In honor of the nation's birthday on July 4 we'll take a patriotic uniform slant. The U.S. flag and baseball uniforms have a long history, dating back to the 1917 Chicago White Sox who wore a flag on their left sleeve showing support for American forces in World War I.
During World War II, teams wore the "Health" patch in 1942, then the patriotic shield from 1943-45.
In the fall of 1990, U.S. forces were involved in the beginning of the Gulf War conflict in the Middle East. That year’s World Series saw the Reds and A’s both have U.S. flag patches affixed to the front of their jerseys.
The next season, all players wore an American (and Canadian) flag decals on their batting helmets as the Gulf War continued.
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, again all players wore the flag on the neck back of the jerseys sewn over the MLB logo, and added the flag on the left side of all caps (New Era stitched a 1” X 1 ½” flag patch onto some 1000 on-field hats).
This lasted through the end of that season’s thrilling World Series finale between the Diamondbacks and Yankees.
Ten years later in 2011, MLB jerseys again featured the neck back flag patch, and on the left side of the caps on Sept. 11. The Blue Jays actually wore both the U.S. and Canadian flags on their hat.
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Authentic Store Buzz: Please join us on Thursday, July 19 from 11:30-12:30 as we welcome former Philadelphia Atoms soccer goalie, and current Philadelphia Union broadcaster Bob Rigby to our Center City Philly store meeting with fans and signing autographs.
Rigby, a Philadelphia-area native, helped lead the Atoms to the 1973 North American Soccer league Championship in his and the team’s rookie season, appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated, as the Atoms were the first U.S. team in any sports to win a professional championship in its first season.
We’ll have a reprint of the SI cover for Bob to sign. Hope to see you there as soccer will be in the Philadelphia air with the MLS All Star Game the following week.
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Authentically Speaking Trivia Time: What year did the NBA require teams to put a player's last name on the back of the jerseys? Answer, Thursday.
Monday's Answer: The Indians Sandy Alomar Jr. in the 1997 All Star Game at his home park in Cleveland.
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A Reminder: For more news about Pro League Authentics and thoughts on the world of sports uniforms, Like our Facebook page, converse with us @PLAphilly, and visit our YouTube page.
