Gothamite Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Does anyone know what that patch is on the jersey? I don't think I've seen anywhere else. No idea.Could it be some sort of Denver civic thing? I don't think I've seen that one before.But then again, my real knowledge of the American Association ends in 1952, and my PCL knowledge evaporates after the Giants moved west. What year is that picture? The Green Bay Packers Uniform Database! Now in a handy blog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roxfan00 Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Does anyone know what that patch is on the jersey? I don't think I've seen anywhere else. No idea.Could it be some sort of Denver civic thing? I don't think I've seen that one before.But then again, my real knowledge of the American Association ends in 1952, and my PCL knowledge evaporates after the Giants moved west. What year is that picture?Not sure on the exact year of the picture but the player is Curt Roberts and I found this bit of info about him.While playing winter baseball for a team in Mexico, he was scouted by the pirate organization, signed by Andy Cohen and began playing for the Denver Bears, of the pacific Coast League, a Pirate Farm Team. The years from 1951 through 1953 was spent at Second Base and during and the fall of 1953 he was called up by Branch Ricky, stepped accross the color barrier for Pittsburgh seven years after Branch Rickey signed Jackie Robinson for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. Curt started his first game against the Philadelphia Phillies April 13, 1954. "Mr. President, call in the National Guard! Send as many men as you can spare! Because we are killing the Patriots! They need emergency help!" - Shannon Sharpe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gothamite Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Okay, so it's 1951-1953. Good work.Don't recall any PCL-wide patches that looked like that from the period. So maybe it was a Denver thing? The Green Bay Packers Uniform Database! Now in a handy blog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roxfan00 Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Okay, so it's 1951-1953. Good work.Don't recall any PCL-wide patches that looked like that from the period. So maybe it was a Denver thing?I know in 1976 all the pro teams in Denver wore a Colorado Bicentennial patch on their jerseys, but that was in 76, so it could be a Denver thing or an Anniversary patch, who knows. "Mr. President, call in the National Guard! Send as many men as you can spare! Because we are killing the Patriots! They need emergency help!" - Shannon Sharpe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkhaha Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Does anyone know what that patch is on the jersey? I don't think I've seen anywhere else. No idea.Could it be some sort of Denver civic thing? I don't think I've seen that one before.But then again, my real knowledge of the American Association ends in 1952, and my PCL knowledge evaporates after the Giants moved west. What year is that picture?Not sure on the exact year of the picture but the player is Curt Roberts and I found this bit of info about him.While playing winter baseball for a team in Mexico, he was scouted by the pirate organization, signed by Andy Cohen and began playing for the Denver Bears, of the pacific Coast League, a Pirate Farm Team. The years from 1951 through 1953 was spent at Second Base and during and the fall of 1953 he was called up by Branch Ricky, stepped accross the color barrier for Pittsburgh seven years after Branch Rickey signed Jackie Robinson for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. Curt started his first game against the Philadelphia Phillies April 13, 1954.A question and several comments. First, where did you find this great photo? I'm always on the lookout for old Bears stuff, and I've never seen this one before.A couple of clarifications on the info quoted above: The Bears actually played in the Class A Western League from 1949-54. In 1955, when the Philadelphia Athletics moved to Kansas City, the Howsam family of Denver (the Bears' owners) bought the Kanasas City Blues, a Yankees affiliate, and moved them to Denver. The Bears played in the American Association from 1955-62, then the Pacific Coast League from 1963-68, and then back to the Association.Also, just wanted to note the passing of Bob Howsam -- the sports world in general and Denver in particular would have been a lot different without him. He was the longtime owner of the Bears, the first owner of the Broncos, and subsequently the GM of World Champion teams in St. Louis and Cincinnati. I had a lovely conversation with him last year, which you can read about in an earlier post in this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roxfan00 Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Some more Denver Bears photos. Notice the Frank Torre(Joe Torre's brother) drawing. "Mr. President, call in the National Guard! Send as many men as you can spare! Because we are killing the Patriots! They need emergency help!" - Shannon Sharpe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roxfan00 Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Does anyone know what that patch is on the jersey? I don't think I've seen anywhere else. No idea.Could it be some sort of Denver civic thing? I don't think I've seen that one before.But then again, my real knowledge of the American Association ends in 1952, and my PCL knowledge evaporates after the Giants moved west. What year is that picture?Not sure on the exact year of the picture but the player is Curt Roberts and I found this bit of info about him.While playing winter baseball for a team in Mexico, he was scouted by the pirate organization, signed by Andy Cohen and began playing for the Denver Bears, of the pacific Coast League, a Pirate Farm Team. The years from 1951 through 1953 was spent at Second Base and during and the fall of 1953 he was called up by Branch Ricky, stepped accross the color barrier for Pittsburgh seven years after Branch Rickey signed Jackie Robinson for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. Curt started his first game against the Philadelphia Phillies April 13, 1954.A question and several comments. First, where did you find this great photo? I'm always on the lookout for old Bears stuff, and I've never seen this one before.A couple of clarifications on the info quoted above: The Bears actually played in the Class A Western League from 1949-54. In 1955, when the Philadelphia Athletics moved to Kansas City, the Howsam family of Denver (the Bears' owners) bought the Kanasas City Blues, a Yankees affiliate, and moved them to Denver. The Bears played in the American Association from 1955-62, then the Pacific Coast League from 1963-68, and then back to the Association.Also, just wanted to note the passing of Bob Howsam -- the sports world in general and Denver in particular would have been a lot different without him. He was the longtime owner of the Bears, the first owner of the Broncos, and subsequently the GM of World Champion teams in St. Louis and Cincinnati. I had a lovely conversation with him last year, which you can read about in an earlier post in this thread.I found the photo here. Curt Roberts "Mr. President, call in the National Guard! Send as many men as you can spare! Because we are killing the Patriots! They need emergency help!" - Shannon Sharpe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkhaha Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 I found the photo here. Curt RobertsThanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkhaha Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 Mastro Auctions has one of the Denver Bears strike zone unis on the block! I have half a mind to place a bid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gothamite Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 Holy cow.That's beautiful. The Green Bay Packers Uniform Database! Now in a handy blog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerodynamix Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 I second Gothamite on this one. Too bad it wasn't in the least bit popular. Unique in its own little way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulldogbarks55 Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 I'm trying to gather all the Denver Bears stuff I can, for a project. I want higher resolution logos, but no luck. Here's what I got so far:I have a fascination with the team for some reason.Here's a pretty good history of the Bears/Zephyrs.Here are some photos I have from old programs. The first three are from a 1964 program, the last is from 1972 (actually a pic of the previous year's championship squad). Perhaps because they remind me of my youth, I think the home uniforms with the script "Bears" in red with navy drop shadow are the greatest ever... Also love the sleeve patch with bear holding the bat.I've ordered a 1969 home jersey from Ebbets Field Flannels; it should be pretty much like the ones in the picture of the 1971 team above. Alas, it won't have the distinctive script and drop-shadow of the mid-sixties unis.The Denver Bears may have held first place each day in the American Association. But they ended up losing the 1971 Little World Series in seven games to the Rochester Red Wings who were led by Don Baylor, Bobby Grich, Johnny Oates, Terry Crowley and Rich Coggins. All seven mid-September games were played at Rochester's Silver (nee Red Wing) Stadium because Mile High Stadium was taken over by the Broncos. I attended some of the games with the Wings and Bears alternating being the home team. The Red Wings won game seven 9-6 without Grich (who had been called up to Baltimore to replace an injured Mark Belanger) before 7,517 fans who were very cordial to the visiting Bears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TruColor Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 This is a great thread that I somehow missed the first time around.A favor to ask - can any of you help me put together the team colors used by the Bears over the years? I can see that for the most part that they wore some combinations of Navy and White, Navy and Red, and even Blue and Red (those "strike zone" unis), but I would like to put together some estimates for the years they wore each combination. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mantleisthebest7 Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 Anyone know where the Bears' wordmarks and logos might be kicking around? I'm feeling a concept coming along...... Jimmy Eat World Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkhaha Posted April 13, 2008 Share Posted April 13, 2008 This is a great thread that I somehow missed the first time around.A favor to ask - can any of you help me put together the team colors used by the Bears over the years? I can see that for the most part that they wore some combinations of Navy and White, Navy and Red, and even Blue and Red (those "strike zone" unis), but I would like to put together some estimates for the years they wore each combination. Thanks!I'm going to quote myself from an earlier post in this thread. For several years, Ebbets Field Flannels sold what was supposed to be a Denver Bears 1962 hat that was brown and orange. In my research I could never find any evidence to suggest that they had ever had those colors, so I tracked down former owner Bob Howsam and former GM Jim Burris:"Just got off the phone with former Bears owner and Cardinals and Reds general manager Bob Howsam, who is now retired in Sun City, Arizona. What a delightful man -- he's gotta be around 90, and he's still sharp as a tack. When I started asking him about the Bears' uniforms and colors, he even brought up the strike-zone unis! "Anyway, he confirmed for me that the Bears NEVER had brown and orange colors. He said they were always navy and white and often added red to the mix (before and after the pinstripe years of the late 50s to early 60s). Combined with an e-mail I got a few months ago from Jim Burris (who became the Bears' GM in 1965), who said the Bears' colors were navy and red before he got there, I think I've gotten to the bottom of a mystery that has bugged me for years. Of course, my wife still thinks I'm insane for worrying about stuff like this..."Mr. Howsam said that the dark color was always navy blue; the fact that it looks a little lighter in the strike-zone uni pics may be attributable to fading. Anyway, the modern Bears were formed as Single A team in 1947, and the photos seem to suggest navy (or some shade of) blue with red. In 1955 the Howsam's bought the Yankees Triple A affiliate in Kansas City and moved them to Denver. At this time the Bears switched to navy blue pinstripes, which they wore through the 1962 season. In1963 they re-introduced the red with the classic red Bears script with navy drop=shadow, as shown in earlier photos on this spread. Somewhere around 1982 or so they went with a lighter blue that was not as light as royal but not as dark as navy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TruColor Posted April 13, 2008 Share Posted April 13, 2008 Mr. Howsam said that the dark color was always navy blue; the fact that it looks a little lighter in the strike-zone uni pics may be attributable to fading. Anyway, the modern Bears were formed as Single A team in 1947, and the photos seem to suggest navy (or some shade of) blue with red. In 1955 the Howsam's bought the Yankees Triple A affiliate in Kansas City and moved them to Denver. At this time the Bears switched to navy blue pinstripes, which they wore through the 1962 season. In1963 they re-introduced the red with the classic red Bears script with navy drop=shadow, as shown in earlier photos on this spread. Somewhere around 1982 or so they went with a lighter blue that was not as light as royal but not as dark as navy.There we go...thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roxfan00 Posted April 13, 2008 Share Posted April 13, 2008 "Mr. President, call in the National Guard! Send as many men as you can spare! Because we are killing the Patriots! They need emergency help!" - Shannon Sharpe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkhaha Posted April 13, 2008 Share Posted April 13, 2008 OK, I'm intrigued! That most certainly looks brown and orange to me. Is that photo of an actual game-worn jersey, or is it one made by Ebbets Field or some other company? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artmanc3po Posted April 13, 2008 Share Posted April 13, 2008 Just found the thread--sorry I'm catching it so late. Weren't the Denver Zephyrs the Reds' AAA affiliate for a short, short while in the mid-80s? I live in the Louisville area, and somehow I remember watching the Redbirds playing a green and blue clad Zephyrs team with its young, budding star shortstop, Barry Larkin. If I remember right, they had kelly green hats with a white Z trimmed in navy, with a navy bill. Unis had green numbering and lettering with navy trim. Am I remembering wrong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkhaha Posted April 13, 2008 Share Posted April 13, 2008 Well, until Roxfan lets us know where that patch came from, I'm assuming it's a stab and recreating the Bears' 1963-68 design. It looks like a nice try, but a blow-up of the photo from my sig reveals some inaccuracies:The most noticeable differences are the bear's white face, claws on the feet and the position of the bat... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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