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Astros Announce Colt .45s Jersey Will Include Pistol, Be Authentic Throwback

On Thursday, MLB gave the Houston Astros permission to include the pistol that was on the original Houston Colt .45s jersey that the team is going to wear twice in April as a throwback.

On Friday, the team made an official announcement that they will indeed wear the authentic throwback. Alyson Footer:

Houston Astros Owner and Chairman Jim Crane announced today that the Astros will wear replicas of their original Colt .45s jersey during the April 10 and April 20 games at Minute Maid Park.

"We made this decision for a number of reasons," said Crane. "We listened to our fans, who were almost unanimously in favor of wearing the original jersey. We wanted to honor all of our past uniforms during this special 50th anniversary season, and we felt it was important to be true to the tradition of the franchise."

This was a smart decision by MLB, to not only go with the wishes of the team and its fans, but to acknowledge that the history of the team does include a jersey that was worn from 1962-1964, that jersey had a representation of a gun on it, and that the team was named after that gun.

History might not always be pretty, but it does not need to be whitewashed.

Astros Release Team Statement On Throwback Jerseys

The decision by MLB to allow the Astros to put the pistol back on the Colt 45s jerseys they are wearing on what they term “Throwback Fridays” has resulted in an official statement from the team, via MLB.com’s Alyson Footer:

Over the past few months, the club has been in discussion with Major League Baseball (MLB) about whether to wear the authentic Colt .45s jersey. The original logo features the Colts name and a pistol. The alternative jersey would only have the Colts name on the front of the jersey. This week, MLB informed the Astros that the decision would be left to the ballclub. The Astros organization continues to value fan input, therefore the Astros have been reaching out to fans the past week to get their opinion on this issue.

Our fans have expressed overwhelming passion and support for the Astros and our rich 50-year tradition. We plan to announce our decision tomorrow, Friday, March 9th.

Again, it’s a good thing that the team and MLB are actually listening to fans. What a concept. These jerseys will be worn on April 10 (not a Friday, but the anniversary of the franchise’s first game) and April 20.

Astros Can Put Pistol On Throwback Jersey, According To Report

The Houston Astros had scheduled two throwback jersey days this season to commemorate their 50th anniversary.

Not a problem, right? Teams do this all the time.

Of course there was a problem, or I wouldn’t be writing this. The throwback jersey was to the team’s days as the Houston Colt 45s, named after the pistol of the same name. The original jersey had a pistol on it; MLB commanded that the pistol be removed.

There didn’t seem to be much of a point in doing a throwback jersey that didn’t look like the original; even owner Jim Crane said it was the wrong call.

Thursday, someone in MLB decided Crane was right:

MLB gave Astros go-ahead to put pistol on Colt .45 jersey if they want. They’ll decide by tomorrow and announce.

— Zachary Levine (@zacharylevine) March 8, 2012

While Levine says the announcement will be tomorrow, it seems likely that the Astros will indeed go ahead with the authentic throwback with the pistol.

Good for MLB. Common sense triumphs, and that’s a rare thing these days.

Houston Astros Throwback Jerseys: Even Jim Crane Says They're Wrong

The Houston Astros are wearing throwbacks to their earliest jerseys this season... but are being forced by MLB to change them, and owner Jim Crane isn't happy about that.