Lies They Teach in School by Herb Reich

Author:Herb Reich
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Published: 2012-08-07T16:00:00+00:00

NEW YORK YANKEE PINSTRIPES

It is a “widespread belief that the signature pinstripe uniform of the New York Yankees was designed for Babe Ruth, in an attempt to visually slenderize his portly frame.

Don’t you believe it.

Pinstripes, of various width and separation, had been around since Ruth was a schoolkid. According to Marc Okkonen, in the Baseball Almanac, they first appeared on several baseball uniforms around 1907, probably initially those of the Chicago Cubs and Boston Nationals, in a pattern of fine lines narrowly spaced but barely discernible from a distance.

By 1912 the pinstripes had widened, making them more apparent, thereafter worn by several teams, but most often by the New York Yankees, for whom the pattern has come to represent the team.The Yankee uniform is now probably the most distinctive and recognizable attire in all sports; the design is so emblematic of the team that books about the Yankees are frequently ornamented with a pinstripe dust jacket.

Incidentally, the Yankees were also the first team to prominently display player numbers on the backs of their uniforms. The Cleveland Indians had experimented with the idea in 1916, exhibiting numbers on players’ sleeves, but soon abandoned the practice. In 1929, the Yankees made the numbers a permanent part of the uniforms. Large enough to be easily seen from the stands, each player’s number represented his position in the batting order. Thus leadoff hitter Earle Combs wore #1, shortstop Mark Koenig #2, Babe Ruth #3, Lou Gehrig #4, and so on. The system caught on, and by 1932 numbers became a part of the uniforms of all major league teams.

As for the Babe’s pinstripes—he may not have supplied the impetus for the uniform design, but no one doubted that it served him well.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.