No day brings out more green ensembles than St. Patrick’s Day. Heck, even some sports franchises get in on the celebration.
But for other teams and their fans, green is the only colour they bleed all year round and, as it turns out, many of these emerald-coloured uniforms are some of the most iconic in all of sports.
So which green uniforms rank among the greatest? Using Sportsnet magazine’s 30 Greatest Uniforms in Sports, here’s a breakdown of the jerseys any leprechaun would be proud to sport.
BOSTON CELTICS
In 1950, Red Auerbach joined the Celtics, and with him came his brother Zang, who went to work on the team logo—a leprechaun in a green vest smoking a pipe. Soon it evolved into what we recognize today, the leprechaun with a bowler hat and shamrock-covered vest spinning a ball on his finger. And the shamrock itself eventually graced the band of the team’s shorts and the backs of its jerseys—not that the Celtics needed luck.
The Boston Celtics are No. 3 on our list of the 30 Greatest Uniforms in Sports. Read more from Dave Zarum here.
GREEN BAY PACKERS
Vince Lombardi took over as GM and head coach in 1959, and quickly set about overhauling the team’s look. He brought in the now-classic green-and-yellow uniforms (always called “green and gold” by Packers faithful) with contrasting stripes on the helmet, sleeves and socks. Other teams around the league swiftly copied the stripes, but Lombardi had created a visible legacy. The only significant change since then is the “G” logo on the helmets, which was designed by equipment manager Gerald “Dad” Braisher and added in 1961. Half a century later, it remains exactly the same.
The Green Bay Packers are No. 6 on our list of the 30 Greatest Uniforms in Sports. Read more from Shannon Proudfoot here.
CELTIC FC
Wearing a Celtic uniform means more than just throwing on a shirt and trotting out onto the pitch; it means carrying a community on your back. Those green and white stripes—“hoops,” as they’re known to the faithful—are like the flag of Glasgow’s Irish-Catholic population. And Celtic has been the heart of that community since 1888, when Brother Walfrid, an Irish-born priest, founded the club to “alleviate poverty” in the city’s working-class east end.
Celtic FC are No. 9 on our list of the 30 Greatest Uniforms in Sports. Read more from Jamie Doyle here.
SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS
As seems to be the case with many things Roughriders, the iconic colour scheme was actually born from a rash fiscal decision. Here’s what happened: In 1910, the franchise was founded as the Regina Rugby Club and wore gold and purple, more or less the colours worn by the rival Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The next year, the Roughriders wore Toronto Argonauts blue and white, and in 1912 they changed to the red and black the Calgary Stampeders wear today.
That lasted until 1948, when the cash-strapped team needed to replace a set of worn uniforms. Saskatchewan executive Jack Fyffe was browsing a Chicago surplus store when he came across two complete sets of green-and-white uniforms—at a discounted price, no less. Perfect, he thought, buying the cheap gear and setting the course for the next 65-plus years of Roughriders history. There you have it. The Riders wear green because, well, the uniforms were on sale.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are No. 28 on our list of the 30 Greatest Uniforms in Sports. Read more from Arden Zwelling here.
OAKLAND ATHLETICS
The Athletics have been in existence since 1901 and have travelled the United States, starting in Philadelphia, then moving to Kansas City before finally landing in Oakland in 1968. It was in K.C. that the A’s adopted the uniforms they wear to this day, as owner Charlie Finley decided to implement the green, white and gold the team is known for.
Mimicking Finley’s out-there ownership style, the Athletics uniform was radical at the time but have become one of the most memorable in not just Major League Baseball, but all of sports.
HONOURABLE MENTION
HARTFORD WHALERS
Tough to have any list of greatest uniforms without including this iconic NHL sweater. However, with the Whalers no longer an NHL franchise, they were relegated to honourable mention.
So how did the now-iconic Whalers logo and uniform come to fruition? We’ll let the designer, Peter Good, explain.
