Uni Watch: A Bronx Bombers’ bombshell
From SABR member Paul Lukas at Uni Watch on March 5, 2012:
Except for a four-year hiccup from 1927-30, the Yankees’ road jersey has been largely unchanged since 1917. Now, as then, it features a gently arched “New York” in plain lettering. Yes, the fabric has changed, and white outlining was added to the lettering in 1973, along with striped trim on the sleeve cuffs. But the basic design format of the plain, arched “New York” has remained the same for nearly a century, right?
Wrong.
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Baseball Hall of Fame curator [and SABR member] Tom Shieber recently found those photos, all of which come from the Boston Public Library digital archives. I’ll let him describe his thoughts about them:
I was blown away by this. I researched it and have come to the conclusion that these photos were almost assuredly taken during the first Yankees vs. Red Sox series at Fenway in late April of 1943 (April 27-29). I found a photo very similar to this one in the Boston Globe of April 30, so it’s likely the Boston Public Library photos were taken before that date. Apparently the Yankees reverted back to the more traditional arched “New York” later in the season, though I haven’t been able to pin down exactly when.
Read the full article here: http://www.uni-watch.com/2012/03/05/rare-1943-yankees-road-jersey-design-surfaces/
Originally published: March 8, 2012. Last Updated: March 8, 2012.