Good morning, everyone. I hope everyone had a great weekend!
Speaking of weekends, a cap that will (very likely) be worn during MLB’s upcoming “MLB at Rickwood Field: A Tribute to the Negro Leagues” (which is replacing the “Field of Dreams” game this season) began making the rounds on social media. The game, to be played between the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals, happens in a little over two weeks, on Thursday, June 20, 2024 (one day after Juneteenth). The game will be played at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, the former home of the Negro Leagues’ Birmingham Black Barons, and will be the first ever regular-season MLB game played in the state of Alabama.
Here’s the photo of the cap that will be worn in this game:
At first glance, the cap looks like it would belong to an affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, but it’s not. It is a cap created from one of the logos of the San Francisco Sea Lions, who were a team in the West Coast Negro Baseball League, based in San Francisco, California, in 1946. Because Jackie Robinson and the breaking of the color line would begin taking its toll on NLB shortly thereafter, the WCNBL dissolved shortly thereafter, and the Sea Lions continued playing as an independent barnstorming team.
Why would the Sea Lions be using a “bear cub” logo? our pals at Ebbets Field Flannels have an explanation: “The pursuit of a photo of the uniform of this short-lived Negro leagues team has been one of the most frustrating endeavors we have undertaken. Then, when a photo was finally found, the mystery only grew deeper. Why a bear cub on the jersey? Turns out that the Sea Lions purchased uniforms previously used by a semi-pro club called the San Francisco Cubs.”
Based on the cap alone, we can be almost 100% certain the San Francisco Giants will be throwing (or fauxing) back to the uniforms worn by the Sea Lions. The Giants/Cardinals series will be a three-game affair, with the first game played at Rickwood Field on Thursday, with a day off for both teams to travel on Friday, when the teams fly to St. Louis to complete the series over the weekend. As such, the Cards will be the home team.
Uni Watch’s source doesn’t have any graphics showing which uniforms will be worn, but it does show logos and wordmarks for the game. Let’s look at the Sea Lions’ first.
The Giants played throwback games in 2021 and 2022 in which they sported 1946 Sea Lions throwbacks. While I can’t definitely say the team will sport (presumably a road version) of this uniform for the Rickwood game, the graphic posted above seems to confirm the uniform will look very similar.
You’ll notice the cap worn in that game does not feature a logo on the crown. The leaked cap shows one with the “cub” logo which is also seen in the style guide. I have been unable to track down any visual evidence that the cap to be worn for the Rickwood game was actually worn by the original San Francisco Sea Lions, so it’s possible this has been created specially for this game. The Giants also played in Atlanta in 2014 for a throwback game, and in that game the team wore 1946 road throwbacks. Caps were similarly blank.
Based on the relatively short life of the WCNLB, it’s likely the Giants will wear uniforms that are very similar to these.
What the Cardinals will wear is less certain. We do know they’ll be playing as the St. Louis Stars, a Negro League Baseball team that competed independently from as early as 1906 to 1919, and then joined the Negro National League (NNL) for the duration of their existence. The Cardinals have worn Stars throwbacks on a number of occasions, but almost all were throwbacks to the 1928 team.
And what does the style guide show for the logos and wordmarks of the Cardinals?
In addition to the Cardinals throwing back to the 1931 Stars (first graphic above) in 2011, in 2020 the KC Royals and St. Louis Cardinals wore Negro League throwbacks, with the Cardinals donning 1930 Stars uniforms:
We can probably rule out the Cardinals going with 1931 throwbacks, since the logos and wordmarks from the style guide don’t match up. However, both the 1928 and 1930 throwbacks do appear to match up with the style guide, including the distinctive “STL” on the cap, which is shown in the style guide.
Based on these clues, I’d say it’s likely the Cardinals will be wearing either the 1928 or 1930 uniforms for this game.
As mentioned earlier, the game will take place at historic Rickwood Field, which looked like this in its early years.
The field has undergone a series of renovations since then, and in 2010 the field celebrated its 100th year. It is on the National Register of Historic Places, and looks similar to this today:
I have always loved NLB throwback games, and I have especially enjoyed the “Field of Dreams” games that took place in 2021 and 2022, so I’m doubly looking forward to this game.
While the uniforms have not yet been unveiled, based on the leaked cap and style guide renderings, it’s likely the game will feature uniforms from the 1946 San Francisco Sea Lions and 1928-30 St. Louis Stars. I do not know when those uniforms will officially be unveiled, but it’s likely very soon, as the game is just over two weeks away.
[Thanks to all who shared the leaked Sea Lions cap photo.]
GTGFTU: 06/04/2016 – Chicago White Sox (4) at Detroit Tigers (7); Comerica Park.
Cool info about the Giants’ jersey with the bear on the front! Scoreboard, wise, it looks like game 1 of the 1980 NLCS at Veterans’ Stadium, when the Phillies beat the Astros 3-1. The Phils used to line up the team logos in the outfield based on standing, and in 1980 the Phillies just edged out the Expos for the NL East title on their way to the franchise’s first World Series title.
The Phils won game 1 in regulation, but series went the full 5 games, with each of the remaining games going to extra innings.
I was today years old when I learned that they moved those tarps to represent standings! I never really thought about how they were arranged.
I Miss The Vet
Knee joints thoughout baseball and football do not.
Re: Cosmic Baseball
I’m very surprised that this was actually allowed to take place, and that both teams agreed to it. You’d think that safety and liability issues alone would put a damper on it.
But, hey, I’m glad they got away with it.
The ball certainly doesn’t track well at all on that video. Maybe in person it is a bit more reasonable.
Still, stepping into the box in the pitch black isn’t exactly my cuppa.
pitchers were told to take it easy. Pitchers were also behind a net. It being just a college summer league, players arent forced to be the most competive, it was just a fun thing all around
Rickwood Field seems like a really cool venue, but it’s so small (10,800 seats per Wikipedia). That’s going to be an expensive ticket!
The two FoD games had official attendance numbers of 7832, so 10800 would be s step up.
Ha. Goes to show how closely I (don’t) follow baseball. I was equating it to the big NHL events like the Winter Classic in terms of fan participation, which is apparently inaccurate.
Yes. This is definitely much more of a “Made for TV” event than a live one. The intimate setting of the park (and relatively small number of seats) is part of the charm of the Field of Dreams’ events of 2021 and 2022, and the Rickwood of 2024.
Too bad one of the clubs couldn’t have dressed as the Birmingham Black Barons, the Negro League team that play at Rickwood Field.
My dad played in a wood bat league when I was a kid. They played all of their games at Rickwood. Looking back it’s really neat that me and my brother played hide and seek and had free rein in such a historic place. Friends of Rickwood have done an amazing job at preserving this baseball cathedral.
That glow in the dark game is very funny to watch. I hope they take the Stars uniform with the actual star on the sleeve. I just like stars on uniforms.
Shirts with both logos went on sale a few weeks ago at the vintage online clothing store Homage. Here’s a link to the website when I search RICKWOOD: link
Re; that Chili Peppers glow-in-the-dark game:
I went to a baseball game and a rave broke out!
Rickwood fun fact that was shared with me when I attended a Classic there (and in the book about the history of the stadium) is that the large light structures are from Ebbets Field. So a bonus part of baseball history.
Is that Joey Styles link doing the play-by-play on the cosmic baseball game?