The San Diego Padres will be throwing it back to their days in the Pacific Coast League by wearing special 1948 turn-back-the-clock uniforms tonight against the Atlanta Braves.
The 75-year-old uniform design includes a white jersey with “Padres” scripted across the chest in blue, trimmed in red. Down the front of the jersey and around the sleeves is red and blue piping. Caps are navy blue all over with a large red serif block “S” on the crown.
San Diego is going back in time to honour the 75th anniversary of Johnny Ritchey, “the Jackie Robinson of the West Coast,” breaking the West Coast professional baseball colour barrier on this day in 1948.
“We are honoured to celebrate Johnny Ritchey during this significant 75th anniversary season,” said Padres CEO Erik Greupner. “Johnny was a San Diegan whose courage and bravery extended beyond breaking the colour barrier to also serving his country during World War II. By wearing our 1948 Pacific Coast League uniforms on Monday night, we will honour Johnny’s legacy and accomplishments, which are a great source of pride for the Padres organization.”
Ritchey served in the U.S. Army during World War II and played college ball at San Diego State upon his return to the United States. Despite leading the team in batting average and several of his teammates getting big league deals, Ritchey was ignored by Major League clubs. Following a season with the Chicago American Giants in the Negro Leagues in 1947, Ritchey was signed by the Triple-A Padres for the 1948 season, making his debut as a catcher on April 17. Ritchey would go on to hit .323 with the Padres, with four home runs and 44 RBIs in 103 games. Ritchey would eventually bounce around the Minors playing for the Portland Beavers, Vancouver Capilanos, Sacramento Solons, San Francisco Seals, and finally, the Syracuse Chiefs before leaving pro ball in 1956.
The Padres will auction off the game worn jerseys from tonight’s game, each one autographed by the player who wore it, with proceeds going to the Johnny Ritchey Scholarship Program. Fans can bid on jerseys following the game here.
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