NFHS Uniform?
 

A few of my association members are "giddy" because they believe/heard that NFHS might switch from navy to black uniform tops for us. Any credence to these rumors?

You talking baseball and softball, or just baseball? Possibly all states or just some?
Sam

I was not aware NFHS had a blue standard. I thought that was an individual state thing. And I would rather the state adopt the powder blue as optional than be looking for black to be the standard.

Each state establishes its uniform (pants, shirts, pullover, etc), AFAIK.

I'm certainly not disputing that states might change this (officially or not), but the FED uniform is specified in 10-1-9. The part of "by state adoption" refers to adopting the navy pullover rather than the light blue Elbeco.

Point taken. I may be reading more into the 'state directives' that come down from the Mount than they deserve (such as the directive to put American flags on our shirts post 9-11, and such).

Officially speaking:
 

The NFHS has made a STRONG stance against changing the requirments for uniforms.

If Eliott had it his way we'd be in Elbecos.

Here's why:

Expense. In my local group navy, light blue and black are accepted during the high school season. Creme is added to the list during the summer. Our assignor has banned Red at all times.

We have a great problem every year with subtle changes that make crews look different from each other.

Light Blue: We were able to work through the "trim" issue. Some had red and white piping and other navy and white . . . we selected to accept that. THEN WHAT HAPPENED: The dreaded Delta Blue w/ black collar arrived.

Grey Pants: It used to be so easy. Grey (sometimes turning to pink) pants from "most suppliers" looked pretty uniform. We only had to deal with pleats (please note that the NFHS Umpire Manual forbids wearing pleated pants) but we worked through that . . . UNTIL:

Poly/Wool Blend pants came on and they are a darker shade of grey.

Trouble in River City AGAIN.

Now remember this is coming from a guy that carries forty seven (47) different shirts to ALL games:

We are out of control!

It is not on the NFHS National Agenda to change, yet again, umpire uniforms.

We allow local crews to decide what they want to wear. The single largest complaint about umpire uniforms at this year's State Championship Triple Header was the difference in PANT color when all umpires were attempting to wear "grey" slacks.

Regards,

Our association has stuck with Navy Blue / Powder Blue as the official colors. If both umpires wish to wear Black or Creme, that is OK also. The only guys who wear Black / Creme, are those who also work at the college level.

I doubt the official colors will change, as most associations do not want they're entire membership to have to purchase several new shirts. And chasing MLB colors is like wrestling a pig in the mud; You probably won't keep up.

I think a quick solution would be for each umpire to stay in their positions, during play, between innings, and quit standing around together, yakking so much. Then nobody will notice the slight color differences.

Blue piping vs. Red, slightly darker Gray slacks, Delta Blue vs. Powder Blue...I think we are worried about the wrong things at the HS level. Our customers just want umpires that are on time, look professional, act professional, and call a good game. Nobody gives a rats a$$ about subtle uniform differences, other than those who have nothing better to do than administrate. I'm so glad our assignor isn't one of them.

really? i absolutely hate flat front pants and would never buy them probably ever. i dont even think any of the dress pants that i own are flat front.

I only have pleated pants. My state only allows dark blue shirts for HS games. Powder would be good for warm/hot days. That's all I want, but it ain't coming. The reason I have heard is the state does not want to require umpires to have to fork out another $32 for another shirt, altough many of the guys I work with already have one for summer or college ball.

Wobw......

Spoken like a true expert. :rolleyes:

Tee,

I'll take your word regarding pleated pants since I toss the FED manual in the trash the minute it arrives.

--Rich

Just to further prove "to each their own," I don't own a pair of pleated pants, as the look would be quite unflattering on someone of my size. I hate seeing pleated pants on big umpires.

Our state requires navy as the default with powder blue as an alternative (if you partner has it of course). No other colors are allowed during HS season.

Legion/colts is the same as HS. For Rec and over 30, black, red, and cream are allowed.

I've always wanted to get colors other than navy and powder blue, but not enough people in my association have those different colors, so it would be useless to buy if i can't wear it because my partner doesn't have one.


Also, i've read here that red shirts are frowned upon all over the place. Why is this?

bossman,

I have no idea what the real reason is. I would hazard a guess that it's because they're a little too "showy". (Ref. D. Versace, AO re: OBR 1.11)

As a matter of purely personal opinion, the only time I've seen them worn when it didn't seem somehow "out of place" is during 4th of July tournaments. Then, to me, they seem just fine.

JMHO.

JM

My aversion to red umpire shirts is because red says "LOOK AT ME!" to me, which is pretty much in line with your description, "showy." In addition, while I don't share the opinion previously stated that pleated pants look bad on a "big" umpire, I do think a red shirt on a big umpire makes him look like the Koolaid Pitcher character.

HS shirt
 

in my association, Navy is the only option...ever. summer ball is whatever the umps both have, I have navy, powder blue and a red shirt I have never actually worn. I'm going to buy some cream shirts at some point this summer for the real warm days.

just my 2c

Joe

I have Cream and Powder Blue and they feel about the same to me on a warm/hot day game. Navy is noticeably warmer.

I personally only own Cream, Black, MLB Polo Blue w/Black trim, and Navy. My association expects everyone to also invest in White w/Navy and Red trim, and Silver w/Black trim if they want to work the Championship games in any Triple Crown tournaments, which we work nearly year round. Red shirts remain optional thankfully. Yucch!

Cream shirts are cool as a cucumber on hot days!

In our area, they are only worn in two instances;

1) Single man, Freshman HS games (not worked by umpires in the HS Association).
2) Little League (volunteer umpires).

They are probably frowned upon because few Associations have them on their list of approved colors. It's not that they are Red, it's that they are not on the list. In the two instances I noted, the umpire is not a member of an Association, so they can wear any color they choose.

We wear our red shirts on Memorial Day and the 4th of July. And also whenever we feel like it, which isn't often otherwise.

Black ?? Hopefully not!
 

Black might be fine for the high school league since its basically during the winter, but for the summer, it would be a little warm in the south.

My daughter did a science project on colors retaining heat - black was almost 3 degrees hotter after an hour of exposure to sunlight etc.,

Surprisingly, blue was cooler than red with yellow/creme being the coolest colors.

Personally, I like the navy blue. (I don't own a red shirt)

Thanks
David

Cool men wear black
 

Hmmmm. Time for a re-post.

This is from July 2004 at http://forum.officiating.com/showpos...1&postcount=27

Bedouins use black tents because they make a natural heat pump. The weave of the tent is loose. Hot air rises. What happens is the sun heats the black fabric and the air immediately surrounding the fabric. That air then rises to the top of the tent and exits through the loose weave. If air exits, more air must enter, so fresh air enters through open flaps in the tenp, creating a constant breeze.

The black robes follow much the same concept. By wearing loose black clothing, you end up with airflow even if there is no breeze.

White clothing does reflect more IR, preventing it from heating up as quickly, but it also reflects more UV light, causing uncovered areas of your body to be bombarded with UV from both the sun and the reflection. That's why you get sunburned easily while snow skiing.

And although white clothing doesn't heat up as quickly in the sun, the British army conducted experiments in WW2 that found after spending some time in the sun it doesn't matter what color you are wearing. All colors ended up at the same temperature next to the skin.

So if you wear some good interawear and a loose dark shirt, you will probably end up feeling cooler than if you wear light colors that reflect light.

one word I would not use to describe my umpiring shirts would be loose and billowy. unless you're talking about me wearing plate pants on the bases. heh

Joe

Red is for disco queens and eastside whores. Other than that....

But ................
 

That doesn't make them BAD girls !!!!:o



Doug

Wobw......

Yes, your two posts saying Wobw are Wobw. Who gives a crap about "bandwidth" anymore -- do you pay by the byte and are you on a 300 baud modem?

Blue Dude,

Hasn't anybody ever told you that it's "bad karma" to break your promises? Doesn't do much for your credibility either.

It would seem your feelings were hurt. Get over it already. Umpires shouldn't be so thin-skinned.

JMO.

JM

P.S. Some play it better than others.

yeah, you're right. I haven't posted in about a year but I've been reading some about what you guys are saying so I haven't left. For some reason I just got an urge to put "WOBW" to see if anybody would remember. I guess the answer is yes. Anyways, I'll stop now. I understand I was a prick last year. I was (and still am) a pretty new umpire and now I have a year of high school under my belt and have come to realize in life that the more you do something and the more experienced you become, the less dogmatic you are about certain things. Again, my apologies and I will continue to read what you guys write about and try to stay out of everybody's business. It's pretty much hopeless on this forum anyways, if I say something, somebody else is gonna smart off...that's just the way it works on here and I can't do anything about it, somebody will probably smart off about this post. So I figured out the solution...just don't say anything. Good luck fellas!

dudeinblue,

As in all things, do as you think best.

However, I had no intention of discouraging you from posting on this forum. Ask questions. Answer them. This is how we all learn.

When I first came across this forum, it quickly became clear to me that many who post here "Do not suffer fools gladly." It was also clear to me that I could learn an awful lot from many of them - as long as I didn't needlessly piss them off.

So, when I started posting here, I was a little careful. I tried not to ask "stupid" questions (there are, in fact, stupid questions); and, when I answered a question, I did my best to make sure my answer was correct.

I did not let the "bullies" intimidate me, and I avoided "pissing contests" as best I could. As a result, I feel I've learned a lot. I hope I have also contributed to the forum - which others will ultimately judge.

So, as in all things, do as you think best. As far as I'm concerned, I wouldn't mind seeing more of your posts. At least so long as the content is a little more interesting than "WOBW".

JMHO.

JM

You do know, don't you, that according to fashion etiquette, pleated pants are supposed to look better on bigger guys than nonpleated pants. For one thing, the infamous pocket ears are more prevalent on nonpleated pants worn by big guys.

Dear UMP25
 

Who do you get your fashion advice from?

Both Carson and Clinton strongly say that pleated pants do NOTHING but make fat umpires look more fat.

I would suggest you consult a real fashionesta before giving incorrect advice.

Regards,

"More fat"? If you're going to pretend to criticize, use the proper term, "fatter."

Hehehe,
 

FO Baby, FO.

Regards,

One year since I've posted and the man hasn't changed a bit. How can such a respected, veteran umpire act so immature and be such a jerk?

Regards

Tim,

You really must adopt a sense of humor. How you could have lasted this long in umpiring without one is rather unbelievable.

I know you're the closest thing we have to perfection here, but really, getting needled because you erred in the use of the King's English then getting all potty mouthed...

BTW, you could have been more creative. "FO" is not very original, you know. ;)

Hugs & kisses...

Don't worry. It's usually the sign of affection and jealousy when such folks make such comments. :D

Umpire Fashion
 

Interesting post . . .

Umpires' uniforms have been evolving for quite some time, of course, as has the equipment we use.

The lastest and greatest craze seems to have started when Fox took over national baseball broadcasts and put umpires for the first time in navy "jerseys", abandoning the ELBECO blue, which, by the way, while a little Poindexter looking, was a hell of a lot cooler (and easier to get on over your chest protector) than the navy thing. And remember the ridiculous hats MLB guys had to wear for a couple of seasons with the big@$$ red "A" or "N" on them?

I would estimate, conservatively, that I have spent $2k on uniforms in the last four years. "Uniforms" means everything that's not equipment. I replaced both pairs of shoes this year, bought both navy and black jackets, black and cream shirts, new black and navy winter (wool) and summer (mesh) hats . . . socks, etc., etc., I have navy, tomato, black, cream and powder for high school, legion and every thing else that is not Babe Ruth . . . and navy, powder and tomato for Babe Ruth (patches sewn on). Babe Ruth is the only league I work where a patch is required. I hate velcro and the temporary glue that I sweat off before the bottom of the first. My association recommends but does not require numbers, so all of my shirts and jackets have my number on them.

And of course, the single biggest uniform purchase I have ever made as an umpire was the no-$h!t Feccheimer plate coat, which is apparently now (a) out of fashion and (b) out of color (mine's navy). I don't care. We start high school baseball around here in the third week of February- it's buttcold and I am going to do what I can to be comfortable. Plus, it cost me $250 13 years ago, when I was a baby lawyer and I couldn't afford it.

We are not fashion plates. I have yet to have a MILF come up to me after a game and say "I like the way those gray polyester slacks make your butt look." The clothing should be functional, professional looking and comfortable. Of course, what the MLB guys wear always has a way of filtering down to us, but then again, they don't have to buy their uniforms. I will steadfastly resist the "polo" blue, the longsleeve any shirt (if it's cold enough for long sleeves, it's cold enough for a jacket) and the silver. And have you seen this REDICKEROUS black zip-up jacket they are wearing with the short sleeves? WTF?

Strikes and outs!

Well, (in my own self important way)
 

I take responsibility for everything I write or say.

I really have no interest in anything "dudeinblue" could write. He is, afterall, on my all time six man umpire crew of the "internets finest."

And I write for understanding and seldom worry about the detail you mention. I am educated and have posted (forever) that I care little about the forms of grammar.

Plate coats have never left (kinda like Bob's Big Boy). I have both navy and black. And in Seattle 17 years ago (long before FOX) we went to Navy over ELBECO.

Regards,

I had to purchase one last year for NCAA ball... $375 for the Frankenstein coat?

Plate Coat
 

I'm just glad to know that I'm not the only one who continues to insist on wearing one- I'm one of three or four guys in my association who even owns one any more.

Strikes and outs!

Let me make that previous post clear... I had to purchase it...

Personally, BL, I think they look much better than jackets. I've got a navy plate coat but not a black one. Does Fechheimer make the black ones? Who sells them? I'd get one from Honig's, but their brand of plate coats I don't like. They seem cheap and low quality.

Feccheimer (sp?)
 

I'm not sure if they are even in business anymore, although it seems to me that I saw their pants advertised in a catalog or on a website recently. The plate coats (on those very rare occasions when they wear them) I have seen on the MLB guys in the last few years is black, so I'm betting it comes from Honigs.

Strikes and outs!

Gerry Davis
 

Black and navy both- $249.99. I would guess that this is the best time to order one. 5-6 weeks.

Strikes and outs!

same feelings towards you good buddy! Alot of the others on here might respect you, but I think you're a complete joke and don't listen to a word you say. Even if you tried to give me advice, I still wouldn't listen to it. Anybody who is your age and tells somebody to FO like they're 13 years old again doesn't deserved to be listened to.

Regards,

Youth is truly wasted on the young.

In all honesty, dib, I wasn't offended by it. I considered it rather casual.