Few rivalries in sport have been carried as far as the one between the Giants and the Dodgers. It began in New York, when one team played in Manhattan and the other in Brooklyn, and it survived a move across the entire continent. When both clubs left for California ahead of the 1958 season, they took their grudge with them, and it has been part of how Giants fans dress ever since.
Plenty of vintage San Francisco Giants clothing is simply about the Giants: orange and black, a ballpark, a favourite player. But a surprising amount of it is about the team down the coast. Tees that mock Los Angeles, caps worn as a statement in enemy territory, commemorative pieces from seasons decided head to head. This piece looks at how the rivalry shows up in clothing, what kinds of rivalry pieces are worth finding, and how to wear them with a sense of humour.
01. A grudge that crossed a continent
In New York, the rivalry was a city affair. The Giants played at the Polo Grounds in upper Manhattan, the Dodgers at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, and the two clubs met constantly in a crowded National League. Neighbourhood loyalty ran deep, and games between them carried the weight of borough pride as much as standings.
The most famous moment of the New York era came in 1951, when the two teams finished level and met in a playoff for the pennant. Bobby Thomson's home run in the deciding game, remembered as the Shot Heard 'Round the World, sent the Giants to the World Series and became one of the most retold moments in baseball history. Clothing commemorating that era is mostly found today as later reissues and tributes, but the story underpins everything that came after.
When both clubs moved west, the rivalry acquired a new dimension. San Francisco and Los Angeles were already competing cities, with different characters and a long history of comparing themselves to each other. Baseball gave that competition a calendar. Once the teams were settled on the Pacific coast, every series between them became a chance for one city to look down on the other.
02. Seasons that were decided head to head
The rivalry is full of seasons that came down to the two clubs. In 1962, the Giants and Dodgers again finished tied and met in a three-game playoff, which the Giants won to reach the World Series. Over the following decades, the teams repeatedly played spoiler for each other in the final days of a season, knocking one another out of contention or ending a hopeful run.
One of the more painful examples for Giants fans came in 1993, when a very strong San Francisco team, with Barry Bonds in his first season in the city, went into the final day of the season tied for the division. A loss in Los Angeles ended its year. Stories like that are part of why the rivalry has such staying power. Each side has a list of grievances, and the clothing reflects it.
More recently, the Giants won World Series titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014, a stretch of success that gave fans plenty to wear. Merchandise from those years is still too young for many people to call vintage, but well-worn pieces are starting to appear, and they mark a confident chapter in the rivalry for Giants supporters.
03. What rivalry clothing looks like
Rivalry pieces fall into a few broad types, and knowing them makes it easier to spot something interesting on a crowded rack.
- Anti-Dodgers tees. Shirts that poke fun at Los Angeles, its team or its fans. They range from gentle jokes to blunt slogans, and they were often sold outside the ballpark or in local shops rather than through official channels.
- Beat LA pieces. The chant, borrowed from basketball and adopted with enthusiasm by Giants crowds, turns up on tees and caps.
- Series and playoff commemoratives. Shirts marking specific head-to-head moments or playoff races.
- Split or house-divided designs. Pieces with both teams' logos, made for households where loyalties were divided. These are less common and have their own charm.
- Plain team gear worn defiantly. A Giants cap or jacket worn in Los Angeles is a rivalry statement without a single word printed on it.
Unofficial and bootleg pieces make up a big share of rivalry clothing, especially the funnier tees. They can be among the most entertaining finds, with homemade graphics and very local jokes. They are also harder to date. As with all vintage, collectors combine the tag, the hem stitching, the fabric weight and the print style, but no single detail proves age.
Rivalry clothing is a joke that only works if you know the history, which is exactly why it is so satisfying to find.
04. Orange, black and a rival in blue
Part of the rivalry's visual strength is that the two teams look so different. The Giants wear orange and black with cream and grey, a warm, high-contrast scheme. The Dodgers wear a clean royal blue and white. Put a Giants piece next to a Dodgers piece and they look like opposites, which makes rivalry graphics easy to read at a glance.
That contrast also matters when you are styling. Orange and blue are complementary colours, and a lot of rivalry clothing uses both together, usually with the blue in a mocking role. A tee that mixes the two can be loud. Choose plainer partners for it, such as grey, black or denim, so the graphic carries the outfit.
For plain Giants pieces, orange is the colour to think about. It is warm and bright, and it fades beautifully toward a softer apricot or rust. Black often fades toward charcoal or brown. A faded orange and black Giants tee has an easy, autumnal quality that is easy to wear far from San Francisco.
05. Checking condition on rivalry tees
Most rivalry clothing is printed tees, so the main checks are on fabric and print. Look at the graphic first. Fine, even cracking across a print is normal on older tees. Flaking or lifting at the edges suggests the print will keep deteriorating. Unofficial pieces sometimes used thinner ink, so check carefully.
Then look at the shirt itself. Check the collar for stretching, the hem for unravelling, and the underarms for holes or thinning. Look at the colour in daylight and compare the outside with the inside of a seam to judge fading. Orange in particular can fade unevenly, leaving a paler patch on the shoulders or a stripe where the shirt was folded in sunlight.
For caps and jackets, the usual checks apply: sweatbands, snaps, linings, ribbed cuffs. A Giants jacket worn to games for years may have collected small marks, and that history is part of the appeal, but make sure the working parts still work.
06. Wearing a rivalry piece well
The trick with rivalry clothing is tone. A cheeky anti-Dodgers tee is fun precisely because it does not take itself too seriously, so dress it in a relaxed way. Pair it with plain jeans or chinos, simple sneakers and an unbranded cap or no cap at all. The joke on the shirt is enough.
For plain Giants pieces worn as a quieter statement, think of orange as an accent. A black Giants cap with an orange logo, worn with a grey sweatshirt and dark jeans, is easy and versatile. An orange tee under a black or olive jacket keeps the colour contained. In autumn, orange and black sit naturally with browns and deep greens.
A few combinations to try:
- Grey rivalry tee, light denim, white sneakers and a black cap with a small Giants logo.
- Black Giants crewneck, olive chinos, brown boots and a cream knit toque.
- Faded orange tee under an open black overshirt, with charcoal trousers and black sneakers.
- Cream Giants raglan with navy trousers, a nod to the rival colours without wearing them directly.
07. A rivalry worn far from California
Here in Toronto, neither the Giants nor the Dodgers is the home team, and that gives a Canadian fan an interesting freedom. You can wear a rivalry piece simply because you appreciate the history, or because you once picked a side on a trip west, or because the graphic made you laugh. It is a way of joining a long-running argument from a comfortable distance.
It also tends to start conversations. Someone at a bus stop on Queen West may notice an anti-Dodgers tee and want to tell you their own story. Rivalry clothing invites that, more than a plain logo does, and that is part of its charm.
08. Before you pick a side
When you come across a rivalry piece, ask yourself a few questions. Is the print in good shape? Does the shirt fit the way you like? Does the joke still feel funny, and will it in a year? If the answer to all three is yes, it is probably worth taking home.
Vintage San Francisco Giants clothing shows up among the vintage MLB apparel at our Queen West and Square One shops from time to time, alongside plenty of other baseball pieces, though each weekly drop is its own surprise. If something orange and black catches your eye, look a little closer. It might be a simple team tee, or it might be carrying an argument more than a century old on its chest.
