The Carolina Disco Turkeys’ newly unveiled home and away uniforms draw inspiration by a variety of uniforms from the disco era—roughly the 1970s and 80s—with an overall aesthetic that is best described as funky.
“The home jersey is heavily inspired by the iconic 1974 Braves’ home uniforms worn by the home run king Hank Aaron,” said Brittain Peck, the North Carolina-based illustrator and designer who created the uniforms, quoted on the team’s website. “Wanting to make the feather on the sleeve our own, we referenced the recognizable ‘eye’ of a peacock’s feather and bands of colors.”
The Braves weren’t the only disco-era team that inspired the far-out look. Fans of the 1976 Cleveland Indians and 1982 Astros might take note of the chest lettering.
“From the Cleveland jersey, we loved that this lettering wasn’t afraid to be big and take up space, stretching nearly from armpit to armpit,” Peck said. “From the Houston jersey, we loved the bold, geometric simplicity that feels like it could be read at the plate from the outfield. With these two inspirations, we added the disco sparkles and felt like it was our own.”
The away jerseys evoke a classic look from the era, the beloved powder blue used by many teams.
“We loved the numerous examples of powder blue jerseys worn through the ’70s and ’80s, but especially the Cardinals, Phillies and Twins,” Peck said.
The script was influenced by the 1987 Mets’ away uniform, which Peck points out was one of the few years that the team wore script lettering on its away uniforms.
The Disco Turkeys, a collegiate summer team in the All American Amateur Baseball Association, begin their season this weekend, with their first home stand in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, beginning June 4.
