Baseball uniform
A baseball uniform is a type of uniform worn by baseball players, coaches and managers.
Most baseball uniforms have the names and
Baseball uniforms were first worn by the
History
Early developments
The New York Knickerbockers were the first baseball team to wear uniforms, taking the field on April 4, 1849, in pants made of blue wool, white flannel shirts and straw hats.[1][2]
The practice of wearing a uniform soon spread, and by 1900, all Major League Baseball teams had adopted them.[3]
By 1882 most uniforms included stockings, which covered the leg from foot to knee, and were used to differentiate one club from another. The uniforms themselves had different colors and patterns that reflected the different baseball positions.[4]
In the late 1880s, the
Home and road uniforms
By the end of the 19th century, teams began the practice of wearing one of two different uniforms, one when they played in their own
In 1916, on the
In 1916, the
In most parts of the world,
Controversy over major league baseball teams' newly redesigned uniforms erupted during spring training in 2024. Major League Baseball debuted a slate of new uniforms that were designed by Nike and manufactured by Fanatics. Many players were upset with the way the jerseys looked, saying that the smaller numbers and letters made them feel as if they were wearing replicas. One player complained that the team name on jerseys for the Philadelphia Phillies was off-center. Concerns about the new uniform pants included the observation that tucked in jerseys were visible through home white pants. In response, Nike issued a statement saying that "We will continue to work with MLB, the players, and our manufacturing partner to address player uniforms."[11]
Cap styles
Caps, or other types of headgear with eye-shades, have been a part of baseball uniforms from the beginning.[12][13]
From the 1840s to the 1870s, baseball players wore various types of hats, or even no cap at all, since there was no official rule regarding headgear.[14] Examples included full-brimmed straw hats such as boating caps, jockey caps, cycling caps, and flat-topped caps.[12]
The
Shoes
In the late 19th century, soft but durable leather shoes were the preferred choice of baseball players.
In the 1970s, as artificial turf became prominent on developed countries' baseball fields, modifications to footwear became necessary.[17] Detachable spikes became popular in the 20th century, as they helped players to avoid slipping, especially on turf, but they were banned in 1976.
In the 19th century and the first part of the 20th, baseball shoes were commonly black in color. In the 1960s, the Kansas City Athletics began wearing revolutionary white shoes, a tradition carried over when they moved to Oakland. Since then, some teams are wearing colored cleats corresponding to their team colors. For example, the Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals now wear red cleats, the Chicago Cubs and the Los Angeles Dodgers wear blue cleats, and some of the San Francisco Giants players wear orange cleats. In recent years, however, players are now allowed to wear cleats regardless of team color, and often customize them as a form of self-expression.
Stockings and pants
- See footnote[18] and Baseball stirrups
Inspired by the
By the 1990s, new styles of close-trimmed pants legs made it possible for players to wear pants that ran clear to the shoetops, in lieu of the traditional knee-breeches style that had prevailed for generations. This led to a violation of the literal concept of a "uniform", in that different players on a given team might wear knee-length and full-length pants on the field at the same time. Players such as Manny Ramirez took this fashion trend to an extreme, wearing loose-fitting pants whose legs nearly lapped under the heels of the shoes. Some, such as Gary Sheffield, even developed straps that hooked under the cleats. Meanwhile, players such as Alfonso Soriano continued to wear the traditional knee-breeches, though most of these players still lacked the traditional stirrups.
By the end of the first decade of the 21st century, nearly all players wore either traditional knee-high socks or pants that covered the shoetops and contained no elastic in the bottom. Such loose-fitting pants were called "pro-flare", as they are worn by most major league players. However, a few older players, like Derek Jeter, wore pants that stopped right at the shoes, like the style of the late 1990s/early 2000s.
In recent years teams that wear throwback uniforms usually outfit themselves with stirrups or knee-breeches, to simulate the look of a particular era. In addition, some teams began to wear stockings with stripes. Examples include the Tampa Bay Rays sporting Columbia blue and white striping on their navy stockings, the St. Louis Cardinals with navy and white stripes on their red stockings, and the San Francisco Giants in black stockings with orange stripes.
Graphics and logos
From the beginning, graphic designs were used to identify teams. Often an Old English letter was worn on the chest. This style survives with the Detroit Tigers and their gothic style "D" on their home jerseys and caps and the Oakland Athletics, who currently have an Old English "A" on their caps and their alternative jerseys.
As official nicknames gained prominence in the early 1900s (in contrast to media-generated and unofficial nicknames of prior generations), pictorial logos began emerging as part of the team's marketing. Some early examples include a small red tiger on the black cap of the 1901 Detroit Tigers, as they were officially the Tigers from the beginning; and a bear cub logo on the Chicago Cubs shirts by 1907, as that unofficial nickname was then adopted officially by the club.
In another famous example, the Boston Americans (an unofficial designation that merely distinguished them from their across-the-tracks rivals) adopted the Nationals' abandoned red stockings in 1908, and have been the Boston Red Sox officially ever since then.[20]
By the 1930s, nearly every team had distinctive logos, letters or the team nickname on their home shirts, as part of the team's marketing. The trend of the city name on the road jerseys continued. In recent years, with team nicknames being so strongly associated with the clubs, logos that were once only used at home also turned up on road jerseys, in place of city names.
Notes
- Okkonen, Marc (1991). Baseball Uniforms of the 20th Century: The Official Major League Baseball Guide.
References
- ^ a b "Evolution of Baseball Equipment: The Uniform". 19th Century Baseball. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
- National Baseball Hall of Fame. Archivedfrom the original on July 24, 2008. Retrieved June 14, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Baseball Uniforms of the 20th Century by Baseball Almanac". Baseball Almanac. Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved May 2, 2008.
- National Baseball Hall of Fame. Archivedfrom the original on April 5, 2008. Retrieved May 11, 2008.
- National Baseball Hall of Fame. Archived from the originalon April 11, 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
- ^ "Charlie Finley: Baseball's Barnum". Time. August 18, 1975. Archived from the original on October 12, 2008. Retrieved June 28, 2008.
- ^ National Baseball Hall of Fame. Retrieved May 2, 2008.
- National Baseball Hall of Fame. Archived from the originalon October 3, 2011. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
- ^ Trebay, Guy (October 24, 2000). "New York Yankees using pinstripes to make Babe Ruth look slimmer". New York Times. Retrieved July 14, 2008.
- ^ Lukas, Paul (February 22, 2018). "The colorful history of the uniform name game". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
- ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
- ^ a b c Atkin, Ross. "A short history of the baseball cap". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
- ^ "Happy 50th, baseball caps". BBC News. April 27, 2004. Retrieved May 2, 2008.
- ^ "Celebrating the rich history of baseball caps". mlb.com. Retrieved June 29, 2008.
- ^ DiMeglio, Steve (July 27, 2006). "Baseball cap has endured generations as the all-American hat". USA TODAY. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
- ^ "History of baseball caps and how it is made". madehow.com. Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved June 29, 2008.
- ^ "Baseball Shoes". Baseball information. baseball.mu. Archived from the original on April 11, 2008. Retrieved May 3, 2008.
- ^ At Baseball and socks appeal, go to page 2 and scroll down to "Create a sensation" (for history of high socks in MLB). Vitez, Michael (August 29, 2011). Philly.com. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2011-09-02. "This led to the invention of the two-in-one, a white sock with a colored stripe down the side, an innovation that all but ensured the demise of the stirrup."
- ^ "Hosiery History". Village Voice. Archived from the original on May 15, 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-03.
- ^ "History of the Boston Americans and their uniforms". redsoxnation.com. Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved May 27, 2008.
External links
- History of the Baseball uniform at the National Baseball Hall of Fame
- ESPN: A pain in the butt(on) – history and potential nuisances of the baseball jersey
- How Baseball Uniforms Have Changed