Big Klu's Sleeveless Look

[redsmetz]

I figured I'd just start a thread on this rather than divert from Lark's HOF thread.

Interesting piece on Klu and his foray into the sleeveless look, as well as more info on his career. It even has a description of his swing.

http://www.goldenagebaseballcards.co...sleeveless.htm

[redsmetz]

I tried to find a clip of Klu at bat, to no avail thus far. But I thought I'd pull forward this clip from What's My Line that featured the 1956 Reds. Ted is the spokesman for the players in answering the questions. Funny early on with the question "do you work for a profit making organization." Klu hesitates briefly, I'm guessing thinking of the poor mouthing any player back then got from management about how little they were making when talking contracts.

Cincinnati Reds--What's My Line - YouTube

BTW, John Daly, the host, asks Ed Bailey to take a special bow. He'd hit three home runs in the 1st game of the doubleheader leading the Reds to a 10-6 win. Probably the game of his career:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/bo...95606241.shtml

[RollyInRaleigh]

Posted this in the Larkin thread before I saw your thread.

The Cubs used the look from 1940-1942. I think the Reds and Pirates were the first teams to use the look for an extended period. The Reds from 1956-1966 and the Pirates from 1957-1970, mid season (June) when they left old Forbes Field and moved into Three Rivers Stadium. With that, they ushered in the beltless/double knit era in baseball uniforms. The KC/Oakland A's also wore vests from 1962-1971, with some of the most exotic colors in baseball history. Originally red, white, and blue, Charlie Finley turned the A's into "an exotic blend of "Wedding Gown" white, "Kelly" green and "Tulane" gold in various combinations" with white shoes to boot. Just in time for the color TV age

[westofyou]

http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?...=7621&bid=1975

In 1948 he returned to Cincinnati to stay. It wasn't long before his large biceps prompted Klu to cut off the sleeves of his jersey, one of the boldest fashion statements in baseball history. “At first, I did it because the sleeves were restricting me from swinging,” he said later. “They could never make a uniform for me that would give me enough room. So I asked them to shorten the sleeves on my uniforms, but they gave me a lot of flak. So one day, I just took a pair of scissors out and cut them off. After a while, it became kind of a symbol.”

“I remember the first time that I saw Ted in those cut-off sleeves,” former White Sox teammate Billy Pierce said of his trademark style nearly a half-century later. “They were good-sized. He was a big man. A big man.”