I'm sure I'm alone, but one thing that has fascinated me for years is the evolution of dress code for attending pro sporting events. We've all seen the old time photos of people in full suits and fedoras and then the early color photos of the 50s and 60s with fans all wearing white button down shirts and slacks.

My question is, when did it become a thing to wear team jerseys/garb to games? It definitely wasn't a thing when was a kid. I still remember going to Hawks games in the early 80s and not seeing very many jerseys. Now, you'd be hard pressed to find people who weren't wearing some form of Hawks clothing.

Same with Bulls games...don't remember people wearing Bulls garb even during the Jordan years, but maybe I am just remembering wrong.



If anyone ever came out with a coffee book that focused on crowd shots from sporting events over time I would buy that in a heartbeat. I would love to see some historical photos where we could figure out an era when the team garb became the predominant dress code for sporting events.


Am I the only person here who finds this interesting?

I'm sure I'm alone, but one thing that has fascinated me for years is the evolution of dress code for attending pro sporting events. We've all seen the old time photos of people in full suits and fedoras and then the early color photos of the 50s and 60s with fans all wearing white button down shirts and slacks.

My question is, when did it become a thing to wear team jerseys/garb to games? It definitely wasn't a thing when was a kid. I still remember going to Hawks games in the early 80s and not seeing very many jerseys. Now, you'd be hard pressed to find people who weren't wearing some form of Hawks clothing.

Same with Bulls games...don't remember people wearing Bulls garb even during the Jordan years, but maybe I am just remembering wrong.

If anyone ever came out with a coffee book that focused on crowd shots from sporting events over time I would buy that in a heartbeat. I would love to see some historical photos where we could figure out an era when the team garb became the predominant dress code for sporting events.


Am I the only person here who finds this interesting?

70s brought the beginning of Nike and things like sweats gained prominence.

Very true. This is my first warm-up suit. It was issued when I joined the Vory. In this photo I was displaying pride in my recent shoulder stars.

Very true. This is my first warm-up suit. It was issued when I joined the Vory. In this photo I was displaying pride in my recent shoulder stars.

So you weren't always bald then.

Very true. This is my first warm-up suit. It was issued when I joined the Vory. In this photo I was displaying pride in my recent shoulder stars.

Are you breaking into a squat there?

The "Art of the Deal" hadn't been released yet in the 1970's. Mein Kampf had though.

sports and leisure ware apparel started booming in the late 80s as I recall.

Look back in the 60s and kids wore plain white t shirts as their play wear. 70s brought the beginning of Nike and things like sweats gained prominence. I think the 80s is when you started to see team gear but it still wasn't great.

Not bad.

the baseball cap has really invaded the world. the recent world cup was an example.

I was a caddy in the mid 80s. Obviously every Monday would be an off day and my friends and I would play golf for free on the course in the morning and head to a cubs game if they were playing the afternoon. I had a thing where I bought a hat every time I went to a game. Back then, all the hats for sale to the public had the mesh backing and were only $5.