The uniform by which we are most closely identified is the one worn by outfielder Steve Sammut (top right). It was navy blue with white sleeves and red striping, with white lettering and white pants. The caps were navy blue in color, with a white front and blue letter "A". We wore this style as our official look from 1979 to 1990, although a few players continued to wear this shirt through the '90s. The drawback to this particular jersey was that on day games, such as during tournaments, these heavy polyester shirts were quite warm and could be very uncomfortable during a long, hot day of softball. This led us to the jersey worn by outfielder Tom Sukup (bottom left), a light cotton-blend navy blue two-button shirt with white lettering. When it was first made available in 1991, this shirt was introduced as just an alternative to our regular jerseys, but pretty much everyone opted for this newer, lighter tee. Cap styles were optional at this time. In 1997 a number of new faces appeared on the AWA roster, and the call went out for new shirts again. This time we went for a slightly heavier two-button tee shirt, all gray with navy blue lettering, as worn by AWA outfielder Mike Wheeler (bottom right). New dark blue caps also appeared at this time, with gray-colored "AWA" stitched across the front. The only constant in these changing styles was the familiar three-letter block "AWA", which appears over the left breast in each case. Players earn their numbers by accumulating 30 at bats in one season or 50 at bats over the course of their AWA career. Once a number has been assigned to a specific player, that number is his for all time. No one else can claim it. After the 2000 campaign, covering 26 seasons, AWA had "retired" 43 numbers. |
