Houston Astros Will Wear Colt .45s Jerseys After MLB Drops Gun Control Bid

(Fox News) The Houston Astros' plan to pay tribute to their roots by wearing throwback uniforms with a smoking Colt .45 across the chest is back on, after Major League Baseball dropped its objections.

Nobody batted an eye in 1962 when the Astros’ forebears, the Houston Colt .45s, first took the field. But with views toward guns changing over the decades, Major League Baseball balked at the team’s plan to mark its fiftieth season by donning the retro jerseys. League officials first said the gun that won the west had no business on the uniforms, but then said it was up to the team.

Owner Jim Crane said Friday the guns will be on the replicas of original Colt .45s jerseys during the April 10 and April 20 games at Minute Maid Park.

"We made this decision for a number of reasons," said Crane. "We listened to our fans, who were almost unanimously in favor of wearing the original jersey. We wanted to honor all of our past uniforms during this special 50th anniversary season, and we felt it was important to be true to the tradition of the franchise..."

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• Astros will don retro jerseys after MLB drops gun control bid

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• Astros Remove Gun From Colt .45 Throwback Jerseys

Astros Remove Gun From Colt .45 Throwback Jerseys

 

 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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