Here They
Are in All Their Glory!
The
Uniforms of the Cincinnati Reds
Bask in the Tradition. Bask
in the Memories.
Titled “Baseball’s
Royalty” and Licensed by Major League Baseball,
the Artwork is available in two framed
presentations:
An eye-catching framed-and-matted print
measuring 12” x 21” that sells for only $52 each—which is an exceptional
value for a fully assembled Artpiece of this size. And a dramatic 19” x 39” triple-matted high-quality print (a
Letter of Authenticity is included) that is limited to an edition size of only
299 and sells for the discounted cost of $399.
Please note your Artwork will arrive at your
door in 7 to 10 days when you place your order. And needless to say, there is a 30-day full moneyback
guarantee. In addition, The
Greatest-Scapes pays all shipping costs and any required sales tax!
The Greatest-Scapes also offers the option of
an interest-free Extended Payment Plan for credit card orders. For the $52 framed print, you can pay $26.00
upfront and the balance of $26.00 thirty days later. While the $399 framed Limited Edition can be purchased with an
initial $133, and payments of $133 billed thirty and sixty days later.
To phone in your credit
card order, please call us at 1-800-786-3022 anytime between 10am and 6pm
(Eastern) Monday through Friday. You
can also mail in your order, payable to The Greatest-Scapes, to: The Greatest-Scapes/P.O. Box
5548/Pittsburgh, PA 15206. Please
include your shipping address and specify which Artwork(s) you’re ordering and
how many. And please don’t hesitate to
call us toll-free if you ever have any questions or would like any additional
information.
For your convenience, you can print out our
Order Form.
Click Here for
Order Form
And this Artwork evokes an unmistakably
Classic quality. Indeed, it will look
at home next to a diploma or a work of fine art. Whether you hang it on a wall or lean it on a shelf or mantle,
the Artwork will make a striking impression.
Please keep in mind, though, the visuals
depicted here on the website simply can not do justice to the detail and
quality of the actual Artwork.
Please note the uniform images shown are
produced from hand-painted watercolor paintings. The publisher chose this route, rather than photographs, because
in many cases original jerseys no longer exist, even at the various halls of
fame. In addition, a more consistent
look and feel for the uniforms is achieved by painting them, and allows for a
higher level of detail than a photograph in some cases.
Here, then, is a detailed description of the
12” x 21” Artpiece that sells for only $52 each. It consists of a 5” x 15” paper print that is housed in a black
frame with a textured black mat. The
black mat has a white groove cut into it, thus adding depth and beauty to the
piece. Weighing approximately five
pounds, the Artwork is covered by crystal-clear glass and includes a
“hanger” on the back to allow for easy hanging. The black frame—and especially the textured black mat with
white groove—makes this a truly stunning Artpiece.
The above is an example of
the 12” x 21” Artpiece, which depicts the Washington Redskins.
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As for the 19” x 39” Limited Edition Artwork,
please note each Artwork is printed on 115-lb Garda Gloss stock and then
mounted to avoid any rippling effects.
As for its matting and framing, the Limited Edition is triple-matted in
an acid-free framing style. The outer
mat is a rich, black textured mat with white core. The middle and inner mat colors have been selected to complement
the team’s colors and the overall framed piece. The matting is framed to create a shadow box effect, giving the
entire framed piece a unique three-dimensional look. The frame is an exquisite solid wood frame finished with a rich
black matte texture, chosen to complement all three mats and the print
itself. Finally, the Artpiece is
protected by high-quality framing glass; the total weight of the Artpiece being
approximately 10 pounds.
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The above is
an example of the 19” x 39” Limited Edition Artpiece,
which depicts
the New York Yankees.
Here then is the history of the Reds’ Uniforms …
#1A
1869 Baseball
owes a debt of gratitude to Cincinnati. Why? Because the Cincinnati Red
Stockings were the first openly all-professional team in baseball history.
Lead by the now legendary Harry and George
Wright (Harry was the team manager, George was the team’s star and shortstop)
and backed by a group of Ohio investors, the Red Stockings traveled the US from
coast to coast in 1869, taking on all the top teams in the country. Amazingly,
they went undefeated and complied a 65-0 record! Their winning streak gained
national attention and helped popularize the game of baseball itself. Within a
few years the Wrights moved their team to Boston, name and all (thus the Boston
Red Stockings, aka Boston Red Sox, name was born), but professional baseball
had arrived in Cincinnati.
A few short years later, in 1876, the
National League was formed and a new Cincinnati Red Stockings team became one
of the league’s charter members. The team folded in 1880 and joined the
American Association in 1882. In 1890 they were readmitted to the National
League, and they’ve been an important part of the National League and
professional baseball ever since.
In the mid-late 1800’s, most team uniforms
were very simple white affairs, typically featuring a monogrammed letter of the
home city on the front. This 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings jersey is a pullover
style with a full collar and red “C” on the front.
#1B
1909 This
blue, road uniform is still a pullover style, although you can see that several
buttons have been added to the front since the 1869 version. If you look
closely, you’ll see that the pants have a center belt loop, which was to secure
the belt buckle off to one side. Players of this era usually wore the belt
buckle to one side so they could prevent injury when sliding into a base.
The red monogrammed “C” (for Cincinnati) is a
fairly consistent theme throughout the history of the Reds’ uniform, although
it will take many different shapes and sizes over the years.
#2.
1919 This
is a full button-down pinstripe road uniform with what is known as a “cadet”
collar. The Reds logo is strikingly similar to the Reds logo of today - a
wonderful tradition and a tribute to simple, elegant design. Pinstriped
uniforms had been in use for several years by this time and most major league
teams had a pinstriped uniform either at home or on the road (11 of the 16
major league teams wore pinstripes in 1919 - 5 of the 8 AL teams and 6 of the 8
NL teams).
The 1919 Reds faced the American League’s
Chicago White Sox in what was almost certainly the most controversial World Series in history. The Reds,
considered by many to be the underdog, ended up defeating the White Sox (or
should we say “Black Sox”) 5 games to 3 to capture their first World Series in
their first trip to the finals.
For those of you who don’t know baseball
history, eight White Sox ballplayers were found guilty of betting against their
own team in the 1919 World Series. All 8 were banned from professional baseball
for life one year later. Those players included the legendary Shoeless Joe
Jackson who batted .375 in the Series, an average which certainly seems to
suggest that he wasn’t trying to throw the series, leading to a debate which
continues to this day.
By this time, 1919, the Reds had already been
playing at Redland Field, later named Crosley Field, for 8 years - the first
game was played at Crosley April 11, 1912).
#3.
1933 Since
before the turn of the century, baseball teams typically wore the name of their
city on their road jersey and the team nickname on their home uniform, a
pattern that is in use even today. Thus we’re looking at the 1933 Reds’ road
uniform.
Notice the thin red piping around the collar
and down the buttoned front of the jersey. The pants have an unusual feature -
a “belt tunnel”. For those of you that haven’t heard this expression before,
belt tunnels function like belt loops but are much wider, 4-6 inches wide as
opposed to 1-2 inches wide.
#4A.
1936 This
home uniform is a departure from any Reds uniform we’ve seen thus far,
primarily because of the bright red pants and undershirt, but also because of
the introduction of yellow to the uniform (in the form of a yellow stripe down
the side of the pants). Note also the use of the scripted team name “Reds”
which has replaced the more traditional monogrammed “C”. The Reds only wore
this red trousered uniform in 1936, and it was actually what we might call a “3rd
jersey” or 3rd uniform today because the Reds actually had 4 uniform
variations.
Also of interest - the year before, in 1935,
the Reds hosted the first night game in major league history - beating the
Phillies 2-1 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati.
One other night game note - on June 15th
1938 the Giants played the first game ever played under the lights in New York,
and 23 year old Reds pitcher Johnny Vander Meer pitches a no hitter -
amazingly, he pitched another no hitter 4 days earlier vs the Boston Braves.
This is the only time the same pitcher pitches back-to-back no hitters in 20th
century major league history.
#4B.
1940 This
is a classic home jersey, simple white, with no piping or pinstripes. This is a
design lesson that may be slightly lost on today’s uniform designers - simple
can be beautiful.
After losing the Series in 1939 in a 4 game
sweep to the Yankees, the Reds returned to the 1940 World Series on a mission
to win their 2nd World Series Championship (the 1st was
in 1919, the year of the “Black Sox” scandal). Led by Frank McCormick, Paul
Derringer, and Jimmy Ripple, the Reds edged the Tigers four games to three. In
game seven the Tigers had their ace, Bob Newsom, on the mound, while the Reds
countered with their ace, Paul Derringer. Trailing 1-0 going into the 7th,
the Reds scored twice in the bottom of the 7th and held on for a 2-1
win.
#5.
1956 This
is a vest style road jersey, and there are several interesting points to note.
First of all, this is the second use of a vest in major league baseball - the
first being the Chicago Cubs from 1940-1942. The Reds continued with a vest
from 1956 - 1966.
Secondly, it’s interesting to note that during the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s many
teams used zippered jerseys instead of the more traditional button front
jerseys, while a handful of teams wore them well into the 70’s and even the
80’s. The Reds were one of three pre-1977 major league teams that never wore
zippers, the others being the Yankees and A’s. The 1937 Cubs were the first
team to wear a zippered jersey, and as far we can tell the 1988 Phillies were
the last to wear one.
Thirdly, note the appearance of a cartoon-ish
character on the front of the jersey. This is, we believe, the first appearance
of a cartoon type character on the front of a major league jersey (the Browns
had a cartoon character on their sleeve in 1952 & 1953). The Braves and the
Indians had Indian head variations on the front of their jerseys in the 20’s
and earlier, the A’s had an elephant and the Cards had cardinals, but these
were depictions of a person or an animal as opposed to a cartoon character. The
character on the 1956 Reds’ jersey is known as “Mr. Baseball” or “Old Red”, and
the Reds only wore it this season - never again.
Finally, the 1956 Reds jersey has the
addition of a uniform number on the front of the jersey. This is the 1st
time a Reds jersey had a number on the front. The Reds were actually the 3rd
team to wear uniform numbers on the front of their jersey - the Dodgers did it
first in 1952, and the Braves followed suit in 1953.
#6.
1961 The
Reds have stuck with the vest style first introduced in 1956, as we see on this
road jersey. They would stop wearing the vest after the ’66 season, but would
return to it in the ‘90’s.
The black arm band on the left arm pays
tribute to owner Powell Crosley who passed away March 28th, 1961.
Led by Frank Robinson and Vada Pinson (who
had a career year hitting .343), and pitcher Joey Jay (21-10), the 1961 Reds
finished first in the National League with a 93-61 record. They thus advanced
to the World Series for the 4th time in their history - they
previously won it all in 1919 and 1940, and lost to the Yankees in 1939.
The 4th time would not be lucky,
however, as they fell to the Yankees four games to one. Remarkably, the
powerful Yankees earned their near sweep of the Reds with very limited help
from their 1961 stars Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. Mantle, who was injured,
appeared in only two games and was held to a single in 6 at bats. Maris, who
slugged a record 61 homers in the regular season, had only two hits, one a
homer, in 19 at bats.
The Reds would have to wait until the glory
years of the 70’s before they make another appearance in the World Series.
#7.
1968 This
is a classic home jersey - simple and elegant. There is no piping, pinstripes,
or unnecessary colors - simply a classic Reds logo and a uniform number. This
Reds logo first appeared in 1967, and a modest variation of it is still used
today. Catcher Johnny Bench is awarded with Rookie of the Year honours this
year, and goes on to become a Reds legend and arguably the greatest catcher of
all time.
#8.
1975 This
road jersey is of a double-knit style that most major league teams succumbed to
during the 70’s and early 80’s. It was a pullover style, made of stretchy,
synthetic material. The pants were called “Sans-a-Belt”’s because the
elasticized waistline eliminated the need for a belt.
The Reds who wore this wonderful uniform were
known as “The Big Red Machine”. With players like Pete Rose, Ken Griffey, Joe
Morgan, Johnny Bench, Tony Perez, and manager Sparky Anderson, the name was
fitting.
After having made it to the World Series in
1970 and 1972 - losing to the Orioles in ’70 and the A’s in ’72 - The Big Red
Machine made it back to the World Series in 1975.
The ‘75 World Series between the Cincinnati
Reds and the Boston Red Sox is arguably the greatest Series in history. The 6th
game lasted more than 4 hours. The Sox jumped into an early 3-0 lead, but the
Reds came back to take the lead 6-3. Then Bernie Carbo of the Red Sox hit a
three-run homer in the 8th to tie the game at 6. The stalemate
lasted into the 12th, when Carlton Fisk launched a ball to left that
rang off the foul pole, sending the home town fans into hysterics. The game has
gone down in baseballs’ history books as simply “Game 6”.
In game seven the very next night, the Reds
again found themselves down 3-0, but came back with 2 in the 6th, 1 more
in the 7th and finally one more in the top of the 9th to
win the game, and the series, 4-3. Truly a Series for the ages.
#9.
1976 The
patch on the right sleeve of this home uniform is the National League
Centennial, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the National
League. Once again, this is a double knit, sans-a-belt style uniform, but
somehow it looked better than most uniforms of this era, perhaps because we
associate it with such a winning club.
Picking right up where they left off in 1975,
the Reds powered their way to a 102-60 first place finish in the NL West, then
swept the Phillies 3 games to none in the NLCS.
True to their “Big Red Machine” nickname, the
Reds then swept the Yankees 4 games to none to become the first National League
team to win back-to-back World Series since the 1921-22 NY Giants.
#10.
1983 For
the first time in the history of the Reds, their jersey is all red. This home
jersey is of a double-knit style that most major league teams succumbed to
during the 70’s and early 80’s. It was a pullover style, made of stretchy,
synthetic material. The pants were called “Sans-a-Belt”’s because the
elasticized waistline eliminated the need for a belt.
Two years after this Pete Rose becomes the
Major League all time hits leader, hitting number 4192 on September 11, 1985.
He retires a year later with a total of 4,256 hits.
#11A
1990 The
Reds held on to this double knit, pullover style, synthetic jersey and
“Sans-a-Belt” long after most other teams had given up on it.
The flag over the right breast on this home
uniform is in honor of America’s involvement in the Gulf War, something that
most major league teams did somewhere on their uniform.
On the left sleeve is the World Series Patch.
Beginning in the mid-late 80’s, the two teams that made it to the World Series
added a special World Series patch to their uniform to celebrate their World
Series appearance.
After knocking off the Pirates 4 games to 2
in the NLCS, the 1990 Reds faced the A’s and performed one of the greatest
upsets in the history of the World Series. Billy Hatcher hit .750 and set a
Series record with 7 consecutive hits; Chris Sabo achieved stardom hitting .563
for the Series including 3 hits in game 2 and a pair of home runs in game 3
that ignited a 14-hit attack; and Joe Oliver and Barry Larkin also hit over
.300; as the Reds swept the heavily favored Oakland A’s with Rickey Henderson,
the Bash Brothers, Dave Stewart and Dennis Eckersley four games to none.
#11B
1997 By
1997 the Reds have finally abandoned the double knit style jersey they had worn
for so many years, and have re-introduced the vest style jersey that they first
wore in 1956. The patch on the left breast of this home pinstriped uniform
marks the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking baseball’s
color barrier. All teams wore this patch in honor of Jackie Robinson and all he
achieved, and all teams retired his number 42 - the first time in the history
of the big four North American sports (MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL) that a number has
been universally retired.
An unusual touch to this uniform is the fact
that the “undershirt” has the team logo on the sleeve. This is unusual because
in most cases the undershirt doesn’t have a sleeve logo.
***************************************
The Cincinnati Reds: “Baseball’s Royalty”
TRADITION…
MEMORIES… CLASSY…
Order Yours Today … and Revel in it!
800-786-3022
412-781-3022
E-mail:
greatestscapes@hotmail.com