Although today's title refers to the nickname that originated during the team's 1959 American league pennant winning season, we'll borrow liberally to use it here describing how cool it looks to see the White Sox donning their 1972 home uniforms this season, the second occasion occurring yesterday in Chicago's 4-1 win over Boston.
Sure, the 2012 models are not 100% exactly like the '72 jersey, with buttons replacing a zipper front for example, but to see the large numbers on a nameless back of the jersey against a gray-clad road team, in this case the Red Sox, is a true throwback look to a game of a different era.
Ah, throwbacks. MLB marketing and the teams will be all over the place with throwbacks this seasons. We've already had the Red Sox and Yankees with no numbers whatsoever, the Colt .45's, and coming in June the Giants and Cubs will don 1912 throwbacks, in a centennial celebration game.
Authentic Weekend Buzz: We really liked how Nike had the correct font in lettering each jersey for the first round draft choices as they came on stage at the NFL Draft. All the jerseys had the number "1" and the player's name in the correct style by team. A search found this article on the very subject as to how it was all done.
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Please Don't Forget: The next Pro League Authentics installment of our four-part exhibition series "Jerseys as Art" is Thursday, May 10.
This presentation features former Mitchell & Ness president and throwback uniform expert Peter Capolino discussing and exhibiting jerseys going back decades to the all-flannel era, and a collector's look at virtually all of the commemorative jersey patches (Minnesota Twins - see above) ever worn by the 30 major league clubs, some 250 patches in all.
Also, Philadelphia baseball stadium architect Rich Villa will discuss a throwback project rich in jersey history.
The event begins at 6:00 pm at our Center City store location (137 S. 13th St - between Walnut/Sansom), with refreshments provided and in-store discounts on all authentic MLB products.
We hope to you see you there, but if you can't make it we plan to tape the event to be available online.
Let's see now, the start of the NBA playoffs Saturday. Check.
The NHL conference semi-finals begin (tonight in Phoenix). Check.
The NFL draft has six rounds to go. Check.
MLB is finishing its first month of play. Check.
And, in PLA's Philly hometown, it's the Penn Relays Saturday at Franklin Field, where crowds regularly exceed 50,000 in the 117-year old facility to watch many of the the nation's, and world's, top track and field athletes. The 'Carnival' was named last month by 12 longtime Sports Illustrated writers as one of the top dozen sports fan experiences to attend in North America.
Whew. Where should one turn his/her attention this sports weekend?
Besides the Penn Relays, Philly sports fans are all over the place because only their city, New York, and L.A. still boast teams playing in both the NHL and now NBA playoffs, on top of the aforementioned draft in New York, and a rare April home appearance at 'The Bank' by the Phillies with a weekend series against the Cubs.
Enjoy!
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Authentic Store Buzz: It's still mainly Flyers...Flyers...Flyers...especially with the interest among women wanting to purchase jerseys and other accessories to help cheer the team on in its match-up with longtime rival New Jersey, but the 76ers legion remains optimistic for a strong showing in a '1 vs. 8' meeting with Chicago, and we have select authentic merchandise (see above) to put Sixer fans in a rooting mood for the Bulls series.
For 'Fly Guys,' Wright & Ditson great looking Flyers Tee's hit Wednesday, they are proving quite popular.
Official New Era Eagles draft caps are also available. Birds first-round selection Fletcher Cox, the defensive tackle from Mississippi State, sported the green model (see above) on stage last night in New York after being taken with the 12th overall pick.
Speaking of caps, 1980 Phillies pre-curved, visor fitted caps are in stock from American Needle.
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Coming Up: A reminder, if you haven't heard, on Thursday, May 10 is the next date of Pro League Authentics four-part exhibition series "Jerseys as Art."
The second installment features former Mitchell & Ness president and throwback uniform expert Peter Capolino discussing and exhibiting jerseys going back decades to the all-flannel era, and a collector's look and presentation of virtually all of the commemorative jersey patches ever worn by the 30 major league clubs.
The event begins at 6:00 pm at our Center City store location (137 S. 13th St - between Walnut/Sansom), with refreshments provided and in-store discounts on all authentic MLB products.
We hope to you see you there, but if you can't make it we plan to tape the event to be available online.
By Morris Levin
The Phillies introduced their current uniform set in 1992 when they returned to their classic red pinstripes with star-dotted chain-stich Phillies across the front.
Russell manufactured the 1992 jerseys and the Russell tag appears in all official jerseys through the 1999 season. This is a game worn 1993 Curt Schilling Phillies jersey; the Russell logo is visible beneath the 1993 World Series patch on the right-sleeve.
In 2000, Majestic became the official supplier of on-field MLB jerseys. This is Keviln Milwood pitching at Vet Stadium in 2003. The Majestic logo is visible under the number 34 on his left-sleeve.
Majestic introduced a lighter-weight version of the MLB authentic jerseys in 2006 which it called “Cool Base”. Cool Base jerseys are lighter than the regular-issue, can be distinguished by the textured light-weight fabric, and the Cool Base-specific Majestic manufacturer’s logo as seen in this picture.
Majestic initially issued Cool Base alternatives to the Major League clubs for the primary home jersey only. It was a new product and the limited distribution allowed the company and League to test out both player and consumer responses. The Phillies first wore Cool Base for home games in 2006 and continue to wear them in 2012. You can have your own customized with all any of the current players or your choice of name and number here on PLA’s online shop.
In November 2007, Jimmy Rollins, Cole Hamels, and Robin Roberts modeled a new alternate uniform to be worn for the first time in 2008. This is the home alternate which the Phillies continue to wear today. It was inspired by the team’s 1946 to 1949 home jersey. You can purchase your own 2012 Phillies Cool Base home alternate jersey here.
In 2008, Majestic introduced road gray Cool Base alternatives for all thirty teams. Paul Lukas summarized this change on March 28, 2008 on ESPN’s Page2. PLA offers the authentic Phillies Cool Base road jersey here.
Not all thirty Major League teams wear Cool Base alternatives. Neither the Toronto Blue Jays nor the New York Yankees 2012 wear Cool Base versions of their home and road (and in the case of Toronto, alternate) jerseys.
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Mark Thursday, May 10 as the next date of Pro League Authentics four-part exhibition series "Jerseys as Art." The second installment features former Mitchell & Ness president and throwback uniform expert Peter Capolino discussing and exhibiting jerseys going back decades to the all-flannel era, and a collector's look and presentation of virtually all of the commemorative jersey patches ever worn by the current 30 major league clubs.
The event begins at 6:00 pm at our
Center City store location (137 S. 13th St - between Walnut/Sansom),
with refreshments provided and in-store discounts on all authentic MLB
products. We hope to you see you there.
Editor's Note: Longtime uniform industry expert at Mitchell & Ness with former M&N president Peter Capolino, and current Pro League Authentics president, Ray Jannelli shares his personal, inside story on the creation of the nostalgia NHL uniforms, which eventually led to Ray developing the "Vintage Hockey" series honoring the Original Six NHL clubs. In part one April 10, convinced there was a market for 1970s era shiny knit hockey jerseys with lace-up fronts, Ray leads us up to the phone call he made to an employee named Robin at Casey's Hockey in St. Louis...
By Ray Jannelli
Much to my surprise Casey's Hockey did indeed have the cotton/rayon ice hockey jerseys in stock - in the warehouse. As Robin from Casey's pointed out, these particular jerseys were from the early to mid 1970s and in very limited quantity. Robin,surprised by my inquiry regarding the vintage jerseys, was even more surprised that I wanted to purchase them, and she began to read off to me the teams in stock (all blank): Kansas City Scouts, California Seals, Atlanta Flames, Vancouver Canucks, Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins, and Montreal Canadiens.
Robin had me at Scouts. About three dozen total, various sizes, home and away, manufactured by Sandow and Bauer. I purchased all of them. I also took a mental note that this rare selection must have been from 1973-74 because there wasn't any Colorado Rockies or Cleveland Barons, plus the Seals jerseys were kelly/gold, not the aqua they wore their last year as the Golden Seals.
In addition, Robin had located another dusty corrugated box containing NHL crests! Eureka!
I received the jerseys and crests shipment from Casey's the following week, and I certainly was not disappointed. All of the "old material" jerseys were in great shape, a perfect 1975 fold, these gems were brand new just in storage for 13 years. Applying the appropriate and accompanying crests, researching the number, lettering styles and colors, plus selecting the players was a labor of love Making hockey jerseys of my NHL heroes from that time period was the catalyst and inspiration to work full-time in the sporting goods business after college.
From a truly business perspective, the finished nostalgia NHL jerseys were priced, tagged, set on metal hangers, ready to be released on the Mitchell & Ness retail sales floor at the 1229 Walnut St. location (still the best location,by the way) providing instant market validation.
In two months all 36 jerseys were sold. Interestingly, sales were generated from a previous non-existent category at that time (take note future MBA's). I kept one jersey for myself, a Bruins home beauty by Bauer circa 1974, which I numbered and lettered as a "Gilles Gilbert" (fastest glove hand in the East).
Hockey jersey collectors and
former Mitchell & Ness customers of mine, Jordan Yuter and Kevin Rogers, have a
Flyers and a Seals from this original shipment, my guess a "Clarke" and a
"Meloche," respectively.
This was the very beginning of the nostalgia hockey jersey business and I was there on the cutting edge. Was there a market for vintage/nostalgia NHL jerseys on a national and/or world-wide level?
It was 1989. I would re-visit the pursuit of nostalgia NHL jerseys one year later, but there was another league that peaked my interest pertaining to 1970s hockey jerseys. In fact, it was a professional ice hockey league that played in my N.J. backyard.
In our next installment: Zen and the Art of.....WHA Jerseys? When "Jannelli's Jersey Journal" returns on the May 9, 2012 edition of Authentically Speaking.
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Coming up (1): Tomorrow on Authentically Speaking, author and baseball uniform expert Morris Levin takes a look at Majestic's Cool Base jerseys, spotlighting his hometown Philadelphia Phillies.
Coming up (2): Mark Thursday, May 10 as the next date of Pro League Authentics four-part exhibition series "The Jersey As Art." The second installment features former Mitchell & Ness president and throwback uniform expert Peter Capolino discussing and exhibiting jerseys going back decades to the all-flannel era, and a collector's look and presentation of virtually all of the commemorative jersey patches ever worn by the current 30 major league clubs. The event begins at 6:00 pm at our Center City store location (137 S. 13th St - between Walnut/Sansom), with refreshments provided and in-store discounts on all authentic MLB products. Hope to you see you there.
What? The most popular sport in the country needs to do a shout out to its fans to show up at New York’s Radio City Music Hall?
Well, not for the first round Thursday night at least, but for rounds 2-3 Friday, then 4-7 on Saturday, there’s still plenty of seats available (no charge).
The NFL has turned the draft into a prime time event, exactly at a time when pro football fans are in the middle of the lull of activity until full training camps get underway in July.
Then there’s the marketing. From the red carpet, pre-show event to watch everyone arrive at the great theater in midtown Manhattan (just how thrilling can it be to see limos pull up into a congested area along 6th Avenue?), to the VIP draft party, and all the logos and branding in between, the NFL and its new (but old) merchandise partner Nike, have it down pat.
As to how the teams will grade out following months of preparation leading up to three days of furious activity, well as all fans know, that’s going to take many more months to determine through the ups and down of a 16 game schedule this fall.
By-the-way, if you’re an Eagles fan in the vicinity of Center City Philadelphia and want to celebrate in style, Pro League Authentics has been able to order the official New Era team draft hat that players will wear after hearing their name called (see above) in green or white, and has a limited number in stock.
And, there could be another PLA surprise in store at the draft in NYC Thursday night – so stay tuned to the NFL Network or ESPN telecast.
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Authentic Store Buzz: In PLA's Philadelphia home base, the majority of sports excitement surrounds the Flyers quarterfinal round, six game elimination of a Pittsburgh team many picked to win the Stanley Cup. Perhaps the hottest player on NHL ice is Flyers forward Claude Giroux, the spark that lit Philly's game six win.
Did you know the first number he wore as a Flyer was 56, not his current 28? It's true, as a rookie for two games in the 2007-08 season after being called up, Giroux wore 56.
Want to rock out and shock your Flyer buddies with a Reebok "56 GIROUX" black jersey? PLA has you covered (see above), and they've been big sellers this week. Good luck trying to find this rare jersey anywhere else.
Coming Up: More hockey. Tomorrow’s Authentically Speaking showcases “Jannelli’s Jersey Journal,” PLA president and longtime uniform industry expert Ray Jannelli has part two of his inside look at nostalgia NHL jerseys.
For connoisseurs of all of the different looks that major league teams can sport, coupled with match-ups of alternative jerseys in the same game, the last three days of the season were quite a spectacle to behold.
Starting with Friday afternoon’s Fenway Park centennial celebration game between the Red Sox and Yankees; nee Highlanders that featured great period-looking numberless jerseys by both clubs and the Sox sporting a plain white hat, albeit with the MLB logo on the back.
Friday night showcased:
*Black jerseys for the Pirates at home, and the Orioles on the road.
*The Brewers wearing 1982 throwbacks at home, and the Mariners 90s era teal.
*The Astros playing as the Colt .45’s, with word making round in Houston over the weekend that the Astros may throwback to a look resembling their first Astrodome years (1965-70) permanently next season when they move to the A.L. West.
*The Marlins wearing gray for once on the road.
We love the A’s gold alternates which they wore Saturday night against the Indians. It’s a throwback to a mix of jerseys they wore in a 23-year era of always having either a gold regular or alternate jersey to choose from (1963-86), and a reminder how Charles Finley was so ahead of his time when he debuted those gold uniforms for the Kansas City A’s in 1963.
The Diamondbacks Saturday night home black jersey and cap ensemble is underrated to these eyes; they wore them again this weekend against Atlanta.
Yesterday it was softball at Kauffman Stadium, the power blue Royals hosting the dark blue Blue Jays, while in San Diego, as they have done since 2000 at home on Sundays, it was the military tribute with the Padres in the third incarnation of their Camouflage jerseys, and the second version of the alternate hat worn with the “Camis,” hosted the Phillies.
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Please Note: Coming up this week on Authentically Speaking, we’ll take a look at the NFL draft accessories for the draft Thursday night, Ray Jannelli has part two of his “Jannelli Jersey Journal,” an inside look at nostalgia NHL jerseys, and Morris Levin with a timely piece on the Phillies Majestic Cool Base jerseys.
Greetings and thank you for visiting our updated website and our initial posts at Authentically Speaking, the news column of Pro League Authentics for the week of April 23, 2012.
Not only does Pro League Authentics feature a vast array of authentic MLB, NFL, NHL products and specialty items, and custom lettering for jerseys in our center city Philadelphia store location and online on this site, but we will also feature information pertinent to you, our customer, related to authenticity, sizing, trends and lifestyle, and all special uniform-related events we schedule throughout the year.
Stop back each weekday and we will have stories related to the world of authentic uniforms, interesting anecdotes, personal tales, and thoughts from our readers and customers, along with the latest news updated as we receive it.
