# Popularity of defunct team uniforms **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** baseball-mlb\ **Created:** [February 4, 2021, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-defunct-team-uniforms/932196 "2021-02-04T12:55:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2021, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-defunct-team-uniforms/932196/21 "2021-02-07T23:41:49Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > [@ISiddiqui](#): > > > > Well I think it’s a little different because for those from Quebec City or Montreal, those lost teams haven’t been replaced. > > And, in fact, when MLB awarded New York an expansion team (the Mets) a few years after the Dodgers and Giants decamped for California, the team made a conscious choice to appeal to fans of those departed teams with their colors (blue for the Dodgers, and orange for the Giants). Interestingly enough, the Mets colors are that of the Dutch West India Company, which founded New Amsterdam/New York. [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/1_VOC.gif) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/1_VOC.gif) ---
**Author:** ![TiberiusNeroClaudius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f04885/32.png) [@TiberiusNeroClaudius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TiberiusNeroClaudius)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-defunct-team-uniforms/932196/22 "2021-02-08T13:29:23Z")
You can find companies that sell defunct team jerseys such as WHA or Negro league teams so at least some one is buying them. You occasionally see jerseys for the fictional Charlestown Chiefs from the movie “Slapshot” at hockey games (or did pre Wuhan virus although a few teams a letting a couple thousand fans in). ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-defunct-team-uniforms/932196/23 "2021-02-08T14:59:59Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > One of the all-time great logos, which also helps. It’s certainly better than the **Montreal elb** logo ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-defunct-team-uniforms/932196/24 "2021-02-08T15:15:08Z")
> [@Boycott](#): > > Quite popular in European football. Clubs that no longer exist but who had a long history maintain a place in nostalgia not just by their shirts but preserving their history and even things like setting up a new team in their spirit at an amateur level. I’m struggling to think of an english football team disappearing or changing names. Apart from Wimbledon. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-defunct-team-uniforms/932196/25 "2021-02-08T17:50:23Z")
> [@TiberiusNeroClaudius](#): > > You can find companies that sell defunct team jerseys such as WHA or Negro league teams so at least some one is buying them. You occasionally see jerseys for the fictional Charlestown Chiefs from the movie “Slapshot” at hockey games (or did pre Wuhan virus although a few teams a letting a couple thousand fans in). You can get gear for these guys too: > **[Washington Generals](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Generals)** > > The Washington Generals are an American basketball team who play exhibition games against the Harlem Globetrotters. The team has also played under several different aliases in their history as the Globetrotters' perennial opponents. > The Generals exist primarily as a part of the Harlem Globetrotters' act, effectively being stooges for the Globetrotters. While the Globetrotters play tricks and perform spectacular displays of skill for the crowd, the Generals attempt to play a "normal" game of bask... ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-defunct-team-uniforms/932196/26 "2021-02-08T20:32:02Z")
Whenever I go to a Minnesota Wild game I’d say a significant percentage of the jerseys worn by the fans are Northstar jerseys. They seem to sell them side by side with the Wild jerseys around town. They’re still so popular that last week the Wild were wearing throwback jerseys sporting the Northstar colors. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-defunct-team-uniforms/932196/27 "2021-02-08T22:36:35Z")
On the other hand, you still see a surprising number of Oilers-related shirts and things in Houston, some 20-odd years after the Oilers left for Tennessee. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-defunct-team-uniforms/932196/28 "2021-02-08T23:20:45Z")
When I went to an Arena Football League game on my 21st birthday, my sister and I both bought Indiana Firebirds hats. I don’t know if she still has hers, but I still have mine. Orange, black, and garish and beautiful. ---
**Author:** ![gregorio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@gregorio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gregorio)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-defunct-team-uniforms/932196/29 "2021-02-09T15:51:33Z")
There’s a company in Calgary, [https://www.cofdead.ca/](https://www.cofdead.ca/) that sells defunct area t-shirts. They started with the Calgary Cannons which became the Springfield Isotopes (no, really). Now you can get Boomers (pro soccer), 88s (height restricted basketball) and Radz (roller hockey) shirts among others. No Cowboys or Stampeders hockey shirts though. I’d be down for some of those. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-defunct-team-uniforms/932196/30 "2021-02-09T20:07:16Z")
The Albuquerque Isotopes aren’t (yet) defunct, but they have some cool merch to go with the awesome name > **[Albuquerque Isotopes Official Store](https://isotopes.milbstore.com/)** > > Welcome to the Official Online Store of the Albuquerque Isotopes, the AAA Affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. Merchandise for the Albuquerque Isotopes Official Store is provided in an effort to offer the most extensive selection of officially licensed... In an interesting wrinkle, back in 2018 minor league baseball started a marketing effort aimed at Latinx folks. So the team now has 2 names: Isotopes and also Mariachis de Nuevo Mexico. With a whole different theme, etc. And of course the opportunity to sell twice the merch to the same crowds. COVID may well have killed minor league baseball in the USA. Or at least mortally wounded it. A bit too early to tell. ---
**Author:** ![gregorio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@gregorio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gregorio)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2021, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-defunct-team-uniforms/932196/31 "2021-02-10T15:14:51Z")
> [@gregorio](#): > > became the Springfield Isotopes (no, really) Oh dang! Sorry Albuquerque. I actually did know that but did not engage my brain before typing. ---
**Author:** ![Rangerdanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/67e7ee/32.png) [@Rangerdanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rangerdanger)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2021, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-defunct-team-uniforms/932196/32 "2021-02-10T15:21:46Z")
You too can buy a Macon Whoopee Tshirt. Santa hasn’t brought me one yet, but she means too. Every time Dave Starman is on TV, we fondly reminisce about his truly glorious past, but i have never seen any of the team’s gear. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2021, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-defunct-team-uniforms/932196/33 "2021-02-10T15:42:23Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I got a St. Louis Browns t-shirt the last time I was in Cooperstown. I also would love to get more gear for defunct teams, but I haven’t found any I wanted. I want a replica of [Eddie Gaedel’s number 1/8 Browns jersey](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7113/7569376434_ed08dca676_z.jpg). Unfortunately I think I’m too big for it. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2021, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-defunct-team-uniforms/932196/34 "2021-02-10T15:52:50Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Also fun fact I did not know, they were the first professional sports team that the federal government had to desegregate, threatening legal action for violating civil rights. So much great history in that franchise to look fondly back on! Hard to imagine now, and it sounds very strange but for a long time the Redskins were the NFL’s southernmost team. Franchise founder and owner (and notorious racist) George Preston Marshall was keenly aware of this and played to that fact as much as possible. The Redskins had a HUGE following in the south, and believe it or not, to this day there are _still_ “Redskins bars” peppered around the south. Much less so than there used to be of course, but they’re out there. My friend and I randomly found one in New Orleans a couple years ago. It appeared to be quite popular, still. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2021, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-defunct-team-uniforms/932196/35 "2021-02-10T15:53:42Z")
In my unscientific opinion it is much more prevalent now than years ago. I had to work hard to find my father a Brooklyn Dodger hat years ago. Now it’s easy to find. There is a market for hipster sports fans who want to be a little cooler than the guy wearing the current star’s jersey. This is coming from someone who wears a Sidd Finch jersey to Mets games. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2021, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-defunct-team-uniforms/932196/36 "2021-02-10T16:22:44Z")
> [@gregorio](#): > > Oh dang! Sorry Albuquerque. I actually did know that but did not engage my brain before typing. Didn’t mean to zing you. I was just struck by the idea of two teams having such a technerdish moniker. I assumed the Springfield Isotopes were an unrelated team in an unrelated sport and that the Springfield in question was some obscure Canadian town near a uranium mine. I suppose I could have looked up Calgary Cannons, but wasn’t that ambitious. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2021, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-defunct-team-uniforms/932196/37 "2021-02-10T16:32:28Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > . The Redskins had a HUGE following in the south, and believe it or not, to this day there are _still_ “Redskins bars” peppered around the south. Much less so than there used to be of course, but they’re out there. My friend and I randomly found one in New Orleans a couple years ago. It appeared to be quite popular, still. Isn’t this pretty common though? A lot of bars will cater to one specific team, either college, NFL or both. Union Pub in Washington, D.C. is a Chicago Bears bar for example. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2021, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-defunct-team-uniforms/932196/38 "2021-02-10T17:01:28Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Isn’t this pretty common though? A lot of bars will cater to one specific team, either college, NFL or both. Union Pub in Washington, D.C. is a Chicago Bears bar for example. It’s common in cities with large transplant and/or transient populations, like D.C. Having a sports bar dedicated to a team several states away in areas where if your _parents_ weren’t born there you’re an outsider is rather more unusual. I don’t know about New Orleans specifically, if out-of-state team bars are common, but you can find Redskins fans in places in the South you wouldn’t expect them, even in regions that now have NFL teams. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2021, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-defunct-team-uniforms/932196/39 "2021-02-10T20:27:28Z")
The souvenir store at Fenway Park used to sell all sorts of defunct team items. That’s where I got a Washington Senators cap many years ago. As far as I know, though, they no longer do. I guess the Boston market for St. Louis Browns items, etc. was not exactly thriving. ---
**Author:** ![Onthefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9de053/32.png) [@Onthefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onthefly)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2021, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-defunct-team-uniforms/932196/40 "2021-02-10T20:43:55Z")
I grew up in SC. We saw Washington every Sunday on TV. The AFC game we got was Miami. Usually there was one national game, as well. Those were our only choices. I’m still a fan of those teams even though the Falcons and Panthers are now much closer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-defunct-team-uniforms/932196.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-defunct-team-uniforms/932196.md?page=3)