Phillies Unveil New Red Alternate Jerseys
For the first time in years, the Phillies will wear red jerseys in the regular season.
The Phillies announced today that the jerseys, created by Majestic, will make six appearances during the 2016 season. They’ll make their debut on April 14th at Citizens Bank Park.
“We’re excited to bring a new, colorful look to Citizens Bank Park this year,” David Buck, the Phillies’ senior vice president of Marketing and Advertising Sales, said in a release. “We have great respect for the history of our uniform, so by going with a simple, classic design, we feel we’ve been able to balance a new look with our storied tradition.”
The Phillies will be wearing the red jerseys at their afternoon businesspersons specials this year; the other dates are Wednesday, May 18th; Wednesday, June 8th; Monday, June 20th; Wednesday, July 6th and Thursday, August 4th. Fans can began purchasing the new red jersey starting Friday.
For the first time since 1979, the #Phillies will wear red jerseys during regular season: https://t.co/cuV0dGsja2 pic.twitter.com/qYat445TVg
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) February 1, 2016
The most notable Phillies red jersey experiment was 1979’s infamous “Saturday Night Special” jerseys. (Yes, 1970s Philadelphia was so weird the Phillies had a jersey named after a gun.) The all-burgundy jerseys were supposed to be worn every Saturday night game, but fan backlash was so great the team scrapped the idea after just one game. Occasionally, the rare jerseys show up at auction.
The Phillies lost their lone game in the burgundy jerseys, 10-5, to the Montreal Expos. Rawlings made those jerseys. “We got beat that night and that’s the last time we wore them,” longtime Phillies PR man Larry Shenk said later. “[Larry Christenson] started the game and he still moans at the fact that there was a picture of him in the burgundy uniform.”
The Phillies also wore an all-red top as part of the Turn Ahead the Clock promotion late in the 1999 season. (The U.S. flag had 60 stars on the Phillies jersey that year.)
The Phillies don’t really have pants that go with the jersey, but presumably they’ll wear the red pinstripe pants. That’s what the team has done before in Spring Training.
Jersey image via Matt Gelb.
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