The 25 Ugliest Uniforms in Sports History

It's not hard to make athletes look silly. In fact, from encounters with law enforcement to the awkward poses they take with teammates and opponents to having too much to drink to just being plain ol' ugly, they often do it themselves. So it's truly adding insult to injury to make them suit up in hideous uniforms when they play. But sports owners do, over and over and over again. From theme nights to tie-dye, and bawdy mascots to painfully mismatched colors, these are the 25 Ugliest Uniforms in Sports History.

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Season(s): 1998-07

When the city of St. Petersburg was awarded a major league franchise dubbed the Devil Rays, people waited with baited-breath for what the inaugural uniforms would look like. The result was a multi-colored abomination that incorporated the marine animals fin, and looked more suited to be a decal in the back windshield of somebody's Chevy Camaro IROC than to be on a baseball uniform.

Season(s): 1995-99

Tread carefully when including your mascot on the front of your jersey. In the case of the Atlanta Hawks and their ball-hawk, it was unfortunately paired over a duel-gradient color scheme that had “prom picture background” written all over it. There are uniforms fit for competition, and then there are these abominations.

Season(s): 1960 (since retroed)

Where to start with these? From the piss-colored tops, to the surely fecal-inspired helmets and pants, the creator of these surely had to use the facilities really bad, and had to whip something up before he could go. As a final fashion faux pas, it's finished up with stripes on both the outer pants and on the socks, creating an optical illusion in which the players wearing them wanted to kick their own asses.

Season(s): 1996-97

Here's another unfortunate case of placing the mascot prominently on the uniform. As Wisconsin is known as an avid hunting state, full of portly men in blaze orange, I'm sure some of the Milwaukee players wished someone would take aim at the prized Buck on their chests. The only person who can get away with pairing green and purple is the honorable Bishop Don Magic Juan.

Season(s): 1993

As a rule of thumb, when an expansion team is considering color options for their freshly minted squad, they should never say, “let's make it look like it was in that movie The Birdcage.” Along with the teal tops, they're finished off with a matching hat that made every player look like a South Beach rendition of Gumby.

Season(s): 1998-03

The Phoenix Coyote's alternate jersey looked like the tex-mex menu at the now defunct Chi-Chi's line of restaurants. It's one thing to pair green, burnt sienna and purple on your plate, it's another totally different thing to wear it on your persons.

Season(s): 1976-97 (since retroed)

For the longest time, the Tampa Bay Bucs looked like creamsicles who moonlighted as football playing swashbucklers. Or, as fake Ghostface might say, "Those joints looked softer than when Drake dressed up as a piece of Candy Corn for Halloween.”

Season(s): 1994 World Cup

In 1994 the world's eyes were going to be on the United States as they had been chosen to host the fifteenth World Cup, so it's not surprising that American soccer wanted their uniforms to capture a sense of national pride. What the world would see is a jersey that looked like the people behind Hypercolor designed it.

Season(s): 1999

The Cleveland Cavs jerseys of the late '90s were so bad that the organization decided to completely ditch the colorway and move to slightly less hideous combination of wine and gold. As sportswriter Bomani Jones pointed out, when the LeBron phenomenon was at its highest point, the Cavs never turned to this throwback, knowing that even King James couldn't save this thing.

Season(s): 1931 (since retroed)

When you think of the Philadelphia Eagles, you think green...albeit in various hues. The 1931 throwbacks, an homage to the Frankford Yellow Jackets, looked more like wrappers on tropical fruit candies than like grind iron attire.

Season(s): 1975-93

This one is sure to spark some debate. The Astros uniforms of yesteryear are so bad that they've actually started to be appreciated. If you had to explain the '70s to a person who just woke up from a cryogenic chamber, you'd point to the color scheme across the chest and say, “it was like that, with a whole lot of cocaine.”

Season(s): 1994-98

For both the '94 and '98 World Cup, Mexican national goalie, Jorge Campos, manned the area between the sticks looking like a luchador who moonlighted as a salsa instructor. It's quite customary for a goalie to wear a kit that doesn't match the rest of the squad, but Campos took it to new heights. This is what sports fashion looks like when a man who takes balls to the face gets put in charge.

Season(s): 1933 (since retroed)

Worn during the 1994 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers 1933 throwback featured the cities coat of arms on the front, complimented by a strange number placement and dark stripes. I'm not sure if these are uniforms or just pieces of police tape that have been fashioned into something dubbed, “murder-scene-chic.”

Season(s): 1978-84

The Vancouver Canucks must have gathered design inspiration from the Houston Astros of the same era. With a matching color-scheme, the Canucks skated around looking like rugs that appeared in porno movies where the pizza man dished out more than just a little pepperoni.

Season(s): 1996-2001

The Pistons were known every bit for their classic red, white and blue colors as they were for their physical style of play during the Bad Boy years in Motown. Then, almost inexplicably, they dramatically changed not only their symbol, but also the colors that had come to define a way to play the game. The result was a seizure inducing set of colors, topped off by a flaming horse of the apocalypse.

Season(s): 2009

It's not an unheard of phenomenon for minor league teams to hold wacky themed nights in order to get more people in the seats, but the Triple-A Phillies affiliate Lehigh Valley Ironpigs took it to a whole 'nother level back in '09. As part of their 2nd annual Ballpark Wedding Night, players donned tuxedo t-shirt uniforms, complete with bow ties and lapel flowers. Fans didn't know if they should root for the players or ask them to bring them a cocktail weenie.

Season(s): 1984-92

The Nuggets jersey from yesteryear is another uniform that is so dreadfully bad that looking back on it you start to appreciate it for its sheer moxie. With the skyline plastered across the chest in an almost 8-bit Nintendo manner, it was hard to tell if they were NBA players or walking postcards for the tourism board of Denver.

Season(s): 2004-05

It's never a good look taking the ice as a bearded and tough hockey player in a uniform that makes you look like Woody from Toy Story. From the oversized badge, handcuffs, and faux belt buckle, the Mallards looked more suited for a romp at a western-themed bondage club.

Season(s): 1995-96 (never worn)

The St. Louis Blues third jersey was all set to be unveiled when head coach Mike Keenan put the kibosh on the musical-themed unis and banned them from use. Despite never being worn, the combination of trumpets, musical notes, and staffs made this the worst NHL jersey of all time.

Season(s): 1999

There was something almost surreal about seeing some of the top athletes in the game of basketball running around with a red dinosaur on their chests. Not do be undone by its mascot placing predecessors, Atlanta and Milwaukee, Toronto opted to make their mascot a basketball player, much like Air Bud. You truly haven't lived until you saw a three hundred pound Oliver Miller run up and down the court in a top and bottom ensemble that looked like a babies onesie.

Season(s): 1983 (since retroed)

The old San Diego Padres uniforms looked like Huggy Bear designed them. From the prominent yellow jersey, to the matching pant and stirrup combination and finally the abysmal hat, they didn't get one thing right. Now if they were pimpin'…

Season(s): 1990-91

Back in 1990-91, the New Jersey Nets took the court in uniforms that looked to be straight out of a jazzercise accessory catalogue. Partially tie-dyed, and undoubtedly-influenced by the stone-washed jeans of the era, the New Jersey Nets hold the title of the worst NBA jersey ever, while simultaneously holding the title of the only NBA jersey that looks exactly like chlorine-soaked pool water. Also, Drazen Petrovic, R.I.P.

Season(s): 1976-79

Bo Ellis, a standout player at Marquette at the time, helped design what has to be one of the most disorienting jerseys ever. Meant to be worn untucked, it resulted in a bib-like look for members of the hoop squad. Never a school to shy away from “inventive” uniforms, these came on the heels of a uniform that was outlawed by the NCAA for its “psychedelic effects.”

Season(s): 2007

The price is wrong, Fresno! Back in 2007, the San Francisco Giants affiliate, Fresno Grizzlies, held a The Price is Right theme night. The spillover effect was evident on the uniforms, which featured dollar signs, the show's iconic font and the signature nametags worn by contestants. How can these possibly not be the worst uniforms of all time? Number one is next.

Season(s): 1976

Chicago White Sox owner, Bill Veeck, was known to do just about anything to get a draw. This included everything from sending a little person up to the plate to holding a Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park. But perhaps his greatest contribution to the game of baseball were his uniforms during the 1976 season. Featuring tops with plunging necklines and collars suited for playing craps at Caesar's Palace during that era, they were paired with shorts and high white socks. The look was as iconic and as bad as uniforms come.