Classic SDB: What If? Houston Astros

This story originally ran back in July. It was another "What If?" that looked into why the Houston Astros should bring back their classic old school logos. This article received all kinds of positive feedback and was one of the most viewed articles in the blog's history.

What If?: Houston Astros

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.