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.]
Guess the Game from the Scoreboard
Guess The Game…
…From The Scoreboard
Today’s scoreboard comes from Preston Gifford.
The premise of the game (GTGFTS) is simple: I’ll post a scoreboard and you guys simply identify the game depicted. In the past, I don’t know if I’ve ever completely stumped you (some are easier than others).
Here’s the Scoreboard. In the comments below, try to identify the game (date and location, as well as final score). If anything noteworthy occurred during the game, please add that in (and if you were AT the game, well bonus points for you!):
Please continue sending these in! You’re welcome to send me any scoreboard photos (with answers please), and I’ll keep running them.
Guess the Game from the Uniform
Based on the suggestion of long-time reader/contributor Jimmy Corcoran, we’ve introduced a new “game” on Uni Watch, which is similar to the popular “Guess the Game from the Scoreboard” (GTGFTS), only this one asked readers to identify the game based on the uniforms worn by teams.
Like GTGFTS, readers will be asked to guess the date, location and final score of the game from the clues provided in the photo. Sometimes the game should be somewhat easy to ascertain, while in other instances, it might be quite difficult. There will usually be a visual clue (something odd or unique to one or both of the uniforms) that will make a positive identification of one and only one game possible. Other times, there may be something significant about the game in question, like the last time a particular uniform was ever worn (one of Jimmy’s original suggestions). It’s up to YOU to figure out the game and date.
Today’s GTGFTU comes from Scot McCraken.
Good luck and please post your guess/answer in the comments below.
Uni Tweet of the Day
I’m just gonna leave this here.
The Tri-City Chili Peppers played the first-ever “Cosmic Baseball” game tonight, wearing glow-in-the-dark uniforms under black lights.pic.twitter.com/2gVdod1wvc
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) June 2, 2024
And finally...
… that’s going to do it for the early morning article.
I will have at least two more articles today, and Jamie’s Ticker will also follow shortly. Please make sure to keep checking back!
Everyone have a good Monday, and I’ll catch you back here tomorrow morning.
Peace,
PH
