As many of you know, I have written about my love of the Houston Astros uniforms from the 1970's and 1980's several times. The Astros were by far my favorite team growing up and the whole thing started with the uniforms and the logos. I was a huge fan of the rainbow era uniforms. I was an even bigger fan of the second evolution of the rainbow look with the shoulder stripes. Everything about the Astros logos and uniforms was at the top of my list.
When the team switched to their new look in 1994, I lost my love for the team. The last two logo and uniform evolutions for the team have not lived up to the great looks they had early on. So...what if you could take the team's current color scheme and styling and add some retro flair back into it? Here's my shot at bringing back some of that old school magic, paired with their color combination of today.
The first step in a return to retro greatness is to bring back the H-star hat. This hat is classic Astros and there is no excuse not to have it as a part of the Astros uniform set. Though originally done in orange and navy, the new set could use the Astros current black and brick colors. Bringing back these classic hats would be the foundation for the rest of the return to retro.
Next, you must bring back the famous logo with the orbiting baseballs. Since the Astrodome is no more, you would need to update the logo, removing the Astrodome. The modern retro logo would feature the newly reintroduced H-star from the hat in place of the Astrodome image. Bringing this classic logo back would be another great step in connecting the team with its glorious graphic past. Update the colors to Astros black, brick and sand and you have the modern version of the classic logo.
Next, you need to bring back the classic Astros font and graphics from the old uniform set and update it to today's color scheme. The white home uniforms would feature the retro look of the old Astros font with the star underneath. The logo would mimic the colors of their current jersey, with the letters and star in black, outlined in sand and brick. (click on the images for more detailed views). The sleeve of the jersey would feature a patch of the new retro logo. The home set would then be paired up with the brick colored version of the H-star cap.
For the road uniforms, you feature a very similar look, but based in the team's road grey color. Again you would have the classic Astros font and star, outlined in the team's sand and brick colors. This road uniform set would be paired with the new black version of the H-star cap. Again, the new retro logo would appear on the sleeve. Now you have a set of uniforms with the team's modern colors and retro logo stylings that connects in a real way with their past.
Just for good measure, you will need a set of alternate home and road jerseys to top off the set. The road alternates would be a brick colored jersey with the retro type and star. The letters and star would be black, with the brick and sand switching positions on the outline to accent the dark jersey. Pair this set up with the new road cap and you are ready to go.
The home alternates would feature a new black based jersey with the Astros type and star in brick, outlined in black and sand. The black jerseys would make the same statement that the old navy Astros BP jerseys did back in the day. If the weather is too hot for black, close the roof and play ball! This set would pair up nicely with the home brick colored H-star caps.
So there you have it, a return to graphics glory for the Astros, with a modern twist. Returning to the team's great graphic roots from the 1970's and 1980's would definitley be a welcome move by many fans. It would be a great way for the team to connect with its graphic and uniform history. This is my take on how the team could do it. I know I'd be in line to get my hands on all of this stuff if it hit the field again.
What is it about 70's and 80's uniforms in sports that was just so great? Do you think we'll look back on the 90's/00's uniforms twenty years from now and say, "Wow, such great uniforms!"?
Posted by: Johnny Griswold | July 09, 2009 at 08:33 AM
Johhny-it probably has a lot to do with the time we grew up, but there is something to be said about the classic simplicity of the uniforms and logos of that time period. When the sports licensed product business took off in the early 1990's everything got a bit out of control.
Posted by: Jim Ransdell | July 10, 2009 at 03:09 PM
agreed!
Posted by: marc | July 14, 2009 at 09:14 AM
nice work, btw, jim. i like the mash-up you created. i wonder what the rainbow look would be like with variations on todays colors? black jersey with varying shades of brick as the stripes? could be ugly as hell or an awesome classic!
i was a huge fan of the rainbow-look as a kid. i don't know when it was, but i was flying somewhere as a kid and while waiting in the airport, i was drawn to an issue of the sporting news (i think) featuring a great action shot of j.r. richard on the cover. i instantly became a fan of the astros unis and mr. richard. his was a sad story indeed, tho i hear he is now a minister and works to establish baseball programs for kids.
Posted by: marc | July 14, 2009 at 09:26 AM
"Next, you need to bring back the classic Astros font..."
But what is that font? Anyone know?
Posted by: Carol Cunningham | July 20, 2009 at 09:23 PM
Wow way to let a uniform crush the love you had for your favorite team growing up. Part of the beuty of baseball is falling in love with it as a youngster. The ugly side is the people who bandwagon based on arbirary factors such as their uniforms and have the gall to let their opinions overule common sense or logic
As a fan of the old Astros looks (currently rocking the Orange 'H'-Star cap) I was looking foward to reading you artice. But your clearly jaded means of selecting a favorite team and exclusion of your (and many fans) "favorite" part goes to show your like a kitten. Whatever catches your eye for the moment just makes everything else go away.
Posted by: DJ | July 22, 2009 at 09:14 AM
DJ-
I still pull for the Astros today. The point I was making was that their early uniform styles made a Cincinnati kid, in the era of the Big Red Machine, adopt a team from Houston as his favorite. My preferences have always been driven a bit by uniforms and graphics, thus the blog subject.
As life passes by, your interests change. I'm still a fan of the Astros and just wanted to explore what it might be like to bring back that look I was so fond of in the past. The Astros are still the Astros, I just don't dig their last two looks as much as I did the old ones.
If you read my column on favorite teams (http://www.sportsdesignblog.com/2009/07/favorite-sports-teams.html) from a few days ago, you'll see that I still list the Astros on top and am as loyal a fan as there can be to the teams I pull for.
This was just meant to be an exercise in nostalgic fun, nothing more.
Posted by: Jim Ransdell | July 22, 2009 at 09:44 AM
I'm four months late to this post, but I'd like to add my two cents to this subject. I just saw the twins move back to their '61 jerseys to be worn in their new park. They are an awesome traditional look.
I've been a 'Stros fan forever. I remember the switch to the rainbow jerseys. They were laughably, embarassingly horrific back then, and I knew as a child they would be a joke years later as they are now.
I want to see the Astros return to their original colors (orange & blue). I want them to return to the original caps as you have on your blog. I'd like to see the original shooting star jerseys worn at home in a dominant blue scheme (and caps). On the road I'd like to see them wear the early 70s gray "houston" print jerseys in orange and trimmed with blue. I'd like to see the orange star "H" caps. No dark jerseys at home or road. Just the traditional white & gray looks like the Yankees, Tigers, and Dodgers do.
I have resented Drayton for TWICE changing the color scheme of my fav team and making the franchising a bigger joke than they already were when it came to the subject of unis.
Posted by: CaptainKirk | November 25, 2009 at 09:33 AM
I'd LOVE to see a move back to the earlier uniforms. We're the Astros - not the Conductors. This weird half space-half choo-choo train theme is just wrong.
Houston is Mission Control for manned space flight. The location of the park on a long-unused train station isn't reason enough to contaminate the team's identity with it.
Uncle D - give the team it's proper identity & appearance back.
Posted by: 201050 | November 29, 2009 at 12:11 PM
I like it. As a Astros fan born and bred, I totally agree. Go BACK to your roots...
We will get a new owner, and who know what they will do with it?!?
Posted by: Jesse C. | March 07, 2010 at 11:49 PM
i was a huge fan of the rainbow-look as a kid. i don't know when it was, but i was flying somewhere as a kid and while waiting in the airport, i was drawn to an issue of the sporting news (i think) featuring a great action shot of j.r. richard on the cover. i instantly became a fan of the astros unis and mr. richard. his was a sad story indeed, tho i hear he is now a minister and works to establish baseball programs for kids.
Posted by: generic | March 08, 2010 at 05:14 PM