There has always been a looming question in my mind when I think of Pittsburgh Pirates tradition and it involves the team colors. There’s one particular one that I see quite frequently around the stadium. I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know but I’m saying it again anyways not only to pad word count (jk) but it’s just standard writing practice; Pittsburgh as a whole is a very unique sports town in that it almost acts like a school, with its major sports teams all donning the Black and Gold. Being a traditionalist, I have always wanted to stay away from Vegas Gold (yes I’m looking at you Pens), Baby Blue (yes I’m looking at you again Pens), and of course those catastrophic Red Pirates brims and jerseys in 1997 and the mid-2000s respectively.
Before I lose you disciples of the color of passion, this is not a blog dedicated to its demise in general. Red is my favorite color. Rafael is clearly the best Ninja Turtle. Red is the only good thing about Valentine’s Day. This blog is about debating with an open mind whether or not the color belongs in the Piratesphere.
So let’s take a deep dive into arguments for the R in ROY G. BIV so I can shoot them down with extreme prejudice.
POINT: Pittsburgh Sports and the Pirates specifically were not always Black and Gold.
This is probably the strongest argument in the arsenal. The Pirates colors didn’t become black and gold until 1948. If Honus Wagner didn't play in black and gold, why should anyone care if any Pirates uniforms deviate from the Black and Gold scheme?
COUNTERPOINT: Seeing as I called myself a traditionalist already, it’s hard to find a counterargument that if the Pirates changed their scheme from the original colors, it’s reasonable to accept a change now. Score one for the— wait a second. Black and gold in the early 1900s were the most difficult colors to dye uniforms. So even if the Flying Dutchman wanted to honor the Earl of Chatham William Pitt’s coat of arms, it would’ve been incredibly expensive to do so in a time where even the best players weren’t getting Kyle Tucker money.
POINT: Kids like vibrant colors.
Baseball is for the young ones. If they have more fun wearing red, why should anything else matter?
COUNTERPOINT: No one is more for the kids than Wiz Khalifa. Are they going to start rapping “Black and Yellow Black and Yellow Black and Yellow…And red???” Didn't think so.
POINT: It’s not a big deal if they are alternate jerseys. Can we not wear pink for Mother’s Day and blue for Father’s Day now too? It’s good to change it up on occasion.
COUNTERPOINT: It’s not a big deal until it is. When the Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 09, 16, and 17 they were wearing Vegas Gold. Hell, even their championship banners have that god awful gold on them. The Pirates won a championship in the mustard yellow. Now when we look back, I wish they photoshopped the images to have Pittsburgh gold because that’s our city’s colors. At least those are variations of gold and not something that screams louder than a flare. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll take a Pirates championship even if they were dressed in hot pink garbage bags, but why risk it? If Fort McHenry decided to fly an alternate flag in the Battle of Baltimore to just change it up and sell more merch, then we may be listening to a different tune to start the game and a beloved broadcaster and former Pirates catcher would be robbed of his nickname.
POINT: It’s not a deviation from the color scheme. The Pirate in the logo has a red bandana.
COUNTERPOINT: First things first, that’s no longer the official logo. But even if it was, just because a red bandana was in a picture of a pirate, doesn’t mean we need to adopt it officially or periodically. Pittsburgh sports unity is more important. Pirates used to do a lot of things we don’t need on our field. If our logo had a pirate sucking down on a bottle of rum, I don't think we need to send out Reynolds and Cruz smashed standing on peg legs to shag flies with hook hands all the while being riddled with scurvy.
FINAL THOUGHT (shoutout Jerry Springer RIP): I’ve heard your arguments with an open mind. But I’ve come to the logical conclusion that Red has no place in our team colors. Mind you that there is a team in our division whose entire identity is based on that particular hue, another on a bird of that particular hue, and another that colors their logo and team name with that particular hue. If the sickness that I hope we all feel about those jagoffs isn’t enough to convince you to eliminate that putrid sports color from our North Shore, then ask yourself the following question; Do you really want to risk our players from getting charged and hit by a runaway bull? I know I don’t. I’ll leave you with that.
