Hollywood Stars Wear Shorts

Branch Rickey and Fred Haney

1950 Hollywood Stars Program

In 1976 the Chicago White Sox stepped onto the baseball field wearing shorts.  The players hated the uniforms, and before the second game of that day’s doubleheader the uniforms were retired, never to be seen again.  However, they were not the first baseball team to wear shorts during a game.  On this date, April 1st, in 1950 the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League also took to the field wearing shorts.

The uniform was the brainchild of Stars’ Fred Haney who was in his second season as team manager.  Haney had played in the major leagues, as an infielder, from 1922 o 1929 for the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, and briefly the St. Louis Cardinals.  He had also managed for the St. Louis Browns and would later go on to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates and Milwaukee Braves. He got the idea after reading an article by Los Angeles Times writer Braven Dyer about records in track, golf, and other sports being broken because of the improvement of equipment.

The uniforms had a pinstripe design with the traditional team logo of a Star with an “H” inside of it on the left breast. The top was a pullover jersey made of nylon that was described no as a jersey, but a simple t-shirt.  The shorts were made of flannel, a little more traditional fabric for uniforms of the era.  They also included extra padding in the hips area to protect the players when sliding.  Finally to protect the player's legs they wore high socks that also included extra padding. There was also a blue version of the uniform for road games.

Because the Stars were a part of the Brooklyn Dodgers massive farm system, there was one more man who had to give his approval before the uniforms could be worn, and that was Branch Rickey.  The week before game day Haney exhibited the outfit for Rickey at Spring Training in Vero Beach.  Rickey gave the go ahead and agreed to keep them a secret.

Portland Manager Bill Sweeney with Haney

Haney also had to convince the players that the uniforms were a good idea.  When the players saw what they were going to wear they became a little skeptical about how well they would be able to play in the uniforms.  Haney did get the players and team officials to keep his secret until game time.

When the players stepped onto the field that April 1st they were greeted with hoots, hollers, and yoo-hoos from the fans, who must have thought it was an April fools day joke.  Eventually, when the fans got over the shock, many of them including some of the player's wives started to like the new uniform style.  The opposing team Portland Beavers gave the Stars some razzing over the uniforms led by manager Bill Sweeney.  When Sweeney went to turn in his lineup card at home plate, he appeared wearing an apron, bonnet, and wig carrying a bouquet and led by a poodle.

After playing in the shorts and realizing that sliding was not going to cause significant injuries the players started to see some advantages of the uniforms.  The lighter shirts and shorter bottoms caused less sweating, which meant they did not get heavy from saturation like typical flannel uniforms.  The shorts also allowed more freedom of movement, allowing the players to run a little faster.  After the game player, Chuck Stevens said that the uniforms are “much cooler, and it’s a lot easier to get around in them. I’m sold on these uniforms, and I think lots of clubs will be adopting them in the East and South during the summer.”  Haney thought the uniforms would bring “A little sex appeal, [which] might be just what baseball needs” to bring out the fans, especially the female fans.  It was reported that Branch Rickey liked the new uniforms so much that he ordered a set for the Dodgers’ Fort Worth Cats affiliate.

The new style was tried by other teams of the era including the Houston Buffalos, and Mobile Bears but it never caught on and was quickly abandoned. That is until the 1975 Sacramento Solons, and the forementioned White Sox made another failed attempt.


Sources

Baseball Managers Fred Haney and Branch Rickey at Hollywood Stars Baseball Game, 1950. Los Angeles, 1950. 

Bath, Phil. Los Angeles, 1 Apr. 1950.

INS. “Yoo-Hoo! : Baseball Team to Wear Shorts for Day Games.” Courier, The, 2 Apr. 1950, p. 38.

Lukas, Paul. “Unis and Midsummer Classic.” ESPN Page 2, 7 July 2008, www.espn.com/espn/page2/story?sportCat=mlb&page=lukas/080715.
 
U.P. “Hollywood Stars Change Style in Pants : Shorts Give Baseball New Wrinkle.” Detroit Free Press, 2 Apr. 1950, p. E2. 

Wolf, Al. “Hollywood Stars Blossom Out in Shorts (for Speed).” Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 1950, pp. 1, 90.