The baseball season has been upon us for almost a month now, and that has given us all a chance to look at most, if not all the teams, play at home and on the road. In addition to the game, I am intrigued by the uniforms and the changes made from one year to the next.
1970’s Houston Astros
I think the Astros were way ahead of their time by embracing t
he gay pride mov
ement with these colorful items. They tried to correct their colorful mistake by going the other way and taking all the color out of what they wore, but that just made it worse. Their road uni’s were a crème color with the stripes on the shoulders. These uniforms were out of this world, and that is where they should be stored before we have a nuclear biohazrd on our hands. By the way, is that oscar winning actor Phillip Seymore Hoffman at an Astros game? (right)
So far, the only significant change has been Arizona, who switched from their Wimble
don inspired purple and green to red and black. Unfortunately, I did catch the Pirates in their red vests, which may seem strange to some, but red is one of the Pirates colors, which is in sharp contrast to the traditional gold and black we all have been used to seeing over the years. No wonder they went with black and gold for all those years...
don inspired purple and green to red and black. Unfortunately, I did catch the Pirates in their red vests, which may seem strange to some, but red is one of the Pirates colors, which is in sharp contrast to the traditional gold and black we all have been used to seeing over the years. No wonder they went with black and gold for all those years...I glanced at a few of the uniforms the teams have worn over the years and m
uch like a lot of things in the world, things have come full circle. Most of the uniforms of the 30’s and 40’s can be seen in today’s teams. Of course, we all experienced that disco era v-neck double knits that I will deny I knew anything about. Take it a step further and throw in the made for TV power blue road jerseys some of the teams wore and you would think the majority of the teams shopped for their uniforms at the Chapel Hill Kresges, which later became K-Mart.
uch like a lot of things in the world, things have come full circle. Most of the uniforms of the 30’s and 40’s can be seen in today’s teams. Of course, we all experienced that disco era v-neck double knits that I will deny I knew anything about. Take it a step further and throw in the made for TV power blue road jerseys some of the teams wore and you would think the majority of the teams shopped for their uniforms at the Chapel Hill Kresges, which later became K-Mart.This uniform switch can become a little silly at times. Remember a few years ago, Craig Biggio wore the wrong uniform top during a game? The Astros have a red jersey reading Astros for home games, and Houston for road games. Biggio mistakenly wore the wrong jersey for a few innings.
"I had no idea," Biggio said. "My family didn't even notice." Remembering that he went 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored during the Astros' 5-2 win, he jokingly threatened to wear the wrong jersey again.
"Nobody noticed that during the game," Biggio marveled. "As much as I'd like to get all over Dennis for this one, I can't. I'd like to blame Dennis. I really would. But I can't. That one was my fault."
The best jerseys in baseball belong to the patriarchs of the game. The Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, Tigers and Giants have classic uniforms that have not changed much since their birth at the beginning of the century. In fact, if you look at a picture of one of those teams from the 30's, their uniform has not changed much, if at all.
The best jerseys in baseball belong to the patriarchs of the game. The Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, Tigers and Giants have classic uniforms that have not changed much since their birth at the beginning of the century. In fact, if you look at a picture of one of those teams from the 30's, their uniform has not changed much, if at all.
Major League Baseball players began wearing numbers on the back of their uniforms permanently in 1929. Cleveland sported the look first, on April 16 (for home games only), and the Yankees following suit two days later. New York was the first club to wear numbers on both their home and road uniforms. Prior attempts to identify the players numerically were met with derision from the players, who thought that the numerals made them look like convicts. The fans, however, enjoyed this identification system, and by 1934, all major league clubs donned the digits, the New York Giants being the last holdout.
Originally, uniform numbers were determined by a player's place in the batting order. The Yankees did this to help the fans pick out their favorite players easily. Babe Ruth batted third, hence number three, and Lou Gehrig followed him at number four. Incidentally, Gehrig's number four was the first uniform number to be retired, on July 4, 1939.
Certain numbers mean certain players. If I mention 24, immediately you will think of Willie Mays. 44 means a trio of sluggers: Hank Aaron, Willie McCovey and Reggie Jackson. Over in Yankee Stadium, 7 meant Mickey Mantle, while 5 belonged to Joe DiMaggio. In Boston, 9 was worn by Ted Williams and 8 by Carl Yastrzemski. In Pittsburgh, Roberto Clemente wore 21, and to this day the stadium scoreboard puts his number underneath the AT BAT sign on the scoreboard before a game. Jackie Robinson has the distinction of being the only player to have his number, 42, retired by Major League Baseball. The range of numbers is total as well as 0 was worn by Texas slugger Al Oliver while Philadelphia’s Mitch Williams went the other way and wore 99. There was even a fraction of a number worn in 1951 as midget Eddie Gaedel, pinch hitting in one of owner Bill Veek’s crazy promotions, wore 1/8.
Through the years, there have been some uniforms that should have never left the clubhouse. Please take cover while you see these fashion assassins that someone in major league baseball thought were a good idea.
1970’s San Diego Padres
There was a rumor all San Diego area ice cream men gave away a Padres jersey with every banana fudge sickle sold during the season. My father once told me they reminded him of the inside of a cheese burrito. And you thought watching a University of Wyoming game would blow out the color tubes in your TV...
There was a rumor all San Diego area ice cream men gave away a Padres jersey with every banana fudge sickle sold during the season. My father once told me they reminded him of the inside of a cheese burrito. And you thought watching a University of Wyoming game would blow out the color tubes in your TV...
1970’s Houston Astros
I think the Astros were way ahead of their time by embracing t
he gay pride mov
ement with these colorful items. They tried to correct their colorful mistake by going the other way and taking all the color out of what they wore, but that just made it worse. Their road uni’s were a crème color with the stripes on the shoulders. These uniforms were out of this world, and that is where they should be stored before we have a nuclear biohazrd on our hands. By the way, is that oscar winning actor Phillip Seymore Hoffman at an Astros game? (right)We had two teams that went multi colored on the majors in the 70's. First, the Oakland A's played championship baseball, then went straight over to the TV studio after the game was over to film their Sprite commercial. Not to be outdone, the Pittsburgh Pirates made the red vests look like Yankee pinstripes with their four set jersey/pant combo. Rumor has it the clubhouse man who was responsible for putting the correct color combination in each players locker during their world's championship season of 1979 got a double world series share, which they delivered to him at a local Pittsburgh hospital where he was recovering from corrective eye surgery to repair a burnt out retina from all the different color combinations he had to deal with.
What are your favorite and least favorite baseball uniforms? Drop me a line and we can discuss!
(Thanks - National Baseball Hall of Fame, Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates)
