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Leo’s World 50th Edition, Part 1

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Good Tuesday morning, Uni Watchers. I hope everyone had a pleasant Monday.

I’m back again this fine day with the one and only Leo Strawn, Jr., who has a very special treat in store for us, and it will actually encompass two parts. It’s the 50th Edition of Leo’s World.

I have a feeling you’re going to really enjoy this one!

There’s a lot to get to, so I’m just going to turn it over to Leo right now as he brings you…

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Leo’s World 50th Edition, Part 1
by Leo Strawn, Jr,

I’m Leo…welcome to my world!

And welcome to the (*trumpet sounds*) 50th edition of Leo’s World!

In case you’re interested, that comic cover manipulation was based on this, which is the cover art from the 1982 re-telling of the origin of Dr. Strange. I thought this 50th edition could be the re-telling of my origin through the use of uniforms. I’m a Buckeye who grew up in the sixties and seventies with a love of team sports history, art and design. I decided that could be best represented by trying to nail down my 50 all-time favorite uniforms. It’s always possible that if I did this a year ago or a year from now, this list might not be exactly the same, but I think, overall, it wouldn’t be too different.

I initially intended to limit my choices to what I would call our 4 major (North American) sports; baseball, basketball, gridiron (both three-down Canadian and football from the States) and hockey, but I couldn’t justify leaving a few faves out just because the sport was different, so you’ll see some uniforms from a couple of other sports interspersed here and there.

I used color photos if I had them and tried to include more than one photo of each uniform, but I have only discovered one photo of the 1976 Indians blue jersey/red pants combo online, so that one is a stand-alone pic.

Keep in mind, this is not another “best of” list. These are my favorites.Note: As I went through the process of putting this list together, I realized that, for baseball and football, a cap or helmet could be considered among my favorites even if the corresponding uniform wasn’t, so I made a separate list for headgear, which will run next week.

Hopefully, this will include some great uniform looks you’ve forgotten about and maybe even one or two you’ve never seen before. Without further ado (drum roll…)

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50: This is the first use of what would become the Big Red Machine caps, paired with this simple, clean vested uniform in 1956. I also love the striped stirrups on these Redlegs unis.

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49: I like these patriotic beauties the Chisox donned in the 1917 World Series. Bonus points for the striped white sox they wore and the alternating red and blue pinstripes on the cap.

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48: Chicago’s Southsiders will make my list a few times. While I can’t say I was a fan of the shorts, I do love the “old-timey” look of the late seventies White Sox. I think they should have made the lettering on the caps/batting helmet match the uniforms, though. The striped sox are reminiscent of those 1917 unis, pictured above and I love the oversized collars.

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47: Everyone will likely recognize this helmet, but maybe not in white and Carolina blue. Unfortunately I don’t have any color photos, so use your imagination to view the 1953 Tar Heels in color. It’s not just the helmet I like, but also the single shoulder/sleeve and matching pants stripe that made me include this.

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46: White Sox (again). This is one of my personal favorites among baseball logos, so it’s no surprise it has made the list again. No color photos, sadly. I am partial to mono-dark and the pinstripes work perfectly with this uniform.

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45: Hammerin’ Hank was chasing the Bambino after finishing the 1973 season with 713 homers, so these Atlanta uniforms got a lot of attention in April, 1974. I loved both the home and road versions.

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44: I like red pinstripes, possibly because of being a Cincinnati fan (they wore red pinstripes in the early-mid 1960s), and I always thought this 20-year Phillies uniform was simply beautiful. (Note: You can plainly see the cap insert worn by Richie Ashburn in the last photo.)

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43: And now, for something completely different…1960s-early 1970s South Melbourne Swans of the VFL. I love the simple chevron with the floppy, oversized collar, shoulder trim and striped socks, too. (Message to AFL players today: Learn from players like John Murphy, Bob Kingston and John Rantall of South and pull your damn socks up.)

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42: I know a lot of people like the creamsicle Bucs, but in 1976, Seattle was the NFL expansion team whose uniform captured my attention.

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41: First WFL entry is the New York Stars. I remember seeing them on a TVS broadcast in the summer of 1974 and I was instantly a fan of these uniforms. I would have suggested black stripes on the socks alongside the yellow, though. I also would have preferred if the striping matched on the black pants and helmets. Still, a nice-looking uniform.

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40: Sometimes, simpler is better. The Cardinals took this late-1950s white/white/red uniform with them from Chicago to St. Louis, where they wore it in 1960 before abandoning the red pants a season later. (Note: The black & white photo on the bottom left is from week 1 of the 1960 regular season. The Cards have only worn blank helmets twice in the regular season since then, weeks 3 & 9 of the 1994 season, and didn’t wear red pants again until 1990.)

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39: Chicago again, this time the Cubbies. I imagine a lot of people who, like me, weren’t Cubs fans watched a lot of their games (and some Bozo the Clown telecasts) in the 1980s thanks to WGN. Chicago had an exciting team with a number of stars wearing these beautiful uniforms.

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38: I’ve mentioned these unis before. I’m a big fan of the 1948-49 Calgary Stampeders uniforms. So. Many. Stripes.

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37: The Atlanta Hawks were easy to watch in the 1980s thanks to Dominique and these uniforms.

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36: Down under again, this time the 1987-88 VFL West Coast Eagles original kit. These would be higher on the list if not for that logo. The current logo looks incredible, and that uniform would have made this list too, but these days the AFL’s Eagles wing tips on back are covered by sponsor logos.

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35: The 1970-72 Hawks, the only time in their history Atlanta used blue/green as their primary color scheme. This striping pattern was later used by the ABA Pacers, but I gave the Hawks the nod for originality, plus I liked these colors more than Indiana’s (sorry, Chris).

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34: Also from the west coast of Australia, I love the early Fremantle Dockers look. The bottom right is a 2021 throwback of the mid-1990s Freo away jumper (bottom left) featuring that innovative anchor graphic on the front. This is one of those rare instances where I think the throwback looks equally as good as the original.

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33: I mentioned Cincinnati’s red pinstripes earlier and here they are on these 1961-66 beauties. What’s not to love? Red pinstripes, vests, numbers above the arched NOB…priceless. The only thing that could have made them a wee bit better would have been a wishbone C.

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32: This entry isn’t a specific team, but an element I love: Friction strips. Here are two of my favorites, 1931 Missouri Tigers (stripes, stripes, stripes!) and 1933 George Washington Colonials. A couple of notes to add. First, the jersey Tuffy Leemans is wearing has darker numbers and sleeves than friction strips in one pic and vice versa in the other. I assume the difference is because one of those was taken with orthochromatic film. I wish they were in color because it’s hard for me to judge which color is red and which is blue. Second, years ago, I designed a potential kit for the USAFL national squad, USA Revolution, combining my love of that look with my appreciation of Aussie Rules chevrons and bars. Sadly, they passed on my design.

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31: The New England Whalers improved their look immensely after becoming the Hartford Whalers. In my opinion, the logo is one of the best in sports history and looked great on home or road jerseys. Not sure any sweater would look bad on these legends, though.

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30: WHA Cincinnati Stingers. Another great look on ice, largely due to a great logo design. Also, I liked Orr, Esposito and the Bruins when I was a kid, so that made it easier for me to like the Stingers colors.

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29: This is probably on more “worst” lists than “best” when people are judging them. I like the yellow jerseys over brown and, yes, I’m going to say it, the unique vertical striped stirrups. The 1960-61 Broncos overall look would have been better with brown and yellow helmets to go with the yellow jerseys at home, though.

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28: Back to the ice, the Atlanta Flames are another example of how much better a great logo can make a uniform look. They were another expansion team I immediately took a liking to because of their logo and uniforms.

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27: I love the clean look of the Chicago White Stockings (Sox) 1903 monogram on these buttoned shirts with the contrasting collar, combined with white sox (!), white pants with contrasting belt and white caps with pinstripes, sans logo.

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26: Here is another uniform on my favorites list that’s likely on numerous “worst” lists. I love the chevron (“V” for Vancouver!) on front, sleeves and shorts. I’m a fan of this color combo and I think it was very well balanced with those bold lines.

(to be continued…)

• • • • •

Thanks, Leo! Fantastic list — looking forward to the Top 25 in Part II!

 

 
  
 

Uniform Concepts and Tweaks

Time for more Uni Tweaks from the UW readership.

I hope you guys like this feature and will want to continue to submit your concepts and tweaks to me. If you do, Shoot me an E-mail (Phil (dot) Hecken (at) gmail (dot) com).

• • • • •

Today’s concepts come from Timothy Fesmire, who saw my (very rudimentary) mock up in yesterday’s MMUW of the Commanders white jersey with gold pants, which prompted today’s Uni Tweaks submission. Here’s Tim:

Hi, Phil.

The yellow pants look great, but what if we add yellow to the jersey, remove the stupid dot gradient and add stripes to the pants.

Tim

• • • • •

OK readers (and concepters). If you have some tweaks or concepts, shoot ’em my way with a brief description of your creation and I’ll run ’em here.

 

 

Guess the Game from the Scoreboard

Guess The Game…

…From The Scoreboard

Today’s scoreboard comes from Jerry Cohen.

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 and 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.

 

 

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 Greg Postan.

Good luck and please post your guess/answer in the comments below.

 

 

And finally...

…that’s going to do it for the early morning lede. Big thanks to Leo for putting together this very special 50th post. Can’t wait for Part II!

I’ll have several more articles thoughout the day, includng the ever-popular Mike Chamernik’s Question of the Week, so be sure to keep checking back!

Everyone have a wonderful Tuesday, and I’ll catch you guys tomorrow morning.

Peace,

PH

Comments (26)

    I share Leo’s love for those late 70s/early 80s Canucks “flying V” uniforms. The colors were fantastic and the chevron on the front representing a V worked, IMO. The only issue I had with them was the sleeve # riding so low that the gloves partially covered them. Maybe if they moved them above the sleeve logo?

    I also really like all of the versions of the Washington football road uniform concepts – HUGE improvement over what they currently wear, especially on the road. I would, however, eliminate the black trim from the numbers. If they want to wear those all black alts once or twice a season. fine, but they don’t need black on their main uniforms. Burgundy and gold only.

    I had to look it up on nhluniforms.com but the Canucks did move the numbers up above the sleeve logos starting with the 1982-83 season. That did result in moving the logos and stripes down a bit but not to the point where the stripes were obscured by the gloves. They wore that version until they retired the Flying V look after the 1984-85 season. Always one of my favorite hockey sweaters back in the day.

    You are correct, John in KC. I was too lazy to look it up, but the Canucks did in fact move the sleeve number above the sleeve logo for the 1982/83 season. Much better look.

    The stripes! The number font! The use of purple! And I am taking about that comic cover! Thanks for the 50…split up! I need a day to take it all in. Looking forward to the next installment.

    Some great choices in there! I had no clue UNC once wore horns on their helmet. I would love to see that pop up as an occasional throwback design for the team.
    There is something remarkably beautiful about vintage baseball photos. I don’t know if we are just programed to view the history of the game with special rose colored glasses, or that it in fact does lend itself more to having beautiful history. I see some of those old uniforms from 70+ years ago and just think the game was probably so much more enjoyable to watch, even if the skill and athleticism cannot compare to the players today. Maybe it just looks more like a past time and less like a business back then.

    “There is something remarkably beautiful about vintage baseball photos.”

    I feel the same about any sport. Maybe it’s the nostalgia of the black & white photos and the use of natural fabrics that makes them more pleasing to the eye.

    You’re spot on when you say that it was more of a sport than a business then, too. The uniforms were just a way to identify the club rather than that combined with a commercial aspect. I think that’s something uniform aficionados can sense, intuitively.

    GTGFTU: 1960 NFL Championship Game
    December 26, 1960
    Franklin Field, Philadelphia, PA
    Eagles 17, Packers 13

    Last NFL title for the Eagles until Super Bowl LII. Only career postseason loss for Vince Lombardi. Two-way legend Chuck Bednarik (C/LB), who played every down in the game, had the game-saving tackle of Jim Taylor as time expired. Final game for Eagles QB and game MVP Norm van Brocklin, who became head coach of the expansion Minnesota Vikings in 1961.

    Man, the Reds really need to bring the vest back–maybe the only team in MLB that should have a vest in their rotation.

    I read a biography of Bill Veeck that included a picture of him as a boy next to Chicago Cubs manager Joe McCarthy in probably 1915 or 1916. It was significant because the “Chicago” font on those Cubs jerseys looks startlingly like the “Chicago” on the Sox jerseys (the first uniforms of the Bill Veeck era) in the late 70s. I can’t help but think it was an intentional reference to his own youth.

    The White Sox also wore that font on the road – with all-navy uniforms and white caps – during the 1910s. Veeck threw back to all that and even included a sort of collar.

    link

    Count me as a lover of the Canucks ‘flying V’s. Can’t imagine why anyone would hate them.

    And it’s hard to tell if the general hatred of the White Sox’ 1976-1981 unis is sincere or just because every media story relating to the shorts leaves the impression that the Sox wore shorts every game from 76-81. People who didn’t experience baseball in those years are left with that impression.

    I love those Sox uniforms, but the white ones were more fauxbacks than the blue ones. I think people had forgotten that mono-dark was once common. But even then, white jerseys over navy pants was quite rare. It just doesn’t feel right the way it does in football.

    As for the flak the Canucks took, boy, hockey people were conservative back then.

    I have always loved the flaming A that Atlanta’s first NHL team wore. In fact, the white home jersey with Tom Lysiak’s #12 was the second or third hockey sweater I ever bought.

    To demonstrate that a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, it’s always bugged me that the roundel on the Chicago NL team reads “Cubs” but the emblem on Cincinnati’s jersey does not say “Creds”.

    Count me in as a lover of the early 1980s Canucks unis. I was about 11 when I first saw these and my mind was expanded. It must have been like what happened with the Astros in the rainbow guts unis. Totally turning the world on its collective ear. The Canucks wore their “spaghetti skate” unis this past Saturday and I was loving it. I wish they’d go back to these. As much as I love their current colors, that design needs to go. Harpoon the orca!

    A big two thumbs up to Timothy Fesmire and your huge upgrade to the Commanders’ road unis with added gold striping! I know more concern has been addressed regarding the needed pants striping, which looks great, but using their current shoulder cap striping with gold added gives the jerseys both historic and current identity. Nice work!

    Love that UNC uniform, and the old white/white/red Cards uni. Two simple but very awesome looks.

    Also good to see the 70s Braves and 80s Hawks getting some love…as well as the 1960 Broncos!

    Can’t wait to see Part Two.

    I think there are a few more relatively simple looks you’ll like coming up.

    Glad to see I’m not the only one who likes the original Broncos unis. : )

    I could scroll up and down that list all day, so many great uniforms and logos. Thanks, Leo!

    As a kid I lived in Atlanta from ’69 to ’76. My Mom and Dad were huge sports fans. I was lucky enough to see plenty of Braves, Falcons, Hawks and Flames games. We even had season tickets for the first two seasons of the Flames. I also loved the Falcons red jersey/grey pants combo.

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