Pants Up!!
Posted on 24. Aug, 2009 by Corey in All, Dayton Dragons Baseball, General Baseball.
Here is my newest blog entry from ‘Inside the Clubhouse,’ hosted by the Dayton Dragons.
It is now known throughout the sport of baseball as the “old school” way to wear your baseball uniform, the pants stop just below the knee with the player’s socks pulled up high. Players can go one step further and decide to wear stirrups, instead of socks, truly making their look unique and “old school.”
It has been said that in the late 1860′s, many baseball clubs experimented with their pants to eliminate discomfort and improve mobility on the field. In order to keep pant legs from caching on shoes or interfering with a player’s movement, some teams adopted pants with tight fitting bottoms or a taper fit at the shoe.
Finally in 1868, a club decided to solve the problem of loose leg openings on the bottom of the pants by simply eliminating the bottoms all together and wearing what were called “knickers.”
The first professional team to adopt knickers as part of their baseball uniform was the 1868 Cincinnati Red Stockings, who said they borrowed the idea from cricket. The knee-high pants proved to be both comfortable and convenient while also managing to show off another feature of Cincinnati’s uniform; their red stockings.
Still today, “knickers” or high pants are worn throughout the Cincinnati Reds minor league system, with each player required to wear their uniform like this. Each Reds affiliate has their own color scheme, eliminating the “red stockings” on everyone, but the uniform idea is still the same.
Once players make it to the big leagues and suit up for the Reds, they are free to wear their pants however they want, no longer being forced to wear them up. Some Reds like Adam Rosales and Joey Votto still choose to go with the “old school” knickers look.
Next time you attend a Dayton Dragons game or any other professional baseball game, check out the player’s uniforms and how they wear their pants.
