Names and Numbers on MLB Baseball Jerseys

Between 1900 and 1920, player names were usually stitched either below the manufacturer's tag on the collar, or on the left front tail of the jersey. Generally this was done with black thread.

From the 1920s to the 1930s, some teams stitched the player name and year on the back right tail of the jersey instead.

It was in 1916 that numbers were first attached to baseball jerseys so fans could see. In that year, Robert McRoy, Cleveland's business manager, pinned numbers on the jerseys of his players in a game against the White Sox.

The idea met with initial disfavor, and was abandoned until 1929 when the New York Yankees jersey appeared with large numbers sewn to their backs.

The American league adopted universal numbering of baseball players in 1931. The National league followed suit the following year.

l Major league baseball was reluctant to add numbers to jerseys, even though fans loved the idea. The Chicago White Sox introduced names to their baseball jerseys in 1960.

Teams that have added names to their jerseys have placed them above the player number. The one exception the Cincinnati Reds for a brief time in the 1960s, who broke the standard by sewing the player name below the player's number.

Not all Major League baseball teams have added names to their jerseys.

The Boston Red Sox and the New York Giants have names on the back of their road jerseys, but not on the home jerseys.

The New York Yankees are also a holdout, keeping names off their classic jersey to preserve their tradition and their vintage-look uniform.

The Dodgers took names off their jerseys for a few years, again in the name of tradition, but they are now making an appearance again to please their fans.