Brewers Concept Uniform - Matt Malinoski

More Uni Watch goodness from the weekend, this time a concept uniform for the National League Brewers that builds on the legacy of our Brews.

Concepts are a regular feature on Uni Watch, and Weekend Editor Phil Hecken had a great one for us yesterday, introducing us to the work of Matt Malinoski and his concept uniforms for Major League clubs. Yesterday, we saw his designs for the Red Sox and the NL Central.

Here's his proposal for the Brew Crew:

He describes the concept this way:

This concept is derived from the 1943 AA Brewers home uniforms. The colors are reversed, based on what I have read about its color scheme. I got the idea from the uniform that "Owgust" is wearing in the illustration from one of their program covers. I used the "M" from their 1942 set because the 1943 caps had a very plain sans-serif "M" and I added a white outline to it. These have a button front instead of a zipper because the zipper breaks up the "w". Made a barrel man patch on sleeve. Road uniform is a gray version of the home uniform, instead of the red-and-white one they wore. Included 1940s jacket. This was my entry for the Youniform contest.

Outstanding.

The uniform, as he notes, is a color-flipped version of the Brewers uniforms introduced by Bill Veeck, with its elegant "Brewers" script and piping at the neck and cuffs. The blue is also darkened a bit to the 1947-52 navy rather than the royal of the early 1940s.

I'm afraid that his dates are a bit confused, no doubt because the Brewers of that period wore two entirely different uniform sets at Borchert Field.

The other was a holdover from the pre-Veeck era; white jerseys and pants with thick blue piping and a red block "M" on the chest.

Introduced in 1938 or '39, it appears to have persisted as an alternate of sorts after the introduction of Veeck's uniform. Photo cards of the players, produced by Grand Studio and sold at Borchert Field, featured the block-M uniforms in 1943.

Why two different uniform sets? Why hang on to the old one at all? I'm afraid that I don't know. And in any case, the Brewers appear to have dropped that one entirely by 1944.

This will all hopefully be a little clearer when we start to roll out our Brewer uniform history later this year.

So let's look at the details. The block "M" comes from the pre-Veeck uniform, the rest from Veeck's uniform.

It's a little too heavy on red for our True Blue Brew Crew to wear, but looks good on its own. And I'll never get tired of seeing that script.

We've discussed the early-1950s jacket before; it's fantastic. This particular version of Owgust comes from 1952; it's a solid image of the character (one we use for our iOS homescreen icon), and setting him in a roundel is a good choice. I like the deco-ish font, too.

Excellent work, Matt!

Phil notes that we can expect to see Matt's take on the NL East next. Can't wait to see it.

Uni Watch - "The Spirit of '48"

Yesterday's Uni Watch featured a great summary of the recent 1948 Turn Back the Clock game. I'm rather tickled to note that he used the same image for his splash as I did in my recap: Rickie Weeks turning the double-play.

He also has this little nugget, which I hadn't heard before, submitted by a reader named Tim:

The Twins proposed having the two teams wear the throwbacks early in the week in Milwaukee and then again Thursday in Minneapolis, as the teams were playing four consecutive games this week, two in each city.

Problem was, Milwaukee chose not to host a throwback game with these uniforms, since they felt they were wearing enough throwbacks at home already this year.

"Wearing enough throwbacks at home"? There's the 1913 throwbacks they wore on May 5, but I'm not aware of any others. Unless, of course, they're counting the royal-and-gold pinstriped retro uniforms that most Brewer fans think should be their regular set.

Shame that the Miller Park crowd won't have an opportunity to see the gorgeous throwbacks in person, but the Brewers have a ridiculous number of uniforms—this year they'll wear in rotation:

• home whites;
• road grays;
• navy home alternate with "Brewers";
• navy road alternate with "Milwaukee";
• gold alternate; and
• and retro throwback.

To which list we can add the one-offs:

• the "Cerveceros" Spanish-heritage jerseys;
• the new-for-2013 "Piwowarzy" Polish Hetitage jerseys;
• 1913 throwbacks;
• Negro League throwbacks; and
• the spring training "YOUniform" contest winner that will undoubtedly make its way on to the Miller Park field sometime this season.

That's twelve different jerseys the Brew Crew will wear in 2013, including the throwback from Minnesota. I'd speculate that the lack of any consistent brand might indicate the fans' dissatisfaction with the Brewers' regular look, but I don't know if the team would agree.

Turning Back the Clock to... 1948

Rickie Weeks jumps clear of Minnesota's Jamey Carroll as he throws to first base to complete a double play. - Image credit: Associated Press

Last night, in Minneapolis, the Brewers participated in their second Turn Back the Clock game of the season honoring our American Association Brewers. The first, a game at Miller Park commemorating the centennial of the Brews' first pennant, was an event I had been involved with for nearly a year. I first suggested the game to ONMilwaukee.com's Doug Russell in May of 2012, and worked with the Brewers on and off throughout the late summer and fall with research on the uniforms. By the time the event was officially unveiled, I had lived with it long enough that it seemed almost an afterthought.

The Twins' announcement earlier this month that they and the Brewers would hold a 1948 TBTC event, by contrast, came right out of the blue. I hadn't heard anything about that one, a very welcome surprise.

These events are coordinated (and paid for) by the home team, and like the Brewers earlier this year the Twins hit a home run.

Shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt and catcher Jonathan Lucroy model the throwback uniforms before the game

The uniforms were based on a surviving 1948 jersey worn by catcher Walt Linden that surfaced at auction last year. Majestic made one significant revision in their reproduction, replacing the original zipper with a button-up front, but other than that captured the spirit precisely.

The Twins played the game as the 1948 Saint Paul Saints. Each of the Twin Cities had their own representative in the American Association; the Millers from Minneapolis and the Saints of Saint Paul. For this game, the Twins not only elected to play as the Saints but to wear Saint Paul's road uniforms: gray with blue piping and lettering.

The official reason for this decision was to give Saint Paul-born Joe Mauer the opportunity to wear his hometown's name across his chest, but I also wonder if the existence of the new independent St. Paul Saints club might not have had something to do with that as well. Regardless of the reason, the Twins took the field in road grays and the Brewers in their home creams.

That field was itself festooned with references to the Saints. Every digital reference around the ballpark was changed to reflect the Twins' temporary name, and the bases were emblazoned with 1948 logos:

The Twins' ground crew got into the act with "Lexington Park" jackets, reflecting the Saints' old ballpark.

Although clearly a modern jacket in cut and fit, the style of the lettering reminds me of the Grounds Crew jackets sold by Ebbets Field Flannels in Seattle. Interestingly, Ebbets currently offers a Borchert Field version, and one for the Millers' Nicollet Park, but Saint Paul is currently not represented in their catalog.

In the early innings, Brewer starter Kyle Lohse looked pretty good on the mound in both senses of the word. He retired the first six batters in order, and the evening sunlight showed off the beautiful uniforms to their best advantage:

Kyle Lohse started for the Brewers. Image credit: Associated Press

The "Saints" also looked great. A relatively simple uniform, but very well executed and with enough detail to keep it interesting. The Twins had custom royal-blue helmets with the Saints' "STP" logo on them:

Justin Morneau, right, congratulates Joe Mauer after Mauer's home run off Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Kyle Lohse in the fourth inning. Image credit: Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

The Brewers had to make do with their regular helmets, stripped of the contemporary "barley-M" logo, as we can see from this shot later in the game:

Aramis Ramirez and Yuniesky Betancourt celebrate after scoring on Logan Schafer's triple. - Image credit: Getty Images

Surely they could have at least worked up a block "M" decal; a rare oversight in an otherwise excellent event. Note also the modern style decals on the back of Ramirez's helmet: the Times New Roman "16" and navy/gold batterman.

The wheels started to fall off in the third. Lohse give up four home runs to stake the Minnesotans to a 6-0 lead in the fifth inning.

Minnesota's Joe Mauer connects for a home run off Kyle Lohse in the fourth inning. - Image credit: MCT

That means today most of the widely-disseminated photos we have of the game involve a very unhappy-looking Lohse.

Kyle Lohse reacts after allowing a home run to Minnesota's Chris Parmelee in the third inning. - Image credit: Getty Images

Kyle Lohse waits for a new baseball as Minnesota's Joe Mauer rounds the bases after hitting a home run. - Image credit: Associated Press

Not to mention this picture of a mound visit.

Brewers pitching coach Rick Kranitz visits the mound to talk with Kyle Lohse and Jonathan Lucroy after Lohse allowed his fourth home run of the game and third in the fourth inning, to Minnesota's Ryan Doumit. - Image credit: Getty Images

Minnesota's Chris Parmelee is tagged out at the plate Jonathan Lucroy in the eighth inning. - Image credit: Associated Press

The Brewers were able to come back in later innings, even making a game of it, but in the end fall to the "Saints", 6-8.

Aramis Ramirez reacts to a called strike. - Image credit: Getty Images

The game was a frustrating one for Brewer fans (something we're used to this season), but could hardly have been better for fans of Milwaukee's baseball legacy.

Our First Look at 1948

Today, we got our first look at what tonight's 1948 throwback uniforms will look like on actual Brewers (as opposed to a Twins intern). The ever-indispensible John & Cait... Plus Nine blog on MLB.com posted these photos of Yuniesky Betancourt and Jonathan Lucroy taken at Target Field.

Thanks to MLB's At Bat app, I have our first look at the Brewers' 1948 Turn Back the Clock uniforms in action. 

Unfortunately, the only clip up so far involves Kyle Lohse giving up a home run. Solo, at least. 

Looks good so far. The uniforms, at any rate. 

(Update) And, in the time it took me to post those pics, Lohse has given up three more home runs.  5-0, Minnesota. 

This is shades of the 1913 game all over again. 

I think that'll be all for tonight - I'll post a more comprehensive review tomorrow. 

Walt Linden's 1948 jersey

As we continue to look ahead to the Brewers' Turn Back the Clock to 1948 game this week in Minneapolis, let's look at the artifact that made it possible.

This beautiful Brewers jersey was sold at auction about a year ago. It illustrates a team in transition from longtime independent operator to the top level of the Boston Braves' farm system.

Heritage Auctions

Heritage Auctions

The auction catalogue states:

1948 Walt Linden Game Worn Milwaukee Brewers Jersey.   Home white flannel was worn by catcher Linden as a member of the Boston Braves affiliate Milwaukee Brewers (Triple-A, American Association). Functional zipper front bisects "Brewers" in red and black felt on chest. Number "28" on verso has some seam separation but remains firmly affixed. "Linden" embroidered swatch appears beneath "Wilson [size] 42" tagging at interior collar. Solid wear throughout.

It's a gorgeous jersey, in amazing shape for being sixty-five years old. The catalog description captures it well, even if the trim is actually midnight navy, not black.

Although this particular jersey is from 1948, the design dates to the previous season and represents a stepping stone between eras in the team history. The "Brewers" script itself was introduced in 1942, part of a re-branding from new owners Bill Veeck and Charlie Grimm. That design lasted until 1946. Veeck had sold the club to Chicago attorney Oscar Salenger in October of 1945, but Salenger was unable to fund the transactions needed for the club to stay independent. After fielding interest from the White Sox, among others, Salenger sold the team to Lou Perini, owner of the Boston Braves, near the end of the 1946 season.

Beginning with the following Opening Day, in April of 1947, the Brews started looking a little more like the Braves. The Brewers' dark royal blue was replaced by Braves navy, the single-color thick blue soutache with the Braves' thin and distinctive navy/red/navy piping. The Brewers did keep their elegant 1942 script, if in the new color scheme, for the first several seasons they were in Boston's chain.

It's unclear as to how much a resemblance to the Braves was really intended in 1947; when the club's new uniforms arrived the day before their first game, the Brewers discovered that they had mistakenly been sent a shipment of Boston Braves jerseys, complete with Indian-head patch on the sleeve. The Milwaukee Sentinel's Lloyd Larson reported it this way in his column:

Fortunately for the Brewers, a snowstorm pushed the opening back one day, giving them time to correct the mistake. They made "a hurry call to a local sporting goods house"—possibly Burghardt, which had been supplying the Brewers at least since the early 1930s and would have been familiar with their chest script—and the new jerseys were stripped of their Boston iconography and repurposed for the Brews.

This jersey needed no such alteration; this style, intentional or otherwise, was retained for a second season and arrived from the manufacturer with the Brewers name laid over the Braves-style piping. The design would continue to evolve, culminating in the near-clone of the Braves' uniforms they would adopt by 1952.

As for the man who wore our exemplar in 1948, Walt Linden was a catcher who spent eight years in the minors, most of it in the Braves' farm system, playing at Borchert Field for parts of the 1947, '48 and '50 seasons. In 1948, he started with the Brewers but only played in five games before being shipped to the Braves' lower-level club in Hartford, Connecticut. He persisted with the organization and finally broke into the big club's roster with a three-game cup of coffee in 1950.

Linden's entry in the 1948 edition of Who's Who in the American Association mentions that he was signed to his first pro contract by Red Smith, who was a longtime Brewer coach and personnel man but in 1948 was coaching for the Cubs.

That entry also highlights a uniform development that was new for '48: a white block "M" on the caps to match the parent club's "B". In 1947, the Brewers were wearing navy caps with red bills and "M"s.

I doubt that we would see our National League Brewers in 1948 uniforms had this particular example not recently come to light. I also can't help but notice that the two jerseys available for sale on MLB's online shop utilize digits from the distinctive number set on the back of this jersey.

This jersey is an important piece of Milwaukee's baseball history, preserved through the years and now passed down, via the Minnesota Twins, to an entirely new generation of Brewer fans.

And Now, the 1948 Merchandise

We're still a week away from the the Brewers/St. Paul Saints throwback game in Minnesota, but retro merchandise from that game is now available on Major League Baseball's online store.

Of course, jerseys are a popular item, and they're now available.

The piping on these renderings is wrong—it should be navy/red/navy, not solid red—but I'm willing to chalk that up to a Photoshop error. Hopefully the retail authentics will look more like the ones at the unveiling:

As with the 1913 throwback jerseys, you can't customize a specific number (shame, as I'd love that "48" above). And again, you can order one with Ryan Braun's #8:

Unlike the 1913 throwback, however, a second number is available:

I really don't understand MLB's pricing. Putting Braun's #8 on the back adds $20 to the price, but Jonathan Lucroy's double-digit number increases that by only a buck.

If the retail jerseys are a bit out of your price range, you could always look at picking up one of these jersey t-shirts.

That really captures the spirit of the Brews' elegant script. Again, this is a Photoshop rendering, but I really hope the wordmark looks like that.

The blank version retails for $21.99, and for five dollars more you can get a name and number on the back, the same choice of Braun or Lucroy.

Then we have the caps, the most ubiquitous retail item:

This is the first throwback cap available this season. The Brewers had intended to sell white 1913 throwback caps, but New Era's inability to match Majestic's cream jerseys necessitated a last-minute change to blue caps, preventing MLB's merchandise machine from taking full advantage of the opportunity.

These 1948 Brewer caps appear to be the same as the Milwaukee Braves caps New Era has been selling for several years.

There are no additional pictures of the cap on MLB's site, but from the unveiling we know that the caps will have Jerry Dior's "batterman" logo on the back of the cap, as all modern game caps do.

As for the Brewers' opponents in the game, the shop only has two items, or rather one item in two forms; the 1948 throwback jersey, with or without Joe Mauer's number on the back.

...and that's it. No caps, no t-shirts. Based on the initial unveiling, I was expecting a whole line of t-shirts, jackets and more.

Perhaps those will be added soon, or perhaps they will be Target Field exclusives. I can't imagine they'd let the visiting Brewers outshine them in the marketplace.

So go check 'em out, and be sure to pick something up. I've already ordered a t-shirt. Support your Brews!