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This is an original watercolor painting of the 1980 Kansas City Royals uniform.
Click on image to enlarge$450.00 (includes shipping in North America)
This original, one-of-a-kind watercolor painting of the 1980 Kansas City Royals uniform is the original artwork that was used in the creation of this Kansas City Royals uniform evolution print and tens of thousands of other Kansas City Royals products that have been sold across North America. This original piece of art was painted by artist Bill Band for Maple Leaf Productions Ltd.
Some History
This 1980 home jersey is of a double-knit style that most major league teams succumbed to during the 70's and early 80's. It was a pullover style, made of stretchy, synthetic material. The pants were called Sans-a-Belts because the elasticized waistline eliminated the need for a belt. The 1970 Pirates were the first double-knit - sans-a-belt team, and the Cards and Astros joined them in 1971. By 1975 two thirds of major league teams had joined the double-knit parade.After losing the AL Championship Series three years in a row from 76 to 78 to the Yankees, (in 76 and 77 they lost 3-2 and in 78 lost 3-1) they took a year off from the post season but were back at in 1980.
Once again they faced the Yanks, but this time the Royals prevailed. The Royals claimed their first pennant in three straight games, outscoring the Yanks 14-6 in the three games.
In their first fall classic, they took on the Philadelphia Phillies who were also in the hunt for their first championship in their 100 year+ existence someone was going to win the World Series for the first time in franchise history.
Philly took the first two games at home, but it was a different story when the Royals came home. Game 3 ended in the 10th inning with the Royals winning 4-3, and they evened the series the next day winning 5-3.
Game 5 was also in Kansas City, and the Royals led 3-2 going into the top of the ninth, but for the second time in the series the Phillies got to Royals stopped Dan Quisenberry, scoring 2 runs in the process for a 4-3 win. Game 6 was in Philly and the Royals loaded the bases twice, but Phillies reliever Tug McGraw shut them down both times. The game ended 4-1 for the Phils, and the Phillies won their first World Series ever.
But we can't leave the 1980 season without tipping our cap to the Royals George Brett. During the regular season Brett flirted with the coveted .400 mark, but by seasons end he had to settle for a .390 average, the batting title and the league MVP award. Brett dropped below .400 on September 6th, but gave baseball fans across America a wild ride right up to the last week of the season. Then in the ALCS against the Yankees, Brett hit .273 with 2 homers and 4 RBI. In the World Series he hit .375 with 1 home run and 3 RBI. A remarkable year for a remarkable player.