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Vintage Baseball Jerseys
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When baseball fans want to wear their affection for a particular player or team on their sleeve, they can do no better than a baseball jersey. Naturally, the authentic and replica jerseys we know today are a far cry from those worn by players in...
When baseball fans want to wear their affection for a particular player or team on their sleeve, they can do no better than a baseball jersey. Naturally, the authentic and replica jerseys we know today are a far cry from those worn by players in the 19th and 20th centuries. In part, the difference is a question of fabric, evolving from heavy wool flannel to a light, moisture-wicking, synthetic twill. But the difference between baseball jerseys of the modern era and those of yesteryear is also a question of appearance. In a word, baseball jerseys have not always been uniform.
For example, when we think of vintage baseball jerseys, signifiers such as numbers and a player’s name immediately come to mind, but it wasn’t until 1916 that the Cleveland Indians sewed numbers on the left sleeves of its players’ jerseys. The practice lasted just a few weeks and was tried again the following year before being abandoned. The St. Louis Cardinals gave numbers a try in 1923, but stopped the practice at the urging of its players. Cleveland moved its numbers to the backs of its jerseys in 1929, and by 1937, every team in Major League Baseball used numbers to help fans in the stands identify the players down on the field.
Names arrived even later, in 1960, when the Chicago White Sox inaugurated the practice of spelling out the last names of its players on the backs of their jerseys. As with the addition of numbers to jerseys, Major League teams were quick to follow the White Sox’s lead, except for the New York Yankees, who have only identified the names of its players once, and that was for Players Weekend in 2017, when all MLB players were invited to put their nicknames on their jerseys.
Similarly, from the vantage point of the 21st century, we assume that fancy, script lettering was always a feature of jerseys. In fact, while old-fashioned fonts were used on jerseys almost from the game’s inception, team’s were often identified by only a single letter—think of the Old English “D” in Detroit Tigers, which has been used by that team since 1904. Fully scripted team names did not become common until those same Detroit Tigers standardized the practice in 1930.
Today, Major League Baseball does a brisk business in jerseys, which are labeled as either “authentic” or “replica.” The biggest difference between the two designations—aside, of course, from price—is that “authentic” jerseys use a “Flex Base” fabric and are cut for tall players, who are required to keep their jerseys tucked in. “Replica” jerseys are made out of mostly the same fabric, although the fabric is sold as “Cool Base” and the shirt tail is shorter, which means that weekend warriors don’t look quite as ridiculous wearing “replica” jerseys untucked than they do when wearing “authentic” jerseys loose.
As with baseball cards and other baseball memorabilia, the most collectible pieces range from stars of the past to current heroes and hot prospects. Jerseys bearing the names of players such as Roberto Clemente, Willie Mays, Reggie Jackson, Hank Aaron, and Ernie Banks are perennial favorites, while shirts for the likes of Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez appear poised to join that illustrious company. Among active players, jerseys with the names of Shohei Otani and Mike Trout on them are in high demand.
Continue readingWhen baseball fans want to wear their affection for a particular player or team on their sleeve, they can do no better than a baseball jersey. Naturally, the authentic and replica jerseys we know today are a far cry from those worn by players in the 19th and 20th centuries. In part, the difference is a question of fabric, evolving from heavy wool flannel to a light, moisture-wicking, synthetic twill. But the difference between baseball jerseys of the modern era and those of yesteryear is also a question of appearance. In a word, baseball jerseys have not always been uniform.
For example, when we think of vintage baseball jerseys, signifiers such as numbers and a player’s name immediately come to mind, but it wasn’t until 1916 that the Cleveland Indians sewed numbers on the left sleeves of its players’ jerseys. The practice lasted just a few weeks and was tried again the following year before being abandoned. The St. Louis Cardinals gave numbers a try in 1923, but stopped the practice at the urging of its players. Cleveland moved its numbers to the backs of its jerseys in 1929, and by 1937, every team in Major League Baseball used numbers to help fans in the stands identify the players down on the field.
Names arrived even later, in 1960, when the Chicago White Sox inaugurated the practice of spelling out the last names of its players on the backs of their jerseys. As with the addition of numbers to jerseys, Major League teams were quick to follow the White Sox’s lead, except for the New York Yankees, who have only identified the names of its players once, and that was for Players Weekend in 2017, when all MLB players were invited to put their nicknames on their jerseys.
Similarly, from the vantage point of the 21st century, we assume that fancy, script lettering was always a feature of jerseys. In fact, while old-fashioned fonts were used on jerseys almost from the game’s inception, team’s were often identified by only a single letter—think of the Old...
When baseball fans want to wear their affection for a particular player or team on their sleeve, they can do no better than a baseball jersey. Naturally, the authentic and replica jerseys we know today are a far cry from those worn by players in the 19th and 20th centuries. In part, the difference is a question of fabric, evolving from heavy wool flannel to a light, moisture-wicking, synthetic twill. But the difference between baseball jerseys of the modern era and those of yesteryear is also a question of appearance. In a word, baseball jerseys have not always been uniform.
For example, when we think of vintage baseball jerseys, signifiers such as numbers and a player’s name immediately come to mind, but it wasn’t until 1916 that the Cleveland Indians sewed numbers on the left sleeves of its players’ jerseys. The practice lasted just a few weeks and was tried again the following year before being abandoned. The St. Louis Cardinals gave numbers a try in 1923, but stopped the practice at the urging of its players. Cleveland moved its numbers to the backs of its jerseys in 1929, and by 1937, every team in Major League Baseball used numbers to help fans in the stands identify the players down on the field.
Names arrived even later, in 1960, when the Chicago White Sox inaugurated the practice of spelling out the last names of its players on the backs of their jerseys. As with the addition of numbers to jerseys, Major League teams were quick to follow the White Sox’s lead, except for the New York Yankees, who have only identified the names of its players once, and that was for Players Weekend in 2017, when all MLB players were invited to put their nicknames on their jerseys.
Similarly, from the vantage point of the 21st century, we assume that fancy, script lettering was always a feature of jerseys. In fact, while old-fashioned fonts were used on jerseys almost from the game’s inception, team’s were often identified by only a single letter—think of the Old English “D” in Detroit Tigers, which has been used by that team since 1904. Fully scripted team names did not become common until those same Detroit Tigers standardized the practice in 1930.
Today, Major League Baseball does a brisk business in jerseys, which are labeled as either “authentic” or “replica.” The biggest difference between the two designations—aside, of course, from price—is that “authentic” jerseys use a “Flex Base” fabric and are cut for tall players, who are required to keep their jerseys tucked in. “Replica” jerseys are made out of mostly the same fabric, although the fabric is sold as “Cool Base” and the shirt tail is shorter, which means that weekend warriors don’t look quite as ridiculous wearing “replica” jerseys untucked than they do when wearing “authentic” jerseys loose.
As with baseball cards and other baseball memorabilia, the most collectible pieces range from stars of the past to current heroes and hot prospects. Jerseys bearing the names of players such as Roberto Clemente, Willie Mays, Reggie Jackson, Hank Aaron, and Ernie Banks are perennial favorites, while shirts for the likes of Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez appear poised to join that illustrious company. Among active players, jerseys with the names of Shohei Otani and Mike Trout on them are in high demand.
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