Tigers, Pirates Pay Tribute with Negro Leagues Uniforms

The Detroit Tigers held their 18th annual Negro Leagues Tribute game yesterday at Comerica Park in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Both teams donned uniforms paying homage to the Negro Leagues teams which once represented their respective cities during the 1920s and 1930s.

The Tigers were wearing the uniforms of the Detroit Stars and the Pirates wore those of the Pittsburgh Crawfords.

Here’s what I don’t understand…

Both the Pirates and the Tigers have paid tribute to these same teams several years in a row now (heck, even back to the Sparky Anderson days) and after all these years of honouring these clubs, why neither team can be bothered to get a matching helmet to go along with the set. The uniforms for both teams look fantastic when paired with the cap, but when wearing the modern 2012 team helmets it’s a mess.

It’s time these teams step up their tribute to the Negro Leagues and adopt matching helmets for this set in 2013.

On to the positives…

The MLB silhouette logo was nowhere to be found on either the caps or the uniforms.
Most players on both teams wore high socks, it just helps the retro feel when players do this for these games.
No uniform manufacturers logos on sleeves.

See below for several photos from the game, click any thumbnail for a larger image: