By Phil Hecken
It isn’t often when a ticker submission turns into a lede — but that’s what happened yesterday, when Eric Wright sent in this photo, which was posted in the slideshow linked in Paul’s main article yesterday.
Eric’s original comment in his submission read, in part:
Take a look at this shot from the slide show you linked to in today’s piece. The stripes on the shorts. Towards the back of the shorts, in between the purple and teal that 3rd stripe sure looks an AWFUL lot like Carolina blue to me.
He went on to add that the anomalous color might be a “nod to MJ, the jordan brand, and the fact that the team plays in Carolina.” Calling it “unique to a point, but a bit out of place in the color scheme/palatte (sic),” he followed up the submission with some more photographs.
Since this was an angle that seemed not to have been covered in the various reviews of the Hornets new uniforms, I asked Eric if he was interested in expanding upon this. He did. And he has done an outstanding job. Click on any photograph below to enlarge.
So, let me turn the remainder of this post over to him now, as he begins …
Decoding Some Other Elements of the Hornets New Uniform
By Eric Wright
Yesterday’s Charlotte Hornets uniform unveiling was big news for uniform aficionados, including this blog, for a variety of reasons: return to the teal and purple, the moving of the NBA logo to the back (potentially to usher in the “ads on NBA uniforms era,” or the dark ages of the NBA as they will be known should that actually happen), but there were a couple other details that went relatively unnoticed with all the hype.
The first pictures I saw were of the front of all three of the new uniforms, and a picture of the back of Al Jefferson’s jersey (which immediately struck me as odd and off-putting since the colors of the number and last name were different). In my opinion the colors of numbers/last names should always match, AND, if the number is outlined, so should the last name, which the old Hornets uniforms did quite nicely.
But those initial pictures didn’t show the full details, especially the “pin-stripes” down the side panel. Upon seeing those, I IMMEDIATELY was struck by something that got very little attention, but to me stuck out very prominently, and that was the light blue stripe towards the back of the leg, in between the purple and teal. Consider my curiosity piqued. Why was it there?
My first reaction was that it was there because Michael Jordan is the controlling owner of the team (having first become an investor in the team in 2006, then buying out Robert Johson’s controlling stake in the team for $175 million in 2010, and most recently increasing his ownership from 80% to 89.5% to join the billionaires club), and due to his legendary collegiate status as one of the most famous alumni from UNC-Chapel Hill. The light blue obviously being an ode to the Tar Heels. Thus began my quest to find out more.
Initial searches led me to learn that light blue is actually an official secondary color of the Hornets, along with “cool” gray and black. Ok, that’s cool. It doesn’t really go with the purple and teal, but that’s their prerogative.
So was this something that was done because of MJ? Perhaps there other reasons like the Dodgers adding the red numbers to the front of their uniforms as previously documented on this site, or like the 1966 Falcons, who wore red helmets with a black falcon crest logo and the following striping pattern down the middle: a center black stripe surrounded by 2 gold stripes and 2 white stripes, which represented the two college rival schools in Georgia: the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (White and Gold) and the University of Georgia Bulldogs (Red and Black).
Further investigation led to some interesting discoveries. Such as the fact that light blue has ALWAYS been a part of the Charlotte Hornets uniform. As you can see in some of the following pictures, light blue (along with green for some reason) was represented in the pinstriping on the jerseys.
So we see that light blue has a link to the past. Another element of the new uniform striping is that gray has been added to the striping detail (on the purple and teal shorts, next to the light blue stripe, perhaps replacing the green from the original Hornets). It’s easier to spot on the purple shorts, as the contrast is better, but I think in these photos you can also detect the gray on the teal shorts as well (look at how the stripe color is a little bit darker than the white of the hornet logo).
Finally, after all this research I had to find out from the team was it the historical linkage or an homage to MJ that led the team to add light blue to the uniform and team colors.
I spoke with a team official who said, “With regards to the light blue, it is actually part of our expanded color palette as part of our accent colors. We added black, cool gray and light blue to the purple and teal. In this case it also pays homage to the original Hornets uniform.” When pressed further about any correlation or coincidence with regards to Jordan, he said, “We recognize light blue as being a color known and very popular to the Carolinas.”
And that was probably part of the thinking of the original Hornets uniform as well. So there you have it ”“ the new Charlotte Hornets uniform nuances decoded. Can’t wait to see them on the court (ad-free of course!!!) #NoUniAds
Thanks, Eric! Terrific job “decoding” the Hornets. Glad you submitted to the ticker yesterday morning — it turned out to be quite an adventure!
Colorize This!
Occasionally, I will be featuring wonderful, high-quality black and white photographs that are just begging to be colorized.
Just one today, again from colorizer-extraordinaire George Chilvers, who as always, has turned in phenomenal work. Click on image to enlarge.
Here’s George:
Hi Phil
Just one picture this week, but one I really quite enjoyed doing. It’s always good to have a nice clear picture.
It dates from the 1930s, and is a sports team from a UK police force. But what sport?
Answer at some time through the day when posted.
George
Thanks George. Great colorizations, as always. OK, colorizers — love for you guys to have your latest work featured on here. Keep ’em coming!
Uni Watch News Ticker:
Baseball News: Awesome or awful? The San Rafael Pacifics are donning uniforms based on those worn in the All American Girls Professional Baseball League to honor breast-cancer survivors. They’ll wear those on June 27th. More info here. … Check out this beautiful color photo of Jackie Robinson in Ebbets Field (not sure if that’s colorized or not). Photo via @UniformCritic. … The Nashville Sounds have unveiled the first “guitar video board” design (thanks to Nick Schiavo). … Mike Trout has become the first MLB player since Ken Griffey, Jr. to get his own Nike shoe. (Jeter, according to the Sporting News, was Jordan Brand, so that technically doesn’t count). … “Tiger Stadium lives!” writes Dave Murray. “Sort of. The City of Detroit has long left the gates open on the field that used to be Tiger Stadium. But now folks are regularly using the field. It’s got a backstop and benches, with a new home plate and pitching rubber. Also cool ”“ it apparently lives on in the world of GPS devices. Check out the field on my Tom Tom.” … MLB historian John Thorn posted this beautiful image on Twitter with the question, “Can you identify the on-deck hitter.” I could actually tell from the silhouette, but the hint is “1957 World Series.” Everyone but Chance Michaels is eligible to play. … The left-field ball boy at yesterday’s Pirates vs. Cubs game was missing the “C” on his helmet (h/t Jeffrey Seals). … At last night’s Round Rocks Express game in Texas, every player wore pinstriped jerseys with GEHRIG NOB (good spot by Klay Kuban). … Some trivia: Check out this July 1966 Wilson ad which says 14 of 20 MLB teams wear Wilson unis. John Fonte asks what are the other six? I don’t know for sure, but I guessed MacGregor, Sand Knit, Rawlings, and/or McAuliffe. Anyone have any ideas? Later tweets confirmed McAuliffe for the Dodgers and MacGregor for the Redlegs. … Josh Claywell was watching one of Indiana’s prep baseball title games (Noblesville and Terre Haute Vigo North. “Noblesville wore a black alt with some weird shoulder stripes. Made me think of the neck roll in the NFL. Vigo North’s uni isn’t bad, but the cap is. It’s a tri-colored panel cap, with blue in front, one splotch of red and then white on the back. The hell is that?” … Whoopsie: During last night’s Orioles vs. Yankees, the Baltimore pitching coach was wearing the road black hat with the Oriole logo — but all Baltimore players were wearing the road black hat with “O’s” (great spot by Robyn Adams). … Carlos Ruiz was still wearing a helmet with the throwback “P” last night against the Cardinals. Says submitter Gary Dieter, “Maybe he prefers that ‘P’ like I do.” … More beautiful ads: “Today’s Greatest Young Slugger” Original ’37 magazine ad that Frank McGuigan’s grandfather saved. Beautiful!
NFL News: During a 1981 Wild Card Playoff game between the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets, Fred Smerlas suffered a pretty severe rip in his jersey (screen grab via Matt Barnett). … On Thursday, the Seattle Seahawks revealed their Super Bowl rings, which are framed by 12 gemstones and engraved with final score on inside. … NOCSAE (The National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment) has announced new concussion guidelines for helmet makers (thanks Paul).
NBA & College Hoops News: Reader Jon Arthur was looking at some old Sports Illustrated’s and noticed something on Kentucky’s white pant leg (3 quarters down left leg). “You can see it on Antoine Walker’s shorts and Mark pope white uniforms, but not on the denim uniforms ”“ I’m a huge CATS fan, but have no idea what these little patches are for. Antoine Walker appears to have 8 while Mark Pope only has 2. Any ideas???” Anyone? … The ink on the new Hornets’ unis isn’t even dry but already there are tweaks adding in pinstripes. Personally I’m not a fan of them — but many would have loved to have those brought back.
Hockey News: No. 7 of Howie Morenz was first Montreal Canadiens number retired after his tragic 1937 death — check out this neat collection of memorabilia (pic by Dave Stubbs, found by Sully). … If your lifelong goal is to become a marry a hockey player, then you probably don’t want to marry a Red Wing. … Joe Moore just got his Kings Championship hat in the mail and “it looks like the crown logo is a bit off center. For what they charge for merch now you think they could at least make sure it’s of better quality.”
Soccer News: Technology or BS? Apparently there is some impressive technology behind the US soccer jerseys for the World Cup (the Nike geniuses analyzed data and concluded “air flow was a key factor regulating temperature so the team introduced laser-cut ventilation holes into the left and right sides of the jersey and a new weave of cotton and polyester”). … There is now a new crest for Hull City (nice find by Conrad Burry). … There is a German 1934 World Cup football shirt with a swastika featured in a historical exhibit at the World Cup. More here. While Nazism was clearly a repugnant chapter in world history, this is a historical jersey, worn during competition — so as an historical artifact, I believe it deserves to be shown as part of the exhibit. What say you guys? … Here’s a pretty neat visual guide to what every World Cup champ wore (thanks to Tim E. O’Brien). … “Who is this person. The Uni community must find out,” writes Colin. “TWO items of AL West gear in a game between Spain and Chile, that took place in Brazil. I have so many questions!” … Here’s a neat World Cup Roundup from yesterday — if you like that, their Twitter account is @32flags.
Grab Bag: Check out the fake Devil, Rangers, and Yankees jerseys in this SNY commercial (good spot by Chris Flinn). What’s worse than the fake jerseys is the fake Boston accent, however. … Bishop McGuinness High School in Oklahoma City, OK, has an ‘interesting’ mascot according to Paul Deaver, who writes, “I live here but did not grow up here and, though I knew they were the Fighting Irish, I did not know about their mascot, ‘Clancy, until I stumbled across this looking for something else related to the school. … Peter Branch tweeted at me “Nevada looks to have added the blue wolf on the helmet instead of last year’s gray ones.” … And, how fitting that this New Era ‘MERICA cap has an apostrophe catastrophe?
And that’s going to do it for today — big thanks (again) to Eric for his great spot, which led to today’s lede, George for another great colorization (and don’t forget to guess the sport) and all the submitters for their ticker contributions.
Paul takes off today for a well-deserved vacation (enjoy it buddy!) with Heather the New Girl, so I’ll be handling things for the next week. I’ll be back tomorrow with the usual Sunday column, and Paul’s lined up a whole host of good stuff for next week, so we won’t miss a beat.
Happy First Day of Summer!
Follow me on Twitter @PhilHecken.
Peace.
“Phil, can you let us know when Paul’s gone so we can bring in the coke and hookers?”
–terriblehuman
Per the Hornets original striping colors – the explanation I’ve heard is that the light blue was was for North Carolina, the dark blue for Duke, and the dark green for UNC Charlotte. Seems to be a reasonable assertion.
Seems very logical (much like the Falcons’ inclusion of GT while primarily using UGAs colors). Interesting the new unis seem to have jettisoned the Duke & UNC Charlotte colors, but appear to have returned the Chapel Hill color…
Funny how that worked out.
The guy who designed the original Hornets unis was a fashion designer who was very in to polychromatic schemes. He also also designed the old Charlotte Knights’ baseball stadium which featured seats of several different colors.
link
There’s something unsettling about having too many colors in a sports uniform. That green stripe on the old Hornets jersey has bugged me for a long time.
“Who is this person. The Uni community must find out,” writes Colin. “TWO items of AL West gear in a game between Spain and Chile, that took place in Brazil. I have so many questions!”
The Rays are in the AL West, now? But that’s okay, because for most of us Americans, it could have been Portugal and Argentina instead of Spain and Chile and we wouldn’t have known the difference, either.
Also typo in the lede – Jordan brand not “jorban”.
“typo in the lede — Jordan brand not “jorban”.”
~~~
Thanks. Now fixed.
Also I wonder if she is just a Rays fan who got a Rangers hat by mistake? It’s a blue hat with a T that could stand for Tampa Bay.
If you weren’t the most knowledgeable or long-time MLB fan around, it’d be an understandable mistake that could be made.
Re; 1966 Wilson MLB ad:
So we have 17 of the 20. One would have to think St. Louis based Rawlings would supply the Cardinals’ unis. As well as McAuliffe for the Red Sox and Angels. Then, what of my Buccos?
According to Bill Henderson, the 1970 Pirate flannels were Rawlings at home, and both Rawlings and Spalding on the road. The great thing, of course, was that nobody outside the sporting goods industry cared back then.
Maybe I’m missing something, but how do we know there were six additional uniform manufacturers besides Wilson? The ad says that 14 of the 20 Major League teams at the time were outfitted by Wilson. Where does it say that each of those six teams who didn’t wear Wilson had a different uniform supplier from the others? Is there a reason to infer that, say, Rawlings or Sand Knit didn’t outfit more than one of those six teams?
Never mind. If I’d read Scott Johnson’s comment below, I would have already known the answer to my question.
*Johnston. I haven’t had my Saturday morning coffee yet…
Re that beautiful colorization: I’m going with a tug-of-war team. Just look at those heavy boots, that you wouldn’t want to run in, so probably not football or hurling or anything, as well as the rope curled around the trophies.
And the prize goes to arrScott!
It’s a tug of war team. I didn’t even know they had uniforms. Did you know that tug of war was an Olympic sport between 1900 and 1920. Interestingly (in the context of this picture) in the 1908 Olympics in London all three medals went to British police teams (City of London, Liverpool, and Metropolitan K Division). It would seem that tug of war was a police sport – which I suppose makes some sort of sense in developing body strength.
As usual, fantastic work!
OK, I meant 16 of 20.
Have to agree with AlMafi and disagree with Nathan re Hornets colors.
Alexander Julian’s Coty Award winning fashion designs went by the label “Colours” so teal, and blue, and purple were nothing for him to throw together. Actually the original Hornets uni is lucky not to have more colors.
And point number B:
Carolina Blue is PMS (Pantone) 278
Hornets light blue is PMS 284
Just an FYI about the new Nashville Sounds scoreboard; it’s actually an update design to their current one (which already is a guitar) preparing for their new stadium in 2015.
link
Gotta be Hank Aaron in the on deck picture. Aside from the pose, he didn’t put his helmet on until he stepped to the plate, and you can see the helmet on the ground.
Yep. Hammerin’ Hank it is.
Re the German jersey bearing the swastika.
Of course it should be displayed. It is an historical artefact. We cannot rewrite history because we don’t like certain parts of it.
That is what German leaders wanted to do at the time the shirt was being used.
I completely agree.
There has been a rise in extremist right wing political parties in Europe — German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble recently denounced these parties, particularly the National Front in France, not as right wing organizations, but as “fascist, extremist parties.” They were chanting Nazi slogans in Greece during the EU elections last month.
Nazis are generally depicted as cartoonish bad guys these days, some sort of anomaly, a weird blip on our March to Enlightenment. It’s important that we understand and remember that they were a popular movement, embraced by the majority of Germans and accepted to one degree or another by the community of nations, that they sent teams to international competitions, that rallies supporting them drew thousands to Madison Square Garden in New York, that they hosted the Olympic Games, that while some people were troubled by their rise, many people didn’t pay a bit of attention, and more than a few were really happy to see them show up. I feel sick writing this, but I fear that circumstances are right for Fascism redux: if we aren’t careful and vigilant, we could see groups rise that make the Nazis look like Quakers.
Symbols matter. History matters. You must never turn a blind eye. You must never whitewash, or sanitize. Ignorance breeds horror.
Right with you Cort. A museum is the only good context for the symbols of hate. We see sports being politicized again with the cammo/flag desecration stuff. And we see the horrors of Nazism trivialized by pols and pundits when they say that (insert gov. action they don’t like) harkens back to the Nazis. I’ll stop worrying when we have as many salutes to teachers as we have for the troops.
1) Aesthetically speaking, that 1934 German soccer jersey is a great-looking design.
2) No one, ever, under any circumstances, should wear it as a throwback.
There’s a lot behind that Hull crest.
Assem Allam, the multimillionaire who bought Hull CIty A.F.C. in 2010, recently changed the club’s name to “Hull Tigers”, presumably because “Hull Tigers” is more marketable in overseas markets (particularly the lucrative Asian markets) than “Hull City A.F.C.” This move, which doesn’t seem like a big deal — the club has been known as the Tigers for decades — outraged Hull City fans, who perceived the move as an insult to the loyal fan base.
The “1904” legend on the crest is an olive branch to the traditionalists, Allam’s way of saying, “I’m changing the name, but I recognize the club’s traditions, too.”
It didn’t work. The “City Till I Die” group remains outraged. There is talk of boycott. There are demands for a face-to-face meeting with Assam.
I don’t know why I posted this as a reply to the Nazi thread. It’s a completely different subject. Sorry about that.
The German swastika jersey should definitely be displayed. The surest way of repeating past mistakes is ignorance of those mistakes. On that note, everyone who cares about the World Cup and soccer should read this article:
link
Thank you for that link. A sobering, powerful story.
I agree completely. And I’m pretty hardcore on some issues that cut the other way – I’m as anti-Redskins nickname as can be, and I regard anyone who displays the Confederate flag to be fundamentally anti-American. But in the context of historical display, you’ve gotta show the warts too. So in a museum, you show the jersey with the Swastika, and at a battle reenactment, the guys in gray fly the Stars and Bars, and I’m cool with that.
At the Corn Palace in South Dakota, they have photos of the annual decorations going back to at least the early 20th century, and in several pre-WWII photos, swastikas were prominent parts of the designs. Rather than taking them down, they added a note explaining the pre-Nazi associations of nye he symbol. (Which, when I visited circa 1990, appeared to have been typed about 1942 and stuck inside the frame of each photo.) That’s the right approach.
Cort makes good points.
The important thing to note is that this is an ordinary football jersey. The politics that underlay this was rendered “normal” by infiltration into normal society.
It was not just a party political symbol. It was a symbol of patriotism for a nation even in something as trivial (in the greater scheme of things) as a sporting event.
In such a way does the extreme garner support and achieve perceived normality without attracting opprobrium.
“The best way to take control over a people and control them utterly is to take a little of their freedom at a time, to erode rights by a thousand tiny and almost imperceptible reductions. In this way, the people will not see those rights and freedoms being removed until past the point at which these changes cannot be reversed”
(Adolf Hitler – Mein Kampf)
I think it is Willie McCovey on deck. I thought Aaron first, but the cap bill appears to be a different color than the cap, like the SF Giants
On the UK shorts pics… If my memory is correct( less and less likely these days), they are small versions of the logo used by UK at the time that consisted of interlocking “UK” with the wildcat behind it reaching through. They were used much like helmet stickers for the players that year, thus accounting for the different numbers of them for different players. I don’t recall ever seeing a definite reason for being awarded one, could have been a certain # of points, rebounds, or possibly deflections given Pitino’s fondness for those. Anyway, hope this helps, and hope its not a faulty memory…. Love Uniwatch by the way! This is my first post… Thanks for this awesome site!
The MLB teams that did not wear Wilson jerseys in 1966:
Red Sox: Tim McAuliffe home & road
Reds: MacGregor home & road
Angels: Rawlings & Spalding home & Tim McAuliff road
Dodgers: Tim McAuliffe home & Rawlings road
Pirates: Rawlings home & MacGregor road
Cardinals: Rawlings home & road
My source is a new website a friend pointed out to me called ProSportsCollectors.com. The site is free, but registration is required. The site includes several game-worn examples of hats and jerseys with info on the manufacturer. The information dates from the start of the franchise, so it is good for the early information not included in Bill Henderson’s work, which is limited to jerseys, specifically a team’s final flannel jerseys and all of the double knits.
So the “McAuliffe” font is literally the font that (at least some of) those teams used because a company named McAuliffe were the ones making the jerseys?
Also did the Athletics from the various years (I’m thinking around when Reggie Jackson hit the All-Star game HR at Tiger Stadium) when they had the McAuliffe font have jerseys made by them as well, or did other companies also produce jerseys with that font?
The font goes back to the first numbers placed on jerseys in the late 1920s and early 1930s, predating McAuliffe (Spalding may have actually been the originator of this font). As the years wore on, manufacturers tended to use one font on all of their jerseys. Wilson used a varsity font as their “house” font that is still found on the jerseys of the Yankees, Braves, Tigers and others. Rawlings and Spalding went to a block font that is worn today by many teams like the Cardinals & A’s. This leads to some teams wearing different fonts on their home and road jerseys because the jerseys are made by different manufacturers (the 69 Mets are a good example – home Spaldings have block font while road Wilsons have varsity font). Some teams like the Cubs and Red Sox have fonts that over the years have become identified with the teams. The McAuliffe association with the Red Sox starts in 1946 when McAuliffe started customizing the Spalding (and later, Wilson) jerseys for the Red Sox. Starting around 1953, the Wilson tags are gone and “Tim McAuliffe” is now the manufacturer. The jerseys still have the same “Red Sox” font as today, which became the “house” font of McAuliffe when McAuliffe expanded beyond the Red Sox. The Angels first jerseys were made by McAuliffe, but when they started using Spalding and Rawlings for their home jerseys in the 1960s, they kept the “McAuliffe” font. As MLB found a market for jerseys, these house fonts disappeared in favor of proprietary fonts – unique fonts that could be copyrighted by MLB and the teams so that they could control the font’s use as well as being able to get a cut when other teams used a font.
As for the A’s, McAuliffe started making some of their jerseys in 1964 using the “McAuliffe” font. McAuliffe made the white and grey A’s vests of the 60s, but Wilson made the gold vests – using the McAuliffe house font. This font stayed on A’s jerseys through the 1971 season. When double knits were introduced, McAuliffe changed their house font to a modified varsity that can be found on A’s jerseys during their dynasty of the early 70s as well as on San Francisco Giants jerseys of the early to mid 70s.
Awesome – thanks for the reply!
I like that the Hornets name and number are different colors…. it’s one of the reasons I actually liked the look. To me, that type of thing is a nod to designers of the past. Some of the most beautiful uniforms had that look… think Steelers white number and yellow name, Rams yellow number and white name on their blue unis. Some of my very faves took it a step farther…. Chargers 60’s with not a hint of powder blue on the helmet…. UCLA had the same feel…. it’s those looks of the past without the excessive outlining and things that are common today that I look and hope for when I see new look unveilings.
I love that they’re different colors. Actually, I’m a NNOB guy, but if you *have* to have names, at least use them to give the jersey a llittle splash of color.
Tell you what…for the past ten years if Charlotte was playing Phoenix on TV, I probably would have looked for something else to watch. But with the Suns and Hornets’ new uniforms (and the fact that both teams are on the upswing), I hope they play each other during the NBA free preview week. My VCR will be waiting.
I learned today that the Tiger Stadium field is being maintained by a volunteer group name Navin Filed Grounds Crew. Great work, guys!
There’s a great article on Grantland about Tiger Stadium:
link
Yes, the Navin Field Grounds crew is doing hero’s work at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull. I don’t think enough good things can be said about them and their efforts.
It’s my understanding that it’s technically trespassing to Harwell Park, as it’s now called, but the city doesn’t do much of anything to discourage said trespassing. My father and I trespassed our way onto the field last fall and played catch in RF while a small group played stickball on the infield.
You can visit the Navin Field Grounds Crew Facebook page here: link
If anyone is interested, a couple photos of our trip are here: link and here: link.
The Nashville Sounds did not unveil the “first” guitar shaped scoreboard; they unveiled the “new” guitar shaped scoreboard for their new stadium. Here is the old one… link
It looks like the new scoreboard has a video screen in the shape of a guitar head, whereas the old scoreboard just had a smallish rectangular video screen incorporated into a guitar-shaped scoreboard structure. I’m guessing that is what makes it the “first guitar video board.”
Actually (thanks for the defense) this one is TOTALLY on me reading too quickly. Here’s the tweet from which I got the info — but it’s actually the “FIRST” Tennessee Park, not the “first” guitar video board design. I saw the word “first” and juxtaposed that into the ticker without clarifying it was actually “First Tennessee (Bank) Park”.
I hate when corporate names aren’t so obnoxious that we realize they’re corporate names (I’m looking at you Great American Ballpark).
The newish stadium for Swansea City is the Liberty Stadium. Someone asked the other day why it was called that?
The answer is that Liberty Properties plc have the naming rights, apparently.
Mind you, the epithet “World Series” always causes great amusement over here.
Alexander Julian’s Coty Award winning fashion designs went by the label “Colours” so teal, and blue, and purple were nothing for him to throw together. Actually the original Hornets uni is lucky not to have more colors.
IIRC, in addition to his signature color usage, Julian’s Hornet shorts were pleated.
George-
The colorization is fantastic!
Thank you
Interesting how the Hornets tweak has James #6. Wishful thinking there buddy.
Also Phil – to some of us there is nothing “happy” about the first day of summer.
Kentucky short patches were to mark the number of double-doubles recorded by the player. I think I remember that Pitino’s wife stitched them on. No patches on the denim because they were additional uni’s that Converse rolled out later in the season. I believe the tradition continued after Pitino left for the Celtics and Tubby’s wife Donna did the stitching but the placement moved on the shorts (cannot remember where.)
As with the previous commenter, this is all being recalled by a faulty memory and I’m not 100% sure.
My friend Dave went to the King’s Stanley Cup parade and bought a couple of hats exactly like Joe Moore’s with the crooked patch that that looks like its glued over something else. There is nothing on the hat that indicates Kings other than that cheesy crown. He bought them from a legit New Era vendor’s booth. The guy said, “pick out ones you like.” Dave thought that was odd. At a glance they all looked the same. Then the guy did a verbal wink-wink, “no really, pick out ones you like.” The booth is gone but at least Joe can and should return his. My motto in my garment industry days was “don’t make your customers do QC inspections.”
Why would anyone think the Rays are in the AL West? Is it a requirement that everyone that gets quoted on this blog needs to be a moron?
Not sure if it has already been mentioned: it appears to me that the Hornets didn’t put pinstripes because of the varying mesh hole directions on the adidas jerseys. Probably “too hard” to do right – as of now. I wish they would have the old uniforms with all the stripes – every colour from before…
If it was a factor, why should the fabric precede the design? Sort of a Packers/Nike scenario…
Interesting article that kind of delves into Paul’s Redskins perspective of cultural ownership and appropriation:
link
I find this to be wrong from first principles onward, but it’s an interesting article that presents a strong case. Worth reading and engaging.
Hard to be offended by the Nazi Reichsadler ( reich’s eagle) crest on a historic relic when so many pieces of sports merchandice are currently being manufactured with slave labor across the so-called people’s republic of China with it’s own genocidal past and present. Not to mention Soviet logo merch sells fairly well with it’s own larger body count. It makes you wonder if the free people of the world would have stood up to Hitler if his regime manufactured mobile phones.
not sure if trolling or…
Come to think of it, the comments have been relatively troll-free for a while now.
I think the Milwaukee Bucks should copy the 2-green color scheme from the Nigerian soccer team. Today’s kits vs. Bosnia really popped.
Cool Grey 8 also happens to be the same Cool Grey that Nike and Jordan brand often use for their colorways. Like in the Cool Grey XI’s, for example: link
Alexander Julian, the designer of the original Charlotte Hornets uniforms, is an alum of UNC. The Carolina blue can only be a nod to his school, years before Jordan was involved with the team.
Has anyone noticed how the Nike-designed uniform features four stripes that make a negative three white Adidas stripes?