MLB teams
Paul Lukas, ESPN.com 10y

Uni Watch: Wrigley Field rewind

MLB, Chicago Cubs, Arizona Diamondbacks

The Cubs and Diamondbacks will be wearing throwbacks Wednesday, but the uniforms won't have anything to do with either the Cubbies or the D-backs.

Here's the deal: Wednesday is the 100th anniversary of the first game ever played at Wrigley Field, and the Cubs want to mark the occasion by recreating the matchup that took place exactly 100 years ago. But the Cubs weren't yet playing at Wrigley a century ago -- they were over at West Side Park and didn't move to Wrigley until 1916. Wrigley's first tenant was a Federal League team called the Chicago Federals (sometimes known as the Chicago Whales), and they opened their 1914 season by playing the Kansas City Packers. So those are the teams whose uniforms will be worn in Wednesday's game.

Both uniforms feature unusual elements that no doubt will look odd to today's fans. The jersey worn by the Cubs will be a pullover with a four-button placket -- a fairly common jersey format a century ago but unheard of nowadays. And the Diamondbacks' jersey will include a point collar, like on a standard men's button-down shirt.

As you can see in that last photo link, the D-backs decided to use their own logo as a sleeve patch. "We happened to be the Cubs' opponent for this day, and we agreed to participate [in the throwback promotion] when they asked us to, but we also requested that our logo be present, since there's no direct connection between us and the old K.C. team," explained Brian Gundell, a designer who works for the Diamondbacks. Fair enough, but it's a disappointing move -- the sleeve logo sticks out as a modern element that doesn't belong on a throwback.

Some sticklers out there are probably saying: "Wrigley wasn't even called Wrigley 100 years ago! It was called Weeghman Park." True enough -- the ballpark wasn't known as Wrigley Field until 1927. And the Cubs are acknowledging that by dressing their grounds crew in period-appropriate gear for Wednesday's game -- a nice historical touch.

Wednesday's game is the first of nine throwback promotions the Cubs will be holding this season. You can learn more about the others here.

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