History of Sports Uniforms
Uniforms are worn by athletes throughout organized sports on amateur and professional playing fields. Uniforms identify competitors and allow spectators to differentiate team members. Throughout their history, sports uniforms have been modified and redesigned for the benefit of athletes and fans. Sports uniform replicas are now commonplace and are fundamental in a sports merchandising market that generates billions of dollars worldwide each year. In recent years, the design and materials of sports uniforms have been altered to improve the comfort and thus performance of athletes at play.
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Genesis
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Various sports uniforms. Sports participants have worn some kind of identifying garment or accessory since the beginning of organized sporting activities. The genesis of sports uniforms can be attributed to the human tradition of assigning certain colors and symbols to visually represent tribes, kingdoms and nations. Sports uniforms as we know them today first appeared at the turn of the 20th century.
Early History
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Early baseball's New York Knickerbockers are widely credited with wearing the first sports uniforms on record in the United States. These athletes first wore the ensemble in 1849. European football clubs have been wearing various uniform designs since the late 1800s.
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Modern Uniforms and the Effects of Mass Production
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Fans wearing replica jerseys of the British football club Manchester United. By the mid-20th century uniforms had become commonplace in sports on amateur, scholastic and professional levels. Professional sports organizations began to produce replicas of their teams' jerseys for sale to fans. Major League Baseball (MLB) formed Major League Baseball Properties (MLBP) in 1966 as the league's agent for marketing and trademark licensing and protection. In the early 1990s, MLB began to offer fans exact replicas of the uniforms worn by their players on the field. Pro sports leagues throughout the world quickly followed suit.
Uniforms as Advertising Vehicles
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A Liverpool player pauses during the action. The club's sponsorship agreement with Standard Chartered Bank is the most lucrative ever. Sports uniforms have become modern vehicles for advertising. Youth and scholastic sports often bear the logos or name identities of sponsoring companies. In professional sports, companies delve out enormous sums of money for the privilege of having their name represented on sporting uniforms. The British football club Liverpool recently reached a uniform sponsorship deal with the London bank Standard Chartered for over 80 million British pounds.
Famous Sports Uniforms
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A New York Yankees player. The Yankees' striped uniform design is world famous. The white pinstriped uniform of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball is regarded as the most recognizable and heralded in American sports history. Other notable sports uniforms include the red-hued apparel of the eminent football (Americans would say "soccer") franchise Manchester United, the striking yellow of the Brazilian National football club and the eponymous jerseys of New Zealand's All-Blacks--that country's national rugby club.
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References
- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Chris Metcalf Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Jamie Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Ibrahim Iujaz Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Ben Sutherland Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of The U.S. Army
