Of Unis and Logos...

Since 9 days (albeit a very successful 9 days) aren't much of a sample size (in my book) I figured I'd shift gears and briefly talk about the opulent majesty that is (most) baseball uniforms and logos, specifically pertaining to the Rangers. Here's to hoping the Rangers do this well all season so much so that we HAVE to find other topics to discuss in depth (haha).

Now, I feel like on a national level the Rangers don't necessarily impress in this category. I do remember national outlets/blogs blasting this batting helmet gem once though...

Alright, alright that's not very aesthetically pleasing, but it's not terrible (perhaps). In this way I feel like the Rangers, typically, neither impress nor stick out like a sore thumb. This god awful gem comes to mind...

Haha! Sorry! Had to...

We *might* be a little biased here at 162+, but I feel like we've ALWAYS had great logos/uniforms. For our purposes here I'll focus on the highlights (not that the list is lengthy or transitory). Examples:


1972 (first year of existence you should know this) and 1970s highlights:

 
Logo:





Uniform:

Fergie

Closer look at the cap:

The above have experienced a revival of sorts in recent years (especially last year during the 40th anniversary celebrations). I even attended a game last year (that we lost haha) where the giveaway was a 1972 replica cap (one of my fav giveaways I've EVER gotten).


I'm also a big fan of this look from that era though I've heard some negative comments from non-Ranger fans (blah):

They technically wore these until 1982.

Here's the official texasrangers.com description from the early years:

1972-74

With double knit-fabrics in vogue, the Rangers became the first Major League team to have never worn the old flannel fabrics. The Rangers nickname was derived from a historic tradition in the Texas and appeared on the chest of the home and away jerseys. The red, white and blue colored uniforms featured built-in waistbands and blue as the primary trim color. The cap was blue with a red-trimmed "T" on red bill. Road uniforms were gray and blue-gray.




1980s to early 1990s highlights (next most recognizable looks and logo, I'd say):

Logo:

Uniform:

The Cap (I want one of these and I smile anytime I see someone on TV with one)

This look is more or less the earliest Ranger "look" I remember. The cursive, slanted script Rangers logo across the chest is one of their most recognizable. In 1984, the player number was also shown on the front for the first time in team history (a look that was revived in the 2000s). According to texasrangers.com: "...at the end of 1985, the Rangers followed a trend of conservative and conventional uniforms to a plainer and cleaner "Dodger look" free of striped trim and a belted trouser. (1987-1993) The "Dodger look" retained the "Rangers" script lettering on the front of the home jersey, but dropped the number on the front and sleeve emblem. The road uniforms looked similar but all gray. The road jerseys featured "Texas" across the chest in blue block letters."


1994-1999 RANGER RED!!!


Logo (my absolute freakin' favorite):





3 whole years that bad boy lasted :( then segued to this (once secondary) logo into the early 2000s...






The uniform (my absolute freakin' favorite):

Rusty!

ESPECIALLY the road jersey (I still own one):

Juan Gone..

The cap (my absolute freakin' favorite haha):

Not much more you can say about these awesome, awesome looks other than it happened to coincide with the first real success in Texas Rangers history. The look was gone for the entirety of the 2000s and came back in 2010 and even though it's not exactly as it once was it is great to see it back.


2000 to the present


The current logo (starting in 2003):






The uniforms have been kind of a mixed bag since 2000. We had an updated version of a classic Rangers look with the new Texas flag logo on the sleeves that I really like.

Can't remember the last time I saw "Rangers" on one of our jerseys

Who remembers the sleeveless look with just the "T" logo?

More to come on this clown/Yankee in a future 162+ post

All blue jerseys:

Remember me?

Recently all red jerseys:

Come back, MY!

To the current look:

I do really like how the current home whites have red and blue trim so depending on what cap they decide to wear either color will pop. Interesting that all jerseys now feature only "Texas" on the front. As of 2012, only two teams wear their city/state name on their home uniforms, the Texas Rangers and Miami Marlins.




It was awesome seeing the Rangers honor some of these classic looks last season in celebration of 40 years.

One man left standing.

Another cool thing the Rangers do is 'alert' the fans as to what jersey the team will be wearing at home games so they can 'color coordinate'. Some are set in stone; Saturday nights for instance, but 'Jersey color is subject to change without notice.' Haha...



http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/tex/fan_forum/jerseys.jsp



I intended to include great 'looks' from current teams and teams throughout baseball history in this post, but you'd be here all day and night (as would I haha), Baseball is rife with tradition and the uniforms are no exception. You could literally discuss it for hours (copout, I know haha)...


Well, I suppose now you're almost all caught up on the last 40 years of Rangers baseball (or least what we'd like for you to know haha). I promise posts pertaining to these 2013 Rangers are coming (haha). Forgive me for being thorough!



7 games down...



155 (+?) to go...