Sports Archives - The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

Jun112013 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Ads from the Open Road, Volume 2: Phoenix Suns Billboards

For this, the second volume featuring photographs of vintage billboard ads, I'm tightening the focus a bit. This group of billboards was displayed in the Phoenix, Arizona area in 1969 and advertised the new Phoenix Suns basketball team. The 1969-70 season was the franchise's second in the NBA, and it was the year they made a dramatic turnaround from 7th place to 3rd. This was thanks in large part to the addition of Connie Hawkins (#42, who appears in a few of the ads), who came from the ABA and went on to the Hall of Fame. Hawkins led the Suns to a 39-43 record, and they nearly won their first-ever playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers until they lost three straight games. All images courtesy Duke University's Digital Collections site. Click for a larger version. ...

Apr152013 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

The Boston Marathon, 1930

Photography, Sports

Felt like I should say something or, in this case, show something positive in light of today's darkness. The Boston Marathon will return, of course. As it should. No amount of sickness, evil, or insanity can prevent it. As it should not. (via Flickr)

Mar132013 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Vintage Photo Wednesday, Vol. 29: The ’34 Pittsburgh Pirates Warm Up Their Bats

Vintage Photo Wednesday

Opening Day of the 2013 Major League Baseball season is just a few weeks away, so I'll depart from my usual fare and try to bust out some hardball pics between now and then (as I did last year with this gallery of baseball clubs from the late 19th to early 20th centuries). Here's a neat one via the old Acme Newsphotos company. It shows members of the 1934 Pittsburgh Pirates squad lighting a fire with their baseball bats. The original caption was "Heavy Hitters of the Pirates." From left to right are Charles "Red" Lucas, Gus Suhr, Larry French, Harold "Pie" Traynor, Freddie Lindstrom, Paul Waner, and Lloyd Waner. Despite a lineup featuring six future Hall of Famers (all of whom but Burleigh Grimes are shown here) the '34 Pirates finished two games under .500, good for 5th place in th...

Mar12013 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Football Friday: Baltimore Colts at Green Bay Packers, 10/8/61

Football Friday, Sports

Another trip to the Life photo archives has yielded another great set of classic NFL photographs. These were snapped by Robert W. Kelley at a game played between the Green Bay Packers and the visiting Baltimore Colts at Lambeau Field -- then known as New City Stadium -- on October 8, 1961. Tracking down the date for this game was a little tricky, as the Life photo pages provide no details. How I figured it out was by using the visual clues. Weeb Ewbank is pictured on the Baltimore sideline. He coached the Colts from 1954-1962. One of the Baltimore players pictured is wearing jersey #34, and he appears to be a back of some kind. Only one player from this era was a back and wore #34 -- Joe "The Jet" Perry. Perry was a fullback in Baltimore for the '61 and '62 seasons only. One

Jan212013 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Album Cover of the Week: The Vancouver Canucks, Hockey — With a Little Help from Your Friends

Album Cover of the Week, Music

That's right, the NHL is back! I thought I'd dedicate this week's album cover post to a hockey-related LP, but I quickly found that there simply aren't that many out there. There are plenty of covers with a football or baseball theme, but not so much hockey. What I did find was this curio from the mid-1970s. It's the 1975 LP from the Vancouver Canucks, Hockey -- With a Little Help from Your Friends. This is just great, whether you love hockey, vintage logos, or funky and weird albums. This isn't a music album, so don't go expecting the '70s hockey equivalent of "Super Bowl Shuffle." This is a mostly spoken word record, featuring playing advice and tips from Canuck players such as Don Lever, Rick Blight, Bob Dailey, Dennis Ververgaert, Curt Ridley, Harold Snepsts, Phil Maloney, an

Jan42013 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

The 10 Longest Active Super Bowl/Championship Droughts in NFL History

Football Friday, Sports

(Note: Totals are accurate through the end of the 2014 NFL regular season.) It seems like training camp just opened, and we've already put another NFL regular season in the books. But now I want to turn my attention to the unfortunates -- the teams that haven't won a National Football League title since I've even been alive. While there are some pretty good franchises on this list, it's mostly a collection of clubs that have come to represent football futility for most. Unlike the other major American sports leagues, the NFL has seen fit to establish a clear distinction between the pre- and post-Super Bowl eras. I have never bought into that line of thinking, and so I count Super Bowls, NFL championships, and AFL championships equally. If you think that's bunk, I'm not going to try t

Dec282012 by Chris Holmes1 Comment

The Best of the Man in the Gray Flannel Suit — 2012

Blogstuff

So, 2012. It sure was twelve months, wasn't it? But before the year slips away into 2013, let's take a moment to reflect on just some of the awesome content I've published in Aught 12, as ranked by the number of visits (which I'm aware don't always equate to quality, but that's another topic). For reference, here's last year's review. And as always, I offer a laurel and hearty handshake to everyone who has stopped by this year -- either on the blog, the Facebook page, or any of the ever-growing venues where I waste my time and yours. This site racked up about half a million visits in 2012, which I'm fairly certain is an all-time high. It's probably all downhill from here. Oh and I'd be remiss if I didn't point out the lovely selection of Featured Posts you see to the right. It ma...

Dec42012 by Chris Holmes1 Comment

The Best and Worst NBA Logos (Southeast Division)

Sports

I've gone through my logo rankings for the NFL and MLB, so now it’s time for the NBA! If you want to see which logos I picked as the best for those leagues, I've provided this handy reference page. Otherwise, let’s do some roundball logo reviews. I’m going to take this at an easier pace than I did with football and baseball, so this will be running throughout the NBA 2012-13 regular season. Up next are the five teams of the Eastern Conference’s Southeast Division — the Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Bobcats, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, and Washington Wizards. As always, most of these are sourced from Chris Creamer’s outstanding logo website. Atlanta Hawks Best Alright, so maybe the uniforms the Hawks wore for these two seasons were pretty hideous, even by early '70s standards. But I li

Nov192012 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

The Best and Worst NBA Logos (Central Division)

Sports

I’ve gone through my logo rankings for the NFL and MLB, so now it’s time for the NBA! If you want to see which logos I picked as the best for those leagues, I’ve provided this handy reference page. Otherwise, let’s do some roundball logo reviews. I’m going to take this at an easier pace than I did with football and baseball, so this will be running throughout the NBA 2012-13 regular season. Up next are the five teams of the Eastern Conference’s Central Division — the Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, and Milwaukee Bucks. As always, most of these are sourced from Chris Creamer’s outstanding logo website. Chicago Bulls Best Well, this is an easy choice. The Bulls have had the same primary logo since they came into the league for the 1966-67 seaso

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