Baseball club uniforms through time
Baseball club uniforms through time
Battle uniforms of the Akamon Warriors who fight valiantly in Jingu Stadium
1923.11-1925
(Hat) All white
(Logo) Initials of Tokyo Imperial University
(Material) Cotton
1926
(Hat) Featuring "LB" (light blue)
1927
(Logo) Light blue (official University color)
1928
(Logo) Changed to "TEIDAI"
1929
(Logo) Return of "TIU"
1930
1931
1932
(Legs) 5 stripes
1933
(Logo) Changed to "LB"
1934
1935-1942
(Legs) Back to 5 stripes
1946-1948
1949-1950
(Logo) “LB” in cursive letters
1951-1952
(Logo) Changed to “TOKYO UNIV”
1953-1959
(Logo) Changed to “TODAI”
1960-1966
(Logo) Changed to “TOKYO”
1967-1971
1972-1973
(Hat) Featuring “T”
1974
1975-1980
Logo on the sleeve:
1977
1978-1982
(Waist) Beltless
1981-1982
All white
1983-1990
1991-1994
All gray
1995-present
(Sleeves) No stripes
(Material) Mesh
(Legs) Low-cut
Kai Yanagida Opening ceremony for the spring season in 1947. Coming in at second place in the previous year led to the establishment of the Cheer Squad. |
 Members of the UTokyo team in 1925, the year they joined the Tokyo Big6 Baseball League. |
 In the spring season of 1981, the team reached its record of six wins and came in fourth place. |
 In the autumn season of 2017, they scored a point in the league ranking for the first time in 15 years (against Hosei University). |
The baseball club was established in 1919, and joined the Tokyo Big 5 Baseball League (now Tokyo Big6 Baseball League) in 1925. Practices initially took place at the Ogu baseball field in Arakawa City, and then in Komaba, until both the UTokyo baseball field and boardinghouse (Issei Dormitory) were completed in Hongo in 1937.
The uniform was first introduced in 1923, and with constant updates with minor changes, the current uniform features a gray base color with blue accents. According to Kai Yanagida, the manager of the club, the uniforms of the other five universities in the League have not changed as much as theirs, so being able to see and enjoy such changes over the course of time is something that is unique to the UTokyo club.
The club, celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2019, is planning a commemoration project, including a ceremony and a publication of its 100-year history. In the publication, which is slated for a Spring 2020 release, the club plans to include an in-depth version of this feature on uniform changes. “In the 2017 season, we managed to score a point in the league ranking, which is something we’ve wanted to do for a long time. However, that wasn’t enough to get us out of last place,” says Yanagida. We will give our all in the 2018 season, as well as the 2019 season, which marks our 100th anniversary, to rise higher as a team. We thank you for your continued support.”
The uniform color is now dark blue, but the original team color is light blue (tansei). Perhaps we will be able to see our tansei-colored “Akamon Warriors” at Jingu Stadium in the near future!
Photo credits:
The University of Tokyo Baseball Club Issei-kai and the UTokyo Baseball Club 100-year History Compilation Committee
Note: This article was originally printed in Tansei 36 (Japanese language only). All information in this article is as of March 2018.
