First pro jersey I bought was a powder blue and white Pittsburgh Penguins’ beauty. Cost me $25 and it only took about two weeks to arrive in the East Hill from Doug Laurie Sports in Maple Leaf Gardens.
It was No. 26, worn by Syl Apps, who was a high-scoring centre with the Pens from 1970-76. Wore it a few times and then shelved it when I finally starting growing, about age 21.
Fast forward a few decades and Vernon minor hockey product Eric Godard is playing in Pittsburgh (he retired in November), where his girlfriend Myrika Schipfel, pretty much runs the Penguin wives charity foundation events.
Myrika used to work in our sales department and is a gem of a lady. Much smaller than me. Gave her the jersey which fit her perfectly. She had to sew up a tiny hole in the shoulder which was no big deal.
Anyways, she ended up meeting Apps at a Penguin function a couple of years ago and she had him autograph the jersey. So it’s now probably worth at least 10 times what I paid back in the day which means the now Mrs. Godard owes me a Kris Letang jersey or maybe Beau Bennett. I’m sure we’ll figure something out.
My brother Glenn soon copied my idea and ordered a sweet St. Louis Blues’ No. 7 Glenn, er Gary Unger road jersey.
Before you knew it and Jim Sparrow, a West Vernon kid, had a Darryl Sittler No. 27 sweater. Dave Simms, Bob Mann and other East Hillers soon got in on the jersey act.
Jerseys today are everywhere. Most kids have two or three. Two big kids I know (Akbal Mund and Brian Reid) have more than 100 in their fine collections.
Jerseys can be purchased at several stores and you can choose between a regular copycat for under $100 or spend all your birthday money on a pro-model, complete with stitching.
In today’s pro sporting world, especially the NFL, wearing your team’s sweater to a game is all part of the game-day package.
Sportsnet magazine came out this week with a special collectors edition whereby they honour the best and worst of sports fashion in The Greatest Uniforms in Sports.
The special edition includes a countdown of the 30 greatest uniforms in sports, with fascinating history and images accompanying each selection. The list was created with the help of a panel of uniform design and fashion experts, including FLARE copy editor Julie LeConte, a logo archivist, and sports writers.
“Uniforms matter. Talk to any sports fan and you’ll find they have passionate feelings about the tradition and identity of their favourite teams, all bound up in the colours and symbols they wear onto the field,” says Sportsnet magazine editor-in-chief Steve Maich. “That passion is what’s behind this special issue.”
The list includes seven uniforms from the hockey world, seven from football, six from baseball, five from soccer, four from basketball, and one rugby uniform.
Coming in at No. 1 is the Montreal Canadiens, followed by the New York Yankees.
Some other Canadian favourites that made the list are the Toronto Blue Jays and Saskatchewan Roughriders. International selections include the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, FC Barcelona, and the Boston Celtics.
In addition to the list of the best uniforms, The Greatest Uniforms in Sports takes a look at the worst uniforms of all time, and identifies the colour most often associated with winning.
Stormy KIJHL series in Kamloops
Shortly after a minor hockey coach was jailed for 15 days after tripping a 13-year-old Richmond boy during a post-game handshake, we had some fireworks during a KIJHL playoff game Monday night in Kamloops.
The host Storm lost 6-0 to the North Okanagan Knights in Game 3 of their Junior B playoff series.
Kamloops coach Brad Priestlay, a Nanaimo Clipper grad and former NHLer, and Knights’ coach Kris Mallette, an ex-Kelowna Rocket and minor-pro league enforcer, had a running conversation during the last two periods in a chippy tilt.
According to the Kamloops Daily News, at the end of the second period, Priestlay’s father, Wayne, leaned over the railing and shouted at Mallette. A Knights’ fan got involved and ended up taking Priestlay to the ground.
Mallette said he didn’t know the identity of the mysterious Knights’ fan, but joked to the Daily News: “It wasn’t my dad.”
