In the National Football League, protecting the players remains a troubling issue. The most daunting problems come when players suffer concussions. Despite wearing helmets that weigh 7 or more pounds, there is nothing that can perfectly protect a player’s head. In Baseball, MLB introduced a different version of the batting helmet that had padding in different places so that players hit in the head, usually accidentally, by pitches, would be less likely to suffer head injuries like concussions. While these helmets were introduced in Minor League Baseball, they remain optional for Major Leaguers.
A story in the New York Times reports that despite known risks of current NFL helmet cages, often times players choose the helmet cage they wear on the field based on ascetics and or prior use. Helmets undergo testing, with new models produced on a yearly basis, but many players refuse to change their desired helmet or wish to wear one with a cage that they think looks “cooler.”
This season in the NFL, the radios used in helmets will go from analog to digital. Yes, this is the age of iphones, ipads, 3D television, and we’ve even learned how to send people to the moon, but up until this season, the NFL had yet to implement digital technology. With the switch to digital, there will no longer be a chance that an misplaced radio signal will end up in the helmet of the quarterback. Also, the clarity of speech from the coach to quarterback, or captain on defense, will be much improved with the implementation of digital signals. Gubser & Schnakenberg LLC builds the digital network to be used by the NFL.
Authentic Store Buzz: Remember folks, Pro League Authentics has all of your Eagles gear. With a good selection of hats and jerseys online and an even greater selection of great shirts by Junkfood Tees in store, PLA has what ever Eagles fan needs come Sunday.
With the team off to a 2-0 start for the first time since the 2004 Super Bowl appearance season, there’s obviously plenty of enthusiasm among fans who have been flocking into the store. The Eagles play the Cardinals this Sunday at 4:05pm EST
In addition, with the Washington Nationals clinching a playoff spot for the first time in franchise history since the 1980's, and the Cincinnati Reds breaking through to the playoffs for the third time since 1990, PLA continues to offer 25% off on all MLB jerseys.
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Authentically Speaking Trivia Time: Why do the Oakland A's use an elephant as their mascot? Answer to come tomorrow.
Thursday’s answer: Between 1989 and 2002 the Spurs wore uniforms with the same colors as the do now, but their logo during that time used pink, orange, and teal. This is what it looked like: 
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A Reminder: For more news about Pro League Authentics and thoughts on the world of sports uniforms, Like our Facebook page, converse with us @PLAphilly, and visit our YouTube page.
Yesterday the San Antonio Spurs unveiled a new wrinkle (pun intended) into their on-court dress scheme. The Spurs have always worn jersey color schemes of black, white, grey, and silver. The team’s color scheme has often reflected their style of play on the court, simple yet boring, but classic and consistent. The Spurs have been one of the NBA’s best teams over the last 20 seasons accumulating numerous championships. In the 1990’s and early into the 2000’s the Spurs touted a simple black or white jersey with the name “Spurs” written on the chest and the player’s number in larger print just below. The “U” in the word Spurs was made to look like a cowboy boot spur.
In typical San Antonio Spurs fashion, when making alterations the team did not change in a seismic way. The new alternative jerseys are devoid of any words, making good use of space by having only the “U” Spur symbol just off center and the number of the player in the top right corner of the front of the jersey in much smaller font than the regular jersey. On the other hand, the color of the jersey has shifted somewhat. The team’s new alternative wear is done in silver, but luckily for NBA fans, does not boarder on metallic. The new innovation in these jerseys is that, according to Spurs team President Rick Pych, these are the first NBA jerseys to have no words on the front of the jerseys. The team introduced them, not with stars like Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, or Tim Duncan modeling them, but instead young rising stars Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard.
Yesterday the San Antonio Spurs unveiled a new wrinkle (pun intended) into their on-court dress scheme. The Spurs have always worn jersey color schemes of black, white, grey, and silver. The team’s color scheme has often reflected their style of play on the court, simple yet boring, but classic and consistent. The Spurs have been one of the NBA’s best teams over the last 20 seasons accumulating numerous championships. In the 1990’s and early into the 2000’s the Spurs touted a simple black or white jersey with the name “Spurs” written on the chest and the player’s number in larger print just below. The “U” in the word Spurs was made to look like a cowboy boot spur.
In typical San Antonio Spurs fashion, when making alterations the team did not change in a seismic way. The new alternative jerseys are devoid of any words, making good use of space by having only the “U” Spur symbol just off center and the number of the player in the top right corner of the front of the jersey in much smaller font than the regular jersey. On the other hand, the color of the jersey has shifted somewhat. The team’s new alternative wear is done in silver, but luckily for NBA fans, does not boarder on metallic. The new innovation in these jerseys is that, according to Spurs team President Rick Pych, these are the first NBA jerseys to have no words on the front of the jerseys. The team introduced them, not with stars like Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, or Tim Duncan modeling them, but instead young rising stars Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard.
Authentic Store Buzz: Remember folks, Pro League Authentics has all of your Eagles gear. With a good selection of hats and jerseys online and an even greater selection of great shirts by Junkfood Tees in store, PLA has what ever Eagles fan needs come Sunday.
With the team off to a 2-0 start for the first time since the 2004 Super Bowl appearance season, there’s obviously plenty of enthusiasm among fans who have been flocking into the store,
We’re closing in on two events coming up: Left Field Cards presentation with artist Amelie Mancini on Thursday, October 4 from 6-8pm at our Center City Philly location (137 S. 13th Street). The event will mark the official unveiling of Amalie’s “Presidents of the United State of Baseball” letterpress baseball cards.
Then on Saturday Oct. 6, is the annual Midtown Village Fall Festival in which 13th Street in front of the store is closed to traffic and it’s one giant block party throughout the area in which merchants set up out in front of the stores. We invite you stop by for the day-long event (noon-8pm), they’ll be all sorts of the special proceedings going on in and around the store.
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Authentically Speaking Trivia Time: While the Spurs have never used any colors in their uniforms other than black, silver, white, and grey, the logo used by the team in the 1990's incorporated a few other colors. What were they? Answer to come tomorrow.
Wednesday’s answer: The Padres first wore camouflage uniforms in 2000 and have since had 3 versions of the uniform with the most recent looking like this:
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A Reminder: For more news about Pro League Authentics and thoughts on the world of sports uniforms, Like our Facebook page, converse with us @PLAphilly, and visit our YouTube page.
This past Sunday marked the second week of the NFL football season. While, opening day came and went a week before, many teams had their home openers this past Sunday. The Eagles, Charges, Falcons, Colts, Seahawks, Steelers, Rams, Bengals, Bills, Dolphins, 49ers, and Jaguars all had their home openers in week 2. The only two teams yet to have their home openers are the Washington Redskins and the Dallas Cowboys.
For the San Diego Chargers, this home opener had a different feeling than the many that preceded it. On Sunday the Chargers honored former middle linebacker Junior Seau by wearing a patch with Seau’s #55 on their helmets. Seau died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest this past May. The Chargers held a ceremony remembering Seau, who spent the majority of his 19-year NFL career with San Diego. Seau’s parents, three children, ex-wife, and other family members attended the pre-game ceremony at Qualcomm Stadium. Post-mortem medical reports showed that Seau, a middle linebacker, had brain damage that could have been an influence on his desire to commit suicide. In response, the Seau family has donated part of Junior’s brain to Boston University, which performs research into brain damage from former athletes, for further research. The Chargers joined the Baltimore Ravens in commemorating a fallen member of the organization as the Ravens wore a patch remembering former owner Art Modell.
Seau was the 5th overall pick in the 1990 NFL draft out of the University of Southern California, and his play with the San Diego Chargers, Miami Dolphins, and New England Patriots made him one of the best middle linebackers to ever play professional Football. He was 43 years old at the time of his death.
Authentic Store Buzz: They’re here! Nike Elite authentic jerseys for the Eagles, both the green jersey and the alternate black jersey in Michael Vick’s number 7(pictured above left to right).
With the team off to a 2-0 start for the first time since the 2004 Super Bowl appearance season, there’s obviously plenty of enthusiasm among fans who have been flocking into the store,
We’re closing in on two events coming up: Left Field Cards presentation with artist Amelie Mancini on Thursday, October 4 from 6-8pm at our Center City Philly location (137 S. 13th Street). The event will mark the official unveiling of Amalie’s “Presidents of the United State of Baseball” letterpress baseball cards.
Then on Saturday Oct. 6, is the annual Midtown Village Fall Festival in which 13th Street in front of the store is closed to traffic and it’s one giant block party throughout the area in which merchants set up out in front of the stores. We invite you stop by for the day-long event (noon-8pm), they’ll be all sorts of the special proceedings going on in and around the store.
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Authentically Speaking Trivia Time: In what year did the San Diego Padres first begin to wear camouflage uniforms to honor the United States military, and how many versions of this uniform has the team gone through? Answer to come tomorrow.
Tuesday’s answer: he Cincinnati Reds put player’s name on the back of the jerseys in 1964, under the number on the back.
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A Reminder: For more news about Pro League Authentics and thoughts on the world of sports uniforms, Like our Facebook page, converse with us @PLAphilly, and visit our YouTube page.
We’ve already learned that the Houston Astros are going back to some sort of orange and blue shooting star combination for next season, only modernized, when they move into the American League West division.
The Mets have unveiled the first All Star Game patch minus any team or city reference since the 2005 game for next summer’s game in Flushing, and now, the Colorado Rockies have unveiled their 20th anniversary logo for next season which will be worn as a jersey patch (pictured above).
For the Rockies, it’s their fourth anniversary/commemorative patch
in team history, joining the patch they wore in their inaugural season of 1993,
the first season of play at Coors Field in 1995, the 1998 All Star game patch,
and the 10th anniversary patch of 2003.
It’s likely the Marlins will join Colorado with a 20th anniversary patch as well.
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Authentic Store Buzz: They’re here! Nike Elite authentic jerseys for the Eagles, both the green jersey and the alternate black jersey in Michael Vick’s number 7 (pictured above left to right).
With the team off to a 2-0 start for the first time since the 2004 Super Bowl appearance season, there’s obviously plenty of enthusiasm among fans who have been flocking into the store,
We’re closing in on two events coming up: Left Field Cards presentation with artist Amelie Mancini on Thursday, October 4 from 6-8pm at our Center City Philly location (137 S. 13th Street). The event will mark the official unveiling of Amalie’s “Presidents of the United State of Baseball” letterpress baseball cards.
Then on Saturday Oct. 6, is the annual Midtown Village Fall Festival in which 13th Street in front of the store is closed to traffic and it’s one giant block party throughout the area in which merchants set up out in front of the stores. We invite you stop by for the day-long event (noon-8pm), they’ll be all sorts of the special proceedings going on in and around the store.
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Authentically Speaking Trivia Time: What season did the Cincinnati Reds add the player’s name to the back of the uniform? Answer coming on Wednesday.
Monday’s answer: Before staging a whiteout at Qualcomm Stadium Sunday against Tennessee, the Chargers last wore white jerseys with white pants at home in 2001 against the Bengals in week three of the season.
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A Reminder: For more news about Pro League Authentics and thoughts on the world of sports uniforms, Like our Facebook page, converse with us @PLAphilly, and visit our YouTube page.
The fans voted last spring, and the long awaited return to the team’s original purple alternate jersey came to fruition as the Arizona Diamondbacks celebrated their first ever alumni weekend hosting the Giants Saturday night.
The purple alternate was worn from 1998-2002, and is also remembered as a jersey worn during the season in which the team won the 2001 World Series over the Yankees, although they did not wear the purple jersey in any 2001 post-season games.
Meanwhile, in San Diego Friday night the Padres wore a uniform that they donned in one of their two World Series appearances, the 1991-2001 model featuring home pinstripes with an orange, blue and white combination as they hosted Colorado.
Quite frankly, to these eyes, it’s a much better home uniform than the regular, boring model.
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Authentic Store Buzz: We’re closing in on two events coming up: Left Field Cards presentation with artist Amelie Mancini on Thursday, October 4 from 6-8pm at our Center City Philly location (137 S. 13th Street). The event will mark the official unveiling of Amalie’s “Presidents of the United State of Baseball” letterpress baseball cards with the Von Hayes card pictured above.
Then on Saturday Oct. 6, is the annual Midtown Village Fall Festival in which 13th Street in front of the store is closed to traffic and it’s one giant block party throughout the area in which merchants set up out in front of the stores. We invite you stop by for the day-long event (noon-8pm), they’ll be all sorts of the special proceedings going on in and around the store.
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Authentically Speaking Trivia Time: Before Sunday’s game against Tennessee, when was the last time the San Diego Chargers wore white jerseys and white pants at home? Answer coming on Tuesday.
Friday’s answer: The Florida State Seminoles wore this helmet for one game, the inaugural Peach Bowl played on Dec. 30, 1968, a 31-17 loss to LSU at Grant Field on the Georgia Tech campus.
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A Reminder: For more news about Pro League Authentics and thoughts on the world of sports uniforms, Like our Facebook page, converse with us @PLAphilly, and visit our YouTube page.
(Editor's Note: Philadelphia area sports writer Ben Horrow contributes weekly to Authentically Speaking.)
By Ben Horrow
With the NBA season closing in upon us, one of the most interesting story lines will be anything having to do with the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets sport a new lineup, having acquired former Atlanta Hawk Joe Johnson, and failing to acquire new Lakers center Dwight Howard.
This season, the Nets look to make some noise in the Eastern Conference for the first time since Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin roamed the court. In addition, the Nets will no longer be known as the New Jersey Nets, but instead the Brooklyn Nets. The team, owned by Russian Billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, moved to Brooklyn over the summer.
Their new arena is called the Barclays Center, and for the first time we get a look at their home court. The hardwood is done in a herringbone-patterned and made of Maple Hardwood. The court was designed by the Nets creative team, but produced by the Connor Sports Flooring Manufacturing Mill in Amasa, Mich.
The Nets new color scheme is quite simple. They use black and white instead of the red and blue accented with white that the team used when playing in New Jersey. Due to the color scheme change, the arena is equipped with all black seats, with the new Nets emblem, a basketball with a black “B” in the center, lodged in the middle of the new hardwood floor.
The Nets first game at the Barclays Center is on October 15th against the Washington Wizards in pre-season action.
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Authentic Store Buzz: Two events coming up: Left Field Cards presentation with artist Amelie Mancini (pictured above) on Thursday, October 4 from 6-8pm at our Center City Philly location (137 S. 13th Street). The event will mark the official unveiling of Amalie’s “Presidents of the United State of Baseball” letterpress baseball cards with the Von Hayes card pictured above..
Then on Saturday Oct. 6, is the annual Midtown Village Fall Festival in which 13th Street in front of the store is closed to traffic and it’s one giant block party throughout the area in which merchants set up out in front of the stores. We invite you stop by for the day-long event (noon-8pm), they’ll be all sorts of the special proceedings going on in and around the store.
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Authentically Speaking Trivia Time: What major college football team wore this helmet for one game at the conclusion of the 1968 season? Answer coming on Monday.
Thursday’s answer: The Chicago Cubs, after putting names on the back of the road uniforms as mandated by the National League in 1979, finally put names on the back of the home pinstripes in the 1993 season.
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A Reminder: For more news about Pro League Authentics and thoughts on the world of sports uniforms, Like our Facebook page, converse with us @PLAphilly, and visit our YouTube page.
(Editor's Note: Former manager, buyer and sales trainer at the " Original" Mitchell & Ness , sports apparel "Guru" Ray Jannelli offers his thoughts on the new online jersey collector re-sale program based at Pro League Authentics, LLC, located in Mid-Town Village Philadelphia (13th and Walnut.)
By Ray Jannelli
Recently, Philadelphia Eagles head strength and conditioning coach Barry Rubin wanted to sell some of the jerseys from his authentic collection, but with his busy schedule he simply did not have the time. Enter PLA, and the results were successful to Barry and the online buyers happy to purchase authentic jerseys for their collections.
Here’s how it works: We set up a time to bring the jerseys (no counterfeits, please) to us for “check in.” The jerseys are inspected, detailed and cataloged. A price to sell is determined, and a receipt is issued to the jersey owner with the pertinent details.
PLA takes the photos and lists the items in its eBay Store and/or auctions. Following a sale each jersey is shipped to the online buyer in a timely manner, and once the buyer is satisfied through eBay feedback and protocol, the jersey owner will receive half of the selling price. PLA pays all shipping, labor and supply costs making it truly one stop for the jersey seller until receiving payment.
And, its quality shipping, each jersey is folded carefully and properly, placed in a polyurethane bag for protection and shipped in a sturdy corrugated box. To any collector, that means a lot.
Why the “PLA Jersey Collector Network?” Easy, PLA knows jerseys in our quarter century of work in the business and has an expanded national reach.
We have an eBay store and member feedback rating of 100%. Each PLA customer will receive their "Own Store" category within the PLA footprint. For example, If I were selling my own jerseys, "The Ray Jannelli Collection" would appear as part of the PLA store on eBay. .
Our experience in
providing clear, clean photos of the jersey and our treatise/description has
helped us sell many products on eBay this year.
Let us assist you. For more information, please contact the store – info@proleagueauthentics.com.
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Authentic Store Buzz: Two events coming up: Left Field Cards presentation with artist Amelie Mancini on Thursday, October 4 from 6-8pm at our Center City Philly location (137 S. 13th Street). The event will mark the official unveiling of Amalie’s “Presidents of the United State of Baseball” letterpress baseball cards with the Von Hayes card pictured above..
Then on Saturday Oct. 6, is the annual Midtown Village Fall Festival in which 13th Street in front of the store is closed to traffic and it’s one giant block party throughout the area in which merchants set up out in front of the stores. We invite you stop by for the day-long event (noon-8pm), they’ll be all sorts of the special proceedings going on in and around the store.
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Authentically Speaking Trivia Time: What year did the Chicago Cubs finally put names on the back of their famous home pinstripe uniforms? Answer coming on Friday.
Wednesday’s answer: The Montreal Canadians began regularly wearing names on the back of their famous red, white and blue jerseys in 1977
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A Reminder: For more news about Pro League Authentics and thoughts on the world of sports uniforms, Like our Facebook page, converse with us @PLAphilly, and visit our YouTube page.
To mark the 11th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on American soil, all MLB players and on-field personnel wore an American flag patch on the left side of their caps Tuesday night (the Astros wore the flag patch on the right side of their caps because the left side already had the team's 50th anniversary logo patch) while the Blue Jays had both an American flag (left side) and Canadian flag (right side) on their caps as they hosted Seattle.
Since baseball resumed in the 2001 season following a one week delay, teams have been honoring those that died and those that rescued the survivors from the attacks. On the fifth anniversary in 2006, MLB promoted its “We Shall Not Forget” campaign, and last year’s tenth anniversary celebrated the military and first responders.
Until this year’s flags on the hats, MLB symbolically covered the standard silhouetted batter logo with an American flag, in addition to the flag cap patch.
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Authentic Store Buzz: With both Philly and sports fans in general keeping the store foot traffic heavy as we head into the fall season, Phillies fans are keeping their fingers crossed as the team crept to within four games of a wildcard spot Tuesday night, and Eagles and NFL fans are giddy that the season is underway with week two starting Thursday night with Bears at Packers.
Among the new items arriving, the Cowboys Elite authentic alternate jersey for Jason Witten (note the rounded nameplate), and the Nike Eagles sideline crew neck sweatshirt and sideline hoodie (pictured above left to right).
Two events coming up: Left Field Cards presentation with artist Amelie Mancini on Thursday, October 4 from 6-8pm at our Center City Philly location (137 S. 13th Street). The event will mark the official unveiling of Amalie’s “Presidents of the United State of Baseball” letterpress baseball cards.
Then on Saturday Oct. 6, is the annual Midtown Village Fall Festival in which 13th Street in front of the store is closed to traffic and it’s one giant block party throughout the area in which merchants set up out in front of the stores. We invite you stop by for the day-long event (noon-8pm), they’ll be all sorts of the special proceedings going on in and around the store.
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Authentically Speaking Trivia Time: What year did names go on the back of the fabled Montreal Canadians uniforms? Answer coming on Thursday
Tuesday’s answer: The Atlanta Hawks became the first team to wear lime green uniforms, as they wore this alternate during the 1970-71 and 1971-72 seasons.
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A Reminder: For more news about Pro League Authentics and thoughts on the world of sports uniforms, Like our Facebook page, converse with us @PLAphilly, and visit our YouTube page.
(Editor's
Note: Philadelphia area sports writer Ben Horrow contributes weekly to
Authentically Speaking.)
By Ben Horrow
On September 6th, the NFL lost a giant of the game. Owner Art Modell died at the age of 87.
Modell was the owner of the Cleveland Browns before he moved the team from Cleveland to Baltimore. Cleveland Browns fans were not very happy to see Modell move their beloved franchise, but when the Ravens won the Super Bowl in 2000, he made thousands of football fans in Baltimore forever thankful.
Modell was also a key member in getting the NFL on television and more specifically the introduction of Monday Night Football, which has become a staple of the NFL season.
To commemorate Modell’s life the Ravens, who opened up their season with a 44-13 rout of the Bengals Monday night, will wear a memorial decal on their helmets for the rest of the year. The decal is a black oval with the name Art in white.
While the Ravens will memorialize Modell, the Cleveland Browns have refrained from doing so, but it is more likely due to the fact that Modell hasn’t been the owner of the Browns since the 1990s.
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Authentic Store Buzz: The authentic Nike Elite Eagles green jerseys are expected to arrive at the store any day now. The jerseys are Michael Vick’s number 7 (pictured above) and LeSean “Shady” McCoy’s number 25.
A friendly reminder concerning our Left Field Cards event with artist Amelie Mancini on Thursday, October 4 from 6-8pm at our Center City Philly location (137 S. 13th Street). The event will mark the official unveiling of Amalie’s “Presidents of the United State of Baseball” letterpress baseball cards.
Two days later, Sat. Oct. 6, is the annual Midtown Village Fall Festival in which 13th Street in front of the store is closed to traffic and it’s one giant block party throughout the area in which merchants set up out in front of the stores. We invite you stop by for the day-long event (noon-8pm), they’ll be all sorts of the special proceedings going on in and around the store.
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Authentically Speaking Trivia Time: During what seasons did the Atlanta Hawks become the first NBA team to wear lime green uniforms? Answer coming on Wednesday.
Monday’s answer: The New Orleans Saints (1967) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1976) are the only two NFL teams to wear white jerseys at home for the entire season in their first season in the league.
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A Reminder: For more news about Pro League Authentics and thoughts on the world of sports uniforms, Like our Facebook page, converse with us @PLAphilly, and visit our YouTube page.
