Inhistoric: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:


Pro Quality. Fan Perspective.
Login-facebook
New Blog: Voodoo Five for South Florida Bulls Fans!

Throwback Uniforms: Pirates and Reds (1979)

145589_reds_pirates_baseball_medium

For the 30th anniversary of the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates, who won the World Series in seven games over the Baltimore Orioles, the Pirates held a reunion for the old players and managers. Phil Garner, Bert Blyleven, Bill Madlock, Chuck Tanner, Omar Moreno, Bruce Kison, Don Robinson, and the wife of the late Willie Stargell were a few of the names present. The opposing Cincinnati Reds decided to dress in their vintage uniforms from the era as well, giving the game a particularly old-school feel.

But could the current Pirates wear the older Pirates' duds and get away with it? And what about the Reds'? Were their old uniforms the design equivalent of slamming the car door on your hand, or were they like finding out that Megan Fox is your next door neighbor? The answers to both questions are no, but to find out to what extent, read on after the jump...

Star-divide

145574_reds_pirates_baseball_medium

To honor the '79 Pirates, outfield box seats were discounted at $19.79 -- a nice deal considering the fans actually got to see the Pirates win (12-2). The 2009 campaign was the Pirates' 17th consecutive losing season, a major league record.

145503_reds_pirates_baseball_medium

On their way to beating the O's in the World Series, the Pirates swept the Reds in the National League Championship Series. For their part, the Reds haven't done much since 1979 either. Unlike Pittsburgh, they did win a title in 1990 -- a year after the whole Pete Rose fiasco. But they haven't made the postseason in 14 years and have had just one winning season during that time.

145498_reds_pirates_baseball_medium

The Pirates weren't afraid of filling out the jersey, were they? I kinda dig the Pirates conductor's hat, but the rest of it just doesn't mesh right. It almost looks like the team ordered black jerseys and white jerseys and were missing half of both, so they just combined them.

145576_reds_pirates_baseball_medium

Here we get a good look at the old Cincinnati uniforms. Dusty Baker took a pretty big fall, didn't he? Ten years ago, he was right there with Bobby Cox and Tony La Rusa as one of the most respected managers in the N.L. Then he went to Chicago and couldn't get it done. A decade ago, you'd never believe he'd be coaching the Cincinnati Reds.

145579_reds_pirates_baseball_medium

We finish up with a look at the Pirates uniform from the side. Give it up to the Pirates fans, you can tell from the photo that they filled the stands pretty damn well. I don't care if the seats were discounted, you have to be awfully dedicated to watch two bad teams play on a Sunday afternoon, knowing full well that management is just going to sell off all the good players.

Overall:

I'm no fashion designer, but I know a bad-looking uniform when I see one, and those Pirates jerseys definitely qualify. Thick yellow stripes on a white shirt with black pants? Those wouldn't look good on a Long John Silvers waiter, let alone a Major League Baseball player who is performing in front of thousands of fans. Like most road jerseys, the Reds' ones were pretty basic. However, they look almost exactly the same as the ones they wear now, thirty years later. The mark of consistency is the mark of a good jersey, so they get a high score. Pittsburgh? Not so much.

Final Grades:

Classic Pirates home uniform: D

Classic Reds away uniform: B

Photos taken by Keith Srakocic, Associated Press

0 recs  |  Comment 9 comments |

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Display:

Cincy

is the only difference from their current jerseys that they’re pullovers instead of button-downs?

"[The Giants] beat us down. We were beat by a grown-man team, a team we want to be like one day. They came in here and took it to us. Out-manned us, out-gunned us. ... It wasn't even close." - Raheem Morris, 9/27/09

by cjmulrain on Oct 15, 2009 11:05 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

That and that the new ones have a different script, plus they don’t have the red-and-white belt. But other than that, they look pretty much the same

Inhistoric.com -- the No. 1 source for sports history.

by ZombieMonta on Oct 15, 2009 11:26 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

What about the ones they wore the night before

Yellow w/ black pants

Ray Rice is so agile. He's a whole new breed for agile you need a new word to describe his agility... UBER-AGILITY!

by BaltimoreSportsFan on Oct 15, 2009 3:07 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Those were sweet as well

"Polamalu’s lineage can be traced through several roots. Chuck Norris mated with an Amazon Queen, and on the other side, Tony Hawk mated with Mother Nature. The two children of these spawned and fused in a tantric love session to create Troy Polamalu. The mother however died as he tore through the birth canal with a spin move."
Mechem on the roots of Troy Polamalu

by WVPiratesfan on Oct 15, 2009 3:56 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Pirates

They should have a throwback year in which they show off all the combinations their 70s uniforms could create.

You know me Al.

by TheJay on Oct 15, 2009 8:03 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

that'd take them half of the season to show all the combos!

Ray Rice is so agile. He's a whole new breed for agile you need a new word to describe his agility... UBER-AGILITY!

by BaltimoreSportsFan on Oct 16, 2009 9:42 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

They had five different combinations back then: striped shirt-striped pants, striped shirt-black pants, black shirt-black pants, gold shirt-black pants, and gold shirt-gold pants. Of the five, the Pirates only wore striped-and-black and gold-and-black this season.

And the striped-and-black is the worst-looking of the five. It’s like when you see those awful Wizards jerseys where they have a bronze shirt and black shorts. It doesn’t match up at all.

Inhistoric.com -- the No. 1 source for sports history.

by ZombieMonta on Oct 15, 2009 8:21 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

I thought they had a lot more combinations

Maybe I’m thinking if you include hats and socks too. Those striped uniforms are painful – it looks like they’re wearing sweatpants.

You know me Al.

by TheJay on Oct 15, 2009 8:47 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

go to the hall of fame website

find dressed to the nines, and you’ll have sketches of all 5 of those uniforms!

Ray Rice is so agile. He's a whole new breed for agile you need a new word to describe his agility... UBER-AGILITY!

by BaltimoreSportsFan on Oct 16, 2009 9:45 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Comments For This Post Are Closed


User Tools

This is Inhistoric, the ultimate resource in what happened on this day in sports history. To find out all you need to know about the site, click here for the FAQ.

Start posting on Inhistoric »

Join SB Nation and dive into communities focused on all your favorite teams.

Connect_with_facebook

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recent FanPosts

Small
SB Nation Survey + Chance to donate $500 to a charity of this community's choice
Wv-power-logo_small
The Members of the 2010 Pro Football Hall of Fame
08-_the_author_small
Reggie Jackson's Summer of '69
08-_the_author_small
Celebrating the 1910 Philadelphia Athletics
08-_the_author_small
Campy: More than Just a Bat Slinger
Small
Mark McGwire Starting to Use Steroids in 1989

+ New FanPost All FanPosts >

SBNation.com Recent Stories

PORTLAND, OR - NOVEMBER 25: Brook Lopez #11, Devin Harris #34 and Sean Williams #51 of the New Jersey Nets watch their team lag behind during a game against the Portland Trail Blazers on November 25, 2009 at the Rose Garden Arena in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)

What's More Valuable: Owner's Money, Or A Money Player?

lance mackey dogs via http://twitpic.com/190zq5 +16 updates

Lance Mackey Makes History, Wins Record Fourth-Consecutive Iditarod

Pittsburgh Penguins'  Hal Gill, center, holds his daughter Isabella as she pets a police horse following a parade celebrating the team's Stanley Cup win Monday, June 15, 2009, in downtown Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) link

It's Never Too Early For The Derby: Handicapping The Early Field

More from SBNation.com >


Managers

Slam_small ZombieMonta