New Uni Watch- Hidden Messages

[Eric]

The new edition of Uni Watch is up, and it contains a very interesting section on messages written by players on their gear. Great job as usual.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=lukas/060706

Eric

[baines3]

Re: New Uni Watch- Hidden Messages

Good article, Eric.
I have a Cleveland Indians cap worn by Harold Baines and underneath is his wife's and 3 kid's names.

Anyone else have anything like this?

[Eric]

Re: New Uni Watch- Hidden Messages

Any chance you can post a photo of it here? I think you should also send it to Paul Lukas- he always follows up on his stories. Maybe he'll include it in the next uni watch
Eric

[hblakewolf]

Re: New Uni Watch- Hidden Messages

Eric-
I have a Wally Backman Phillies hat that reads exactly as follows under the bill- F-CK FACE

Not sure why he would have this, however, I plan on meeting him next month at a card show in New York and will ask him about it. I only hope this does not turn into another Kirk Gibson saga!

Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@patmedia.net

[byergo]

Re: New Uni Watch- Hidden Messages

Paying homage to the 1989 Fleer Billy Ripken baseball card?

[hblakewolf]

Re: New Uni Watch- Hidden Messages

Byergo-
I'm so far removed from baseball cards that I completely forgot about that incident. It may very well be the case. I'd have t look at 1991 Backman cards to see if he took any type of photo where the underside can be seen.

It should be rather interesting to see his response when I get it signed.
Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@patmedia.net

Paying homage to the 1989 Fleer Billy Ripken baseball card?

[sportscentury]

Re: New Uni Watch- Hidden Messages

I only hope this does not turn into another Kirk Gibson saga!

... or Steve Carlton saga (one of my other top 10 Howard Wolf stories - Howard, you should write a book on your interactions with players while collecting their game used items ... some absolute classics! Or you could do a reality TV series.).

[hblakewolf]

Re: New Uni Watch- Hidden Messages

Reid-
I totally forgot about the Carlton hat story! First, he refuses to sign his 1986 green St. Pat's hat until I get the show promoter to force him, then the following year I ask him to sign a LOA stating that I own his 1983 NL Championship ring. Needless to say, I don't think I'm on Carlton's Christmas card list.

Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@patmedia.net

[sportscentury]

Re: New Uni Watch- Hidden Messages

Reid-
I totally forgot about the Carlton hat story! First, he refuses to sign his 1986 green St. Pat's hat until I get the show promoter to force him, then the following year I ask him to sign a LOA stating that I own his 1983 NL Championship ring. Needless to say, I don't think I'm on Carlton's Christmas card list.

Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@patmedia.net

Thanks for reminding me of the details. Brings a huge smile to my face each time ... I only wish I could have witnessed these exchanges in person. I'll have to start going to shows with you.

[Vintagedeputy]

Re: New Uni Watch- Hidden Messages

That is a great article. Is that a regular feature?

[Eric]

Re: New Uni Watch- Hidden Messages

It is a regular feature on espn.com

Paul Lukas and the folks who send in responses are passionate about the details of uniforms. They're obsessed just like us.

The ESPN.com pieces don't get published as regularly as they used to- however, there's now a Uni Watch blog which can be found at

http://uniwatchblog.com/

Always good stuff.
Eric

[tknorm]

Re: New Uni Watch- Hidden Messages

For anyone interested about the black underbills...

From the artice: "But in recent years a threat to the cap-borne message has arisen -- call it the Dark (Under)Side. It began in 1998, when Angels GM Bill Bavasi switched the team's underbills to black, because he thought it was better for reducing glare, much like eye black. The Angels still use black today, while Bavasi has moved on to become GM of the Mariners -- and now they've gone over to the Dark (Under)Side too. Black is also worn by some members of the Rangers (but not all of them), a trend that may reflect the influence of recently departed pitching coach Orel Hershiser, who wore a custom-ordered black underbill throughout his career (as you can see here, here, here, and here), because it helped him focus. "

Here are some pix of a couple of Orel Hershiser GU caps. One is from 1985, actually from the LCS, as signed by Orel. It has a green underbill. The other is from 1995, purchased from the Cleveland Indians (notice the stamp) with a black underbill.