

    While you’re looking up the definition of “ironic,” you should also look up “featured.”[/quote]

    and you should look up the definition of “tool” because that’s what you are.[/quote]

    And that’s enough of that, thank you. No more.[/quote]

    Lo siento, Pablo. I was just watching Phil’s back—he’s doing a great job, and today’s post lets us see into his personal life, and that makes today’s post all the more touching and poignant. It’s a shame that others take this opportunity to gripe about the semantics of the post.

    It really bothers me (as it does others, I’m sure) when people come on here and badmouth you and Phil. If they don’t like the site, then they should leave. All of us faithful readers don’t want them around if they just have negativity to pass on. We really enjoy the site and appreciate everything you two do! Thanks again, Phil and Paul!

    [quote comment=”308716″][quote comment=\”308689\”][quote comment=\”308676\”][quote comment=\”308653\”]”Ironically, today is my dad’s birthday”

    No, that is not ironic. Notable maybe, but certainly not ironic.

    “Cooper (famously featured in this ESPN commercial)”

    While you’re looking up the definition of “ironic,” you should also look up “featured.”[/quote]

    and you should look up the definition of “tool” because that’s what you are.[/quote]

    And that’s enough of that, thank you. No more.[/quote]

    Lo siento, Pablo. I was just watching Phil’s back—he’s doing a great job, and today’s post lets us see into his personal life, and that makes today’s post all the more touching and poignant. It’s a shame that others take this opportunity to gripe about the semantics of the post.

    It really bothers me (as it does others, I’m sure) when people come on here and badmouth you and Phil. If they don’t like the site, then they should leave. All of us faithful readers don’t want them around if they just have negativity to pass on. We really enjoy the site and appreciate everything you two do! Thanks again, Phil and Paul![/quote]

    Got that right.

    [quote comment=”308712″]No mention of Notre Dame wearing black yesterday? Maybe they’ve done it before (I’m not sure), but I think its noteworthy and disgraceful, especially since ND thinks they are above everyone else.

    link

    They’ve been doing this since at least late in 2005-06 and even wore a green-trimed black uniform at home for the NIT in March 2006. It is ridduclous, for sure. Why do you have to go black when you have navy blue? For that matter, why add another color when you already have white, navy, gold, and (if need be) green in your rotation? And why wear it at home???

    Phil, from reading your work i never would have guessed you were going through such trying times, your posts are always funny/entertaining or both.
    Good luck and good health to you and your dad.

    [quote comment=”308658″]thinking about the manning brothers and watching the colts yesterday in all-white made me think…ever wonder what the colts would look like with blue pants?

    link

    not a bad look, why do the colts only have one pair of pants?[/quote]

    When i played football in high school our uni’s were pretty much Colts replicas exept for helmet logo as we were the eagles but our away uni’s had white jerseys and royal blue pants. They were a different shade than dukes and not shiny but they were sweeet as hell. We tried many times to get our coach to allow us to wear all blue at home for special games but he wouldn’t go for it.

    [quote comment=”308713″][quote comment=”308681″]I have always thought that the Colts unis would look even better..hold on..with a muted silver trim between the shoulder and leg stripes.

    Did they try this once? I seem to recall it, tho maybe not.[/quote]

    Yes, they did. You’re right. The road version of the “silver pants” home set was silver between the shoulder loops and the two royal pants stripes. The home pants had only a single royal stripe and that horseshoe/player number graphic on the hip.
    link

    —Ricko[/quote]

    There you go. Now wouldn’t that look good with the current look, with the navy trim.

    [quote comment=”308703″]You’re right, Archie’s numbers don’t lie: 125 td to 173 interceptions, while completing only 55% of his passes. He also only had more TD’s than INT’s in two seasons.

    Don’t blame Archie Manning not living up to his billing as the second overall draft pick by “playing on bad teams”. Bad teams don’t throw interceptions, QB’s do.[/quote]

    QBs tend to throw picks when they A) get no protection, B) have no running came for the defense to respect thus they blitz all the time, and C)they have lousy players at all the other positions and feel like they have to do it all themself. Manning never had any good players with him.

    [quote comment=”308706″][quote comment=”308702″]Watching the Dolphins today, I’m reminded of the rumor I read hear months ago that Bill Parcells was aiming to change the complete look of the team. This may have been addressed since, but since I haven’t heard anything, does anyone know if the Dolphins are thinking of doing a uniform overhaul? Or was that news just a rumor?[/quote]

    Perhaps they wanted to resurrect this prototype…scroll half way down the link to view….

    link

    That’s an interesting Dolphins helmet that I’ve never seen. I doubt they’ll change anything, but I sure with they would wear the aqua jersey at home. I understand they want the road team to wear darks in the heat, but I doubt it matters much anymore. It sure wasn’t the problem today. Worst time to have so many turnovers.

    [quote comment=”308722″][quote comment=”308713″][quote comment=”308681″]I have always thought that the Colts unis would look even better..hold on..with a muted silver trim between the shoulder and leg stripes.

    Did they try this once? I seem to recall it, tho maybe not.[/quote]

    Yes, they did. You’re right. The road version of the “silver pants” home set was silver between the shoulder loops and the two royal pants stripes. The home pants had only a single royal stripe and that horseshoe/player number graphic on the hip.
    link

    —Ricko[/quote]

    There you go. Now wouldn’t that look good with the current look, with the navy trim.[/quote]

    Colts don’t wear navy. Team colors are Royal & White.

    [quote comment=”308723″][quote comment=”308703″]You’re right, Archie’s numbers don’t lie: 125 td to 173 interceptions, while completing only 55% of his passes. He also only had more TD’s than INT’s in two seasons.

    Don’t blame Archie Manning not living up to his billing as the second overall draft pick by “playing on bad teams”. Bad teams don’t throw interceptions, QB’s do.[/quote]

    QBs tend to throw picks when they A) get no protection, B) have no running came for the defense to respect thus they blitz all the time, and C)they have lousy players at all the other positions and feel like they have to do it all themself. Manning never had any good players with him.[/quote]

    Yup. Real hard to throw worth a damn when you’re running for your life, often looking for receivers who aren’t where they’re supposed to be, or flat on your back.

    Joe Namath’s career completion percentage is 50.1, with 220 picks and 173 TDs. Stats are skewed because the game has changed. Passing was significantly higher-risk propositon. Not nearly the dumping off to backs, etc., there is today. Was wayyyy before the West Coast offense.

    [quote comment=”308653″]”Ironically, today is my dad’s birthday”

    No, that is not ironic. Notable maybe, but certainly not ironic.

    “Cooper (famously featured in this ESPN commercial)”

    While you’re looking up the definition of “ironic,” you should also look up “featured.”[/quote]

    Just because your name is Webster; doesn’t mean you have to be a fuckin’ dictionary…this is a site regarding uniforms. Get a clue jackass.

    Good to see a Saint (who dat!) and 2 local boys featured as today’s topic. I grew up in New Orleans and attended a rival to the uptown private school that the Mannings went to. They’re just old enough that I never faced them, but I certainly can remember the stories Coopper catching passes from Peyton, and Eli tearing it up. They also were decent basketball players (before they quit to focus on football).

    I didn’t see this mentioned – but the Barry family in Basketball is pretty impressive. Rick is a hall-of-famer who produced 4 professional basketball playing sons. Both Rick and Brent won NBA titles. And Rick’s second wife is Lynn Barry who was a great ball player herself.

    Looking at Archie’s facemask, reminds me of when that same style went wider between the bars in front. My question is: Does anyone remember Dave Parker, when he played for the Pirates, wearing the wider version on a batting helmet to protect his broken jaw. Looking for a pic.

    [quote comment=”308690″]Listened to the first quarter of the Ravens/Fins game on the radio while out for my daily bike ride (I have a little radio that fits into the rack where most cyclists put their water bottle). If you want to hear something really funny, tune in Westwood 1’s radio broadcast and listen to Dennis Green doing color commentary. The guy has the raspiest, hoarsest voice outside of an emphysema ward — whose idea was it to put him in the booth? The fact that he’s working alongside the best in the biz (Marv Albert) just emphasizes how hilariously awful he is.[/quote]

    I thought this too when listening to the game in the car. It was painful to listen to him at points.

    So my Düsseldorf EG of the German Hockey League today hosted the “Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg”, and from the East Stand, I noticed Wolfsburg has an interesting NOB, well identifiable here:

    link

    So that’s a Two-Line Full Name On Back (TLFNOB) then?

    [quote comment=”308715″][quote comment=”308712″]No mention of Notre Dame wearing black yesterday? Maybe they’ve done it before (I’m not sure), but I think its noteworthy and disgraceful, especially since ND thinks they are above everyone else.

    link

    I agree.

    BTW, During Eagles/Vikings pregame, I noticed an infrequent occurrence, A Viking in a Schutt helmet, especially since the player has always worn Revos:

    link

    link

    link

    link

    I take it back…one other player,

    link

    was wearing a Schutt for the Vikings:

    link

    link

    link

    [quote comment=”308729″]Looking at Archie’s facemask, reminds me of when that same style went wider between the bars in front. My question is: Does anyone remember Dave Parker, when he played for the Pirates, wearing the wider version on a batting helmet to protect his broken jaw. Looking for a pic.[/quote]

    Here…Paul did a piece on it.
    link

    The Chargers uni history makes for great discussion. Anyone beside Ricko remember Johnny U in Charger blue…complete with blue adidas hightops!?

    Unlike the Chargers, the Colts unis are among the best in the NFL…simple, with grey facemasks.

    As we recently discussed, note how almost every photo of Archie shows him wearing a different mask. I always wondered if he changed every year because he was into unis. Back in the 70’s, high white socks, sweatbands, and taped shoes were in style, and Archie was one of the few QB’s to bend to these fashions.

    As for brothers, for the longest time Hank and Tommie Aaron had the record for most homers by brothers. Guess Barry and Bobby broke that. And Phil and Joe Niekro might’ve had the record for most wins. Have Greg and Mike Maddux surpassed them?

    Phil, just wanted to chime in as well and wish your father a quick and full recovery. And thanks for your post today. You shouldn’t feel bad at all. Your family situation should completely trump a stupid blog (no offense, but in the grand scheme of things…). Being in your position, I might not have posted such a detailed entry, if I posted one at all. So thanks, and best wishes.

    didn’t know until last night that Lamar Hunt was a powder blue (Columbia blue) guy, link and wanted the Texans/Chiefs decked out in that color. But, as the article states, he deferred to Bud Adams, and the Oilers used that scheme. Just goes to show that some things work out for the better. Can’t imagine the Chiefs in anything but their classic look link

    I was an Archie Manning fan from way back, and I’m a huge Peyton fan, but I, too, thought of the Barry family tree.

    Just to pass on when the Colts wore the silver trim…

    1982-1986 (82-83 in Baltimore, 84-86 in Indianapolis) for the white jerseys, white pants and silver pants worn with the blue jerseys. They also wore blue socks with two silver stripes. In 1987, they ditched the silver pants, but still wore the silver trim.

    In 1988, they returned to their usual look.

    [quote comment=”308736″]didn’t know until last night that Lamar Hunt was a powder blue (Columbia blue) guy, link and wanted the Texans/Chiefs decked out in that color. But, as the article states, he deferred to Bud Adams, and the Oilers used that scheme. Just goes to show that some things work out for the better. Can’t imagine the Chiefs in anything but their classic look link

    I was an Archie Manning fan from way back, and I’m a huge Peyton fan, but I, too, thought of the Barry family tree.[/quote]
    [quote comment=”308737″]Johnny U…
    link

    Another Archie mask…
    link

    and another (note Archie wore many different shoe brands, including adidas and Puma)
    link

    I think I’ve told this story before. I worked briefly on a project with Jack Horrigan (?) who was Oilers original PR guy. He was envisioning black and gold for the Oilers (“black gold”, right, good choice). Bud Adams pointed to the turquoise ring he always wore. “Want them to wear THIS color.” Presto, Oilers in columbia blue.

    Hunt, for his Dallas Tornado in the NASL, had them in powder blue with orange and white trim.

    [quote comment=”308736″]didn’t know until last night that Lamar Hunt was a powder blue (Columbia blue) guy, link and wanted the Texans/Chiefs decked out in that color. But, as the article states, he deferred to Bud Adams, and the Oilers used that scheme. Just goes to show that some things work out for the better. Can’t imagine the Chiefs in anything but their classic look link

    Just for fun… If Lamar had gotten his way:
    link

    [quote comment=”308740″][quote comment=”308736″]didn’t know until last night that Lamar Hunt was a powder blue (Columbia blue) guy, link and wanted the Texans/Chiefs decked out in that color. But, as the article states, he deferred to Bud Adams, and the Oilers used that scheme. Just goes to show that some things work out for the better. Can’t imagine the Chiefs in anything but their classic look link
    That’s just wrong, but thanks.

    Just for fun… If Lamar had gotten his way:
    link

    [quote comment=”308741″][quote comment=”308740″][quote comment=”308736″]didn’t know until last night that Lamar Hunt was a powder blue (Columbia blue) guy, link and wanted the Texans/Chiefs decked out in that color. But, as the article states, he deferred to Bud Adams, and the Oilers used that scheme. Just goes to show that some things work out for the better. Can’t imagine the Chiefs in anything but their classic look link
    That’s just wrong, but thanks.

    Just for fun… If Lamar had gotten his way:
    link
    What’s worse is the thought that they might actually have an orange alternate. *shutter*

    I always like the Oilers unis. The stripe pattern was consistent on the helmet, jersey, pants, and socks. Simple, bold helmet logo. The unis in the earlier days were also fun. Columbia blue was a nice change of pace from all the other NFL colors, too.

    [quote comment=”308734″]
    As for brothers, for the longest time Hank and Tommie Aaron had the record for most homers by brothers. Guess Barry and Bobby broke that. [/quote]

    By Barry and Bobby, I’m assuming you mean the Bonds family. They’re father and son, not brothers.

    Also, thanks for all the Chargers pics/stories. When I was 8 or 9, I first started getting interested in football thanks to the San Diego unis. That was in the late 70’s with Dan Fouts, Kellen Winslow, Charlie Joiner, etc. I absolutely loved the combo of navy jerseys, yellow pants and bolts all over the place.

    Looks like Under Armour is playing Under Armour in the Under Armour HS All-Star game on ESPN. Dear Lord, those uniforms are bad.

    [quote comment=”308745″]Looks like Under Armour is playing Under Armour in the Under Armour HS All-Star game on ESPN. Dear Lord, those uniforms are bad.[/quote]

    the game needs subtitles

    Patrick, you’re certainly right about Bobby/Barry being father/son. Hey! I did get to see both play.

    [quote comment=”308746″][quote comment=”308745″]Looks like Under Armour is playing Under Armour in the Under Armour HS All-Star game on ESPN. Dear Lord, those uniforms are bad.[/quote]

    the game needs subtitles[/quote]
    I count 5 logos on the field and at least 8 on each kid, even before you factor in faceshields, towels, gloves and arm thingies.

    [
    Not sure about this, but I find the color sometimes represented in old photos can be a little off – in terms of shades.

    I found it more with the colour purple. Based on the photos I saw of the Minnesota Vikings in the 1970’s – they’ve either greatly altered the shade of purple in their uniform, or the pictures are off. The purple reflected in the photos – was normally a lot more muted, darker shade purple, than the gaudy/vibrant shade they wear today. The shade in the pictures – was much closer to the No 5 pencil in the Laurentian colour pencil set of my youth. Quite frankly I think it’s a far more appropriate shade for a NFL uni, as it looks tough – more like a deep bruise.

    As an aside – today probably represents the only day in NFL history where the two play off teams wearing the dark jersey will be both wearing purple)[/quote]

    In 1960’s Football cards – the Colts jerseys looked purple, the Vikings’ appeared to be maroon and the Bears shirts often looked brown. Does anyone else remember this or have an image?

    [quote comment=”308750″][
    Not sure about this, but I find the color sometimes represented in old photos can be a little off – in terms of shades.

    I found it more with the colour purple. Based on the photos I saw of the Minnesota Vikings in the 1970’s – they’ve either greatly altered the shade of purple in their uniform, or the pictures are off. The purple reflected in the photos – was normally a lot more muted, darker shade purple, than the gaudy/vibrant shade they wear today. The shade in the pictures – was much closer to the No 5 pencil in the Laurentian colour pencil set of my youth. Quite frankly I think it’s a far more appropriate shade for a NFL uni, as it looks tough – more like a deep bruise.

    As an aside – today probably represents the only day in NFL history where the two play off teams wearing the dark jersey will be both wearing purple)[/quote]

    In 1960’s Football cards – the Colts jerseys looked purple, the Vikings’ appeared to be maroon and the Bears shirts often looked brown. Does anyone else remember this or have an image?[/quote]

    How’s this for messed up color?
    link

    [quote comment=”308737″]Johnny U…
    link

    I’ve seen the U-Bar or Horseshoe on helmets in this fashion: link but what in the world is the purpose of the horseshoe on the Bengals’ number 60’s helmet in the Johnny U pic?!?

    [quote comment=”308737″]Johnny U…
    link

    I’ve seen the U-Bar or Horseshoe on helmets in this fashion: link… but what in the world is the purpose of the horseshoe on the Bengals’ number 60’s helmet in the Johnny U pic?!?

    (Trying this again to see if I can get the tag right.)

    [quote comment=”308690″]Listened to the first quarter of the Ravens/Fins game on the radio while out for my daily bike ride (I have a little radio that fits into the rack where most cyclists put their water bottle). If you want to hear something really funny, tune in Westwood 1’s radio broadcast and listen to Dennis Green doing color commentary. The guy has the raspiest, hoarsest voice outside of an emphysema ward — whose idea was it to put him in the booth? The fact that he’s working alongside the best in the biz (Marv Albert) just emphasizes how hilariously awful he is.[/quote]
    Not trying to turn this into a debate on best announcers, but Marv Albert can not hold Wayne Larrivee’s microphone when it comes to football play-by-play. It’s the other way around for basketball — Wayne’s certainly comptent, but Marv is the master.

    One thing is certain. Denny Green: fucking brutal.

    [quote comment=”308753″][quote comment=”308750″][
    Not sure about this, but I find the color sometimes represented in old photos can be a little off – in terms of shades.

    I found it more with the colour purple. Based on the photos I saw of the Minnesota Vikings in the 1970’s – they’ve either greatly altered the shade of purple in their uniform, or the pictures are off. The purple reflected in the photos – was normally a lot more muted, darker shade purple, than the gaudy/vibrant shade they wear today. The shade in the pictures – was much closer to the No 5 pencil in the Laurentian colour pencil set of my youth. Quite frankly I think it’s a far more appropriate shade for a NFL uni, as it looks tough – more like a deep bruise.

    As an aside – today probably represents the only day in NFL history where the two play off teams wearing the dark jersey will be both wearing purple)[/quote]

    In 1960’s Football cards – the Colts jerseys looked purple, the Vikings’ appeared to be maroon and the Bears shirts often looked brown. Does anyone else remember this or have an image?[/quote]

    How’s this for messed up color?
    link
    For some reason I have a craving for grape juice.

    [quote comment=”308701″][quote comment=”308696″]Anyone notice how the Marquette jerseys have “AL” on the front? Is this something they’ve been doing for a while? I’m guessing it’s for Al McGuire, but he’s been gone for seven years now. How often is it that sports teams have a decal or initials of a former teammate or coach more than one season after that person has passed away??

    link

    Don’t forget the Chicago Bear’s Jersey with the “GSH” on the sleeves…Papa Bear passed away on October 31, 1983…!!!???!!![/quote]
    Yeah, but he wasn’t just some dude who owned the team. He was one of the founders of the whole damned league. The conference championship trophy is named after him, fer chrissakes.

    It’s not like the Browns and their link. (Incidentally, another “AL” on the jersey).

    [quote comment=”308760″][quote comment=”308753″][quote comment=”308750″][
    Not sure about this, but I find the color sometimes represented in old photos can be a little off – in terms of shades.

    I found it more with the colour purple. Based on the photos I saw of the Minnesota Vikings in the 1970’s – they’ve either greatly altered the shade of purple in their uniform, or the pictures are off. The purple reflected in the photos – was normally a lot more muted, darker shade purple, than the gaudy/vibrant shade they wear today. The shade in the pictures – was much closer to the No 5 pencil in the Laurentian colour pencil set of my youth. Quite frankly I think it’s a far more appropriate shade for a NFL uni, as it looks tough – more like a deep bruise.

    As an aside – today probably represents the only day in NFL history where the two play off teams wearing the dark jersey will be both wearing purple)[/quote]

    In 1960’s Football cards – the Colts jerseys looked purple, the Vikings’ appeared to be maroon and the Bears shirts often looked brown. Does anyone else remember this or have an image?[/quote]

    How’s this for messed up color?
    link
    For some reason I have a craving for grape juice.[/quote]
    I thought for sure your link was going to be this Viking SI classic:

    link

    [quote comment=”308758″][quote comment=”308757″]Guess not…sigh.[/quote]
    not too hard link[/quote]
    Thanks, Jeff P

    The Colts wore blue pants in 1995.

    link

    [quote comment=”308658″]thinking about the manning brothers and watching the colts yesterday in all-white made me think…ever wonder what the colts would look like with blue pants?

    link

    not a bad look, why do the colts only have one pair of pants?[/quote]

    Not a tandem of males, but the Williams sisters need some consideration as a sports family.

    [quote comment=”308708″][quote comment=”308692″][quote comment=”308668″][quote comment=”308660″]This uni has always intrigued me. The year of the “budget” jerseys.

    One-color lightning bolt on shoulders (only time in team history, and was that way both home and road).
    No TV numbers, both home and road.

    And, having looked at it in color, and comparing “blues” between them and opposition in black and white photos, it appears they wore three different shades of blue.
    1. Almost navy jerseys (same color loops and numbers on road).
    2. Royal blue Bolt on pants
    3. Powder blue socks.

    link

    —Ricko[/quote]

    That uni was worn only in 1967.

    Also note teeny tiny NOB. Also their first year in San Diego Jack Murphy Qualcomm Stadium.

    Thanks for sharing, Ricko![/quote]

    No love for the mid 70’s Air Coryell navy and yellow combo? Shocking![/quote]

    Air Coryell was still royal and gold (well, the helmets were more navy, yes…so were the Giants, Rams and others of that era, just a fluke of coloring plastic, I guess; only recently that Giants helmets have actually been royal, as bright as their jerseys). And I loved those Fouts-Chandler-Winslow unis…but the subject was when powder blue came into the Chargers color scheme, so we didn’t go there.

    Found this from 1963.
    link

    Side-by-side Charger blue and Oiler blue. While they look similar in spots, they ARE different colors.

    Couple things I’ve learned from doing this for 50-some years. One, best idea of color will come from direct sunlight situations; can’t trust cloudy days or domes. Two, powder/columbia blue virtually never photographs as royal, or anything but light gray in black and white. I have watched games and seen hundreds and hundreds of photos of, say, the Houston Oilers, UCLA football and North Carolina (football AND basketball) over the years and have never seen one instance when the unis looked royal, or that they’d be royal.

    On any color, dye lots can differ. And a change in manufacturers can mess with the shade of any color, too. But even with such variations, true powder blue is a fair benchmark. Just not dark enough to photograph more intense than it is. Royal and navy, that’s a different story.

    This, for example…there is simplyno way on earth these are powder blue jerseys…
    link

    I certainly hope no one thinks my info on the color of Charger jerseys is based on a few photos I found today. It involves a helluva lot more checking and at-the-time observation than 15 minutes searching the Internet on a Sunday morning in 2009.

    —Ricko[/quote]

    CHARGER BLUE, Let me count the Shades …

    I believe that Ricko is right on this one. A company by the name of Home Run Derby collects and sometimes reproduces older jerseys, and there are distict differences in the colors of the early 1960’s thruogh the late 1960’s and early 1970’s on the Chargers’ jerseys, with the earlier versions being actually much darker than the baby blues worn in the later, pre-Coryell Blue Helmet years. They go to the trouble to make different color jerseys for these different mini-eras.

    By the way, I still think the current Charger unis would be better off with Yellow-Gold pants worn with the White jerseys and the Powder Blue jerseys, saving the White pants for the Navy Blue jerseys. The Navy Blue pants should go away …

    I’d even prefer all-White unis to the Navy pants.

    [quote comment=”308723″][quote comment=”308703″]You’re right, Archie’s numbers don’t lie: 125 td to 173 interceptions, while completing only 55% of his passes. He also only had more TD’s than INT’s in two seasons.

    Don’t blame Archie Manning not living up to his billing as the second overall draft pick by “playing on bad teams”. Bad teams don’t throw interceptions, QB’s do.[/quote]

    QBs tend to throw picks when they A) get no protection, B) have no running came for the defense to respect thus they blitz all the time, and C)they have lousy players at all the other positions and feel like they have to do it all themself. Manning never had any good players with him.[/quote]

    AGREED…

    I lived with and through the entire Archie Manning Saints era, never missing a game at home or on TV. He was horrible served by the inept and sorry ownership, unqualified (mostly) coaching, and very poor quality teams around him.

    His first head coach was promoted from a sandlot team to coach the Saints in 1970 because the owner was related by marriage. He thought Saints QBs should be able to take the snap, drop back, and throw a pass in 2.1 seconds.

    His second head coach, hired after the fifth pre-season game in 1973, was an NFL assistant lifer that never really had a chance, given the personnel. He lost his first game to the Falcons, 62-7, and the second to the Cowboys, 40-3 – Tom Landry, in the second game of the season, started many second-stringers and allowed his QB’s to call their own plays the entire game – thee only time he ever did so.

    His third head coach was Hank Stram, who built a good team and was fired after two years because he p.o.’ed the owner by broadcasting a show at the Superbowl.

    After his fourth head coach, Dick Nolan, had two good years with Stram’s talent and schemes, Archie enjoyed his best two years and went to two Pro-Bowls.

    Dick Nolan’s third year was ruined by the Don Reese/Guy Benjiman – instigated Cocaine Cowboys, with up to 25 Saints umored on any given weeknight to be trolling the city’s worst neighborhoods in search of Cocaine – and the team went from 8-8 to 1-15.

    Nolan was fired and in came Bum Phillips, who immediately traded Archie away for a couple of washed-up Oilers, and that was the end of that.

    How bad were the teams Archie played on ….

    From 1971 to 1975, not a single starter with him from any skill position EVER played another down with any other NFL team after being cut or traded away by the Saints. (RBs Jess Phillips and Howard Stephens are the only exceptions – both traded away for low draft choices after rare-for-the-Saints productive years)

    NONE of the players picked by the Seahawks or Buccaneers from the Saints in the expansion draft ever played a down for those dreadful expansion teams. Most never made it past mini-camp, much less to final cuts. Most of those players were Saints starters prior to being cut by expansion teams.

    When the Saints would get a decent player, like RBs Jess Phillips or Howard Stephens, the front officve would inexplicably trade them away immediately. I could go on FOREVER ABOUT THIS, for FIFTY PAGES, but I won’t.

    Archie would be sacked and injured and operated on every 18 months – it was horrible.

    I watched, I cheered, and I often booed, and at the time I often blamed Archie.

    In hindsight, I know more now, and I agree with Hank Stram when he said the most talented QB he ever has was Archie, and that if he had him with the KC Chiefs they would have won more than one Super Bowl.

    By this time

    I have to say that with the white helmets of the Chargers I only think the “powder blue” (or whatever shade it really is) looks good; the dark blue jersey just seems too… well, dark… with a helmet that has very little blue on it (the trim on the bolt and facemask just aren’t enough). And the white helmet with white jersey and dark blue pants for the road uniform also strikes a sour note for me. I’m not saying it’s logical; I’m just saying it’s what my reaction is.

    The dark blue jersey or pants with the dark blue helmet may not have had the same panache as the powder blue, but it at least seemed okay to me.

    And on an unrelated note: While Paul’s allusion to his father’s birthday was, in fact, not ironic, and that response that called him out on it was presented in an entirely dick-ish manner, I cannot help but find it interesting that a site devoted to dwelling the tiny details of sports uniforms that such vitriolic replies were inspired by a comment of someone who was dwelling on the tiny details of semantics. Not that he didn’t deserve to get some shit about the way the clarification was presented (that’s just being a stickler for its own sake, not out of a desire to help the writer learn from the minor malapropism–not that this was quite an example of that, but I loved the alliteration there). I’m just saying it’s an interesting distinction. But yes, it’s more a protective hey-we-can-give-each-other-crap-but-no-outsider-better-say-anything thing than any comparative nitpicking.

    Best wishes to Paul’s dad and hopes for a speedy recovery.

    Since you asked…. just a few off the top of my head.

    Someone mentioned the Alomar brothers, Robbie and Sandy, Jr., but didn’t mention that their father, Sandy Alomar, Sr., was also a major-league catcher. That family has to be roughly equivalent to the Mannings, though catcher isn’t quite as glamorous a position as QB (even if it is roughly as important to its sport).

    And don’t forget the Boones — Ray Boone was the patriarch, his son Bob Boone also played in MLB, and Bob’s sons Aaron Boone and Bret Boone were both pretty prominent players in their day (Aaron Boone had a significant post-season hit for the Yankees in the relatively recent past, and Bret had a good career). They weren’t the only three-generation MLB family — see link for the Bells and the Hairstons.

    The Alou family and the Dean family were famous baseball families as well. Felipe, Matty, and Jesus played between 1958 and the mid-’70s; Felipe was manager of the San Francisco Giants not long ago. Dizzy and Daffy Dean were both good and colorful pitchers in the ’30s and ’40s.

    The Molinas (Bengie, Jose, and Jadier) are also a prominent family of MLB catchers, nearing or at their individual peaks at present, but I guess their father never played.

    And there are a myriad of father-son combos in baseball, from Steve and Nick Swisher, to Fred and Jason Kendall, etc., etc. — the list goes on longer than I can remember at this time of night….

    Regarding B&W Oregon Ducks picture: Opponent is Washington, circa early 70s? Washington used to paint their helmets and not remove facemasks. They were the only team in Pac-8 to do that. See picture of Sonny Sixkiller on SI cover Oct 4, 1971.

    Bib worn by player: Used when a position player lined up as an interior lineman. I think rules used to state what numbers could be worn by what positions.

Comments are closed.