Recently when the Indians and Padres donned their oldies during their weekend series, they matched 1978 garb. Well, the Tribe simply couldn't compare to the Pads on that score. Cleveland trotted out in their very ordinary solid blues with boring block letters, while San Diego got jazzed up again in those old yellow and brown combinations. Nasty, those Padres jerseys, but memorable. I was living in the L.A. area in those days, and when Steve Garvey left the Dodgers for the Padres, he never looked quite right in that taco combination.
I know the Indians have worn them before, but if you're going to pull out something that recalls the '70s, there's nothing like the '75 attire. The stylized lettering, the blue and red versions, and, of course, the all-red uniforms worn, memorably, on opening day when Frank Robinson hit a home run in his first at bat as player-manager, were unlike anything else worn in team history. Boog Powell said the all-red version made him look like "a giant tomato." Not a bad assessment. But hey, it was the '70s. They weren't alone in their garishness, however. The Oakland A's were best known for the trend with their all-yellow and all-green combinations in 1971 (actually adapted from the franchise's uniforms in 1963, when they were located in Kansas City). The A's were joined in '71 by the Baltimore Orioles' bizarre all-orange outfits. And the Pittsburgh Pirates donned all-yellows and all-blacks in the late '70s.
The Chicago White Sox, not to be outdone, had all-blacks among their many combinations in the late '70s and early '80s, which, memorably, featured shirt collars and, for one game in August 1976, shorts (left). It was the ultimate sandlot softball look, which is pretty much what all the multi-colored major league uniforms recalled during that era. And let's not forget the baby blue road uniforms favored in those days by the likes of the Phillies, the Rangers, the Royals and, yes, the White Sox. What a time.
Still a topic of hot debate, however, is the multi-colored jersey worn by the Houston Astros for 12 seasons, from 1975 through 1986. They're symbolic of that entire era, and were certainly unique among all the brazen color combinations sported by MLB teams in the '70s and '80s. Personally, I was never bothered by them, and I lived in Texas during part of that stretch and was subjected to images of the Astros in those uniforms perhaps more than most people. But a lot of people hated them, and they eventually disappeared.I've never been much of a Yankees fan, but they still wear the most distinctive uniforms in baseball. The Dodgers are right there with them, of course. And, I have to acknowledge the Tribe for their return to the classic Indians script jerseys in 1994, when they moved to Jacobs Field and began their resurgence as a championship franchise.
Want a fun way to waste some time? Check out the "Dressed to the Nines" section of the Baseball Hall of Fame Web site. You can view renderings of every uniform ever worn by any team. Some cool ones, and some terrible ones. But an enjoyable trip down memory lane.
4 comments:
The seventies were pretty wild for uniforms. But styles were all that way, so uniforms just followed the trends. But most of the uniforms today are cleaner and better looking than those. Still it's fun to look back at how things looked then. Some of them were really funny. I liked the white Indians shirt with the blue letters more than the red one. It was more classic but still had a feel of that era.
Those old unis added some spice to baseball. But the White Sox shorts were too much. It was a crazy time.
That "Dressed to the Nines" site is too cool.
I liked the red uniforms in the 70's. Some of the orange and yellow ones looked gross but red is a cool color for a uniform so why not. The Indians red, white and blue colors are a perfect fit for America's pasttime. I loved going to the old stadium on a Sunday afternoon and watching the Tribe in those days. I say bring back the red!
What surprises me the most about 70's jerseys are that most of them are pullovers. How uncomfortable is that on a hot afternoon. Thr button-front jersey was just made for baseball shirts.
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