The London Majors are celebrating their 100th season in style, by debuting new jerseys.
All versions of the jersey will feature two special 100th-season patches, and a third jersey will also be introduced. This jersey will be a midnight blue pinstripe, which gives the team a rebrand while still maintaining their century-old connection to the community.
According to the Majors’ website, the iconic L featured on the jerseys is more than a logo, but rather a symbol of community, resilience and enduring spirit of Londoners.
Cleveland Brownlee, the Majors’ designated hitter, is a perfect example of this. Brownlee moved to London from Atlanta and is now the longest-tenured player on the team. He first joined the Majors 14 years ago.
“You step on that field on a Friday and there’s no greater feeling than having the London fans behind you, and that’s one of the reasons I’ve stayed so long,” says Brownlee. “To me this is my big league, that’s what keeps me here.”
Roop Chanderdat, Majors co-owner and general manager, says he doesn’t always like the idea of changing a uniform, so this comes with some difficulty for him, but the changes are worth it to highlight how the team has stood the test of time.
“When are you going to hear it again? ‘100 years at the Fork of the Thames,’” says Chanderdat. “Longevity, tradition, history; all of those things come to mind. And you know we’ve stood the test of time, and we’ll continue doing that.”
With the rebrand for their 100th season, all the jerseys have a patch commemorating the anniversary, regardless of which jersey is being used in the game.
“Whether it’s our Canada Day jersey, three traditional type jerseys, we’ve got a camo jersey,” says Chanderdat. “So all the new branding will have that patch.”
The Majors are heading to Toronto for their season opener at Christie Pits Park on May 12, and will be back at Labatt Park on May 17.