1928 Cardinals

1928 had a number of different uniforms and uniform manufacturers. The home uniform was produced by Spalding, the road uniform was produced by Rawlings. The Cardinals reached the World Series in 1928 and new uniforms were made, produced by Sainz.

The home Spalding uniform featured a similar design to the 1927 jersey, but without the World Champions lettering.

The road Rawlings uniform featured a Birds on the Bat design.

In the World Series we have cross referenced photography and identified which uniforms were worn in all four games.

World Series Game 1 and 2, the Cardinals wore a new pinstriped road uniform with Birds on the Bat made by Sainz.
World Series Game 3, the Cardinals wore the Spalding home uniform they wore in the regular season.
World Series Game 4, the Cardinals wore another Sainz uniform with the Birds on the Bat.

Newspaper Accounts

St. Louis Globe Democrat: October 10, 1928
The Cardinals were clothed in their new uniforms yesterday. They were supposed to have worn them Sunday, but the uniforms did not fit. They were retailored, however, during the day of idleness. The new clothes were plain cream white with Red Bird trimmings, red-visored caps and white stockings with three red stripes. 

The Knoxville Journal: October 4, 1928
The St. Louis Cardinals were attired in new uniforms when they came out for the final workout. A few of the players rebelled against the idea of wearing new uniforms, but they gave in. The uniforms have red stripes and two red birds across the breast. “I wish we had kept our old uniforms,” McKechnie said. 

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: October 5, 1928
Bill McKechnie and his Cardinals drew an outburst of cheering when they appeared upon the field for practice before the opening game. By that time the unreserved seats were packed, but the immense grandstand was almost unpopulated. The National League champions looked spick and span in new uniforms, patterned after the style of those they have been wearing all season.

Intelligencer Journal: October 5, 1928
Yankee Stadium, New York, Oct. 4 – The Cardinal uniform made a good contrast with the Yankees grey with red stripes, red and grey cap and stockings.

Oakland Tribune: October 8, 1928
OLD UNIFORMS FAIL TO CHANGE LUCK OF CARDS
Clothes did not make the man make base hits. The Cardinals wore new road uniforms while in New York, and must have felt self conscious. Here at home, they scored their new white uniforms and wore their old ones. 

St. Louis Star and Times: October 8, 1928
The first ominous note was sounded when Manager McKechnie announced that nice, new uniforms, fresh from the tailor, were on hand and that everybody was to don one, despite any and all superstitions relative to new baseball raiment. “That’s bad luck,” whispered Butch, the bat boy. “We ought to use the old ones.” There were a number of protests, but McKechnie was firm, and the new suits were passed out. Presently the boys began pulling them on and then came a cry from the Rabbit:
“Say, what the hell? This suit was made for Little Boy Blue.”
“mine wouldn’t fit my kid,” said Bill Sherdel.
“Ah got one that fits like a tent,” said Flint (“Shad”) Rhem.
“They cut my size down to fit my batting average,” said Chick Hafey.
“This ain’t a uniform; it’s a baby’s romper,” shouted George Harper.
Not a uniform fit–not one, with the exception of the pants and shirt selected out of thirty uniforms by this writer, and the tailor, didn’t have the reporter’s measure!
“I said it was bad luck,” said Butch.
“Get out the old suits,” shouted McKechnie, “this isn’t a dress parade, anyway.”
The tailor arriving at that moment for autographs and congratulations on his creations, got a fine raspberry reception.
“Poor wretch,” said McKechnie, “I feel sorry for him.”
That wasn’t the end of the uniform tragedy, for some of the old suits had been stolen by souvenir seekers. Ray Blades, who eventually got all dressed up (just to strike out in a pinch), had a terrible time finding a shirt. “I want my shirt,” was his plaintive wail; “it’s got my name on it.” Bottomley had a tough time finding wearing apparel and, giving up finally, put on his shoes and an old cap and, picking up his mitt, advanced toward the clubhouse door in his B.V.D.’s. Well-meaning friends restrained him.
Douthit had to get a needle and thread to mend a rip in an old cap, which prompted Alexander the Great to inquire: “Say, Taylor, did you study home economics out at dear old California?”

Team Colors

Cardinals Red – PMS 200

Vintage Yellow – PMS 1225

Sainz Uniform Manufacturer

Jose Maria Sainz was born in San Dimas, Mexico in 1889 and was well educated as a youth. He and a friend journeyed north in 1908 from the State of Durango to St. Louis, MO by train to seek university schooling. They both fell upon hard economic times and could not pay for their schooling and became homeless and destitute. Jose worked odd jobs as a day laborer and eventually found steady work as a furnace room keeper at Rawlings Sporting Goods. He slept in the furnace room as well. He married in 1914 and had saved enough money to rent an apartment. He was constantly ridiculed at Rawlings for his Mexican heritage and had many fights with other employees. At his wife’s urging, he quit Rawlings in 1916 and started work at Robert-Johnson-Rand, a shoe manufacturer. The machinery there was quite different from Rawlings and Jose struggled mightily to avoid being fired for costly mistakes. Disheartened, Jose applied for a job as an apprentice at Commonwealth Steel Co. as a machinist. He found a measure of success there and rose to foreman and Steel Workers Union representative. However, when the Armistice was signed ending WWI in 1918, Commonwealth started to lay off employees and Jose was one of the unfortunate ones. He had saved enough money to enter business school in 1919, and upon graduating, went back to work at RJR Shoe Co. with the idea of expanding their market into the Hispanic community. The job was so low paying however that in 1922 he jumped at the chance when Rawlings offered him a similar job at double the pay. He was to be an outside sales representative to the Hispanic community in the U.S. and Mexico. He was also to design Rawlings catalogs and literature in Spanish. He traveled extensively in Mexico and was highly successful. He was on a management track at Rawlings and his future looked bright but his marriage was disintegrating. Jose took offense to a comment by an executive at Rawlings regarding his personal life and punches were thrown. Jose was immediately fired. He was nothing if not resilient and took this as an opportunity to start his own company, J.M. Sainz & Co. He designed the crest of his trademark logo incorporating the words, “The Sunshine Line.” This was in tribute to the Sunshine Special, the Missouri Pacific Railway train he used when coming north in 1908. He contracted with three companies, RJR Shoe Co., Mexican American Hat Co. and oddly enough Rawlings (personal grievances were set aside for the sake of business). Marketed under the J.M. Sainz Brand, Jose left for Mexico in 1923 to sell his goods to an eager populace. He became wealthy and bought huge plots of land in Mexico. He met and interacted with political figures and gained influential contracts. Disaster struck in 1926 when a large shipment from Rawlings turned out to be faulty. Jose lost some of his reputation in Mexico because of this and really raised his ire when Rawlings would not settle up with the damaged merchandise. Jose won a lawsuit against Rawlings in court for real and punitive damages. At this point, Jose decided to teach Rawlings a lesson and in 1927 he leased a factory on Washington Street in St. Louis and hired away many Rawlings employees and went head to head against the larger company. He sought the friendship of Judge Landis, the Baseball Commissioner and Sam Breadon, the owner of the St. Louis Cardinals. Jose was able to obtain some contracts with the St. Louis club and traveled extensively in the Midwest marketing his sporting goods. In the end, he was destined for failure against the bigger company and J.M. Sainz & Co. closed in 1931. Because of his extensive land holdings in Mexico, Jose was able to retire to the good life down south and raised horses.