Teams that have started horrible design trends.

[kevinmets]

1990 White Sox - first team to wear throwbacks (1917)

[BBTV]

Lots of teams had "Turn Back The Clock" days before 1990. The White Sox may have been the first to do it on a schedule though (didn't they wear them on Sundays or something while also wearing their new uniforms for the last month of the year?)

[BBTV]

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Whoever started the current boring faux-retro trend in sports would be the worst offender.

In hockey, that's definitely Reebok's ultra-futuristic Edge v1 set that started that trend. The "Vintage" series in 2003-04 didn't work out that well sales-wise. Nobody bought the '68 baby blue Pens jersey then, everybody bought one when the Winter Classic used it

I think in baseball, you could make a case that the Phillies change from their 70s-80s set to their current one in 1992 would be one of the first moves to a faux-back design.

Since then, when the neo-retro stadiums started opening, and teams like the Indians started wearing old-style uniforms, I think that's when the fad really started.

In football, I think that the Lions throwbacks for the '94 season (and to a lesser extend the 49ers) really got teams thinking about older looks, and then in less than a decade we saw the Giants and Jets go back to old looks.

Obviously, the popularity of the Chargers powder blue started a trend as well, as teams like the Nuggets all of a sudden decided that bright blue and yellow were a good combo. That eventually morphed in to the blue-on-blue craze, which Dallas, Memphis, and (most eggregiously) Utah followed (along with countless hockey teams.)

I think the fad in baseball started with the White Sox. They revamped the 1950's look for the new stadium opening in 1991. They were the first of the wave of new stadiums opening, and teams started using their stadium openings as reasons to rebrand, often going retro.

My first thought was the White Sox as well, but in my head I thought it was more modern because of the silver, but yeah it's still a faux-back and I'm sure that teams were inspired by that (though I think that the Chisox and Phillies may have actually preceded the trend, even if they were first to do it.)

1987 Braves went back to a previous style prior to the Pale Hose and the Fightin Phils.

I can't believe I forgot that. I remember thinking that was e coolest thing, and that's when I started hoping the Phils would go back to whiz kids look. In '90, Dykstra would always wear the '50s cap and say that they should wear the TBTC 50s unis every day. IIRC he tried to take the field in the cap once but a bat boy or someone ran his maroon lid out to him before game started.

I'm not the biggest fan of that era's look these days, but a straight throwback would work much better than the faux-back crap they have now (but kids really seem to love it, especially the blue stars.)

[tBBP]

Weird stripes, panels, pretty much all of it.

Yep.

(not a terrible look btw...)

Cal did it better.

I can't help but think you should have posted a pic of Marshawn Lynch instead, just to confuse the hell out of people.

And, as further proof of the Bronco template epidemic:

(This one is just...ugh.)

And you know it's bad when your special commemorative jerseys for former champions is of the same style:

[winghaz]

For some reason, I'm thinking Michigan State back in the 1960s started a trend of football teams having the college or team name above the numbers on the front of the jerseys.

[MJWalker45]

The Rams' uniform came out a year or two before the Patriots, if I remember correctly. (And I may not be.)

Also, speaking of the NFL, here's one: the whole "logo above the NOB" thing. I think that first caught on in the NBA, I want to say with the Mavericks when they introduced their current identity (back then it was just a star above the NOB). If that ever catches on in the NFL, you'll have the Arizona Cardinals, of all teams, to thank for it. (The Vikings right now seem to be the only other follower of that little quirk.)

Oh?and how's this for terrible trends? Wait for it....wait for it...

....ANTHRACITE!!!

Earlier, I thought it was the Steelers that started the "logo on the left shoulder" thing.

Though according to "Football Uniforms Past and Present", this started in 1997, which I am pretty sure was the first year Wisconsin did it. This is the only photo I could find from the 1997 kickoff classic (pummeled by 'Cuse), the debut of the "W" on the shoulder.

It appears that the Colts did it in 1997 (BTW, I loved when the Colts had stripes all the way around and blue facemasks)

And the Jets started in 1998.

In 1997, Wisconsin was with Reebok, but I don't recall whether the NFL (or the Steelers/Colts) was. So I don't know whether it was a Reebok thing, a coincidence or if there was some other college team already doing it that they all copied.

Pittsburgh was with Nike. Indianapolis was with Champion or Wilson.

[lancealot]

The Rams' uniform came out a year or two before the Patriots, if I remember correctly. (And I may not be.)

Also, speaking of the NFL, here's one: the whole "logo above the NOB" thing. I think that first caught on in the NBA, I want to say with the Mavericks when they introduced their current identity (back then it was just a star above the NOB). If that ever catches on in the NFL, you'll have the Arizona Cardinals, of all teams, to thank for it. (The Vikings right now seem to be the only other follower of that little quirk.)

Oh?and how's this for terrible trends? Wait for it....wait for it...

....ANTHRACITE!!!

Earlier, I thought it was the Steelers that started the "logo on the left shoulder" thing.

Though according to "Football Uniforms Past and Present", this started in 1997, which I am pretty sure was the first year Wisconsin did it. This is the only photo I could find from the 1997 kickoff classic (pummeled by 'Cuse), the debut of the "W" on the shoulder.

It appears that the Colts did it in 1997 (BTW, I loved when the Colts had stripes all the way around and blue facemasks)

And the Jets started in 1998.

In 1997, Wisconsin was with Reebok, but I don't recall whether the NFL (or the Steelers/Colts) was. So I don't know whether it was a Reebok thing, a coincidence or if there was some other college team already doing it that they all copied.

Pittsburgh was with Nike. Indianapolis was with Champion or Wilson.

Colts were with wilson it's on their pants

[Stampman]

In 1997 the New York Rangers added lace-up collars to their road blues, the first time a NHL team had worn lace-up collars regularly since the 1978-79 season.

The trend would, obviously, continue to this day.

I love lace up collars.

[CS85]

The first one that sprang to mind were the Pens and their godforsaken blue winter classic unis that unleashed that hellstorm of money-grab alts throughout the NHL. The second thought was of the Miami Hurricanes piping.

[Ferdinand Cesarano]

I think the lace ups are a good thing. I think it gives hockey a more old style feel.

To an extent. It looks nice on the older teams like the Rangers but teams like the Sharks shouldn't try to adopt an old school feel with their jerseys

Why I like the laceup, is because it's unique to hockey. No other sport does it. Like the stirrup to baseball, it's one-sport-only, and it really should stand in as the iconic image for the hockey sweater

AS Roma used a lace-up collar in 1994-95

http://www.asromashirt.it/collezione/90_00/94-95.htm

That's fascinating! Especially so late an example! I figured there must be all sorts of examples, especially with turn-of-the-century baseball teams, but never a 90s soccer team.

Just before AS Roma, but still in the 90s: ManU used laces in 1992-93 and 1993-94.

1990 White Sox - first team to wear throwbacks (1917)

Lots of teams had "Turn Back The Clock" days before 1990. The White Sox may have been the first to do it on a schedule though (didn't they wear them on Sundays or something while also wearing their new uniforms for the last month of the year?)

Oh? I don't think that any team used throwback unis before the White Sox did it in 1990.

[BBTV]

Lots of teams had "Turn Back The Clock" days before 1990. The White Sox may have been the first to do it on a schedule though (didn't they wear them on Sundays or something while also wearing their new uniforms for the last month of the year?)

Oh? I don't think that any team used throwback unis before the White Sox did it in 1990.

Hmmm... maybe you're right. I could swear that the Phillies had a couple TBTC games in the late '80s, but a quick internet search reveals that the first one was 1991, which is obviously after 1990.

[njmeadowlanders]

The Rams' uniform came out a year or two before the Patriots, if I remember correctly. (And I may not be.)

Also, speaking of the NFL, here's one: the whole "logo above the NOB" thing. I think that first caught on in the NBA, I want to say with the Mavericks when they introduced their current identity (back then it was just a star above the NOB). If that ever catches on in the NFL, you'll have the Arizona Cardinals, of all teams, to thank for it. (The Vikings right now seem to be the only other follower of that little quirk.)

Oh?and how's this for terrible trends? Wait for it....wait for it...

....ANTHRACITE!!!

Earlier, I thought it was the Steelers that started the "logo on the left shoulder" thing.

Though according to "Football Uniforms Past and Present", this started in 1997, which I am pretty sure was the first year Wisconsin did it. This is the only photo I could find from the 1997 kickoff classic (pummeled by 'Cuse), the debut of the "W" on the shoulder.

It appears that the Colts did it in 1997 (BTW, I loved when the Colts had stripes all the way around and blue facemasks)

And the Jets started in 1998.

In 1997, Wisconsin was with Reebok, but I don't recall whether the NFL (or the Steelers/Colts) was. So I don't know whether it was a Reebok thing, a coincidence or if there was some other college team already doing it that they all copied.

Pittsburgh was with Nike. Indianapolis was with Champion or Wilson.

Jets were with wilson it's in their pants

I thought I read somewhere once that logos and team wordmarks started popping up on jerseys for copyright purposes.

i.e. the idea was you couldn't just produce a black jersey with yellow stripes and say it's Pittsburgh or a plain blue one and say it's the Giants. Now they had trademarks on the jerseys.

Obviously once they started flooding in from counterfeiters it didn't really serve its purpose anymore...

[STL FANATIC]

It's worth noting that all the Broncos copies in High School and College were actually Nike's Batwing template, and not an exact replica of the Broncos look. Basically it was sloppier and less tailored. The taper in the front was stiffer and the stripe also extended under the armpit and about halfway up the sleeve on the back. The Broncos stripe neatly curled under the armpit.

The inspiration was directly the Broncos, though. No doubt about that.

[nash61]

Surprised this one hasn't been mentioned yet.

Galaxy first N-A pro team to have sponsor on jersey

Since then

[UTAHMAN4]

Surprised this one hasn't been mentioned yet.

Galaxy first N-A pro team to have sponsor on jersey

Since then

Real Salt Lake actually beat the Galaxy to the punch, but either way it is terrible. http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/15754893/

[tBBP]

Ooh...Swin Cash. Lord knows I loves me some Swin Cash. Black and beautiful, dark and lovely, call it whatever you wanna call it?she can get it.

/and now back to your regularly scheduled program.

[tigerslionspistonshabs]

If you would have told me that Shaq wore shorts that short in the NBA I never would have believed you without seeing it...

I don't even remember him dribbling the ball and actually moving. All images of Shaq in my head are of him lingering under the basket completely stationary.

[BigBubba]

This sort of ties in with laces, vintage white, roundels, and faux-backs: wannabe Original 6 looks in the NHL. I don't mind the latter four examples if they're strict throwbacks and/or updated versions of an old look (such as Chicago's Winter Classic-turned alt). However, when you have new teams combining all of those to play Original 6 dressup, we have a problem.

\

90s and 2000s expansion teams shouldn't dress like old-school teams. Thankfully, the top two examples will be gone next year, but it seems like we'll have to deal with the Maple Wings for some time to come.

EDIT: Well, at least that's what I've heard about Columbus. It could very well have been just a rumour, though.

[Sport]

This sort of ties in with laces and faux-backs: wannabe Original 6 looks in the NHL:

\

90s and 2000s expansion teams shouldn't dress like old-school teams. Thankfully, the top two examples will be gone next year, but it seems like we'll have to deal with the Maple Wings for some time to come.

I've heard nothing about the Blue Jackets dropping their alternate uniforms.

[STL FANATIC]

I don't understand why people get upset with new teams looking more traditional. A good look is a good look. Old teams should explore options that include more modern designs, and new teams should explore options that include more traditional designs. The spectrum is open to all of them.

In the case of the above uniforms, the issue isn't a traditional look, it's just the specific look. Florida's just isn't very good I don't even really know what bothers me most, it just isn't good. Tampa Bay's is okay, but there's some inconsistencies that bother me, and i just think they could do a lot better with their name.

On the other hand, Columbus nailed it. Absolutely nailed it. In theory, I'd like to see them keep red around, but I don't know where it'd fit in that look. So screw it. Just use that. That uniform is one of the best in hockey.