Baseball team uniforms today are a massive business, with sales of replica kits generating many millions of dollars of revenue for ball teams. The form of the uniform which players wear has gone though pretty radical changes since the early days of the sport though. The first time any team wore a uniform was in 1849, when the New York Knickerbockers donned matching outfits for the first time.
Those first outfits would certainly raise a few eyebrows amongst sports fans nowadays. Those 1849 Knickerbockers were dressed in a fetching get-up consisting of white flannel shirts and blue pants made from wool, with a straw hat rather than a cap topping things off.
Stockings played a key role in these early outfits, with the colours of the stockings being used to denote teams. Each team would wear a different colour of stocking so that they could be told apart more easily. Other colours and patterns on shirts were used to denote other factors, such as the position the player was operating in on the field.
Striped outfits became more common from the 1880s onwards, with clubs such as the Brooklyn Bridegrooms adopting this design feature. As the 19th century waned, so colours became more important to clubs too. By the time 1900 dawned, clubs had begun to wear one uniform at home and one when they were playing away from home.
Home uniforms would be white, with darker colours like blue, black and grey being used away from the home stadium. Another feature in the shape of numbered sleeves was added by the Cleveland Indians in 1916. Numbers were displayed on the back of shorts by the 1920s, and made their way to the front of the shirt in 1952, when the Brooklyn Dodgers added this feature to their team outfits.
The characteristic baseball cap, a central part of players and officials uniforms these days, has been part of outfits since the 1860s. Its style has actually altered little, although a rounded top is preferred to a flat top these days. The peaks of caps also tend to be a little larger than they used to be.
Baseball team uniforms now sell in their thousands each day of the week. The advent of screen printing makes it possible to personalize a replica kit, and clubs generate huge revenue through kit sales. If someone suggested that it all started with wool pants and straw hats, then they might well get funny looks in a modern day ball park.
Those first outfits would certainly raise a few eyebrows amongst sports fans nowadays. Those 1849 Knickerbockers were dressed in a fetching get-up consisting of white flannel shirts and blue pants made from wool, with a straw hat rather than a cap topping things off.
Stockings played a key role in these early outfits, with the colours of the stockings being used to denote teams. Each team would wear a different colour of stocking so that they could be told apart more easily. Other colours and patterns on shirts were used to denote other factors, such as the position the player was operating in on the field.
Striped outfits became more common from the 1880s onwards, with clubs such as the Brooklyn Bridegrooms adopting this design feature. As the 19th century waned, so colours became more important to clubs too. By the time 1900 dawned, clubs had begun to wear one uniform at home and one when they were playing away from home.
Home uniforms would be white, with darker colours like blue, black and grey being used away from the home stadium. Another feature in the shape of numbered sleeves was added by the Cleveland Indians in 1916. Numbers were displayed on the back of shorts by the 1920s, and made their way to the front of the shirt in 1952, when the Brooklyn Dodgers added this feature to their team outfits.
The characteristic baseball cap, a central part of players and officials uniforms these days, has been part of outfits since the 1860s. Its style has actually altered little, although a rounded top is preferred to a flat top these days. The peaks of caps also tend to be a little larger than they used to be.
Baseball team uniforms now sell in their thousands each day of the week. The advent of screen printing makes it possible to personalize a replica kit, and clubs generate huge revenue through kit sales. If someone suggested that it all started with wool pants and straw hats, then they might well get funny looks in a modern day ball park.
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