Baseball Usher Uniforms Just Not as Snazzy as They Used to Be

Ushers can be as much a part of the game-day experience as anything else going on in a big league ballpark.

A polite, friendly one can make your day (especially if he or she wipes your seat off beforehand. Who doesn't love that? It's like the ballpark equivalent of having black pepper freshly ground on to your meal. Touch of class!). A grumpy one, though, can get your day or evening of baseball off to a bad start. 

But ushers can be kind of hard to spot among the scrum of baseball fans milling through the concourse and stands. With most outfitted in button-down or polo shirts and khakis, they kind of blend in with the crowd (though they're probably better dressed than most of the patrons at a ballgame). Sometimes, a lanyard around the usher's neck is the only distinguishing feature.

That's not how it used to be, though. Ushers used to be decked out in brightly colored blazers, often with the team logo embroidered on the breast pocket. Look at this example from Baltimore's Memorial Stadium.

Tim Britton of the Providence Journal found just such an example at B's Ballpark Museum in Denver last year. With the Boston Red Sox in Detroit to play the Tigers this past weekend, Britton decided to post a photo of an old Tiger Stadium usher uniform.  

Is that snazzy or what? Please, sir, take a look at my ticket and show me where my seat is!

Maybe asking ushers to wear blazers in the summer heat as they traverse up and down the aisle stairs is a bit much. But the look is so sharp. Maybe baseball teams can outfit their ushers in seersucker?