Meadow-Side / Week Seventeen
Zino Stiles-Johnson – Correspondent for TSS
At the Interval of the Zillertal-Klagenfurt match, played on the oldest Meadow in the AL, I stood underneath a brightly-colored open tent under which were being sold a battery of shirts, hooded sweatshirts, stickers, pins, scarves and all manner of gear (hangable, wearable, stickable) to happy customers, beaming as they grasped the 2025 Lindwyrms’ jersey, a Red Greens hat, or even, imagine the nerve – a Villach Tirolerhut (meaning the actual hat). And yes, all teams in the AL sell whatever gear their rivals (and friends) send them to display.
I fell into conversation with a cluster of boys, aged ten or twelve or so, who all pledge to represent Klagenfurt as soon as the town calls them to service, and we discussed a subject which I consider anew every season: which team has the most appealing colors, emblems, symbols, shirts, hats, gear? These lads were as informed as I, and equally opinionated.
And with each team showing a wonderful reluctance to alter time-honored emblems and badges, once one decides which teams’ appearance is most appealing, those lists seldom shift. If you love the Dolomites outline and the Climbing Axe symbol, so be it: Trento hasn’t changed a stitch on their jersey in 27 seasons!
Wearing their Allie Wurter #4 jerseys and flourishing Gerd Roare-signed posters, the lads offered points and counter-points as quickly as I could compile their – and my – thoughts.
From this fast and vibrant chat, we decided that these are the most beautiful jerseys that any of the 64 teams in all divisions of Wiesespiel offer. These boys understand, such is the reverence for the history of this league that its fans exhibit, that the best designs are the ones that demonstrate, among other demands, an understated and traditional presentation of the team’s mascot and town. The style and lettering, the collars, the size and positioning of the designs on the shirt front, the clever images on sleeves or elsewhere … well, you love the game, too: you get it.
So, the sons of Klagenfurt and I decided on this list of the best of the beautiful team shirts and jerseys available this season:
Two Honorable Mentions:
12] Chamonix Chamois – the outline of the goat on the steep slope of Mont Blanc evokes the mountain-climbing prowess of both that intrepid animal and the Alpinists who have scaled that intimidating peak.
11] The Smiths of Kochel – the raised muscular arm of the blacksmith and the hammer poised over the anvil are fantastic. What team doesn’t want to present an image like that for a game that rewards muscle and skill?
TOP TEN:
10. Lugano Hounds – the racing Hound identifies Lugano in the minds of millions of AL fans and, for this lover of Sherlock Holmes, also calls to mind the moors near Baskerville Hall (a double-win for this consumer).
9. Zurich Tirggel – A month ago, Zurich was not in this correspondent’s Top 40; now, with the embrace of the old look and the Tirggel – the imprinted cookie – on the chest? The team is re-made by going back in time. Several of the boys agreed and are eager to acquire the new (old) jersey or hat.
8. Matterhorn Black Eagles (the Matterhorn on the sleeve is always cool) – the outline of the eagle is ominous and impressive.
7. Spittal Schuhplattlers – “The Dancing Man” hasn’t changed in 145 years – to change that badge might cause an earthquake in Austria! (Of course, if you’re new to AL fandom, you may not know that the emblem showing the outline of the man in mid-dance switches every year: on even years, such as 2024, the Schuhplattler is slapping his left shoe with his right hand, and in odd years, such as 2025, the dancer is touching his right shoe with his left hand. Who dreamed that one up?!).
6. Sankt Moritz Pioneers – a minor team, of course, but the colors – based on the lake and snow, are natural and gorgeous. The Pioneer – mountaineering with a pack on his back – is a striking image.
5. Villach Tirolerhuts – the hat design on the background of the outline of The County (Carinthia) is pure Austria, and the green and gold colors are understated and feel like part of the native landscape.
4. Bern Armed Bears – the gothic-styled Bear on his diagonal is perfect (it’s a faithful rendition of the flag of the Canton of Bern) – so why wouldn’t Bern use it? And the Alpenhorn on the sleeve is beyond gorgeous.
3. Mulhouse Railmen – after a change in the leadership at Mulhouse, four seasons ago, the team brought back an image of the “Old Horse” – the Locomotive that ran in the 1860s and onward – in what proved to be a stroke of throwback genius. Apparel with this design was in demand instantly and remains a fan favorite.
2. Salzburg Edelweiss – unchanging year after year – and classy and flawless year after year. The subtle patch showing the Von Trapp house on the right sleeve is another embrace of their glorious history.
1. Klagenfurt Lindwyrms – Admittedly, I always lean toward the Original Team, and, of course, my jurors were all Klangenfurters who live and die by the Wyrms’ outcomes each Saturday – but no one can argue that this isn’t a sound choice; Klagenfurt gear determinedly preserves their origins lovingly and carefully.
And they seek, with caution and reverence for their past, to subtly embellish that heritage. Every tenth year (years ending in a -2) from the playing of the first Goose Day match in 1872, Lindwyrms gear includes an image of the sheaf of wheat that the “Farmhands” sent to Vienna as a reminder of their 26-3 dismantling of the Composers in that historic encounter. Upon seeing the Goose Day jersey for the 1922 season, esteemed TSS writer Max Grunning described the look as “golden wheat on a field of dragon’s-blood red.” Those tenth-year garments are, as you may know, highly coveted artifacts.
And we all hope to be the one who opens a new Klagenfurt item and discovers that rarest of things – an annual but elusive treasure: a “Duke Bernhard” badge sewn or printed on the hoodie or sticker or hat. For this 2024-25 season, the merchandisers printed exactly 20 such various items; so far, only 16 have been claimed. Could the next shirt sold be the 17th?
That’s one list. Surely, as you nodded in agreement or reared back in vehement dispute, you were compiling your own list of best designs and emblems.
And I’d love to share some of those choices – and any commentary defending your selections you care to provide, in my weekly online forum. Send those along by visiting TSS1873.com.
Thank you.