Carolina Panthers Franchise History - A Fan's Essentials

 

Fall 2023: To purchase a reasonably priced 8" x 24" plaqued mounted version of the Carolina Panthers poster that's ready to hang on your wall, please visit Heritage Sports Stuff.

1. Carolina Panthers – The Team Name
The Panthers were announced as the league's 29th franchise in 1993 and began playing in 1995 under the original owner and founder Jerry Richardson.  The team has always been known as the Carolina Panthers.

2. Carolina Panthers – The Championship Record
Two Super Bowl Appearances:
Super Bowl XXXVIII  Feb. 1, 2004 New England Patriots 32, Carolina 29
Super Bowl 50 (Super Bowl L)  Feb. 7, 2016 Denver Broncos 24, Carolina 10

Conference championships:
NFC: 2003, 2015

Division championships:

NFC West: 1996

NFC South: 2003, 2008, 2013, 2014, 2015

Eight Playoff appearances (as of the end of the 2022 season):
1996, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017

3. Carolina Panthers – Home Stadium History
1. Clemson Memorial Stadium, Clemson SC 1995

2. Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte NC 1996 - Present

4. For more information on the Panthers, you should bookmark these four great websites:

For a huge amount of great historic player and team information:

The Football Database
and
Pro Football Reference

For a great summary of the Panthers' year by year results:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Carolina_Panthers_seasons

For great information about the team's stadiums (don't be fooled by the fact that the website is called "ballparks.com", it also has great information on football stadiums):
www.ballparks.com

5. Celebrate the Carolina Panthers' uniform history by owning a piece of history:

If you love the Carolina Panthers and the history of the Panthers franchise, you might really love to own an original piece of artwork celebrating the team's historic uniforms as seen in the poster at the top of this blog - you can actually own one of those original pieces of art! There are only 9 pieces of original art available for sale, and when these 9 are sold, that's it, they're all sold out.

These original watercolor paintings would make a great gift (birthday gift, anniversary gift, retirement gift, Christmas gift, etc.) for someone you love or even a great gift for yourself (one of these framed pieces would look fantastic in your home or office). Each piece can be bought one of three ways:
1. As unframed art that you could have framed or mounted yourself (the one on the left)
2. Framed in our "Classic" framed version (the middle version)
3. Framed in our "Deluxe" framed version (the version on the right)



If you would like more information about this great artwork including the three ways you could purchase each piece, please visit our Carolina Panthers YouTube video at Carolina Panthers artwork YouTube video or go directly to the artwork website Heritage Sports Art - Carolina Panthers where you can see and purchase the artwork.

And if someone you know loves the history of sports uniforms (but maybe another team) and loves great art, please let them know that we have over 1500 pieces of great original artwork for sale at www.heritagesportsart.com (all NFL teams, all MLB teams, all NHL teams, all CFL teams, select NCAA football teams) or check out each team's video at the Heritage Sports Art YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/user/ssillcox

And please search my blog archive http://heritagejerseys.blogspot.com/ for other blogs on the history of the Carolina Panthers.

---------------------------------------------

This blog was written by Scott Sillcox and posted Oct 16, 2023. I have tried to ensure the accuracy of the information, but I am human and can make mistakes. If you believe I have made a mistake, please let me know by email at ssillcox@rogers.com !

Many thanks!!!
Scott

Washington Nationals Franchise History - A Fan's Essentials

 

Fall 2023: To purchase a reasonably priced 8" x 24" plaqued mounted version of the Washington Nationals poster that's ready to hang on your wall, please visit Heritage Sports Stuff.

1. Washington Nationals – The Team Name 

The franchise played its first game in 1969 as the Montreal Expos, and they remained the Montreal Expos until the end of the 2004 season. The franchise moved to Washington DC for the 2005 season and have been the Washington Nationals ever since.

2. Washington Nationals – The Championship Record 

One World Series Championship: 

2019 beat Houston Astros 4-3

One National League Pennant: 

2019 93 wins - 69 losses

Six Division Championships: 

National League East - 1981 (split season - won the 2nd half)

National League East - 1994

National League East - 2012

National League East - 2014

National League East - 2016

National League East - 2017

3. Washington Nationals – Home Stadium History 

1. Jarry Park Stadium, Montreal Quebec  1969-1976

2. Olympic Stadium, Montreal Quebec 1977-2004

3. RFK Stadium, Washington DC  2005-2007

4. Nationals Park, Washington DC  2008-Present

4. For more information on the Washington Nationals, you should bookmark these three great websites: 

For a huge amount of great historic information: https://www.baseball-almanac.com/teams/washington_nationals.shtml 

For great information about the team's ballpark: https://ballparks.com/baseball/index.htm 

For a listing of every Nationals (and Expos) season and how the team fared, click here.

5. Celebrate the Washington Nationals' uniform history by owning a piece of history: 

If you love the Washington Nationals and the history of the Nationals franchise, you might really love to own an original piece of artwork celebrating the team's historic uniforms as seen in the poster at the top of this blog - you can actually own one of those original pieces of art! There are only 10 pieces of original art available for sale (8 Nationals and 2 Expos), and when these 10 are sold, that's it, they're all sold out. 

These original watercolor paintings would make a great gift (birthday gift, anniversary gift, retirement gift, Christmas gift, etc.) for someone you love or even a great gift for yourself (one of these framed pieces would look fantastic in your home or office). 

Each piece can be bought one of three ways: 

1. As unframed art that you could have framed or mounted yourself (the one on the left) 

2. Framed in our "Classic" framed version (the middle version) 

3. Framed in our "Deluxe" framed version (the version on the right)  

If you would like more information about this great artwork including the three ways you could purchase each piece, please visit our Washington Nationals YouTube video or go directly to the artwork website Heritage Sports Art where you can see and purchase the artwork. 

And if someone you know loves the history of sports uniforms (but maybe another team) and loves great art, please let them know that we have over 1500 pieces of great original artwork for sale at www.heritagesportsart.com (all NFL teams, all MLB teams, all NHL teams, all CFL teams, select NCAA football teams) or check out each team's video at the Heritage Sports Art YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/user/ssillcox 

And please search my blog archive http://heritagejerseys.blogspot.com/ for other blogs on the history of the Washington Nationals. 

--------------------------------------------- 

This text was written by Scott Sillcox and was last updated October 15, 2023. I have tried to ensure the accuracy of the information, but I am human and can make mistakes. If you believe I have made a mistake, please let me know by email at ssillcox@rogers.com ! 

Many thanks!!! 

Scott

Tampa Bay Rays Franchise History - A Fan's Essentials

 

Fall 2023: To purchase a reasonably priced 8" x 24" plaqued mounted version of the Tampa Bay Rays poster that's ready to hang on your wall, please visit Heritage Sports Stuff.

1. Tampa Bay Rays – The Team Name 

The franchise was created as an expansion team for the 1998 season. The team was originally known as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays from 1998 to 2007, then changed their name to Tampa Bay Rays from 2008 to the present.

2. Tampa Bay Rays – The Championship Record 

Two World Series Championship appearances: 

2008 lost to Philadelphia Phillies 4-1

2020 lost to Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2

Two American League Pennants: 

2008 97 wins - 65 losses

2020 40 wins - 20 losses

Four Division Championships: 

American League East 2008

American League East 2010

American League East 2020

American League East 2021

3. Tampa Bay Rays – Home Stadium History 

Tropicana Field 1998 - Present

Tropicana Field (commonly known as the Trop) has been the ballpark of the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB) since the team's inaugural season in 1998. The stadium was opened in 1990. Prior to the Rays' first season in 1998, the stadium was known as Florida Suncoast Dome (1990–1993) and ThunderDome (1993–1996), then Tropicana Field from 1997-Present.

4. For more information on the Rays, you should bookmark these three great websites: 

For a huge amount of great historic information: https://www.baseball-almanac.com/teams/rays.shtml 

For great information about the team's ballparks: https://ballparks.com/baseball/index.htm 

For a listing of every Rays season and how the team fared, click here.

5. Celebrate the Tampa Bay Rays' uniform history by owning a piece of history: 

If you love the Tampa Bay Rays and the history of the Rays franchise, you might really love to own an original piece of artwork celebrating the team's historic uniforms as seen in the poster at the top of this blog - you can actually own one of those original pieces of art! There are only 7 pieces of original art available for sale, and when these 7 are sold, that's it, they're all sold out. 

These original watercolor paintings would make a great gift (birthday gift, anniversary gift, retirement gift, Christmas gift, etc.) for someone you love or even a great gift for yourself (one of these framed pieces would look fantastic in your home or office). 

Each piece can be bought one of three ways: 

1. As unframed art that you could have framed or mounted yourself (the one on the left) 

2. Framed in our "Classic" framed version (the middle version) 

3. Framed in our "Deluxe" framed version (the version on the right)  

If you would like more information about this great artwork including the three ways you could purchase each piece, please visit our Tampa Bay Rays YouTube video or go directly to the artwork website Heritage Sports Art where you can see and purchase the artwork. 

And if someone you know loves the history of sports uniforms (but maybe another team) and loves great art, please let them know that we have over 1500 pieces of great original artwork for sale at www.heritagesportsart.com (all NFL teams, all MLB teams, all NHL teams, all CFL teams, select NCAA football teams) or check out each team's video at the Heritage Sports Art YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/user/ssillcox 

And please search my blog archive http://heritagejerseys.blogspot.com/ for other blogs on the history of the Tampa Bay Rays. 

--------------------------------------------- 

This text was written by Scott Sillcox and was last updated October 15, 2023. I have tried to ensure the accuracy of the information, but I am human and can make mistakes. If you believe I have made a mistake, please let me know by email at ssillcox@rogers.com ! 

Many thanks!!! 

Scott

Arizona Diamondbacks Franchise History - A Fan's Essentials

 

Fall 2023: To purchase a reasonably priced 8" x 24" plaqued mounted version of the Diamondbacks poster that's ready to hang on your wall, please visit Heritage Sports Stuff.

1. Arizona Diamondbacks – The Team Name 

The franchise played its first game on March 31, 1998. Since their first season in 1998, the team has always been known as the Arizona Diamondbacks, although the nickname is sometimes shortened to the Dbacks.

2. Arizona Diamondbacks – The Championship Record 

One World Series Championship: 

2001 (their 4th season!) beat New York Yankees 4-3

One other World Series Appearance:

2023 lost to Texas Rangers 4 games to 1

Two National League Pennants: 

2001 92 wins - 70 losses

2023 84 wins - 78 losses

Five Division Championships: 

National League West - 1999

National League West - 2001

National League West - 2002

National League West - 2007

National League West - 2011

3. Arizona Diamondbacks – Home Stadium History 

Chase Field 1998 - Present

Known as Bank One Ballpark (1998-2005) / Chase Field (2006-Present)

The ballpark opened in 1998, the year the Diamondbacks debuted as an expansion team. Chase Field was the first stadium built in the US with a retractable roof over a natural grass playing surface, although since 2019 it has used artificial turf.

4. For more information on the Diamondbacks, you should bookmark these three great websites: 

For a huge amount of great historic information: https://www.baseball-almanac.com/teams/marlins.shtml 

For great information about the team's ballpark: https://ballparks.com/baseball/index.htm 

For a listing of every Diamondbacks season and how the team fared, click here.

5. Celebrate the Arizona Diamondbacks' uniform history by owning a piece of history: 

If you love the Arizona Diamondbacks and the history of the Diamondbacks franchise, you might really love to own an original piece of artwork celebrating the team's historic uniforms as seen in the poster at the top of this blog - you can actually own one of those original pieces of art! There are only 8 pieces of original art available for sale, and when these 8 are sold, that's it, they're all sold out. 

These original watercolor paintings would make a great gift (birthday gift, anniversary gift, retirement gift, Christmas gift, etc.) for someone you love or even a great gift for yourself (one of these framed pieces would look fantastic in your home or office). 

Each piece can be bought one of three ways: 

1. As unframed art that you could have framed or mounted yourself (the one on the left) 

2. Framed in our "Classic" framed version (the middle version) 

3. Framed in our "Deluxe" framed version (the version on the right)  

If you would like more information about this great artwork including the three ways you could purchase each piece, please visit our Arizona Diamondbacks YouTube video or go directly to the artwork website Heritage Sports Art where you can see and purchase the artwork. 

And if someone you know loves the history of sports uniforms (but maybe another team) and loves great art, please let them know that we have over 1500 pieces of great original artwork for sale at www.heritagesportsart.com (all NFL teams, all MLB teams, all NHL teams, all CFL teams, select NCAA football teams) or check out each team's video at the Heritage Sports Art YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/user/ssillcox 

And please search my blog archive http://heritagejerseys.blogspot.com/ for other blogs on the history of the Arizona Diamondbacks. 

--------------------------------------------- 

This text was written by Scott Sillcox and was last updated October 15, 2023. I have tried to ensure the accuracy of the information, but I am human and can make mistakes. If you believe I have made a mistake, please let me know by email at ssillcox@rogers.com ! 

Many thanks!!! 

Scott

Miami Marlins Franchise History - A Fan's Essentials

 

Fall 2023: To purchase a reasonably priced 8" x 24" plaqued mounted version of the Marlins poster that's ready to hang on your wall, please visit Heritage Sports Stuff.

1. Miami Marlins – The Team Name 

The franchise was created in 1991 as an expansion team for the 1993 season. From 1993 to 2011 the team was known as the Florida Marlins. Since 2012 they have been known as the Miami Marlins. 

2. Miami Marlins – The Championship Record 

Two World Series Championships: 

1997 (their 5th season!) beat Cleveland Indians 4-3

2003 beat New York Yankees 4-2

Two National League Pennants: 

1997 92 wins - 70 losses

2003 91 wins - 71 losses

No Division Championships: 

3. Miami Marlins – Home Stadium History 

1. Sun Life Stadium 1993-2011

Known as Joe Robbie Stadium (1993-1995) / Pro Player Stadium (1996-2004) / Sun Life Stadium 2005 - 2011) 

2. Loan Depot Park 2021 - Present

Known as Marlins Park (2012-2020) / Loan Depot Park (2021-Present)

4. For more information on the Marlins, you should bookmark these three great websites: 

For a huge amount of great historic information: https://www.baseball-almanac.com/teams/marlins.shtml 

For great information about the team's ballparks: https://ballparks.com/baseball/index.htm 

For a listing of every Marlins season and how the team fared, click here.

5. Celebrate the Miami Marlins' uniform history by owning a piece of history: 

If you love the Miami Marlins and the history of the Marlins franchise, you might really love to own an original piece of artwork celebrating the team's historic uniforms as seen in the poster at the top of this blog - you can actually own one of those original pieces of art! There are only 8 pieces of original art available for sale, and when these 8 are sold, that's it, they're all sold out. 

These original watercolor paintings would make a great gift (birthday gift, anniversary gift, retirement gift, Christmas gift, etc.) for someone you love or even a great gift for yourself (one of these framed pieces would look fantastic in your home or office). 

Each piece can be bought one of three ways: 

1. As unframed art that you could have framed or mounted yourself (the one on the left) 

2. Framed in our "Classic" framed version (the middle version) 

3. Framed in our "Deluxe" framed version (the version on the right)  

If you would like more information about this great artwork including the three ways you could purchase each piece, please visit our Miami Marlins YouTube video or go directly to the artwork website Heritage Sports Art where you can see and purchase the artwork. 

And if someone you know loves the history of sports uniforms (but maybe another team) and loves great art, please let them know that we have over 1500 pieces of great original artwork for sale at www.heritagesportsart.com (all NFL teams, all MLB teams, all NHL teams, all CFL teams, select NCAA football teams) or check out each team's video at the Heritage Sports Art YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/user/ssillcox 

And please search my blog archive http://heritagejerseys.blogspot.com/ for other blogs on the history of the Miami Marlins. 

--------------------------------------------- 

This text was written by Scott Sillcox and was last updated October 15, 2023. I have tried to ensure the accuracy of the information, but I am human and can make mistakes. If you believe I have made a mistake, please let me know by email at ssillcox@rogers.com ! 

Many thanks!!! 

Scott

Colorado Rockies Franchise History - A Fan's Essentials

 

Fall 2023: To purchase a reasonably priced 8" x 24" plaqued mounted version of the Rockies poster that's ready to hang on your wall, please visit Heritage Sports Stuff.

1. Colorado Rockies – The Team Name 

The franchise was created as an expansion team for the 1993 season and has always been known as the Colorado Rockies. 

2. Colorado Rockies – The Championship Record 

One World Series Championship appearance: 

2007 lost to Boston Red Sox 4-0

One National League Pennant: 

2007 90 wins - 63 losses

No Division Championships: 

3. Colorado Rockies – Home Stadium History 

1. Mile High Stadium, Denver 1993-1994 

2. Coors Field, Denver 1995 - Present

4. For more information on the Rockies, you should bookmark these three great websites: 

For a huge amount of great historic information: https://www.baseball-almanac.com/teams/rock.shtml 

For great information about the team's ballparks: https://ballparks.com/baseball/index.htm 

For a listing of every Rockies season and how the team fared, click here.

5. Celebrate the Colorado Rockies' uniform history by owning a piece of history: 

If you love the Colorado Rockies and the history of the Rockies franchise, you might really love to own an original piece of artwork celebrating the team's historic uniforms as seen in the poster at the top of this blog - you can actually own one of those original pieces of art! There are only 7 pieces of original art available for sale, and when these 7 are sold, that's it, they're all sold out. 

These original watercolor paintings would make a great gift (birthday gift, anniversary gift, retirement gift, Christmas gift, etc.) for someone you love or even a great gift for yourself (one of these framed pieces would look fantastic in your home or office). 

Each piece can be bought one of three ways: 

1. As unframed art that you could have framed or mounted yourself (the one on the left) 

2. Framed in our "Classic" framed version (the middle version) 

3. Framed in our "Deluxe" framed version (the version on the right)  

If you would like more information about this great artwork including the three ways you could purchase each piece, please visit our Colorado Rockies YouTube video or go directly to the artwork website Heritage Sports Art where you can see and purchase the artwork. 

And if someone you know loves the history of sports uniforms (but maybe another team) and loves great art, please let them know that we have over 1500 pieces of great original artwork for sale at www.heritagesportsart.com (all NFL teams, all MLB teams, all NHL teams, all CFL teams, select NCAA football teams) or check out each team's video at the Heritage Sports Art YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/user/ssillcox 

And please search my blog archive http://heritagejerseys.blogspot.com/ for other blogs on the history of the Colorado Rockies. 

--------------------------------------------- 

This text was written by Scott Sillcox and was last updated October 15, 2023. I have tried to ensure the accuracy of the information, but I am human and can make mistakes. If you believe I have made a mistake, please let me know by email at ssillcox@rogers.com ! 

Many thanks!!! 

Scott

Maple Leaf Gardens seats - a little adventure

Above: Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto

Above: Two seats from Maple Leaf Gardens

In the spring of 1991, long before the Internet was in general use, a Globe and Mail newspaper sports columnist ran a small blurb in his column telling readers that Maple Leaf Gardens had removed several hundred grey seats from the Gardens and that if you could get yourself down to the Gardens in the next day or two, you could purchase a genuine seat from the Gardens.

The background is that the owners of the Toronto Maple Leafs (this was a year after bombastic former owner Harold Ballard had passed away), also the owners of Maple Leaf Gardens, had decided to install a number of new private boxes in the Gardens in the summer of 1991 and thus had to remove several hundred existing grey seats to make way for the new private boxes. The Leafs failed to make the playoffs that season, and given that the playoffs started April 3, 1991, the removal of the seats was almost certainly done some time in April or perhaps May 1991.

I was living in Aurora Ontario at the time and I read that blurb in the Globe and Mail early one spring morning. I almost immediately jumped in my car and drove to Maple Leaf Gardens. When I got to the Gardens an hour later, I walked straight into the building and made my way to the floor of the arena (the ice had been removed by this time) where the seats I had read about an hour earlier were scattered about the concrete ice surface of the Gardens. There was one person more or less in charge of the sale - he said that I could help myself to a maximum of four seats and that they were $10 apiece.

As you may know about almost all arena seats, the challenge is that in most cases each seat shares an armrest bracket with the neighbouring seat, so to get a complete seat you “lose” the seat next to it because without an armrest bracket, the adjacent seat is really just a seat back and a seat cushion but there is nothing to make those parts into an actual seat. So I had to make sure that I chose seats that had two armrests, one on each side. I chose my four seats, paid the Gardens employee $40, carried each seat one at a time to my car and was on my way within 30 minutes of having arrived.

Keep in mind that even though I had four complete seats, they were designed to be bolted into the upright concrete “row” of the building. Thus you couldn’t use the seats as a functioning piece of furniture to sit on until you came up with some way to make the seats stand on their own. So my four Gardens seats sat safely in my basement for the next eight years.

Turn the hands of time ahead three years, to the summer of 1994. In St. Louis Missouri, the owners of the famed St. Louis Arena (briefly known for a short while as the Checkerdome and home of the St. Louis Blues from 1967-1994) were closing the Arena and were having an auction of the contents. I contacted the auctioneer prior to the actual auction date and bought 3000 seats. Then with the help of two friends, we removed the seats from the arena a month later and stored them in a rented warehouse in St. Louis. For more on this adventure, please visit this blog posting from June 2012.

These 3000 St. Louis Arena seats had the same issue as my four Gardens seats – they were not able to stand on their own because they were designed to be bolted into the upright concrete “steps”. I worked with a local St. Louis metal working company to come up with a solution – a powder coated steel bracket that could bolt to the armrest bracket.

Over the next nine months, I did a series of radio commercials and newspaper ads in St. Louis and we sold 1500 “St. Louis Seats” – remember, even though I bought 3000 seats, because of the shared armrest, I could only “net” 1500 seats.

August 2024 update: I have one St. Louis Arena seat mounted and ready for immediate sale.  "Mounted" means the seat has specially designed blue powder-coated floor brackets that allow the seat to be used anywhere.  It has the decal mentioned below that is signed by the four decade representatives of the Blues - Glenn Hall for the 60's, Garry Unger for the 70's, Bernie Federko for the 80's and Curtis Joseph for the 90's. The price is $895US and includes shipping to one US location. Contact me if you are interested. Cell: 416-315-4736 or email ssillcox@rogers.com .

Turn the hands of time ahead a few years...

In 1999 the Leafs were moving out of Maple Leaf Gardens and into their new home at the Air Canada Centre. It occurred to me that it was time for me to do something with my four grey seats from Maple Leaf Gardens.

I worked with a metal working company in Markham, Ontario and using my St. Louis seat bracket as a template, we designed almost identical brackets for the Gardens seats. We then had the brackets powder coated a “Gardens” grey and added black plastic end caps, and we now had fully functioning, self-standing seats.

I did one more thing with my four Gardens seats. The armrests had an unattractive grey plastic armrest that was not pleasing to look at. I thus had a woodworker make wooden armrests the exact same shape and size as the plastic armrests but from high quality maple wood. Thus these seats have natural maple armrests and in my opinion, are much more attractive than would otherwise be the case.

Thanks for reading this post - just a fun little adventure I thought I should chronicle while most of the facts are still with me.

Stay well -

Scott