Cleveland Indians Unveil New Uniform, Cap for 2019

[VDizzle12]

 

 

I'm hoping for a red alternate, C hats with red and navy brims added to the mix, red batting helmet and some sort of new logo to put on the sleeves. Chances are they are just going to slap the C logo on there. Which is fine, but they could easily come up with something else. A more respectable chief head like Florida State, something with a C + feather, the C logo in a roundel. Lots of options, but I'd assume if they were coming out with a new alt logo we would have seen it by now.

[Gothamite]

49 minutes ago, VDizzle12 said:

I'm hoping for a red alternate, C hats with red and navy brims added to the mix, red batting helmet and some sort of new logo to put on the sleeves. Chances are they are just going to slap the C logo on there. Which is fine, but they could easily come up with something else. A more respectable chief head like Florida State, something with a C + feather, the C logo in a roundel. Lots of options, but I'd assume if they were coming out with a new alt logo we would have seen it by now.

 

Florida State contracts with the Seminole Nation in order to use their name and imagery.  Until Cleveland does that, they can’t even use a feather. 

[WSU151]

30 minutes ago, Gothamite said:

 

Florida State contracts with the Seminole Nation in order to use their name and imagery.  Until Cleveland does that, they can’t even use a feather. 

 

Why can't they use a feather?

 

The Blackhawks have four feathers.

[panthers_2012]

1 hour ago, VDizzle12 said:

 

 

I'm hoping for a red alternate, C hats with red and navy brims added to the mix, red batting helmet and some sort of new logo to put on the sleeves. Chances are they are just going to slap the C logo on there. Which is fine, but they could easily come up with something else. A more respectable chief head like Florida State, something with a C + feather, the C logo in a roundel. Lots of options, but I'd assume if they were coming out with a new alt logo we would have seen it by now.

I think the "new" logo is going to be the All Star Game patch. I'm cool with a red alternate, but the Indians need to rebrand their logos for the 2020 season. The block C just doesn't cut it, IMO.

[tigerraven]

According to Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com........

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Indians will introduce a new “uniform option’ Monday as well as small enhancements to the existing uniforms for the 2019 season.

The 2018 season marked the end of the team using Chief Wahoo as their main logo. The team will not be introducing a new logo to replace Chief Wahoo, but a shoulder patch representing the 2019 All-Star Game, which will be played at Progressive Field on July 9, is expected to be introduced.

The Indians’ new look will be unveiled at 10 a.m. Monday at the team shop at Progressive Field. The Indians will continue to wear the block C on their caps in 2019.

It was determined that 2018 would be the last year the Indians used Chief Wahoo as its logo through negotiations between MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and team owner Paul Dolan. The Indians have worn some form of Chief Wahoo on their uniform since 1947, but it became a flashpoint for protests and lawsuits by Native American groups that considered it racist.

The team has no plans to add a new logo to replace Chief Wahoo for 2019. They are still exploring possibilities for the future, but as of now there is no timetable to make such a decision. Block C and script Indians will serve as their logos for 2019.

[Gothamite]

2 hours ago, WSU151 said:

Why can't they use a feather?

 

The Blackhawks have four feathers.

 

Any First Nations iconography will be problematic at best.  Especially something with important and even religious symbolism like a feather. Unless and until the team can work with a nation to license its intellectual property, they need to emphasize the "Cleveland" part of their name over "Indians".

[SFGiants58]

6 minutes ago, Gothamite said:

 

Any First Nations iconography will be problematic at best.  Especially something with religious symbolism like a feather. Unless and until the team can work with a nation to license its intellectual property, they need to emphasize the "Cleveland" part of their name over "Indians".

 

Honestly, this is why I’d prefer the team abandons the name. They’ve shown indifference towards reaching out to First Nations throughout their history and I don’t see that changing. A rebrand would put controversy to rest.

 

Heck, I maintain that the team should have rebranded upon moving to The Jake in 1994. New stadium, new name/identity, ready to shake off decades of irrelevance. 

[WSU151]

1 hour ago, Gothamite said:

 

Any First Nations iconography will be problematic at best.  Especially something with important and even religious symbolism like a feather. 

 

Why would it be problematic when other pro teams can do it without issue?

 

I've never head of feathers being "problematic at best". Seems like the goalposts have been moved off the field and into the parking lot.

[-Akronite-]

54 minutes ago, WSU151 said:

 

Why would it be problematic when other pro teams can do it without issue?

 

I've never head of feathers being "problematic at best". Seems like the goalposts have been moved off the field and into the parking lot.

 

We really aren't supposed to get into this discussion here, but I can assure you the goalposts have not moved. While it has always been a debate, there has always been a faction (that has grown in recent years) that simply wants to change the name and avoid the appropriation (whether you like that term or not) of Native imagery. Wahoo had his own issues that exacerbated things, but it is not news that people want to stop using Natives and their culture as mascots.

 

The fact that other teams do it is moot. Wahoo lasted as long as he did due to tradition, same thing that keeps the Redskins name and the Braves tomahawk. But you can't use tradition as an excuse for a new logo.

[WSU151]

15 minutes ago, -Akronite- said:

 

The fact that other teams do it is moot. 

 

It's really not, though.

 

Edited to save the thread.

 

 

[crashcarson15]

So, as it stands, the Indians have two hats (all red & all navy) and three jerseys (white, grey & navy). It sounds like they're going to replace Wahoo on the sleeves with an All-Star Game patch, which is quite fine.

 

Thinking out loud here, but I wouldn't be surprised if the new uniform option is a cap, not a jersey (hence the term option) -- the Tribe have worn a navy hat with red bill at home for more than 40 years now and as of now, that option doesn't exist in their set. A navy cap with red bill and red block C would be similar in style to the 1948 set of the last World Series winners:

 

 

If they do unveil a new jersey, I guess I could see them going with a red jersey? One of my ongoing concerns, though is how the navy jersey has text outlined in white -- but all the cap logos are single color. I actually much prefer the "C" to not take an outline and would be cool if the navy jersey dropped the outlines (and the road jersey text flipped colors).

[crashcarson15]

ALSO, we're not doing the Native American nicknames, imagery, etc. debate here again. Please stay on the topic of the aesthetics of the upcoming change.

[MJWalker45]

I was hoping they'd come up with some type of new logo that made sense but I figure all we'll see is last year's unis minus Wahoo with the All Star Game patch where he was. I really hope they don't slap the block C on the sleeves instead, it would be unnecessary. 

[DC in Da House w/o a Doubt]

Please no guitars, that’s all I ask 

[WSU151]

3 minutes ago, DC in Da House w/o a Doubt said:

Please no guitars, that’s all I ask 

 

This was announced a while ago...I don't think they'll re-announce it but maybe.

 

 

 

[CitizenTino]

While the Indians are in the business of making tweaks to their uniforms, it would be nice for them to change the trim on their navy uniforms to either white or red. Gray isn’t a team color, and the navy alternate hasn’t been used for just road games in years. The gray trim looks really out of place at home.

[MJWalker45]

6 minutes ago, CitizenTino said:

While the Indians are in the business of making tweaks to their uniforms, it would be nice for them to change the trim on their navy uniforms to either white or red. Gray isn’t a team color, and the navy alternate hasn’t been used for just road games in years. The gray trim looks really out of place at home.

It's actually so minimal that I almost think it's white regardless of if they are at home or away. If the piping were still on the front of the jersey I might agree. 

[-Akronite-]

24 minutes ago, crashcarson15 said:

So, as it stands, the Indians have two hats (all red & all navy) and three jerseys (white, grey & navy). It sounds like they're going to replace Wahoo on the sleeves with an All-Star Game patch, which is quite fine.

  

Thinking out loud here, but I wouldn't be surprised if the new uniform option is a cap, not a jersey (hence the term option) -- the Tribe have worn a navy hat with red bill at home for more than 40 years now and as of now, that option doesn't exist in their set. A navy cap with red bill and red block C would be similar in style to the 1948 set of the last World Series winners:

  

 

If they do unveil a new jersey, I guess I could see them going with a red jersey? One of my ongoing concerns, though is how the navy jersey has text outlined in white -- but all the cap logos are single color. I actually much prefer the "C" to not take an outline and would be cool if the navy jersey dropped the outlines (and the road jersey text flipped colors).

 

The 1948 look might be their best of all time, with or without Wahoo (alternate timeline U2 song?).

 

However, I would disagree on the outlines and argue that the block C would pop much better with some white, just as the script on the navy jersey pops so well with the white outline. On the navy C caps the red blends in within certain lighting and the jersey would suffer much the same to change it.

 

 

10 minutes ago, CitizenTino said:

While the Indians are in the business of making tweaks to their uniforms, it would be nice for them to change the trim on their navy uniforms to either white or red. Gray isn’t a team color, and the navy alternate hasn’t been used for just road games in years. The gray trim looks really out of place at home.

 

I totally agree. I wish they'd go back to using red and blue as a piping color together, a la 1994:

 

 

And then on the navy jersey you could use either red or a red/white combo.

[MJWalker45]

2 minutes ago, -Akronite- said:

 

I just wish they'd use that C instead of the Block C. It matches the Indians script and then put this Cleveland script back on the uniforms as well. 

[-Akronite-]

2 minutes ago, MJWalker45 said:

I just wish they'd use that C instead of the Block C. It matches the Indians script and then put this Cleveland script back on the uniforms as well. 

 

As much sense as it makes, I'm just not very fond of that curly C aesthetically. The Block C to me is already better and, while somewhat generic, is more separated from the Cubs than switching to this.

 

In that script the I is a much better looking mark, but I'd only want that on a home cap.