Sports Design Blog

Fantasy Football circa 1967

In today's world, fantasy football is a common activity for the modern football fan. Watching the game has changed forever due to the rise of fantasy football and how many people are involved. It has taken watching sports to a completely new level of enjoyment for many fans.

In 1967, we didn't have the modern fantasy football movement, but we did have this classic image. Taken from a Sports Illustrated issue from 1967, this ad features a pick'em contest put on by the people at Head and Shoulders. $100 for anyone who can pick the winner of the 12 games listed on the entry form.

This ad is loaded with absolutely outstanding imagery. The sports fan of 1967 definitely did not have the luxury of high definition television, a futuristically designed entertainment center or an internet feed to provide statistics. The image of the turn-knob picture tube on a stand and the TV tray is priceless. Look closely at the TV tray and you will see the fan's sub sandwich, milk, newspaper, pipe and radio. A classic image of the cutting edge sports fan and his arsenal of tools from 1967.

Old School Design: Rawlings ad 1969

I was able to get through a few more of those classic Sports Illustrated issues that I acquired the other day and found some more great old school sports imagery. This ad for Rawlings sporting goods was found in another issue from 1969. The ad is a classic look at the mindset of a young sports fan in those days, dreaming of making it into professional sports and sporting his favorite team's replica uniform and helmet. (click on the image for a larger view)

How many of you begged to get your hands on one of these classic old uniform-in-a-box sets when you were young? I had a Bengals set (still have the old beat up helmet, pictured here) and wore it in fantasy games in my back yard many times. This classic ad brings back some great childhood memories and points back to a time when the sports products business was much more simple than it is today.

Monday Morning Review:

The NFL had a few uniform sets yesterday that ran the gamut from nice to "what the heck?" First up was the game between the Titans and Jets, or was it the Titans and Oilers, or was it the Titans and the Titans? Whatever you call it, it was another great combination of old school uniforms for the 50th anniversary AFL program. We've seen the Jets/Titans of NY look before so it looks quite familiar. I can't get enough of the classic Oilers look that the Titans have worn for the second time now. Truly classic stuff! I am really going to continue to enjoy this AFL anniversary as the season moves along. It is creating very visually appealing football games.

On the flip side of the coin, we have the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks, who normally wear a uniform set that is on the cutting edge in design and color choice, showed up on the field on Sunday in a lime green jersey. The jerseys definitely made a visual statement, though I won't say it was a good one. I'm a fan of the Seahawks everyday uniform set, but these lime green specials really made me take a second glance in disbelief.

Lastly, congrats to my hometown Bengals for showing some serious comeback ability by taking down the Steelers with a clutch final drive for the win. It is hard to believe that the Bengals are one freak play away from being 3-0. Who Dey!

Houston Rockets Alternate Jerseys

I received a link from SDB reader Alex in Houston about the Houston Rockets new alternate jersey that they will be wearing during the 2009-10 NBA season. As you can see in this article from the Rockets page, the team will be making a return to the color scheme that was used in the Twin Towers NBA Championship era. The jersey, designed by the team's creative services manager Jose Lopez, brings back the team's retro color scheme with a modern twist (a concept you know I am a big fan of).

The jerseys will be a welcome site because the last two uniform and logo sets that the team have used have been less than stellar. The jerseys from the Hakeem Olajuwan Championship era are the ones that truly say "Rockets" to me. The red and yellow colors have been sorely missed for many years. It is a shame that these jerseys will only appear on special occasions. The Rockets could definitely make a positive move with a return to these classic colors on a full-time basis. These new alternate jerseys will make their on-court debut in a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on November 6th.

Way to go Rockets, bringing back these classic colors is definitely a move in the right direction.

Old School Design: Gatorade and the NFL

I have recently come into possession of a big pile of old Sports Illustrated issues from the late 1960's and early 1970's. These old SI magazines are like having a time machine in the palm of your hands. These old issues are loaded with great photography and old advertising. I'll be bringing you some of the more interesting things I find in them over the coming weeks.

I have written before about the old Gatorade NFL bottle lids. Those classic NFL lids were a great way for Gatorade to sell me more Gatorade as a child. I spent way too much time and my Dad's hard earned money collecting these old NFL collectibles. Gatorade has always been connected with the NFL and other pro and college sports. Gatorade and sports are like peanut butter and jelly. This classic ad appeared in this NFL preview edition of SI way back in September of 1969.

This classic ad is a great visual from the good old days of the NFL. Two things make it great, the old school glass Gatorade bottle and the old school team pennants on the bottle. It is hard to remember when Gatorade was packaged this way, in glass bottles with a pressure sealed metal lid. The Gatorade Brand logo and packaging look featured here brings back so many memories of downing this tart treat during little league games as a kid. This classic ad even pre-dates the NFL helmet lids that came out a few years later in the early 1970's. The image is a great way to travel back in time to when things were a bit less complicated than they are today. This is a truly great old school ad.

I'll have many more great images just like this as I make my way through some of these old magazines. Until then, enjoy!

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No Longer Defunct Sports Leagues: The ABA

You know that Sports Design Blog is a big fan of the old ABA. The league had so much style, creativity and innovation that it is definitely one of my favorite subjects to discuss. How could you not love that great old red, white and blue ball?

It wasn't until a few years ago that I realized that the ABA had come back to life, at least in name. I was working on designing a logo and uniform set for a new minor league basketball team that was set to play at the US Bank Arena in Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Blaze.

The Blaze picked a logo, held a press conference, hired a coach, signed players and were able to play only a handful of games before they faded into Cincinnati minor league sports history and disappeared. It was then that I became aware of this "new" ABA.

The current ABA does seem to stake a claim to the history of the old ABA. The new ABA is a league that has over 50 franchises operating in all sorts of locations throughout the USA and around the world. Some of the cities also share an NBA team, but most are from markets not served by the NBA. The league has a wide variety of logo styles for its teams, some really good, others look like the team owner had their little brother design them. Many of the logos contain an image of the ABA red, white and blue basketball, in the great tradition of professional basketball logo design.

The ABA uses a modern version of the classic multi-colored ball in their games. The current ABA ball contains the league's original red, white and blue colors, with a twist on the old version. The new ball has ten panels alternating between the three colors. The two extra panels give the ball a very unique appearance. You still get the feel of the original ABA ball, but you know something is different about it.

So, now you know that technically the ABA still exists. The league will never see the likes of a Dr. J of George Gervin gracing their courts, but a small piece of the spirit of the old rebel league still exists. You can find more information about the modern ABA here at their official website.

Shameless Self Promotion: Tayshaun Prince

Today I wanted to share one of my most recent design projects with you. I created this art print for former University of Kentucky and current Detroit Pistons star Tayshaun Prince. Prince was back in his college hometown of Lexington, Kentucky on Friday night to launch his Locker Program. The Locker Program is a charitable campaign that allows students in Central Kentucky schools to donate items to the Locker Program that benefit children and families in need. It was great to see Tayshaun Prince come back to Lexington to put his name and his efforts behind such a great cause.

The print was created to be auctioned off at the event to raise money for the program. It was autographed by Prince and then framed for bidding on the auction tables. The print captures imagery from Prince's career at Kentucky as well as imagery of him in his Pistons uniform and in his Olympic "Redeem Team" uniform. This was a great opportunity for me to work on a fun project with a former Wildcat and current NBA star and to make a bit of a difference in then lives of children.

Lions, Tigers and Bears!

I'm off to the zoo again today to assist my daughter's first grade class on their first field trip. I'll be back on Monday to share more sports design goodness with you!

Old School Design: NFL Room Concepts

OK, one more trip down your childhood NFL memory lane today. How many of you had these absolutely fantastic old school NFL sheets and curtains in your room growing up? These classic NFL bed sets scream late 1970's and 80's. Every kid who was a sports fan in that time period either had something like this in his room, or wished he did.

These sports licensed product classics were manufactured by a company called Room Concepts by Bibb, located in New York. They were available through a select number of department stores around the country. Crafted of the finest polyester available at the time, these sheets provided all of the comfort that comes with polyester but made your room the envy of all your friends.

As this week has gone on, we've had a great opportunity to look back at some of the coolest NFL items from the good old days, and these classic NFL sheet sets make a stellar conclusion to this trip down NFL memory lane. (click on the image for a more detailed view)

Old School Design: Sears Catalog NFL

For kids growing up in the 1970's and early 1980's, your sources for sports licensed products were a bit limited. At that time, there were no fan shops at the mall and the industry was still in its infancy before exploding later in the 1980's. We certainly didn't have the internet to use to find our favorite team's jersey. If you were a fan of your local NFL team, your only real source for merchandise was at your team's stadium concession stand or at an obscure sporting goods store tucked into a small corner of your metropolitan area.

The one place kids knew that they could find all of their favorite sports team gear was the Sears catalog. Each year I would wait with ridiculous anticipation for the Sears Christmas catalog to arrive at our door. The Sears catalog could always be counted on to contain the greatest collection of sports licensed products that a kid could desire. Sears would always have the perfect replica jersey, jacket, beanie hat or pajamas to satisfy your need to support your team.

You could even find items like push-pins, pennant collections and even Electronic Football player sets. The Sears catalog was like a gift from sports heaven. I blame the Sears catalog for feeding my sports logo obsession as a child, but I couldn't wait to see what was new each year and add it to my list of must-have items. I'm sure many of you had a pair of those classic NFL pajamas!

Old School Design: The NFL Helmet Hat

In the early 1980's there was a really great licensed product known at the Helmet Hat. The Helmet Hat was one of the most unique and innovative ideas in a time when sports licensed products were still growing as a retail force. The Helmet Hat featured the graphics of your favorite NFL team all over the top of the hat, just like the would look on the team's helmet.

Another thing that made the Helmet Hat unique was the foam-like material that it was made out of. In order to put the dye sublimated graphics onto the hat in that all-over fashion, the hat's material had to be different than what hats were usually constructed from. This gave the hat a bulky, unusual feel. Like most hats from that time period, the Helmet Hat sat high up on your head.

The Helmet Hat was a huge hit with NFL fans and could be seen just about everywhere. The ad above featuring the Pittsburgh Steelers' Mean Joe Greene allowed you to order your favorite Helmet Hat directly from the makers of the Helmet Hat, the Louisville Manufacturing Co. The cost of the Helmet Hat in 1982 was a mere $9.25 plus shipping. You could also buy the Helmet Hat at the concession stand at your favorite stadium or at department stores.

The Helmet Hat provides a great look back at the NFL helmet designs of the era. It was one of those quirky products that stands out in your mind if you ever owned one. The Helmet Hat's popularity lasted a few more years, but then it faded away into sports products history.

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