New Umpire Shirts
 

Would you guys recommend buying a couple of these shirts?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Umpire-shirts-...ayphotohosting

Their design is becoming more common, they are not as hot as your regular navy blue shirts, and they come with larger shoulders so that they can go over a chest protector. I'm wondering if they would fit on the bases as well. It might be a worthwhile investment- if everyone starts wearing them I'll be stuck with the old kind of shirt.

no.

Hell, no

No.

IMO, looks good on the jacket, looks like crap on a shirt.

"Their design is becoming more common"

Yeah, right.

Common? Perhaps you're using one of less frequently used definitions of the word: of low or inferior quality or value

These aren't new. I believe BigUmp56 (Tim) has one or two of these and others in his area purchased some as well.

The designer apparently thought that the more trim, the better. You will note that the MLB styled jackets that have similar trim do not have sleeve trim or collar trim. The shirts with sleeve and collar trim, do not have shoulder trim.

The shirt in question with trim all over the place appears, to many, as gaudy, and to some as downright laughable.

It doesn't look bad, but the first thing I think of when seeing it is ... "football jersey". It looks like it was designed to be worn with shoulder pads.

But if it's cooler - that would be good!

Umpire shirts are getting out of control. Too many different colors, Dazzle and non-Dazzle, etc...

David Emerling
Memphis, TN

Who wears dazzle anymore?

:D :D

CAump, let me tell you the story of this shirt and its "designer". Back in 2005, this guy was sent to my Boss by Bigump56. My Boss made him a fair deal, to buy the lot of them on several conditions (the guy had 100s of these in several colors).

1) That he discount them (to the price he wants today)
2) That he send one of each color for wear and tear appraisal
3) He reveal the manufacturer
4) That the lot would be picked through for quality
5) More but I can't remember.

This guy (I can't remember his name) got his knickers in a wad and wrote Boss this email full of expletives. Our very own Bigump56 backed this guy to the hilt. :D

My bet is he still has 100s, he screwed his ownb pooch on this one.

Pass, there is no telling what shape they are in, how old they are and I guarantee you will have zero chance to return any of them.

Wow, thanks for the post, this is hilarioous. :D

I would love to see Under Armour make shirts.

If others in your association are wearing them, then you could use them. They are not common in other areas.

The "design" (and I assume by that you mean the stripes, etc) has nothing to do with how "cool" they are or the size of the shoulders, etc.

iirc, the designer wanted to "build a better mousetrap." I applaud his initiative. I deplore his fashion sense.

These shirts are becoming more common in my area. They have made their way to Ontario, and an umpire will now and then be wearing one. I don't recall there being any problems with the deal they put through. I believe everyone who ordered one got one, and they were in good condition. It does sound as though the manufacturer of these shirts fell far short of serving your boss though. Why he would have a problem with a few standards is beyond me, and the swearing in his email is just plain unacceptable. I'd like to see a copy of this email that Bigump supported, maybe I will have a change of heart and not look into these shirts. It's just that they are available in bulk, which cannot be said about any other umpire's shirt, so they do seem worth looking into.

Of course Fitump conveniently tells the story from his own jaundiced viewpoint. The real story is quite a different tale, but it appears I am not allowed to tell it here in this forum.

The designer in question (Scott, by the way) was treated very rudely by WJR (remember John Hastings?), Fitump's boss. Of course you will not hear that from Donny here, only a one-sided story.

Precisely. Mr. Rucker, Donovan's former employer and former owner of Officials Unlimited, made overatures of his own accord toward Scott to buy his shirts in bulk quantity. He tendered an offer per shirt that was less than Scott's cost to have the shirts made. When Scott declined the offer, Walter abruptly cut of all negotiations and sent Scott a few incredibly rude messages that he could have the shirts made by his own sweat shop for even less, or better yet, have them made over seas. In fact he threw Scott off of Officials Unlimited just because Scott wouldn't buckle to his offer.

Now, personally I love the shirts, as do many other umpires in my area. Regardless of what anyone thinks of Scott's designing eye, I think it's only fair to point out that he had the balls to think outside the box and try something new. Donovan Hammond (Fitump) disparaging Scott personally is simply ridiculous.



Tim.

Tim:

I don't consider just adding more trim to a shirt with trim as "thinking outside the box." It's more like thinking "if some is good, more must be better."