Friday, June 1, 2012

Astros' Rainbow Throwbacks

...to answer David's questions about the Astros' rainbow throwbacks, according to Bill Henderson's guide, the number in circle format was only worn in 1975, in 1976 they still had the unique number font, but not in the circle, and for the 1977-81 uniforms they had switched to a more standard Varsity number font.


  The biggest complaint in previous Astros' rainbow throwbacks has been the placement of the number on the back.  Whether it was the 2006 throwback to the 1976 uniforms...



...or the 2004 or 2008 throwbacks to the later uniform...




...one game which I was in attendance at...



...the number has always been too high, half on the white, while the original always had the numbers entirely on the rainbow area.  Did they get the number right this time, or were they again "half on the white"?

Added:  It appears that for the first time the Astros did get the number "all the way on the raainbow", possibly their most historically accurate throwback yet.  They had orange hats and helmets (unlike as you can see in the above picture from 2004 when they just wore the normal helmets) and they had the "varsity font" numbers, so this throwback was to the 1977-81 uniforms, not 1976.

Picture from tonight's game:



3 comments:

  1. Actually, it was then the '77-'79 unis, since the throwbacks had the number on the thigh (which according to Dressed to the Nines ended after 1979).

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  2. You're right... Henderson's guide only takes into account the jersey, not the pants.

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  3. The number is positioned just fine on those 2004-2008 throwbacks. The problem is that the *rainbow* is *too low*. It should go all the way up to the player's armpit, leaving ample room for the number to fit.

    The rainbow should dominate the players' chests, like it does in the '70s, and not just be a thin strip across their stomachs. Even the latest attempt at a throwback has the rainbow and number too low.

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