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[Editor’s Note: Paul is on his annual August break from site (although he’s still writing his weekly Substack column). Deputy editor Phil Hecken is in charge from now through the end of the month.]
Good Morning, Uni Watchers — I hope everyone had a good weekend.
In case you got an early start on your weekend and didn’t check in after Friday, I had two additional posts over the weekend: a fun story about a lucky Eagles fan who ended up leaking the new throwbacks, straight off the Eagles phone app, and Bills QB Josh Allen busted out a “new” metallic blue helmet during the team’s red vs. blue scrimmage. If you didn’t see those yet, be sure to check ’em out.
Now then.
We begin this morning with Notre Dame and Navy, who are playing a “Week 0” 2023 season opening game in Dublin, Ireland. The game is part of the Aer Lingus College Football Series and will be played on August 26th, 2023.
As you can see from the above photo, both teams should be fairly instantly recognizable in these uniforms, which have undergone just a few subtle tweaks from what they normally wear.
Both clubs are outfitted by Under Armour, so the company took the opportunity to outfit both squads in alternate uniforms for their game abroad.
I know what you’re saying. “Didn’t Notre Dame just unveil new uniforms for their game against Ohio State?” Why, yes they did. But what’s one more alternate uni when you just re-upped your UA contract for another 10 years you have one of the most traditional uniforms in the game? Actually, the Dublin Series game uniforms for both ND and Navy won’t be that different from their normal gear.
__________
NOTRE DAME:
The Irish have added a Gaelic stripe pattern surrounding an ND logo on the outside shoulders.
Additionally, a Shamrock logo and the colors of the Ireland flag have been added to the back of the jerseys below the neck.
Since Notre Dame is the “home” team for this game, they are wearing their classic navy blue jersey. Their classic gold helmets, which were introduced over a decade ago and actually meant to resemble the “Golden Dome” on campus, will remain the same, and their tannish-gold pants will also be unchanged.
__________
NAVY:
Like ND, Navy’s changes are also “Gaelic” inspired. The Midshipmen are debuting Gaelic-style jerseys with stylized striping, known as a “Gaelic Knot” and sublimated onto the blue stripes on the Navy’s white jerseys.
The back of Navy’s jersey will receive the same Shamrock logo/green-white-orange coloring as seen on the Irish jersey above. Like the Irish, the Middies’ helmets and pants are unchanged from their normal uniforms.
__________
According to Under Armour, the “Ireland Collection features a Celtic knot design, which pays tribute to the historic setting in Ireland and the tradition of honor these teams share. Both teams’ jerseys also share the same back-neck locker tag trim, showcasing a Gaelic knotted shamrock and a Claddagh ring symbol to express the historical loyalty and friendship between the two schools: the heart represents love, the crown stands for loyalty, and two clasped hands symbolize friendship.”
Here are some additional photos of each team:
Fun Stuff with Jimmy Corcoran
[Longtime reader, contributor and pal Jimmy Corcoran — son of former NFL & WFL Quarterback “King” Corcoran — often finds great uni-related material, shares stories of his father’s football exploits, and other fun things. Additionally, Jimmy was the impetus behind the popular “Guess the Game from the Uniform” contest and a pro football uni expert. This is part of a series of Fun Stuff from Jimmy. Enjoy!]
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The Dodge Charger Bolts into 1968 – with a little help from John Hadl by Jimmy Corcoran
I was too young in 1968 to remember this commercial featuring John Hadl. I grew up in Maryland, this commercial could have been local to the San Diego area.
Even though this is for the 1968 Dodge Charger, they are not wearing the 1968 uniforms, the ’68 uniforms had a blue bolt on the leg and the numbers were plain white. These guys are wearing uniforms that were worn in the 1966 season, also there is a guy with plain navy-blue bolts on his helmet, this was a one-year style helmet worn in 1966. Before that, the Chargers last wore the navy-blue bolts in 1960 but those had gold trim on them.
I think the most bizarre part of this commercial is seeing Hadl “or what looks like an actor playing Hadl” driving a car while wearing a Chargers football helmet. This was shot at a different time than the part with them on the field, the woman has a different square cut neckline on her dress in the car, and on the field her neckline has a rounded cut, also when you see the baggy football pants on a quick shot inside the car, the stripes are a different thickness than the real game pants that Hadl and the guys on the field are wearing.
I met John Hadl as a kid on Oct. 8, 1972 when the Chargers came to Maryland to play the Colts, I brought my 1972 John Hadl football card to have him sign.
Ron Waller brought me to his hotel room just as they were getting ready to go to the stadium. John was a real friendly guy. I asked him if he would sign my card, he said “Sure. Do you have a pen?” I forgot to bring one, Ron Waller didn’t have one and neither did my father. Hadl went back into his room and said this is all I have — it was a pencil, so he signed my card in pencil. When I went back to school on Monday kids were laughing at how bad it looked and some guys thought I signed it myself. I ended up giving it to some kid in my class who didn’t laugh at it.
Guess the Game from the Uniform
Based on the suggestion of long-time reader/contributor Jimmy Corcoran, we’ve introduced a new “game” on Uni Watch, which is similar to the popular “Guess the Game from the Scoreboard” (GTGFTS), only this one asked readers to identify the game based on the uniforms worn by teams.
Like GTGFTS, readers will be asked to guess the date, location and final score of the game from the clues provided in the photo. Sometimes the game should be somewhat easy to ascertain, while in other instances, it might be quite difficult. There will usually be a visual clue (something odd or unique to one or both of the uniforms) that will make a positive identification of one and only one game possible. Other times, there may be something significant about the game in question, like the last time a particular uniform was ever worn (one of Jimmy’s original suggestions). It’s up to YOU to figure out the game and date.
Today’s GTGFTU comes from Jimmer Vilk.
Good luck and please post your guess/answer in the comments below.
Guess the Game from the Scoreboard
Guess The Game…
…From The Scoreboard
Today’s scoreboard comes from Chris Hickey.
The premise of the game (GTGFTS) is simple: I’ll post a scoreboard and you guys simply identify the game depicted. In the past, I don’t know if I’ve ever completely stumped you (some are easier than others).
Here’s the Scoreboard. In the comments below, try to identify the game (date & location, as well as final score). If anything noteworthy occurred during the game, please add that in (and if you were AT the game, well bonus points for you!):
Please continue sending these in! You’re welcome to send me any scoreboard photos (with answers please), and I’ll keep running them.
… that’s all for the early morning article. I’ll probably have a couple more for you guys throughout the morning and afternoon, so be sure to keep checking back!
The scoreboard is easy. Joan Benoit Samuelsson winning the 1984 Olympic marathon.
Interesting uniform note: The Kappa track singlets that the U.S. track team wore were red. But the distance runners wore a silver jersey with a fabric which was said to deal with the Southern California heat better. That fabric was not available in red.
Secondary note: when Alberto Salazar was running in the silver Descente singlet in the men’s marathon, he cut holes in it to get more ventilation.
Yes – that’s the SB, RG@WP!
As CLT states in the comments below, this was the 1st running of the marathon for the ladies in Olympic competition – the anniversary of which was just this past weekend!
Thank you for explaining why Benoit and other distance runners wore a silver uniform (dare call it GFGS?) in ‘84.
I could be wrong, but I kinda remember her win as the first Gold medal for the US in those games. Anyone?
No, she did not win the first US gold medal. I believe it was Alexei Grewal in the men’s cycling road race, or Connie Carpenter-Phinney in the women’s road race.
With the Soviet Union and other Eastern bloc countries boycotting, the US cleaned up in medals. The marathon was toward the end of the Olympics. We won plenty of golds before JBS.
I might start wearing a helmet when I drive.
I want to wear a football helmet next time I go cycling. I like the chin strap a lot better than the ones on bike helmets.
> what’s one more alternate uni when you have one of the most traditional uniforms in the game?
This sounds right, but in truth … other than the helmets doesn’t Notre Dame actually change their uniforms more often than a lot of the other traditional schools? Certainly more than Alabama, Penn State, Michigan, USC, Texas etc. Until recently, I would have included Ohio State, Oklahoma, Nebraska in that list. Notre Dame still makes changes more often than any of them.
I’m surprised by how much I like the ND & USNA uniforms, given that identical helmets would normally be a deal-breaker for me. Looks like it will be a good-looking demonstration of the game in Dublin.
The idea of the USNA playing an exhibition game in a non-allied country seems a bit odd to me. Like, was Georgetown not available?
GTGFTS – Joan Benoit wins the first Olympic women’s marathon in 1984
I’m sure this has been brought up before, but is Hadl the last QB in the NFL to wear a number in the 20’s?
I think so.
He wore 21 for the Oilers in 1977. By then I can’t think of anyone else.
Maybe some day they’ll let us have another QB in the 20s!
Tony Dungy was the Steelers’ emergency quarterback in a 1977 game. He wore #21.
If we’re talking emergency QBs, then Walter Payton played that position for a game in the early 80s. So there’s been a 34 more recently than been one in the 20s.
I have always loved Celtic knotwork. It has graphic clarity and immediately identifies the user as Irish-affiliated. In this way it is similar to Georgetown’s kente pattern and Michigan state’s Greek key motif.
GTGFTU: November 3, 2019, Chargers 26, Packers 11
Chargers wore this style of uniform from 2007-2019, but only wore navy on navy in 2017-2019. Only one of those games was against the Green Bay Packers
Took place at @ Los Angeles, forgot to mention that
Carson, CA to be exact…
Correct!
I recently found a replica jersey of the kicker (Michael “the Money Badger” Badgley) in a thrift store. When I was looking up info on him I came across that photo.
Normally I say the Chargers should always wear gold pants. Against the Packers, I kinda liked the blue pants.
this works a lot better for ND than navy. while both are fine (but to me a little bit hokey, as all they’ve done is find a place to slap a celtic knot pattern), it just makes sense for ND and doesn’t really make much sense for navy, in addition to the fact that these basically look like home and road unis for the same team. but hey, whaddya gonna do, right?
Agreed. Notre Dame calls themselves the Fighting Irish, but United States Naval Academy is training sailors to represent the United States of America. Why should they wear the flag of another country on their uniform?
It does feel odd for me to have USNA anchor a football game in a non-allied country. But the Navy has a tradition of flying foreign nations’ flags when ships visit a foreign port or conduct a gun salute to that nation. So the Irish ticolour on the USNA uniform could be seen as akin to a courtesy flag flown during a port visit to Dublin or Cork.
The similarity of the uniforms between Notre Dame and Navy makes this game feel like an intrasquad scrimmage, but at least it’s a good-looking intrasquad scrimmage.
Love the addition to ND sleeves. Honestly feel like this could be a full-time component of their uniform. The Celtic knot or Book of Kells style of design represents the Irish & Catholic heritage of the university.
The Dublin Game logo on the back reminds me of the Celtics 2019 City Edition “Irish Pub” uniforms. The interlocking shamrock & bball knot design (on the waistband) was the highlight of that uniform. I honestly would’ve loved the Celtics to keep it as regular secondary logo.
Wearing 1966 uniforms for a 1968 model car ad would make sense. New models are usually introduced the summer before their model year. In this case, it would be just before the 1967 season. Add in lead time needed to produce the ad, and 1966 uniforms would be from the most recent season.
Celtic symbol overkill? For sure but I love it. Great patterns, knots, flags and rings even if it looks like an intrasquad game. The card story is very good indeed. Always carry a pen, wherever you go. I know; easier said than done.
The scoreboard is easy. Joan Benoit Samuelsson winning the 1984 Olympic marathon.
Interesting uniform note: The Kappa track singlets that the U.S. track team wore were red. But the distance runners wore a silver jersey with a fabric which was said to deal with the Southern California heat better. That fabric was not available in red.
Secondary note: when Alberto Salazar was running in the silver Descente singlet in the men’s marathon, he cut holes in it to get more ventilation.
Yes – that’s the SB, RG@WP!
As CLT states in the comments below, this was the 1st running of the marathon for the ladies in Olympic competition – the anniversary of which was just this past weekend!
Thank you for explaining why Benoit and other distance runners wore a silver uniform (dare call it GFGS?) in ‘84.
I could be wrong, but I kinda remember her win as the first Gold medal for the US in those games. Anyone?
No, she did not win the first US gold medal. I believe it was Alexei Grewal in the men’s cycling road race, or Connie Carpenter-Phinney in the women’s road race.
With the Soviet Union and other Eastern bloc countries boycotting, the US cleaned up in medals. The marathon was toward the end of the Olympics. We won plenty of golds before JBS.
I might start wearing a helmet when I drive.
I want to wear a football helmet next time I go cycling. I like the chin strap a lot better than the ones on bike helmets.
> what’s one more alternate uni when you have one of the most traditional uniforms in the game?
This sounds right, but in truth … other than the helmets doesn’t Notre Dame actually change their uniforms more often than a lot of the other traditional schools? Certainly more than Alabama, Penn State, Michigan, USC, Texas etc. Until recently, I would have included Ohio State, Oklahoma, Nebraska in that list. Notre Dame still makes changes more often than any of them.
I’m surprised by how much I like the ND & USNA uniforms, given that identical helmets would normally be a deal-breaker for me. Looks like it will be a good-looking demonstration of the game in Dublin.
The idea of the USNA playing an exhibition game in a non-allied country seems a bit odd to me. Like, was Georgetown not available?
GTGFTS – Joan Benoit wins the first Olympic women’s marathon in 1984
I’m sure this has been brought up before, but is Hadl the last QB in the NFL to wear a number in the 20’s?
I think so.
He wore 21 for the Oilers in 1977. By then I can’t think of anyone else.
Maybe some day they’ll let us have another QB in the 20s!
Tony Dungy was the Steelers’ emergency quarterback in a 1977 game. He wore #21.
If we’re talking emergency QBs, then Walter Payton played that position for a game in the early 80s. So there’s been a 34 more recently than been one in the 20s.
I have always loved Celtic knotwork. It has graphic clarity and immediately identifies the user as Irish-affiliated. In this way it is similar to Georgetown’s kente pattern and Michigan state’s Greek key motif.
GTGFTU: November 3, 2019, Chargers 26, Packers 11
Chargers wore this style of uniform from 2007-2019, but only wore navy on navy in 2017-2019. Only one of those games was against the Green Bay Packers
Took place at @ Los Angeles, forgot to mention that
Carson, CA to be exact…
Correct!
I recently found a replica jersey of the kicker (Michael “the Money Badger” Badgley) in a thrift store. When I was looking up info on him I came across that photo.
Normally I say the Chargers should always wear gold pants. Against the Packers, I kinda liked the blue pants.
this works a lot better for ND than navy. while both are fine (but to me a little bit hokey, as all they’ve done is find a place to slap a celtic knot pattern), it just makes sense for ND and doesn’t really make much sense for navy, in addition to the fact that these basically look like home and road unis for the same team. but hey, whaddya gonna do, right?
Agreed. Notre Dame calls themselves the Fighting Irish, but United States Naval Academy is training sailors to represent the United States of America. Why should they wear the flag of another country on their uniform?
It does feel odd for me to have USNA anchor a football game in a non-allied country. But the Navy has a tradition of flying foreign nations’ flags when ships visit a foreign port or conduct a gun salute to that nation. So the Irish ticolour on the USNA uniform could be seen as akin to a courtesy flag flown during a port visit to Dublin or Cork.
The similarity of the uniforms between Notre Dame and Navy makes this game feel like an intrasquad scrimmage, but at least it’s a good-looking intrasquad scrimmage.
Love the addition to ND sleeves. Honestly feel like this could be a full-time component of their uniform. The Celtic knot or Book of Kells style of design represents the Irish & Catholic heritage of the university.
The Dublin Game logo on the back reminds me of the Celtics 2019 City Edition “Irish Pub” uniforms. The interlocking shamrock & bball knot design (on the waistband) was the highlight of that uniform. I honestly would’ve loved the Celtics to keep it as regular secondary logo.
Wearing 1966 uniforms for a 1968 model car ad would make sense. New models are usually introduced the summer before their model year. In this case, it would be just before the 1967 season. Add in lead time needed to produce the ad, and 1966 uniforms would be from the most recent season.
Celtic symbol overkill? For sure but I love it. Great patterns, knots, flags and rings even if it looks like an intrasquad game. The card story is very good indeed. Always carry a pen, wherever you go. I know; easier said than done.