By Stephen Turk

Uniforms are pretty subjective.  I think most people, sports fans and non-sports fans alike, can agree on a handful of basic generalities when it comes to what is nice, what looks good, and what works when it comes to uniforms.  But those little details, the nitty-gritty things can really draw some deep division lines.

And so the discussion on the recently revamped Orioles uniforms inspires a good bit of healthy discussion amongst fans.  Everyone has a perfect uniform in their head, that dream look that goes woefully unfulfilled.  Indeed, I’ve spent many a worrisome hour thinking “why can’t the team just know what I want and do it?”

My perfect idea is a combination of some older designs and some things pulled from other places.  I think most people have a similar situation, never feeling like any one set was ever absolutely perfect.

So here is a brief uniform history of the Baltimore Orioles.  Oddly enough, though they’ve changed uniforms a good number of times, their basic design has yet in the 54, going on 55, year history of the team to really change drastically.

All the uniform references come from here: http://exhibits.baseballhalloffame.org/dressed_to_the_nines/database.htm
It’s a good database that doesn’t track all the microscopic changes that have occurred, and has a few miscues (like including patches that may have been officially part of the uniform but were never worn, etc.) but as far as a reference and broad strokes go, it is absolutely unmatched.  Also, particularly with the early uniforms, I have no idea if there are little inaccuracies, as my real expertise comes in the later years.  I fully expect that not everything is perfect, however.

On to the inaugural uniforms.  It should be noted that these are the first of the modern Orioles (the team was the relocated St. Louis Browns, creating an odd precedent for teams called the Browns to relocate to Baltimore), there were Orioles teams dating back to the 19th century in Baltimore, but they were minor league equivalents, and their uniforms look nothing like what we have here.

The O seen here is unlike any other O that the O’s have ever used, but this design, namely the black on orange typeface, would be referenced again in the 90’s.  Indeed the road uniform is fairly close to what the road uniform was in 1989-1994, minus the piping, front number, and O formation.  The cap also featured a kind of stick figure of a bird, as opposed to the cartoon bird that would later be developed and is more closely associated with the Orioles of old. The real bird look would be re-institued later in 1989.  This uniform was a one year deal.

The very next year brought a script lettering that would be used nearly every year until 1995.  This is where things start to get interesting.  A real uniform expert might have more info. but it seems that they directly referenced a design that had been used by the Negro League Orioles as early as 1950, as seen here provided by Ebbets Field Flannels, a reliable and accurate source for these sorts of things (you can also see that they O’s of the International League used the familiar script along with the birds on the bat logo that has come to be associated with the St. Louis Cardinals).  This year, in addition to bringing zipper fronts, which are pretty hideous in my opinion, also first featured the cartoon bird, only it’s much more nightmare inducing and angular, rather than the smiling rounded friendly bird used later.

The next year, 1956, brought a script Baltimore to the road jerseys, and 1958 brought front numbers, a uniform element that has remained ever since, and orange bills to the caps.

These uniforms remained unchanged until 1963, when for three years, the only truly different Orioles uniform was worn.  The road jersey went unchanged, same hat, zipper front, all of that.  But the home uniform ditched the script for big black block letters stating plainly, ORIOLES, and the cap took away the little stick bird, and added an orange block B.  The B cap would be gone after one year, but the strange home uni lasted until 1965.  I like it because it’s different, and it’s an interesting footnote in the uniform history, but really, when you think Orioles, you think script.

The 1966 season brought what would become classics for the O’s.  Back was the orange script, but gone was the flourish underneath.  A bit of piping around the neck on the home uni stayed as well.  The road jerseys remained the same but switched to buttons and kept the placket piping.  The socks which had been changed to solid black, were changed back to orange with white and black stripes.  And then there are the caps.  The smiling cartoon bird that would become iconic made its appearance, designed by, I’m told by the same guy who designed Snap, Crackle, and Pop.  The Orioles won their first world series that year and the uniforms went largely unchanged for the rest of the flannel era, besides having a short lived sleeveless alternative. 

With this era also came a bit of notable uniform modification.  Frank Robinson was known to wear his stirrups very high, with a large portion of the white sock underneath showing.  The fad spread.

Jim Bouton wrote in Ball Four “All the Orioles are wearing their socks with high cuts, like Frank Robinson, and no one seems to object.”  He goes on to indicate that the best way to do this is sew in some extra material on the stirrup to get them to stretch higher, which photos have confirmed that Frank did just that.

The uniforms would change along with much of baseball in 1971.

For the absolute pinnacle in Internet Uni Discussion, check out : http://www.uniwatchblog.com/

Also the Baltimore Sun has some nice photo galleries of O’s uniforms: http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baseball/bal-uniforms-pg,0,793572.photogallery