Earlier this year I wrote a post about how several Major League Baseball teams were opting for a retro look with their alternate uniforms. This week we saw several teams turn back the clock and wear uniforms specially designed to match the ones from the old days.
Chicago Cubs
The Cubs commemorated the 60th anniversary of their first broadcast on WGN with these pinstripe-less threads. You can see that the Cubs' current design has been around in some incarnation for many years.
Atlanta Braves
The Braves opposed the Cubs in these uniforms from 1948, which also happens to be the last year the Braves won the pennant in Boston. It was the second of only two they won in Beantown, but that Billy Southworth-helmed team featuring star third baseman Bob Elliott and the "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain" pitching staff was a special one.
Baltimore Orioles
They did it! They did just what I suggested on this blog! They celebrated the 25th anniversary of their last World Series title by wearing throwbacks with elastic waistbands! The Orioles organization has made a lot of mistakes in recent years, but this is one thing they definitely got right.
San Francisco Giants
The 70's was not a good decade for the Giants, but the 1978 team that these uniforms are a tribute to was memorable for being in first place most of the year until tailing off in August and finishing in third. Like the Orioles, it's good to see a team that doesn't ignore the elastic waistbands in their uniform history.
San Diego Padres
The Padres remembered the 30th anniversary of the first squad in franchise history to finish with a winning record by donning these throwbacks that actually feature the full team name. The Padres prove why I keep bringing up the elastic waistbands though, because these uniforms would be more accurate if they had them.
Cleveland Indians
Unlike the alternates that only had a retro feel to them, these are actual replicas of the 1978 Indians' uniforms (minus, all together now, the elastic waistbands). Why they'd want to honor that sixth-place team led by Andre Thornton I'm not sure, but the uniforms themselves don't look half bad.
Why do I love throwbacks so much? Why am I such a stickler for accuracy? Why do I want to remind everyone that the goofy elastic waistband uniforms ever existed? I guess it's just the sports history buff in me. No matter how ugly some teams' uniforms used to be, there's something about seeing them that stirs up my romanticism for baseball. That's another reason America's Pastime is my favorite sport; it's the only one that has that effect on me. Here's to the future and the eternal remembrance of baseball's rich history.
The Cubs need to forget about the past and look to the future!
Check out this site I found...
www.tommcmahon.net/sports/index.htm l&h=308&w=320&sz=20&hl=en&start=8&u m=1&tbnid=EBwmBEqZiPj1eM:&tbnh=114& tbnw=118&prev=/images%3Fq%3D1950%25 27s%2BChicago%2BCubs%2Bfans%26um%3D 1%26hl%3Den
as ive said before on uniforms, the only team that i can think of that hasnt screwed with the shirts/pants.. is the NY yankees... love em hate em proves that the uniforms dont win games talent does... what ive been trying to show the university of oregon sports teams.... yes having sharp looking unis might bring in super talent!!!! but the body you put in the uniforms will show how great a team you will have!!!!!
Last edited by kellyscott on June 16th at 8:12 AM.
Kelly - If you want to get technical, the Yankees have changed their uniforms. They've had their current ones since 1936 though. Several hockey teams have uniforms that go pretty far back as well.
Dwindy - Thanks for the better link. I was able to find the site by looking at the base URL of the original link.
When I was 11 or 12 when the Padres first came out and saw them in those uniforms, I thought, Why, what are they thinking?" Now I look at the pictures and the same thing enters my mind, "Why, what were they thinking?" Always made me think of a cheeseburger. Wait, wasn't the team owned by the founder of McDonalds? Is that why? HMMM, I think I finally discovered the reason. No, really, does anybody know why they chose those colors?
The Franciscan Padres that began all the missions in California wore that brown #### robes... Pretty sure that's where it comes from... Here it is... Remember this?
Re the Padres, I never dug the fact that the have mimmicked the Giants look since 1986 or so. At least the cheeseburger unis said "Hey we're the Padres."
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.
