You knew it was bound to happen eventually: Reality teevee has finally discovered the uni-verse. What you see above is a clip from the new Discovery Channel series All-Star Dealers, which debuts later this month and features our friends at Grey Flannel Auctions. Sort of like Pawn Stars for sports geeks. If you want to know more, here’s a press release and an additional preview clip.
I have another ESPN piece today (yes, even though I had one yesterday), about all the new NBA throwbacks — enjoy.
Membership update: A new batch of designs has been added to the membership card gallery (including Chip Yinger’s Secretariat-based design, shown at right), with another batch to be added in a day or three. If you made a New Year’s resolution to finally sign up already — or if you made that resolution last year and still haven’t gotten around to following through on it — there’s no time like the present.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Might have to spring for a wide-screen teevee now that Corey Wimberly — he of the picture-perfect stirrups — has signed a minor league deal with the Mets. Memo to Sandy Alderson: I hear the A’s are willing to move Josh Outman. … Lots of photos of St. Louis sports fans wearing amusing NOBs (from Gil Neumann). … Love the hockey throwbacks worn by Mount St. Charles from Rhode Island at one of the recent Frozen Fenway high school games. Full slideshow, if you’re so inclined, here (big thanks to Chris Batzinger). … Think you have a lot of jerseys? Probably not as many as this guy (from Chris Flinn). … Here’s an interesting infographic tracking the careers of players on the Mariners’ roster (from Chad Todd). … Another infographic, this one about the economics of bowl games (from John Gagnon). … By now most of you know that I love those old heavy-wool baseball cardigans. But you rarely see a photo of that type of sweater being worn on the football field (nice find by Bill Naile). … Got an interesting query yesterday from Ryan Patrick: “Watching all the ESPN bowl coverage over the holidays made me think about the helmets that are used to dress the sets. Where do they keep them? Is there some magical closest with cool lighting where they’re arranged by conference, alphabetically, common use, etc.? Do they buy them? Do teams supply them? Who updates them when they change? Are there 12 of them for Oregon?” I asked my editors and was told that everything’s kept in a “massive locker” next to the SportsCenter set. I’ll make a point of checking it out — and maybe shooting a video segment — next time I’m in Bristol. … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Chance Michaels found a 1997 photo showing what the Steelers’ new uni numbers were originally supposed to look like. … Very entertaining article about Mr. Met. Among other things, it reveals that the Mets originally had a live dog mascot named Homer the Beagle, who was supposed to run the bases after each home run. Didn’t work out, unsurprisingly (from Tom Mulgrew). … Speaking of Mr. Met, he participated in the team’s blood drive yesterday and was wearing a now-obsolete drop-shadow jersey. Get with the program, buddy! … Man, Roy Halladay had one ugly high school uni (from Chad Todd). … New sponsor for Newcastle United (from Ross Hazlett). … Speaking of sponsors, an Aussie cricketer lost his sponsorship deal, had all the sponsor labels removed from his gear, and then went out and had a record-setting day (from Ewan Williams). … Bosox and Chisox notwithstanding, I’m generally opposed to team names that don’t end in “s.” But there’s an indoor football team I might make an exception for, for obvious reasons (from Michael Blake Raymer). … The Lions are trying to get fans to post all sorts of social network content for them, and are dangling a new Nike-made Lions jersey as an inducement. No indication of exactly when the prize will be awarded, but I’m assuming in April, since Reebok is still the NFL’s official uni outfitter up until then (from Matthew Hoffman). … Looks like the Lakeland Flying Tigers have added some Seattle Pilots-style brim graphics (as noted by Brian Mazmanian). … The White Sox will give away 1972 replica jerseys to kids on June 24 (from Tyler Kepner). … New lacrosse gloves for Oregon (from Jake Hurley). … Several readers have noticed a subtle change to the ESPN.com favicon. No more drop shadow! Much cleaner this way. … Yet another infographic, this one based on the Michigan/MichState rivalry. “My intent was not to be graphically correct with colors, fonts, etc. (after all, the Paul Bunyan trophy wasn’t issued until 1953), but instead to create something I could use as a background for my computer,” says Kevin Tiessen. … Just what the world needs: a BFBS burger. No word on whether the beef is from Black Angus steers. … “After getting into his first NHL fight, Blackhawks rookie Andrew Shaw had his jersey torn and sewn back up (just like his forehead),” writes Tim E. O’Brien. ”¦ What do you get when the Super Bowl is being played in Indianapolis? NFL-themed Indy cars. ”¦ Jon Gates came upon some college football beverage coasters. “That Texas A&M coaster isn’t really an A&M coaster at all!” he notes. “That logo came out of nowhere! It looks like the University of Texas font and a made-up interlocking A&M. The packaging features official collegiate product labeling, so I wonder who screwed this one up?” … Very interesting hosiery controversy brewing in the Premier League, as players are cutting the bottoms off of their socks (from Jon Grossman). ”¦ A New Jersey high school has won a bunch of Under Armour gear, and UA will design new uniforms for all of the school’s teams (from Kurt Esposito). ”¦ Meanwhile, an upstate New York high school did the pink thing the other day, with SOB — that’s slogan on back (from Jimi Jamm). ”¦ Interesting mix of baseball photos, including some really nice vintage Little League shots, on this blog (from Dan Cichalski). ”¦ Wait, here’s yet another infographic about the bowl/BCS system (from Jasmine Hall).
Looking ahead: Phil’s busy this weekend, so I’ll be posting the content over the next few days. It won’t be the full-on weekend smörgÃ¥sbord that Phil usually provides, but on the other hand tomorrow will feature a rare Saturday Ticker (and maybe there’ll be another one on Sunday). See you then.
Might want to touch up that Newcastle United link.
Also, those Mt Saint Charles sweaters are INCREDIBLE. Kinda wish I was going down for Frozen Fenway tomorrow.
Guess this guy is going to have to do some updating to his wardrobe.
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He should have made a throwback version, sans sponsor.
Yeah, lovin’ those MSC hockey throwbacks, hope they’re sellin’ ’em too.
-Jet
Thiery Henry finally signed his loan deal to return to Arsenal. link
Looks like he will be wearing #12 instead of the #14 he wore with Arsenal before, which is currently worn by Theo Walcott.
he regularly wears 12 on international duty. Still be odd to see him in the red with white sleeves and a 12 though
Will let you know if it looks strange from my seats against Leeds. :)
From the story about the guy with more jerseys than Jesus: “Just last week, I went to Ben’s place – he lives with his mother in Queens – to see his collection with my very own eyes…” Really? That guy lives with his mom? While I may be envious of his collection, why isn’t that the shocker. His girlfriend is probably i
Just found a new candidate for the show Hoarders.
He might have some cool crap but I have no idea how anybody can live like that..its over kill..
Seriously, I collect jerseys and hats but that is crazy! How can he ever possibly find anything there? Do they really sleep on those beds?!?
Ugh, just looking at that hoarder’s house makes me feel claustrophobic & want to clean out & purge a bunch of my general crap. That’s just way too much stuff. I’m more of a minimalist approach: “waste not, want not.”
I like how the Darth Vader’s buns is black, and the Jedi Burger has marshmallows on it (or it looks like Marshmallows…what are they?).
They never heard of Pumpernickel?
His girlfriend is probably on the internet too. Which means he can probably use a computer better than me too since I sent the previous comment prematurely.
There, but for the grace of God, go I.
-Walter
Sounds like somebody is jealous of the jersey collection!
I have just a few jerseys myself, but I think that collection would be much more fun & useful if it was organized & used a reference as opposed to just random stacks & drawers stuffed with them. That guy definitely has some OCD packrat issues.
If you can’t say how many jerseys or caps you have, then you have too many of them. A ‘King of the Hill’ quote, Hank: If your sorority has to sell jam to buy beer [then] you’re drinking too much.
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The Omaha Indoor Football team could properly be called the “Beeves” which is the plural of Beef.
I enjoy the site very much.
Simmer down, Beeves:)
-Walter
The word “beef” for the meat relates to something that is uncountable and therefore does not have a plural form.
However there are two other uses of the word “beef” – one meaning a cow bred for its meat, whose plural is beeves. My Chambers Dictionary which is the standard for Scrabble describes the word as archaic. The other meaning is a complaint – whose plural is beefs.
I’m not sure any team would want to be identified as being archaic.
Happy to help :)
Or for a plural version I would do after one of my all-time favorite food items: [Italian]”Beefs” (this one’s dunked)
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Roy Halladay isn’t wearing a high school baseball uni in the video clip. That’s from Team One, which was a camp that attracted players seeking to show off for professional and college scouts.
Team One was eventually bought out by Baseball Factory, a similar enterprise.
In 1994, a T-shirt with vinyl-pressed numbers would do fine to differentiate among the hundreds of players going through a spotlight camp.
While I really like the Cathedral H.S. throw backs worn at fenway, did they really have to use the Montreal Canadians logo? link
Oddly, their teams are the “panthers” and they usually use the Florida Panther’s logo, even on football helmets: link
Doesn’t their high school have an art program? Make the design of a team identity a class project.
Doesn’t their high school have an art program? Make the design of a team identity a class project.
Couldn’t agree more. Those two sentences should be our standard response every time we see a high school poaching a pro or college logo.
Their look is just completely bizarre.
Montreal Canadiens logo? Check.
Detroit Red Wings 1927-28 Cougars throwback template? Check.
Color both in purple? Check.
Forward-facing shoulder patches? Check.
MSC’s unis are beautiful, and even better, they don’t have any “vintage” white on them!
That reminds me: a student in my grade designed our current gym floor/basketball court. I’m going to see about getting you some pictures of it.
I remember a few logo / design contests back in the day. Vast majority (if not every single entry) of the entries was terrible; be it a comic book/strip style, sports team rip-offs (usually mine), skater logos, chickenscratch, unicorns… Maybe they did hold a contest & all entries were deemed unworthy or a small school/low turnout.
I guess there can’t always be a designer in every school.
I’ve always been critical of the high schools that rip off logos, too. And then a while back, I remembered that my own high school uses the Chicago Bears’ alternate logo on the helmet. I believe that is the only place we use it, though. The varsity football team wore gray pants when I was there, which was a lot better than the Under Armour maroon with maroon that they seem to be wearing now.
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By the way, our high school basketball team wears (or wore when I was there) gray at home. We were ahead of the curve on the gray trend. Plus, it is one of our colors (maroon and gray). I think gray can look sharp when it’s used the right way. But none of this GFGS that’s going on now.
Does St. Cloud State have an arts program? Perhaps they should get on the bus as well.
Does the University of Oregon have an arts program? Because they sure as shit could use one. The school colors are plain Green & Yellow… maybe use those colors instead of say, not?
What Nike is doing with them is just becoming a colossal waste of time & resources. You can make [has] shitty exuberated designs; we get it.
I’m no expert on eastern MA high school hockey (I don’t even think they know there’s land west of Springfield, out where I exist), but every picture I’ve seen of Cathedral hockey in the past few years, they’ve worn the Habs crest.
Or maybe I’m confusing them with Catholic Memorial HS.
My theory on Mr. Met is he is actually making a statement. When this incarnation took over for Mr. Met 1.5 link it was the era of dropshadow. So maybe he sees those as HIS jerseys whereas Paul and I prefer the cleaner look.
I know I’m riffing but I’d actually love it if the Mets ran with this backstory and added to the Mr. Met folklore that he loves black jerseys and defiantly wears them. It’s just fun.
Thanks for the link!
Speaking of jerseys – a reader had a Tejada made! link
Dare I say that this is the only time you will see the words “Newcastle” and “Virgin” in one sentence ;)
I am massively chuffed about the Magpie win over ManU. Been a Newcastle fan for about six years now (based entirely on regional stereotype, accents, low scores on the posh scale) and it’s been a little rough. And that’s not even mentioning the Tragic Relegation. But this year, hey, not so bad.
I hate ads on shirts, but I guess I like “Northern Rock” more than “Virgin Money.” What services are offered by Virgin Money, George? But don’t get smutty on us!
The Tottenham Hotspurs are my second-favorite, just because I like the name.
You’re right, it’s a fantastic name. Great crest, as well.
But they’re still scum. Come on, you Gunners!
And you’re a bleedin’ eejit.
Nope, just a King of North London… ;)
Virgin Money is just another business arm of Richard Branson’s empire and provides all the normal banking services (whatever is normal for banks anywhere).
Northern Rock is of course partly owned by the British public as the Government bailed them out with a loan in the crisis. I’m not holding my breath that I’ll personally see a reduction in my taxes now that Branson has paid to acquire NR.
If you want “not smut” then:
Man goes into a brothel and is directed to one of the girls. After a couple of minutes she loudly says disgustedly “No – you can’t”.
The madam directs him to another but again after a few minutes the girl says “You certainly cannot do that” and runs off distressed.
The madam is intrigued and says “Look, I’m experienced, maybe I can help. What is it you want?”
The man says “Can I pay in Euros?”
Currency smut!
Still seems wrong to me that Newcastle United are no longer sponsored by Newcastle Brown Ale. That was maybe the all-time ad-on-the-front soccer jersey.
Agree. That blue star was a perfect logo.
link
Always thought the West Bromwich Building Society was a
greatappropriatefitting ad for West Bromwich Albion:link
And I love the crest:
link,,10366~3205513,00.jpg
Go Baggies!
I might love the old change kit even more:
link
Call it a draw. I’d wear both.
I just wish Wigan Athletic would team up with this dog food company:
link
That’s a legit Texas A&M logo (it’s known unofficially as the spider logo). It flopped, though, and is rarely used.
I second that….I believe it is a very old logo that the university brought back briefly sometime in the mid-2000s
forgive me for asking, but what was the site, used to be the banner on top, sold old school college basketball shorts?
thanks in advance for the help
link
Wow…those UA uniforms from that HS all star game were fucking hideous. Complain all you want about Nike, but UA has definatley set the bar high ugly ass designs.
Socks does end with an “s.” Kind of interesting that they opted for the non-standard plural spelling in that early era of nomenclature. Most people were still virtually illiterate outside of large cities.
“… Lots of photos of St. Louis sports fans wearing amusing NOBs (from Gil Neumann). …”
LaRussa .093 is pretty damn funny.
That’s not actually Roy Halladay’s HS jersey, that’s gotta be some sort of AAU-kinda thing. Roy went to Arvada West HS (my home town is Arvada) and they’re color scheme is basically a direct rip-off of Kansas State. The only thing in that vid that would be from his HS are the socks, pants and undersleves.
Okay, looking at the NFL Indy cars, NOW that pizza graphic’s Super Bowl option makes some sense. Apparently, there is a graphics package out there tying the Super Bowl to the Brickyard (the “bricks” being blue likely to represent the Colts’ primary color)… though it stands in stark contrast to the standardized Lombardi Trophy logo the NFL’s using for the game itself.
There is a Super Bowl style guide almost every year released by the NFL to go with the host city and event, however it is not the Colts blue in this years style guide.
I really enjoyed reading that article about Aussie Michael Clarke being dropped by his sponsor, especially the sentence, “He’s a great marketeer.” Marketeer=great word.
Reminds me of one of the first jokes I ever heard:
How many ears does Davy Crockett have?
Three – a left ear, a right ear, and a wild front-ear.
Sorry for the jokes today – I’ve got “man flu” :(
Giants just showed off a picture of Jason Pierre Paul’s cleats that he’ll wear in the playoffs: link
The effect is kind of cool, but that it’s only used to show off that giant over-sized UA logo, not so much.
As always, I hate red being used as a trim color for the Jints. Blue would be way better.
Also, that picture of the Oregon lacrosse gloves reminded me of something:
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I don’t even play lacrosse or hockey, but I would love to see some gloves with that design.
The Lakeland Flying Tigers have been wearing palm-frond scrambled eggs on their caps since 2007:
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Started as coaches-only, with players wearing plain brims. Might still be the case; not sure if they’ve changed that practice.
Looks too fussy. Too many wings on the hat. There shouldn’t be wings on the main logo AND on the brim. One or the other.
I agree in principle, but in practice this is one of those “so wrong it’s right” exceptions to the standards of good design. Real military scrambled eggs also get ridiculous as you go up the ranks, but in the end the garish mess of hat an admiral wears screams “Admiral!” more effectively than quality, restrained design would. I mean, this hat:
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Is completely insane, but it’s also perfect. As long as Lakeland reserves the palm fronds for coaches, it’s an awesome touch.
I do see your point:)
Here are some action photos. Manager Andy Barkett with a pitcher on the mound:
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Manager in the dugout with plain-brim players:
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Other surprisingly good photos, mostly from 2008-2010, here:
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In regards to the ESPN storage locker, isn’t it the background for some of the little intros they shoot for the TV version of the Scott Van Pelt Show? I think i’ve seen some where the guys with the giant Scott and Ryen heads have shelves full of helmets, etc. in the background.
Here a link showing the Texas A&M “spider” logo that was used on the coasters. The men’s basketball team uses it on their jerseys at the base of the collar: link
Today’s ESPN column is up:
link
Is “dressing as” your phrase or the NBA’s?
Mine.
Chaparrals are my favourite, mostly because I had a maths teacher who addressed the class as “chaps”.
Apparently you had an English teacher who referred to arithmetic as “maths”…
In Ireland (where I live) mathematics is a comprehensive subject incorporating arithmetic, calculous, trigonometry and other branches of mathematics and is mandatorily taught throughout primary and secondary schooling. It is generally referred to as “maths”. Thus, to call him an “arithmetic teacher” would be unfairly reducing the scope of his position.
Now, continue the discussion of uniforms…
Stop ruining my snarky jokes with facts and logic.
Ass…
Oh, and to be clear, what you call “maths” we call “math”, no plural ‘s’.
Deal. But only if you stop ruining my facts and logic with snarky jokes.
Dickweed…
I can’t promise anything ;)
I love seeing the ABA throwbacks, but they make me a little sad. For years after the merger, the NBA wanted nothing to do with the ABA, save for the 3-point shot. But as soon as they realized they could make some money … ’twas ever so, I guess. That, and the ABA was more fun to watch than today’s NBA.
Awesome column today! Exactly why I read Uni Watch. I’d say the Nuggets is my favorite. A little curious why they did textured stitching on everything but it’s very nice. Those cartoon mascots have a lot of retro charm & another example of how much nicer hand drawn logos are as opposed to computer drawn logos.
The textured stitching is fascinating. They could have simply done multi-layered tackle twill. In fact, from a historical accuracy perspecitve, they SHOULD have done that. But the stitching is SO nice! I was drooling over those jerseys when I saw them at the NBA offices and took all those photos.
Count me as a fan of the Memphis two-color unis. Not as good as what the Grizzlies wear now (they’re probably my favorite modern uni), but it’ll be fun to see them.
What I find interesting is that when something atrocious is unveiled, the manufacturer generally gets the blame, but here we have all these nice chenille and chain-stitched details, and the league gets the credit for going the extra mile. ;-)
Rats.
No Oakland Oaks.
No Anaheim Amigos.
No Houston Mavericks.
No Denver Rockets (orange & black or lavender & cheddar, Spencer Haywood…before the impending merger forced the name change).
Absolutely agree about the Oaks. Just googled their logo designer, Lee Susman, and was sad to find he just passed away (at 94). One of the truly great sports cartoonists. A few samples of his stuff (and him, naturally wearing an Oaks cap) link.
I love the throwbacks otherwise … but am very curious how they’ll look in today’s extra-baggy style — especially Memphis. The contrast with those early ’70s short shorts might be pretty jarring.
As a fan of cardigans, I give those warmups a pretty classy looking seal of approval.
Why the designer pajama jeans look for the warmups?
Honest to god, would you look at those beautiful uniforms?
…Back when pro basketball was fun. Long live the ABA!
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Pretty cool project here:
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Worth the read.
As a native Memphian, it’s neat to see the Tams unis and color back, as I was too young to remember when the franchise was actually playing. Interestingly, the “tam” is represented graphically as a tam-o-shanter hat, but that’s not where the name came from. TAM actually refers to Memphis geographically…located at the intersection of Tennessee, Arkansas & Mississippi.
Interesting. Is the term actually used locally (as in “the TAM region” or whatever), or was it just an ABA invention?
Pretty sure it was just an ABA invention when naming the team, and give it some (at least subtle) regional appeal. I’m 40 years old, and I’ve never heard the term used otherwise in general conversation…we’re most often called the “Mid-South” region.
Gotta run – having lunch at Peter Luger with Chris from No Mas. (Translation: I’ll probably be taking a long nap after I get back home.)
I can’t believe somebody snapped a picture of me wearing my “Party Marty” Rams jersey. I thought the camera only added 10 pounds.
Psych!
All of today’s links in the ticker opened in the same window. Before it would open a completely new window which is much more convenient.
Is this my browser??
Thanks in advance!
No change in coding. Must be yr browser.
This happened to me once, and it turned out that I had opened a link in the previous day’s entry, then navigated to other pages in that window, and closed other tabs, and then the next day when I went to UW in that tab, the browser (correctly) opened links in the tab called “_blank,” which was the same tab I was reading UW in. It was kind of meta.
link
You always put cool music up.
I think it’s a bad sign that in the second photo of the Sports Gear Hoarder, the smoke detector is missing from the ceiling. One spark from putting, say, a Thurman Munson and Carlton Fisk jerseys in the same drawer and the place would be an inferno.
Wow! I can’t begin to say how impressed I am with those NBA throwbacks. Thanks for the breakdown and pics Paul.
The NBA really hit this one out of the park. While you can argue for which is the best design, they are all great because it doesn’t look like the NBA cheeped out on the project or did it half-assed as with many MLB/NFL/NHL retro unis.
The material used is the best part and what makes them great. The textures, the stitching and the patches are just a thing of beauty. I’m not a pro-hoops fan, but I may be tuning i on some dates to give a peak at them in action.
I think it’s no coincidence that, with the NBA now being adidas’ flagship league in North America as the NFL contract winds to a close, there’s evidence of more dedication and attention to detail in that segment.
Okay, even I have to admit those are not bad unis at all.
I was just thinking to myself the other day about how un-badass the Steelers’ uni numbers are. I clicked the link hoping to see something like they used to wear–similar or identical to what Iowa uses now–but was even more disappointed.
ECHL Orlando Solar Bears new logo/wordmark –
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On one hand cute. On the other, a morbid reminder of the melting ice caps and consequent doom for all mankind.
Overall, I like.
The Portland Trail Blazers basic, mostly unchanged uni design is one of the greatest in all of sports. So killer.