This afternoon the Chicago Cubs will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first baseball game played at Wrigley Field.
As part of those 100th birthday celebrations both the Chicago Cubs and their opponents, the Arizona Diamondbacks, will be wearing uniforms based off of the two teams that squared off in that inaugural match — the Chicago Federals and Kansas City Packers; two Federal League teams, a league which tried to compete with the American and National Leagues but lasted no more than two seasons. Once the league folded up shop in 1916, the Cubs moved into the stadium and have called it home ever since.
Neither the Cubs, nor the Diamondbacks, are the same franchise as those two 1914 clubs; the Cubs and Federals are as connected to one another as you and the previous owner of your car, while the KC Packers and D-Backs share only one thing in common — they played a ballgame on the north side of Chicago on April 22/14.
It’s a great gesture by the Arizona side, kudos to the D-Backs, and they’ll retain some sense of their current identity by way of a Diamondbacks logo patch on the sleeve.
This isn’t the first time a Major League team has worn a uniform representing another city… not even close.
In my post this week at theScore.com I take a look back at 10 Major League teams (with lots of pictures!) who have worn uniforms representing cities that were not their own. I encourage you give this a read.