Back in March I wrote a post that pointed to a Cardinals Instagram post that showed what likely would be the Negro League throwback uniforms to be worn for the Rickwood Field Game. Now it appears that Instagram post has been confirmed as MLB has officially unveiled what is going to be worn.
We thought, because the series will start in Alabama and conclude in St. Louis, that the Cardinals would be the home team. However, based on my previous article from March showing the road uniforms, and now seeing the official unveiling, it seems the Cardinals will be the away team in Alabama.
Here are the photos from the Cardinals Instagram back in March.
And here’s a picture of what was recently posted comparing Masyn Winn wearing the modern throwback next to Cool Papa Bell back in 1928.
Sigh. yawn. The contrivance throwbacks are here again. I think it’s extraordinary that they would post these two photos next to each other as if it was an accurate comparison.
1. The caps are completely different. The STL emblem is 100% a contrivance, never used by the Stars.
2. The piping on the jersey is incorrect. The real Stars jersey utilizes the triple stripe on the neck line.
3. The lettering is incorrect. The S shapes are different, and the outline is contrived.
4. We don’t know if the photo of Cool Papa Bell on the right is a home or away jersey.
5. The modern throwback does not have pinstripes, while the jersey on the right clearly does.
See below, on the left is the throwbacks the Cardinals have worn in the past. The 2024 throwback will be the same design and same jersey as these previous iterations. The uniform on the right is drawn directly from the Cool Papa Bell photo.
It’s just lazy in my opinion. This will the sixth time in the past 20 years that the Cardinals have worn this throwback design. And while we don’t know what the socks look like yet, I wouldn’t put it past them to come up with another contrived sock design for this game. My biggest gripe as always, this throwback design bears no resemblance to any historical photography that we currently have.
What I think they are basing this uniform off of is the alleged Cool Papa Bell jersey that is at the BBHoF in Cooperstown, see image below. I use the word alleged for two main reasons.
1. Why is this jersey in such good condition? For a man with lightning fast speed and a great base stealer, you’d think Cool Papa Bell would have a dirty and tore up uniform, but this uniform looks like it was very seldom worn. That, or the BBHoF has done an absurdly amazing job in cleaning, restoring, and maintaining its beauty.
2. Where are the photographs of Cool Papa Bell wearing this uniform? We have a handful of photos of Cool Papa Bell, but none in which he is wearing this particular jersey. Again, I’m not doubting how good this jersey looks, I’m doubting it because we have no sources to corroborate its authenticity.
Is it a beautiful jersey? Yes! Does it represent something similar to the Stars? Yes! Did Cool Papa Bell actually wear that jersey? Maybe, maybe not. Do we have any photographs that match that jersey? Nope!
When they’re ready to roll out some authentic throwbacks, they know where to find me.
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Cardinals Uniforms & Logos 