Jocks Brand

Underwear - As restrictions on content in print and television advertisements relaxed during the 1970s, it became common to see baseball players supplementing their income by modeling men’s underwear. The most famous pitchman of tighty-whities was handsome Jim Palmer, high-strung ace of the Baltimore Orioles, who appeared in a series of popular ads for Jockey. Thanks to his long, lean physique Palmer quickly became the darling of female and gay male fans, not quite the baseball equivalent of ubiquitous pin-up lovely Farah Fawcett but pretty darn close. Shown modeling the matching print underwear set is Philadelphia Phillies southpaw Steve Carlton, who looks rather more like an off-set porn star than an athlete. The cheesesteak beefcake was among the most physically fit players of his era, having designed a grueling workout regimen as eccentric as he. The sight of Babe Ruth in underwear would have unsettled many; thankfully he played in a more modest era, so we’ve been spared that image. Not so for Pete Rose, whose Prince Valiant haircut couldn’t hide his Everyman squatness and hairy forearms. All the models here are enshrined in the Hall of Fame except Rose. This begs the question: Was he banned for life from baseball for breaking the rules against gambling or because he broke the rules of good taste?