April 24, Close icon. Teams in this article: Cleveland Indians. Players in this article: Carlos Santana. Topics in this article: Season style. Up Next More icon. What do you get when you combine a block party and a baseball league? Follow Cut4 Facebook icon Twitter icon Instagram icon. Load More. MLB's official historian, John Thorn, says that the team's owners were "trying to create a sensation," presumably to boost attendance and the team's profile.
Pulling up the pants to more closely resemble a cricketer's uniform also had one other benefit: "High socks displayed manly calves, which the ladies liked.
But Cincinnati's players just wore regular socks during that time. The garment known as the stirrup wouldn't come into existence until That year, Nap Lajoie of the Cleveland Naps named for Lajoie and not, sadly, for the supreme joy they received from afternoon snoozes , would play in only 65 games due to blood poisoning after he was spiked on a slide.
Since clothing dyes weren't colorfast in those days, it was assumed that the dye in the fabric had seeped into Lajoie's wound, causing the injury. The only solution: Add a white "sanitary" sock and cover that up with the colored hose, which had a cut out around the ankle so players could still fit into their cleats.
It was that injury which led to one of baseball's most unique and enduring looks. For a certain generation, myself included, it was kind of a key moment when you got your first Little League uniform and got to pull up those stirrups. I remember how official that felt. But while a certain sect of today's baseball fans thrill to the look of the stirrup, its purpose was actually to mimic the original stockings as closely as possible.
As Lukas said:. The original opening of stirrups back in , or whenever it was, were so small, the idea was to not show the opening. Now, the look has endured for over a century -- even if its details have changed drastically over the years.
The Red Sox might be known as the Blue Sox had they not changed colors in That change was largely the end of stirrup innovation until the s, when striped stirrups showed up, bringing about a new era of human beauty. Standouts include the New York Giants' stirrups in Or the St. Louis Cardinals' socks in , which featured candy cane options. Of course, the Cards would change their look to one you may be more familiar with by the next season:.
Historic teams would even have multiple looks to match their differing uniforms -- foreshadowing the copious alternate uniform options of the 21st century.
The Brooklyn Dodgers wore gray stirrups on the road in And the Reds inverted the colors of their socks between , becoming an alternate reality version of themselves on the road:. In , the Red Sox finally unveiled the sock that would become known as the "Red Sox" sock, a beautiful little number with broad stripes. It would later be picked up by plenty of teams, including the Orioles, who debuted theirs in Wash them with cool water and detergent, using a permanent-press cycle, as The Spruce advises.
White baseball pants have a very colorful history, going back all the way into the s. Skip to content. Table of Contents. About The Author. Matt Morrison Matt is a self-proclaimed baseball fanatic and someone who has played competitively and for fun since early childhood.
His expert knowledge and passion for the sport are evident on Batters Report and he hopes to deliver other baseball fans with informative and up to date content on this popular pastime. Welcome to Batters Report, the comprehensive site for every thing Baseball.
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