This week’s Spotlight is a celebration of the opening of another incredible Baseball season. We are also going to pay tribute to another great tradition of March Madness and do a bracket for the best uniform in Negro Leagues History.
We need you to pick the winners!
Our field and rankings are brought to us by the incomparable Phil Hecken - Uniform Aficionado & Deputy Editor of Uni Watch, a website devoted to the Obsessive Study of Athletic Aesthetics.
Phil also used to write for the Sporting News and has been quoted in the Washington Post and had some sports photography appear on ESPN
Today – The Elite Eight
Who will be the winner of the Satchel Paige Regional
#1 - 1935 Homestead Grays vs. #8 - 1942 Kansas City Monarchs.
The #1 seed is the 1935 Homestead Grays – Phil’s comments “There are several iterations of the Grays unis I love, but this one is probably my most favorite. The thin, elegant ‘Tiffany’ font, the subtle arching and bold piping, and of course, seeing it on Josh Gibson makes it my top NLB jersey.”
The 8th seed - 1942 Kansas City Monarchs – Phil’s comments “I LOOOOOOVE this one. The beautifully vertically arched "MONARCHS," the piping, the red sleeves. It all works so well together. It was great seeing the KC Royals bring this to life during several of the NLB throwback games. There are several great Monarchs unis, but this one may be their best yet. And anyone who knows their history knows '42 was a great year for the team!”
VOTE FOR THE WINNER OF THE SATCHEL PAIGE REGIONAL
IN THE COMMENTS BELOW
#1 - 1935 Homestead Grays vs. #8 - 1942 Kansas City Monarchs.
Who will be the winner of the Buck O'Neil Regional
#12 - 1946 Newark Eagles vs. #13 - 1939 Philadelphia Stars
Coming in at #12 - 1946 Newark Eagles – Phil’s comments - the team that won the 1946 Negro League Championship also did so wearing their finest uniform, it was beautifully simple, with merely “Eagles” in script on the front, and an elegant “E” on the cap. No frills. Just perfection.”
Next is the 13th seed – The 1939 Philadelphia Stars. Coming in at #13 - 1939 Philadelphia Stars – Phil’s comments “throughout their history, the Stars always had nice uniforms, but for some reason, this particular iteration always stands out for me, the abbreviated “PHILA.” (w/colored button for a period!) spread across chest (as opposed to stacked version of later vintage) is endearing.”
VOTE FOR THE WINNER OF THE BUCK O'NEIL REGIONAL
IN THE COMMENTS BELOW
#12 - 1946 Newark Eagles vs. #13 - 1939 Philadelphia Stars
Who will be the winner of the Josh Gibson Regional
#3 - 1920 Detroit Stars vs. #11 - 1935 Pittsburgh Crawfords.
First up is #3 1920 Detroit Stars - The Stars had several great uniforms, but this one is easily my favorite. The solid midnight blue (I think) placket piping, the red "DET" and "OIT" with the white "R" and red star are a look that would look great today. Fortunately, the Detroit Tigers have brought this uniform to life during NLB throwback games.
Coming in at #11 - 1935 Pittsburgh Crawfords – Phil's comments "it was hard to leave this uni off the Top 10. The pinstripes, the red piping and script Crawfords would actually seem not to work together, but yet they do, beautifully. It didn’t hurt that Josh Gibson wore this either."
VOTE FOR THE WINNER OF THE JOSH GIBSON REGIONAL
IN THE COMMENTS BELOW
#3 - 1920 Detroit Stars vs. #11 - 1935 Pittsburgh Crawfords
Who will be the winner of the Rube Foster Regional
#2 - 1920 Chicago American Giants vs. #7 - 1949 Baltimore Elite Giants
The #2 seed 1920 Chicago American Giants - Phil's comments - "This could easily be my favorite NLB uni of all time (which the Chicago White Sox threw back to some years ago). Like the solid dark Royal Giants, I love how this one looks. And while I don't normally like pinstripes on a road uniform, I'm in love with this one."
First is the 7th seed - 1949 Baltimore Elite Giants - This is one of my favorite road jerseys of all time. Clearly not designed for TV, you had to be very close to this one to read the "ELITE GIANTS" contained in the tail of the script. But that's part of the beauty of it. The "Baltimore" script is magnificent as well.
VOTE FOR THE WINNER OF THE RUBE FOSTER REGIONAL
IN THE COMMENTS BELOW
#2 - 1920 Chicago American Giants vs. #7 - 1949 Baltimore Elite Giants
#HistoryInYourSize
