Baseball uniform

. These are the Baltimore Orioles in 1896.]]

A **baseball uniform** is clothing worn by  baseball players during games, to show which team they are on. Players on the same team wear the same uniform. The most obvious differences are the colours and patterns, but there are also others. Also, each player normally has their surname and their “uniform number” on the back, so that you can tell them apart more easily. Uniforms normally include baseball shirts, pants, shoes, socks, caps, and helmets. Players wear gloves too, but these are not part of the uniform - they can choose their own.

## History 
The New York Knickerbockers Baseball Club wore the first baseball uniforms in the 1840s. Their uniforms were blue wool pants, white flannel shirts, and straw hats. New features and improvements were added to these uniforms over many years. Uniform styles have also changed, little by little over time. In 1882, different colors that showed the different fielding positions of each player were added on uniforms and stockings (clothing covering the foot and lower part of the leg). In 1888 and 1889, the Detroit Wolverines and Washington Nationals of the National League and the Brooklyn Bridegrooms of the American Association added  to their uniforms.

In 1916, on the Giants' uniforms, many purple lines gave them a tartan-like color. At this time, another kind of road uniform was a solid dark blue or black material with white. In 1963, Charles O. Finley changed his Kansas City Athletics home and road uniforms. In the 1970s, some teams used light blue for their road uniforms.

### Pinstripes and numbers 
Pinstriping (long vertical stripes along uniforms) were created in the 19th century. The pinstripes were soon widened in 1912, so that people could see them more easily. During that time when the striped uniforms were made again, other things for the baseball uniform were added, such as satin. The team that often wore pinstripes was the New York Yankees. They were first used in 1912. But the Yankees' pinstripes (on their home uniforms) have become a symbol of the Yankees.

 wearing loose-fitting pants]]

Numbers were first added to uniforms by the Cleveland Indians in 1916. In 1929, numbers were first added on the backs of baseball uniforms by the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Indians baseball teams. By the 1930s, it was normal for baseball uniforms to have numbers on them. The Yankees were one of the first baseball teams to wear uniform numbers. As players began to have their own numbers on their uniforms, "retiring" a number of special baseball players started to happen. While testing new ideas to add to baseball uniforms, new designs and ideas were created. For example, the Houston Astros of the 1970s and 1980s, added numbers on the fronts of pockets on pants as well as on the back of their shirts.

### Patches 
Shoulder patches on baseball uniforms were worn usually in honor of something. The first patches to be used on major league uniforms were worn by the Chicago White Sox in 1907. In 1860, the Brooklyn Excelsiors were the first team to wear what would later become the baseball cap. Before that, teams often wore full-brimmed straw hats or no cap at all since there was no official rule in baseball about whether players had to wear caps or not. By the early 1900s, rounded top parts of a hat became the normal fashion. Other teams would sometimes use the flat-topped cap, such as the Giants in 1916, and the Pittsburgh Pirates in their 1979 World Series championship.

### Shoes 
In the late 19th century, baseball players started to wear the soft but long-lasting leather shoes. Soon, removable spikes were designed and were used often until 1976, when they were banned from baseball games. Soon after, white shoes, as well as solid reds and blues, became popular. As artificial turf was used more in baseball fields, changes to shoes were needed. In the 19th and 20th centuries, baseball shoes were mostly colored black. The Kansas City Athletics designed new white shoes in the 1960s.

### Stockings 
 (left) and painting (right) of Cy Young wearing a red stocking on the front of his uniform, although both images are without color]]

The stocking colors of teams helped viewers tell one team from another. Stockings in 1900 were made of one long piece of heavy wool. They were full-length (above the knee).  Teams started to be called the Chicago White Stockings or the St. Louis Brown Stockings because of what colored stockings they wore at the time. Some teams wore "candy cane" stockings instead of stripes during the 1920s; these included the Giants, St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Senators.

 wearing traditional knee-breeches (clothing that males wear that covers the body from the waist down)]]

### Graphics and logos 
From the beginning, graphic designs were used to tell different teams apart.  A Gothic Script letter was worn on the fronts of baseball uniforms on the chest.  This style is still being used today by the Detroit Tigers and their blackletter style "D" on their home uniforms.  Road jerseys were able to tell the city the team it is from, as with the Tigers wearing the word "Detroit" on their road uniform shirts meaning the team's home city is Detroit, Michigan.

### Baseball gloves 
A baseball glove is a leather glove that baseball players wear. They are used to catch a baseball that are hit by a batter or thrown by an outfielder. When baseball gloves were first made, they were not used very much. Many baseball players who first wore baseball gloves or a type of them were often teased and  when they were used.

The first baseball glove to be worn was by catcher Doug Allison in 1870. Allison's hands were split and cracked open from catching in other games earlier in the week.

### Baseball helmets 
Baseball helmets are hard hats that baseball batters wear to protect their heads from a baseball being hit or thrown at them. Roger Bresnahan made the first batting helmet after getting hit in the head one game. Then, more players started wearing helmets. Finally, players had to wear them from the 1970s. Current Major League Baseball uniforms have to follow rules, such as no advertisements on uniforms and that all players must wear their number on the back of the uniform.

## Related pages 
*Baseball
*Baseball bat
*Sportswear

## References 
;General
*Marc Okkonen, *Baseball Uniforms of the 20th Century: The Official Major League Baseball Guide*, 1991.
;Specific

## Other websites 
*History of the baseball uniform at the Baseball Hall of Fame
*ESPN: A pain in the butt(on) – history and potential nuisances of the baseball jersey
*Examples of different baseball caps