Baseball stirrups

Baseball stirrups

Stirrups are uniform socks that were commonly worn by baseball players up until the mid-1990s, when major league players began wearing their pants down to the ankles, setting a trend that was soon picked up by players in minor and amateur leagues. Until then, stirrup socks had been an integral part of the traditional baseball uniform, giving them a distinctive look. A high sock was needed since baseball players wore "knickers" which, similar to football pants, came to just below the knee. The stirrup socks served to display team colors, stripes or team logos. For example, for several years the Minnesota Twins wore navy blue stirrups with "TC" on the side, for "Twin Cites". The Houston Astros wore black stirrup socks with a white star on the side. The stirrup sock colors were also the basis of team names, including the Cincinnati Red Stockings (later the "Reds"), Boston Red Sox, and Chicago White Sox. For these reasons, traditionalists lament the recent "sockless" look in baseball uniforms.

Stirrup socks are worn on top of long socks called "sanitaries," usually white in color. This is because early color dyes in the outer stirrup sock were thought to pose health issues, as well as the fact that the inner, less expensive white sock could be changed more frequently. The stirrup sock lacked a foot, instead having a loop ("stirrup") which fit under the foot and exposed part of the white undersock. Over the years, the stirrup loop tended to get longer, exposing more of the white undersock, thus creating a look unique to baseball.

However, by the 1980s many players were pulling the loop so high that only the white undersock and the loop itself showed - the rest of the game sock being hidden by their pants. For many years teams had enforced rules so that uniforms were worn "uniformly", including team socks. For example, Leo Durocher, longtime manager of the Chicago Cubs, had a measuring stick in the clubhouse. Players were required to match the length of their stirrup loops to this stick at about 4 inches, exposing only a small part of the white sanitary. Increasingly lax regulation of uniform codes by Major League Baseball eventually contributed to players ignoring the traditional look.

Although some teams continue to wear traditional baseball stirrup socks, particularly college teams, another option has been to replace the stirrup/undersock with a "2 in 1" combination sock mimicking the real thing, or simply to wear a single solid knee high sock with knickers. The trend back to knickers and high socks is particularly evident among youth and high school teams. A few pro players, such as Brian Tallet of the Toronto Blue Jays and Jamie Moyer of the Philadelphia Phillies have been spotted wearing genuine stirrups recently to much fanfare. The minor league Springfield Cardinals wear a 2-in-1 version of the traditional St Louis Cardinals' game sock that looks very much like the real thing.

Other sports also use, or have used, stirrup socks, but traditionally wore a white sweat sock over, instead of under, the colored stirrup game sock (eg, basketball, football, hockey). There are still some sock companies manufacturing stirrup socks for baseball and other sports, including Twin City Knitting Company in Conover, North Carolina. [http://www.uniwatchblog.com Uni Watch] , a site that is committed to the "Obsessive Study of Athletics Aesthetics," advocates the use of stirrups in baseball. In fact, Uni Watch's support of the stirrup is so large, a striped stirrup is present in the logo.

Pictures and Products

[http://www.SocksRock.com "SocksRock.com"]

Further reading

*Lukas, Paul. [http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0123,lukas,25337,3.html "Hosiery History".] "The Village Voice". June 6 2001.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Baseball field — The baseball diamond of the San Diego Padres PETCO Park, seen from the stands. A baseball field, also called a ball field or a baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The terms baseball field and ball field are… …   Wikipedia

  • Baseball doughnut — Iván Rodríguez warming up in the on deck circle with a baseball doughnut in September, 2009. A baseball doughnut is a weighted ring that fits over the end of a baseball bat, used for warming up during a baseball game. When the doughnut is taken… …   Wikipedia

  • Shutouts in baseball — Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators holds the career record with 110 shutouts. In Major League Baseball, a shutout (denoted statistically as ShO or SHO[1]) refers to the act by which a single pitcher pitches a complete gam …   Wikipedia

  • Double (baseball) — Not to be confused with double play. In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder s misplay (see error) or another… …   Wikipedia

  • Bunt (baseball) — A Little League baseball player squares around to bunt. A bunt is a special type of offensive technique in baseball or fastpitch softball. In a bunt play, the batter loosely holds the bat in front of the plate and intentionally taps the ball into …   Wikipedia

  • Interference (baseball) — In baseball, interference is an infraction where a person illegally changes the course of play from what is expected. Interference might be committed by players on the offense, players not currently in the game, catchers, umpires, or spectators;… …   Wikipedia

  • Double switch (baseball) — In baseball, the double switch is a type of player substitution. The double switch is typically used to make a pitching substitution, while simultaneously placing the incoming pitcher in a more favorable spot in the batting order than was… …   Wikipedia

  • Instant replay in baseball — Box containing the console for MLB instant replay reviews at Safeco Field. This console is located in the tunnel between the field and the umpires clubhouse. In Major League Baseball, a system similar to that in the National Hockey League for the …   Wikipedia

  • Dugout (baseball) — Cincinnati Reds dugout, 1991 In baseball, the dugout is a team s bench area and is located in foul territory between home plate and either first or third base. There are two dugouts, one for the home team and one for the visiting team. In general …   Wikipedia

  • Count (baseball) — Not to be confused with Pitch count. In baseball, the count refers to the number of balls and strikes a batter has in his current plate appearance. It is usually announced as a pair of numbers, for example, 3 1 (pronounced as three and one, or,… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”