I'm a bit disappointed with this scan; the swatch of jersey embedded in this Jim Palmer card is much brighter and much oranger (that should be a word) in person. This could very well be one of the jerseys that made poor Boog Powell look like a giant pumpkin in the early 1970s, when the O's briefly flirted with the ill-conceived all-orange polyester uniform. Paul Lukas has made this sort of sports habadashery his domain with the excellent Uni Watch blog, which has gone from the Village Voice to ESPN.com and branched out into the aforementioned wide-ranging personal site. It was through Paul's site that I first stumbled upon Mets by the Numbers, which inspired me to compile the uniform number history of the Orioles. So it was with great excitement that I learned (just this morning!) that Paul would be hosting a Uni Watch get-together this evening at Racer's in Parkville, a nifty little bar that was just 25 minutes from my house.
I had a great time meeting Paul and talking sports with him and with several local fanatics, including Joe Hilseberg, who used to stitch the letters and numbers on jerseys for the Orioles and the Ravens. Joe and I have corresponded by email on several occasions, and he selflessly put his graphic design skills to use by producing a number of great-looking images for my NumerOlogy site. Of course, the topper on the evening was watching a hard-fought 6-4 victory by the O's over Paul's Mets, which I hope he won't hold against his fans and contemporaries in Baltimore.
Kevin... hope you had fun at the Uniwatch gathering. His blog is a favorite of mine.
ReplyDeleteThat's a classic Palmer@Yankee Stadium picture that UD used. I've seen it before. Cool card, kind of busy, but cool.
I 100 percent LOVED the orange jerseys when I was a kid. The 1979 World Series was the most colorful in history.
ReplyDeleteNow, I fully realize I am wearing rose-colored glasses (or more appropriately orange-colored glasses), looking at my childhood and all, but I wouldn't mind seeing some more colorful uniforms these days.
I believe that bright orange gem jumped from my collection to yours.
ReplyDeleteWe have traded 6-4 games, who takes the rubber match? and will it be a 6-4 final? i'll be there to find out...
Bob - It was a blast. It was only supposed to go until 9:30, but Joe and I were probably the last two to straggle out at 10.
ReplyDeleteGreg - Yeah, I get a kick out of the orange jerseys. For one Tuesday home game each month, the O's do a t-shirt giveaway with a player's name and number on the back. The shirts are bright orange, which adds a lot of color to the ballpark!
Max - I believe you are correct, sir. As far as tonight's game, the pitching matchup surprisingly seems to benefit you. Best of luck!