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They Even Trademarked Landry’s Hat Patch

landry

By Phil Hecken, with Mike Styczen

A couple of weeks ago, in the comments, reader “Mike2” (Mike Styczen) mentioned “TESS,” which is an acronym for “Trademark Electronic Search Service.” Not quite certain what, exactly, this was, I asked him to elaborate more fully. What transpired after that has led to this article, which will hopefully allow you to more fully explore the myriad logos and trademarks (some of which have never even been used) for our favorite sports teams. What follows, then, is a look at “TESS” and some of the more unique logos and trademarked images that Mike uncovered using the TESS service. First, let’s get to meet Mike and then he’ll guide us through this TESS mess.

Phil Hecken: What do you do that you’re familiar with the trademarks databases?

Mike Styczen: I’m a commercial lawyer in Calgary. I don’t do trademark or patent work directly (I’ve never registered or litigated one) but in the course of my work I have to sometimes verify that they’ve been properly registered, assigned, mortgaged, that sort of thing, which requires some work in the databases. It didn’t take long before I realized how much raw information was in there.

PH: How long have you been a fan of uniforms?

MS: Unlike a lot of UniWatchers, I wasn’t fascinated with uniforms growing up. I first got interested in uniforms around the time of the NHL’s anniversary season when a bunch of teams did throwbacks and I started to realize that there were a lot of interesting designs out there. I remember seeing Marc Okkonen’s book at my local bookstore for about five bucks in the clearance and for some reason I didn’t pick it up for some reason, I sure regret that now.

PH: So, what led you to Uni Watch?

MS: I was reading up on some throwback uniforms and ended up finding one of the original Village Voice columns and I was hooked. I’ve been a regular reader ever since then. One of the proudest moments of my life so far was when Paul referred to one of my wisecracks as “brilliant” and “trenchant” in an ESPN.com column.

PH: I assume you own some unis, then?

MS: I’ve got a few replicas, nothing authentic — Gretzky Oilers, Sittler Leafs, Hawerchuk Jets (I used have tickets when I lived in Winnipeg), and somewhere, an old rainbow guts Astros. Plus a Flames jersey I wear to games and to the Red Mile.

PH: Anything else you want to let us know?

MS: I’m also an avid road racer (mostly marathons and halfs), I have a pretty big collection of race shirts that could be considered uniforms.

PH: Got any favorite uniforms?

MS: My favourite uniform the original powder blue pullover Blue Jays, just because that’s what I grew up watching. In the NHL, I love the simplicity of the original six jerseys, without all the extraneous piping, patches, boxes, stripes, and junk.

PH: Awesome. OK, thanks Mike.

So now, without further ado, I now turn the piece over to Mike, who’ll take you through the procedure.

~~~~~~~~~~

Phase the First: The Maiden

An overlooked source of information on sports logos and names (and, for that matter, logos and names of products and companies) is the TESS database.

TESS is the Trademark Electronic Search Service and is maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark office. I don’t know how to describe it other than as an absolute treasure trove of trademarks filed in the United States.

The simple search interface provided is remarkably powerful — you can word search the by trademark, owner, or all fields. You’ll get a list of trademarks to look at — many of them are just trademarked photos of trademark used on samples.

The biggest problem with TESS is that it’s structured as a database, behind a firewall, so you can’t Google it directly and you can’t (as far as I can tell) link to individual pages or drawings. I’d love to have written this entry with links directly into TESS but I couldn’t make it happen. Instead, you get photos and drawings I found on TESS hosted on Flickr.

The Canadian version of TESS is the imaginatively named Canadian Trade-marks Database, hosted by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office. This database still bugs me because the word “trademark” doesn’t have a dash in the middle, but the database does. Searching is similar to TESS, the focus is (obviously) on trademarks registered in Canada, and the deeper TDR information contained on TESS isn’t available on-line in Canada.

TESS is huge — I just scratched the surface to find some odd and interesting designs to write about. I apologize for not having anything from the NBA or NCAA, I just don’t know enough about either of those to recognize interesting things if I see them.

NHL

Everyone knows the NHL’s current logo, and the old logo, but here’s a logo that also floated around in the 1990’s — I don’t recall them ever officially adopting it, but it showed up on merchandise from time to time. And another oddball logo — the application says it was for “electronic transmission of news, data, graphics and audio from a central server via modem to computer terminals”. My guess is that someone thought it looked pretty cool and high-tech at the time. Here’s some more NHL logos you probably never knew existed:

St. Louis Blues

Boston Bruins

Washington Capitals

Los Angeles Kings -”“ I know everyone has seen this goofball, but I can’t believe he got his own trademark.

The first, unused logo of the Ottawa Senators

Here’s an odd Pittsburgh Penguins logo. I’d love to know the story behind this one. This logo isn’t an unfamiliar logo, its now part of the the Wilkes Barre Scranton Penguins logo. But what’s interesting is that the Pittsburgh Penguins registered this logo in 1989, ten years before the WBS Penguins were founded. Perhaps the Pittsburgh Penguins were considering it for themselves, registered it, then put it on the shelf and then brought it out ten years later for their minor league affiliate?

NFL

The NFL referee’s shirts are trademarked — both the long sleeve and short sleeve versions.

No logos or pictures available, the names trademarked by the Houston Texans included: the Stallions, Wildcatters, Stormcats, Bobcats, Wildcats, Challengers, Apollos, Texians, Toros, Wranglers, Roughriders, Roustabouts, Colt 45s, Roughnecks, Energy, and Hurricanes.

The Baltimore Ravens’ infamous stolen logo, and an odd one of a raven on a goalpost.

While we’re on the topic of Baltimore football, another infamous logo.

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Tom Landry’s hat

Remember the New Englands Patriot superhero mascot? Well, it turns out his name was Superpatriot.

MLB

This is a cool one ”“ we all know the San Francisco Giants threatened to move through the 70s (to Toronto), 80s (to San Jose and Santa Clara) and 90s (to Tampa), but did you know that in the 1980s they actually trademarked a script logo, a cap logo and a different cap logo for San Jose?

The Baltimore Orioles own this St. Louis Browns logo. And their alternate cap logo is trademarked, upside down apostrophe and all.

Chicago White Sox have two unusual logos here and here. Not surprisingly, given that the White Sox have had so many logos and designs in their history, there are probably just as many White Sox logos in TESS as the other 29 teams combined.

I don’t know much about the Tampa Rays, but for some reason they’ve trademarked the phrases 9=8 and ”˜09>’08.

Texas Rangers

Toronto Blue Jays

Atlanta Braves

Milwaukee Brewers — also trademarks for Bratwurst, Polish, Italian, and Hot Dog. I couldn’t find Chorizo.

This one took me a minute to process – its obviously Chief Wahoo, but backwards. I found it kind of disturbing actually, being so familiar but wrong at the same time.

I thought this one was interesting – the Yankees have trademarked the image of their facade, both with and without flags on top.

And finally, doesn’t Youppi just look sad in his trademark application. It’s like he knows what’s coming.

~~~~~~~~~~

Well there you have it. Thanks Mike. So, go forth young Uni Watchers and explore your favorite team’s trademarks and logos. See what you can find. If you find something you really like, or is really unique, or just plain bizarre, be sure to post it here.

~~~~~~~~~~

On Friday, I linked to this photo of the Boston team playing the New York team, and is dated October 8, 1904. (That photo, by the way comes from the Library of Congress, a tremendous resource.) The location is the Huntington Avenue Grounds, which, if you could look at it schematically, would look like this. When I first looked at the date, I figured it had to be some kind of post season game, but then I remembered in 1904 there was no world series. So, I looked up the year in baseball for 1904 and found out they were still playing regular season games as late as October 7 (and possibly later). So, that photo had to be the New York Highlanders playing the Boston Americans. Further research indicates that the game in question was not even the pennant clinching game, which the Boston squad won on a wild pitch from Jack Chesbro (which was played in New York). Interesting. I had always thought the regular season in baseball, even at the turn of the 20th century, ended on or about October 1.

~~~~~~~~~~

Also on Friday, poster “War Damn Eagle” had hoped to see what the Nationals, who had worn their idiotic patriotic red white and blue uniforms, which were not well-received due to the red socks, sleeves and helmets, would look like with blue accoutrements. I have very little ability when it comes to matters such as this, but I tried a couple mockups to see how they’d look. The blue looks MUCH better, right?

I had asked my artist-in-residence, Pretty Boy Paulie, if he could assist with a “good” version of these, but unfortunately he was unavailable. If anyone has photoshop skills, could you post a clean version of what those mockups would look like, so we can start our write-in campaign to have the Nats wear blue socks, sleeves and helmets with their alts. Thanks!

~~~~~~~~~~

Meet The Mess Mets: Well, it’s one step backward, one step forward for the Amazin’s this season. Friday night was a step backward when they broke out the godawful black jerseys — which also means they wore the black lids, which is the worst possible of their myriad combinations. Prior to Friday night, their other home games had been the other horrid combination of black and blue caps, black sleeves, and black socks. Which meant they were forced to wear baseball’s worst batting helmet (since the Texas Texases decided to ditch their ultimate mockery of the baseball gods). Well, on Saturday, the Mets finally took one step closer to getting it right — returning to the blue caps, socks & sleeves with their snow whites. A much better look. Here’s hoping they take the final step today, and return to the pinstripes and blue caps, which is their best combination and actual official home uniform. Really, would that be asking too much?

So, that got me to thinking, about all those home uniforms and the ridiculous and unnecessary use of black for black’s sake. For years, from their inception, the Mets really had only one gorgeous home uniform. They won a world series wearing that one. Somewhere along the way, 1983 to be precise, they decided to “jazz” it up by adding superfluous and unnecessary blue and orange piping. The did manage to win a world series in that one as well. By 1993 they had returned to their senses and removed the piping (but added a ridiculous tail for two seasons). The tail was gone after two years, but by then the “black for black’s sake” craze and the need to have several “alternate” uniforms had taken hold in baseball and the Mets added black to their uniforms in 1998, first only on their cap. (And in 1997 they introduced their “snow whites” to supplement the pinstripes). By 1999, all bets were off as the Mets added the black alternate jersey (both home and road) and a black cap. It’s been that way ever since.

I won’t even go there on the use of the black, since it doesn’t deserve to be worn on the diamond by the Mets (since it is not and never has been, one of their official colors). But their home combinations aside from the choice of black are four: (1) the worst of the four: black & blue caps, black sleeves & socks, and snow whites; (2) next worst, black & blue caps, black sleeves & socks, and pinstripes; (3) next best, blue caps, sleeves & socks, and snow whites, and (4) finally, the best, blue caps, sleeves & socks, and pinstripes. We won’t even discuss this shit. Batting practice and softball jerseys don’t belong in game play. I know, I know, begging for the mets to ditch the black cannot be repeated enough is pointless, but it still sucks, and I hate it.

One argument for the black on these boards I have heard, and one which I’d almost be leaning towards, is to keep the black drop shadow. Some seem to think it makes the wordmark “pop”. What do you think? Here’s the “Mets” wordmark without the black dropshadow. And, here is the wordmark with the black dropshadow. And here they both are, side by side. I’d have to say, if the Mets were willing to eliminate the black caps, sleeves and socks, but keep only the dropshadow, I think they’d have one of the sharpest uniforms in the bigs. But until such time, I will hate their multiple combos and uniform transgressions. OK … I’m done with this now.

~~~~~~~~~~

This and That: Speaking of black for black’s sake, Teebz attended the World Deaf Hockey Championships in Winnipeg, and reports that Team Canada broke out these really awful black uniforms — young fans in town from Raleigh were understandably upset when they saw their home NHL club’s BFBS idea stolenThe Indians just scoredTodd Krvanchi was watching the Jordan Classic, and noted that Mason Plumlee on the white team with jersey #24 on the front and #42 on the back. In addition, Jimmy Dykes spoke with Marcus Jordan, (Michael’s son), who is going to Central Florida next year. Todd says Dykes asked Jordan “If he’d ever worn any gear in his lifetime other than Nike/Jordan brand. Marcus’ response? Never. In fact, UCF is an adidas school and have agreed to allow marcus to wear Jordan brand and not adidas in college.” Interesting. Thanks, Todd … Nightlife, hookers and drugs? For an NBA baller in Atlanta? Not for the Heat, who’d like to escape Atlanta without getting shot, arrested or killed with a win … Outta Heeeerrreee … Aston Villa had to wear their change kit against West Ham yesterday, but some of the kits were sans adverts. According to reader Seven, “in today’s English Premier league game between Aston Villa & West Ham has decided that West Ham’s change strips are too close to Aston Villa’s home strip. Villa will apparently wear plain white training tops that will be completely blank except for their numbers on the back. The kit man is printing the numbers right now.” (reprinted from yesterday’s comments) … Spring football means it’s time to show off your new eyeblackGodboy Tebow approves … The Mariners held a military appreciation thingy yesterday — so what kind of unis did they break out to honor the men and women in uniform? Yup — somehow that’s more appropriate than the Nats and Pods, isn’t it … The Indians just scored again*sigh* … The NBA announces a new playoff promotion for families buying 5 or more tickets: free mushroom pizza … y’know…that CBJ uni isn’t all that bad (check out the dude with the “playoff beard” in the front row) … worst wager on the PGA tour: “Dude, I’ll bet you fifty bucks you can’t hit the light house” … second worst: taking it … Puma stripes: good, 3 stripes: badCleveland just scored again … Further proof the Mets can’t do anything right: Opening Day? — c’mon guys … Here’s one for Powers … who knew Mike Schmidt could cry? … Cleveland just scored again … As reported in last night’s comments, it’s hard to see here, but the Twins wore their ’82 throwbacks last night, and Delmon Young was missing the number on front of his uni (should appear like so) — I got some bad screen grabs here and here (you get the idea) … I want Vince Vaughn’s life. And finally, reprinted from last night’s comments (from James Huening): “Holeeee shit! Check out Ryan Dempster doing the Shoot-the-Puck contest at the second intermission of the Hawks-Flames game.”

Enjoy your Sunday. Did the Indians just score again?

 
  
 
Comments (146)

    I got a t-shirt off ebay a couple months ago with that St. Louis Browns logo on it. I knew it wasn’t old enough to be from the original Browns days and just took it to be a rip-off. It isn’t in traditional Browns’ colors though. The “Browns” script is brown, but it is outlined in yellow instead of orange.

    The Penguins logo was used on advertising and promotional materials. It’s certainly not unfamiliar locally. I’m pretty sure it still appears today in the logo for the PenStation store in Mellon Arena. It was more prevalent in the late 80s, before Howard Baldwin and the “pigeon” logo ruined the uniforms in the 90s.

    Update on the Aston Villa uniforms from yesterday. The kitman must have been busy in the 1st half because they had the Acorn logo back on their shirts for the 2nd half

    Paul, a few years ago you had that Ditch The Black website, which one day mysteriously disappeared. Why? Did the Mets or ESPN tell you to stop?

    That Buffalo Bills logo bears way too much resemblance to the Buffaslug.

    I remember seeing that Blues wordmark, it was being used during the time the Blues had the hideous severely slanting number uniforms.

    I think the red sleeves and socks give the Nats alts some pop, the all blue looks pretty bland. They definitely need the blue helmets though.

    that bruins logo is one of their first…they sell it now on some of the retro new era caps that are being done.

    vince vaughn had me at hello.

    I find it odd that adidas are castigated for conspicuous stripeage on the boots when that Puma kit has an utterly unnecessary 3 jumping cat logos on the shirt, making it 6 in total on the full kit, 1 on shorts and 1 on each sock. Logo creep overload that, don’t encourage them.

    Keep that soapbox fresh. And link and sending them to Charlie Samuels until he Gets Itâ„¢.

    After that, maybe we can bring link back.

    The Tampa Bay Rays trademarks of 9=8 and ’09>’08 is all part of Madden’s mojo he is throwing around. Last year it was 9=8 which meant 9 players playing together for 9 innings will equal being one of the 8 playoff teams and that seemed to work last year. This year he came out with the ’09>’08 basically saying this year is gonna be better than last year which I guess he says they will win the World Series because that is about the only way it will be better.

    What on earth is Marcus Jordan doing playing in ANY high school all-star game?

    Oh, his dad owns it. Figures.

    And the fact that the kid is not / will not / can not wear adidas at UCF … is a sign that the world of sports brands has finally reached its apex of being “out of control.”

    That’s ridiculous and merits a full investigation for ridiculosity.

    since the Texas Texases decided to ditch their ultimate mockery of the baseball gods

    I believe the plural for Texas is “Texi” as in cactus/cacti or platypus/platypi

    that is all…

    Friday night was a step backward when they broke out the godawful black jerseys – which also means they wore the black lids, which is the worst possible of their myriad combinations.

    As perverse as it is, I actually prefer the black jersey/all-black cap combo to the plain white/two-tone cap combo that has become the standard home uniform even though no one at the Mets will admit it. One reason why is that at least the cap and jersey match; the plain white/two-tone combo looks like patchwork, especially with the black socks and undersleeves (despite the black drop-shadow, blue is still the dominant color on the plain white jersey). Another reason is that I just think it’s ugly; their least-attractive, yet most-used, option.

    But the main reason is that the black uniform, unlike the plain white/two-tone combo, doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not. It’s an alternate uniform, worn as an alternate uniform, and only in that combination (the black jersey is never worn with any other cap, while the whites and the pinstripes can be and have been worn with any of the 3 caps).

    Let’s make it simple for Charlie and the gang: The two-tone cap should NEVER be worn at home. If they insist on keeping all these alternates and keeping black in the color scheme, at least until they link and link, then pair the blue cap with BOTH white uniforms, the two-tone cap with the greys, and the black with the black.

    Was that Ryan Dempster or Don Cherry participating in the shoot the puck contest?

    The Mets should ditch the black completely, drop shadow and all, and go to the royal blue pinstripes; right now they have the WORST uniforms in MLB.

    [quote comment=”324335″]Was that Ryan Dempster or Don Cherry participating in the shoot the puck contest?[/quote]
    First off, I apologize for the crap quality of those screen grabs. I was relegated to the “B” TV last night while my wife was watching “America’s Test Kitchen” on the good one, which is technically hers.

    Second, I was hoping the reporter who was on the ice with Dempster would have asked him if he was wearing the jacket in honor of Grapes. Sadly, the question was not asked (or if it was, I totally missed it.)

    [quote comment=”324336″]The Mets should ditch the black completely, drop shadow and all, and go to the royal blue pinstripes; right now they have the WORST uniforms in MLB.[/quote]

    The Mets should ditch the black completely, drop shadow and all, and go to the royal blue pinstripes

    Agreed

    right now they have the WORST uniforms in MLB

    Ummm……link link a link

    My rating worst-to-best of those four Mets’ white uni combos is quite different from Phil’s.

    link. two-tone caps have no business being paired with pinstriped jerseys. The only exception would be a white crown with blue pinstripes and a blue brim. But that isn’t the case here.

    link. Sorry. The dropshadows look absolutely horrible against the pinstripes. Take away the dropshadows and this is probably the #1 combo, but with them, the uniform is a far cry from link. The dropshadows do not make the logo pop. They just clutter things up.

    link: Since I really don’t give a damn about the Mets, the black doesn’t bother me, especially since it can be justified historically by borrowing the color from the Giants. That being said, I don’t think the black trim looks particularly good.

    link: Against the snow white jersey, the dropshadow actually works. It does make the logo pop a bit. Throw in the blue sleeves, caps and the occasional socks and you get a uniform that looks pretty darn good to me.

    [quote comment=”324332″]What on earth is Marcus Jordan doing playing in ANY high school all-star game?

    Oh, his dad owns it. Figures.

    And the fact that the kid is not / will not / can not wear adidas at UCF … is a sign that the world of sports brands has finally reached its apex of being “out of control.”

    That’s ridiculous and merits a full investigation for ridiculosity.[/quote]

    This is so stupid. We all know how hard it is to find a school that wears Nike…

    Call me crazy…and sorry Phil and Paul I would love to keep working with you guys don’t take this personal…but I kinda like the black drop shadow. *GASP!* I personally think it makes the colors “pop”. But DEFINATELY ditch the black sock, caps and undershirts.

    It’s not the worst uni in the MLB by a long shot. That title goes to the Toronto Black Jays. What?….what’s that? They’re actually called the BLUE Jays?! Get outta here!

    I don’t mind the blue and black hat as much as most other Mets fans do, then again, I do not consider myself a traditionalist. What I DO have a problem with is the Mets seemingly forsaking the all-blue in favor of the blue with black. It’s your OFFICIAL UNIFORM, guys. Also, it bears looking in to that Wikipedia lists the Mets’ official team colors as “blue, orange, BLACK, and white”.

    Just because black dropshadow makes the Met wordmark pop on a 2-D computer graphic doesn’t mean it will do so on a uniform. And it doesn’t. Look again at the “one gorgeous home uniform” photo. Doesn’t the wordmark pop enough? Of course it does. The dropshadow fails the “is it stupid” test.

    The raven on goalpost is probably a trademark of group of local fan clubs, the Council of Raven’s Roosts and not the team itself.

    link

    [quote comment=”324323″]The Atlanta Braves trademark is interesting since that is the logo that the NASL’s Atlanta Chiefs used.

    link

    You’re right – I saw that the owner of the trademark was the Atlanta Braves, it looked like a Braves logo, and I stopped researching there.

    I’m not finished about the Mets. We all saw Seaver pitching to Piazza, both sporting their period-appropriate Met jerseys, on opening night at New Shea. Who looked better? No further questions.

    [quote comment=”324323″]The Atlanta Braves trademark is interesting since that is the logo that the NASL’s Atlanta Chiefs used.

    link

    It looks like the head for the Memphis Chicks, too.

    [quote comment=”324346″]The raven on goalpost is probably a trademark of group of local fan clubs, the Council of Raven’s Roosts and not the team itself.

    link

    Same comment – it came up in a Baltimore Ravens search.

    Thats a weakness of the database search, it tells you a trademark exists but sometimes it doesn’t give much more information, if you really need to know more you need to do a little detective work.

    Another example of shortfalls in the database, the Youppi! trademarks are registered to the Montreal Expos, but there’s no mention of the fact that Youppi is used by the Montreal Canadiens now.

    [quote comment=”324334″]Friday night was a step backward when they broke out the godawful black jerseys – which also means they wore the black lids, which is the worst possible of their myriad combinations.

    As perverse as it is, I actually prefer the black jersey/all-black cap combo to the plain white/two-tone cap combo that has become the standard home uniform even though no one at the Mets will admit it. One reason why is that at least the cap and jersey match; the plain white/two-tone combo looks like patchwork, especially with the black socks and undersleeves (despite the black drop-shadow, blue is still the dominant color on the plain white jersey). Another reason is that I just think it’s ugly; their least-attractive, yet most-used, option.

    But the main reason is that the black uniform, unlike the plain white/two-tone combo, doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not. It’s an alternate uniform, worn as an alternate uniform, and only in that combination (the black jersey is never worn with any other cap, while the whites and the pinstripes can be and have been worn with any of the 3 caps).

    Let’s make it simple for Charlie and the gang: The two-tone cap should NEVER be worn at home. If they insist on keeping all these alternates and keeping black in the color scheme, at least until they link and link, then pair the blue cap with BOTH white uniforms, the two-tone cap with the greys, and the black with the black.[/quote]

    Regarding the Mets in 1993 and 1994 — remember, they also changed their blue to a slightly darker one. Thing is, these two jerseys are impossible to find, even on eBay.

    “Baseball’s worst batting helmets” are probably a toss up between the Mets black/blue fade (although I kinda dig it) and the Rockie’s black/purple fade.

    I think the Rockies win worst helmet for the simple fact that the helmet fades from black to purple, so ultimately you have a purple helmet with a purple “CR” logo. At least the Mets helmet fades from black to blue and the “NY” logo is black so you have the color contrast.

    I wonder what Paul thinks? After all he hates purple yet the Mets just shouldn’t have black in their helmet either……

    [quote comment=”324352″]Regarding the Mets in 1993 and 1994 — remember, they also changed their blue to a slightly darker one. Thing is, these two jerseys are impossible to find, even on eBay.[/quote]

    Interestingly enough I saw someone at Citifield yesterday wearing one of the 93-94 jerseys.

    The underline never really bothered me (sort of gave it an old-school feel) but it always ticked me off that they messed up the “M” in “Mets”. Look at that “M” and then look at the one in the standard “Mets” i.e. sans underline script. The “M” on the underlined script just looks off.

    Phil, great post. I really do think the Mets should go back to the blue caps and pinstripes since those were uniforms they have won World Series in and because it is a sharper, cleaner look for them. Black never should’ve been added and the black/blue caps look dreadful with the snow whites and even worse with the pinstripes.

    Is there any way to petition to have the black caps and black/blue caps eliminated entirely? For home jerseys, they could wear the pinstripes and have the snow whites as an alternate (both would have the blue caps) and the road jersey should just be their standard road grey with blue cap. The Mets looked beautiful in that combo at Yankee Stadium last year (the result of the game was not beautiful but that’s another tangent for another day) and they should consider making that their official road uniform.

    And about the Yankees getting destroyed in that second inning, link Fox did pan the scoreboard late in the game and that “1” really looked like a piece of paper taped onto the board.

    Being a Texan and seeing the ridiculousness of the Rangers never wearing their name, I think they should be referred to as the Texas Texasses.

    coupla quick thoughts — i don’t mind (in fact, almost prefer) the snow whites with the blue caps and sleeves — the problem is that uniform is technically an alternate, and it should NOT under any circumstances be worn more often than the official home uniform (and they DON’T NEED an alternate, but at least it’s white);

    also, i never said i prefer the dropshadowed “METS” to the non — only that were they to ditch the rest of the black accoutrements and have that solely as the black on their uniform, i could live with it

    and i do agree with JTH in that the black dropshadow on the pins (in reality, not a computer 2D representation — great point giancarlo), does NOT look as good as it does on the snow whites — it looks BETTER on the snow whites, but that doesn’t mean they should keep the snow whites over the pins …had the mets originally had the snow whites as their official uniform, it would rank even higher in my estimation

    i could live with an alternate, if (1) it was used ONLY on sundays and (2) they ditch the rest of the black (caps, socks, sleeves)

    [quote comment=\”324355\”]
    And about the Yankees getting destroyed in that second inning, take a look at the \”14.\” Fox did pan the scoreboard late in the game and that \”1\” really looked like a piece of paper taped onto the board.[/quote]

    I wish they would have had that scoreboard like the old days, with CLEVE. on the top and YANKS below.

    [quote comment=”324355″]The Mets looked beautiful in that combo at Yankee Stadium last year (the result of the game was not beautiful but that’s another tangent for another day) and they should consider making that their official road uniform.[/quote]

    Well the result of the game was beautiful if you were a Mets fan.

    In any case, I think that we’re not going to see the black eliminated anytime soon. Would a return to the blue caps on the road be awesome? Absolutely. But seeing as how it’s not going to happen for the foreseeable future (and since all the “why do the Mets need to wear the black” comments have gotten beyond tiring at this point), the best compromise would be for the Mets to do what they’re supposed to be doing “officially”: Wearing pinstripes and blue caps at home, gray and black/blue caps on the road, and using the snow whites and black tops as alternates. That would probably go a long way in placating the Mets’ fanbase (aside from dropping the black entirely, of course).

    At first glance, I thought link was rocking Chuck Taylors. Must have been the white laces and toes and obscured logo on the left foot. The old school Little League look would suit that amateurish shoulder patch.

    [quote comment=”324361″]At first glance, I thought link was rocking Chuck Taylors. Must have been the white laces and toes and obscured logo on the left foot. The old school Little League look would suit that amateurish shoulder patch.[/quote]

    I think that one there is the Met’s best look.

    [quote comment=”324364″]AND THEY’RE IN THE PINS & BLUE CAPS TODAY

    /that is all[/quote]

    Charlie must have been reading the blog this morning.

    Let’s go Mets!!!!

    [quote comment=”324365″][quote comment=”324364″]AND THEY’RE IN THE PINS & BLUE CAPS TODAY

    /that is all[/quote]

    Charlie must have been reading the blog this morning.

    Let’s go Mets!!!![/quote]

    Last few years, haven’t they tended to go with pins and blues on Sundays?

    Oddly enough, when you think of it that way, the pins and blues are almost a Sunday alternate.

    my 2 cents on the mets stuff (as ive been driven crazier by it every day the last 10 years or so)…first, i detest when they wear the black/blue caps. home, road, doesnt matter. they are awful. if they wore the blue hats on the road (as they did in the bronx last season), that uniform would be great. with blue sleeves, socks, etc, of course. snow white with all blue works for me, and i dont mind the black as an alternate.
    because of the success they had in the ‘piazza era’ with those jerseys, my opinion is they have earned their way into the rotation, though make them a fri thing or whatever.

    now, for dropshadows–something has always looked off to me about the current use of black (on the non-black jerseys). i actually think the best version of the script ‘mets’ is on the black tops–its blue on white on orange. id love to see that treatment on the white jerseys. i think the non shadowed script is too plain but the black shadow hurts me, too. thats all i guess..

    This column is quite intesting and I try to keep up with it as often as possible. Just a couple of notes here.

    I covered major college and pro sports for about 15 years, and over that time learned that superstition can rule above all else.

    For example, with daily uniform combinations, many major league teams have long left it up to that day’s starting pitcher to choose which one will be used on a given day, as long as it falls within the guidelines of what’s available at home versus on the road — it’s kind of like an added incentive to stay in a rotation. My guess is that’s probably the case with the Mets (the White Sox follow that policy too, I believe) — which is why you see combinations changing from day to day with certain teams.

    As for the Nationals’ unis. I grew up in the D.C. area during the 60’s and 70’s (I now live in Chicago, tho), and red was the primary color of the old Senators’ uniforms for much of that time. They only made the switch to primary blue (and a lighter shade, at that) after moving to Texas to become the Rangers. The only blue you ever saw then was in the trim. While it might be nice to have balance, color-wise, I don’t think it’s as essential as it would be to go from block lettering on the jersey fronts to script, to match the “curly W” — as they call it — on their caps.

    However, perhaps the worst abomination I ever recall was the very first road uniform of the Capitals — red jerseys and socks with WHITE pants. Luckily, that didn’t last an entire season before they switched to blue.

    Well, the Brewers are doing anything and everything to break out of their funk. Hopefully they do it today, even though the Mets look awesome!

    Brewers color their hair… one looks like a former president:
    link

    [quote comment=”324368″]For example, with daily uniform combinations, many major league teams have long left it up to that day’s starting pitcher to choose which one will be used on a given day, as long as it falls within the guidelines of what’s available at home versus on the road — it’s kind of like an added incentive to stay in a rotation. My guess is that’s probably the case with the Mets (the White Sox follow that policy too, I believe) — which is why you see combinations changing from day to day with certain teams.[/quote]

    I don’t believe the Mets follow that. Equipment Manager Charlie Samuels has final say on game day uniforms.

    So as opposed to a guy like Carlos Zambrano who will ALWAYS wear blue tops for his starts, if you look at the Mets pitchers there’s no one guy who wears one uniform more than any other.

    Well, maybe snow whites and black/blue caps, but we know why THAT is….

    [quote]Last few years, haven’t they tended to go with pins and blues on Sundays?

    Oddly enough, when you think of it that way, the pins and blues are almost a Sunday alternate.[/quote]

    going solely from memory, i’d say that’s a pretty fair estimation (that’s why im keeping the “running tally” of the mets uniform combos for this season — and others are tracking their teams’ as well); it seems the pattern is weeknight games = snow whites & black & blues; friday nights=ac/dc, saturday days=snowwhites & blues; and sunday pins (not necessarily with the blue caps) … but i’ll be tracking it to be sure

    much of the talk on this blog (and others) at first centered around former pitching coach rick peterson, who’d wear his jacket is 90 degree weather, and equipment manager charlie samuels’ disdain for the blue jacket; therefore, he’d only dress the team in blue caps/socks when it was warm enough to not need the jackets, and if one guy (peterson) was wearing a jacket, he’d go with the black — don’t know how true that was, but, certainly thought-provoking

    i’d also tend to agree with certain teams having the starting pitcher dictate the dress (zambrano of the cubs is the classic example), but im sure others do it as well…don’t know how true that is for the mets (witness pedro is all five combos — those were relatively easy to find), and if petey didn’t dictate a teams’ uniforms for the day, it’s hard to imagine anyone other than johan having that kind of ‘power’ — i’d just say the mets are determined by charlie samuels’ whims, but POSSIBLY they do follow some form of pattern (ie black fridays, sunday pins)…it’s enough to make ricko’s head explode

    [quote comment=”324326″]Paul, a few years ago you had that Ditch The Black website, which one day mysteriously disappeared. Why? Did the Mets or ESPN tell you to stop?[/quote]

    Nobody told me to stop. I just felt the point had been made. Looking back, maybe that was a mistake. I think we’ll keep “I’m Calling It Shea” going a lot longer, or at least try to keep it in the public eye more.

    [quote comment=”324371″][quote]Last few years, haven’t they tended to go with pins and blues on Sundays?

    Oddly enough, when you think of it that way, the pins and blues are almost a Sunday alternate.[/quote]

    going solely from memory, i’d say that’s a pretty fair estimation (that’s why im keeping the “running tally” of the mets uniform combos for this season — and others are tracking their teams’ as well); it seems the pattern is weeknight games = snow whites & black & blues; friday nights=ac/dc, saturday days=snowwhites & blues; and sunday pins (not necessarily with the blue caps) … but i’ll be tracking it to be sure

    much of the talk on this blog (and others) at first centered around former pitching coach rick peterson, who’d wear his jacket is 90 degree weather, and equipment manager charlie samuels’ disdain for the blue jacket; therefore, he’d only dress the team in blue caps/socks when it was warm enough to not need the jackets, and if one guy (peterson) was wearing a jacket, he’d go with the black — don’t know how true that was, but, certainly thought-provoking

    i’d also tend to agree with certain teams having the starting pitcher dictate the dress (zambrano of the cubs is the classic example), but im sure others do it as well…don’t know how true that is for the mets (witness pedro is all five combos — those were relatively easy to find), and if petey didn’t dictate a teams’ uniforms for the day, it’s hard to imagine anyone other than johan having that kind of ‘power’ — i’d just say the mets are determined by charlie samuels’ whims, but POSSIBLY they do follow some form of pattern (ie black fridays, sunday pins)…it’s enough to make ricko’s head explode[/quote]

    Ok Phil….that’s enough of you and your link. Go back and watch the game /sarcasm

    [quote comment=”324352″][quote comment=”324334″]Friday night was a step backward when they broke out the godawful black jerseys – which also means they wore the black lids, which is the worst possible of their myriad combinations.

    As perverse as it is, I actually prefer the black jersey/all-black cap combo to the plain white/two-tone cap combo that has become the standard home uniform even though no one at the Mets will admit it. One reason why is that at least the cap and jersey match; the plain white/two-tone combo looks like patchwork, especially with the black socks and undersleeves (despite the black drop-shadow, blue is still the dominant color on the plain white jersey). Another reason is that I just think it’s ugly; their least-attractive, yet most-used, option.

    But the main reason is that the black uniform, unlike the plain white/two-tone combo, doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not. It’s an alternate uniform, worn as an alternate uniform, and only in that combination (the black jersey is never worn with any other cap, while the whites and the pinstripes can be and have been worn with any of the 3 caps).

    Let’s make it simple for Charlie and the gang: The two-tone cap should NEVER be worn at home. If they insist on keeping all these alternates and keeping black in the color scheme, at least until they link and link, then pair the blue cap with BOTH white uniforms, the two-tone cap with the greys, and the black with the black.[/quote]

    Regarding the Mets in 1993 and 1994 — remember, they also changed their blue to a slightly darker one. Thing is, these two jerseys are impossible to find, even on eBay.[/quote]

    The ones I’m looking for, and linked here, are the 1995-97 uniforms. Still, even the 1993-94 version, with the tail, script “New York” on the greys and slightly darker blue, were better than the plain-white/two-tone cap combo they wear in 9 out of 10 home games now.

    [quote comment=”324370″][quote comment=”324368″]For example, with daily uniform combinations, many major league teams have long left it up to that day’s starting pitcher to choose which one will be used on a given day, as long as it falls within the guidelines of what’s available at home versus on the road — it’s kind of like an added incentive to stay in a rotation. My guess is that’s probably the case with the Mets (the White Sox follow that policy too, I believe) — which is why you see combinations changing from day to day with certain teams.[/quote]

    I don’t believe the Mets follow that. Equipment Manager Charlie Samuels has final say on game day uniforms.

    So as opposed to a guy like Carlos Zambrano who will ALWAYS wear blue tops for his starts, if you look at the Mets pitchers there’s no one guy who wears one uniform more than any other.

    Well, maybe snow whites and black/blue caps, but we know why THAT is….[/quote]
    I sense a {sarcasm> tag.
    {/sarcasm>
    Seriously, weren’t Mike Pelfrey’s first few career home starts in blue hats and snow whites? I remember thinking to myself, “Hmmm, maybe Pelfrey asked Charlie Samuels to wear his personal uniform pick, a la Zambrano blues?”

    That oddball NHL logo was located on the rear hemline on the jerseys back in the mid-late 1990s. Its on the Carolina Hurricanes jersey I own from their first year in the league as well as my brother’s John LeClair Flyers jersey from around the same time.

    I’m fairly certain thats the only place those logos showed up.

    [quote comment=”324376″]That oddball NHL logo was located on the rear hemline on the jerseys back in the mid-late 1990s. Its on the Carolina Hurricanes jersey I own from their first year in the league as well as my brother’s John LeClair Flyers jersey from around the same time.

    I’m fairly certain thats the only place those logos showed up.[/quote]
    The puck-shaped logo, that is… not the weird mechanical looking one…

    My apologies for posting 3 times in a row…

    That puck-shaped logo was also included within the link and link Conference logos from 1993 until the end of the 2005 lockout.

    [quote comment=”324375″][quote comment=”324370″][quote comment=”324368″]For example, with daily uniform combinations, many major league teams have long left it up to that day’s starting pitcher to choose which one will be used on a given day, as long as it falls within the guidelines of what’s available at home versus on the road — it’s kind of like an added incentive to stay in a rotation. My guess is that’s probably the case with the Mets (the White Sox follow that policy too, I believe) — which is why you see combinations changing from day to day with certain teams.[/quote]

    I don’t believe the Mets follow that. Equipment Manager Charlie Samuels has final say on game day uniforms.

    So as opposed to a guy like Carlos Zambrano who will ALWAYS wear blue tops for his starts, if you look at the Mets pitchers there’s no one guy who wears one uniform more than any other.

    Well, maybe snow whites and black/blue caps, but we know why THAT is….[/quote]
    I sense a {sarcasm> tag.
    {/sarcasm>
    Seriously, weren’t Mike Pelfrey’s first few career home starts in blue hats and snow whites? I remember thinking to myself, “Hmmm, maybe Pelfrey asked Charlie Samuels to wear his personal uniform pick, a la Zambrano blues?”[/quote]
    Self-edit: Maybe I’m thinking of Aaron Heilman, when people thought he could start. Honestly, I don’t remember that well.
    As a Yankees fan, the Mets can’t look good. But I have to say, the black pieces unequivocally suck, and I like the snow whites a bit more than the pinstripes. Makes the Mets look like the Dodgers with a splash of Giants orange, which seems more correct. (Yes, I know, the pinstripes have the history and the “official home” tag, but aesthetics are aesthetics, and I don’t think the Mets need pinstripes to look good. But they can’t have black and look good.)

    Yankees home page currently has this:
    link

    Wow, A.J. can personally make the losses on Thursday and Saturday “go away” — that’s a pretty neat trick, no? Magic!

    [quote comment=”324380″]Yankees home page currently has this:
    link

    Wow, A.J. can personally make the losses on Thursday and Saturday “go away” — that’s a pretty neat trick, no? Magic![/quote]

    the indians just scored again

    [quote comment=”324335″]Was that Ryan Dempster or Don Cherry participating in the shoot the puck contest?[/quote]
    That coat is a little too sedated to be in Grapes’ collection.

    watch link to see how he gets his suits made.

    The home plate umpire at Fenway park has a florida gators logo peeking through on his gear right above the butttons…wierd

    [quote comment=”324377″][quote comment=”324376″]That oddball NHL logo was located on the rear hemline on the jerseys back in the mid-late 1990s. Its on the Carolina Hurricanes jersey I own from their first year in the league as well as my brother’s John LeClair Flyers jersey from around the same time.

    I’m fairly certain thats the only place those logos showed up.[/quote]
    The puck-shaped logo, that is… not the weird mechanical looking one…[/quote]

    Its on the hem of my Flames replica jersey as well (bought in 2004).

    As far as the conference logos go, I wasn’t aware until now that the conferences even had logos. I think I’m still blocking out “East” and “West” in the hope they’ll come to their senses and rename them “Wales” and “Campbell”.

    [quote comment=”324384″][quote comment=”324377″][quote comment=”324376″]That oddball NHL logo was located on the rear hemline on the jerseys back in the mid-late 1990s. Its on the Carolina Hurricanes jersey I own from their first year in the league as well as my brother’s John LeClair Flyers jersey from around the same time.

    I’m fairly certain thats the only place those logos showed up.[/quote]
    The puck-shaped logo, that is… not the weird mechanical looking one…[/quote]

    Its on the hem of my Flames replica jersey as well (bought in 2004).

    As far as the conference logos go, I wasn’t aware until now that the conferences even had logos. I think I’m still blocking out “East” and “West” in the hope they’ll come to their senses and rename them “Wales” and “Campbell”.[/quote]
    Oh yea, remember back when the all-star jerseys were in the shape of a star (where Dallas got the idea for their jerseys from) the link was the conference logos that I linked.

    What is the team nickname that plays in the fictional “Harry Dean Stadium” in a movie?

    link

    That picture is great. Look at the guys on TOP on the fence. Not just a section but all the way around it.

    Amazing

    [quote comment=”324388″]What is the team nickname that plays in the fictional “Harry Dean Stadium” in a movie?[/quote]

    I think this is from “not another teen movie”

    I don’t know if anyone explained it here, but the Rays 9=8 thing was a mantra about if they played 9 innings they’d be one of the 8 in the playoffs last year. I would assume the ’09>’08 is a play off that and a goal to be better this year than last.

    The Mets need to lose all of the black, or none at all. Who needs “pop”? If there isn’t black on the hat, it shouldn’t be found elsewhere. Football helmets and baseball hats should represent every color of a team, and they should be very careful about including colors that aren’t found elsewhere. The Steelers have a unique logo that allows the latter to happen. The KC Chiefs, on the otherhand, drive me insane. They have a classic look that does appeal to me. However, no representation of yellow on the helmet drives me nuts. Why do the Falcons have to have silver in their logo, but nowhere else on the uni? How can the Patriots have a silver helmet, but not have any silver on their road uni? (the teensy stripe on the collar doesn’t count)
    Get rid of ALL of the black. That drop shadow doesn’t fit. It wouldn’t have been done 50 years ago, and it still shouldn’t today.

    The Mets just don’t need snow whites, period. Pinstripes at home, grays on the road, royal blue alternates (if necessary). For an alt cap, make the brim orange.

    And, if they need an accent color, I’d like to see them try midnight blue…still within the realm of their official colors and just as effective as black without being black.

    and to clarify, I know midnight blue isn;t an official color, but it is within the “blue and orange” realm. That said, they don’t need an accent color at all.

    [quote comment=\”324358\”]coupla quick thoughts — i don\’t mind (in fact, almost prefer) the snow whites with the blue caps and sleeves — the problem is that uniform is technically an alternate, and it should NOT under any circumstances be worn more often than the official home uniform (and they DON\’T NEED an alternate, but at least it\’s white);

    also, i never said i prefer the dropshadowed \”METS\” to the non — only that were they to ditch the rest of the black accoutrements and have that solely as the black on their uniform, i could live with it

    and i do agree with JTH in that the black dropshadow on the pins (in reality, not a computer 2D representation — great point giancarlo), does NOT look as good as it does on the snow whites — it looks BETTER on the snow whites, but that doesn\’t mean they should keep the snow whites over the pins …had the mets originally had the snow whites as their official uniform, it would rank even higher in my estimation

    i could live with an alternate, if (1) it was used ONLY on sundays and (2) they ditch the rest of the black (caps, socks, sleeves)[/quote]

    Oddly, the black drop-shadow is a lot less noticeable when they wear the blue caps, socks and undersleeves. That\’s for both the plain whites and the pinstripes. As I said earlier, blue is still the dominant color on those jerseys; the blue accessories help bring it out, while the black accessories try to hide it, which is why the result is such an eyesore.

    [quote comment=”324396″][quote comment=\”324358\”]coupla quick thoughts — i don\’t mind (in fact, almost prefer) the snow whites with the blue caps and sleeves — the problem is that uniform is technically an alternate, and it should NOT under any circumstances be worn more often than the official home uniform (and they DON\’T NEED an alternate, but at least it\’s white);

    also, i never said i prefer the dropshadowed \”METS\” to the non — only that were they to ditch the rest of the black accoutrements and have that solely as the black on their uniform, i could live with it

    and i do agree with JTH in that the black dropshadow on the pins (in reality, not a computer 2D representation — great point giancarlo), does NOT look as good as it does on the snow whites — it looks BETTER on the snow whites, but that doesn\’t mean they should keep the snow whites over the pins …had the mets originally had the snow whites as their official uniform, it would rank even higher in my estimation

    i could live with an alternate, if (1) it was used ONLY on sundays and (2) they ditch the rest of the black (caps, socks, sleeves)[/quote]

    Oddly, the black drop-shadow is a lot less noticeable when they wear the blue caps, socks and undersleeves. That\’s for both the plain whites and the pinstripes. As I said earlier, blue is still the dominant color on those jerseys; the blue accessories help bring it out, while the black accessories try to hide it, which is why the result is such an eyesore.[/quote]
    Amen. Last year, when the Mets wore blue and gray at Yankee Stadium, the blue jersey piping resonated so deeply. It was a rich detail on my not-so-high-def hotel TV. (I was in Florida at the time.) It looked awesome. And it made the stupid black sleeves look even stupider and more out of place on the road.

    [quote comment=”324397″]The Penguins logo almost looks like this Russian Red Penguins Logo

    link

    The Russian Penguins were tied in with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the early 90s.

    AS far as the NHL puck-shaped logo, it was on all replica jerseys in the 90s – the authentics had the shield logo.

    The Buffalo Bills logo was going to be their new helmet logo, to go with the additions of navy blue and silver to the uniform colors of red and royal blue. When the logo registration was discovered online, then-Bills President Tom Donohoe said it would be a secondary logo, similar to the Bengals “striped B” logo. Then, it just disappeared.

    I did buy a Reebok hat with the logo of the silver and navy bison and the red and blue “B” – this is the only item I’ve ever seen with the mystery logo.

    link

    Bobby Parnell just trotted in from the Mets bullpen with his Dominos Pizza patch flapping precariously…screen grab anyone?

    Also, the P’s in Suppan’s nameplate are white throughout, not having a blue middle in the P. Is this an anomaly, or standard treatment for the Brew Crew?

    Here’s a scan of the Bills hat logo. There was a lot of uproar about the fact that fans spent a lot of money of clothing and souvenirs with the charging Bills logo in Super Bowl years and it was going to be replaced by THIS. Personally, I think they should have changed the logo to go with the awful uniform change. This way, the last few seasons of mediocrity in the standings would’ve matched their outfits.

    link

    [quote comment=\”324369\”]Well, the Brewers are doing anything and everything to break out of their funk. Hopefully they do it today, even though the Mets look awesome!

    Brewers color their hair… one looks like a former president:
    link

    The Brewers are being punished by the baseball gods for running around last year after a win and untucking their jerseys and looking like slobs.

    I know about that one player doing it as a tribute to his Dad or something, well…OK (everybody can find an excuse to do a \”tribute\”), but the rest, they just looked like slobs.

    Theyre interviewing Todd Coffey on the Brewers postgame show and his hat has either AT, AJ, or AI written in magic marker in the right hand corner above the brim…dont know what thats about

    [quote comment=”324391″]Paul, is there a URL for the calling-it-shea site? Sorry, if I missed that.[/quote]

    This project doesn’t yet have its own site, although it will shortly.

    The page for ordering the shirt is here:
    link

    The No Mas blog post about the project is here:
    link

    The Rev. Vince has just written a song, called (of course) “I’m Calling It Shea” and will be performing it tomorrow night. More details on that tomorrow.

    [quote comment=”324323″]The Atlanta Braves trademark is interesting since that is the logo that the NASL’s Atlanta Chiefs used.

    link

    What was the Atlanta Chiefs has had quite an evolution – one of the A-T-L players returned to South Africa and became founder of the Kaizer Chiefs, they’re now perhaps the best known side in that nation. One of their top players ended up with Leeds United – he was known as ‘The Chief’

    Finally, a band forms whose members were fans of Leeds United – they named their group link (spelled differently I guess to avoid copyright infringment)

    [quote comment=”324406″][quote comment=”324391″]Paul, is there a URL for the calling-it-shea site? Sorry, if I missed that.[/quote]

    This project doesn’t yet have its own site, although it will shortly.

    The page for ordering the shirt is here:
    link

    The No Mas blog post about the project is here:
    link

    The Rev. Vince has just written a song, called (of course) “I’m Calling It Shea” and will be performing it tomorrow night. More details on that tomorrow.[/quote]

    Last week at Niketown, Rev, Vince was AWESOME!

    The Mets, at least, looked great today!

    Here are some pics of those Griffeys, which are a mash-up of all of his signature shoes:

    link

    link

    link

    link

    link

    link

    Speaking of not-so-alternate uniforms, the White Sox have played 6 road games so far and they have not worn their “primary” road jerseys yet. The closest they came was on Jackie Robinson Day, but that doesn’t count in my book.

    For the record:
    Detroit – 4/13: black “alts”, 4/14: rained out, 4/15: Jackie Robinsonized grays
    St. Pete – 4/16 thru 4/19: black “alts”

    And then the Mets lose wearing the home pins and blue caps, so the superstitous pitchers won’t pick them at home again this season…

    -Brewers jersey count-
    Home White on White: 2-2
    Away Gray on Gray: 0-2
    Home Blue on White: 0-2
    Away Blue on Gray: 2-2
    Home Throwback Pinstripes: 0-0

    I just noticed that when the Twins wear their sleeveless jerseys the Carl Pohlad patch moves to left chest. (Is this old news?)

    You can see it link.

    [quote comment=”324408″][quote comment=”324323″]The Atlanta Braves trademark is interesting since that is the logo that the NASL’s Atlanta Chiefs used.

    link

    What was the Atlanta Chiefs has had quite an evolution – one of the A-T-L players returned to South Africa and became founder of the Kaizer Chiefs, they’re now perhaps the best known side in that nation. One of their top players ended up with Leeds United – he was known as ‘The Chief’

    Finally, a band forms whose members were fans of Leeds United – they named their group link (spelled differently I guess to avoid copyright infringment)[/quote]

    The Kaiser Chiefs have one of the best lyrics of the last few years

    We are the angry mob
    We read the papers everyday
    We like who we like, we hate who we hate
    But we’re also easily swayed

    [quote comment=”324368″]For example, with daily uniform combinations, many major league teams have long left it up to that day’s starting pitcher to choose which one will be used on a given day, as long as it falls within the guidelines of what’s available at home versus on the road — it’s kind of like an added incentive to stay in a rotation. My guess is that’s probably the case with the Mets (the White Sox follow that policy too, I believe) — which is why you see combinations changing from day to day with certain teams.[/quote]
    The Diamondbacks let the pitcher choose both the uniform and whether the roof was open back in the purple days. (Brian Anderson link wore purple.) Now, however, they wear the link on sunday and tuesday and the link on saturday night home games.

    From the NBA playoffs…

    The coaches are wearing a lapel pin with the initials CD.

    Cavs coach: link

    Doc Rivers: link

    Vinny Del Negro: link

    Did a quick Google search. The NBCA have decided to dedicate this year’s playoffs to Chuck Dailey, former coach who was diagnosed with cancer.
    link

    [quote comment=”324372″][quote comment=”324326″]Paul, a few years ago you had that Ditch The Black website, which one day mysteriously disappeared. Why? Did the Mets or ESPN tell you to stop?[/quote]

    Nobody told me to stop. I just felt the point had been made. Looking back, maybe that was a mistake. I think we’ll keep “I’m Calling It Shea” going a lot longer, or at least try to keep it in the public eye more.[/quote]

    The campaign should have continued until the black was ditched. The domain ditchtheblack.com has now been taken by someone for a non-sports blog. Oh well…

    [quote comment=”324422″]From the NBA playoffs…

    The coaches are wearing a lapel pin with the initials CD.

    Cavs coach: link

    Doc Rivers: link

    Vinny Del Negro: link

    Did a quick Google search. The NBCA have decided to dedicate this year’s playoffs to Chuck Dailey, former coach who was diagnosed with cancer.
    link
    Interesting that they’re naming the award after a guy who’s still alive, especially considering that there is a link during this past season. I wonder how often something like that happens. It seems like awards are almost always named after those who are no longer with us.

    Phil,

    I give you a lot of good-natured jabs but I have to applaud your work as bench-coach. The level of work you put into the weekend posts is mind-boggling!

    I am truly amazed.

    Now on to unis:

    link

    I LOVE the pins, but the Snow Whites are growing on me.

    The solid blue socks are WAY too much though.

    Even if ther were stirrups, the solid color needs to be broken up, maybe horizontal stripes ala the Csrdinals or even the NY logo like the Twin CIty socks.

    Mike Schmidt crying: I don’t know if Phil is being sarcastic or not, but Schmidt famously cried (about his “two bad knees”) when he retired and the clip was played for years on Howard Stern’s radio show.

    [quote comment=”324397″]The Penguins logo almost looks like this Russian Red Penguins Logo

    link

    That’s what I was thinking too – I actually have one of those jerseys. It was a marketing venture that the Pittsburgh Penguins had with Russia’s top club team.

    I believe the reason that they dedicated this year’s postseason to Chuck Daly is that his prognosis is not at all good, and this would be a chance to honor him before he was gone.

    Although I am firmly in the “ditch the black” camp, I found the use of black on the new “Shea” outfield wall and the fact they didn’t use the blue for their home opener (or second, third, etc…) as a sign it was here to stay.

    I’ve never thought it looked terrible, it just didn’t look like the Mets. (In fact, I actually prefer the all-black cap to the hard to read black-blue, even though that means a black jersey, too.) But now, I guess I’ve moved on to the acceptance phase. Black is the preferred Mets color and they won’t let us forget it.

    (And if all this “cold weather” use/excuse is still because of the equipment manager — couldn’t you guys get a hold of him for an interview/intervention?)

    [quote comment=”324431″]And if all this “cold weather” use/excuse is still because of the equipment manager — couldn’t you guys get a hold of him for an interview/intervention?)[/quote]

    Charlie isn’t exactly the most media-friendly guy. And he’s aware that he’s not a Uni Watch favorite, so he’s not particularly inclined to chat with me.

    This just in on Delmon Young’s missing number. He was asked about it and said, “Aw, I just gave some chick my number and she lost it. That’s all.”

    (ba dum bum)

    —Ricko

    [quote comment=”324425″]Phil,

    I give you a lot of good-natured jabs but I have to applaud your work as bench-coach. The level of work you put into the weekend posts is mind-boggling!

    I am truly amazed.

    Now on to unis:

    link

    I LOVE the pins, but the Snow Whites are growing on me.

    The solid blue socks are WAY too much though.

    Even if ther were stirrups, the solid color needs to be broken up, maybe horizontal stripes ala the Csrdinals or even the NY logo like the Twin CIty socks.[/quote]

    I disagree – I like the solid color socks. There are teams which look good in striped socks, but al teams look good in solids. Provided, of course, that the socks are the correct color.

    In fact, aside from that preposterous patch, that picture right there is my Platonic ideal of a Mets uni. Let the pinstripes stay on the other side of the Triborough Bridge – that uniform is so damn near perfect.

    This just appearing on AOL:
    “Madonna injured after fall from horse.”

    Another agrument for proper wearing of stirrups, I’d say.

    Not sure if anyone is tracking Cleveland’s unis this year but does anyone know if they’ve gotten rid of the road alternates- the blue with red piping and “Cleveland” on them?

    They seem to be wearing their old home blue “Indians” alternates (white piping) with the script “I” caps on the road (goes against the nickname at home, city on the road convention).

    Did this start last year with the throwbacks being the new home alternate? I always liked the “Cleveland” jerseys- both grey and blue.

    [quote comment=”324437″][quote comment=”324434″]There are teams which look good in striped socks[/quote]
    link[/quote]

    c’mon james…you gotta post the obligatory yaz pic too

    [quote comment=”324437″][quote comment=”324434″]There are teams which look good in striped socks[/quote]
    link[/quote]
    Who’s going to be the first current player to wear stirrups and pants the old Willie Mays style that set the tone for 30+ years?

    BTW, Paul is right. Stripes are always good.

    [quote comment=”324436″]Not sure if anyone is tracking Cleveland’s unis this year but does anyone know if they’ve gotten rid of the road alternates- the blue with red piping and “Cleveland” on them?

    They seem to be wearing their old home blue “Indians” alternates (white piping) with the script “I” caps on the road (goes against the nickname at home, city on the road convention).

    Did this start last year with the throwbacks being the new home alternate? I always liked the “Cleveland” jerseys- both grey and blue.[/quote]

    Didn’t the blue “Cleveland” road uniforms get taken out of circulation last year, when the team introduced the new throwback-style home jerseys?

    I might get banned from HBIC for this, but I just took another look at those Team Canada unis and they are really damn sharp looking.

    I don’t know if it’s just the lighting in the arena, but it appears that they went with a crimson/cardinal red rather than the typical scarlet-type color we’re used to seeing on a Canadian uniform. I like that. And I really like the way the maple leaf crest stands out against the solid black. The socks look great, too.

    The only problem I can see is that the sleeve patches are overkill. Even with them, the jersey is a hell of a lot better than link.

    [quote comment=”324412″]I just hope someone’s keeping tracks of the Nats’ record in misspelled jerseys.[/quote]

    i think we’re only tracking major league clubs, paul

    [quote comment=”324438″][quote comment=”324437″][quote comment=”324434″]There are teams which look good in striped socks[/quote]
    link[/quote]

    c’mon james…you gotta post the obligatory yaz pic too[/quote]
    OK, I’ll oblige. But I really don’t know what link has to do with striped socks.

    Or did you mean link?

    link

    The Mets’ black shadow is almost as cliched as black itself. In ten years we’ll look back at all the teams with the black shadow and it will look as dated as the powder blue road uniforms look today. And why does no one talk about how the Mets blue caps used to be much darker (think 1969 season)? Sometime around the 80s they switched to smurf blue. I love the Mets, but they can be (literally) hard to watch sometimes (insert September collapse jokes here as well).

    [quote comment=”324427″]hey matt…

    did yer dog just link?

    why do you have a cards cap, anyway?[/quote]

    When I snapped the original pics, the dog jumped up on the picnic table and grabbed one of the shoes…I then gave chase thus losing my cap.

    I actually collect MLB caps.

    [quote comment=”324442″]I might get banned from HBIC for this, but I just took another look at those Team Canada unis and they are really damn sharp looking.

    I don’t know if it’s just the lighting in the arena, but it appears that they went with a crimson/cardinal red rather than the typical scarlet-type color we’re used to seeing on a Canadian uniform. I like that. And I really like the way the maple leaf crest stands out against the solid black. The socks look great, too.

    The only problem I can see is that the sleeve patches are overkill. Even with them, the jersey is a hell of a lot better than link.[/quote]

    Canada’s new flag colours are officially, in terms of usage on sports teams: black, red, gray, and white.

    Hockey Canada’s colours are red, white, and black, but Hockey Canada had nothing to do with the tournament whatsoever. This was simply BFBS. The only other team that had a red road jersey was Russia. The four countries outside of Canada went with their traditional colours.

    And you won’t be banned, JTH. I have never banned anyone, and it surely won’t be over your appreciation of a black uniform. :o)

    [quote comment=”324443″][quote comment=”324412″]I just hope someone’s keeping tracks of the Nats’ record in misspelled jerseys.[/quote]

    i think we’re only tracking major league clubs, paul[/quote]

    I don’t get Nationals broadcasts, but I can list their record right here: OH-FER.

    I kid, I kid… mostly because I don’t have a clue.

    [quote comment=”324416″]
    Surely that’s link.[/quote]

    This has always nagged me about the out of town board at Wrigley: the numbers used in the pitcher column are always wrong; there is a #12 displayed for the Yankees but that is for Cody Ransom, a 3B . The side for the relief pitcher shows a #13 but that is for A-Rod, who is obviously still rehabbing in Tampa.

    And Fausto Carmona doesn’t wear #2…

    [quote comment=”324450″][quote comment=”324416″]
    Surely that’s link.[/quote]

    This has always nagged me about the out of town board at Wrigley: the numbers used in the pitcher column are always wrong; there is a #12 displayed for the Yankees but that is for Cody Ransom, a 3B . The side for the relief pitcher shows a #13 but that is for A-Rod, who is obviously still rehabbing in Tampa.

    And Fausto Carmona doesn’t wear #2…[/quote]

    Considering that the Yankees were literally pulling everyone on the roster to pitch, they probably just grabbed two people out of the stands wearing jerseys with those numbers on their backs. LOL

    [quote comment=”324450″][quote comment=”324416″]
    Surely that’s link.[/quote]

    This has always nagged me about the out of town board at Wrigley: the numbers used in the pitcher column are always wrong; there is a #12 displayed for the Yankees but that is for Cody Ransom, a 3B . The side for the relief pitcher shows a #13 but that is for A-Rod, who is obviously still rehabbing in Tampa.

    And Fausto Carmona doesn’t wear #2…[/quote]

    i thought he was referring to the 14 “hits” and no runs

    /should have been 14 runs (in the second)

    [quote comment=”324393″]The Mets need to lose all of the black, or none at all. Who needs “pop”? If there isn’t black on the hat, it shouldn’t be found elsewhere. Football helmets and baseball hats should represent every color of a team, and they should be very careful about including colors that aren’t found elsewhere. The Steelers have a unique logo that allows the latter to happen. The KC Chiefs, on the otherhand, drive me insane. They have a classic look that does appeal to me. However, no representation of yellow on the helmet drives me nuts. Why do the Falcons have to have silver in their logo, but nowhere else on the uni? How can the Patriots have a silver helmet, but not have any silver on their road uni? (the teensy stripe on the collar doesn’t count)
    Get rid of ALL of the black. That drop shadow doesn’t fit. It wouldn’t have been done 50 years ago, and it still shouldn’t today.[/quote]
    The Mets losing the black is a given, but you also hit on one of my pet peeves, i.e., the Chiefs’ helmets. I would love to see a mockup which somehow incorporates yellow into the helmet. It might even be as simple as a yellow stripe down the middle, but I’m not so sure that would work.

    Guys, I acknowledge it’s your site so you do with it what you want.

    But, Jesus Maria, can you give it rest with the daily Mets check-in? We get it.

    [quote comment=”324454″]Guys, I acknowledge it’s your site so you do with it what you want.

    But, Jesus Maria, can you give it rest with the daily Mets check-in? We get it.[/quote]

    You acknowledge they can do what they want, and then complain about them doing what they want?

    [quote comment=”324452″][quote comment=”324450″][quote comment=”324416″]
    Surely that’s link.[/quote]

    This has always nagged me about the out of town board at Wrigley: the numbers used in the pitcher column are always wrong; there is a #12 displayed for the Yankees but that is for Cody Ransom, a 3B . The side for the relief pitcher shows a #13 but that is for A-Rod, who is obviously still rehabbing in Tampa.

    And Fausto Carmona doesn’t wear #2…[/quote]

    i thought he was referring to the 14 “hits” and no runs

    /should have been 14 runs (in the second)[/quote]
    No, I was referring to the “two touchdowns” the Indians put on the board in the 2nd.

    And they haven’t always shown the stupid fake pitcher numbers on the scoreboard. I remember when I was a kid that they would put up the real numbers. I think they switched to the current numbering system about the time the Tribune took over.

    I always assumed that it was a ploy to sell more programs, because if you pick one up, there is a cross-reference so you can figure out who’s really pitching.

    [quote comment=”324455″][quote comment=”324454″]Guys, I acknowledge it’s your site so you do with it what you want.

    But, Jesus Maria, can you give it rest with the daily Mets check-in? We get it.[/quote]

    You acknowledge they can do what they want, and then complain about them doing what they want?[/quote]
    Yes I Can — if Frank Sinatra Says it’s OK.

    [quote] I was referring to the “two touchdowns” the Indians put on the board in the 2nd.[/quote]

    christ…that’ll teach me to post before looking more closely…duh

    how did i not realize the wrigley boards are done by inning (denoted by the handy dandy tic tac toe demarcators to mark 3 inning increments) — at first quick glance i thought looking at a listing R-H-E

    /my bad (but hey, at least i knew it was the “14” to which you were referring ;) )

    [quote comment=”324457″][quote comment=”324455″][quote comment=”324454″]Guys, I acknowledge it’s your site so you do with it what you want.

    But, Jesus Maria, can you give it rest with the daily Mets check-in? We get it.[/quote]

    You acknowledge they can do what they want, and then complain about them doing what they want?[/quote]
    Yes I Can — if Frank Sinatra Says it’s OK.[/quote]

    He’s dead, so he doesn’t say a lot anymore. LOL

    [quote comment=”324368″]the White Sox follow that policy too, I believe[/quote]
    Generally, the Sox will wear the same jersey they wore the previous game until they lose while wearing it. Obviously, this only applies to the standard-vs-alternate, as they can’t very well wear their home pinstripes on the road – the black alt is worn with either set. They’ve been doing this for several years now, although I don’t think it’s an official policy.

    [quote comment=”324456″]
    And they haven’t always shown the stupid fake pitcher numbers on the scoreboard. I remember when I was a kid that they would put up the real numbers. I think they switched to the current numbering system about the time the Tribune took over.

    I always assumed that it was a ploy to sell more programs, because if you pick one up, there is a cross-reference so you can figure out who’s really pitching.[/quote]

    Interesting. The only part of the board that shows the real numbers is the section that shows the score for the Cubs game, heh.

    How do they determine which games are displayed on the board, since the scoreboard cannot fit every game in both leagues?

    Sorry if this has been covered, but I believe that that odd penguin noted by Mike is the Russian Penguin. In the first years after the fall of the Soviet Union, the Penguins developed a working arrangement of some sort with a team in Russia, and said team promptly was renamed the Penguins (or Russian Penguins).

    The irony of course, is anybody in Russia looking to the Pens for financial support, since the Pens have been historically one of the least financially stable teams in the NHL.

    re: Harry Kalas

    Ex-Phil and current ESPNer John Kruk is wearing the HK memorial patch on his suit lapel during Baseball Tonight. Seeing it on civvies threw me for a loop at first, but I suppose it’s not so different from the traditional black armband. I do wish he’d oriented the patch appropriately. It wouldn’t look so cramped if it were moved to the thicker portion of the lapel, and the letters need to be leveled horizontally.

    I decided to post this as a passing curiosity, but it actually opens a whole can of worms. Will Kruk wear the patch throughout the season? If so, will the patch be sewn onto a number of jackets, or temporarily applied to each night’s suit? Is the patch actually a patch, or just a sticker? Will ESPN be forced to hire an equipment manager? (Let’s hope so. The more I look at that shoddy, slanted application, the more it bugs me.)

    By the way, you can find the Kruk footage at espn.go.com. Look for the “April Surprises/BBTN” video in the Top Stories window.

    First time poster here, although an avid reader for a couple of years, the Mets thread has compelled me to post. Yep, ditch the black.

    From what I read, the black was introduced as part of a focus group study…we all know how the Wilpons are slaves to those studies!

    Up until ’77, the Mets jerseys were great, until they switched to those cheesy two-button softball tops. The racing stripes of the 80’s actually didn’t bother me, more so the inclusion of the blue v-neck collar was a bummer.

    The return to the almost classical look in ’95 was great, although I noticed the home Mets logo was outlined in white which made it look anemic.

    Maybe the Mets should just go back to the 60’s and 70’s style, just make the Mets logo wider instead of worrying about shadowing….heck, maybe they can bring back the 7 button (3 @ the top) front again!?!

    [quote comment=”324509″]First time poster here, although an avid reader for a couple of years, the Mets thread has compelled me to post. Yep, ditch the black.

    From what I read, the black was introduced as part of a focus group study…we all know how the Wilpons are slaves to those studies!

    Up until ’77, the Mets jerseys were great, until they switched to those cheesy two-button softball tops. The racing stripes of the 80’s actually didn’t bother me, more so the inclusion of the blue v-neck collar was a bummer.

    The return to the almost classical look in ’95 was great, although I noticed the home Mets logo was outlined in white which made it look anemic.

    Maybe the Mets should just go back to the 60’s and 70’s style, just make the Mets logo wider instead of worrying about shadowing….heck, maybe they can bring back the 7 button (3 @ the top) front again!?![/quote]

    Ooops, my bad…it should be “up until ’78”.

    The Pittsburgh Penguins logo shown was actually from an advertising campaign in the mid to late 80’s. I remember the team discussing using that logo prior to them going with the “pigeon” logo.

    KDKA-TV in the early ’90s would also use the fierce Penguin as the on-screen logo during the sports report. When the Pens were rumored to be getting new uniforms around 1993, a lot of people thought it would be that Penguin.

    Also, I’m not sure how often a local news station would use something besides the actual team logo on their broadcast. And only KDKA did it, not WTAE or WPXI.

    I’m solidly in the ditch-the-black school. It’s long seemed to me that the designers of the drop-shadow jersey and the two-tone cap focused too much on how the jerseys would look up close (on a store rack, say), and not enough on how they would look on television and from the stands. From anything more than a few feet, the blue NY on the black background with the thin orange outline looks like an indistinct smudge. And although the drop-shadowing on the jersey isn’t as appallingly awful, to my eyes it doesn’t “pop”; it just makes the logo look heavy and, again, indistinct. Surprisingly, for whatever reason, the drop-shadowing actually works okay on the away jersey–I just wish they’d wear it with blue sleeves, blue socks, and blue caps.

    I am also a pinstripe purist. In fact, I think I was the only guy in the stadium on Opening Night with the ’69 Seaver home jersey on except Tom Terrific himself. I also agree that the road jerseys with the blue hats are awesome. I think they broke them out last year at Yankee Stadium the day Delgado had over 10 RBI’s. Ditch all the black- let’s get back to the real Mets look.

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