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Rockets Unveil Middling New Uniform Set

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Happy summer solstice! Let’s hear it for the Houston Rockets, who last night unveiled a new set of full uniforms, not just jerseys — although they did so using a set headless mannequins with clenched fists, which is sort of the mannequin version of a cartoon mascot with clenched teeth. Sigh.

Here’s a shot that provides better views of the side panels and the shorts (click to enlarge):

The black alternate is a carryover from their last set, so nothing new there (it’s still awful). The throwback, which is the design they wore from 1986-95, isn’t bad. It will be worn only for the coming season.

As for the new primary whites and reds, they’ve taken the font from the black alternate and used it as their new primary typeface — an upgrade. But the shorts still have the same logo, which was based on the old font, so that makes no sense.

Also, the armhole trim feels superfluous and the use of black on the red uniform is a huge mistake.

Overall: Meh. I hated their old set, so on some level this fairly traditional set can’t help but be an improvement, but it feels pretty rote, no? Here’s hoping they wear the throwback a lot!

Also worth noting: This unveiling of advertising-patched uniforms was itself advertised. Unfuckingbelievable:

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Two-state Two-city solution: ESPN’s Jaff Passan broke the news yesterday that the Rays have received permission from MLB to explore a plan under which they’d split their season between Florida and Montreal. The plan has no timetable and a lot of potential obstacles, so I wouldn’t plan any Montreal road trips just yet, but that didn’t stop some folks from whipping up some potential design concepts.

The one on the left, by MLB.com writer Mike Petriello, is straightforward enough — an Expos logo with some Rays fauxback accenting. As for the one on the right, by Twitter-er Danny Noll, that an Expos cap with an X-ray machine on the crown, so the team would be called the ExRays. Get it?

And then there’s this:

 

And then SportsLogos.net’s Chris Creamer did this:

Maybe we’ll do a contest for this one — stand by.

Meanwhile, how many top-level pro teams have been split between two cities? I can think of only two teams that split their home games between two cities and had both of those cities as part of their team names: the Kansas City-Omaha Kings (forerunner of today’s Sacramento Kings, don’tcha know), who played under that name from 1972-75, and the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets (today’s New Orleans Pelicans), who in 2005-06 and 2006-07 played most of their games in OKC but had a few games in NOLA.

As for other teams that played in multiple cities but didn’t have multi-city team names:

• For many years, the Packers played two home games per season — that’s 25 percent of their home schedule — in Milwaukee.

• In 2003 and ’04, the Expos played 22 games per season in San Juan.

• In the 1960s, the Warriors played most of their home games in San Francisco but also played some games in Oakland and in San Jose. During the 1971-72 season (their first with the “Golden State” moniker), they played six games in San Diego.

• In the late 1960s and early ’70s, the ABA’s Carolina Cougars were conceived as a regional franchise (hence the state-based team name) and split their home games between Greensboro, Charlotte, Raleigh, and Winston-Salem.

• Another ABA team, the Miami Floridians, became simply the Floridians in 1970 and rotated their homes games among Miami, Tampa, Jacksonville, and West Palm Beach.

I figure I’m probably missing a few examples. Anyone..? (And let’s please omit teams that had to play one or two games in a different stadium or arena due to bad weather or unexpected stadium repairs. What we’re looking for here are teams that went the multi-city route for at least a full season, not just a couple of games. Thanks.)

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Old-school: Phil Regan (shown above during last night’s Mets/Cubs game) was named yesterday as the Mets’ new interim pitching coach. He is 82 years old. While I’m not 100% positive, I strongly suspect this makes him the oldest coach — and therefore the oldest man in uniform — currently working in the big leagues. And that raises the question: Who is the oldest person ever to wear a big league uniform?

Red Schoendienst was a “coaching advisor” for the Cardinals up until his death last year at the age of 95, and he still suited up in uniform from time to time. The latest shots of him in uniform that I could find are from spring training of 2016, when he would have been 93. Note that he was still wearing stirrups! (Okay, two-in-ones, but still.)

Similarly, the Angels continued to list Jimmie Reese as a coach until his death in 1994 at the age of 92, although it’s not clear to me how active he was or how long he kept suiting up. The latest photo of him in uniform that I could find is this one, from 1987, when he was 85.

But Schoendienst and, I think, Reese had largely ceremonial coaching roles, while the 82-year-old Regan is now the Mets’ full-time pitching coach. Is he the oldest to suit up in a full-time capacity? I’m not sure. Anyone..?

The oldest manager to suit up in uniform is Jack McKeon, who was 80 when he skippered the Marlins for the latter half of the 2011 season. (And of course the oldest manager, period, was Connie Mack, but he famously declined to wear a uniform, so he’s not relevant to this discussion.)

Getting back to Regan, here’s a nice bit of trivia: When he made his big league pitching debut for the Tigers in 1960, his manager was Jimmy Dykes — who was born in 1896!

And just to be clear, I’m not ridiculing or critiquing Regan over his age. Hell, he threw BP when he was 80!

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The Ticker
By Anthony Emerson

Baseball News: Cardinals C Yadier Molina had a little trouble with his batting helmet logo during last night’s game. Fortunately, repairs were made immediately (from many, many, many readers). … Rockies IF Ryan McMahon Gets It™ (also from many readers, but not as many as the Yadi thing). … The first Worcester Red Sox jersey has been given to former Boston Celtics player Paul Pierce, of all people. At least he’s a Boston guy, I guess. … The Omaha Storm Chasers, Triple-A affiliate of the Royals, were the Omaha Sizzle last night (from Alex Manners). … The inaugural Rocket City Trash Pandas unis — for the 2020 season — have been revealed. They’re currently the Mobile BayBears, Double-A affiliate of the Angels. The unis are pretty good, apart from the camo (another one from many readers). … The Kane County Cougars, Single-A affiliate of the D-backs, are becoming the Kane County Atomic Pork Chops for select home games for the remainder of the season (from Steve Johnston and Chris Bentz). … Lots of Michigan players wear those cheat-sheet play-calling thingies on their belts (from Kary Klimset). … Dodgers OF Joc Pederson played some first base last in last night’s game and used teammate Cody Bellinger’s mitt. … And so it has come to this: Cubs C Willson Contreras’s necklaces got tangled up in his jersey buttons last night and he actually needed assistance to disentangle them. … Speaking of the Cubs, P Adbert Alzolay made his MLB debut last night and wore No. 73, making him the first 73 in team history.

Football News: Whoa, check out the gorgeous two-tone sleeves on the 1975 Southern Miss home uni! (From @footballfuntime.) … Here’s how the CFB 150 patch looks on a UGA jersey (from Trent Thacker and @TannerDabbs). … WMU’s field is completely flooded. Bring your swimming trunks! (From Caleb Jenkins.) … It looks like Ohio State puts little buckeye marks on their footballs (from Brian Cox).

Hockey News: This Sabres cap featuring the team’s new 50th-anniversary logo also has all of the team’s primary logos throughout the franchise’s history in the interior lining (from @TeebzHBIC). … One of the NHL’s new rule changes for 2019-20 has new guidelines for players whose helmets fall off..

Basketball News: The Pacers’ top pick in last night’s draft, Goga Bitadze, is from the Republic of Georgia, so he wore a bow tie with a design based on the Georgian flag (from Robert Baker). … Cross-posted from the baseball section: The first Worcester Red Sox jersey has been given to former Celtics star Paul Pierce, of all people. At least he’s a Boston guy, I guess. … Old Dominion’s arena is getting a corporate-advertised name.

Soccer News: Let’s start with Josh Hinton’s daily contribution: Boca Juniors home kit has been leaked. … Another Buenos team, River Plate, has had their fourth kit leaked. … English fourth-tier side Bradford City have released their home kit (also from Gabriel Hurl). … Scottish side Motherwell has revealed their new kits. … German second-tier side Erzgebirge Aue has released their new home kit. …  Going further down the German football pyramid, 3.Liga team Sonnenhof Großaspach has released their new kits. … New alternate kits for Detroit City (from Ryan Keberly). … This promo image for yesterday’s USA-Sweden World Cup match definitely had Carli Lloyd’s upper half and Ali Krieger’s bottom half photoshopped together (from @HeyShelbyG). … The following are all from Ed Żelaski: Red Star Belgrade are asking their fans how to place the three champions stars above their crest. … New kits, and a new kit manufacturer, for St. Johnstone. … New kits for AEK Athens. … Unsurprisingly, Nike and Adidas top the list of the biggest kit manufacturers in European pro football. Other good information in that article, like the manufacturer breakdown for the six biggest European leagues (from @mikeDfromCT).

Grab Bag: Anyone in and around NYC should check out this newly opened poster museum on W. 23rd Street (from Adam Herbst). … In the most Silicon Valley story ever, Facebook’s new cryptocurrency project has been accused of cribbing the logo of a banking app start-up. Both used the same San Francisco design firm, natch (from Edward Hahn). … Here’s a great video from one of the MythBusters dudes about how the Smithsonian replicated Neil Armstrong’s Apollo 11 suit as closely as possible (from James Gilbert).

 
  
 
Categories
NBA
Comments (113)

    Was every game for Southern Mississippi in 1975 a road game? That seems unusual to say the least.

    Faulkner Field was undergoing a re-build after the 1974 season and all of 1975 season. It reopened in 1976 as M.M.Roberts Stadium.

    First the Lakers have an out place black side panel on their road jerseys and now the Rockets are doing the same. What a disturbing trend.

    It’s noted that the Houston throwback is the design the Rockets wore starting in 1986. Curious as to what the Rockets changed between their Finals appearance in 1981 and 1986.

    link

    Save for the NBA 35th anniversary patch (worn only in 1980-81), I can’t see much. Though I’ll admit that pic is a bit small and I couldn’t find a really good shot of their early 1980s road uni.

    (Also, if there’s a full NBA uniform database where I could look this up myself, please feel free to reply with the link.)

    No differences, unless you count the NBA logo being added to the unis in ’86.

    The Rockets unis were unchanged from 1975-95.

    The Washington Bullets played a few games a year in Baltimore into the 1990s. That stopped when they moved into the District and became the Wizards.

    I believe the Baltimore Orioles played several regular season games in DC at RFK Stadium in the 1970s after Bob Short moved the Senators to “some jerk town with the single boast of being equidistant between Dallas and Ft. Worth.”

    I think the Boston Celtics regularly played in Hartford as well.

    Celtics played half a dozen games in Hartford throughout the 1980s. Similarly, the Jazz would play in Vegas (Kareem actually broke the scoring record during a Jazz “home” game in LV) a few games each season.

    IMO, the Rockets should be red/athletic gold, like the Chiefs (and I acknowledge that the Chiefs have no gold on the helmet but do have red/white/black… sigh). I actually liked the previous font; this one is a little generic. Nothing about this says “Houston Rockets” (other than the actual letters). the BFBS is… ugh. At least they have the throwbacks, which is really the only redeeming thing here. I would think that a tasteful modern update of the ketchup and mustard set would work better.

    I liked their red uniform with dark red trim this past season. I didn’t think that combination would work but it grew on me. San Antonio Commanders of the AAF had a similar color combo and I liked that set.

    2 city teams (NBA Edition):
    Buffalo Braves played some games in Toronto
    Celtics played some home games in Hartford for many years
    Philadelphia Warriors played games in Hershey including Wilt’s 100 pt game.

    Yes – Buffalo played nine regular-season games (and one pre-season one) in Toronto in 1974-75. Plans were to continue the program the following season, but they were canned.

    link

    Georgia teasing the black alternate in that CFB 150 tweet? They’ve only worn them once under Kirby Smart, and I got the impression that Smart wasn’t too keen on link

    The “based on the old font” link in the Rockets portion is not working FYI.

    Also, someone custom painted a Corvette to look like the Browns’ color rash jerseys.

    link

    Hawks played 12 home games in New Orleans in 1984-85, including the night Larry Bird dropped 60 points.

    link

    link

    And the Celtics played a handful of games in Hartford annually from the mid-70s until they moved into the Fleet Center in the mid-90s.

    link

    I’m pretty sure the Celtics played some games in Providence before they started playing in Hartford.

    1968 and 1969, the White Sox played one home game against each AL team in Milwaukee. Attendance was much better there than in Chicago, especially in 68.

    Probably ‘apples and oranges’, but 2 WFL franchises relocated in mid-season in 1974: The Houston Texans moved to Shreveport, LA(re-branded as the Shreveport Steamer) and the New York Stars relocated to Charlotte(rebranded as the Charlotte Hornets).
    Also, The Detroit Wheels played 1 game in London, Ontario in ’74.

    I (personally) don’t think that’s what Paul is asking for, but you do bring up another interesting question… When was the last time a team packed up and moved right in the middle of the season?
    Was pretty common in the 70s among 2nd tier pro leagues, but I can’t think of any since, altho I am sure there has a to be few.

    Lee

    A couple of lobbying efforts led to a pair of Major League Baseball teams splitting seasons in different cities. The Brooklyn Dodgers, looking for a replacement for Ebbets Field from New York / Brooklyn city government, played 15 games (7 in 1956 & 8 in 1957) at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, NJ. Milwaukee was looking toward the 1969 MLB expansion after losing the Braves in 1966. In 1968, they lured the Chicago White Sox to play ten games at County Stadium. Despite the Sox drawing well in Milwaukee, MLB awarded franchises to Kansas City, Montreal, San Diego and Seattle. Milwaukee’s backers, led by Bud Selig, brought the White Sox back for 11 games in 1969. In 1970, Selig bought the struggling Seattle Pilots and moved the franchise to Milwaukee, eliminating the White Sox’ second home.

    link

    The ABA Virginia Squires (with Dr. J) played in Hampton, Roanoke, Norfolk, and Richmond in the early ’70s.

    Like I said, duh — I should have included it, but I was thinking about older examples instead of current ones. My bad.

    The Orioles never played regular season games at RFK in the absence of the Senators and Nationals, but they did hold a few mid-season as well as pre-season exhibitions.

    The ABA Virginia Squires played in Norfolk, Hampton, Richmond, and Roanoke.

    Dallas Chaparrals > Texas Chaparrals…and also the Ky Colonels played some Cincinnati games late in their life.

    Yeah, the Chaparrals split their home games between Dallas, Lubbock, and Fort Worth during the 1970-71 season.

    The Jazz played 11 games in Las Vegas in the 1983-84 season. Kareem broke the all-time scoring record against the Jazz in Vegas.

    Genuinely regional ABA franchises:

    Carolina Cougars (Greensboro, Charlotte, Raleigh) from 1969-70 to 1973-74. Three games in Winston-Salem in ’71-72.

    Virginia Squires (Norfolk, Hampton, Richmond) from 1970-71 to 1975-76. Three games in Roanoke in ’71-72, none in Richmond in ’73-74.

    Floridians (Miami, Tampa, Jacksonville) from 1970-71 to 1971-72. No ’71-72 games in jacksonville.

    Texas Chaparrals (Dallas, Fort Worth, Lubbock) in 1970-71.

    Other state-named teams (Kentucky, Indiana, Utah) had one official home court, even if they played occasional games elsewhere.

    The New York Islanders are scheduled to move into their new arena at Belmont in 2021.

    Until then, 60 home home games
    will be moved from Barclays Center in Brooklyn to Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, NY.

    For the 2018-19 season, 29 games in Brooklyn and 12 in Nassau.

    There is no current projected split for the rremaining 48 from 2019 to 2021.

    Paul Pierce was the featured speaker at an event sponsored by the Worcester Telegram and Gazette. The Worcester jersey has been around for a month or so now. The team is selling them on its website (polarpark.com). They are trying to walk a fine line between appearing to abandon Pawtucket before the end of 2020 and promoting Worcester. Also, this is just an observation on my part, but a lot of their promotional material about Worcester refers to the Worcester Red Sox and the WooSox, so I’m hopeful that they are going that route for the name instead of Ruby Legs or Wicked Worms, names that they trademarked.

    Yesterday, the Paw Sox were the Pawtucket Hot Wieners for one game to honor a Rhode Island staple food. New uniforms, mascot etc.

    Pawtucket played as the Hot Wieners in 2018, as well. Though I couldn’t find a hot wiener on the menu, or is that only available when they play by their food name?

    Pawtucket Hot Weiners is an odd name, but I guess it’s less problematic than Pawtucket New York Systems would be, especially in Sawx country. ;)

    The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (now the Railriders) played one season as the Empire Yankees in Rochester NY While their stadium was being built. They shared Frontier Field with the Rochester Red Wings for a season.

    I, like many fans, wanted the Houston Rockets to go back to red with yellow trim as their primary look. I pretty much realized that was not going to be considered.

    As result, was hoping that they would go with red with maroon trim as their new primary look. Like used in their “Earned” jerseys.

    Would have been a unique colour scheme for them rather than just being another red and black team. Which they now are.

    Agreed. When I think of NBA red and black, I think Bulls.

    The Rockets were THE red and yellow team forever. Now, just another red team.

    It’s just one game but Jacksonville plays a home game a year in London (12.5 percent). That one is easy to forget.

    Can think of some multiple-city examples from soccer:
    -Tottenham playing all their games at Wembley for a year and a half sort of counts because London is big enough that the fanbase did not really consider those home games.
    -Inverness CT played all their home games in Aberdeen (about 90 miles away) in the 2003-04 Scottish Premier League until their stadium met league requirements.
    -Gretna played their home games in the 2007-08 SPL primarily in Motherwell (about 70 miles away) for the same reason.

    In rugby union, London Irish have actually played in Reading (about 40 miles away) since 1997, but apparently plan to move back to London when Brentford’s new stadium opens.

    Also, in the early ’90s didn’t every NHL team play two games in neutral cities?

    Here is a list of the NHL neutral site regular season games from 1992 to 1994. Played in 16 cities that did not have NHL teams, including 8 games in Halifax, and 6 games in Cleveland, Sacramento, Saskatoon and Minneapolis (after the North Stars left).

    link

    Tottenham also played a “home” match at MK Dons stadium this past season in the League Cup against Watford. Milton Keynes is closer to Watford than it is to Tottenham.

    Yeah, was going to mention that as well but accidentally backspaced it out. Wembley is also closer to Watford than Tottenham.

    Japanese baseball teams have played tons of games in neutral cities; there isn’t really a minor league system like Americans would know it, so a lot of these “AAA cities” will host a couple of games a year. It’s always fun to see an unfamiliar scoreboard when watching the highlights and realizing that the game is in Nagasaki Municipal Stadium or something like that.

    Looking forward to seeing the Rockets in the 2005 NCAA Final Four. Another needless BFBS atrocity.

    This whole sharing the Rays between Tampa Bay and Montreal seems a bit crazy to me. Hard enough to build just one stadium rather than trying to build 2 stadiums in an effort to help “keep baseball in the Tampa Bay area”.

    Montreal has a location to build a stadium and appears to have big local money like the Bronfman family backing it. No stadium plans in Tampa Bay.

    Plain and simple, Montreal needs to get a team based on this development and Tampa Bay needs to get the new stadium quickly. If Manfred will not grant the expansion franchise until Tampa Bay and Oakland have new parks, then the Rays need to be moving to Montreal if there is no stadium deal in Florida.

    The chances of Tampa Bay and Montreal sharing a team is as good as the chances were of the Minnesota Twins being contracted in 2002. In other words, it’s not happening. Tampa Bay can be a solid market with a ballpark in Tampa rather than St. Pete. Manfred is just using Pissan to promote the concept in an attempt to manipulate construction of a new ballpark, or ballparks.

    I agree this TB/Mon split franchise thing is nothing more than a ploy.
    I’d be shocked if it happened, further shocked if it went on more than a season or two.

    Lee

    The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim haven’t actually played home games in Los Angeles despite the two distinct cities in their name. ;)

    In 1973 in the WHA, the Ottawa Nationals played all their home playoff games in anticipation of moving to Toronto the following season (which they did as they became the Toronto Toros).

    That should have read “all of their home playoff games in Toronto in anticipation…”

    Apparently, I got ahead of myself there. lol

    The Los Angeles Angels haven’t had Anaheim in their name for a few years now. The owner wanted to benefit from the media potential of the entire Los Angeles area, thus the name change. However Anaheim and the Angels had a contract that required Anaheim in their name, but that went away when the Angels negotiated a new contract. They are nw just the Los Angeles Angels. I thought it made more sense to call the team the Southern California Angels, representing the entire region.

    Oklahoma Hornets also, well officially the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets

    Phil Regan pitched for the Cubs when I was 10-11 years old including the Miracle Mets season in 1969. I think it’s pretty cool. I just hope he’s driven to and from the games.

    I think they should count, despite the difference of being two teams merged temporarily into one during the player shortage brought on by WWII. Both of the NFL combined teams, 1943’s Phil-Pitt (Steagles) and 1944’s Card-Pitt (Carpets), each played as a unit and shared home fields in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and Chicago and Pittsburgh, respectively.

    In response to Paul’s question about teams playing in multiple cities in the same season, do the Steelers’ war-time combinations with the Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Cardinals in the 1940s count?

    The merged Philadelphia-Pittsburgh team was officially known as “link” (colloquially, the “Steagles,” though that may be retroactive) and split their 1943 home schedule between Shibe Park and Forbes Field.

    In 1944 the Steelers teamed up with the Chicago Cardinals to become the “Chicago-Pittsburgh Cardinals-Steelers” (or “link“), playing home games at both Comiskey Park and Forbes Field.

    Circumstances were a little different as these were combined teams. But otherwise they seem to fit the criteria.

    Both Steagles and Carpets (“every other team in the league walked all over them!”) were contemporaneous nicknames and can be found in sports coverage of the time.

    Steagles nickname in 1943 news account: link

    Similarly, Art Rooney had an scheme in the late 1930s to sell off the Steelers, buy a share of the Eagles, and field a team called the Pennsylvania Keystoners, to split its home games between Phila. and Pgh. The deal fell through when the putative buyers of the Steelers couldn’t find a stadium in Boston, where the team was slated to relocate.

    Good stuff, GC! Thanks for the research on that! I knew both Steelers and Eagles fans have the “Steagles” season burned into their collective memories, but I hadn’t seen contemporaneous usage of the nickname until you cited that article.

    And “Carpets” is most certainly apropos for the Cardinals-Steelers combined team, seeing how they went 0-10 on the season. Art Rooney said that it was the worst team in NFL history!

    Wait, you mean there was a chance I could have been born into a world in which the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t exist? I’m sad thinking of what a wonderful world that would be.

    The logistics of the Rays doing a lengthy duration of business in Montreal are difficult; they can’t just pop up there with their marketing/ticketing staff for a couple of months – for example, conforming to the language laws of doing business in Quebec:

    link

    I remember the Rockets played several games in San Antonio in the early 70s, probably 71 and 72, before the Spurs moved here from Dallas

    The Eagles and the Steelers combined teams during 1943, because both had lost too many players to service in WWII. They played home games in both Philadelphia (Shibe Park) and Pittsburgh (Forbes Field).

    link

    The Steagles played at Shibe Park and Forbes field.

    The Pistons played at the Joe for part of a year when the Silverdome was damaged.

    Same city, but the Rams split time at Busch and the Dome in 1995.

    For their first season in the WHA, the Oilers called themselves the Alberta Oilers. The plan was to split games between Calgary and Edmonton.

    link

    The plan fell apart, they played all the games in Edmonton, and for their second season they renamed themselves the Edmonton Oilers.

    Need the Rockets to wear the BFBS more since its the only one without an ad patch in the reveal. But it is also BFBS…. I’m so torn!

    How about the 1973-74 Capital Bullets? After leaving Baltimore for the DC metro area, the Bullets started the season in Cole Field House on the University of Maryland campus in College Park while waiting for the Capital Centre in Landover (about ten miles away) to open. Granted, it was the same metro area, but it was two different arenas in two different cities.

    As to the old coaches in uniform question:

    Johnny Pesky used to hang out in the Red Sox dugout for years as a sort of “instructor.” He wasn’t really formally a coach, but he would hit grounds balls and whatever, and he still wore the uniform. Famously, some team complained and Pesky was eventually banned from the dugout.

    He stopped making appearances in either 2006 or 2007, so he would have been around 87 or 88.

    This floated plan tells me two things 1) is how little leverage the Rays really have for a new stadium, and 2) a confirmation of how poorly suited Florida is to Major League Baseball.

    They should just move to Montreal wholesale, be the new Expos. I really like the idea of the AL East being New York, Boston, Montreal, Toronto and Baltimore.

    Geez, people were saying the same thing about Seattle being unsuitable for MLB in the 1980s, and there was a time people questioned whether Dallas would support baseball because it’s such a football city. There is nothing about Florida that makes it any less suitable for MLB than any other part of the country. The only big problem for the Rays is the stadium’s location in St. Pete; put the ballpark in Tampa and the Rays will outdraw Cleveland, KC, Oakland, Baltimore, etc.

    Proven lack of attendance in both Miami and Tampa Bay?

    And what’s the big deal about St. Pete vs. Tampa?

    I was going to ask the same thing. They seem real put out to drive to St. Petersburg. I don’t get that. I drive 56 miles one way to go to Rangers and Cowboys games. Even farther for Stars and Mavericks. I wonder if they realize St. Petersburg is much closer than Quebec?

    I’d rather see a MLB contraction than re-location, though if there is franchise movement I’d go with Tampa moving to Nashville (move them to the Central, put Cleveland back in the East)or Charlotte(The Charlotte Rays…LOL!)well before a move to Montreal; the Expos name/history remains in DC.
    The A’s already have a minor league presence in Las Vegas…was that new ballpark built with the potential for seating expansion?

    While it will make for some fun logo/uniform concepts, does anybody really think there is a chance that the Tampa Bay/Montreal thing will happen? Especially the way it was proposed, with the Rays playing the first half of the season in Florida and the second in Canada. The Rays already suffer from low attendance; who in Tampa is going to support a team that won’t be around all year?

    Also, the plan calls for two new ballparks, each of which will be sitting empty for half a season. How is any new stadium going to get funded when it can’t even depend on a full season of revenue?

    I’m with you on that. seems like a ploy to start a bidding war as to who gets a full-season team.

    Best Tampa/Montreal name suggestion I heard was from historian/author Kevin Kruse – the R’ehs.

    1. Not only did Milwaukee host Packers regular season games for decades, but it got two playoff games as well. The 1939 NFL championship game with the Giants was held at State Fair Park, and the 1967 Western Conference playoff with the Rams was held at County Stadium. There was some grumbling in Green Bay about the 1967 game going there, but Lambeau Field did get that year’s championship game – the Ice Bowl.

    Actually, the Packers played 3 home games a year in Milwaukee from 1961-1994. Prior to 1961, when the league schedule was 12 games, only 2 dates were in Milwaukee. That means from 1961-77, when the schedule was 14 games, the Packers actually played 43% of their home games in Milwaukee. That dropped to 38% when the schedule went to 16 weeks.

    Cody Bellenger lent (and then gave) Gerardo Parra his glove when the Nats first signed Parra (on the road) and had him play first. Bellenger must have great taste in gloves.

    In the mid 1950’s, the Chicago Blackhawks played some home games in St. Louis, Omaha and St. Paul due to low attendance in Chicago.

    While the Patriots played at various stadiums in Boston (Fenway Park, BU’s Nickerson Field, BC’s Alumni Stadium, Harvard Stadium), this article along with other research highlights the Patriots playing several home games in San Diego as well as Birmingham Alabama (the first professional football game played in Alabama at the urging of the AFL) against the would-be champion NY Jets and Joe Namath: link

    An additional side note: when President Teddy Roosevelt and football sought to widen the professional football field for safety concerns, Harvard Stadium, the first concrete bowl in the country could not accommodate the expanded field, thus the forward pass was born. More here:
    link

    New York Times
    A Team’s Ragtag Roots
    Early Patriots were a Comical Traveling Sideshow
    link

    Although Paul’s question was directed at pro sports teams, I can think of a few major college teams that have split (or still split) their home games between cities:

    -The Alabama football team used Legion Field in Birmingham (about an hour’s drive from Tuscaloosa) as an alternate home venue from 1927 to 2003, often playing half or more of their home games their instead of Bryant-Denny Stadium.

    -Since 1948, Arkansas has played at least one home game each year at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, which is about three hours from Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.

    -UConn’s men’s and women’s basketball teams both play about half their home games each year at the Hartford Civic Center, which is 25 miles from Gampel Pavilion, their on-campus arena in Storrs.

    Early Toronto Raptors years when in SkyDome. Raptors played home games in Hamilton. 2 home games at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton alone that inaugural season.

    link

    It makes sense somewhat to have a team split games in the same region, like Golden State having games at SF, Oakland, and San Jose. Even KC/Omaha Kings were in nearby cities in the Midwest. But a team splitting between Florida and Montreal makes no sense. If Tampa Bay isn’t working they should just move. I’m thinking this allows them to test the Montreal market before making a permanent move there.

    I think they went a little too safe with these. link All you really had to do was make a white jersey the opposite of the black jersey that’s says “Rockets” across the chest and you’d be golden. The clutch city version looks really good.

    The Bullets played a couple games (maybe as few as one) per year in Baltimore until the ‘90s

    The AHL Phantoms returned to Philly for a few home games(including an outdoor game at the Phillies park, maybe playoff game too?)during their stop-over in Glen Falls.
    I don’t think they’ve returned since relocating to Allentown.

    The Atlanta Hawks played a series of 12 home games in New Orleans during the 84-85 season. Larry Bird scored 60 against the Hawks one night in New Orleans.

    Re: two – home Teams. In the late 1950s, the Chicago Cardinals played a couple of game at Met Stadium in Minneapolis (examining a possible move or expansion.)

    The team moved to St Louis in 1960, the AFL came into being, and the Vikings were born. ( my HS coach played for the Chicago Cardinals, whose home field was old Comiskey Park.)

    The Homestead Grays of the Negro National League played home games in both Pittsburgh at Forbes Field and in Washington, D.C. at Griffith Stadium during the 1930s and 1940s:

    link

    The ABA Memphis Pros, before they became the Memphis Tams, played in Tennessee and Mississippi.

    During their last season in Chicago, the NFL’s Cardinals played two (one-third) of their regular season “home” games in Bloomington, Minnesota.

    The Boston Bulldogs, who were the relocated Pottsville Maroons, returned to the Pottsville, Pennsylvania area for two games in the middle of their 1929 schedule. They only played three games in Boston.

    In 1982, the Raiders practiced in Oakland but played their home games in Los Angeles. It was the reverse in 1995, with the team playing in Oakland and practicing in the L.A. area.

    The Oilers had a similar situation going on in 1997. Practicing in Nashville but playing games in Memphis.

    In 1979, Syracuse’s football team played two home games in Buffalo, two at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ, and one in Ithaca, NY, vs. Boston College.

    The Bullets played an annual series of games in Baltimore right up until they became the Wizards.

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