The Shibe Vintage Sports History Blog

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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Let’s go down south, not to the American South, but to South Ameirca. In the Venezuelan Soccer league, one team, Deportivo Tachira decided, like the NFL, the raise awareness for breast cancer by spraying everything they wore with pink. In this case, the team wore pink alternative jerseys against fellow Venezuelan club team Atletico Venezuela. The Tachira fans were so upset by this, that they stormed the field in protest, causing the match to be postponed. They stormed the field waving their jerseys over their heads and screaming the Venezuelan National Anthem. While few logical reasons exist for such behavior, the one given was that the pink color is “untouchable”. Many rioters asked why breast cancer was being singled out, not knowing that sport teams create awareness for all sorts of diseases, breast cancer being one of them.

While international soccer fans have stormed the field and rioted before, usually the matter concerns the outcome of the match. In this case, it was not the team’s bad play they had an issue with, but the color of the uniforms worn by their team.  

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 

Congratulations to the San Francisco Giants. They swept the Detroit Tigers in 4 consecutive games to win their second World Series in 3 years. It is the 2nd time the organization has won a championship since moving from New York to the city by the bay in 1958. Congratulations to Venezualan native Pablo Sandoval for winning the World Series Most Valuable Player Award. Celebrate the Giants big win by purchasing your favorite MLB team's apparel here at PLA. If you use the code "MLB" when checking out, all MLB jerseys in your cart will be 25% off.

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Authentically Speaking Trivia Time:  Who was the World Series MVP of the Battle by the Bay in 1989? Answer to come tomorrow.

Thursday’s answer: Sparky Anderson, Johnny Bench, and Bill White. 

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Editor’s Note: Sports apparel “Guru” Ray Jannelli, the president of PLA, has some thoughts this week on his days as the former manager, buyer and sales trainer at the "Original" Mitchell & Ness.)  

By Ray Jannelli

My years as Buyer/Manager at the "Original" Mitchell & Ness Sports we were always known as The Cooperstown Collection Company. At the time, we were one of the first, if not THE first, MLB Cooperstown Collection licensee.  But, we often forget that the M&N retail store was a pioneer as well. It was the first store in Philadelphia that carried CCM's NHL Heritage Collection line when it was first released in 1992. The M&N store (Original) was also the first store in the City of Brotherly Love to offer Champion's new NFL "Throwback" line. Interestingly, Champion was the first company that used the word "Throwback", a term thrown around a lot nowadays.

Around that same time, the NFL was getting marketing creative (new phrase for you future MBA's), with their Quarterback Club collective. AJD Caps in Virginia were one of the first licensees to offer Quarterback Club products. At that time, some of the quarterbacks featured were Jim Kelly, John Elway, Don"Magic Man"Majkowski, Boomer Esiason and Philly favorite Randall Cunningham.

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 

Congratulations to the San Francisco Giants. They swept the Detroit Tigers in 4 consecutive games to win their second World Series in 3 years. It is the 2nd time the organization has won a championship since moving from New York to the city by the bay in 1958. Congratulations to Venezualan native Pablo Sandoval for winning the World Series Most Valuable Player Award. Celebrate the Giants big win by purchasing your favorite MLB team's apparel here at PLA. If you use the code "MLB" when checking out, all MLB jerseys in your cart will be 25% off.

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Authentically Speaking Trivia Time:  Jack Buck did CBS radio broadcasts of the World Series in the 1980's with two former Major League players, who were they? Answer to come tomorrow.

Thursday’s answer: 2005 was the last time MNF was aired on ABC. Beginning in 2006, ESPN took over the reigns. 

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The University of Nebraska has a long and storied tradition beating the snot out of its opponents on the college gridiron. They have won 5 National Championships and had 3 Heisman Trophy winners walk on the stage to receive their award as a Cornhusker. For the last 5 seasons, Bo Pelini has led the team as the head coach. A former LSU defensive coordinator, Pelini is a defensive guru, who has pushed Nebraska defense into one of the best every season. His current record at Nebraska is 44-17 or a .721 winning percentage.

This season, the Cornhuskers have fallen in and out of favor with the college Football BCS gods. They have been ranked, and unranked, a winning team, and a losing team. Most recently, the #21 ranked Cornhuskers defeated Big 10 rival Michigan 23-9. They held the Wolverines to only 144 total yards of offense and no touchdowns. This sparked Pelini to allow his defense to wear black jerseys at practice. The black jerseys symbolize the starters on defense. Recently, due to some lacking performances by the Nebraska D, Pelini had not given the jerseys out to be worn at practice, signifying his distaste with the recent defensive play, and hoping to use it as a motivator to get their team on track on the defensive side of the football. It worked; the team came through against Michigan, and Denard Robinson, who is quite difficult to defend as he is both a passing and running threat. The defense declined to wear the jerseys, saying they could play better, and they will play better. 

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 

Congratulations to the San Francisco Giants. They swept the Detroit Tigers in 4 consecutive games to win their second World Series in 3 years. It is the 2nd time the organization has won a championship since moving from New York to the city by the bay in 1958. Congratulations to Venezualan native Pablo Sandoval for winning the World Series Most Valuable Player Award. Celebrate the Giants big win by purchasing your favorite MLB team's apparel here at PLA. If you use the code "MLB" when checking out, all MLB jerseys in your cart will be 25% off.

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Authentically Speaking Trivia Time:  When was the last Monday Night Football game aired on ABC? Answer to come tomorrow.

Thursday’s answer: The 1991 World Series that went 7 games was the longest World Series in history in terms of total number of innings played. 

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Tomorrow is NFL Sunday. While the NFL week now begins every Thursday night, Sunday is when the fun really begins. For the Pittsburgh Steelers, fun is a bad word to use. First, the team must attempt to contain Redskins rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III, who was almost elusive enough to bring the skins back to beat the division rival New York Giants. While the Steeler defense will do their best to stop Griffin, Steelers fans will do their best to justify their team’s new throwback jerseys that make them look like a yellow jacket crossed with the inmates from “The Longest Yard”.

The jerseys are a celebration of the 80 years of Football that has been played in Pittsburgh. 80 years ago the Pittsburgh Pirates played Football, and wore shirts that had yellow and black solid strips running horizontally with their numbers stitched to the front in block lettering. These will be the same uniforms worn by the 2012 Steelers tomorrow afternoon. The team has stitched a patch to the upper right front corner of the uniform with an “80 seasons” emblem to commemorate the jerseys history. 

The Steelers have worn throwback uniforms in the past, but they were those that the 1960 Steelers wore, and they were not nearly as odd as the 80^th anniversary ones. The Steelers will wear their usual helmets with their new “prison break” uniforms, as opposed to the gold helmets they wore with their usual throwback uniforms. The Steelers and Redskins will first hike the pigskin at 1:00pm Sunday at Heinz Field. 

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 

PLA has also come out with another new line. The NASL was founded in 1968 when the FIFA-sanctioned United Soccer Association merged with the unsanctioned National Professional Soccer League. The league included teams from the U.S. and Canada and featured legends such as Pelé, Kyle Rote Jr., Bob Rigby and Franz Beckenbauer. In addition they also had an indoor soccer division from 1975-1984. The league eventually folded in 1984. Check them out here: http://www.proleagueauthentics.com/collections/nasl 

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Authentically Speaking Trivia Time:  Which World Series was longest best-of-7 World Series ever in terms of total number of innings played? Answer to come Monday.

Thursday’s answer: While replay was used for a number of years prior, the first season in which coaches could actively challenge plays was in 1999.

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This month is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Organizations across the country have supported, and or donated money to the cause of fighting Breast Cancer through research. In Baseball, the league uses Mother’s Day, which falls during the season, to create awareness for Breast Cancer by using all sorts of pink colored equipment during the games and then auctioning them off afterwards. This month, NFL players have worn pink towels, and worn NFL hats with pink team logos to create more awareness. Now, the league has decided to something else. Since the league is so strict about exactly what anyone on the field is allowed to wear, the players will not be wearing pink jerseys, but the referees will be holding pink penalty flags. This idea was written down and sent to commissioner Roger Goddell, sent from an 11-year old named Dante Cano. Can’t say this isn’t odd, but it will be interesting to see Pepto Bismol colored flags being thrown all over the place by stoic looking referees. Maybe they won’t protect the quarterbacks and wide receivers so much if they are embarrassed to throw pink penalty markers. 

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 

PLA has also come out with another new line. The NASL was founded in 1968 when the FIFA-sanctioned United Soccer Association merged with the unsanctioned National Professional Soccer League. The league included teams from the U.S. and Canada and featured legends such as Pelé, Kyle Rote Jr., Bob Rigby and Franz Beckenbauer. In addition they also had an indoor soccer division from 1975-1984. The league eventually folded in 1984. Check them out here: http://www.proleagueauthentics.com/collections/nasl 

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Authentically Speaking Trivia Time:  When did the NFL first allow coaches to challenge plays on the field. ? Answer to come tomorrow.

Thursday’s answer: The Rochester Cardinals played for one season in 1935.

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