2015 Biscuit Promotions, Dressed Like A Biscuit

Congrats to the JaxSuns on their 2014 SL Championship, they knocked the Lookouts back into the "Most Futile" category. Cant wait to face both next year, hopefully we can take the trophy back from Florida.

2015 Biscuits Promotional Schedule Released

It looks like the Biscuits front office took notice of the fans concerns about the promotions and have stepped it up for the upcoming All Star season. Among the highlights:

Desmond Jennings Bobblehead giveaway
Turn Ahead the Clock Back to the Future Night with futuristic jersey auction
Craft Beer Fest
Hot Dog Festival

Add the usual assortment of Jimmy Buffet, Star Wars, 1980s themed nights. A couple autograph days and the AUM "Premium Giveaway" that is usually a lunchbox-related item.

We also get Miss Gravy's Birthday, which used to be Big Mo's Birthday so we may see Big Mo traded in the offseason.

THE BISCUIT UNIFORM
Long time fans and casual observers probably don't pay much attention, but with the impending change in uniform tops for the Montgomery Biscuits, the team will be wearing its third home jersey and sixth overall uni top. Its been over a decade since the Biscuit duds were first introduced and the changes have been subtle. But there have been changes.

Chris Nowak in the classic Skitz uni

FONT & COLORS
The Biscuits use their own script/font for the team name and numbers on the uniform as well as other signage around the park, but the player names on back of the shirts are always a basic sans serif block lettering.

The colors are uninspired but unoffensive, based on the yellow-blue contrast popular in many sports logos.

Monty Biscuit is the palette

The Biscuits yellow is a bright but not neon the team likes to call "Butter" but in fact has almost no resemblance to the dairy product OR to any paint palette reference to "butter yellow".

The Butter-Yellow of the Biscuits uniform will vary from a middling yellow of a variety close to the average "school zone" sign to an almost orange hue seen on "road work" signs.

Offsetting the bright tones of the yellow in the uniform is a dark navy blue trim. The Biscuits uniform is often referred to as the "Butter and Blue" by announcers, but rarely among fans. I suspect this is because the yellow isn't butter colored, and even if it WAS yellow isn't the dominant color of the home uniform.

Andrew Bellatti reads to Keith Castillo and friends

2004

FIRST LOOK

The home whites and road blues were first seen for the new team in Montgomery and they were impressive. The only flaw on the design was in the name, Biscuits were about as embarrassing a name as could be flung on a southern team by carpetbagging ownership. Still is, but I digress.

The white tops were sleeveless vests with a bright yellow scripted "Biscuits" on the chest outlined in dark blue. Yellow and blue piping runs vertically up the chest on either side of the buttons and circles the collar.

The vest is worn over a dark blue undershirt with a Biscuits logo-M on the left shoulder. After the first season, the "Monty-Biscuit M" logo on the shoulder would not be a requirement, though some players would still wear it at times.

Isenia wearing M logo undershirt

The uniform number is seen smaller on the front left and larger on the center of the back, also in yellow with a blue outline. The name on back of the home white jersey is arched above the number at the shoulders in blue capital letters.


PANTS, SOCKS, SHOES

Long pants? Must be April '04!

The Biscuits have maintained a strict high-cuff rule since early on in their existance. You can find images of Biscuits wearing pajama pants from early 2004, but sometime during that season a Tampa official mandated that our players should look like ballplayers and not kids at a sleepover.

The home pants are white with yellow/blue piping along the outside of the leg. They are worn high cuffed with dark blue stockings. 

While noone has informed me there is a shoes rule, all players wear black shoes with white trim. I have never seen a player with other colors in their shoes, so I am going to say there is probably a dress code limiting shoe expressions.

ROAD UNIFORMS

The road uniform is a dark blue top with yellow "Biscuits" emblazoned on the chest above the number. Yellow and blue piping lines the buttons and circles the neck. The yellow trim on the road blue jersey is a different color than the home, this is the almost-orange trim that must be an intentional thing, as they have had opportunities to change it to match the home colors but haven't.

Hellickson in road blues

No name on back for any road jersey, just the large uniform number to prevent hecklers in other cities from getting too personal.

Road pants are gray with yellow-blue piping down the outside leg, worn high cuffed with dark blue stockings.


2007 PLAYOFFS FORCE UNI CHANGE 
In 2007 the Biscuits went to the playoffs, facing the Huntsville Stars in the championship series. When the two teams were preparing to line up on the field for the national anthem, we saw a change was needed. Both teams were essentially identical in dark blue tops, only the home teams white pants setting them apart.

The Stars ended up wearing their road Red tops for most of their home games during the championships.

2007 Playoffs

So in 2oo8 the Biscuits unveiled their new road alternates, a set of grey tops that would go on to be known as....

 THE SILVER SURFERS

They were ugly. They were cheap. They might be jinxed. Some loved them and some called them the worst shirt in the history of sports. But the 'Skitz wore them from '08-13.

Delmon Young in Silver Surfer 2013

Season Ticket holder Jennifer says they are jinxed, bad luck somehow. Not sure why, the Biscuits won it all in the first season with the Silver Surfers, so I would think that knocks curses out of the discussion. But then again, we have had some really lean years since they were introduced and haven't won a title since that 2008 season, so there is that.

The Silver Surfers are the alternate road top, a gray so pale its almost pink when viewed under stadium lights at dusk. The Biscuit script is the same on the chest as the home and blue road top. No front number, no name on back. The design is essentially the same as the blue road top, minus the front number. Yellow and blue piping flank the buttons vertically, then curve up and around the collar.

Matt Buschmann in the Silver Surfer

The Silver Surfers are a mesh material, which made them popular among some players for being a more comfortable jersey during the hot and humid Southern league months. Other players, however, felt them an affront to style and would rather have worn burlap than the pink mesh.

Of the Biscuits uniform designs, the road gray alternates have probably been worn the least, and getting less use means less replacements - they were in use through '13.

Omar Luna wears the Silver Surfer as Billy Hamilton sets the MiLB steals record

BISCUITS GO STRAIGHT

In 2007 the radial arch NOB for the home jersey became a straight block nameplate across the back, and has remained so. This makes it easy to date photos of Biscuits players, a curved name means the pic was taken in the first three seasons!

 Mike Prochaska in '07

 2013 BISCUIT JERSEY
In '13 the Biscuits unveiled a new uniform top. Replacing the blue sleeves under a white vest, the 2013 jersey was a short sleeve white shirt of heavy poly. The jerseys look great but were very hot for players, due in part to their top-shelf quality.
As such, the team wore them just two seasons and starting next spring will be wearing a new lighter jersey.

Albert Suarez stylin in the 2013-14 style jersey

WILSON VS RUSSELL
The Biscuit jerseys have always been made by Wilson, but the folks I talk to at the Skitz say they will be using Russell for the 2015 uni. I had thought there was a deal in place by Wilson with MiLB, but somehow that doesn't seem to bother the Montgomery staff.
They tell me we can expect a much lighter cloth, perhaps even a mesh home jersey next year, made by Russell.They will be similar to ....

2014 NEW ROAD GRAYS

Hellickson rehabed in the gray

The Montgomery Gray was the name of our team for several years in the past, and as often as the Biscuits wore their new road uniforms opposing fans must have thought we had gone back to being the Grays.

Floro pitching in road uni

The new road tops are of lighter material, almost a mesh fabric that was very popular with the players and didn't look as odd as the Silver Surfers. The Biscuits wore them three or four times in their five game road series, and were obviously happy with them.

The road grays are of the same design as the road blues and home whites, sharing the same piping and trim on other Montgomery uniform styles.

Biscuits enjoy rain delays in road grays

CAPS
The Biscuits have had quite a few caps, I will have a later post detailing the hats and their changes over the years. There is alot to cover with caps!