Sports Design Blog

Get them while they're hot! Classic memorabilia here!

Today a little shameless promotion. I've listed a few items I've written about before here on SDB out on E-bay. I thought you guys might like to get a shot at them, so here's the info.

The first item listed is the original 12 USFL gumball helmet set. I wrote about these a while back and came across another set. Here's a great chance to get your hands on this great set of sports design history. They are in great condition and are about as rare as you'll find.

The second item I listed today is a set of the Shell Oil Cincinnati Bengals art prints. I wrote about them back during the football season. These art prints are from 1981 and were one of the first pieces of memorabilia to feature the Bengals innovative striped look way back when. If you're a collector of Bengals memorabilia, these would be a great addition. The set features Ken Anderson, Anthony Munoz and four other Bengals stars from the past.

Finally, though not sports related, I know many of you are on the same level as I am with your fondness for toys from the 1970's. The last item I listed today was a classic TTP Turbo Tower of Power playset from 1974. This classic Kenner toy was a favorite of mine in the good old days. I remember hooking up the motorcycle to the air chamber and letting it go. This one is in its original box and all of the parts are still locked into place on the inside of the box, never played with. If you want something to give you a great childhood flashback, check it out.

I'll be back tomorrow with something new. I've been knee deep in a project that has kept me away a bit over the last month or so. Thursday will mark the 1st anniversary of the launch of SDB, so I'll be celebrating that with you then.

Remember the CBA?

As I was doing some research on old school basketball stuff the other day, I came across something unusual. I found a program from a CBA game from 1986. The CBA, former home to now NBA coach Phil Jackson was celebrating its 40th anniversary in 1986. The CBA was a poor man's alternative to an NBA team, and filled those markets where a city could not sustain an NBA franchise. Here in Cincinnati, we had the pleasure of watching the Slammers and their brand of basketball at the Cincinnati Gardens. I'm sure everyone remembers the formidable Slammers Twin Towers combo of Ozell Jones and Dan Federmann!

In this old game program was an ad that allowed you to order a t-shirt with your favorite CBA team logo on it. The ad is presented in full black and white and features the graphics from all of the teams in the CBA  for the 1986-87 season. Judging by the looks of the logos on the page, there weren't many powerhouse graphics firms used to create many of the looks of the teams. Everyone in the league used a basketball in their logo except the Jacksonville Jets. These shirts were a deal at $8.95 and came with a money back guarantee!

I think the CBA still exists in some form after reorganizing after the bankruptcy that followed Isiah Thomas' reign over the league. This old school ad provides a great look back to a time when basketball at all levels was going crazy and the CBA was riding high!

Shoes You Never Knew

All of you know that I was a big fan of the shoe biz in the 1980's. I've written many times about my favorite basketball styles from back in the day. Many of those shoes set the tone for the modern sports industry and were responsible for the boom in sports products that still exists today. Most of them, you know very well.

Today I wanted to take a look at some styles that may not be as memorable as the Air Jordan or the Pony City Wing. Some of them you may not remember, or may have blotted out of your mind. The first shoe on my list is the Kinney Official NBA shoe from 1977. Obviously this style existed long before the Air Jordan revolution took place. The Kinney NBA shoe featured all of the modern shoe technologies of 1977, and a beautiful gold suede and mesh. Inside the shoe you see a great NBA logo pattern and the NBA logo on the tongue. Just so it doesn't get confused with an Adidas shoe of the time, there are four stripes instead of three. Where else can you get an official NBA endorsed shoe for $18.99? This is a great forgettable shoe from the 1970's.

Next on the list of forgotten shoes is the official NCAA basketball shoe from International Shoe Company circa 1984. Born in the pre-Jordan era, but during the Nike Air Force and Converse Fastbreak eras, the NCAA shoe is one I'm sure you don't remember. With style names like the Phi Slamma Jamma and the Alley-Opp, these shoes were deigned to capture the true spirit of NCAA basketball, all for a surprisingly low price, as the ad states. It is pretty obvious why this shoe design did not go down in history with its brothers from that era.

The last shoe on our list today is another player endorsed shoe that didn't come with the hoopla of the Jordan or the Converse Weapon. I've written before about Ralph Sampson's Pumas and Akeem Olajuwan's LA Gears. This shoe is another obscure player endorsed model. I remember the KangaRoo being endorsed by Walter Payton, but I forgot that "the shoe with a pocket" was also the footwear of choice for Clyde "the Glide" Drexler. The KangaRoos Slam Dunks were supposed to let you out-jump, out-spin, out-pivot and out-class your opponent. Clyde could get up in the air, so his KangaRoos may have helped.  The KangaRoo logo is one of the most original from the time and is prominently featured on the side of the Glide.

So there you go, some basketball shoe treasures you may have forgotten about from the golden era of the basketball shoe business.

Uniform switchup in Mississippi

Last night's Kentucky vs. Mississippi State game in Starkville presented an odd uniform situation. The game was played on Mississippi State's home floor, but the team's were wearing uniforms opposite of what they would normally be wearing.

The Mississippi State crowd was dressed in a varying pattern of white and maroon shirts, while the basketball team was wearing a new set of black jerseys on their home court.

The Kentucky Wildcats took to the floor in their home whites. It was extremely odd seeing the Wildcats playing on the road in their white jerseys. The white uniforms just belong on the floor of Rupp and looked really strange on the road. I was looking forward to get a good look at the new Nike road blue uniform for the Cats, hoping that the graphics on the back would look less like a sweat stain on the players' backs than the art on the white one does.

It turned out to be a great basketball game, with an interesting uniform twist just to keep you on your toes.

Old School vs. New School: Gumball Helmets

Everyone who grew up in the glorious Sears Catalog days of NFL collecting remember the old school NFL gumball helmets. I've written before about some of those glorious gumball helmet designs from the 1970's. The technology back then was not nearly what we have today, so those helmets were extremely limited in what kind of decoration could be done to them. Every helmet utilized a decal on each side to create the team graphic and any team that needed a stripe over the top had a stripe decal as well. For teams like the Rams and the 1980's Bengals, this presented some issues.

Fast forward to today. Manufacturing technology has advanced in so many ways that the gumball helmets you buy today are far different than those from the past. The gumball helmet of today is definitely not your father's gumball helmet. Modern gumball helmets have no problem at all displaying the intricate graphics on some of the NFL's most complicated helmet designs. Tampo printing technology allows the current gumball helmet to accurately display the team graphics, even if they wrap over the top of the helmet. No longer do you have those die-cut decals, but graphics that are permanently printed on the helmet.

The basic shape of the old school gumball helmet was also a bit different than a real NFL helmet. The old school gumball helmet was somewhat flat on the sides and on the top in order to allow the decals to be placed on a flat surface. The facemask of old was a simple white two-bar design that snapped into place on each side of the helmet. As the old school gumball helmet evolved, you even started to see facemasks in colors. I used to keep a drawer full of helmets with the decals removed and various colored facemasks so I could customize them at any time.

Fast forward to today's new school gumball helmet. Today's helmet is shaped in a manner that is much more like that of a real helmet. Since the graphics are now pad printed, there is no need for the flat surfaces for decals, allowing for a much more realistic shape. Today's facemask is also much more detailed, with a realistic full-face design.

Today's helmets provide collector's with a much more realistic piece of memorabilia to collect, but there is something about an old school gumball helmet that just feels right. Despite their decoration and shape limitations, the old school gumball helmet was one of the most cherished of all sports collectibles for young NFL fans from the past.

Graphics Gone Wild! South Carolina's court graphics

I'm all for a good oversized logo on a basketball court. Most major colleges and NBA teams feature a big, oversized logo at center court. However, after watching a few games of the South Carolina Gamecocks on their home floor at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, I have seen center court graphics gone wild!

The center court logo at SC home games takes the concept to an entirely new level. The court doesn't just feature the huge SC Gamecock logo (which could probably initiate a discussion of its own), but also features additional lettering that creates a massive graphic that dominates the entire court. The Gamecock logo is surrounded by a huge arching SOUTH CAROLINA over the top of the mascot and the words Colonial Life Arena below. The graphic is so overpowering that it interferes with your ability to see the players on the television broadcast when they are over the graphics.

When the players come across midcourt, the additional letter graphics are so visually overpowering that you have trouble seeing the action on the court. The South Carolina word nearly stretches from the top of the key on one end of the court to the other. Like I said before, I'm all for the current trend of huge logos on basketball courts, but this one takes the concept way too far. The logo would look great standing alone, but the overpowering text makes watching a game on this floor very difficult.

Old School Design: Big Jim

In today's Old School Design, I wanted to take a look back at another must-have sports toy for those of us who grew up in the 1970's. In addition to our Evel Knievel Stunt Cycles, electronic vibrating football and Sears Catalog action figures, there was Big Jim. Big Jim was one of my childhood favorites (loved the name).

Big Jim was an action figure created by Mattel in the very early 1970's. The Big Jim doll could be put into many heroic roles, as a secret agent, astronaut or many other things. Most importantly, Big Jim could also be decked out in all kinds of sports gear. The action figure had a flexing bicep muscle and a metal strap that would pop off when his muscle flexed. He also had a lever on his back that allowed him to perform a karate chop. Big Jim was the ultimate male action hero.

The Big Jim sports pack included uniforms for basketball and football and came with all sorts of other sports related gear for Big Jim to wear. He originally came boxed in only his gym shorts, so you had to have the accessories to make him look good. The picture above to the left shows Big Jim in his extremely USC Trojans leaning football garb. Big Jim could play out any sports fantasy that a young boy could think of. In a basketball mood? Just put Big Jim in his basketball jersey and gym shoes and you were ready to go.

Though Big Jim was really more of an overall action hero than a sports figure, my early childhood Big Jim was always decked out as an athlete and was one of my favorite sports products from the 1970's.

Retro Bengals

Yesterday on Uni-Watch, there was a link provided by one of their contributors to a piece of footage from a game between the Bengals and the Browns from 1970. As you know, I have not hidden my fondness for the Bengals original uniforms. This footage provides a great look back at two teams who had the basic uniform set nailed down. You probably can't find two teams with a more simple look than the old school Bengals and Browns. (though the Browns sleeve stripes are a bit more ornate than their current version).

Seeing this great old video got me searching for some more examples of the old school Bengals look to satisfy my need to see it. In this classic clip that I found, not only do you get a look at the classic Bengals look, but you have snow and a shot of the New York Giants with a stripe over the top of their helmets. This is an absolutely outstanding trip back in time.

You can never get enough good looks at the old school Bengals and these videos provide a great look back at one of my favorite uni combos of all-time!

Super Bowl uniforms: Colts Edition

Today's column comes from SDB regular and guest columnist Marc Swanson. Marc is best known for his witty comments, love of all things Cleveland and a true love and appreciation of sports design. Marc thought it would be good to take a look at the other side of the ball today and give his thoughts on the Super Bowl uniform match-up from the Colts' perspective.

By Marc Swanson

 
The Colts are back in the Super Bowl. Big surprise (wink). This will mark the fourth time the franchise has appeared in the Super Bowl, their second as the Indianapolis Colts (it only hurts a little less now, eh Ravens fans?)

The team has had one constant through their Super Bowl appearances -- from 1969’s Super Bowl III to next Sunday’s Super Bowl XLIV -- and that is their uniform. A simple two-color scheme, the Colts’ blue and white goes back to the very beginning of the franchise when they rose from the ashes of the last NFL team to go out of business, the Dallas Texans (not to be confused with Lamar Hunt’s Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs of the AFL) in 1953.

The Colts’ logo has it’s origins in Baltimore. Home of the Preakness Stakes, the second jewel in the Triple Crown, Baltimore has deep roots in horse racing and breeding. Displayed prominently on their helmet, the Colts’ horseshoe is an excellent representation of this tradition… and now they’re in Indianapolis. C’est la vie.

The Colts have managed to maintain their style over the years and have made only minor alterations since the 1950s. Changing the facemask color from grey to white (and back again) and varying the arrangement of the sock stripes are about the only adjustments the Colts have made to their timeless uniforms. The Colts have definitely learned that you don’t fix what ain’t broke.

There is one thing that I do think they broke. The Colts -- like most NFL teams –- have had to make adjustments for the cut of today’s jersey style. Unfortunately, sometimes these changes are not for the better, for instance the shoulder striping that appears on most NFL jerseys. Players today prefer a tighter cut around the shoulder and uniform designers have altered the cut of the jersey while trying to maintain the team’s identity. Compare Unitas’ shoulder stripe to Manning’s. The older style, though it doesn’t wrap completely around the arm, looks much better, IMHO, than the new style. The current jersey looks as though the stripes were an after-thought and were just kinda plopped onto the shoulders at the last minute. I don’t know why the designers had to abbreviate the stripes, but judging from the shot of Manning, it appears they could have gone the same route as the designers of Unitas’ jersey without much difficulty. Every time I see that half-stripe it irks me. I dunno… what do you think? Is it a concession to the constraints of the cut or a dumb oversight? Personally, I miss the days of the longer sleeve jersey. I like that it gave the opponent something to grab onto making it somehow feel more tangible for the fan. Maybe it’s just me…

As an aside, I have to say that as a fan of a smaller market team (Go Browns!), I absolutely LOVE the fact that Super Bowl XLIV will be a matchup/parity-fest of the two top seeds in the NFL… from the 14th and 59th largest cities in America. In your face, MLB!

The New Orleans Saints in the Super Bowl!

Today's column is written by SDB regular Dan Leonard. Dan is a passionate student of sports design and always provides us with great insight. Enjoy his take on the Saints and their trip to the big game:

By Dan Leonard

Many probably still can't believe it. As a native Pittsburgher, I can.

The ride the city of New Orleans and the entire Gulf coast region's fans are on is fantastic. The Steelers weren't always Super, suffering nearly 40 years without sniffing an NFL championship. I know how those long-suffering fans feel as the clouds have been lifted and finally, they are on the big stage.

The NFL's biggest show, hosted nine times by this great city, has never included the Saints.

In 1967 the NFL expanded to New Orleans as a result of the increasing popularity of pro football. The upstart AFL had begun to get the attention of NFL execs and they felt pressure to have more franchises in areas that had been traditional college regions. 

As Jim had pointed out in an earlier SDB column, one of the Saints original owners John W Mecom, Jr, wanted their colors to be to be the 'old' gold we all associate with them today and a blue, somewhere between royal and Carolina! The colors were nixed by the NFL brass as too similar to that of the San Diego Chargers of the rival AFL.

Here's a little info on the symbol many only know as the logo on the helmet of the New Orleans Saints. The fleur-de-lis (pronounced, flu-oer de lee) is a stylized lily. In French, fleur means flower, and lis means lily.

In the 13th century, during the reign of King Louis IX (St. Louis) the three petals of the flower were said to represent faith, wisdom and chivalry, and to be a sign of divine favor bestowed on France.

In New Orleans, with all of it's rich French history and tradition, the fleur de lis, naturally became the insignia of it's NFL team. The Saints were named for the French Crusaders who conquered much of Europe in those previously mentioned centuries.

Is this?: 

a) Current Saint's owner, Tom Benson's home.

b) Drew Brees' ornate tribute to his team.

c) The gilded protector of Reggie Bush.

d) None of the above.

It's actually, 

d) None of the above.

This is a photo of the gate prominently featuring the fleur de lis, surrounding Buckingham Palace in England. Should the Saints 'Go marching in' to their first NFL title in Miami's Super Bowl XLIV, then I'd certainly expect to see a fleur de lis displayed on their championship ring!