Ferdinand Cesarano

Just don't scroll all the way to the bottom. I didn't even notice those ads until the comments about them started appearing in this thread.

I just found that I am unable to edit my posts in the mobile interface. I am using the Chrome browser on my Android phone. Is anyone else experiencing this?

My fate was sealed the first time I saw the 1972 Oakland A's.

My New Orleans Zephyrs hat from around 1995.

Similarly, the Rams used the full names of the (unrelated) pair Jack Youngblood and Jim Youngblood.

Some teams do it one way, some another. What's weird is not having a consistent policy: I remember that, with the Mets, Howard Johnson wore "H. Johnson" while manager Davey Johnson wore "Johnson". I think for a while Ozzie Smith continued to wear "Smith" after Lonnie Smith arived and wore "L. Smith"; but then Ozzie changed to "O. Smith".

Tommy Davis never played in the regular season for the Yankees. He was signed in the winter of 1976, and released a few days before the start of the season.

This isn't rare. The Giants wore white at home against Dallas for several years. I actually used to love this. White at home just looks right in all sports.

Oh, I just noticed that you guys have granted my request to change my username to my full name! Thanks a lot!

I had asked whether the new format of the board would allow users to follow threads on the mobile interface. I see that this had indeed been done. Thanks for that! I had also asked whether usernames can be changed. It seems like this is not the case. I have long wanted to change my username "cesarano" to my full name "Ferdinand Cesarano". The best that I can do is to insert my full name into the "Member Title" field. I understand that allowing free changes of the username could help people dodge accountability for their comments. However, I wonder if I could ask for a case-by-case review of such requests, with the possibility of granting those that are clearly not designed to deceive. I would have chosen my full name as my username from the beginning, if that had been possible. But, if I remember correctly, that ran against the limit in characters which was in place when I first signed up to the board. Is there no way to convert my username from "cesarano" to "Ferdinand Cesarano" (or, if spaces are not allowed, to "FerdinandCesarano")? Another thing that I have noticed is that that quoting a post brings in only the last person's comments. Formerly, quoting a post brought in the entire post, including the quotes that were embedded within that post. I must say that this is not a good change, as reviewing the entire previous exchange is often helpful before reading the new comment. Finally, I don't see the "preview" option. Am I missing it? I have had the experience of pasting an image, only to find in the preview stage that that image is not a supported filetype. Now, without a preview, this will be discovered only when the post goes up; and the user will have to edit the post afterwards. An aside to CS85: I don't understand why using the IMG tags is so bad. That is still the only way to add images in the mobile interface, isn't it? Anyway, I will echo CubsFanBudMan and say thanks for keeping this great site going for so many years.

Will it be possible to alter your user name / display name? Mine is just my surname; but I would like it to be my full name. And, to reprise my earlier question: will it be possible to follow a thread on the mobile interface?

Will we be able to subscribe to a thread in the mobile interface? I believe that this has not been possible up to now.

WHAT?!

Like most things called "rebrands" these days, this is not one. The brand name "Norfolk Tides" has not changed. New packaging -- in the sports context, a new uniform -- does not equate to a rebranding. A rebranding is a change of name. If the manufacturers of your brand of toothpaste changed its packaging, you would not consider it to be a new brand. As long as the name stayed "Crest" or "Colgate" or whatever, it would be the same brand. However, the team should indeed have fully rebranded when it changed from "Tidewater" to "Norfolk". The nickname "Tides" doesn't work when not paired with "Tidewater", just as the nickname "Phillies" wouldn't work if it were not paired with "Philadelphia". But the uniform's colours are wonderful. The "N" cap logo is great, too. The "T" cap is unnecessary. The seahorse would be OK for a secondary logo, like Mr. Met. But no way does it belong on a cap, certainty not as the full-time home cap logo. I like that the home cap is green; a green cap with the "N" logo should be the only one. And I like that the front number is a different colour to the wordmark; this makes it stand out. The fact that the home wordmark is arched but the road mark is straight strikes me as awkward. Both should be arched. Despite this uniform's flaws, it is saved by its colours.

A central park.

I find it more interesting that the left guys kit has the three stripes on it while Pele's kit has one thick stripe. I'd bet that's why. It's also why Johan Cruyff wore only two stripes, rather than three, on his shirt and warm-up jacket during the 1974 World Cup: (bottom row, second from left) By the way, the "other guy" in the Team USA jersey is West Ham legend Bobby Moore, who was then playing in the NASL. He and Pele are flanking Gerry Francis of QPR. That image shows something which I really wish had caught on -- league all-star teams instead of national teams. A "Team USA" consisting of NASL players played against the English national team in 1976. I am a big fan of club football; but I dislike international football because it traffics in nationalism, which I despise. I do watch the World Cup and the Euros; and, because someone has to win, I root for England. But I don't feel good about these tournaments, as the flags make me ill. On the other hand, if the teams participating were representing not countries but leagues, then I could fully get behind it. I'd rather watch a Premier League all-star team play a La Liga all-star team than watch England play Spain. The teams would of course consist of players of multiple nationalities; and these players would move from one league all-star team to another as they change leagues, just as baseball players move from the American League all-star team to the National League all-star team after they change leagues. That would be the kind of World Cup that I would enjoy! There's be no minnows. Just sixteen all-star teams representing the best of the world's top leagues. In my fantasy scenario, there would be four groups, and each group would contain a team from one of the major powers: Premier League (England) La Liga (Spain) Serie A (Italy) Bundesliga (Germany) Then the other twelve teams would be apportioned to groups at random. If it were done right now, those other twelve teams might be: Ligue 1 (France) Eredivisie (Netherlands) Brasileirão (Brazil) Liga MX (Mexico)MLS (U.S. / Canada) Primera División (Argentina) Primeira Liga (Portugal) Championship (Russia) Scottish Professional Football League Belgian Pro League J-League (Japan) Super League (Switzerland) The four major powers would have permanent spots. Qualifying matches would be played in the years before my fantasy World Cup to see which other twelve teams qualify. Alas, this will never be. But it is one of the first things that I would bring into being as King of All Sports. There actually were some 'league all-star" games in the late 80's. They were frendlies and it just didn't catch on. Here's a pic of Maradona and Matthaus in the Serie A team Wow! I had no idea about that! What a shame that it didn't catch on. The most interesting thing to me in that shot is the number font. It is unusual for the Pirates to have varsity numbers; those jerseys typically had regular block numbers, even in 1976. Though they did show some inconsistency that year. Also, evidently the varsity numbers began to be used in 1975, as this 1976 card shows: And, to put up a picture that both illustrates this tangent about the Pirates' sloppliness with the number font, and also actually fits the theme of this thread, here's Willie Randolph in 1975:

I find it more interesting that the left guys kit has the three stripes on it while Pele's kit has one thick stripe. I'd bet that's why. It's also why Johan Cruyff wore only two stripes, rather than three, on his shirt and warm-up jacket during the 1974 World Cup: (bottom row, second from left) By the way, the "other guy" in the Team USA jersey is West Ham legend Bobby Moore, who was then playing in the NASL. He and Pele are flanking Gerry Francis of QPR. That image shows something which I really wish had caught on -- league all-star teams instead of national teams. A "Team USA" consisting of NASL players played against the English national team in 1976. I am a big fan of club football; but I dislike international football because it traffics in nationalism, which I despise. I do watch the World Cup and the Euros; and, because someone has to win, I root for England. But I don't feel good about these tournaments, as the flags make me ill. On the other hand, if the teams participating were representing not countries but leagues, then I could fully get behind it. I'd rather watch a Premier League all-star team play a La Liga all-star team than watch England play Spain. The teams would of course consist of players of multiple nationalities; and these players would move from one league all-star team to another as they change leagues, just as baseball players move from the American League all-star team to the National League all-star team after they change leagues. That would be the kind of World Cup that I would enjoy! There's be no minnows. Just sixteen all-star teams representing the best of the world's top leagues. In my fantasy scenario, there would be four groups, and each group would contain a team from one of the major powers: Premier League (England) La Liga (Spain) Serie A (Italy) Bundesliga (Germany) Then the other twelve teams would be apportioned to groups at random. If it were done right now, those other twelve teams might be: Ligue 1 (France) Eredivisie (Netherlands) Brasileirão (Brazil) Liga MX (Mexico)MLS (U.S. / Canada) Primera División (Argentina) Primeira Liga (Portugal) Championship (Russia) Scottish Professional Football League Belgian Pro League J-League (Japan) Super League (Switzerland) The four major powers would have permanent spots. Qualifying matches would be played in the years before my fantasy World Cup to see which other twelve teams qualify. Alas, this will never be. But it is one of the first things that I would bring into being as King of All Sports. There's only one recognizable club in the SPL at the moment and even Celtic failed to qualify for Champions League this year. The All-Star team of Turkish or Ukrainian league should be much better. Ah, I see. Well, that is what the qualification rounds would be meant to decide. Teams from the leagues of Turkey and the Ukraine, as well as those of China, Norway, and a few others would be competing for inclusion in the twelve spots.

I find it more interesting that the left guys kit has the three stripes on it while Pele's kit has one thick stripe. I'd bet that's why. It's also why Johan Cruyff wore only two stripes, rather than three, on his shirt and warm-up jacket during the 1974 World Cup: (bottom row, second from left) By the way, the "other guy" in the Team USA jersey is West Ham legend Bobby Moore, who was then playing in the NASL. He and Pele are flanking Gerry Francis of QPR. That image shows something which I really wish had caught on -- league all-star teams instead of national teams. A "Team USA" consisting of NASL players played against the English national team in 1976. I am a big fan of club football; but I dislike international football because it traffics in nationalism, which I despise. I do watch the World Cup and the Euros; and, because someone has to win, I root for England. But I don't feel good about these tournaments, as the flags make me ill. On the other hand, if the teams participating were representing not countries but leagues, then I could fully get behind it. I'd rather watch a Premier League all-star team play a La Liga all-star team than watch England play Spain. The teams would of course consist of players of multiple nationalities; and these players would move from one league all-star team to another as they change leagues, just as baseball players move from the American League all-star team to the National League all-star team after they change leagues. That would be the kind of World Cup that I would enjoy! There's be no minnows. Just sixteen all-star teams representing the best of the world's top leagues. In my fantasy scenario, there would be four groups, and each group would contain a team from one of the major powers: Premier League (England) La Liga (Spain) Serie A (Italy) Bundesliga (Germany) Then the other twelve teams would be apportioned to groups at random. If it were done right now, those other twelve teams might be: Ligue 1 (France) Eredivisie (Netherlands) Brasileirão (Brazil) Liga MX (Mexico)MLS (U.S. / Canada) Primera División (Argentina) Primeira Liga (Portugal) Championship (Russia) Scottish Professional Football League Belgian Pro League J-League (Japan) Super League (Switzerland) The four major powers would have permanent spots. Qualifying matches would be played in the years before my fantasy World Cup to see which other twelve teams qualify. Alas, this will never be. But it is one of the first things that I would bring into being as King of All Sports.

I'd completely forgotten Muresan played for the Nets. Now that my memory's been jogged, I remember him in New Jersey in video games I played as a kid. I guess that just slipped out over the years. Also, I really miss those uniforms. A lot. Hear, hear! Short of bringing back the classic ABA uniforms, the best thing the Nets could have done would have been to stick with a version of these. If they wanted to convert this set to black and white, that would have been OK, I guess. (Even though this set used red and blue together better than any other uniform does, better than the Minnesota Twins, the Washington Wizards, the Buffalo Bills, and even the venerable Montreal Canadiens.) But this wordmark and these numbers are far better than the unattractively thin and wispy lettering they have now. And the diamond pattern down the sides of this beautiful set cleverly invokes a net. These uniforms were used for the longest period in team history, and are identified with the team's high point in the NBA, the two trips to the Finals. Ditching this set completely was a bad move. The Nets' current uniforms annoy me more and more as time goes on, doubly so when I consider how much of a downgrade they are from the previous set.

I don't think that's the wrong uniforms for Gretzky. Those kings unis were called the Gretzky era uniforms. Now Gretzky in a blues uniform, THATwas wrong. What about in a Rangers uni, that was even worse ! Atleast he could have come home to Canada in his twilight years, the elephant graveyard known as Toronto would have been more fitting, Greatz as a Ranger was a lame joke, trying desperately for one last ring, but the bulk of the Olier mercenaries were gone Gretzky in the wrong L.A. uniform.

(Though I am pretty sure that this image is already in this thread somewhere.)

I can't remember the font that I used for a plaque graphic that I did last year. Can anyone help identify it? Edit: Ah, I think it is Monotype Corsiva. And, so, here's this year's model:

Here are some baseball players (and one manager) wearing uniforms which they never wore in any official game: Ernie Banks taking batting practice with his son at Dodger Stadium in 1988 Babe Ruth suited up for the Giants in 1923 in a post-season exhibition game in his home town against his former team, the Baltimore Orioles of the American Association. Here he is with manager John McGraw. Joe D. wore a Red Sox uniform in a 1946 post-season exhibition game between the Red Sox and a team of AL all-stars that was played after the regular season and before the World Series. Joe's Yankee uniform somehow didn't arrive at Fenway in time for the game, so he wore a Boston road uniform. Here he is with his brother Dom. At the trading deadline of June 15, 1976, the A's traded Rollie Fingers and Joe Rudi to the A's and Vida Blue to the Yankees. Three days later, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn overruled the trades citing his "best interests of baseball" powers. None of the players got into any games with his new club during these days. Here is Fingers in his Red Sox uniform. The Yankees' first public act after they temporarily moved into Shea Stadium was to introduce Dick Williams as their manager for 1974. However, after the Yankees thought they had Williams signed, A's owner Charlie Finley refused to let Williams out of his contact. Here's Williams at his Yankee unveiling at Shea in December of 1973.

Don't forget that the proposed uniform had blue pants as well. Dark coloured jerseys are bad enough for any team, and totally wrong for the Yankees (as can be seen in spring training). But only a deranged madman could seriously favour dark coloured pants.

By reverse colour are you referring to a top to bottom navy with white pinstripe set or just a gray version? Exactly. While that is just fine as a fan's fashion jersey, it would have been a travesty as a game uni -- don't forget, the pants are blue, as well.The only team that looked good in dark-coloured pants was the White Sox in the late 1970s / early 1980s. (That uniform's lone flaw was that the collars didn't go all the way around the jersey.) Dark pants looked hideous on the Indians and the Phillies. Not even the A's, who looked beautiful while breaking all my other uni "rules" (button-down jersey; belted pants; two unis: white at home, grey on the road) could get away with dark pants. This kind of uni would be wrong for any team; for the Yankees it would have been criminal. If I, at the age that I was then, had seen the Yankees take the field in blue uniforms, I would have been crushed. I'm sure that this would have soured me on the team and would have driven me away. So thank you, Marty Appel, for scaring Gabe Paul away from this idea, thereby allowing me to remain a Yankee fan, and to enjoy the championships that the team was soon to win.