A look back at 10 of the best-looking World Series, plus a look back at some of the fashion that accompanied those uniforms as well.
The 1970s were very good to both the Oakland A's and the Cincinnati Reds. These two teams had considerable success on the field during that decade, and they also looked good while doing it. This was arguably Cincy's best look ever, and the A's were one of the most unique-looking teams at the time.
Clearly, the Oakland A's of the 1970s got their sense of fashion from their owner, Charles O. Finley. Just take a look at that suit! Furthermore, take a look at the shirt that the man in the middle is wearing. That is the '70s in a nutshell for you.
When you think about baseball in the 1970s, it's hard not to think of this uniform aesthetic. Bold colors, pullovers, unique hat designs, unorthodox uniform elements — they're all here. The 1979 World Series was the end of the decade but the peak of '70s baseball design, and it was mostly thanks to Pittsburgh. The Pirates were to baseball back then what the Oregon Ducks currently are to college football. There was never a dull moment with the '70s Pirates, and this World Series was anything but.
No, you're not looking at an outtake image from the set of one of the "Anchorman" movies. This is an actual photo of the umpiring crew from the 1979 World Series, and it perfectly encapsulates what was considered to be "in" when it came to business wear — right down to the turtlenecks under the blazers. Fancy.
Once the calendar shifted to the 1980s, the funkiness of the '70s took a while to wear off. The 1980 World Series delivered both the style of the '70s with a taste of what was to come in the next decade. The Phillies turned heads with their classic dark red pinstriped uniforms with racing stripes, while the Royals carried their lovely uniforms from the 1970s into the '80s.
Again this was 1980, so some of the things that were considered high fashion from the 1970s were still lurking around at this point. That explains why Tug McGraw is pictured here rocking a suede suit.
This is a prime example of opposites attracting. While the Detroit Tigers were still wearing a uniform design that they adopted way back in the early 20th century, the San Diego Padres were in complete contrast. This was during the time when the Padres were actually unique and wore a bold color scheme of brown and gold. As a result, we got to see a conservative uniform design mesh well with a progressive look.
There's a lot going on in this photo of Johnny Grubb from the Tigers' World Series parade, but there's one thing that you need to focus on: everybody's hair. Aside from the fashion, the car and Tiger Stadium looming in the background, the hair is the No. 1 giveaway that you're looking at a photo from the mid-'80s.
This was another example of a progressive uniform design meshing well with a simple-but-effective uniform look. The Mets uniform had evolved to the point where racing stripes were now an essential part of the get-up, while Boston's road uniform was the picture of simplicity. The Red Sox's traditional look combined with the Mets' popular look from the '80s made for a World Series that was easy on the eyes.
This photo of Red Sox fans watching the game at a Boston bar looks like something you'd see out of a movie from back then. We've got leather jackets with rolled-up sleeves, asymmetric sweater designs, jean jackets — it's all here. Welcome to 1986!
This may have happened nearly 30 years ago, but both of these teams still look very similar to how they looked back then. That means a present-day matchup between these two teams would look as classic as the 1988 World Series did. You could put this uniform matchup in any era, and it would still look good.
There isn't anything too crazy about this photo, unless you take a look at what Orel Hershiser was wearing. That sweater was the peak of late '80s fashion and a taste of what was to come in the 1990s.
By 1993, the Phillies had transitioned to their current uniforms, while the Blue Jays were wearing the classic uniforms that were the base of what they wear today. As a result, both teams were sharply dressed, and this was a lovely looking World Series.
Just take a good, long look at Mitch Williams during batting practice before one of the World Series games from 1993. If this doesn't scream "the '90s" to you, then what will?
We got this uniform matchup twice in the '90s, and both times the two titans from this decade sported classic uniforms. The Yankees take pride in the fact that they haven't changed their iconic uniform one bit for decades, and the Braves have had great uniforms for a long time now.
Do you remember when FUBU took over the fashion world for a little bit of time during the '90s? Yeah, Spike Lee isn't exactly wearing a FUBU jacket here, but he's wearing a big, puffy jacket with a red Yankees fashion hat.
It's a good thing that this happened in 2002 instead of 2001. This was the first season in which the Angels went to their current identity, and it's as if the logo/uniform deities rewarded the Angels with a World Series victory for their massive upgrade over the Disney-era uniforms. Meanwhile, the Giants had also recently tweaked their uniforms as they moved into a new ballpark, and this resulted in a California-based World Series that looked good.
Remember that photo of the Red Sox fans at the bar from 1986? Things are a lot more low-key nearly 20 years later, with the fans in the photo here focused more on representing their team than making sure everybody is impressed with their Members Only jackets.
This may have happened only a few years ago, but it went down as one of the best-looking World Series in recent memory. The Royals and Mets both had eliminated black from their color schemes and embraced their royal blues. The two teams got together in the World Series and gave us a nice exhibition of blue that was great to look at and wonderful to watch.
Since this is a relatively recent photo, you probably find absolutely nothing to be out of the ordinary about it. However, if people look at this photo 20 years from now, they'll probably make fun of everything that's going on in this image. Fashion is always evolving, and the times are always changing.
Demetrius Bell can be contacted on Twitter @fergoe, which is where you can catch him tweeting mostly about any and everything under the sun. If you enjoyed what you've been reading, then go ahead and give him a follow!
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