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When it comes to sports design, Todd Radom has done it all, from designing the full uniform sets for multiple MLB teams to creating the logo for Super Bowl XXXVIII. (And yes, he also got to paint the pitching rubber prior to a Red Sox playoff game at Fenway Park, which is probably the coolest painting a sports artist could ever hope to do.)
I’ve known Todd for nearly 20 years and am proud to call him a friend. As I prepare to make my exit from Uni Watch, it seemed appropriate that I should do one last interview with him, so we sat down for a chat last week. We talked about his career, the current state of uniform design, and a lot more. I’m happy to say that the resulting piece, which is up now on my Substack, turned out really well.
You can read the first part of the interview here. In order to read the entire thing you’ll need to become a paid subscriber to my Substack (which will also give you full access to my Substack archives).
My thanks, as always, for your consideration.
Research Request
I received a note the other day from longtime reader and UNC uni scholar James Gilbert, as follows:
Before the North Carolina men’s basketball team debuted their Alexander Julian-designed uniforms in the fall of 1991, several drafts of the designs were revealed during TV coverage of the 1990 NCAA Tournament (not the 1991 tournament, as I once thought). So I’m putting this request out there to the Uni Watch comm-uni-ty to see if anyone can find that video. I think it was part of the Final Four show on Saturday, hosted by Pat O’Brien. It was a short segment and the sketches were only briefly displayed.
Oxbow High in Vermont hit the anti-Uni Watch trifecta the other day: BFBS (not a school color), purple, and G.I. Joke. Looks like they might be poaching the U. of Oregon’s “O” logo for good measure!
(My thanks to Tris Wykes for this one.)
• • • • •
After today, I will have 17 days remaining at Uni Watch. — Paul
Just curious, for your countdown photos, have you already picked a player for every number, or do you kind of do it on a whim each morning?
Hahahahahahha.
Joe, if you think I have time to think that far ahead while I’m getting ready to hand the site off to Phil, prepare for the upcoming anniversary/farewell tour, tie up lots of other loose ends, start laying the groundwork for my post-Uni Watch work, and a few jillion other things, you definitely have an optimistic view of what life is currently like at Uni Watch HQ.
Making it up as I go.
Some ideas:
#16 – Dwight Gooden
#15 – Carlos Beltran or Tim Tebow /jk
#14 – Gil Hodges
#13 – Fonzie
#10 has got to be Paul’s all-time favorite radio color man.
Of course I’m referring to Ron Santo.
#16 Bobby Clarke
That must be a photoshopped picture, Keith said the Mets never had numbers on the front of the jersey before.
/s
Those camo jerseys are awful.
What jerseys? I can’t see anything besides floating numbers, heads, and pants.
I thought they were a VT cow pattern at first!
Yeah, I also first saw cow, and really that’s still all I see. I kind of give slack to GI Joke efforts that are this badly executed. No soldier dresses like that! Not even the cannon-fodder troops the Soviets threw into the forests of Finland in the Winter War of 1939-40 were that poorly camouflaged. So it looks less like a “support the troops” message than a “support rare heritage dairy cattle breeds” message to me.
“And yes, he also got to paint the pitching rubber prior to a Red Sox playoff game at Fenway Park”
– I thought that might be a photo of the ever elusive Banksy.
BTW, as a HS coach, I found that you can paint the rubber or the plate by cleaning and sanding it a bit, priming with Rustoleum Painter’s Touch White Primer, then two coats of Rustoleum Painter’s Touch Flat White. It will look brand new.
Trying to date that Hernandez photo. The last year they had Mets on the road was 1986. In 1986 though, the Goodman jersey had a clunky script and I also see no evidence of the 25th anniversary patch. The script is a nice looking Rawlings script (which they should try to go back to immediately on the current home jersey). So the pic could be in a range of 1983-1985. Any other clues to narrow it down?
Paul, another home run with the Todd interview! You’re not going out with a bang; you’re going out with a mushroom cloud. Not unlike the Richland Bombers… link
On a recent photowalk in the Bronx, we [passed a park where a youth football team was practicing (in early May (?!), no idea when this teams season runs)… What they were wearing (no pics) leaves me with ZERO hope for the future of uniform design, let me tell you.
I’m just going to continue to watch old NFL games from the 1980/90s on YouTube and quietly mutter to myself.
Lee
The first-year Nationals’ uniforms are some of the most underrated in baseball history. They did themselves no favors by misspelling the team name a few times, a problem that could have been overcome by printing the name with sublimation and stitching the tackle twill over it.
Just curious on if there have been any of Todd’s designs that you were not a fan of and have told him? Or are you more of a friend that keeps your opinions to yourself? Has he ever asked your opinion on things?
Todd has never asked my opinion. And except for the Shea Stadium patch (as a Mets fan I loved it, and told him so), I don’t think I’ve ever offered him feedback.
Similarly, aside from saying, “Uni Watch is great!” (or words to that effect), I don’t think he’s ever offered feedback on anything I’ve written.
We’re friends and mutual fans with a lot of mutual respect. Those broad themes matter more than the specifics.
Great picture of the great Todd in action. And a picture of Keith on top of that!
Just curious, for your countdown photos, have you already picked a player for every number, or do you kind of do it on a whim each morning?
Hahahahahahha.
Joe, if you think I have time to think that far ahead while I’m getting ready to hand the site off to Phil, prepare for the upcoming anniversary/farewell tour, tie up lots of other loose ends, start laying the groundwork for my post-Uni Watch work, and a few jillion other things, you definitely have an optimistic view of what life is currently like at Uni Watch HQ.
Making it up as I go.
Some ideas:
#16 – Dwight Gooden
#15 – Carlos Beltran or Tim Tebow /jk
#14 – Gil Hodges
#13 – Fonzie
#10 has got to be Paul’s all-time favorite radio color man.
Of course I’m referring to Ron Santo.
#16 Bobby Clarke
That must be a photoshopped picture, Keith said the Mets never had numbers on the front of the jersey before.
/s
Those camo jerseys are awful.
What jerseys? I can’t see anything besides floating numbers, heads, and pants.
I thought they were a VT cow pattern at first!
Yeah, I also first saw cow, and really that’s still all I see. I kind of give slack to GI Joke efforts that are this badly executed. No soldier dresses like that! Not even the cannon-fodder troops the Soviets threw into the forests of Finland in the Winter War of 1939-40 were that poorly camouflaged. So it looks less like a “support the troops” message than a “support rare heritage dairy cattle breeds” message to me.
“And yes, he also got to paint the pitching rubber prior to a Red Sox playoff game at Fenway Park”
– I thought that might be a photo of the ever elusive Banksy.
BTW, as a HS coach, I found that you can paint the rubber or the plate by cleaning and sanding it a bit, priming with Rustoleum Painter’s Touch White Primer, then two coats of Rustoleum Painter’s Touch Flat White. It will look brand new.
Trying to date that Hernandez photo. The last year they had Mets on the road was 1986. In 1986 though, the Goodman jersey had a clunky script and I also see no evidence of the 25th anniversary patch. The script is a nice looking Rawlings script (which they should try to go back to immediately on the current home jersey). So the pic could be in a range of 1983-1985. Any other clues to narrow it down?
Paul, another home run with the Todd interview! You’re not going out with a bang; you’re going out with a mushroom cloud. Not unlike the Richland Bombers… link
On a recent photowalk in the Bronx, we [passed a park where a youth football team was practicing (in early May (?!), no idea when this teams season runs)… What they were wearing (no pics) leaves me with ZERO hope for the future of uniform design, let me tell you.
I’m just going to continue to watch old NFL games from the 1980/90s on YouTube and quietly mutter to myself.
Lee
The first-year Nationals’ uniforms are some of the most underrated in baseball history. They did themselves no favors by misspelling the team name a few times, a problem that could have been overcome by printing the name with sublimation and stitching the tackle twill over it.
Just curious on if there have been any of Todd’s designs that you were not a fan of and have told him? Or are you more of a friend that keeps your opinions to yourself? Has he ever asked your opinion on things?
Todd has never asked my opinion. And except for the Shea Stadium patch (as a Mets fan I loved it, and told him so), I don’t think I’ve ever offered him feedback.
Similarly, aside from saying, “Uni Watch is great!” (or words to that effect), I don’t think he’s ever offered feedback on anything I’ve written.
We’re friends and mutual fans with a lot of mutual respect. Those broad themes matter more than the specifics.
Great picture of the great Todd in action. And a picture of Keith on top of that!