Iconic Slam-Dunking Skullman® Appears for Year End In Center of the World Times Square

The True Story of the Source of the Iconic Lithuanian Basketball Tie Dye Shirts

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, December 28, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ — The iconic 1992 Lithuanian basketball tie dye shirts were created by New York sports apparel Licensor and fashion designer Greg Speirs and licensed to the team so the Lithuanian Olympic Men’s basketball team could have something fun to use and wear during the Olympics, something that was never seen before in the Olympics or in the world of sports apparel.

“The story was a major news event impacting popular culture, taking its place in history. It had a major influence on the future of sports fashion, changing the way it was perceived and viewed. The Tie Dyed Slammin^® Skullman^® became a legendary household icon.” said Mike Thompson of Slammin Sports^®. Immediately after the Olympics ended the T-shirts started selling and became a hot collectible. The creator was pushed aside by the press in lieu of the preferred narrative, “better” story line and the bigger names involved. In spite of this Speirs saw it as a great opportunity to help the team and chose to donate all of what would have been his profits to continue to fund the team. “The reason why Greg was the major sponsor of the 1992 Men’s Lithuanian Olympic Basketball Team is because the biggest sponsorship came from the sales of his shirts.” said Slammin’ Sports spokesman Mike Thompson. “He donated 100% of his profits to fund the team which started at $450,000 in the first wave of donations and may have skyrocketed to millions according to news reports.” All of Greg’s continuing profits for the team went into Lithuanian player Sarunas Marciulionis’ Sarunas Lithuanian Children’s Fund” to help sick children in need, which was controlled by the former Lithuania team player and NBA star.

The Grateful Dead band gave a separate $5,000. donation to the team, as was reported in the news, before the Olympics when player Sarunas Marciulionis was seeking donations for his newly independent team. But this was not connected to Greg’s Skullman uniforms or the artist’s separate, huge donation of royalties from licensed sales of the shirts after the Olympics to the team. These were two separate facts in the story which were not made clear throughout the years of reports about this story.

See IMDB bio documentation: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3998173/

Listen to the podcast that uncovered the true facts about this story:

https://wondery.com/shows/sports-explains-the-world/episode/13843-the-skullman-cometh/

“Greg played a much more significant role in the story, including his funding donation. Turns out his part was a lot more significant than reported throughout the years.” recalled Mike Thompson of Slammin’ Sports.

See CNBC news story:

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/id/100165621

The line is actually an independent line which came into this story, created and solely owned by the designer before you saw it on the world stage at the Olympics. The brand was born the moment you saw it on the bronze medal stand worn by the team. It was not connected to any other entity. All licensing rights originate exclusively from the artist.

“The Other Dream Team” film:

Directed and produced by Marius Markevicius and Jon Weinbach, “The Other Dream Team” is a sports and political documentary about the national Lithuanian basketball team that competed at the 1992 Summer Olympic Games.

It highlights Lithuanians’ experiences behind the Iron Curtain, where elite athletes were subjected to brutalities of Communist rule. As they hid from KGB agents and feared for their lives, Lithuania’s basketball stars always shared a common goal – to utilize their athletic gifts to help free their country.

Aside from the hardships on the road to the ’92 Olympics, the film celebrates the infamous tie-dyed uniforms worn by the Lithuanian Olympic team that feature Speirs’ trademark jerseys, the Slam Dunking Skeleton, now a historic piece of Olympic basketball culture.

Read the documented news story:

https://www.amworldgroup.com/blog/lithuanian-slam-dunking-skeleton-back-for-the-other-dream-team-documentary

The meaning of the image:

“The 1992 Lithuanian Basketball Team represents what happens in freedom…people excel. The struggle of the Lithuanian team struck a chord with me so I decided to come up with an image which I believed represented them. I came up with the Slam Dunking Skeleton because it symbolized a team coming up from nothing and the ashes, and rising up to overcome the obstacles, which are represented by the hands reaching up in the image. Instead of representing death, this skeleton represents a new life and rebirth. If you could condense this story down to just one phrase it would be “Freedom and Free Enterprise.”-Greg Speirs.

Listen to “The Other Dream Team” interview:

http://www.gregspeirs.com/greg-speirs-audio-interview-by-the-other-dream-team-documentary-film/

Speirs, the former 1970′s Grooves Music Magazine Creator, apparel licensor and designer was named to Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in the World and named to the Society of Illustrators in 1975 and 1976 as one of the top 500 illustrators. He was commissioned by Prince Albert of Monaco to design Monaco Olympic Bobsled Team sleds in 1995 for the World Cup Bobsled Championships, 1995-1997 and for the 1998 Nagano, Japan Winter Olympics. http://www.skullman.com/bobsleigh.htm Sponsored the American Rugby League uniforms in 1996-1998. Created the American Eagle design for the American Bobsled team sleds in 2002 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. Other projects in the 1970’s include Sesame Street, The Electric Company and RCA Records projects with record producer Artie Kornfeld, founder of the Woodstock Music Festival in 1969.

Skullman^® was “enshrined” at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. on Dec.7th 1993, a day living in infamy, becoming the first & only cartoon character and licensed property to be “enshrined” in any Hall of Fame:

http://www.lithuaniatshirt.com/basketball%20hall%20of%20fame.htm

You can order the Original 1992 Skullman Lithuania Tie Dye^® T-Shirts here: www.Skullman.com

Official Licensor of the Original Lithuania Tie Dye^® Brand Apparel & Merchandise. 1992 © Copyright & Trademark^® property of Greg Speirs. Lithuania Tie Dye^® & the Lithuanian Slam Dunking Skeleton^® and all related indicia and symbols are Official Trademark Brands and Licenses of Greg Speirs. Official Licensor/ Exclusive Source from which all licensing rights originate.

Mike Thompson
Slammin Sports
[email protected]
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Greg Speirs the American artist who created the world famous Slam Dunking Skeleton Lithuania Tie Dye Basketball Olympic Uniforms appears in The Other Dream Team