• There have been many attempts for originality when it came to professional baseball uniforms over the last 150 or so years
• A baseball uniform builder from the early 19th century must have been incredulous when approached with some of these designs
• Find out which baseball player uniform was made of satin and which team wore shorts for a time

Here, at Electro-Mech, we not only provide you with electronic baseball scoreboards but also with news on all things including professional baseball team uniforms. No idea was deemed too outrageous when designing star baseball equipment uniforms. It must have been difficult for pitchers to keep a straight face as they faced players holding baseball hitting equipment dressed in purple plaid outfits. Such is the history of baseball owners trying to be original.

The Origin of the Baseball Player Uniform

The first recorded professional baseball uniforms being worn in a game is when the famed New York Knickerbockers took the field in blue pantaloons made of wool, white shirts made of flannel, and straw hats. As professional baseball took hold in America other teams adopted the style. In 1869, the baseball uniform builder for the Cincinnati Red Stockings introduced knickers into the game so that the team could show off their trademark leggings. With some renovations, the style is still in use today.

One of the more interesting developments in designing star baseball equipment uniforms occurred in the 1882 season when a rule changed forced players to wear multi-colored outfits. A first baseman may wear multi-colored striped shirts with matching caps while their teammate may have worn “convict stripes” in the outfield. The only matching component of the uniform was the stockings. For obvious reasons this rule only lasted half the season.

The precursor to the Dodgers was the Brooklyn Robins and in 1916 they adopted a less than flattering blue checkered uniform. In the same year, the New York Giants went to a purple uniform. Both of these professional baseball uniforms were discontinued the following year.

When the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Yankees in the 1926 World Series they were ecstatic. The following year they boasted of their achievement by noting the championship on their jerseys. This did not turn out to be a very popular practice and was discontinued after the 1927 season.

The 1938 All-Star game for baseball’s American Association was an eyeful when players took to the field in red, white, and blue satin uniforms. One of the most prolific hitters of all time, Ted Williams, must have looked like he should be smoking a pipe in slippers than donning baseball hitting equipment in a professional game.

A 1950’s minor league team in the Pacific Coast League, the Hollywood Stars, was the first team to wear shorts in a game. While other teams experimented with shorts, including the 1976 Chicago White Sox, the uniform never caught on. Also in the 1950’s during the anti-communist agenda of McCarthy, all references to communism were removed from professional baseball uniforms. The most notable was Cincinnati changing their name from the “Reds” to the Redlegs.” They went back to the original name in 1961 when the fervor died down.