When we were kids growing up, our expectations for the upcoming Farm League and Little League baseball seasons were always enhanced by the anticipation of receiving our equipment – most notably our uniforms.

When my young baseball career began in the Winterport Farm League, we donned green T-shirts and caps. My mother was asked to sew felt W’s on the front of the caps, and off we scurried to our first official practice.

We Farm Leaguers waited patiently to don the all-wool uniform of the bigger boys, which, in many ways, resembled the ones the pros wore.

As kids, we were always interested in looking like the big boys. Back in those days, everybody wore wool uniforms. Even as a young kid, I understood how hard that must be on the real boys of summer, especially since the majority of games were played in the daytime.

According to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, in 1912 the New York Yankees were the very first pro team to wear pinstripes on their uniforms. That stat proved important, especially in this neck of the woods where the rivalry with the Boston Red Sox was so intense.

Next to the Red Sox uniforms, I liked the Brooklyn uniforms, then the Los Angeles uniforms, the best. Dodger blue was a distinctive outfit. The script lettering actually came about in 1938. That sharp-looking blue on white still stands today as the classiest look of all uniforms in the pro world of baseball garb.

Arguably the biggest complaint about wearing a professional baseball uniform was the wool material the players were forced to wear. It wasn’t until 1970 that the lighter-weight double-knit was introduced. Traditionalists complained, but they weren’t out in the St. Louis heat, surviving doubleheaders.

It was about this time we were moving away from wool to double-knit in our recreational softball endeavors, and the beauty of that transition was the fact sporting goods dealers such as Goldsmith’s in Old Town could provide sponsors with just about any professional league look they desired.

Our own Doug’s Shop ‘n Save team voted for the Detroit Tigers look, right down to the Old English “D” on the cap. From top to bottom, we were sharp. We learned quickly that the style of uniform did not necessarily transfer into automatic success.

So be it.

We were equally excited to be donning such sharp garb, regardless of the outcome of our games.

In the spirit of the St. Patrick’s Day season, it was the Cincinnati Reds in the 1978 exhibition season who first wore a complete green uniform for a spring training game. Generally a red-based uniform, this all-green theme – imitated by several other clubs, including Boston – was the talk of baseball everywhere, according to the Baseball Almanac.

Over time, my personal favorites were the Dodgers, Red Sox, and Yankees.

The Red Sox have done a decent job of maintaining tradition. Some franchises like the Chicago White Sox have gone a little off the wall from time to time, but it seems the traditionalists such as St. Louis and Boston have stood the test of time and remained faithful to their roots.

As the regular season in baseball approaches, it is those like me who long for a game which has stood the test of time.

Once baseball figured out and added comfort to its list of priorities for players, the game has weathered other social things and still stands as America’s pastime.

30-Second Time Out

I was kidding a friend of mine recently regarding the downside of coaching a spring sport in Maine. In my neck of the woods, we’ve had eight or so feet of snow this winter, and although a lot of fields drain well, some don’t.

I have a few not-so-fond memories of baseballs banging off the walls in the gym at Bangor High, and I remember dodging a few errant throws as I watched then-coach Bob Kelley praying for better weather.

Ah, those were the days.

bdnsports@bangordailynews.net