Paul here, making one last 2023 appearance to update you on an intriguing storyline.
So: The Phillies are among the 10 MLB teams that have not yet added a City Connect uniform (the others are the A’s, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Guardians, Mets, Rays, Tigers, Twins, and Yankees). Most of those teams are expected to get a CC design in 2024 (although the Yankees say they have no plans to do so and the A’s present a bit of a challenge due to their itinerant status). And now we’ve gotten a hint of what the Phillies’ design may look like.
According to multiple reports, the Phils’ CC uniform will feature the colors of the Philadelphia city flag — yellow and blue. Some fans are already posting their own design concepts:
If this resembles the city connect jersey in any way, I am rescinding my fandom IMMEDIATELY. pic.twitter.com/ljXRzzmKG0
— シ (@BSP_Sully) December 28, 2023
The Phillies have worn this color scheme before, but only for one season. In 1938, they went with this design:
The Philadelphia Eagles have also worn this color scheme. Here’s how they looked in 1934:
The Eagles revived that design as a throwback for one game in 2007 (additional photos here):
That Eagles throwback was not popular with the fan base (although I thought it was fun). Will the Phils’ CC design receive a warmer reception? We’ll have to wait and see.
Okay, that’s definitely a wrap for me for 2023! Have a great New Year’s Eve and I’ll see you back here on Monday.
(My thanks to Phil for bringing this news to my attention.)
I’m wondering how much different from the Boston CC this will be, since they will ostensibly be using the same colors.
I wouldn’t mind an all gold uni (as opposed to all light blue, like the concept above). Although that didn’t seem to look all that great on the Eagles.
Hmm.
Yeah, on its own I love the city flag colors for the Phillies. And those 1938 uniforms are the second-best the Phils have ever worn in my book. But it will be a huge letdown both for the team and for the CC program if the Phillies look anything at all like the Red Sox. Predominately light blue with only a few yellow highlights might work, but if the two colors are anything approaching equal in presence, it will just look like a Boston knock-off.
My thought exactly. I got to think its at least a blue top, maybe gold pants with pinstripes? Guessing a Liberty Bell in prominence as well.
Looks like the Cubs. I mean Cub Scouts.
No, that’s the Brewers in their blue softball tops with the yellow panel caps. This is much worse.
The Philadelphia Union of MLS have also worn kits with blue-and-gold designs.
THAT PATCH
Yeah, that worked so well for the Eagles. I’ll bet that less than 10% of Philadelphians know those colors.
Better to feature Boathouse Row or a sandwich.
Are you from here? Because the flag is well-known and the Eagles wore these colors as a Frankford Yellowjackets throwback. And the Union wear them. So unless you know from experience, you and your 10% make no sense.
Was holding out hope for an ‘ iconic’ street sign design…but this’ll work-provided Nike and the Phils put forth a solid look on that jawn.
The colors of Philly’s flag are outstanding, and should lend themself to a good colorscheme.
But Nike will figure out a way to screw it up.
(Although, Boston’s CC is one of my favorites; I just wish it didn’t have white pants)
Maybe they’ll surprise me.
Likewise, and I am surprised they would go yellow/light blue so soon after Boston got the same colors (for different reasons). The street signs would have been great and if you’re from here, you know.
Am not from around Philly, but genuinely curious – what kind of iconic street signs do you all mean, and would it feature on a hypothetical design (a quick google search revealed only a liberty bell featuring on a subset of street signs)
The 6 sided trapezoid shape is whats iconic about the street signs.
Gotcha, thank you! Have a hard time visualizing how that motif would work its way onto a uniform, but I would very much love to see it!
Can’t imagine they’ll get a yellow top since Pittsburgh and Boston both got those. A blue top will put them right there with Milwaukee and Seattle. They’d be better off just doing a throwback to those ‘38s. Of course that would come with an awkwardly narrow and historically inaccurate head spoon (I’m so tired of template futzing. Just make a damn jersey that looks like a jersey. If any of these suppliers put as much effort into refining visual design as they did making the upper-outer quadrant of a player’s shoulder blade a fraction of a degree cooler, or achieving .00000000001% more ease of motion In the waist during pivot movements, they might make some nice looking unis)
I was really hoping, based on looking at the image and not reading the headline, that they were replacing the two people on their city flag with the Phanatic and Gritty
“That Eagles throwback was not popular with the fan base…”
Yet a good amount of merch was sold and still showed up here and there…until the Buddy Ball throwback made the scene.
I’m not an Eagles fan per se(though I live in the area, not that that matters) but hold those city color tribute threads in high regard…YVVM of course
“I live in the area”
Hope you can make it up to Brooklyn for the 25th Universary Bash!
Phillies city connect may not necessarily be a blue or yellow jersey. It could be a color scheme similar to the ‘38 uniform – blue and yellow trim on a cream base. Angels and Rangers have cream colored city connect jerseys; Braves, Giants and Padres have white.
Good point that it might not be blue or gold; however, the team already has a cream colored uni (link) — not to mention white (link), gray (link) and powder blue (link).
All of which is to say that I can’t picture the CC uni being white, cream or (possibly) even blue, although the blue in the Philly flag is a darker shade than the powder blue alts they currently have. I wouldn’t hate something based off the ’38 uni, but it’s hard to imagine they’d go that route as the team already has the white and cream unis. I would expect it to definitely have at the very least a gold or blue jersey (and possibly a mono-gold or mono-blue uniform).
Sure, teams like Atlanta and SD got white CC’s, but neither of those in any way resemble their current looks, and neither were based on the colors of the city’s flag.
I’d be very surprised if the CC is a white or cream base.
The Phillies already have a strong association with a color that isn’t currently on their uniform- Phanatic green. This would be much more popular. Heck, they should wear jerseys with green shag. The Philadelphia flag is not well known in the city and isn’t a point of pride the way it is in, say, Chicago.
The Yankees have an ad on their uniform, but will die on the hill of a City Connect uniform? I suspect they’ll fall in line. Haven’t they worn all the special holiday caps?
I was really hoping they would go with something Mummers themed, That would have been fun
Re: the “popularity” of the Eagles yellow and blues … that was by ONE SPORTSWRITER from USA Today. The supporters loved them. The players loved them. Michael Westbrook loved them.
That would be awesome! I always love family weddings in Philadelphia, because inevitably, “O Dem Golden Slippers” come on, all the locals get up and Mummer strut, and all the out-of-towners just stare in bewilderment.
Interesting to note: the last few years, the Mummers had their own digital channel in Philadelphia, showing classic parades up to four weeks before the main event.
Indeed, it would also be simulcast on some CW affiliates.
In 2024, however, the parade is not being shown either on the usual station (WPHL) or any CW affiliate in the region. Instead the broadcast is being shared by stations in Allentown and Wilmington.
I love the combination of colors on the Eagles uni, but as a fan I just can’t relate.