For the record, I dislike the black/green uniform. However, I was wondering what it was about the jersey that compelled the Celtics to design it that way. Start with the Celtics press release from 2005.
http://www.nba.com/celtics/news/AlternateUnis.htmlThis caught my eye-
"The shorts include a triangular insert on the side with a shamrock centered in the shape - an element that reflects back to an original uniform design of the late 40’s."
No way, I thought to myself. Sportslogo.net shows the uniform as basically unchanged from 1946 to the late 60s. But after further research, I came across this picture.
Shorts from the 1946 season! So that's a connection to our history.
The black, however is the result of a recent fashion trend where black became a hot selling merchandise. There's a term, "BFBS" which means black for black's sake. You can say the Heat's black uniform is BFBS- just a marketing gimmick. I thought this might be a part of that, especially when I read this on the press release-
"Black is used as a secondary color on the uniform, which gives it a bolder, graphic look."
However, someone from a uniform website brought up the point that the name "Boston" was removed from the away jersey and changed to Celtics in the late 60s/early 70s. He further suggests that it was because Bill Russell despised the city so much that he wanted it off the jersey. He cites "Ever Green" by Shaughnessy as a source but someone will have to look that up for me. So is it possible that they brought the Boston back on the jersey but made it black instead of white for a reason?
Anyhoo, this is more than just a passing glance on our alternate jersey. I still dislike the overall design scheme but I can at least appreciate it now!
Edit: Oh also, I was reading up on Celtics history and apparently Walter Brown was deciding between Celtics, Unicorns and Whirlwinds before going with the Celtics. Consider me a grateful fan for not supporting the Unicorns.
Topic: History behind the Celtics alternate uniform (Read 2031 times)