Most baseball uniforms have the names and uniform numbers of players who wear them, usually on the backs of the uniforms to distinguish players from each other. Baseball shirts (jerseys), pants, shoes, socks, caps, and gloves are parts of baseball uniforms. Most uniforms have different logos and colors to aid players, officials, and spectators in distinguishing the two teams from each other and the officials.
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]
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 baseball stadium and a different one when they played on the road. It became common to wear white at home and one of gray, solid dark blue, or black on the road.[3] An early example of this is the Brooklyn Superbas, who started to use a blue pattern for their road uniforms in 1907.[3]
In 1916, on the New York Giants' road uniforms, purple lines gave their uniforms a tartan-like effect, and another kind of road uniform was a solid dark blue or black material with white around this time. The Kansas City Athletics' home and road uniforms were changed by Charles O. Finley in 1963, to the colors of gold and green.[6] Some teams used light blue for their road uniforms from the 1970s to the early 1990s.[3] Early striped patterns developed into long stripes along the length of the uniforms, called pinstriping. This was first worn on some major league baseball team's uniforms in 1907, and the pinstripes were then widened in 1912, so that the crowd could see them more clearly.[3] The Chicago Cubs were wearing pinstripes in 1907 The Brooklyn Bridegrooms used checked uniforms in 1889, and brought them back in 1907 (as the Superbas) and 1916–1917 (as the Robins).[7][8]Satin uniforms were developed by several teams including the Brooklyn Dodgers for night games, as the sheen of the fabric was more reflective and thus easier to see.[7] Pinstripes were commonly worn on the uniforms of the New York Yankees. Legend had it that the stripes were adopted to make Babe Ruth look slimmer,[9] but since the Yankees had already been wearing pinstripes a few years before Ruth played for them in 1920, the legend is most likely a myth. The Yankees' pinstripes on their home uniforms soon became a team symbol.
In 1916, the Cleveland Indians became the first team to add numbers on their uniforms, positioned on the left sleeve of the home uniforms only. (Okkonen, p.36, p.120)[3] In 1929, numbers were first added on the backs of uniforms by the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Indians. By 1932, all major league baseball teams had numbers on their players' uniforms.[3] The Brooklyn Dodgers, in 1952, became the first baseball team to add numbers to the fronts of their uniforms.[3][7] In 1960, the Chicago White Sox were the first team to place players' names on the back of their jerseys, doing so on their road jerseys; within a few years, this practice became almost universal in MLB, though to this day the Yankees have only worn names on their uniforms for Players Weekend, a discontinued event (2017-2019) where alternate uniforms with nicknames were used.[10]
In most parts of the world, numbers are no more than two digits long; however, Japanese players who are on their team's developmental roster have three-digit numbers. Major league teams typically assign the highest numbers (#50 and above) in spring training to the players who are not expected to make the regular-season roster; hence the lower numbers are considered more prestigious, although there are many veterans who wear high numbers anyway. Two Hall of Famers who wore high numbers are Don Drysdale, who wore #53 for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers, and Carlton Fisk, who wore #72 for the Chicago White Sox (reverse of the #27 he wore with the Boston Red Sox; Fisk also was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1972).
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]
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 Brooklyn Excelsiors was the first team to wear what would later become the modern baseball cap, with its distinctive rounded top and peak, in the 1860s.[12][15] By the early years of the twentieth century, this style of cap had become common, but some teams occasionally revived the flat-topped cap, such as the New York Giants in 1916 and the Pittsburgh Pirates as recently as during the 1979 World Series.[3] Over time, the peak has enlarged slightly to further protect the player's eyes from the sun.[16] More recently, players have worn hats with fold-down ear flaps in cold weather.
Shoes
Soles of Nike baseball 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.
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.
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.
Non-player uniforms
Baseball is unique among North American sports in that a team's non-playing staff (including managers, coaches, bullpen catchers, batboys, and ball boys) wear the same uniforms as their players with their own assigned uniform numbers; this is an vestigial remnant of when players on a team often held a dual role of being a player-manager.[21][22]
Notes
Okkonen, Marc (1991). Baseball Uniforms of the 20th Century: The Official Major League Baseball Guide.
Related Research Articles
The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central Division. The team's name is derived from the city's association with the brewing industry and has been used by several other baseball teams that have called Milwaukee home. Since 2001, the Brewers have played their home games at American Family Field, which was named Miller Park through the 2020 season and has a seating capacity of 41,900 people.
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The team plays its home games at Petco Park. The Padres were founded as an expansion franchise in 1969. The team's name, Spanish for "fathers", refers to the Spanish Franciscan friars who founded Mission San Diego in 1769. The team's first owner was a prominent San Diego businessman, C. Arnholt Smith. The Padres are owned by the estate of Peter Seidler, who owned the team from 2012 until his death in 2023.
A third jersey, alternative jersey, third kit, third sweater or alternative uniform is a team jersey or uniform that a sports team can wear instead of its home outfit or its away outfit during games, often when the colors of two competing teams' other uniforms are too similar to contrast easily.
In team sports, the number, often referred to as the uniform number, squad number, jersey number, shirt number, sweater number, or similar is the number worn on a player's uniform, to identify and distinguish each player from others wearing the same or similar uniforms. The number is typically displayed on the rear of the jersey, often accompanied by the surname. Sometimes it is also displayed on the front and/or sleeves, or on the player's shorts or headgear. It is used to identify the player to officials, other players, official scorers, and spectators; in some sports, it is also indicative of the player's position.
Baseball stirrups, also called stirrup socks or simply stirrups, are socks that are part of a traditional baseball uniform, giving the uniform a distinctive look. Stirrup socks are usually one of a team's traditional colors, and are worn over long socks that are usually white in color. The stirrup sock lacks toe and heel sections, instead having a loop which fits within the arch of the foot. Over the years, the stirrup loop tended to get longer, exposing more of the white undersock, thus creating a look unique to baseball. Most contemporary players in Major League Baseball (MLB) do not wear stirrup socks, as uniform pants that extend all the way down to the ankle have become increasingly popular since the mid-1990s.
The New York Giants of the National Football League have had numerous uniforms and logos since their founding in 1925.
The Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) sport a bear head logo, which the team has used as their primary since 2023. Since the team's inception in 1920, the Bears' uniforms have received very little changes, with minor changes and various patches added. The classic look of the club's uniforms has given it the title of one of the best uniform sets in the league. During its history, the Bears have worn uniforms manufactured by Nike, Reebok, and Champion.
This is a summary of the evolution of names of the current professional Major League Baseball teams in the National League and subsequent rival American League, and also of selected former major and minor league teams whose names were influential, long-lasting, or both. The sources of the names included club names, team colors, and city symbols. The names have sometimes been dubbed by the media, other times through conscious advertising marketing by the team, or sometimes a little of both.
In baseball, the uniform number is a number worn on the uniform of each player and coach. Numbers are used for the purpose of easily identifying each person on the field as no two people from the same team can wear the same number. Although designed for identification purposes only, numbers have become the source of superstition, emotional attachment, and honor. In Major League Baseball, player and manager numbers are always located on the back of the jersey. A smaller number is often found on the front of the jersey, while umpires wear their numbers on the uniform shirt sleeve.
Pinstripes are a pattern of very thin stripes of any color running in parallel. The pattern is often found in fashion.
The uniforms worn by Major League Baseball teams have changed significantly since professional baseball was first played in the 19th century. Over time they have adapted from improvised, wool uniforms to mass-produced team brands made from polyester. The official supplier for Major League Baseball uniforms is Nike, who has held the contract since 2020.
The Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League were founded in 1933. Over the course of the team's history, the team has had several logos while wearing virtually the same uniforms over the years, with subtle changes made to give the uniforms an updated look. The team colors, uniforms, and logo are often ranked as being among the best in the NFL.
The logo and uniforms of the San Francisco 49ers have evolved since their inception in 1946.
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team.
The logos and uniforms of the Boston Red Sox have gone through a limited number of changes throughout the history of the team.
Over the years, red has been the key trim color in the Cincinnati Reds' on-field ensembles. However, there have been some significant deviations from this standard, as reflected by the club's recent uniforms, which featured black as a major trim style.
The New York Mets, founded in 1962, returned National League baseball to New York following the departure of the Brooklyn Dodgers to Los Angeles and the New York Giants to San Francisco. The Mets' uniform was designed to incorporate elements of both departed clubs, with the Dodgers' royal blue becoming the Mets' primary color and the Giants' orange the trim color, along with the Giants' "NY" crest adopted as the new team's cap logo. The original Mets uniform had a "clean and classic" look that, while it has undergone a number of changes over the course of the team's history, has never been substantially revised. The basic template has always been a conventional short-sleeved baseball uniform with "Mets" in cursive script on a white pinstriped home jersey, and either "NEW YORK" or "Mets" on a gray road jersey, with the lettering and numerals in blue outlined in orange. The most notable variations were the "racing stripe" uniforms of the 1980s and early '90s, and the addition of black as a trim color along with black alternate jerseys and caps that were worn from 1998 through 2011. For 2012, in recognition of its 50th anniversary, the club restored its classic look by removing the black trim from all of its uniforms and phasing out the black jerseys and caps. Since then the club has adopted blue alternate jerseys and caps but has generally worn its primary uniform in most games, home and away.
The NFL Color Rush was a promotion done in conjunction with the National Football League (NFL) and Nike that promotes so-called "color vs. color" matchups with teams in matchup-specific uniforms that are primarily one solid color with alternating colored accents, primarily airing on Thursday Night Football. Despite being promoted as color vs. color, some games had one team wearing traditional white uniforms, either by choice or out of necessity. The uniforms did not count against each team with regards to their allowed alternate uniform allotment. The games received mixed responses from fans, with some praising the NFL for changing up their games in terms of uniforms, while others criticized the promotion for some of its garish uniforms. The promotion was officially discontinued for the 2018 season, but many teams continue to wear the Color Rush uniforms and promote them heavily, notably the Cleveland Browns, Seattle Seahawks, Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers, Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Chargers.
Players Weekend is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) event held since 2024, and previously from 2017 to 2019, in which players on all 30 MLB teams wear some atypical baseball uniform elements during regular-season games. The 2017–2019 editions of the event featured special uniforms with nicknames. The league also relaxes the rules for other equipment, such as cleats, batting gloves, wristbands, compression sleeves, catcher's masks, and bats, allowing players to use custom-designed gear. With the COVID-shortened 2020 season and a change that season in uniform suppliers from Majestic to Nike, the event was on hiatus from 2020 through 2023. The event returned in 2024, with players wearing special baseball caps.
City Connect is a brand name for a line of alternate uniforms made by Nike, Inc. for Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. The uniforms feature different color schemes, typefaces, and graphic elements compared with the teams' typical home and away uniforms. The uniforms are designed to reflect the cultural aspects of each team's home city. According to the agreement, teams may rotate in a new jersey after three years to debut a new look.
↑ "Baseball Shoes". Baseball information. baseball.mu. Archived from the original on April 11, 2008. Retrieved May 3, 2008.
↑ AtBaseball 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."
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
