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I'm not just into sports for the athleticism, or the drama. Much like Jerry Seinfeld, I root for the uniforms. I read Paul Lukas' blog Uni Watch on ESPN.com. (Also published in Slate and the Village Voice)
And so, I post this review and comment on a fine website I've recently come across:
Dressed to the Nines: A History of the Baseball Uniform
It's an adjunct of the Baseball hall of fame, and one of my favorite exhibits. The site covers pretty much every aspect of the baseball uniform, and it's historical evolution. From desgins, the development of jerseys and knitting, the caps, and even stirrups and socks. That stuff fascinates me.
But the topper, of course, is the exhaustive database of every Major League team's uniform from every season, including variants. (The database from the last few years seems to be incomplete...)
Including the bad fashion statements of baseball history - even worse than the 1916 season when the Dodgers and Giants both wore checkerboard pattern uniforms. Worse than Houston's rainbow sunburst pattern, or the San Diego Padres taco uniforms or the 1979 Pirates.
The 1976 Chicago White Sox
The Shorts. The collars. Ack.
And so, I post this review and comment on a fine website I've recently come across:
Dressed to the Nines: A History of the Baseball Uniform
It's an adjunct of the Baseball hall of fame, and one of my favorite exhibits. The site covers pretty much every aspect of the baseball uniform, and it's historical evolution. From desgins, the development of jerseys and knitting, the caps, and even stirrups and socks. That stuff fascinates me.
But the topper, of course, is the exhaustive database of every Major League team's uniform from every season, including variants. (The database from the last few years seems to be incomplete...)
Including the bad fashion statements of baseball history - even worse than the 1916 season when the Dodgers and Giants both wore checkerboard pattern uniforms. Worse than Houston's rainbow sunburst pattern, or the San Diego Padres taco uniforms or the 1979 Pirates.
The 1976 Chicago White Sox
The Shorts. The collars. Ack.
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Though it's still rare for players to be dressed worse than the sportwriters...
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My football team went to single-color home uniforms (navy blue) a few years ago, with the same semi-stripe/swoosh on the pants that the Broncos pioneered when they finally switched from the orange jersey. No one liked it, but then we started winning, and now no one minds so much.
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I'm of mixed minds about that Broncos' style uniform - because I liked the classic Cal uniforms - and also because I still think it looks better with contrasting pants and jerseys.... Cal's single color is okay, though. It's more annoying to me to see West Virginia switch to that same uniform you guys wear. I hate WVU (Maryland plays them every year, and their fans are awful) but I liked the classic dark blue jersey yellow pants combo.
Maryland's gone through a bunch of jersey and logo switches in the last some years. The big highpoint is the current helmet
Our last two coaches didn't like the school mascot, and put a block "M" on the helmet. So when they hired the new coach, an alum, he made a point of putting the "Terps" decal from the 80's back on the helmets. (And then he did the deal with Under Armor") And now our Unis are pretty tight.
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I loved the old Cal uniforms, too. I'm partial to wearing the same pants both home and away, though, and I don't like single-color uniforms at all (either colored or white, and now we get both).
The real problem with WVU's new uniforms is that whenever there's a picture on one of the national sports webpages, everyone in California goes, "hey! wait, no...."
Isn't the new Maryland design a product of Friedgen? And doesn't he know a little bit about what the Terps faithful would appreciate? I also really like helmets with plain cursive writing: UCLA, Maryland, Tulsa, the old Pitt helmets, even Florida, and yes, Cal. I'm not sure what to think about the piping on the Maryland uniforms right now; it seems a bit Miami. [As for the block M: Missouri, Minnesota, Marshall, Mississippi State if you're getting picky. Didn't they want a stronger brand?]
Do you know the Helmet Project? It's a wonderful to blow a couple of hours.
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2) It varies for me. I usually don't like single color uniforms, but some cases like Penn State, Alabama, or Oklahoma are just classic...
3) The Helmet is a Friedgen design - it's the Helmet they wore in the 80s when Friedgen was an assitant under Bobby Ross - except in white instead of red. (I like the idea of them going back to a red helmet... but the white is so great.)
The 2001-2003 uniform was designed by Fridge and had the Broncos type slash on the side. The 2004+ uniforms were designed by Kevin Plank of Under Armor, a Maryland Alum... It's sort of like Miami with the piping, but it's really not. It doesn't have that dopey line across the back or anything. The biggest annoyanve for me is all that logo creep...
And yeah - the Block M was bad. It's fine as a piece of flair on the side, but not as the featured element on the helmet. In addition to all those helmets you mention, to most folks a Block M is really synonymous with Michigan baseball caps.
4) Yes - WVU folks stole your uniforms. They are just that lame.
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Sorry, I meant in the pants-same-as-jersey sense, not in the one-color-plus white sense (I like the one-color-plus-white thing).
And I think I remember the old (from Friedgen's first few years) Maryland uniforms; I think I liked them. I suppose that's one saving grace about the piping, that at least there's no "dopey line." I think I'd have to see them in person before I figure out what I think.
(And I forgot Miami (Ohio) in the block-M sweepstakes, but you're right: mostly, it's Michigan.)
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I meant in the pants-same-as-jersey sense, not in the one-color-plus white sense
That's what I meant too... I probably should have clarified. It's like how lame Clemson and North Carolina look when they go all orange or all powder blue. Both have third colors and the white pants break up monotony - plus Clemson has those alternate purple jerseys. I'm still waiting for UNC to wear a Navy jersey (their third color) but it'll probably never happen.
I like some of the single-color plus whites. Oklahoma, Alabama, and Penn State seem classic to me. One caveat - after hearing Nebraksa's Defensive team referred to as "black shirts" by TV announcers for so many years, I actually want to see Nebraska break out a black jersey.
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(And ay ay ay, those Sox unis!)
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(Yarrr!)
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