Onondaga Historical Association history of Syracuse memorabilia

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A uniform set and megaphone from the 1909 Syracuse University crew team are at the forefront of an Onondaga Historical Association exhibit. A few steps to the right, and you’ll find a complete kit for a team that also has Syracuse across its chest, this one 114 years older — the Syracuse Mets 2023 uniform set.

“Sports are such an important component of the community and the generational passing down of team loyalties and the memories,” said Robert Searing, an OHA curator of history and the exhibit’s sole creator.

The OHA’s new exhibit, “Suit Up! A Look at Syracuse Sporting Uniforms Through the Years,” opened in March 2024. Flooded with sporting memorabilia, the displays feature mementos from the collections of Syracuse professional teams like the Crunch and Mets. The exhibit brings together Syracuse sports fans and museum-goers on an adventure through the history of sports uniforms.

Along with professional sports teams’ artifacts, SU sports teams are represented, making the collection the premier location for SU sports nostalgia, Searing said.

Searing, who received an MA and Master of Philosophy in American History from SU, has worked for the OHA for seven years. In addition to his work at the downtown Syracuse OHA location, he’s worked on projects like the Regional Aviation History Museum at Syracuse Hancock International Airport and the Brewseum at Heritage Hill — both part of OHA.

As an avid sports fan, the idea for the exhibit emerged from his love for collegiate and professional sports at Syracuse. Searing said he brought together lots of artifacts to tell the story of the sports community.

A Syracuse sporting uniform collection must feature SU memorabilia. Searing said he reached out to SU Athletics but didn’t hear anything back. So, he turned to the personal collector’s market along with the OHA’s collections.

Both a home and away jersey from the 1963 men’s basketball team, which featured Jim Boeheim and Dave Bing, are on display. The jerseys belong to center Chuck Richards, who played for Syracuse from 1963-65.

Not far from that is a football helmet worn by wide receiver Marvin Harrison in 1995, which OHA received via private collectors. Harrison is second in program history in receiving yards and touchdowns and after a prolific professional career, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.

In 2012, SU men’s soccer head coach Ian McIntyre gifted the OHA a 1993 jersey. Twelve years later, the orange Puma jersey with leaflets sticking out of an orange soccer ball is on display.

“It’s hard for some folks that aren’t involved or aren’t affiliated with the university to see a lot of this stuff,” Searing said.

Abbey Fitzpatrick | Staff Photographer

Jerseys from the 1963 Syracuse University’s men’s basketball are on display at OHA. Some players featured include Jim Boeheim, Dave Bing and Chuck Richards.

The exhibit features more than uniform transformations that tell the story of the region’s teams. Within the collection is the interaction of the uniform and its history. Many of the displays feature images related to the items. Both work together to add a personal element to the piece of clothing.

Other displays include cleats from Ernie Davis and a game program from the 1960 Cotton Bowl between SU ​​and the University of Texas at Austin. A special edition 1960 Sports Illustrated cover featuring a Syracuse football cheerleader gives an added boost of Syracuse spirit.

One avenue he wanted to add to the exhibit was the Syracuse Mets. The Mets, the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets, came into existence in the 2019 season. But before the Mets were Syracuse’s team, the Chiefs ran baseball in central New York since 1934.

With the help of Syracuse Mets General Manager Jason Smorol and outside collectors, Searing features two Syracuse Chiefs jerseys both telling a different story. A gray jersey with Syracuse embroidered in navy represents the Chiefs’ time as a New York Yankees affiliate. Just a foot to the right, a much brighter Chiefs jersey is displayed, this one a royal blue color from 1987, when the team served as a Toronto Blue Jays affiliate.

A reproduction of a 1934 jersey from the Chiefs’ inaugural season is fully on display on a mannequin, bringing out bright red pinstripes and red embroidering of Chiefs across the chest.

Because the Mets are the current team in town, it was important for Smorol to give as much as possible to represent their place in the community.

“If you’re going to have a uniform exhibit of local sporting teams, I think (The Mets) should be in there,” Smorol said.

Abbey Fitzpatrick | Staff Photographer

OHA’s exhibit features decades of Syracuse sports memorabilia. Ranging from football to baseball to hockey, the “Suit up!” spans the history of sports in central New York.

The Mets gifted two entire uniform sets from the 2023 season. The white with blue pinstripes, and the black with blue lettering jerseys, are both on display. But with the Mets’ minor league team also comes creative theme night attire that the team occasionally takes on as alternate personas. And Smorol made sure to gift those as well.

A case featuring six different renditions of the hat shows how the team has changed to match the occasion. Draped above the case are jerseys to match the respective theme night.

Central New York’s rich sports history also features one of the original six American Hockey League teams. The team is known as the Syracuse Crunch, the AHL affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning. However, professional hockey in Syracuse dates back to the Stars in the 1930s. In 1936-37, the Stars became the first team to win the Calder Cup, the trophy awarded to the winner of the AHL.

When asked by Searing to contribute to the exhibit, Jim Sarosy, the Crunch’s Chief Operating Officer, had one item in mind. It was a red, white and blue sweater with white stars percolating along the red top. On top of the thin blue stripe striking horizontally through the middle of the jersey, the word Syracuse. Just under it in large red text, it says “Stars.”

“We take a lot of pride in carrying on that tradition and a lot of responsibility in making sure we do well by it,” Sarosy said.

The jersey worn in 2011 was a throwback to the originals, a part of the team’s short rebrand for the 75th anniversary. Accompanying Sarosy’s donation are a few other jerseys from other collectors. Some are from the early 2010s, while one is a 1998 jersey from the Crunch’s first year in Syracuse.

“It’s so critical that you not only get it right but that you represent the area, and you want something that people are proud of when they put it on,” Sarosy said.

Perched along the walls around the room are more information displays, one of which gives an oral history of Jackie Robinson’s visit to old MacArthur Stadium in 1946, just one year before breaking the MLB color barrier.

No matter the item, the exhibit connects sports fans of all ages, educating the youth while allowing older fans to reminisce, Searing said.

“It’s a win-win for us and fans of sports and museums,” Searing said. “You can come in and look at some really cool jerseys that might bring back a lot of nostalgia for people from grandparents to grandchildren.”