With the gaining popularity of night games around baseball, a few teams thought it would be a good idea to wear satin uniforms on the field. The fabric would shine and shimmer against the lights and fans would be able to see the players better. The Reds, Dodgers, and Braves all experimented with this, and actually made it onto the field with these jerseys.
In 1946 the Cardinals toyed with the idea of wearing these, and the newspaper reported the Cardinals bought red satin uniforms midway through the season. According to the reports, Eddie Dyer, the Cardinals manager, didn’t like the uniforms and thought they were too fancy. Other players reported that the uniforms looked like lingerie, and were not interested in taking the field wearing them.
Sometime in 1948, the idea of satin suits was still floating around, and a gray/silver version popped up. The silver satin jersey still exists today and is in the Cardinals Museum collection. We are confused about a couple things on this jersey. One, the newspaper reports are from midway through 1946, why did it take until 1948 for this additional sample to be brought in? Two, why is it silver? Why isn’t it red? The newspaper speaks of red satin material, not silver. Perhaps this jersey was brought in as a potential road prototype. Either way, the satin uniforms never saw the light of night.
Cardinals Uniforms & Logos 