Friday, February 17, 2012

Astros Remove Gun From Colt .45 Throwback Jerseys

Colt 45s Jersey 
 Uni Watch illustration  
Major League Baseball approved throwback Colt .45s jerseys for the Astros, but without a gun.

by Paul Lukas

(ESPN) You wouldn't expect to see gun control happening in Texas, but that's what will be taking place at a few Astros games this year.

Here's the deal: The Astros are marking their 50th anniversary this season, so they'll be wearing an assortment of throwback uniforms for Friday home games. That includes the uniform of the Houston Colt .45s, which was the team's name for the first three years of the franchise's existence.

But in a move that's outraging uniform historians and firearms fans alike, the Astros have decided to make a significant tweak to the Colt .45s jersey design. They're removing the smoking handgun.

Ugh. Whatever your thoughts about the Second Amendment, this is a design disaster. What's the point of having a "C" formed by a whisp of gunsmoke when there's no gun to produce the smoke?

Astros fan James Crabtree is so upset about this that he sent a letter this week to the team and to MLB commissioner Bud Selig. He received a response from Mike Acosta, the Astros' authentication manager, who told him, "During our discussion with Major League Baseball, it was expressed to us that we could wear the uniform as long as the pistol was removed. We realize this changes the original design, but we still want to honor the Colt .45s. We are also under an obligation to follow Major League Baseball's requests..."

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