In 1978, Cincinnati Reds Became First Modern Team to Wear Green for St. Paddy’s Day

Forty seven years ago today, the Cincinnati Reds exchanged their red-accented home uniforms for a green-accented set, during a spring training game against the New York Yankees. In so doing, they became the first MLB team* to wear green for St. Paddy’s Day, kicking off a tradition that continues to this day.

* the 1899 Philadelphia Philles were technically first, which we’ll get to in a minute.

Unlike today, where merchandising and social media and the desire for clicks drive teams to introduce alternate uniforms (or jerseys or caps), back in 1978 there was no Internet, no SM, and barely cable TV. And the green-accented uniforms the Reds debuted that fine spring day were a complete surprise. There was no advance hype, no promises of a “special” uniform, no t-shirts or caps or other merch for fans to buy. In fact, on March 17, 1978, the Cincinnati Reds took batting practice in their regular home uniforms.

But when it was time to come out on the field before the game, they stunned the crowd and the Yankees with a special look.

The special caps and uniforms were designed to be a surprise. Per MLB, “The only people that knew beforehand were GM Dick Wagner, the team’s longtime equipment manager Bernie Stowe, and Koch’s Sporting Goods, who supplied the uniforms at the cost of about $105 per set of shirts, undershirts, pants, caps, and socks.”

With the exception of a shamrock logo placed on the Reds’ left sleeve, the special unis were exactly the same as the Reds normal uniforms, with every red element simply swapped for green. In 1978, the Reds were still wearing v-neck pullover jerseys and sansabelt pants, so the uniform was created in that exact style. The Reds even created special green batting helmets and caps to complete the look.

“This was not a situation where there was a lot of discussion in our offices during the winter,” Jim Ferguson, then the Reds’ public relations director, said in 2010. “It was a tightly held secret, perhaps with Wagner alone, plus Stowe, who had to make all the arrangements. It was not out of character for Wagner to have made this a one-man production.”

That the players were kept in the dark about the uniforms may have been for the best. While it’s doubtful anyone would have pulled a Chris Sale upon seeing the green-tinged unis hanging in their lockers, the players’ reactions were not quite the same as we might expect today upon first sight of a new uniform.

“Did we get traded to Oakland?” catcher Johnny Bench asked. Shortstop Davey Concepcion saw his green No. 13 uniform and said, “I’m not wearing that. I’m Venezuelan, not Irish.”

But the team did indeed don the holiday-themed kits. And they defeated the defending World Series champions while so doing. Spring Training results mattered more back then — especially to Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, who wanted his team to win every game it played, even the ones that didn’t count.

“I think the green uniforms matched my complexion after seeing the inadequacies of the team that is supposed to be world champion,” Steinbrenner said following the defeat. Both the New York Times and the Cincinnati Enquirer covered the story, a rare instance that major media of the day would make spring training uniforms the subject of their reporting.

There was one bit of uni watching that went unnoticed by the papers. Ted Kluszewski, who famously loved to show off his ample guns, had his green ST uniform custom-tailored with shorter sleeves (Big Klu was a coach with the team back then).

Specialty uniforms were basically unheard of back in 1978. But the Reds unwittingly unleashed an MLB tradition that would take several years to really take hold.

But it might never have caught on, had the Reds decided the 1978 St. Paddy’s Day game would be a one-and-done affair. However, it was not. The Reds rolled out the green-accented uniforms again in 1979. And 1980.

And 1981 and 1982 as well.

Following the Reds’ success with wearing the green-accented uniforms, over time, other teams began to wear similar outfits. Many teams introduced green caps (keeping their regular uniforms) while still others began wearing green jerseys AND caps. By the late 1980s several other teams began wearing green on March 17, and at one point, more than half of MLB teams wore some sort of green element for St. Paddy’s Day. Unfortunately, due to MLB’s “Four Plus One” jersey rule, green spring training jerseys have gone the way of the dodo, but every team will have the option to wear a green cap today (even if it’s a cap with a four leaf clover and not a shamrock).

Although the Reds would retire their original St. Paddy’s unis after 1982, they’d make a triumphant return in 2014 and 2015, with the team sporting them for a ST game and then wearing them on the field during two regular season games. Unfortunately, they were rendered in the team’s ST template, and their current uniform style of the time.

They’d continue to wear green for St. Paddy’s Day in 2016 and 2017, this time going with a green version of the jersey. And in 2018, the Reds returned to white jerseys with green accents, even marking the occasion with a 40th Anniversary patch for being the “First Team To Wear Green.”

But were they actually the “first team” to wear green? Technically not. It actually was the Philadelphia Phillies, in 1899, who were the first franchise to wear green uniforms on the field for St. Patrick’s Day. UW pal Todd Radom explains:

St Patrick’s Day, 1899: The @Phillies bust out their new green-trimmed uniforms, which they’d continue to wear all season long. pic.twitter.com/NAtSWYjaxR

— Todd Radom (@ToddRadom) March 16, 2019

However, the Phillies — despite unveiling the new green-hued uniforms on St. Patrick’s Day — didn’t intend them to be for St. Paddy’s Day. They simply chose to debut them on March 17, but the unis were to be worn every day. And the team would ditch the uniforms the following season, so most historians credit the Reds with being the first team to wear green for St. Paddy’s Day.

What are your thoughts? Was this special 1978 surprise uniform (something that almost never happened at the time) awesome or did it mark the beginnings of what would one day become a major merchandising bonanza? When was the last time you remember a team unveiling a special uniform without any advance notice?

I personally loved the “gimmick” but like all good things, what was once fun and unique becomes rote and trite when multiple teams begin copying the originators. Should the Reds have been the “only” team to wear green for the holiday or do you prefer it the way it is now, with each team getting a special 3/17 cap?