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A third jersey or alternate jersey is a sports team's alternate design for the previously established other two jerseys, the home and away outfits. They are used in all four of the major professional sports leagues as well as college sports (most notably the University of Miami football team), semipro leagues, and other sports leagues. Currently, third jersey's are primarilly used in the United States.

Major League Baseball

After decades of wearing the same uniforms, Major League Baseball teams began to experiment with numerous designs in the early 1970's, ranging from popular designs (such as the Pittsburgh Pirates's pullover jerseys that most MLB teams later adopted) and not so popular (such as the Chicago White Sox wearing shorts).

Among such designs that were also tested were third jerseys, to break the traditional mold that baseball teams wear white uniforms at home, and gray on the road. This began in 1972 when the Oakland Athletics flamboyant owner, Charlie O. Finley, introduced new uniforms to the team. Taking after the lead of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the jerseys were pullover spandex that would later catch on in MLB (though this would be phased out by the early 1990's in favor of the more traditional button-down jerseys), but by going one step further than the Pirates, the A's introduced alternate gold and green jerseys. The gold jerseys, lighter in color, were considered "home" alternates while the darker green jerseys were considered "away" alternates.

Soon, many teams caught on with different colored jerseys. The Pirates even went as far as to having a rotation of which jerseys to wear.

While some tradition-rich teams such as the New York Yankees and the St. Louis Cardinals have not or will not adopt a third jersey, third jerseys otherwise remain popular in baseball today, wearing either an alternate design or a throwback known as "Turn Back the Clock Night". In the late 1990's, most teams experiented with "futuristic" jerseys as to what that team may wear in the year 2020, but this wasn't as popular with fans and was eventually dropped.

National Hockey League

In the National Hockey League, each team has its own distinctive jersey design. Prior to 1995 each team (save for the 1981-to-1985 Pittsburgh Penguins) only had two jerseys: the home jersey (typically the team's logo on a white or light-colored background) and the away jersey (the same logo on a darker background). With the introduction of the Third Jersey, teams were allowed to use a completely new jersey with a re-designed logo and layout. Following the NHL's lead, the NBA and NFL also use three jerseys.

Usage

Once a team has been granted permission by the league to use their new design, they are allocated ten to fifteen games during the season in which they may use their Third Jersey. They may continue to use the Third Jersey in subsequent years as well. This alternate design allowed the team's appearance to flirt with radical designs which have occasionally gone on to become the new looks for some of the participating teams, though they can also be quite garish. Sales of Third Jerseys to fans have also provided significant additional income for cash-strapped NHL teams.

Chronology

Several teams have had multiple designs of their Third Jersey.

National Football League

The NFL was the last of the major professional sports leagues to adopt the third jersey rule in 2002, with the only exceptions being the 1994 season, when teams issued a throwback uniform in honor of the league's 75th Anniversary, as well as the Dallas Cowboys using the infamous "Double Star" jerseys in addition to their current uniforms during the mid-1990's.

In alphabetical order, the teams that have used third jerseys through the 2005 season:

  • Atlanta Falcons - Adopted a red alternate in 2003 when the team redesigned the uniforms. The red alternate became the primary home jersey the following season, and the black jersey is still used as an alternate today.
  • Baltimore Ravens - Introduced an alternate black jersey in 2004. Mostly used in nationally-televised games.
  • Buffalo Bills - Used the O.J. Simpson-era uniforms as alternates in 2005. These jerseys, more popular with fans over the current design adopted in 2002, is rumored to becoming the regular uniforms down the road, as early as the 2007 season.
  • Carolina Panthers - Introduced a "powder blue" alternate in 2002 that has been occasionally worn multiple times in the season.
  • Chicago Bears - Wore 1940's-era orange throwbacks in 2004 Thanksgiving Day game with Dallas. Popularity with the fans led to the team introducing an orange alternate of the current design in 2005.
  • Cincinnati Bengals - Introduced an orange alternate along with the redesigned uniforms in 2004. Worn during "special occasions".
  • Cleveland Browns - Wore orange alternates during 2002-2004 seasons. Did not wear them during the 2005 season, and have officially been dropped as of 2006.
  • Dallas Cowboys - Revived the blue "Double Star" jerseys in 2002-2003 to be worn on Thanksgiving. Since 2004, the team has worn the original 1960-1964 uniform designs as a third jersey, usually on Thanksgiving.
  • Denver Broncos - Wore the Orange Crush-era "throwbacks" in 2001 Thanksgiving game. (Even though those uniforms were retired just five years earlier.) Wore an orange alternate of the current design in 2002 and 2004. The jersey is still active as of 2006.
  • Detroit Lions - Wore 1950's-era throwbacks on Thanksgiving in 2001-2004. Introduced a black alternate in 2005.
  • Green Bay Packers - Wore 1940's-era throwbacks in 2001 Thanksgiving game with Detroit, and wore 1960's-era throwbacks in 2003 Thanksgiving game, also with the Lions. Team has otherwise not worn a third jersey.
  • Houston Texans - Introduced a red alternate in 2003.
  • Indianapolis Colts - Wore mid-1950's throwbacks in 2004 Thanksgiving game with Detroit used very early in team's history. Team has otherwise not worn a third jersey.
  • Jacksonville Jaguars - Wore a black alternate in 2002-2004. Not used in 2005 but remains active.
  • Miami Dolphins - Introduced an orange alternate in 2003. Also wore "undefeated '72 Dolphins" throwbacks in 2003 Thanksgiving game with Dallas.
  • New England Patriots - Wore the "classic" Patriots throwbacks in 2002 Thanksgiving game with Detroit. Introduced a silver alternate in 2003.
  • New Orleans Saints - Wore a gold alternate in 2002, and also wore an Archie Manning-era throwback in the same season. Currently does not have a third jersey, though the gold jersey is still sold in retail stores.
  • New York Giants - Introduced a red alternate in 2004.
  • Philadelphia Eagles - Wore Harold Carmichael/Ron Jaworski-era throwbacks in 2002. Introduced a black alternate in 2003.
  • San Diego Chargers - Reintroduced the popular "powder blue" Chargers uniforms from the 1960's as an alternate. May eventually become primary uniform.
  • San Francisco 49ers - Wore "1989 throwbacks" in 2002 (even though they were still used regulary as recent as 1995). The team currently has no third jersey.
  • Tennessee Titans - Introduced a powder blue alternate of the current design in 2003.
  • Washington Redskins - Wore 1960's-era uniforms in 2002 as a tribute to the team's 70th Anniversary that season. Despite popularity with fans and even rumors that the uniforms would stick around as an alternate, team currently does not have a third jersey.

The Arizona Cardinals, Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets, Oakland Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers have not worn a third jersey in any capacity.

External links

National Hockey League | Sporting goods | Sports terminology | Uniforms

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Third jersey".

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