Let’s Hope These Awful Sports Jerseys Never Make A Comeback

Sports History | 2/21/19

Fans love showing their team pride by wearing their favorite jerseys. Sadly, not all jerseys are cut from the same cloth. Some are cut from cloths that never should have made it near scissors. As long as there have been sports, there have been ugly uniforms. Some, like the Tampa Bay "creamsicle" look have come back into fashion. The ones you're about to see hopefully never will. From the 1970s White Sox to the 1930s Steelers, these are are the ugliest uniforms in professional sports history.

The Anaheim Might Ducks Are Here To Save The Day! ...We think

Brian McCormick/Getty Images
Brian McCormick/Getty Images

The Ducks have been through a lot of uniforms in their history, and this one is easily the worst. We don't know who thought these uniforms were a good idea, but fans hated them so much that the Anaheim Mighty Ducks only wore them for one year.

The reality is that this is what happens when your professional sports team is owned by Disney. The House of Mouse will do anything to sell merchandise to kids. The target market must not have been sold, though, because these atrocious jerseys did not fly off the shelves!

ADVERTISEMENT

The Rockies Reached New Peaks With These "Beauties"

ADVERTISEMENT
Brian Bahr /Allsport via Getty Images
Brian Bahr /Allsport via Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

This uniform was worn for one game by the Colorado Rockies in 1999. It took exactly one game for the team to realize it made a terrible mistake. After that fateful day, they went back to the Colorado classic. Let's hope they didn't keep the blueprints to pull these out for "throwback night."

ADVERTISEMENT

There's just so much wrong here. Is the ball flying over the mountain? Is it crashing into the mountain? Why is the ball so big? Someone went to design school to learn how to do this. Then they graduated and got paid a lot of money to do this. It's possible they never worked again.

ADVERTISEMENT

Even Steelers' Fans HAVE To Admit How Bad The Bumblebee Look Is

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Shelley Lipton/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Shelley Lipton/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

You know the uniform is bad when your future Hall of Fame quarterback looks like he can't stand wearing it. Apparently this bumblebee jersey is what the Steelers wore in the '30s to intimidate the competition. Today the team likes to pull these relics out to "honor the past."

ADVERTISEMENT

Do Steelers' fans even like these? They must be buying them if the team keeps wearing them. We'd honestly be okay if the past was allowed to rest in peace.

ADVERTISEMENT

Only In Canada

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images
Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

Where do we even begin on these jerseys? According to our research, these were worn by the Montreal Canadiens during the 1912-13 season. In 2009, the team decided against their better judgement to bring back the barbershop inspired uniforms.

ADVERTISEMENT

Against all odds, the Canadiens went 44-30-8 in 2009, so maybe there was magic in the horizontal stripes. Even if they aren't the most slimming feature; everyone knows vertical lines are the way to go. Let's stop trying to making horizontal lines a thing!

ADVERTISEMENT

Can You Guess Which NFL Team This Is Supposed To Be?

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Rich Gabrielson/Icon SMI/Icon Sport Media via Getty Images
Rich Gabrielson/Icon SMI/Icon Sport Media via Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

Can you name which NFL team pulled out these hideous uniforms in 2009? The correct answer in the Denver Broncos. Under head coach Josh McDaniels the Broncos went back to the past to pull out their original uniforms.

ADVERTISEMENT

Despite what you've been led to believe, the Denver Broncos have not always been blue and orange. These bad duds debuted with the team in 1960. They switched to their current color scheme in 1962 after literally burning the yellow and browns into oblivion.

ADVERTISEMENT

Fly Eagles, Fly?

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Drew Hallowell/Getty Images
Drew Hallowell/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

Like the Denver Broncos before them, the Philadelphia Eagles didn't always wear green. They used to wear powder blue and yellow. This was all the way back in the 1940s. Maybe the color scheme was considered intimidating back then? It's definitely not very scary today.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Eagles pulled these "classics" out for the fans in September, 2007. They played the Detroit Lions and won 56-21, proving the uniform doesn't always make the man. Philadelphia ended the season 8-8, though, so the one game in powder blue was not a sign of things to come.

ADVERTISEMENT

Would You Like Some Mustard On That?

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Ronald C. Modra/Sports Imagery/ Getty Images
Ronald C. Modra/Sports Imagery/ Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

A few years ago the NFL started forcing teams to wear "color rush" uniforms. The idea was each team would take one of their primary colors, and make it their entire uniform. For some reason, the Jacksonville Jaguars got stuck with yellow and showed up on Thursday NightFootballlooking like 46 bottles of mustard.

ADVERTISEMENT

The NFL then had the audacity to try and get fans to purchase these jerseys by donating a portion of the proceeds to charity. We'd like to donate these jerseys to a local Goodwill store instead.

ADVERTISEMENT

From Mustard To Ketchup

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Diamond Images/Getty Images
Diamond Images/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

As if mustard yellow wasn't jarring enough, check out these ketchup-red uniforms the Cleveland Indians wore in the '70s. No fry in the stadium was safe when the team wore all red. Is there anything else left to say?

ADVERTISEMENT

There is, actually. The Indians kept these uniforms for years, pairing the red shirt with white pants sometimes. Trust us, that combination is much more manageable than watching Heinz 57 step up to the plate in the bottom of the ninth.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Good Ole Red, White, And Oh No...

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Lutz Bongarts/Bongarts/Getty Images
Lutz Bongarts/Bongarts/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

We really hope someone got fired for giving the green-light to this United States soccer jersey. Are they supposed to look like the flag? Whoever designed it must have an unhealthy obsession with Saved By The Bell.

ADVERTISEMENT

The worst part of this jersey is that the United States was forced to wear it on the world stage during the 1994 World Cup. They even advanced to the round of sixteen, making sure the widest possible audience could cringe. Luckily they didn't make it to the final and really embarrass the nation.

ADVERTISEMENT

This Brings New Meaning To Color Rush

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Tony Marshall/EMPICS via Getty Images
Tony Marshall/EMPICS via Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

Jorge Campos had a very unique fashion sense as Mexico's goal keeper during his run. To be clear, this is not Mexico's uniform from the era, just their goalkeeper's. And we thought the last uniform reminded us of Saved By The Bell!

ADVERTISEMENT

Fun fact: Campos designed his own uniforms. He teamed up with Nike in the '90s to have his uniforms custom-made, "Colors were what I liked most. Shirts generally have more colors now – perhaps that was all thanks to me." We don't think it's because of you, Jorge, but maybe we're wrong.

ADVERTISEMENT

This Was Supposed To Be The "Uniform Of The Future"

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Jamie Squire/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

In 1999, the Pittsburgh Pirates decided to go big or go home with this uniform. Billed as the "uniform of the future," the team debuted it in a July match against the Mets. New York also wore futuristic uniforms with the new moniker "Mercury Mets."

ADVERTISEMENT

Let's all be grateful we're still waiting for the future. Those sleeves! That giant pirate! We bet it's comfy to sleep in, but nothing you'd ever want to be caught dead wearing in public.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Mariners Should Have Never Turned The Clock Ahead With This One

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Abbie Parr/Getty Images
Abbie Parr/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

The Seattle Mariners thought they had a genius idea when they debuted these uniforms for "Turn Ahead The Clock Night" in 2018. Those sleeveless shirts are really something to behold. 'Something' being the key word. At least the Royals' catcher looks normal enough.

ADVERTISEMENT

Of course, this isn't the first time the Mariners pulled this trick out of their back pocket. They originally played in these exact uniforms in 1999 against the Kansas City Royals in the inaugural "Turn Ahead The Clock Night." The uniform is supposed to look ahead to the year 2027.

ADVERTISEMENT

Shorts Should Not Be Allowed In Baseball

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Diamond Images/Getty Images
Diamond Images/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

This 1976 White Sox uniform might take the cake for the worst of all-time. The only saving grace is the hat. The polo shirt mixed with the shorts (are those cut offs?) are something you wear on a lazy Sunday, not during a highly competitive sporting event.

ADVERTISEMENT

The good news is these uniforms only lasted three seasons. Hilariously enough, when the White Sox wore them for a throwback game once, starting pitcher Chris Sale destroyed his during a temper tantrum. He was suspended five games for doing the world a service.

ADVERTISEMENT

Baylor Goes Green

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

Baylor took their uniforms to the next level during the NCAA tournament in March of 2012. The team sported these very bold neon green outfits against Xavier, whose players look pretty confused in most of the pictures you'll find.

ADVERTISEMENT

The uniforms were designed by Adidas specifically for March Madness. They did not help Baylor win it all. The school lost to Kentucky in the tournament quarter-final. Kentucky, in normal looking uniforms, beat Kansas in the final to become tournament champions.

ADVERTISEMENT

Notre Dame Goes For Irish Gold

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Mitchell Layton/Getty Images
Mitchell Layton/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

One year after seeing Baylor go all-out with neon green, Notre Dame decided to one up them, wearing lime green uniforms with patterned shorts. The sad part is that whoever designed these didn't think to make the patterns out of four leaf clovers! So much for the luck of the Irish.

ADVERTISEMENT

Notre Dame powered their way to the tournament semi-final before losing to eventual tournament champions Louisville. Louisville wore their classic normal uniforms, proving that sometimes it pays to be old fashioned.

ADVERTISEMENT

Let's Not Make This A Thing Again

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Focus on Sport/Getty Images
Focus on Sport/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

The Astros thought they had one of the best uniforms in baseball when they revealed these 1980s cult classics. The yellow, red, and brown just don't compliment each other. This uniform was such a disaster that it eventually became popular as a throwback.

ADVERTISEMENT

If you go to an Astros' game at Minute Maid Park this season, keep an eye out for fans wearing these in the stands. What's old is new again. Unfortunately for those fans it's still ugly.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Controversial Creamsicles

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Focus on Sport/Getty Images
Focus on Sport/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers played their first game in the NFL in 1976 with these controversial creamsicle uniforms. The soft orange and white get-up is considered an ugly classic these days. Fans love it because it's ugly. Of course, some fans just hate it, and we don't blame them.

ADVERTISEMENT

The jersey stayed mostly in tact for 21 seasons when the team adopted a darker red and black scheme. Bucco Bruce was replaced with a pirate flag and the team won the Super Bowl in 2002.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Buccaneers Need Another Makeover

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Julio Aguilar/Getty Images
Julio Aguilar/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

Feeling like their Super Bowl winning jerseys had become stale, the Buccaneers downgraded to these when Nike took over as the NFL's on field apparel provider. Nike redesigned the Bucs' uniforms from the ground up but their ideas probably should have stayed buried.

ADVERTISEMENT

The only thing that stayed the same with the new look was the flag on the helmet. Though Nike, not able to leave it alone, blew the flag up to comical proportions. It's honestly really hard to watch Tampa Bay on Sundays without laughing a little. Or a lot.

ADVERTISEMENT

Neon Green Is Never A Good Idea

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Rob Leiter via Getty Images
Rob Leiter via Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

Proving yet again that neon green should not be worn on a sports field are the color rush loving Seattle Seahawks. This particular shade of relish green debuted in 2015, and the team is still wearing them on Thursdays in 2018!

ADVERTISEMENT

Maybe someday someone will learn that neon green is not intimidating. We give kudos to Seattle for going all in on it though. It's bold. It's unique (kind of.) It's jarring. And most importantly, it's ugly. Although, with normal white or navy blue pants it might be bearable. Maybe.

ADVERTISEMENT

Trust The Gortons Fisherman!

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Glenn Cratty /Allsport via Getty Images
Glenn Cratty /Allsport via Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT

In 1995, the New York Islanders sent shock waves around the world when they premiered new jerseys that ditched their classic color scheme and introduced a fisherman as the mascot. Of course, if you take a real close look, he bears a striking resemblance to Gortons Fisherman.

ADVERTISEMENT

We're pretty sure the Islanders weren't trying to sell fish sticks to families. Then again, maybe it was an advertising partnership they couldn't resist! Whatever the case, these jerseys lasted three years and have gone down as one of the biggest uniform mistakes in professional sports history.