What’s In A Uniform?

What is your favorite sports team uniform? The one you like the most in all of professional sports?

I expect anyone who is reading this article on LADT would say without hesitation that the Dodgers home uniform is, without doubt, the cream of the crop. Perhaps it is the history we have with the team, the passion the team has elicited within us or it was the uniform we encountered in our inaugural experience with the Dodgers. The uniform that has remained pretty much unchanged since the first uniform to display the team name was unveiled in 1933, and the current designs for both home and away were unveiled in 1939.

Even the heartbreaking move to Los Angeles (for me) in 1958 didn’t affect their look in the least, keeping the traditional uniform and signature “Dodger Blue” coloring over the years. How relieved were we that the Dodgers didn’t fall into the trap in the years when MLB teams like the Padres, Pirates, White Sox, Astros, and others often had carnival-like uniforms in an attempt to lure fans to the ballpark or to buy team jerseys.  Granted there are times when a special uniform is in order such Veteran’s Day or breast cancer day or a throw back historical day. That is progress in social awareness and change is great but there are just some things that should never change. A prime example – the Dodgers home uniform.

First, a look at the hat with the interlocking LA letters that have been there since 1958. They simply replaced the “B” on the Brooklyn Dodger hat.

Tim McAuliffe of the Boston-based athletic equipment company sent a letter to Dodgers’ PR director Arthur (Red) Patterson on December 11, 1957, commenting on the two different cap logos the team had he been considering. He indicated someone in the Brooklyn office requested a logo in which the lower bar of the “L” acts “as the crossbar of the “A”. Perhaps it was because of the New York Yankees interlocked letters. McAuliffe himself preferred two letters standing out by themselves not interlocked in any way.  And so, the cap of today was born with only minor changes in the lettering on occasion over 61 years with thickness or width of the interlocked letters.

As history would have it, 1958 was not the first time the interlocking letters were used on a uniform in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Angels Pacific Coast League minor league team as far back as the 1920s had a large interlocking LA on the front of the uniform on the left-hand side. However, when the “Rifleman”, Chuck Connors, played with the Angels as a Cubs minor league team in 1951 and 1952 the LA on the cap was not interlocked. Fortunately, Tim McAuliffe did not have his way with the design of the Dodgers hat for 1958.

A quick look at the jersey with the scripted “Dodgers” on the front. The Dodgers, with Brooklyn on the front of the jersey, began the underscoring  “swoosh” under the scripted letters on their home jerseys in 1938, and it’s been there ever since – by far the longest any team has worn an underlined name. Dodger green bold print letters disappeared and “Dodger Blue” was born.

In 1939 the Brooklyn Dodgers added the team name to the home uniform instead of the city name. This jersey design mirrors the current uniform and the design has remained consistent ever since, with only a few cosmetic alterations.

Several weeks ago I was listening to a Loons MiLB radio cast and the Loons were wearing a replica of the Dodgers uniform. Play-by-play announcer Brad Tunney took note of the red number on the left side on the front of the uniform. The Loons are the only Dodger minor league affiliate that does not have a uniform that would be recognizable as a Dodger affiliate uniform. Tunney questioned it and knowing the reason for the red number I sent him a link explaining when and why it first appeared on the front of the Dodgers uniform. I then jotted it down as a possible article for LADT.

The brand-new uniforms that the Dodgers unveiled on opening day in 1952 carried five-inch identifying red numbers on the left side of the jersey, below the team name, in addition to the regulation numbers on the back. This was another idea of Walter O’Malley, president of the club, and is of particular benefit to television fans who often obtain only a front view of a player before he passes out of the camera range.  Why red, perhaps because of contrasting colors and perhaps because it was felt it would show up better on television. In any event, it was a great choice. But that is the rest of the story. Certainly helping identify players on television was a good idea but that was not the whole motivating factor.

I expect many LADT readers also know the story of the red number but perhaps some might not. It goes back to the fall of 1951. What do you remember about that fall? The Dodgers had blown a 12.5 game lead to the Giants and went into a 3-game play-off. All we really remember is the Bobby Thompson home run – the “Shot Heard Round the World.” O’Malley had the definitely different uniforms made for the Dodgers to debut in the 1951 World Series, something definitely different. Because of the Bobby Thompson home run their introduction had to wait until 1952. However, the red number has now made 15 World Series appearances and looking for number 16.

A number of teams now have the number on the front of the jersey with the Braves following suit in 1953, and the Reds joined the trend in 1956.

It wasn’t until 1959 that the red number on the front was added to the road jersey in time for the 1959 World Series with the White Sox.

One other Dodger icon that has now survived many decades is the “shooting” ball or “ascending” ball logo. Its origin has been traced back to Dodger letterhead from the 1930s. The “shooting ball” logo has had its font tweaks over the years but the color scheme has remained the same and the red color for the ball and the streaks has always been prominent.

What’s not to like about the Dodgers home uniforms? They are clean and crisp, free from piping, have underscored scripted letters, steeped in history, plus they have a red number.

In a player poll run by Major League Baseball in May of 2019, the Dodgers were voted as having the best uniforms in the league. No surprise there.

I have just one suggestion. Put “Dodgers” on the away jersey for every away game.