Wiffle Click Bait: Best HWL Team Jerseys
We've had 37 teams in our league's six year history and throughout that time we have had various rules and regulations regarding mandatory team jerseys. In 2013, the league enforced a jersey requirement for the first time and this lasted through the 2015 season. In 2016, with the format change, the jersey requirement sort of was cast off to the side. Only a couple of teams did jerseys. This year four out of the five teams have jerseys (and the fifth at least wears matching colored shirts). Thankfully, we appear to be returning to the days of aesthetic appeal. From an outsider's perspective, walking unexpectedly by a wiffleball tournament is surprising and intriguing. But not being able to distinguish between teams no doubt takes away a little amazement.
I've always liked jerseys. They really bring a team's look together and unify them in color and theme. A good jersey can make a good team great, or a bad team great-looking. Although the memories of a season well-played will linger a lifetime, it's nice to have a physical memento to remember a season shared with friends...and a jersey serves this purpose well. Most of the teams in our league have sported jerseys but I will only be addressing the best I've seen over the years. And I'll be ranking them as well (Top 10 and some honorable mentions)!
#10: The Mothmen (2016)
This is a great jersey to kick things off! Only three of the ten teams last year had jerseys and the Mothmen were one of them. I'm not crazy about the red/green color combo (reminds me too much of Christmas). I wish there was some black or white outline around the text to give it some "pop" but I dig the menacing eyes that rest atop the logo, giving it a creepy factor making it worthy of its namesake. The sleeve logo is a nice touch too, representing their association with their fraternity in which they play many sports together.
#9: Wiffle Hit Wonders (2017)
The team name is...odd but the jerseys are solid! Obviously modeled off of the famous Wonder Bread logo, the Wiffle Hit Wonders have striking red dryfit shirts when you would expect the color to be white. That type of outside-the-box color scheme is why they've landed on this list. Incorporating the wiffleball as the 'o' in Wonders gets them some points with me as well, in terms of design. The only thing I would change about this shirt is the bold horizontal blue line at the bottom of the logo. I would rather there be a wiffle bat there or nothing at all.
#8: Green Bears (2014)
Franchise has roots that go all the way back to 2002 in the old league in Hurricane. The logo went through many changes over the years but when the old league folded in 2011, so did the Green Bears. When Greg and Josh joined forces in 2014 they revived the old franchise and obtained a new logo (pictured above). However, they didn't stop there. They also had alternate jerseys made for away games. They were yellow (with a white strip up the sides) with two buttons and were dryfit and an alternate logo on the left breast. They were the first team to have home/away jerseys and it remains something only imitated by one other team.
#7: Asthmatics (2015 and 2017)
This is one of a couple teams that used some clever reuse of existing logos from other things, in this case the logo is inspired by Marvel's The Avengers. The team name derived from something everyone on the team had in common: they all suffered from asthma. It doesn't get much nerdier than mixing comic book references with asthma! The logo was so impressive that it won the 2015 NWLA Team Logo of the Year Award. The color combo borrowed from the 2014 Brew Jay jersey (except a much lighter grey) and it was just as eye catching. Really glad this jersey made a comeback this season, the only difference is a darker blue font this year.
#6: Breaking Balls (2014 - 2015)
This team's logo is simple but effective, and a direct rip-off from Breaking Bad (in a good way). The green and black color combo is one of my favorite motifs a team has explored in our league. The only drawback to this jersey is that they are black (absorbing heat) and are made of cotton (rather than dryfit). I saw that team struggle with heat exhaustion long before other teams started to exhibit similar fatigue and I believe it was because they were playing with a heat absorbing fabric that was not breathable.
#5: Sit On My Base (2014 - 2016)
This team was the longest running franchise in league history and had four different jerseys. The jerseys pictured are from 2015 but they following year they were purple and had the words "runner up" worked into the logo which was a rather cheeky jab to themselves for never winning a championship despite going to the big dance two consecutive years. Ironically, the team finally clenched a title that season. In 2014 they were the second team to utilize home and away jerseys, with home being the original red shirt and away being the grey alternate. The Sit On My Base logo was Andrew Westcott's first logo creation and remains his most recognizable work to date.
#4: Holy Balls (2013)
The team name definitely isn't terribly original. Seriously...how many wiffleball teams have had this name? Despite the lack of effort on team name, these guys delivered with some sweet jerseys. In fact, they were the first team in the league to have their jerseys professional made. The Holy Balls jersey is really the standard most teams should strive to attain when designing their jerseys. The two-color combo is simple yet elegant (sometimes less is more). The baseball tee really gave the shirts a classic feel and the team's logo itself was charming.
#3: Saved By The Balls (2017)
The latest creation by Andrew Westcott borrowed from the late 80s/early 90s motif in a big way. The jersey was originally designed to be a lot louder, similar to the Blizzard jersey from the previous year. Unfortunately, the vendor was not going to be able to get them done on time so a different company made the shirts and they were unable to put all the splashes throughout the jersey. However the orange and salmon text colors scream early 1990s mall and the light green shapes make me think of nicktoons like Rocko's Modern Life (points for nostalgia). The light blue base of the jersey is a nice touch as well, toning down all the flash into a cohesive design. Had the original vendor been able to deliver the original concept, this jersey could have climbed higher onto the list.
#2: Blizzard (2016)
These jerseys are easily the wildest to ever be created in our league. Designed by Andrew Westcott, these jerseys were a homage to the defunct semi-pro hockey team of the same name that used to occupy the city of Huntington in the 1990s (Patrick Rayl's idea). The colors were also in honor of the former hockey franchise. Many would have this jersey in the top spot but there is a typo on the jersey that many did not notice until we arrived at the tournament. Huntington was spelled 'Hunntington' on the front logo, which is the sole reason it's not #1 on my list. You'll also notice this is the only NWLA jersey our league has had made that does NOT have the league logo on the sleeve. Instead, the actual logo for the extinct hockey team has the honor of gracing the sleeve.
#1: Brew Jays (2014)
The Brew Jays jersey was an instant classic. The charcoal and sky blue color combo was crisp and sharp. They were designed by Paul Hesson and a friend of his who dabbled in graphic design and the results could not have been better. The team turned heads at the NWLA Tournament that year for two reasons: one was our performance and the other was our sweet duds. We made the top spot of many best dressed teams that year with this jersey. The jerseys were representative of how serious the league was taking the tournament that year. We had something to prove since we showed up the year before with iron-on jerseys and only won one game. In 2014 we showed up wearing these and went 4-3. Coincidence? I think it gives credit to the whole "look good = play good" philosophy. My only flaw to point out is that the team did not get on the same page regarding hats. As you can see some of us decided to wear Blue Jays caps while others wore custom Brew Jays hats and a couple wore blank hats with colors that matched the jersey.
Now for some honorable mentions...
Thunder Ducks (2017)
I dig the baseball tee style and breast pocket logo but I'm not wild about the name or the logo. The color combo of the shirt is a little too...dull for me. But I like the way the green and charcoal grey look together. The backs of the jerseys display that color combo better than the front. The 3/4 sleeve length was a brave choice but serve the players well in early spring games and any fall games they may play in the future. I think a stronger logo would have gotten this team placed on the top 10 list.
Honey Badgers (2012 and 2014)
This logo was Paul's first logo creation and it's a classic. He incorporated not one but two wiffleballs into the log (which is always a nice touch). I love the symmetry in the logo from the placement of the balls to the text, it a perfect balance. There were four teams with red jerseys in 2014 which made the honey badgers jersey sort of fade into the background in comparison to louder jerseys from BagTag and Sit On My Base but these jerseys were a strong effort on the design front.
Pink Penguins (2013)
If I remember correctly, the team name was created by Thelmer Damron's young daughter when he asked her what her favorite animal and color was and the result was one of the boldest jerseys in league history. I cannot knock his method for coming up with a team name, I've used it myself in the past (which is how I came up with the Green Bears). Although the color combination is striking in contrast I wish the text was filled in with a color and that the penguin was holding a ball or something. The logo just always appeared to be missing something. The back of the jerseys were solid with a unique bubbly font for the numbers and names (possibly 'AR Cena') giving them a distinct look that set them apart from the other teams.
Wifflin' Dixie (2015)
Ever see a horror movie that was so bad that it was good? This jersey kind of has a similar appeal. Greg Sowards created this team and adopted the name from a wiffleball league in Georgia (that has since faded into obscurity). When he was stumped on logo design, I whipped up a sample logo to get his creative juices flowing. It turned out that was good enough for him and he saw no reason to redraft. He inverted the image and ironed them onto grey tshirts and his wife cut out camouflage stripes and sewed them to the sides of the shirts. The camo stripe really adds the perfect amount of "white trash" balance to the jersey that made me jealous I wasn't made one. I saw countless eyes roll as people gazed at these jerseys week in and week out. Despite being hideous, I can't look away. It's like if Troll 2 (the film) was a wiffleball jersey. It's mesmerizing.
