The Iconic Jersey: Baseball X Fashion

Abstract

The Iconic Jersey: Baseball X Fashion examines the design and aesthetics of the baseball jersey through brief essays, colorful photographs, and a wide variety of primary sources including jerseys themselves. The book’s author, Erin Corrales-Diaz, was curator for the accompanying exhibition at Worcester Art Museum in Worcester, Massachusetts, which ran from June 12–September 12, 2021. The catalog begins with the section “Rooting for Laundry,” a title referencing the famous comedy skit by comedian and noted New York Met’s fan Jerry Seinfeld, who exclaimed that fans are not really rooting for players (as the rosters tend to change), they are rooting for the uniforms. It features quotes about the baseball jersey from curators, researchers, baseball officials, players, and academics arranged alongside touching and playful baseball cartoons by award-winning illustrator Anika Orrock. Capturing the nostalgia surrounding baseball, the first cartoon shows a father and son walking and holding hands in their Chicago Cubs jackets with the father clearly cherishing the moment with his son. In the next drawing, the same father and son are in their Cubs jackets holding hands, but both men are much older, and this time it is the son gazing at his elderly father, cherishing the moment. These quotes and images are a strong introduction to the catalog as they demonstrate the extent to which the baseball jersey has resonated with our society, moving beyond the purpose of play and into the world of fashion and everyday clothing. This exhibition and accompanying catalog came together during the height of the COVID-19 global pandemic, and one cannot help but appreciate the commitment necessary to see this in-depth project through. It involved accessing (and borrowing for the exhibit) many actual baseball jerseys and archival materials as well as compiling images from a host of museums, archives, designers, and artists. As one would expect, much of the research used the Baseball Hall of Fame collections.