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Block Fonts


Quillz

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Okay, kind of a dumb question, but does anyone know what the "original" block font in baseball was and when it first appeared?

I was under the impression it was the standard MLB block that is still used by the Yankees, Tigers, Braves and Padres, but there is also the variation used by the Dodgers, Mets and many other teams.

As for appearance, I'm guessing the late 19th century or whenever jerseys were first numbered.

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That font used to be the stock font of the MacAuliffe company, and any teams supplied by them wore it. Spaulding and Wilson also used it for a time, but MacAuliffe stuck with it when others changed.

Supplied by those manufacturers, the Brooklyn Dodgers wore it for a time, as noted.

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Also the Seattle Pilots, Milwaukee Brewers (very briefly), and even... the Yankees.

ruth-jersey.jpg

The other companies moved to more standard block fonts, but MacAuliffe persisted. Being a Boston-based company, they supplied the Red Sox long after other clubs moved to different manufacturers, which is how the font became associated with the Sox specifically.

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In the same way the Red Sox kept that manufacturer's font, I wish the Bills could have kept the Champion font from the '90s. It didn't look good on most jerseys and yes, it looked crappy when used as the default font on all replicas. However, that font was the Bills to me growing up. The last few years before the awful millennial set, they kept the same uniforms with a standard block font, and it just wasn't the same.

OldRomanSig2.jpg
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It reminds me of the early Lombardi years, where they used a series of different block number styles, often at the same time thanks to re-using old jerseys.

1985.jpg

Starr and Hornung are clearly wearing two different fives. Then there's this photo from October 2, 1960:

1960_Lions-Packers_4a.jpg

Check out the sevens on Henry Jordan (#74) and Bill Forester (#71). Jordan is wearing the serifed style, which the Packers first used in 1959, returned to around 1962 and still use today.

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A bit early for Christmas carolin, Gamecocks. In any event, by the same token I've long felt a certain team should be wearing Champion numbers instead of regular block, though the Bills weren't who I had in mind...

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2016cubscreamsig.png

A strong mind gets high off success, a weak mind gets high off bull🤬

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Agreed.

I guess the Champion font wasn't distinctive enough for most fans to care when it was scrapped.

nfl-bills-super_bowl_xxvii_kelly-jim-12-

South Carolina is using a font similar to the old champion font

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That's not close to champion at all.

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