In 1962 the Cubs added the Cubby bear patch to their uniform. It started showing up on Topps cards in 1963.
But two cards from both 1963 and 1964 confused me.
The patch for Will and Brock is on the right shoulder, not the traditional left shoulder. I never understood why. Was it a mistake by the uniform maker? Did they actually wear the patch on both shoulders for a while?
This article from Bleedcubbieblue has the answer. It says that for the first two seasons, the bear was on the player's non-throwing shoulder. Will and Brock threw with their left hand, so the bear was on the right side.
So the mystery is solved....the patch would always be on the players glove side.
Except...
Jim Brewer is left-handed. Why is the patch on his left shoulder?
Mystery unsolved...
Here's my theory...
When the 1962 season started Brewer was in the minors. Right handed pitcher Jack Curtis started the season with the Cubs and wore #38. As a righty, the patch was placed on his left shoulder. In May, Curtis was sent down and Brewer was brought up. Brewer was given #38. You can barely make out a bit of the 3 on his back. Brewer was given Curtis' jersey, but no one bothered to switch the patch to the other side.
Mystery solved...maybe.
Sounds logical to me. Sometimes the simple answers are the right ones.
ReplyDeleteThat's a nice bit of investigating!
ReplyDeletePretty cool bit of info. Nice sleuthing!
ReplyDeleteYou should send this post to Paul Lukas, ESPN's uniform columnist, who runs his own daily uniform news at http://www.uni-watch.com/
ReplyDeleteIt's just the kind of thing he'd write about, and if he doesn't already know about this, I'd bet the readers of his site can find more info.
I was just going to suggest Uni-Watch, Brett. Can you imagine the media scrutiny if something like that were to happen today? As soon as someone noticed it the TV cameras would remain focused on it the rest of the game.
ReplyDeleteUni-watch did have a link to the Bleedcubbieblue article in the ticker on last Sunday. I'll email both Paul and Phil to see what they think
ReplyDeleteInteresting.
ReplyDeleteIt's probably on the non-throwing shoulder because that is the shoulder facing the pitcher while batting. Same premise as the "TV numbers".
ReplyDeleteGreat detective work. I'll buy your theory.
ReplyDelete