They still wear caps, a shirt and trousers–that much hasn’t changed in the 150 years that baseball players have been wearing uniforms. But the straw hats, blue full-length trousers and bloused white shirts that the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club of New York City wore on June 3, 1851–the first recorded use of baseball uniforms–are a far cry from the form-fitting, synthetic fiber uniforms of today.
Uniforms have continually evolved, changing fabrics, construction and appearance many times over (and sometimes back again). The largely colorless, heavy wool uniforms of the early 1900s–often distinguishable only by the colors of the stockings–have shifted to lightweight, comfortable uniforms whose team style and color is immediately recognized by most fans of the game.
Notable changes during the 20th Century
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Chicago’s teams have been two of the most innovative in developing the styles of the past century’s baseball uniforms. A look at some of the changes as uniforms have evolved:
1905: Washington becomes the first team to put its nickname–Nationals–on its jerseys, followed by the Cubs in 1909 and the White Sox in 1911.
1907: The Cubs–not the Yankees–are the first team to use pinstriping. Their gray road uniforms feature a fine, narrowly spaced line that is barely visible. Wider spaced, more visible pinstriping became more common in 1912. The White Sox, fresh off a victory against the Cubs in the 1906 World Series, are the first team to wear a shoulder patch–one that proclaims “world champions.” All 16 major-league teams wear an identical patch for the first time in 1939, the 100th anniversary of baseball’s invention.
1909: The Cubs are the first team, and one of only a few, to display both the city’s name and team nickname on their jerseys: “Chicago” in vertical lettering down the lapel and “Cubs” on the left breast of the road uniforms. San Diego, in 1978, was the last team to display the full team name.
The short, standup “cadet” style collar shirt–replacing the fold-down collar style–is first worn by the Cubs. Most teams adopted the same style by 1912 before giving way to the V-neck collar style in the 1920s.
1910: Only three teams have symbols of their nicknames on their jerseys by this time: Detroit (1901, with a tiger on its caps), Boston (1908, with a red sock on its jersey front) and the Cubs (1908, with a cub inside the “C” on its jersey).
1917: In keeping with the patriotism inspired by World War I, the White Sox play the World Series in a red, white and blue star-spangled version of their home uniform. The uniforms were retired after the Sox won the Series.
1932: All teams have numbers on the backs of their jerseys–following rejected attempts by Cleveland (1916) and St. Louis (1923)–after the Yankees popularized the practice in 1929.
1933: When the White Sox and Comiskey Park play host to the first All-Star Game, the American League players wear their individual home uniforms. The NL players use special gray visitors’ uniforms, but they are retired after one game; since then all All-Star players have worn their regular uniforms.
1937: The Cubs are the first team to introduce zipper-front uniforms, which remain popular with many teams for about two decades. The zipper was rarely used by any team after 1960.
1940: The Cubs introduce one of baseball’s most innovative jerseys: the sleeveless vest. The blue undersweater usually worn with it has three red stripes above the wrist to match the three red stripes on the team’s socks. The sleeveless vest survived with the team for three seasons and cropped up with several other teams in the 1950s and ’60s.
1960: The White Sox–surely inspired by increasing television coverage–become the first team to display players’ names on the back of the uniform. Fans embraced the idea and nearly every other team–but never the Yankees–adopt it.
1972: By this time, most teams have discarded traditional flannel uniforms for the lighter, more durable double-knit polyester fabrics in the pullover style.
1976: White Sox owner Bill Veeck introduces pullover jerseys with V-neck collars and straight bottoms to be worn outside the trousers. Later in the season, the White Sox even wear a Bermuda shorts version of their uniform–a public relations success and a disaster with players.
1999: Twenty-two teams participate in 13 promotional “Turn Ahead the Clock” games during the season. Each team wears futuristic hats and jerseys from the year 2021; most of the garish uniforms draw ridicule from fans.
From laced-front flannel to button-down polyester
A comparison of baseball jerseys over the last 100 years:
Early 20th century
FABRICS
Uniforms were 100 percent wool flannel or a blend of wool and cotton in the early 1900s. By the 1940s, the flannel was about half the weight. Some synthetic fibers were introduced after World War II.
NUMBER OF UNIFORMS
Players generally had one road uniform and one home uniform that they wore for the entire season. If it were ripped, it was repaired and worn again.
TYPES OF TEAM UNIFORMS
Teams usually had two sets: white home jerseys and grey road jerseys. In the 1930s, the Cubs and White Sox were the first teams to have alternate home and away uniforms for the regular season.
PRICES
A standard price for a cap, shirt, pants, belt and stockings in 1922 was $23.50.
2000
FABRICS
The double-knit polyester fabric introduced in the early 1970s–first used by Pittsburgh in 1971–is still the fabric teams use today. It is cooler, lighter and more durable than flannel.
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NUMBER OF UNIFORMS
Players average about three uniforms each, although marquee players, who often sign and donate used jerseys, can use more than 20. An infielder typically will use four or five uniforms a year, a pitcher may use two.
TYPES OF TEAM UNIFORMS
Most teams have several color combinations–Colorado and Seattle each have four uniforms, for example–for home and road games. Starting pitchers often select what uniforms the teams will wear.
PRICES
Russell uniforms (used by 15 of the 30 major-league teams) cost $175 for jersey, pants and undershirt.
Inspiring change
Fashionable appearance isn’t the only thing to dictate changes in uniforms. A few other influences during the past century:
The need for laundry
Stockings in 1900 were heavy wool, one-piece socks that stretched above the knees. Without ready access to laundry facilities, teams likely wore their socks every day they played on the road. Short stirrups stockings–with their washable undersocks–evolved in 1907 or 1908.
Practicality
The zipper-front jersey replaced button-front jerseys for the first time in 1937, but later faded from popularity. Although zipper-front jerseys were attractive and easy to put on, snagged zippers weren’t easy to quickly repair.
Color television
The advent of color television in the 1960s ushered in a decade of more brightly colored uniforms than baseball had seen before–most notably, the green-and-gold jerseys of the Kansas City-Oakland A’s.
New ballparks
Teams have usually introduced new uniforms at the same time they’ve opened new ballparks. Pittsburgh, for example, introduced double-knit, pullover jerseys to baseball in 1971 with the opening of Three Rivers Stadium; Houston also changed its uniforms this season with the opening of Enron Field.
Losing records
Teams with losing seasons have usually changed uniforms more often than winning teams. Teams that tend to win often–the New York Yankees, Detroit and Boston, for example–tend to keep more traditional, conservative uniforms with fewer changes.