4. MLB’s “Unofficial” Holiday
Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports
Irish American actor Will Ferrell suited up for the Cincinnati Reds recently, along with nine other teams, to raise money for charity. Oddly enough, it was a team named after a specific color not at all associated with green who first donned green uniforms in spring training, thus making it the unofficial holiday of MLB.
Mar 14, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) skates during warm-ups wearing a commemorative St. Patrick
Cincinnati Reds GM Dick Wagner was the architect behind the Big Red Machine of the 1970’s. Despite German ancestry, the GM was thinking outside the box in terms of publicity when he made his squad wear green in a spring training contest on March 17 in 1978.
Since then, the tradition has gained notoriety with a number of clubs wearing green uniforms on this day in order to commemorate St. Patrick’s Day. Even the NHL and NBA have followed suit by donning green uniforms in support of this day.