Sports Through My Eyes
by: ian2813
Top Ten Uniforms I Wish They'd Bring Back
Jan 28, 2007 | 1:59AM | report this

I was reading bgalella's blog entries about the worst NBA throwback jerseys (a must-read if you like old basketball uniforms and obscure NBA players) and I got to thinking about how many uniforms in sports today I don't really like. For some teams it's not so much that their current uniforms are terrible, just that their old ones were so much better. I feel that many of today's sports uniforms are either too dull or try too hard to look "modern." Sometimes it seems to be a combination of both. With that in mind, I've come up with a list of the top ten pro sports teams whose old uniforms I wouldn't mind seeing brought back. Because baseball, basketball and football are the only sports I follow very closely, those are the only ones that will be represented on this list. I've included photos for anyone who needs visual proof.

10. Pittsburgh Steelers

When I think of the Steelers I think of a tough, blue-collar team. Their old uniforms reflected that.

Their current uniforms, however, replaced the old varsity block numbers with these skinny, rounded-edged, slightly slanted numerals. They don't look nearly as intimidating as the old ones did.

See what I mean?

9. Utah Jazz

I'll admit that those old uniforms with the J in "JAZZ" shaped like a musical note would probably look outdated in today's NBA, but what was so bad about the ones with the mountain in the background?



They weren't the best, but look at the ones they have now.



They're so...boring. They have no personality. I'd rather see the original with the musical note than these.

8. Houston Astros

Their current uniforms are OK, I suppose, but the Astros don't seem like a "pinstripe" team to me, if that makes any sense.



I thought the ones they had before looked good though.



I honestly don't know why they felt they needed to change these.

7. Minnesota Vikings

I'd always liked the Vikings' old uniforms.



They weren't spectacular, but they looked like you'd expect a traditional football uniform to look. For some reason they decided to "update" them.



Same basic design, but the rounder edges on the numbers and the white stripes on the sides and sleeves make them look more like the run-of-the-mill "modern" uniforms we're seeing more and more of these days. Their originals just looked better.

6. Denver Nuggets

Powder blue is not a tough-looking color, though some try to make it so.



Their previous uniforms seemed more appropriate for a bunch of guys representing the mile-high city. The N and S were big, while the "UGGET" in the middle was shaped like a mountain. Their colors weren't wimpy either.



I had a hard time finding a good photo of a player wearing this uniform. I guess when a team is perennially one of the worst in the NBA it tends not to get as much media coverage.

5. Buffalo Bills

The Bills had some classy uniforms back in the day. The colors were vibrant and the numbers were distinctive.



The ones they have now are too complex and the colors have been dulled.



How does a team actually look at this design and consider it an improvement?

4. San Diego Padres

I liked the Padres' uniforms in the 90's. The one with pinstripes and no numbers on the front is still the ultimate Padre uniform to me.



After wearing a butchered version of that uniform for a few years they changed to this thing they wear now:



Boooooring.

3. Houston Rockets

The Rockets' current uniforms have sort of an "Eastern" flavor, probably because one of their star players is from China.



While these current ones are better than the ones they had in the late 90's, they still don't compare to the ones they'd had for about 20 years before that.



Simple but effective. They changed them after winning the second of their back-to-back championships. They haven't won one since.

2. Toronto Blue Jays

I always loved the old Blue Jays uniforms. They had unique lettering, and that logo that combined a blue jay head, a baseball and a maple leaf was pretty cool.



Now they have uniforms that are just ordinary.



You never really appreciate a good uniform until it's gone.

Finally, the uniform I miss the most...

1. Sacramento Kings


I don't care what anyone says, those old Kings uniforms were awesome.



I even own a Mitch Richmond jersey in that design. Now their road uniforms have purple as the main color.



I know that purple is a "royal" color, which fits with the name of the team, but it just doesn't have the same edge. Neither does the lettering.

Yes, change is inevitable in life. That doesn't mean I have to like it. If any of these teams decided to go back to their old look you wouldn't hear me complain. Can you think of any uniforms that you wish were still being worn today?

9 Comments | Add a comment   categories: MLB, NBA, NFL, Mitch Richmond, Yao Ming, Pittsburgh Steelers, Utah Jazz, Houston Astros, Minnesota Vikings, Denver Nuggets, Buffalo Bills, San Diego Padres, Houston Rockets, Toronto Blue Jays, Sacramento Kings, uniforms
 
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total comments: 9      Page 1 of 1     
1steelerfan1
Jan 28, 2007
2:30 AM
Nice post. It brought back some good memories.

moemillionaire
Jan 28, 2007
3:01 AM
nice. my favs the old sixers, and old t-wolves

TheFormer88Fan
Jan 28, 2007
4:05 AM
the Rockets logo was the worst uni redesign in history by far!

J-DIZZLE
Jan 28, 2007
4:37 AM
I like the old black Orlando unis with the pinstripes.

And the old blue road Cavs unis during the days of Brad Daugherty, Larry Nance, Ron Harper, Mark Price, and Craig Ehlo.

And the old-school 49er red home unis circa 1984-85

Last edited by J-DIZZLE on January 28th at 4:38 AM.

edclinchsaint
Jan 28, 2007
7:10 AM
Well done, for sure...

We need more historically challenging pieces like this. My compliments...

And speaking of Steelers, if you didn't know:

Burger 21 Has Spoken on my current post...21 Questions to Burger21....

StatMan
Jan 28, 2007
8:50 AM
How many can you possibly leave out the old powder-blue San Diego Charger uniforms? Those were great!

barry2
Jan 28, 2007
8:52 AM
I'd add of course the powder blue uniforms of the San Diego Chargers. Do you remember the threads of the now defunct Orlando Thunder of the WLAF
http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/
1871/bell.jpg

Last edited by barry2 on January 28th at 8:53 AM.

ian2813
Jan 28, 2007
11:23 AM
Thanks for the comments, everyone.

J-DIZZLE - Those Orlando Magic jerseys probably would've made the list had it been the top 15. Those Cavaliers jerseys were good too.

About the Chargers - I'm not particularly a fan of those old powder blues, and besides that, they wear the throwbacks of them all the time. I actually think the current Chargers uniform is one of the best in sports.

david1david
Jan 28, 2007
12:10 PM
Any uniform for the Canadian Pillow Fighting League will be a keeper :-)

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ABOUT ME


ian2813
I'm a fan of all Chicago sports teams (including both the Cubs and White Sox). When one of my teams isn't playing I'm a big proponent of rooting for the underdog. I'm currently an inactive NBA fan and will remain so until David Stern is out as commissioner.
I spend more time thinking about sports than I probably should, so I decided I needed a blog where I could share those thoughts with the world.
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