Uni Watch: Back to Baseball
From LI Phil at Uni Watch on June 26:
As most of you are aware, one of, if not the most important uniform histories was compiled by [longtime SABR member Marc] Okkonen, in his epic book, Baseball Uniforms of the 20th Century, many of the images from which are contained on the Baseball Hall of Fame’s Dressed To The Nines website. While not perfect, it is still considered the absolute gold standard in terms of a reference manual for the rest of us. It was an epic undertaking, and it is invaluable.
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However, one fairly major omission has been the backs of the jerseys. With only a few, rare exceptions, Mr. Okkonen never shows us the reverse of the jersey. As a result, one thing that is missing is the number font and whether or not there was a Name On Back (NOB). If only a site that could include that data along with Okkonen’s tremendous research could be created, well, I’d be an incredibly happy camper. And I’m sure I’m not alone.
There is some good news on that horizon, however. Earlier this week, reader Josiah Pedersen tipped me wise to a site out there called Baseball Backs. What is “Baseball Backs”? Well — it is a partial missing link. You see, it shows, in pretty amazing detail, the color, font & uni style of many of the uniforms of today’s franchises. Every current team is represented, as are many of the throwback uniforms worn by the various clubs. Some of the uniforms go back very far, such as this 1948 Boston Braves satin uniform worn by Johnny Sain. Every player is identified, and as I said above, the quality of the image is superb.
So, now that you know about “Baseball Backs,” make sure you bookmark that and add it to your reference library. It’s a great little site and I hope someday it can incorporate every uniform back, dating to 1900, like Okkonen. Between those two sites, we move ever closer to having a complete uniform record for every major league team.
Read the full article here: http://www.uni-watch.com/2011/06/26/back-to-baseball/
Originally published: June 30, 2011. Last Updated: June 30, 2011.