Sports Design Blog

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!

Super uniform matchup: Saints vs. Colts

The matchup is set and the Super Bowl features two teams who will make fans of traditional NFL uniform design very happy. Both teams who will be participating two Sundays from now are great examples of how uniform simplicity stands the test of time. The Saints make their first appearance in the game against recent Super Bowl champ, the Colts.

This will be the first time we get a look at the Saints on the Super Bowl stage. A team that has had a mixed history of success, it is refreshing to see the Saints make the big game, despite the fact I had hopes that my childhood favorite Vikings could make their return to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1977. When you see the Saints of today, you can still see the Saints of the past. The Saints uniform look has changed in small, subtle ways over the years, but the team continues to use the same basic look from the team's past in their current uniform set. The team's use of black and gold makes a very dynamic color combination that is fun to watch. The only thing about the current Saints uniforms that even remotely brings them down is the different shades of gold on the helmet, jersey and pants. Chalk that up to the difficulty in reproducing that gold color on such different mediums as a helmet, tackle twill and jersey materials.

On the other side of the field, you have another team that has kept their traditional look intact. The Colts of today have the same look as the Colts of the past. The team's current uniform set keeps the tradition of the old Baltimore Colts and players like Johnny Unitas alive. Modern uniform cuts have interrupted the integrity of the shoulder stripes a bit, but all in all, you get the same look today as the team had back in the 1960's.

Super Bowl XLIV should be a great game from a competition perspective, but it will be an even better game for fans of simple, traditional uniform design. We won't have any crazy color blocking, random piping or crazy pants stripes, just simple, easy on the eyes old school uniform designs.

More Evel Knievel

Yesterday's post on Evel Knievel got some enthusiastic response. I think it succeeded in awakening some great feelings of appreciation for the man and his impact on kids at the time. In response to the post, Jon over at the Fleer Sticker Project got the inspiration to pull out his old set of 1974 Topps Evel Knievel cards. He has a great post up about those collecting masterpieces on his blog today.

If you've never visitied the Fleer Sticker Project, you need to. It is one of the greatest collections of sports logo history on the internet. I'm glad I was able to spark some good memories in Jon and inspire him to post this, great stuff.

Something totally different: Evel Knievel

Today I wanted to tackle a subject that is really way out there, compared to the normal sports related stuff I write about. As a young sports fan growing up in the 1970's, I absolutely loved baseball, basketball and football. I couldn't get enough of my favorite uniforms and logos from all around sports. Sports logos from the 1970's bring back so many great memories of my early days as a sports design fanatic.

If you were also a kid in the 1970's, there was one other sports related thing that probably kept you on the edge of your seat. What, or who am I referring to? None other than Evel Knievel. Though he wasn't technically an athlete, Evel appeared on Wide World of Sports and was also featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated in September of 1974. Outside of the major sports, was there anyone who had more style and graphic appeal than Evel Knievel?

Every kid in America couldn't wait to see the next impossible jump that Evel would attempt. The man just oozed cool and sported some of the greatest uniform elements ever created. Who can forget the classic v-shaped stars in stripes on his uniform and helmet in those true red, white and blue American colors. Throw in the classic cape, cane and belt buckle and you had the complete 1970's super cool graphics package. Evel had a look that rivaled any of those in football or any other sport at the time and his heroic exploits were the thing of legend. The man was just ridiculously cool and looked good everywhere he went.

In addition to his look, the Evel Knievel toy line sparked the interest of every young boy of the era and were the must-have items of the decade. Who can forget their classic Evel Knievel stunt cycle complete with the rubbery Evel Knievel figure, the ramps and the tower that you wound up to send him on his way? In addition to the classic stunt cycle, you had the Snake River Canyon rocket, multiple motorcycles, a dragster and all sorts of other great action toys. 

Knievel's marketing to young boys of the era was remarkable and created an entire generation who loved and followed the exploits of the world's greatest stuntman (and bought a ton of Knievel related products). The man had a look and a style that rivaled anything else in the sports world, and had the daring, super-cool persona to go along with it. Evel had a remarkable understanding of sports marketing, long before true sports marketing ever existed. Knievel definitely has a place of honor in sports design history.

What were the Thunder thinking?

I know this is a really old and tired discussion, but I just had to get it out of my head today. As I watched the Spurs take on the Oklahoma City Thunder last night in Oklahoma, I just couldn't stop being annoyed at their terrible logo and the lost graphic opportunity that the teams represents.

I guess I just haven't seen many Thunder games on their home court. I only see them play a few times a year, so last night must have been the first time I really let their look bother me. What were the owners of the Thunder thinking when they picked the team's logo and colors?

The logo and team colors just make no sense at all. When you think of "thunder", you think of descriptive words like power, noise, loud, dark, storm, ominous, fear, intimidation, and lightning. Is there anything about the colors of the Thunder that relates in any way to a term or image you would associate with "thunder"? The team's colors are more representative of an Easter basket than they are related to even a gentle spring shower, let alone a thunderstorm. The poor choice of colors is even more magnified by the team's home court design.

There are so many great ways that you could have created an image relating to a powerful force of nature like thunder. The team's logo looks like it would have worked for any name the team picked. The graphic possibilities should have been endless for a team with a name like that. Dark blues, blacks, silvers, golds, dark greys all would have been colors that would have created a really memorable look for the team, instead they use light blue, red and yellow.

Sorry for this old argument today, but it really got to me as I watched the game last night. What a wasted opportunity for something that could have been graphically great. Its a shame we lost a classic look like the Sonics for this.

Classic vs. Current-Cardinals/Packers

OK, since my hometown Bengals were, well, the Bengals this weekend, I must now shift my NFL enjoyment to another team. I guess I now fall in line in hoping that the Vikings can finally grab that elusive Super Bowl win. Its not a Brett Favre thing for me, but a Fran Tarkenton thing. Outside of my Bengals, the Vikings were my other favorite team growing up and Fran Tarkenton was my favorite quarterback next to Ken Anderson. On the AFC side, I'd like to see the Chargers, only because I enjoy their uniform looks over those of the other AFC contenders.

On to my point for today, the Cardinals and the Packers. What a great game, even though it ended under controversial circumstances. What caught my eye while watching this game was that you had a great example of classic NFL uniform design going up against an example of current NFL uniform design. Both teams continue to wear their classic helmet designs, but their uniform sets take a drastic turn in different design styles.

The Packers are one of the prototype teams for the classic NFL uni look. The team still uses simple sleeve and pant striping in a simple uniform style. When you see the Packers of today, you see the Packers of yesterday as well. For those who like the clean, classic look of the NFL past, you can't get a better example than Green Bay.

The Cardinals provided the game with a complete contrast in uniform design. The Cardinals uniform sets feature all of the bells and whistles of modern uniform design. The Cardinals' jersey and pants feature all of the random color blocking and piping that are found on modern design uniforms. They are a great example of the overuse of all of these elements on the modern NFL uniform.

This game definitely showcased the stark divide between NFL uniform design and provided a great visual for the fan, whether you fall on the classic or current side.

Alabama vs. Texas

In addition to being a great football game, Thursday's National Championship Rose Bowl game featured two teams with examples of truly classic uniform design. Neither team has much in the vibrant color department, Alabama's crimson and Texas orange are not the most exciting colors paired up on the field, but both team's uniform sets are classics. There are no extra color blocks, jagged curves, or random piping on the uniforms of the Longhorns and the Tide.

The Longhorns look is as simple as it gets. Solid white helmet with the famous Longhorn logo paired with a solid white uniform with nothing but the word Texas on it. It would be impossible to get a design more simple. The only glitch in the Texas look was the helmet that some of the Longhorn players wore, including backup quarterback Garrett Gilbert. The helmet has a vent hole at the back that really made the Longhorn look as if he had some strange graphic element hanging off his horn.

Alabama is another team that just continues to go with the tried and true traditional look. Again, no fancy design elements here. Crimson jerseys with white pants featuring a classic two stripe pattern down the side. The Tide's helmets feature nothing beyond the crimson color with a white stripe and player number on each side.

Though both of these teams lack the brightness and design flare we have seen in so many bowl games, the traditional looks of both teams created a great game to watch from  a uniform perspective. Sometimes simple and classic is still the best.