A little while back, I began running a series in which reader Brad Bierman, who has collected, mounted and framed every (or almost every) patch worn by every Major League franchise, has been periodically showing them off. (Click here to see the Athletics, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, and Baltimore Orioles. Also multiple-team patches for MLB and the NFL).
Brad returns today with a look at the patch history of the Colorado Rockies.
by Brad Bierman
Welcome to the latest installment of reviewing my MLB team patch collection. It is a National League team in rotation this week, and when I tallied up how many patches I have already presented on UW – 163, I had two thoughts:
First, I am finally acknowledging to myself that I really do have a lot of patches, something I had lost track of and honestly had not thought about in many years. Secondarily, after averaging 20 patches in the eight previous UW stories (including 33 patches for the S.F. Giants alone … and I just added a 34th), I wanted to create some balance.
So, this week I am spotlighting one of MLB’s newer teams with a more limited patch history, the Colorado Rockies. I have eight of the 11 team-specific commemorative or memorial patches in team history dating back to 1993, and thankfully there is no ad patch.
Unlike Uni Watch founder Paul Lukas, I do not mind purple uniforms at all. In fact, I thought it was genius when the Minnesota Vikings adopted the hue upon joining the NFL in 1961 (especially those 1962-65 purple pants), and it made sense when the Rockies chose the color as an ode to the lyric “For purple mountain majesties” in the song “America the Beautiful,” considering Denver’s geographic location.
And, besides, the purple sure looks vibrant on the patches, doesn’t it?
1993
I never understood the need to take the circular “Inaugural Year” portion of the patch and place it within an oval-shaped design, on an angle, with purple accessories. A tad larger version (3.5” diameter) of the circular portion would have been a great standalone patch. Both the Rockies and Marlins had the ™ mark on their 1993 Inaugural Year patches that season, and this was worn on the right sleeve of the home/away/alternate jerseys.
This was a hard-to-get patch. It required purchasing a ’95 game-worn home jersey to have the Coors Field Inaugural Season patch removed from the right sleeve. I have always said that this was the first “Ad Patch” on a uniform because of the family name “Coors” also being the name of one of the family brewing company’s most famous products, Coors Beer. The stadium’s logo also brought the incorporation of green into the team’s repertoire.
Speaking of which, there’s a decent amount of green, including in the MLB logo, in the subsequent ’98 All Star Game patch worn during the ballpark’s fourth season.
The Rockies could have waited one more year to simply have a 10th Anniversary patch in 2003, but instead managed to cram the words “10 Years,” “Anniversary,” “Season,” and a baseball all in one patch. It is a clustered but factual patch, minus the word “Anniversary.” In the 2002 season the Rockies were celebrating 10 Years of playing in Denver, but an anniversary it was not.
Over a decade between commemorative patches, as Colorado incorporated the Rocky Mountains, or “purple mountain majesties” along with the alternate “CR” logo into its 20th Anniversary design.
I like this 25th Anniversary patch a lot, but would have liked it even more with a few changes. Put a small “CR” logo in the lower left corner under where the “R” in Rockies is currently, shrink the years “1993-2018” slightly next to it, and remove “Colorado Rockies” entirely to let all that glorious “purple mountain majesties” shine along with the number “25”. That would be my favorite patch.
The 2025 All Star game is in Atlanta, but the mid-summer event was scheduled and subsequently canceled there in 2021 due to MLB’s opposition to Georgia passing a controversial state elections bill that it felt disenfranchised a large segment of the state’s voting population. The bill was passed a day before the Braves’ season opener, so they wore their own version of the ’21 ASG patch for one game on April 1, 2021 at Philadelphia. On April 6, 2021, MLB announced the ASG would be relocated to Colorado, but it was not until a home game against the Phillies on April 23, 2001 that the Rockies debuted their version of the ’21 ASG patch. Not too bad for a 17-day turnaround, and I like the successive numbers for the year “2021” on top.
Some similarities to the “10 Year” patch of 2002, including the baseball. I am guessing the Rockies will have a 40th Anniversary patch in 2033. I just hope it is not on the cap.
1996 – A memorial patch (MDM) worn all season for Michael D. McMorris, son of then-owner Jerry McMorris, who died at age 32 after a lifelong battle with cystic fibrosis in March 1996.
1999 – A memorial patch (CHS) to honor the victims of the Columbine High School mass shooting on April 20, 1999, which claimed the lives of 13 students and one teacher, and injured 23 others. It was worn on home/away uniforms from April 20-end of the season.
2010 – A memorial patch (KSM) for Rockies team president Keli McGregor. He was found dead at age 47 (from a rare virus affecting his heart) in a Salt Lake City hotel room while on a business trip on April 20, 2010. The Rockies wore the patch from April 20-end of the season.
Hope you enjoyed a look at the Rockies patches.
And here is the full framed set for the Rockies:
It’s easy to bash a team that’s not playing well, but I think the Rockies have played it perfectly in the branding game. They own purple, silver, and black. I just hope they don’t panic the way the Expos did and suddenly copy the Cubs uniforms.
I agree, Walter. They own those colors and should not stray. There is beauty in the team’s consistency, especially with the home pinstripes dating to ‘93.
They also passed on a 30th anniversary jersey patch for the ballpark this season.
They need to do something about the name and number style that was cribbed from the other team in Chicago and use a different font. If the Rockies did play it perfectly, they would use a different name and number font and they would also include more Dinger in their branding, because finding a Triceratops skull during the construction of Coors Field was something the team never capitalized on in terms of branding. Not following the example of the Nashville Predators and incorporating the prehistoric animal that you found a skull of into the team image was a huge missed opportunity.
I have always liked the Rockies home/road jerseys, not the alternates. Just wanted to mention that I had a dog once named Dinger, always liked that name for a baseball team’s mascot.
Rox fan since day 1. Cool collection! I agree that the 10-year design is the worst. I remember seeing that Inaugural Year logo on just about everything in 1993, with a premium price to go along with it. Anytime a CO team uses a square patch it’s fun to point out that it’s in the shape of the state.
Thank you, S. I like the state geographical analogy to square patches. The 25th Anniversary patch fits the bill slightly better than the ‘21 ASG patch. Will remember that for the next anniversary patch.
8 patches for a 12 win team…
The Rockies have worn 11 team-specific regular season patches including memorials, quite a few patches over the years worn by multiple teams during the regular season, and a few in their postseason. appearances. I would say their overall total is closer to 30 patches in team history.
The consistency with the mountains is well done for a franchise that fails to do a lot things right. Up until the last couple of years, the mountain crest logo patch was always on the left of any of their sleeved jerseys. Now it’s on the “less dominant sleeve to make way for the ad patch that happily hasn’t arrived yet.
I agree on that consistency, Ron. Same thinking seemed to apply with the quick turnaround of the ’21 ASG patch.
It is maddening what ad patches have done in changing up the traditional team logos switching side-to-side, and pushing teams to move patches to their caps. The Phillies number on the left jersey sleeve was one of the best unique looks of any team, and the ad patch they wear took that away.
That inaugural season patch looks like a hockey puck in motion. The 20th and 30th patches are pretty good; I especially like the 20th anniversary patch as it incorporates the mountains into a baseball diamond. And that 25 patch looks like a mic flag for a TV station.
Patrick, I like your patch analogies, funny but true. The baseball diamond incorporated in the 20th is cool.
The team found a dinosaur skull when Coors Field was constructed, around the same time Jurassic Park hit cinemas and dinosaurs were at their height of prevalence in popular culture, and they didn’t incorporate dinosaurs into any of their branding.
What an absolutely massive missed opportunity.
This edition is a Mile High upper deck dinger! Do you have the 1995 jersey that the Coors Field patch came from. Rare and reps the building. Thanks and Keep it comingm
Thank you, Ricky. Your comments mean a lot to me because for quite some time I have wanted to share my collection. I had a good feeling the patches would be appreciated by a segment of folks in the UW community (and beyond) who happen to like this niche. Phil has been great helping me accomplish this goal.
I do have the home ’95 pinstripe jersey, as it was at the minimum team-issued, and I am pretty sure it was game worn. But it had the patch and that is what mattered to me at the time because the team was not selling the patch by itself. Honestly can not remember the price, but thinking around $100-125 back in fall of 1995. There is still a mark where the patch was on the right sleeve.
Small but nice collection. I think the 20th anniversary is one of the best 21st century patches shown so far. And I applaud the Rockies for sticking with the name, team colors and uniforms. The logo (not the CR monogram, which is fine) is in need of an update, though.
Hi, Ingmar!
Your thoughts (and Patrick’s) on the 20th patch has me taking a whole different look at it, and appreciating the baseball diamond incorporated into the mountains.
To your point on the logo, here is Bill Henderson’s description, still true in 2025, of their uniforms from his stellar Game Worn Guide to MLB Jerseys Ninth Edition – 2020:
“Surprisingly and perhaps admirably, even though they have made changes to details of their uniforms and tried a whole series of alternate ones, the Rockies had not changed their team identity (logos, colors) since their inception, a healthy span of 27 seasons up to 2020. And aside from the addition of front numbers and player names, their home uniform is still the same as is was on
day one. This is rather uncommon, but especially so for an expansion team.”
I like to address the superstition angle to sports teams and their nicknames, colors and uniforms. The nickname Rockies was first used by the NHL franchise from 1976-82 after a purchase and relocation from Kansas City—then a sale and relocation to become the New Jersey Devils. During that time, the NHL Rockies were arguably the worst team in NHL history. The nickname is clever and fitting for Colorado, so the baseball team used it when awarded an expansion team in 1991. This baseball season is confirming that right now the Rockies baseball team is the worst in MLB history over the body of results of all its 32+ seasons. Not a good record for the “Rockies” nickname.