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Negro League Teams in the Present Day (Indianapolis Clowns)


Carolingian Steamroller

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Today the legendary Kansas City Monarchs.

 

My choice of color scheme may be controversial. Instead of the red/white/blue scheme, I've opted for Royal and gold. Historically, the Monarchs used blue and white most frequently. Here, in honor of their regal name, I adjusted the shade to a slightly purple tinge and made gold the complementary color. 

 

Design-wise, the Monarchs usually favored the headspoon-over-pinstripes look. However, using that in the present day would violate one of my universal maxims of baseball design. Sublimated pinstripes, though, would allow the Monarchs to connect to their roots without overtly anachronistic uniforms. Thanks to @coco1997 for letting me borrow his crowned heart sleeve patch from the Royals City Edition Series. A version of the classic, raglan striped uniform is the Sunday alternate.

 

Enjoy!

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23 minutes ago, Carolingian Steamroller said:

Today the legendary Kansas City Monarchs.

 

My choice of color scheme may be controversial. Instead of the red/white/blue scheme, I've opted for Royal and gold. Historically, the Monarchs used blue and white most frequently. Here, in honor of their regal name, I adjusted the shade to a slightly purple tinge and made gold the complementary color. 

 

Design-wise, the Monarchs usually favored the headspoon-over-pinstripes look. However, using that in the present day would violate one of my universal maxims of baseball design. Sublimated pinstripes, though, would allow the Monarchs to connect to their roots without overtly anachronistic uniforms. Thanks to @coco1997 for letting me borrow his crowned heart sleeve patch from the Royals City Edition Series. A version of the classic, raglan striped uniform is the Sunday alternate.

 

Enjoy!

hGQQtfQ.png

 

11uIGYn.png

 

yijcChq.png

 

Love it! Always wonder what the Monarchs would look like if they were in Royals colors. Awesome work!

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The Monarchs look great! Classic look for a classic team. The only criticism I could have is that I’m not sure I could see the pant numbers lasting into the modern day on the main set. The Sunday alt is perfection though, and is easily my favorite uniform of the set. Well done!

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Miami Cubans: I love it! The colors and logos are excellent modernizations of the original team. I like the Art Deco touches on the numbers and lettering fonts, as well as the striping. Good work.

 

Kansas City Monarchs: The sublimated pinstripes are a fantastic touch! The adjusted blue with the touch of gold really put the set over the top, alongside the effective use of the “KC” insignia and wordmark. I agree with @MJD7 about the pants numbers, which should be a throwback-only item. Well done!

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In light of @SFGiants58's discussion in his Defunct Series of how horrible the owners of the Washington Senators were on racial matter, I've added a specific narrative to the alternate history of this series. 

In our reality in 1942, the Homestead Grays of Pittsburgh, arguably the New York Yankees of the Negro Leagues, began playing a large chunk of their home games in Washington DC. In later years, they played more that 2/3 of their home games in the Capital. The Grays had featured titans such as Cool Papa Bell and Josh Gibson and consistently brought in the best talent. They won the Negro League World Series in 1948. 

In the universe where the Grays were directly able to compete against other Major League clubs, they won the MLB World Series in 1948. Their winning play and star power drive their DC attendance through the roof, forcing Senators attendance down to the point where the Griffith family flees West with their tails tucked between their legs. The Grays become a powerhouse fixture of Washington baseball for the decades to come. Presidents would celebrate the opening of the season by throwing out the first pitch at sparkling 40,000 seat Gibson Park. 

Their uniforms reflect that. No alternate needed. No script other than the primary. Retro cream home uniforms celebrate their past glory complete with navy t-bars and contrasting pockets. In a modern twist, the team adopts marengo gray road uniforms with cream details. 

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Beautiful, absolutely beautiful. 

 

Not sure how I feel about the contrasting belt loops; I think they work better on the road than the home. I do like that they're a unique holdover from a different era, though. 

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The Grays look wonderful! Classic look for one of the most classic teams. I love the wordmark and the t-bar striping, the only suggestion I could make is that I think the away would be just as fine with the navy cap.

 

The Monarchs are much improved. It’s surprising how much a small change like that can really modernize the look. Well done, this series is truly great!

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The City of Atlanta's primary Negro League team was the Atlanta Black Crackers. Like many Negro league teams, when they formed they had taken the nickname of the local white team (the Atlanta Crackers) and added to "Black" to the front of it. Today, Cracker is a negative racial epithet for white people implying ignorance, though in the early 20th Century the definition was more akin to a country bumpkin. This created something of an oxymoron with a team being called effectively the Black White People.

(Off topic, there's interesting history around this juxtaposition ranging from 18th century St. Dominque to Irish immigration to the present day)

 

The Atlanta Black Crackers made great use of the name by creating uniforms with bold "ABC" jersey designs. With that in mind, I imagined the ABC's wanting to change their name while retaining the bold ABC design palate. One way is go in the Football direction and name the team: the ATLANTA BASEBALL CLUB.

 

I've added the idea of the ABC moving in a similar direction to the Braves in the 70's with royal blue and red. 

 

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