Jerseys

Special patches and armbands have long been a part of the baseball uniform, but the practice is much more common now than ever before. Today, nearly every major league uniform features some sort of patch, whether it commemorates an anniversary, promotes an upcoming event, or honors the memory of members of the baseball community or others who have passed away.

Mourning Miller

Memorial armbands and markings of one sort or another have been a tradition in baseball since the 19th century. The first-known use of a memorial marking on a major league uniform took place in 1876, the inaugural year of the National League. In late May of that season, Tom Miller, catcher for the St. Louis nine, passed away from a disease of the kidneys. Though Miller had last played ball with the club the previous season, his teammates adopted a resolution stating “that we, his late associates, wear a badge of mourning for thirty days as a token of respect for his memory.”

Black Bows in Boston

On March 28, 1907, Chick Stahl, manager of the Boston Americans (later known as the Red Sox), committed suicide. Three days later, in a spring training game, both Boston and their opponents, the Cincinnati Reds, wore black crepe bows on their arms in memory of Stahl, who was laid to rest that day. Though three key players for Boston missed the game in order to attend Stahl’s funeral, the club still defeated the Reds 3-0.

Just one day after Stahl’s untimely death, the National League Boston Doves (later known as the Braves) lost their teammate Cozy Dolan to typhoid fever. On Opening Day, April 12, 1907, the Boston players donned uniforms with the Old English “B” on their jersey front adorned with black crepe.

Pulliam’s Passing

An early use of a memorial armband occurred following the death of National League President Harry Pulliam on July 29, 1909. Pulliam, who had battled with mental illness and was despondent over the stresses of his job, shot himself on July 25, though he did not pass away until four days later. On August 2, the day of Pulliam’s funeral, all major league games were postponed (a first in the history of the game). In memory of the former league president, each National League club donned black armbands on their left sleeve for the remainder of the season.

At left: Fred Tenney of the New York Giants, 1909

Tribe Tribute

The only major league ballplayer to die as a direct result of an on-field incident was Ray Chapman, star shortstop for the Cleveland Indians. On August 16, 1920, Chapman was struck in the head by a pitch delivered by New York Yankees pitcher Carl Mays. The blow fractured Chapman’s skull, and the following day he succumbed to the injury. For the remainder of the season and during their triumphant appearance in the World Series, the Indians wore black armbands on their left sleeve in memory of their beloved teammate.

Miscellaneous Memorial Markings

Though black armbands have long been the most common method of paying tribute to a recently deceased individual, baseball uniforms have also utilized other symbols as memorial markings.

A player’s uniform number within a circular patch has been used as a symbol to honor the memory of a ballplayer on numerous occasions. The first instance of such a patch occurred in 1973, when the left sleeve of the Pittsburgh Pirates uniform featured the number “21” in a white circle with a black border. The patch was worn in memory of the club’s star right fielder, Robert Clemente, who was killed in an airplane crash on December 31, 1972. Two years later, the Houston Astros honored the memory of pitcher Don Wilson by wearing a circular black patch surrounding a white number “40” on the left sleeve of their uniform. The author of two no-hitters and an 18-strikeout performance, Wilson had committed suicide on January 5, 1975.

The initials of a recently deceased individual are often used as a memorial symbol when the honored person never donned a big league uniform. Following the death of San Diego Padres owner Ray Kroc prior to the 1984 season, the club chose to don the initials “RAK” on the left sleeve of their uniform. The patch was worn for three seasons. When longtime St. Louis Cardinals broadcaster Jack Buck passed away during the 2002 season, the club added a black patch with white initials “JFB” on the right sleeve of their jerseys.

Other specially designed patches have also served as memorial markings. For the 1988 season, the Milwaukee Brewers honored the memory of their former coach and manager Harvey Kuenn by donning memorial patches featuring the initial “HK” surrounding the image of a baseball bat. When Willie Stargell passed away at the beginning of the 2001 season, the Pirates paid tribute to the beloved Pittsburgh slugger by wearing a special patch on the left breast of their jersey. The patch featured the letter “S” within a gold star, reminiscent of the “Stargell Star” merit badges doled out to teammates by Stargell as the team captain neared the end of his career.

Below is a partial list of memorial markings donned by major league clubs for either all or part of a season (last updated June 2024):

Our National Patch-Time

Uniform patches have long been used to commemorate or promote special events. The first such patch used on a major league uniform was worn by the 1907 Chicago White Sox on the left sleeve of their road jerseys. The circular patch commemorated the club’s 1906 World Series victory over their crosstown rivals, the Chicago Cubs. Ten years later, following the United States’ entry into World War I, several major league clubs donned patriotic patches on their jerseys and sleeves. Over the years, numerous clubs have adopted special patches for a single season, but the practice reached a fever pitch beginning in the 1980s, when clubs began wearing patches on a more frequent basis. The Colorado Rockies, for example, donned commemorative or memorial patches in each of the club’s first seven years of existence.

Ruptured Duck

In 1945, former servicemen Hi Bithorn, Peanuts Lowrey, Paul Gillespie and Mickey Livingston of the Chicago Cubs, and Aaron Robinson and Red Ruffing of the New York Yankees, each wore a special honorable discharge patch, affectionately known as the “ruptured duck,” on their sleeve. Though other clubs discussed the idea, apparently no other players donned these patches.

Rabbit Maranville of the Boston Braves, 1930	Lou Chiozza of the New York Giants, 1938	Sam McDowell of the New York Yankees, 1973

Below is a partial list of commemorative patches worn by major league clubs from 1907 through the 1970s.

Year		Club(s)		Patch commemorates or promotes …
1907		Chicago (AL)		White Sox 1906 World Series championship
1917		Brooklyn (NL), Chicago (AL), Chicago (NL), Detroit (AL), Washington (AL)		U.S. involvement in World War I
1918		Chicago (AL), Cleveland (AL), New York (AL) (Yankees wore commemorative armbands, not patches)		U.S. involvement in World War I
1925		All National League clubs		50th National League season
1930		Boston (NL), Boston (AL)		300th anniversary of city of Boston
1938		Brooklyn (NL), New York (AL), New York (NL)		1939 World’s Fair in New York City
1939		All major league clubs		Baseball’s “centennial season” of 1939
1942		All major league clubs		“Hale America” Fitness Campaign
1943-1945		Most major league clubs		U.S. involvement in World War II
1945		Chicago (NL) (Hi Bithorn, Peanuts Lowrey, Mickey Livingston, and Paul Gillespie only), New York (AL) (Aaron Robinson and Red Ruffing only)		Former servicemen honorably discharged
1946		Cleveland (AL)		150th anniversary of city of Cleveland
1950		Philadelphia (AL)		50th anniversary of Connie Mack as club owner/manager
1951		All American League clubs		50th anniversary of American League
1951		All National League clubs		75th anniversary of National League
1951		Detroit (AL)		250th anniversary of city of Detroit
1952		New York (AL)		50th anniversary of New York (AL) club
1964		Baltimore (AL)		150th anniversary of “The Star Spangled Banner”
1964-1965		New York (NL)		World’s Fair in New York City
1968		Chicago (AL), Chicago (NL)		150th anniversary of Illinois statehood
1969		All major league clubs except for Pittsburgh (NL)		100th anniversary of professional baseball
1973		New York (AL)		50th anniversary of Yankee Stadium
1975-1976		Boston (AL) home jerseys only		200th anniversary of Massachusetts statehood
1976		Cleveland (AL)		Cleveland Sports “Spirit of ’76”
1976		Detroit (AL)		Detroit “1776 1976”
1976		All National League clubs except for Montreal		100th anniversary of National League
1976		Montreal		1976 Olympics
1976		Chicago (NL)		100th anniversary of Chicago (NL) franchise
1976		Philadelphia (NL), Oakland (AL)		200th anniversary of U.S.A.
1978		San Diego (NL)		1978 All-Star Game