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And He Wore It Tucked In

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Who’s that in the green Mariners throwback? It’s none other than Felix Hernandez, who modeled the new jersey at a season ticket-holders’ event yesterday. According to this article, the throwback will be worn for Monday and Friday home games (the team’s navy alternate will now be relegated to road status). The weird thing is that the M’s plan to wear this jersey with their standard navy cap, not with the green-billed cap they used for last June’s throwback game. That’s a mistake, methinks.

“I prefer the wordmark treatment the Mariners used back in ’94,” says Daniel Carroll, who took the King Felix photo. But I think the extra white outlining on that version was unnecessary, so I’m happy that they based the throwback on the 1995-96 lettering. Either way, always good to see more uniforms using green.

New ESPN column today. Link now live.

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Stop what you’re doing and read this: Alan Schwarz of the New York Times has been writing award-caliber investigative articles about football concussions for nearly four years (and would surely have won a Pulitzer by now if not for the committee’s longtime bias against sports journalism). His latest article, which is about how football helmets are — and mostly aren’t — tested, is a serious eye-opener. It’s a lengthy article, but if you have a kid who plays football, or if you’re just interested in how the helmet industry operates, it’s essential reading. (Oh, and speaking of football helmets, at least one NFL player ought to be forced to turn his in.)

Uni Watch News Ticker: The next big thing in lacrosse is apparently custom helmets. ”¦ Rumor mill is buzzing about Missouri possibly wearing this uni on Saturday. “I hope not,” says Chris Mycoskie. ”¦ Nike has come out with some seriously weird basketball practice jerseys (with thanks to Matthew Robins). ”¦ Kenny Jacobson attended yesterday’s Yanks/Rangers game and spotted someone who’d added this year’s memorial patches to a jersey that already had last year’s stadium-inaugural patch. ”¦ Rutgers is honoring paralyzed teammate Eric LeGrand with a new nose bumper decal. ”¦ Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Check out the awesome checkerboard endzones in this old Yankee Stadium football shot. ”¦ The Sharks wore Halloween-themed practice jerseys the other day. They’ll be autographed and auctioned off for charity (with thanks to Jeff Ryder). ”¦ Oh wow, look at this magnificent vintage cycling jersey. ”¦ Some tremendous old b&w hockey photos on this blog (with thanks to Michael Orr). ”¦ I just won this 1971 postal uniform catalog, whoop-whoop!

 
  
 
Comments (134)

    Want to thank Scott Sillcox for replying to my question late yesterday about the Ohio State strips. I mistakenly said 1916 when I did mean the 1928 jersey.

    As for the Missouri Tigers supposed uniform and helmet. I will say that is interesting looking. Well at least the helmet is not white.

    “… Rumor mill is buzzing about Missouri possibly wearing this uni on Saturday. “I hope not,” says Chris Mycoskie.” – Agreed! This should be simple MIZZOU – Black helmets, Black jersery, Gold pants. And if you have to go Gold/Gold/Gold – at least pick the SAME FRICKIN’ GOLD!!!!!

    I too, prefer the classic Mizzou uniform of the James Wilder era. However, the gold alternate isn’t bad, no white helmet, either. The gold monochrome works for me, it’s superior to the bright yellow monochrome of Minnesota.

    I like the Gold/Yellow Mizzou helmet. If they wore it with the black jersey it would look nice. Not feeling the all gold look though.

    I love the idea of the mono-gold uniform… but yeah, they really need to make it all the same shade.

    Mizzou wore the gold jerseys in the 2008 KU game, but with black pants and black helmet.

    And I concur on the helmet shade…its gotta match…

    yes they did. and THAT was the worst possible choice black/gold/black. i died a little that day.

    Black Black Black is by FAR the worst choice. This gold thing is a little better. Yes, the James Wilder/Phil Bradley getup is the best. Wasn’t the M on the helmet white though? Needs to be gold.

    Mizzou ought to go to a gold helmet when Texas goes orange, when Notre Dame goes navy, when Penn State goes blue. Shouldn’t happen. I call this a marketing travesty.

    channing crowder doesn’t get it…but he does Get Itâ„¢…right?:

    “They want to save the receivers and quarterbacks because they sell all the jerseys,” Crowder said. “They don’t give a damn at all about defensive players because we don’t sell as many jerseys as them.”

    yes…they want to stop helmet-to-helmet hits because of jersey sales…

    “My name is Channing Crowder, I have had concussions and I turned out fine turned out fine turned out fine turned out fine turned out fine turned out fine turned out fine turned out fine turned out fine turned out fine turned out fine turned out fine turned out fine turned out fine turned out fine turned out fine turned out fine turned out fine turned out fine. Where am I?

    Channing Crowder and James Harrison: Two reasons I’m glad I’m not watching the NFL this year. Get a clue and learn how to tackle.

    You’re also sitting out this NFL season, JV? I didn’t realize I had company on the sidelines. What ‘s your reason?

    Exactly. If you’re gonna “Truck Stick” the ball-carrier, lead in with your shoulder into the carrier’s chest. The only place your helmet should be on (besides your head) is on the ball. Either that, or learn how to tackle Rugby-style. I mean, is it really that hard? That’s what she… *ahem* sorry, that’s overdone.

    Bob, a few reasons: Tired of the owner/player squabble (I see the NBA settling long before the NFL does), tired of helmet-to-helmet hits before Goodell was, tired of commercial fests with occasional breaks for some game action, tired of more and more announcers wink-wink-nudge-nudging about gamesmanship/cheating and stating their dislike of the kicking game, etc. I still watch some college ball, but by the time Sunday rolls around I want to get out and do stuff with the family or take a nap.

    Oh yeah, tired of tight stretchy ugly unis, too…

    When looking at the cycling jersey, one of the other items was this patch from the 1976 olympics.

    High marks for quality, and funky beaver shape.

    link

    I love what we’re seeing on the Mariners throwback. And while I’m a big fan of the green-bill cap, I think the M’s made the right choice to stick with the solid navy cap on the jersey. Containing the green to the jersey will make the jersey pop more and also help the cap logo hold its own in the ensemble. A green bill would tend to muddle the visual effect and throw the whole thing off balance. (This was also my complaint about the SF Giants’ orange alts this year: the orange jersey had stronger impact with the all-black cap than with the orange-bill cap.) By all means, Seattle should bring back the green brim, but not with a solid green jersey.

    This was also my complaint about the SF Giants’ orange alts this year: the orange jersey had stronger impact with the all-black cap than with the orange-bill cap.

    but scott, you know they only wear the orange jersey with the black cap (the orange jersey is worn solely on home fridays)

    the orange billed cap is reserved for all sunday games

    so…never the twain shall meet

    you know that, right — or, like most things these days, am i reading that wrong?

    Right, sorry. I meant, when the orange jersey and orange-bill cap were announced, either they were originally meant to be worn together, or all the uni-fans I know told me they wished they’d be worn together; I forget which. I know that in the event, the Giants paired the orange jersey with the all-black cap, and the orange-bill cap was worn only when the Giants felt they really should look like the Orioles, because if there’s one thing that would make life better for San Francisco baseball fans, it’s their team being more like Baltimore.

    Anyway, you kind of had to be following the little voices in my head for my thing about the Giants’ orange/orange thing to make sense. I was remembering someone having the idea of matching SF’s new alt cap and jersey, and not liking the idea. Most of the time, bright-color jerseys will look better with solid, dark caps (or with matching bright-color solid caps) than with two-tone caps, is what I’m saying.

    I noticed the same. What I liked about all the orange slouch caps was that it was a dark logo on a bright cap. At the moment, I believe the Diamondbacks are the only team with a dark logo on a light cap, and that’s stretching the definition of “light” pretty far. Something a few more teams should do. If it’s true that the Marlins will switch to an orange-and-black scheme when they become the Miami Marlins, black-logo-on-orange-cap is how I hope they do it.

    I disagree. I think that with brighter-colored jerseys, with a darker undershirt, darker caps with a brighter brim look the best. I’d like to see the Giants’ orange-brimmed caps with their orange jerseys, and for the Mariners to pair teal-brimmed caps with their teal jerseys.

    I wouldn’t mind the Mariners green alternates so much if they didn’t come off as so teal. Shouldn’t it be less blue-ish like on the primary logo?

    link

    I googled in hope it was a musical. It is.

    The thought of a musical about a man beloved by football meatballs everywhere makes my day.

    Where did you hear it was a musical? It’s a straight play, I’m afraid.

    Two problems with the uniforms – link, and one of the players is link. Both concerns have been forwarded to the production, no idea if they’ve been corrected. I’m seeing it next week, so I’ll let you know.

    Your concerns may just be dismissed as fanboy nitpicking, but really, if you’re going to go to try to replicate the look of the era, why stop at “ah… good enough” when you’re so close? This is a Broadway production we’re talking about, for crying out loud.

    Especially something like wearing the socks over the stirrups — it’s such an easily correctable thing, there’s absolutely no excuse not to do it.

    Chance,

    here’s your opportunity to tape the event on your smartphone a la Rerun (with the Doobie Brothers) in ‘What’s Happening’.

    Sorry if i’m dating myself, but I’m dying to see this ‘production’. heeheehee

    There’s going to be a Broadway production of ‘What’s Happening’?
    I hope it doesn’t cover the Big Earl and Little Earl days.

    Agreed! It’s priceless. It’ll throw the Al Bundys of the world for a huge loop. I like how they managed to get the white sweatersocks & spotbilt shoes combination!

    One bad thou: they should have gotten the real Golden Boy for a cameo :)

    Coulda sworn that this has been critiqued here before, but what the hey:
    1) Stirrups? Love the striping on them, but shouldn’t they be socks?
    2) Kevin Arnold’s dad can sing? And all along I thought that the next time I saw him on stage would be as Fred Flintstone.
    3) Judith Light as Mrs. Lombardi? Where’s Tony Danza to play Carroll Dale?

    The stirrups are period-correct, but white crew socks should be worn link.

    Really, all things considered, the costume designer (or whoever’s responsible for that type of decision) should have just opted for striped tube socks.

    I learn something new every day … I thought he was Jo’s dad on the Facts of Life … I was wrong …

    link

    I would think that Tony Danza would be a better fit (with Judith Light in mind) to play Max McGee. :)

    More information regarding uniform tributes to Eric Legrand, I’ve never seen anything like this before in regards to an injured college player.

    link

    From the Hockey History in Vancouver site, I’m thrown by the lady goalie link I can only imagine that she played a stand-up style, which was the norm in those days (let’s keep it clean…).

    Hope the Rangers decide to tempt the ALMIGHTY UNI GODS and wear red jerseys and caps on Friday ( and Saturday )!

    Not gonna happen. Cliff Lee always chooses the standard uni so if there’s a game 7 Texas will be in white.

    Colby Lewis mixes it up a little bit more but tends to prefer white; the Rangers were in white for his last start during game 2.

    Sorry to disappoint you, but you’ll get Texas in white in whichever game they send the Yankees home for the winter.

    One of the best 3rd jerseys in baseball ever made is finally coming back. Disappointed no teal-bill cap but I am really happy to see the jersey back in play. Love it!

    This is totally off topic, but I turn to all of you for help – watching a FSN replay of USC-Cal last night (yeah, I know). When did SC start wearing white shoes? Did I miss something? Is it a Kiffin thing? I think of USC as one of the three (Michigan and PSU being the other two) schools never to dabble in white kicks, even in the ’70s when, you know, everyone was doing it. And these weren’t mostly black Nikes with lots of white trim – these seemed white with black trim, to my eyes.

    <3 THE TEAL. Though if they're going to wear that navy jersey on the road only, it should say "Seattle."

    I’d also like to see the green-brimmed caps, but there is precedent for the link.

    I’m just glad they’re not using the link (maybe only in 1994?) with those.

    And they’re calling those throwbacks? Really? What makes that a throwback as opposed to just another dark alt?

    link is a throwback. Current color scheme/current logos = not a throwback.

    If the Royals decided to reinstate the black jerseys, would those be throwbacks as well?

    UGH. Why would the Royals bring back those terrible black things.
    Now, if the Royals brought back the Powder Blues with the Arched Block “Kansas City” those would be throwbacks. Even thought they currently have a powder blue in the color scheme.

    OK,

    This is not quite off-topic as Paul posted a really neat piece on the subject last year; how the Baseball Hall of Fame Plaques are made.

    As one who collects and has a full set of the plaque postcards that are issued by the Hall, and with the word that HOF’er Pete Hill (Negro Leaguer) had his plaque re-done (or re-cast), if I am correct, I think Hill became the 5th HOF’er to have had his plaque re-done.

    The others and the reasons:
    1. Ted Williams, because he did not like his portrait. It was re-done from an older, grim-faced Teddy Ballgame to a younger, smiling Splendid Splinter.

    2. Robin Roberts, because the narrative was re-done to exclude the phrase, “…compiled XXX wins while playing mostly for second division teams…”

    3. Roberto Clemente, because he was listed incorrectly as “ROBERTO WALKER CLEMENTE.” It was changed to the proper Latino style of “ROBERTO CLEMENTE WALKER.”

    4. Jackie Robinson, because his previous plaque simply listed his on-field accomplishments. The revised plaque narrative also addresses his impact on society and baseball by being the first modern era African-American in MLB.

    Does anyone know if there has there ever been any other revised HOF plaques for any reason?

    Not HoF, but Mickey Mantle’s plaque at Yankee Stadium was re-done after his death, replacing all the standard stuff with “A Great Teammate”, Mantle’s preferred epitaph.

    Does anyone have any more info on where to get a pair of these?

    link

    Someone posted that they got them at a “local sporting goods store” the other night, but I havent been able to find anything close online.

    a quick note on that great endzone design the Football Giants used during their early years at Yankee Stadium.. In the middle of the endzone, running from goal line to end line were two large capital letters “N” and “Y”.. you can make them out if you look closely… the oddity about the lettering was that they were YELLOW!

    i have ‘proof’ from both my dad who attended hundreds of games at Yankee stadium (and remembers) and also in the history of the giants dvd that has some color shots from the late ’50’s/early ’60’s.

    i should note that the giants played roughly 135 games at Yankee Stadium (1956-72)… so my dad didn’t actually attend ‘hundreds’…. but he did make almost all of them!!

    Thought on the column and tight football jerseys generally:

    I would think it would be possible to produce light and tight football jerseys that end anywhere on the arm. Or would there be range of motion complaints/fears from players that derail the idea?

    Paul, I’ll have you deal with Osi when he feels to restricted in the jersey and he can’t move…

    joe

    serious question — is there no way, with the stretchy fabric, some semblance of sleeve can be added without the players feeling restricted?

    i blame jim burt for all this

    I understand Paul’s comments but people need to rememeber that this ia a game of clutching and grabbing…WR/DB/Skill players sleeves are getting smaller and smaller as well…Does the armhole look too big on nicks or bradshaw? Nope…Some players today would rather have me paint their numbers on a tight fit shirt and let them play in that…

    I say screw all this stretchy jersey crap. Restricted arm movement didn’t stop Dick Butkus now did it?

    I feel restricted in this shirt and tie today. Maybe I’ll go into the boss’s office and throw a tantrum so I can go home and change into a tank top for this afternoon’s meeting.

    If my boss offered me a stack of lighter, more breathable, more comfortable, shirts to wear at work that I thought looked like a more comfortable version of the Men’s Wearhouse gear I have on now, I’m all over it. You would be too.

    You would think our bosses would be able to tell if something looked like what we were previously wearing.

    Joe

    Doesn’t the armhole itself create a huge handle for grabbing? seems I could just hook my fingers through the armhole and grab ahold of the shoulder pads all I want, whereas if there was a tight, bicep-length sleeve there, I wouldn’t be able to get my hands on the pads like that.

    The football jersey sleeves as currently constructed fit the players the same way as a queen-sized mattress cover fits a king-sized mattress.

    This is probably already known, but I noticed that Tim Lincecum is not the only Giants player who cuts out his Nike logo from his undershirt. Pablo Sandoval also does it. Also, I never noticed until last night, but Andres Torres’ necklace was approaching Flava Flav length and thickness. Plus he wears it along with that “sports mood ring” necklace that’s all the rage. Bad look!

    “The weird thing is that the M’s plan to wear this jersey with their standard navy cap, not with the green-billed cap they used for last June’s throwback game. That’s a mistake, methinks.”

    Methinks so, too. Actually, as much as I love that jersey, I’d be happy if they just wear the teal-brimmed hat all the time. But if they’re going to wear those alts, I’m not complaining!

    Agreed on the Mariner caps with the teal bill. I wish they would go back to those caps at home, with the solid blue caps on the road. Thank God they did not bring back the teal cap with blue bill – it was horrible.

    JosephSkiba | October 21, 2010 at 10:48 am | Reply
    “I understand Paul’s comments but people need to rememeber that this ia a game of clutching and grabbing”

    If the players could clutch and grab more, do you think they’d be less inclined to launch themselves at a player helmet first to knock them down? I’d rather see clutching, grabbing and actual tackling…and sleeves.

    i think it’s the D linemen & LBs who are getting grabbed on their run/pass rush…not so much the wide receiver going over the top and then takes a huge hit

    in other words, giving more sleeve to grab isn’t affecting the tackler, it’s affecting the holding game away from the ball…the hits there aren’t the ones causing the players to get concussed

    But the backs and receivers wear them tight so they don’t get pulled down by a tackler. Otherwise that Tiki Barber pic would look more like Walter Payton’s.

    And if Mike Webster and Terry Long were still around, they’d tell you there’s plenty of concussing going on amongst the linemen. But that’s more from launching out of the three-point stance than it is about clutching and grabbing.

    Make everyone stand at the line and bring back this kind of blocking:
    link

    You just want to see if a Jay Cutler single-game sack total can hit triple digits, don’t you?

    Was the game really so fundamentally flawed and lacking prior to the advent of the sleeveless pull over? Did I miss something? Has the game become so much more competitive since they’ve whacked off the sleeves? Are the athletes’ skills remarkably more honed since the team stripes have been reduced to hyphens? Are rules and regulations about blocking more adhered to since biceps have replaced northwest stripes? Does Anthony Munoz now walk in shame knowing that his performance was not all that it could have been had he been wearing the skin tight enhancer?

    Please.

    DIY question… Does anyone know where I can get a blank heavy cotton 3/4 sleeve crew neck football shirt? I see the old-style 3/4 length baseball tees everywhere but nowhere can I find a blank vintage-ish football shirt. Almost like rugby shirt material. Similar to this?
    link

    UW is always my weekend reading as a treat for surviving the week so I usually avoid the ticker since most stuff I’m reading is a few days old but thought I’d pop in during the week to share. The AHL’s WB/S Penguins have announced their Police, Fire, & Military tribute sweaters today.

    link

    Are they needed? Not really. But as a Fire Fighter I kinda like that one. Even though I’m no longer a hockey fan I’d buy one. And not really saying much but all 3 are better than the generic Reebok crap they usually wear.

    The NFL needs to make it a requirement for players to wear sleeves again. If players don’t like it, who cares, it’s the rules. It just looks better, so deal with it.

    If you think about rugby and how they hit each other without the padding that football players have and wonder “why dont they suffer MORE injuries?”…They dont hit with as much force. Having more protection makes you more likely to take risks. Studies show that bicycle riders who wear helmets are more likely to get hurt because they take greater risks.

    If you take away the helmet or at least the facemasks…you’ll get more broken noses, but probably fewer concussions and spinal injuries.

    Exactly.
    There was an article in the ticker earlier this year comparing American and Australian football. Even though the Aussies don’t wear helmets, they have far fewer concussions. And it’s not exactly a namby-pamby sport.

    exactly.

    they’re not wearing pro combat or trefoil superman gear either

    coincidence?

    the scariest thing is they actually needed to label that article “satire”

    TWICE

    I’m a senior at The University of Texas at Austin and I’m also one of the costumed mascots, Hook ‘Em. I’ve been reading Uni Watch for about three years now (I found it when I was looking for leads on the RBK Edge uni system for the NHL). I’ve always been interested in team’s uniforms and being a member of the UT Athletics department for the past 3 years in cheer/mascot, I’ve had some pretty cool experiences. I’ve never had any uni-related news to report until today though. I just got back from getting fitted for a new basketball uniform, and I spent some time in both the football and basketball equipment offices today. Here goes:
    – Turns out there is one person at UT responsible for order all Nike apparel and uniforms for all the sports, and due to the specific color of burnt orange UT uses, there are only 2 orders a year, one mid summer and one mid fall.
    – I was able to pick the new uni # for Hook ‘Em’s basketball uniforms, and I went with 35. It’s a number that has been retired and I’ve always had a problem wearing a jersey number that matches someone on the field. For football, we’ve worn #6 for the past three years and I’ve had to deal with too many questions of why I’m wearing a certain player’s number over someone elses. Anyways, not sure if this is ticker worthy, but it’s the first thing I’ve had to contribute.

    Do you expect anyone to give you flak for wearing Kevin Durant’s number?

    Also, why not just go with #6 for basketball? That way, there can be no possibility for you to wear the same number as someone on the court.

    Oh, also, I’ve always wondered. Do mascot unis have to be custom-made or are they just regular off-the-rack sizes?

    We’ve had two separate uni numbers for Hook ‘Em’s basketball jerseys the past 3 years, 30 for our orange away and 1/2 for our white home. And I talked with the basketball equipment manager about the number choice and he agreed that its a number that the fan base can identify with and as the marketing face of the university, it would be fine. And we wear #6 because thats what football gave us to wear, so there isnt any attachment to it, its just what we’ve got. The only problem is the new uniform they gave us today is a lot tighter than the old jersey (I took pictures this afternoon) so we’re special ordering the new white #35 with Hook ‘Em on the back. And no, thats another one of the mascots (there are 6 of us), but THIS is me. link

    Scary NY Times article about helmets. One other ugly note – did the Children’s Hospital in Columbus really sell its naming rights?

    Unfortunately, Oregon’s uniform tonight doesn’t contain any green. Would have liked to see a green helmet and green pants with the yellow jerseys.

    The note in the ticker about the Sharks halloween jerseys. Reminded my of the Kalamazoo Wings. Except theirs weren’t practice jerseys. They wore special colored jerseys for St. Patrick’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Halloween etc.

    The Mariners’ navy with teal/green brim is one of my favorites. I still have an old one, but it’s too small. They should definitely wear that one with this alt jersey.

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