RESPONSE TO TBTC ARTICLES
There were a few thoughts shared on the loved and loathed retro style worn over the years. One Cardinals fan weighed in on a particular liked and disliked styles worn by hsi favorite team.
On his good side are the 1944 TBTC’s worn at home against Baltimore, who wore Browns TBTCs, in 2003. Apparently, Liebe Co. of St. Louis, long a Cardinals local supplier, did the lettering, and went to the original templates for font designs. My own favorite touch: the retro WW2 patch on the left sleeve.
Meanwhile, his loathing was reserved for a recent version of the 1982 Cardinals powder blues, trotted out for a 1982-themed series with the Brewers. Among the faults he noted: Current, rather than vintage, NOB and number fonts, sleeve trim far larger than the original Rawlings designs, and, worst of all (this makes me retch, too), the Birds-on-Bat logo was a sewn-on PATCH, not the fancy and quality embroidery the Redbirds have used for decades. No disagreements from me on either one.
Other plusses (+) and minuses from this standpoint:
2007 Marlins TBTC 1997 (-): It’s not so much the design, as that era Marlins unies were fine. The difference between then and now, however, other than fancier and more colorful lettering and logos today, are almost nil. Plus, 10 years really doesn’t strike me as “Turning Back the Clock” very much.
1991 Reds TBTC 1961 (+): The yin to the yang of the Phillies retros mentioned last time out, Rawlings did a nice job of recreating the ’61 NL Champs road look, originals by MacGregor.
1994-95 White Sox TBTC 1964 (+) and (-); The 1964 home retros, made, as were the originals, by Wilson, had a rocky road before their usage. The original game for these to be used in was wiped out due to the 1994 strike. The jerseys were put away for the short term, brought out again and worn in 1995. The acquisition of several new players for ’95 resulted in two distinctly variant numeric fonts, and tagging was removed from most of the original 1994 editions. Still, the style is a winner, and, in an exception to my usual distaste for items added or subtracted that differ from the originals, the winged sock patch on the left sleeve was a nice touch.
AUCTION ACTION
MLB Auctions at mlb.com will have a small number of jerseys ending today, including recent gamers of the Rangers, Mets and Braves
NHL.com has auctions of first period AHL All-Star Game jerseys (Canada vs. Planet USA) and the NHL All-Star Game (East vs. West) up for auction with a February 12th closing, beginning at 8PM CST. All of the above are catalogued in the MeiGray database, and the funds from the NHL gamers will go to Hockey Fights Cancer.
Meanwhile, Octagon Sports, relatively new to the field of big-ticket sports items, has been selected to auction and sell the remaining items in the collection of the late heavyweight boxer, Gene Tunney. Details will follow.
DID YOU KNOW…
That the 1969 Cleveland Indians were the first team to wear the MLB 100th Anniversary patch, doing so on their spring training vest flannels?
EBAY ODDITIES
One off the wall listing and one poorly duplicated BP jersey top the head-scratchers on the Bay this week.
One seller advertised, at least in his headline description, a “game used Aramis Ramirez” Pirates BP jersey. The full-length description didn’t add anything to the “game-used” claim, but the jersey was a clunker…a Pirates post-1999 BP with retail tagging, and, worst of all, a WHITE number and NOB (the team uses yellow for these elements). Even more odd…someone actually bid on this failing grade creation.
Then, in a “now I’ve seen everything” headline listing, a Baltimore-area seller, perhaps trying to get new viewers for his auction, or maybe just one of millions that were swept away in Inauguration Day mania, advertised a Javier Lopez bat, unused, of the OBAMA Braves! To me, the insertion of the president’s name was gratuitous, at best, and downright ridiculous, at worst. After all, how many people who collect Barack Obama memorabilia would want to bid on a bat that was likely never within several miles or more of Obama himself, much less swung, used or owned by him? The Obama mention didn’t seem to help the seller to any notable degree, as the bat ended at the $19.99 minimum, even with the dubious link to the 44th president.
OBITUARY
Ralph Kaplowitz, a guard in the early days of the NBA, passed away from kidney failure at age 89. Kaplowitz spent two seasons (1946-47 and 1947-48) in the NBA, with stops in New York and Philadelphia.
CONGRATULATIONS TO PAT SUMMITT AND HER 1000TH COACHING VICTORY