sayahh Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Did the Celtics ever use a skinnier font for the jersey number? I found this photo of Larry Bird and I don't know if it was photoshopped or an older (backup?) jersey. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.http://www.nba.com/history/legends/larry-bird/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBTV Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 That's really strange - the insides are angled too, like MLB block. It's not just a skinnier font, it's a totally different one. Nice find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digby Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 The top of the numbers seems angled incorrectly, like the numbers are facing the viewer even though his body is facing to the viewer's left. And something about the Celtics text seems off, too... Photoshop seems plausible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohryan Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 What begs the question though, is WHY is it a photoshop? Bird played his entire career for the Celtics (and he obviously wasn't in college in the picture) so he would have been wearing a Celtics #33 jersey when the picture was taken. What was the point of the photoshop job? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wonderbread Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 What begs the question though, is WHY is it a photoshop? Bird played his entire career for the Celtics (and he obviously wasn't in college in the picture) so he would have been wearing a Celtics #33 jersey when the picture was taken. What was the point of the photoshop job?Just to try to make it look better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phutmasterflex Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Well, it's not the first time he's worn that. Take a look at this from a photo shoot. According to link URL, it's probably from 1987 http://www.spokeo.com/Larry+Bird+1/Jan+01+1987+Other+Photos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhans203 Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Did the Celtics ever use a skinnier font for the jersey number? I found this photo of Larry Bird and I don't know if it was photoshopped or an older (backup?) jersey. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.http://www.nba.com/history/legends/larry-bird/Preseason? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossyo Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 IIRC, that's from preseason 1990 when the NBA on-court apparel license shifted to Champion from MacGregor Sand-Knit. Teams such as the Celtics, Spurs and Jazz that had previously worn Sand-Knit block numbers used the Champion block numbers during that preseason... and then switched back to Sand-Knit block for the regular season. Not sure of the reasoning, but I'm sure teams like the Celtics looked at their jerseys and saw something was 'off.' I do remember some of the jerseys with the Champion font trickling into regular season use, as well.There were several teams that actually adopted the Champion block font full-time in 1990 (and used the font for several years after that): Seattle, Sacramento and Washington. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhans203 Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 IIRC, that's from preseason 1990 when the NBA on-court apparel license shifted to Champion from MacGregor Sand-Knit. Teams such as the Celtics, Spurs and Jazz that had previously worn Sand-Knit block numbers used the Champion block numbers during that preseason... and then switched back to Sand-Knit block for the regular season. Not sure of the reasoning, but I'm sure teams like the Celtics looked at their jerseys and saw something was 'off.' I do remember some of the jerseys with the Champion font trickling into regular season use, as well.There were several teams that actually adopted the Champion block font full-time in 1990 (and used the font for several years after that): Seattle, Sacramento and Washington.That makes sense. I do know that the Jazz wore the different numbers into the season. For instance when they played the Suns in Japan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadojoker Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Not photo shopped. .rossyo is correct. Celtics, Jazz, Pistons (I believe) and several other teams were affected briefly by the manufacturer switch. However some jerseys weren't all fixed by the regular season. I remember this around the 91-93 years teams switched from thick to thin or vice versa in numbers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TornadoGTS Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Getty Images just says "circa 1990"http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/larry-bird-of-the-boston-celtics-walks-on-the-court-during-news-photo/81727688 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhans203 Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Here are the Spurs' jerseys with the thin numbers from what looks like the preseason ... the Spurs player behind Rolando Blackman has the slanted 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBTV Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 IIRC, that's from preseason 1990 when the NBA on-court apparel license shifted to Champion from MacGregor Sand-Knit. Teams such as the Celtics, Spurs and Jazz that had previously worn Sand-Knit block numbers used the Champion block numbers during that preseason... and then switched back to Sand-Knit block for the regular season. Not sure of the reasoning, but I'm sure teams like the Celtics looked at their jerseys and saw something was 'off.' I do remember some of the jerseys with the Champion font trickling into regular season use, as well.There were several teams that actually adopted the Champion block font full-time in 1990 (and used the font for several years after that): Seattle, Sacramento and Washington.That's excellent info. Nice work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sayahh Posted February 13, 2014 Author Share Posted February 13, 2014 Great help, everyone! And what great memory you have! I actually like the Celtics skinny font numbers, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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