The Shibe Vintage Sports History Blog

The college basketball season is fully underway. Yesterday ESPN ran their traditional 24 hours of college basketball coverage ending with Duke beating Kentucky. One of the many games on yesterday was between the University of Massachusetts and Harvard University. UMass won the game, but the biggest news for the school came before the game even started.

The School announced that it would officially retire Marcus Camby’s jersey on January 19^th when the Minutemen take on George Washington at the Mullins Center in Amherst. Camby is one of the best athletes to ever come play, not only basketball, but any sport in the school’s history. He ranks in the top ten in points scored and is the all-time school leader in blocked shots. Camby remains the player taken highest in the NBA draft from UMass, and his number will be the 6^th number hung in the rafters at Mullins Center, where his number will join such greats as Julius Erving and Al Skinner. Congratulations to Marcus Camby on being the most recent member of the retired Maroon and White. 

Authentic Store Buzz: Pro League Authentics has just come out with a new exclusive line of apparel. The Legends Line- Wilt Chamberlain. A fan of Wilt the Stilt, The Big Dipper, or maybe you just know him as Mr. 100. Wilt Chamberlain was a basketball legend, considered by many to be the most athletic and talented player to ever strut onto the NBA hardwood. The big man, who wore number 13 and was famous for wearing the sweatband on his head, once dropped 100 points in Hershey, PA. PLA has the exclusive line of shirts of the Wilt Chamberlain line. For more information check out the shirts here: http://www.facebook.com/proleagueauthentics?fref=ts 

As the NFL season continues, PLA continues to provide a great selection of authentic NIKE NFL jerseys including the newest one, a home blue Andrew Luck jersey. In fact, PLA is now offering 50% off on any NIKE NFL jerseys. All are authentic. Check our selection out on our website, call up the store to inquire, or keep track of our Facebook Page and Twitter feed for daily updates.

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Authentically Speaking Trivia Time:  What does the song "Ok Blue Jays" have to do with the MLB team? Answer to come Tomorrow.

Thursday’s answer:  Columbia Blue.

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Before the most recent NBA draft, number one overall pick Anthony Davis decided to trademark the phrases “fear the brow” and “raise the brow” due to his distinguishing uni-brow. Davis wasn’t out to make a bundle of money for himself, but when random people began producing merchandise with in which they used Davis’ and specifically mentioned his eyebrow, Davis decided to lock some phrases down.

Why mention Davis? Well, another athlete with a popular nickname has decided to follow in Davis’ footsteps. Johnny Manziel, the quarterback for the Texas A&M Aggies, who is commonly known as Johnny Football, wants to trademark his nickname. Manziel has been great this season, and with the popularity he has gained on campus, he also picked up the nickname “Johnny Football”. Not surprisingly, everyone and their mother wants to make a buck making merchandise using the Johnny Football name, so the Manziel family in tandem with the university is working to trademark the name. Due to NCAA rules, the family cannot produce or sell any merchandise with the name “Johnny Football” if they want Manziel to retain his eligibility.

Authentic Store Buzz: Pro League Authentics has just come out with a new exclusive line of apparel. The Legends Line- Wilt Chamberlain. A fan of Wilt the Stilt, The Big Dipper, or maybe you just know him as Mr. 100. Wilt Chamberlain was a basketball legend, considered by many to be the most athletic and talented player to ever strut onto the NBA hardwood. The big man, who wore number 13 and was famous for wearing the sweatband on his head, once dropped 100 points in Hershey, PA. PLA has the exclusive line of shirts of the Wilt Chamberlain line. For more information check out the shirts here: http://www.facebook.com/proleagueauthentics?fref=ts 

As the NFL season continues, PLA continues to provide a great selection of authentic NIKE NFL jerseys including the newest one, a home blue Andrew Luck jersey. In fact, PLA is now offering 50% off on any NIKE NFL jerseys. All are authentic. Check our selection out on our website, call up the store to inquire, or keep track of our Facebook Page and Twitter feed for daily updates.

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Authentically Speaking Trivia Time:  What shade of blue was used in the Houston Oilers jerseys? Answer to come Tomorrow.

Thursday’s answer:  The New York Titans.

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A few weeks ago, when the latest NBA Basketball video game NBA 2K13 came out, the game gave the option to the player of playing with the Thunder in their new alternative jerseys. Now that the NBA season has final begun, the Thunder has worn the jerseys for the first time, “unveiling” them for the public. Well, unveiling may not be the best word, maybe re-unveiling is better. We knew what these new alternatives looked like, blue with the word Thunder in white running vertically down the left side and the players number in the top right front side. The blue looks darker in person than it does in the video game, but a lot of that could have to do with the contrast of a person’s television screen.

Tomorrow the University of Iowa Hawkeyes will take on Purdue in Big Ten Conference play. Neither team is having a great season; both have sub .500 records in Big Ten play as well as overall. As was reported on Authentically Speaking on Wednesday the 7^th, Today is Military Appreciation Day. Combine that with Veterans Day on Sunday the 11^th, and the Hawkeyes have changed their regular home uniforms to honor the men and women who have fought to defend the United States of America. The team will be wearing Nike made pro combat uniforms. Numerous Iowa players have relatives, friends, or peers who are or have been members of a branch of the U.S. military. In that spirit, each player will be given the option of wearing a patch on the back of their jerseys that has the name of a branch of the military instead of their own last names. The entire uniform has changed as well, with silver pants and helmets to go along with solid black jerseys with yellow lettering. 

Minor League Baseball teams are not tethered to their Major League affiliates for life. A team can move from one affiliate to another without changing anything else about the team, including it’s location or name. On the other hand, oftentimes a new MLB affiliate will want the Minor League club to make some modifications in order to better represent the relationship. For example, when the Scranton Wilkes Berra Red Barons went from being affiliated with the Phillies to the Yankees, the team became the Scranton Wilkes Berra Yankees.

The Phillies double A affiliate Reading Phillies have something else in mind. The team has no intention of changing affiliations, especially given the fact that the Reading Phillies have been affiliated with the big club from Philadelphia since 1967, the longest current affiliation in Minor League Baseball. The team will however change it’s name, with an announcement to be made Saturday. The move is being done in order to give the people of Reading a more personal team name as opposed to using the same name as the big league club.

While the name has not been released yet, Chris Creamer at www.sportslogos.net found a number of domain names that have been bought recently including FightinsBaseball.com, ReadingFightins.com, and ReadingFightinPhillies.com. This might prove that the name could be changing to the Fightin’ Readings or the Reading Fightin’s. With the name change, there will be a whole new crop of merchandise that will need to be supplied to the Reading fans.

On November 9^th a Basketball game is going to be played on an aircraft carrier. The game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Ohio St. Buckeyes will be played on the USS Yorktown in honor of Military Appreciation Day. The NCAA Men’s Basketball pre-season tournaments haven’t even been played yet, but because of the numerous ties that the military has with Universities around the country, the NCAA wanted to use this game to promote Military Appreciation.

In keeping with the spirit of the day, the Ohio St. Buckeyes will wear special uniforms just for the occasion. Nike designed the grey, silver, and white army-like camouflage jerseys. Other than the camo background, the jerseys look identical to any other Ohio St. basketball uniform. There is red trim around the outside with a red “Ohio State” written on the chest of the jersey with the players’ number just below it. The entire uniform including shorts, socks, and shoes will match the camouflage jerseys. The jerseys were specially made by Nike and are part of a line of Nike products that are made from recycled materials called the Hyper Elite line. Nike had previously come out with a line of Hyper Elite Platinum uniforms for 9 NCAA teams, but neither Ohio St. nor Notre Dame was one of those teams. The company specially made these jerseys for Ohio St. for the game to be played on the USS Yorktown. Adidas supplies Notre Dame with its basketball uniforms, so they will not be wearing the Hyper Elite jerseys like the Buckeyes. 

Authentic Store Buzz: Barry Rubin, the Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Philadelphia Eagles was recently at the store. The Pro League Authentics Nike Dri-Fit T-Shirt seen in the above picture is the new Eagles weight room t-shirt, supplied by the #1 Authentic Sports Apparel Store in Philly, Pro League Authentics. Get your PLA shirt by contacting the store or visiting us down town.

Pro League Authentics has just come out with a new exclusive line of apparel. The Legends Line- Wilt Chamberlain. A fan of Wilt the Stilt, The Big Dipper, or maybe you just know him as Mr. 100. Wilt Chamberlain was a basketball legend, considered by many to be the most athletic and talented player to ever strut onto the NBA hardwood. The big man, who wore number 13 and was famous for wearing the sweatband on his head, once dropped 100 points in Hershey, PA. PLA has the exclusive line of shirts of the Wilt Chamberlain line. For more information check out the shirts here: http://www.facebook.com/proleagueauthentics?fref=ts 

The NFL season is officially at the half way point. The Atlanta Falcons remain the lone unbeaten team, while rookies RGIII and Andrew Luck are putting on great shows in line to compete for the Rookie of the Year Award. The Eagles are looking to bounce back from their trouncing at the hands of the Falcons against another NFC South team this Monday night. PLA has a great selection of authentic NIKE NFL jerseys including the newest one, a home blue Andrew Luck jersey. Check our selection out on our website, call up the store to inquire, or keep track of our Facebook Page and Twitter feed for daily updates.

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Authentically Speaking Trivia Time:  The Tampa Bay Lightning have three jerseys, one say something other than Tampa Bay or Lightning on it. What does that third jersey have written on it? Answer to come tomorrow.

Thursday’s answer:  Patrick Ewing from Georgetown.

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Recently David Stern, the commissioner of the NBA, announced that he will step down from his post in 2014. He announced that deputy commissioner Adam Silver will replace him. Silver’s name came up following the October 25^th Board of Governors meeting in New York City regarding a different issue. According to Silver and reports coming out of the meeting, the NBA will introduce ads on the players’ jerseys beginning in two seasons. This move will coincide with the changing of the guard, meaning this will be Silver’s first major act as commissioner. The change will net the NBA approximately $100 million in profits every season, which will be split between the players and the owners 50:50. The patches will be 2 inches by 2 inches in dimensions and be worn only on the shoulders of a player’s jersey. So, NBA fans, get ready for the jerseys of your favorite league to have mini ads on them beginning in 2014. If you need a refresher as to what this might look like, check out what the European Basketball leagues wear, they have been doing this for years.

Authentic Store Buzz: Barry Rubin, the Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Philadelphia Eagles was recently at the store. The Pro League Authentics Nike Dri-Fit T-Shirt seen in the above picture is the new Eagles weight room t-shirt, supplied by the #1 Authentic Sports Apparel Store in Philly, Pro League Authentics. Get your PLA shirt by contacting the store or visiting us down town.

Pro League Authentics has just come out with a new exclusive line of apparel. The Legends Line- Wilt Chamberlain. A fan of Wilt the Stilt, The Big Dipper, or maybe you just know him as Mr. 100. Wilt Chamberlain was a basketball legend, considered by many to be the most athletic and talented player to ever strut onto the NBA hardwood. The big man, who wore number 13 and was famous for wearing the sweatband on his head, once dropped 100 points in Hershey, PA. PLA has the exclusive line of shirts of the Wilt Chamberlain line. For more information check out the shirts here: http://www.facebook.com/proleagueauthentics?fref=ts 

The NFL season is officially at the half way point. The Atlanta Falcons remain the lone unbeaten team, while rookies RGIII and Andrew Luck are putting on great shows in line to compete for the Rookie of the Year Award. The Eagles are looking to bounce back from their trouncing at the hands of the Falcons against another NFC South team this Monday night. PLA has a great selection of authentic NIKE NFL jerseys including the newest one, a home blue Andrew Luck jersey. Check our selection out on our website, call up the store to inquire, or keep track of our Facebook Page and Twitter feed for daily updates.

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Authentically Speaking Trivia Time:  Who was the first player announced by David Stern at the 1985 NBA draft? Answer to come tomorrow.

Thursday’s answer:  3.

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This past Saturday it happened. The Texas A&M Aggie players had been wondering all season when they would be wearing their new black jerseys. Adidas designed A&M new black jerseys with maroon trim as opposed to the opposite scheme that adorns the Aggies jerseys in most other games. The switch to the black jerseys came when the A&M coaches heard that their opponent, Mississippi State, was going to be wearing their white jerseys, and more importantly, having their fans all wear white. To combat this, the coaches decided to unveil the team’s new black jerseys. Well it worked. #16 A&M defeated the #15 ranked Bulldogs who had gotten off to a 7-0 start until the last two weeks when they dropped both. Both losses have been within the SEC, which doesn’t bode well for the Bulldogs as the season progresses. The game ended with a score of Texas A&M 38 Mississippi State 13.

Authentic Store Buzz: Barry Rubin, the Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Philadelphia Eagles was recently at the store. The Pro League Authentics Nike Dri-Fit T-Shirt seen in the above picture is the new Eagles weight room t-shirt, supplied by the #1 Authentic Sports Apparel Store in Philly, Pro League Authentics. Get your PLA shirt by contacting the store or visiting us down town.

Pro League Authentics has just come out with a new exclusive line of apparel. The Legends Line- Wilt Chamberlain. A fan of Wilt the Stilt, The Big Dipper, or maybe you just know him as Mr. 100. Wilt Chamberlain was a basketball legend, considered by many to be the most athletic and talented player to ever strut onto the NBA hardwood. The big man, who wore number 13 and was famous for wearing the sweatband on his head, once dropped 100 points in Hershey, PA. PLA has the exclusive line of shirts of the Wilt Chamberlain line. For more information check out the shirts here: http://www.facebook.com/proleagueauthentics?fref=ts 

The NFL season is officially at the half way point. The Atlanta Falcons remain the lone unbeaten team, while rookies RGIII and Andrew Luck are putting on great shows in line to compete for the Rookie of the Year Award. The Eagles are looking to bounce back from their trouncing at the hands of the Falcons against another NFC South team this Monday night. PLA has a great selection of authentic NIKE NFL jerseys including the newest one, a home blue Andrew Luck jersey. Check our selection out on our website, call up the store to inquire, or keep track of our Facebook Page and Twitter feed for daily updates.

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Authentically Speaking Trivia Time:  How many different arenas did the Seattle Supersonics play in during the franchise's time in Seattle? Answer to come tomorrow.

Thursday’s answer:  The Saints use the fleur-de-lis as their logo because it is the official symbol of the city of New Orleans.

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In the NFL the concept of the throwback jersey has become quite popular in the last decade and a half. Every team looks back into their history and chooses one, and sometimes more than one, previous team uniform to wear in a present day game. It changes things up, recalls great teams of the past, promotes loyalty, and most importantly celebrates history. Last week the Pittsburgh Steelers wore their 80^th anniversary jerseys. Many, such as this writer, thought the players looked like a cross between the inmates from “The Longest Yard” and characters from “Bee Movie”.

This week, when the Redskins face off against the Carolina Panthers, the Washington Redskins hope to erase those memories from fans’ minds by wearing their own throwbacks. These uniforms also celebrate the 80^th anniversary of the Redskins franchise. The uniforms look very similar to the ones worn by the team in 1937, the same year the team moved from Boston to Washington D.C. The uniforms consist of solid Maroon jerseys with large gold numbers on the front, gold pants, white socks, maroon and gold shoes, and gold helmets that are designed to appear to be leather, but instead conform to modern day helmet standards. The jerseys resemble uniforms worn by the Florida State Seminoles. Both teams derive their team names from Native American culture. In comparison to white colonists, Native Americans always had darker skin, which is represented by the maroon coloring used in both the Seminoles and the Redskins uniforms. This brings up the racist overtones that follow around teams whose names have any reference to Native Americans, but most sports fans forget such things and focus solely on Football. 

Authentic Store Buzz: Barry Rubin, the Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Philadelphia Eagles was recently at the store. The Pro League Authentics Nike Dri-Fit T-Shirt seen in the above picture is the new Eagles weight room t-shirt, supplied by the #1 Authentic Sports Apparel Store in Philly, Pro League Authentics. Get your PLA shirt by contacting the store or visiting us down town.

Pro League Authentics has just come out with a new exclusive line of apparel. The Legends Line- Wilt Chamberlain. A fan of Wilt the Stilt, The Big Dipper, or maybe you just know him as Mr. 100. Wilt Chamberlain was a basketball legend, considered by many to be the most athletic and talented player to ever strut onto the NBA hardwood. The big man, who wore number 13 and was famous for wearing the sweatband on his head, once dropped 100 points in Hershey, PA. PLA has the exclusive line of shirts of the Wilt Chamberlain line. For more information check out the shirts here: http://www.facebook.com/proleagueauthentics?fref=ts 

The NFL season is officially at the half way point. The Atlanta Falcons remain the lone unbeaten team, while rookies RGIII and Andrew Luck are putting on great shows in line to compete for the Rookie of the Year Award. The Eagles are looking to bounce back from their trouncing at the hands of the Falcons against another NFC South team this Monday night. PLA has a great selection of authentic NIKE NFL jerseys including the newest one, a home blue Andrew Luck jersey. Check our selection out on our website, call up the store to inquire, or keep track of our Facebook Page and Twitter feed for daily updates.

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Authentically Speaking Trivia Time:  Why do the New Orleans Saints use a fleur-de-lis as their logo, and have throughout the franchise's entire history? Answer to come Monday.

Thursday’s answer:  The 1982 logo had the Native American logo looking the other way. The team changed it back the next season, and it has remained that way ever since.  

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Last night the University of Miami Hurricanes took on the Virginia Tech Hokies in an ACC battle for the top spot in the coastal division. Neither team came into the game ranked in the top 25, but both programs have been historically strong, gestating the rivalry to the point that this game meant a great deal to both schools regardless of the BCS. Miami head coach Al Golden had his team come out onto the field wearing all orange uniforms, something that hasn’t been worn by the Hurricanes since 1985. Golden’s strategy may just have been what Miami needed, as they beat the Hokies 30-12 on Thursday night.

In the color schemes for the team’s “current” uniforms, the school shows three uniforms, one green, one white, and the other orange. The school colors are green, white, orange, and the orange jersey shown, has green pants to go with the jersey as well as a white helmet. Last night the Canes came out looking like a sea of orange, but retained the white helmets.

Authentic Store Buzz: Barry Rubin, the Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Philadelphia Eagles was recently at the store. The Pro League Authentics Nike Dri-Fit T-Shirt seen in the above picture is the new Eagles weight room t-shirt, supplied by the #1 Authentic Sports Apparel Store in Philly, Pro League Authentics. Get your PLA shirt by contacting the store or visiting us down town.

Pro League Authentics has just come out with a new exclusive line of apparel. The Legends Line- Wilt Chamberlain. A fan of Wilt the Stilt, The Big Dipper, or maybe you just know him as Mr. 100. Wilt Chamberlain was a basketball legend, considered by many to be the most athletic and talented player to ever strut onto the NBA hardwood. The big man, who wore number 13 and was famous for wearing the sweatband on his head, once dropped 100 points in Hershey, PA. PLA has the exclusive line of shirts of the Wilt Chamberlain line. For more information check out the shirts here: http://www.facebook.com/proleagueauthentics?fref=ts 

The NFL season is officially at the half way point. The Atlanta Falcons remain the lone unbeaten team, while rookies RGIII and Andrew Luck are putting on great shows in line to compete for the Rookie of the Year Award. The Eagles are looking to bounce back from their trouncing at the hands of the Falcons against another NFC South team this Monday night. PLA has a great selection of authentic NIKE NFL jerseys including the newest one, a home blue Andrew Luck jersey. Check our selection out on our website, call up the store to inquire, or keep track of our Facebook Page and Twitter feed for daily updates.

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Authentically Speaking Trivia Time:  What was different about the Redskins logo in 1982? Answer to come tomorrow.

Thursday’s answer:  The Wilt Chamberlain Argument was developed by Robert Nozick and it is an attempt to show that patterned principles of just distribution are incompatible with liberty. 

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Happy Halloween everyone! Although the NBA season officially began on October 30^th, last night was the first full slate of NBA games. James Harden played his first game as a member of the Houston Rockets, #1 overall pick Anthony Davis made his NBA debut, and the Sixers opened the season at home against the Denver Nuggets. Although the Sixers played without Andrew Bynum, the team played exceptional defense, and got just enough offense from center Spencer Hawes to pull out an 84-75 victory over Andre Iguadala and the Nuggets.

This was the first game for the return of the Sixers blue uniforms. The team wore blue as an alternative home uniform in the early 2000’s; right around the time they went to the NBA finals. Since that time the team has changed the look of their jerseys, with this years ones saying “SIXERS” on the front with the players number. The uniforms looked good last night, reminding us of blue uniforms worn by the Clippers, and even the old alternative blues the Sixers wore the last time they were relevant in the Eastern Conference. 

In other Sixers news, point guard Jrue Holliday signed a 4-year $41 million contract extension, which was made official after last night's win. 

Authentic Store Buzz: Barry Rubin, the Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Philadelphia Eagles was recently at the store. The Pro League Authentics Nike Dri-Fit T-Shirt seen in the above picture is the new Eagles weight room t-shirt, supplied by the #1 Authentic Sports Apparel Store in Philly, Pro League Authentics. Get your PLA shirt by contacting the store or visiting us down town.

Pro League Authentics has just come out with a new exclusive line of apparel. The Legends Line- Wilt Chamberlain. A fan of Wilt the Stilt, The Big Dipper, or maybe you just know him as Mr. 100. Wilt Chamberlain was a basketball legend, considered by many to be the most athletic and talented player to ever strut onto the NBA hardwood. The big man, who wore number 13 and was famous for wearing the sweatband on his head, once dropped 100 points in Hershey, PA. PLA has the exclusive line of shirts of the Wilt Chamberlain line. For more information check out the shirts here: http://www.facebook.com/proleagueauthentics?fref=ts 

The NFL season is officially at the half way point. The Atlanta Falcons remain the lone unbeaten team, while rookies RGIII and Andrew Luck are putting on great shows in line to compete for the Rookie of the Year Award. The Eagles are looking to bounce back from their trouncing at the hands of the Falcons against another NFC South team this Monday night. PLA has a great selection of authentic NIKE NFL jerseys including the newest one, a home blue Andrew Luck jersey. Check our selection out on our website, call up the store to inquire, or keep track of our Facebook Page and Twitter feed for daily updates.

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Authentically Speaking Trivia Time:  What is the Wilt Chamberlain Argument? Answer to come tomorrow.

Thursday’s answer: Dave Stewart, starting pitcher for the Oakland A's, who won the 1989 World Series. 

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