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+--- Thread: Baseball Uniforms of the 20th Century (/showthread.php?tid=1109)
Baseball Uniforms of the 20th Century - Ouopio37 - 01-18-2022
Since the subject matter of this research deals with the twentieth century, we will defer any discussion of nineteenth century precedents. Certainly, the history of baseball jersey is evolutionary and the uniforms of 1900 are a continuation of 1899 but the story of earlier uniforms is even more difficult to develop and we will reserve that information for future additional research. An important finding of such research will be establishing the starting point of use of separate uniforms at home and on the road, which was standard for all major league teams by 1900.
FABRICS
Uniform fabrics in 1900 were either 100% wool flannel or a blend of wool and cotton. Summer temperatures and humidity were no different than now and the idea of playing baseball weighted down with these heavy uniforms seems unthinkable today. But play they did, and with as much vigor and dash as the modern, more comfortably clothed players of the 1980's. The weight of these wool and cotton flannels was gradually reduced in half by the 1940's but the problems of durability and shrinkage had not improved much. The advent of synthetic fibers in the post-WWII era (NYLON, DACRON, ORLON) paved the way for improved blends. The most successful of these was the WOOL / ORLON blend in the sixties — seemingly the "ultimate" material for baseball shirt. But the double-knit fabrics introduced in the early seventies provided so many more attractive and practical features over flannel: lighter, cooler, more comfortable, more durable, etc. etc. Traditionalists insist that the tight-fitting stretchy double knit suits cannot compare with the well-tailored flannel look of the sixties, but the use of the flannel materials for sublimation hockey jersey is "history" — unless some new miracle fabric comes along that more clearly simulates flannel.
Baseball pants, up to the TV age, were like Henry Ford's Model T: you could have any color you wanted as long as it was BLACK. The shoe height dropped from just below the ankle bone to a basic low-quarter style by 1910. The KC A's revolutionary white shoes in the sixties opened the door for color matching and hardly an all-black shoe can be found on today's major leaguers.
Built-in protective padding was a standard part of ninteenth century American football jersey and this "quilting" survived on a few of the post-1900 uniforms. Separate sliding pads on the inside soon became the preferred choice. Belts were considerably wider and were furnished in a variety of colors and materials. Belt tunnels on the sides came into being after 1900 and are a standard feature even on many of today's double-knits. Piping down the sides of the trousers existed in the early 1900's, even before piping became a popular jersey trim feature. Considering the tailoring differences between the old, baggy flannels and the closer fitting double-knits of today, the basic "knickers" concept has really changed very little since 1900.