What Hockey Jerseys Are Made Of

As with most any sport, as the game evolves so too does the player’s equipment. Hockey has had a long and fascinating history and it has changed a lot over the years. The equipment has grown and shrank, the players have developed new techniques like one timers and slap shots, and the rinks they play on have been significantly improved. The same is true for their hockey jerseys. The hockey jersey has evolved with the game and has gone through many changes.

In the olden days of hockey, when people thought skates were simply sharp razor blades attached to their boots, the game was mostly played outdoors on frozen ponds. Pond hockey was fun but it had its draw backs. The weather could often get incredibly cold, especially in the more northern areas of America, and if you weren’t wearing the proper clothing you couldn’t play for very long. Thus the wool hockey sweater was born. Players would decorate their house hold sweaters with team insignia and get out there and play.

As hockey’s popularity grew the outdoor pond hockey games went inside where air and temperature could be controlled. Ice hockey rinks provided a roof over the heads of the players and radiating heat for the fans. It wasn’t necessary to wear the heavy wool sweaters anymore so the hockey jersey was born. Manufacturers tried a number of different materials like linen to try and get a lighter but still cold resistant sweater for the hockey players.

Modern hockey players now wear hockey jerseys made of synthetic materials like polyester fabrics. These polyesters are water resistant so they dry faster when sweat in and they are also quite porous to allow for maximum cooling when the player is working hard out on the ice. The stadium regulates the temperature enough that there isn’t much need for insulating jerseys and the players also wear a lot more pads that keep the heat in also.

You’re probably wondering what you should wear to play hockey. With all this talk about different hockey jersey fabrics you might think to yourself that if you don’t own a hockey jersey you aren’t properly playing hockey. While that might be true, you can still get away with wearing a t-shirt or a sweater to your pick up hockey games. If the games get serious and you join a league you’ll probably want to pick up a polyester jersey at some point.

Hockey jerseys have evolved with the game of hockey. They have been made in different ways and with different patterns and styles but their function remains the same. Hockey jerseys are designed to protect and insulate the players while still distinguishing them from the others on the ice. A player’s hockey jersey tells a lot about them. It gives us their number, their team, and their last name.

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The Early Years Of MMA: Ali Vs. Inoki

The UFC has only recently brought mixed martial arts to the mainstream in the US, but in Japan there’s a long tradition of fights pitting contestants from different disciplines against each other. While they’ve only been called MMA or ‘mixed martial arts’ in recent years, the sport clearly has its roots in these early contests between wrestlers, judo fighters and boxers. In Japan, Antonio Inoki’s fights against world famous martial artists brought great notoriety to the still evolving sport.

Inoki billed himself as ‘World Martial Arts Champion’ and would frequently face other high profile fighters in contests that are generally believed to have had a pre-determined outcome similar to professional wrestling. Inoki faced a ‘who’s who’ of the martial arts world, but none were more famous than heavyweight boxing legend Muhammad Ali.

There are differing accounts of how the best heavyweight boxer in history found himself in a ring in Tokyo’s Budokan Arena against a pro wrestler. One thing is certain–it was viewed as an easy payday for Ali, who’d lost a good chunk of his prime earning years to his controversial stance over the Vietnam war. That’s what got him there in the first place, and that’s what kept him there after the two sides began squabbling over the rules and the outcome of the fight. Some suggest that it was supposed to be a “fair fight” going in and once Ali saw Inoki spar he insisted on rules changes to tilt the fight in his favor. Another more likely version of the story suggests that Ali’s handlers knew that the fight was supposed to be a “work” all along. They made the deal with Inoki’s people based on this fact, and were all on board as to the outcome of the match and how it would “finish”. The “original” plan was to have Inoki win in a controversial manner that would keep his undefeated streak in “MMA” matches intact while allowing Ali to “save face. The only person who wasn’t aware of the game plan, however, was Ali himself. When informed that he was supposed to “take a dive”, even in a convoluted fashion, Ali refused. No agreement was reached between the two camps and at the last minute a legit fight transpired. The promoters were left with a sold out Budokan, a worldwide PPV audience and two fighters who despite every effort to the contrary would actually have to fight each other.

By the time the fight began, Ali’s handlers had obtained a ridiculously one sided set of rules that prohibited Inkoi from using a closed fist, striking Ali in the head at all, using any chokes or submissions or even trying to take the fight to the ground. Were it not for the huge amount of money he’d be leaving on the table, Inoki would have been justified in not fighting at all under these highly restrictive and one-sided conditions.

The painfully boring event that ensued was, despite many suggestions to the contrary, an actual fight. Inoki spent most of the match on the ground, unsuccessfully imploring Ali to join him and throwing kicks at his opponent’s legs. Ali did even less throughout the match, throwing a few jabs and trying to protect his knees and legs. The fight was scored on a 5 point system, and ended up in a 74-74 draw. It’s worth noting that Inoki had three points deducted for very dubious infractions: the first for throwing (and missing) with a drop kick, the second for throwing an elbow to Ali’s head and the third for a swift kick to Ali’s ribs. Had these deductions not occurred, Inoki would have won by decision. From a strict standpoint of scoring boxing, he probably deserved to win since he at least tried to execute a fight plan despite the restrictions he faced. For all practical purposes, however, a draw was the proper outcome. Both guys got paid and no one won, least of all the fans.

An interesting postscript to the fight is that the referee was former pro wrestler “Judo” Gene Labell, a legit tough guy whom some have suggested could have beaten up both Ali and Inoki at the same time despite his advanced age. Had he chosen to do so, it would certainly have been welcomed by those watching the fight live and on closed circuit.

The fiasco didn’t hurt Inoki’s popularity in Japan whatsoever. Oddly, he became something of a hero for trying to take the fight to Ali despite the one sided rules. He would remain one of Japan’s most popular pro wrestlers and later serve in the country’s parliament. Inoki’s fights against other martial artists remained wildly popular, and are often credited as being the forerunner of PRIDE, RINGS and the major MMA organizations in Japan today.

Ross Everett is a staff handicapper for a number of offshore sports books and an authority on NFL football betting . He’s a noted expert on sports handicapping theory, as well as financial investment strategy. He contributes to a number of websites providing insight on how to bet on NFL, MMA and boxing.

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