MLB Throwback Tony Gwynn Jersey From the 80s & 90s

Over the course of his 20-season big league career in San Diego, Tony Gwynn was a 15-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove Award winner. He also became one of baseball's greatest singles hitters.

During his time with the Padres (1982 - 2001), he wore several different uniforms, from Brown and Gold, to Navy and Orange. Changing uniforms has been a major part of the Padres team's history.

His road to athletic greatness initially looked like it would be on the basketball court, since Tony Gwynn was an adept passer. Gwynn attended San Diego State University on a basketball scholarship, and he even set a school record for assists. 

But Gwynn could not turn down the opportunity to play baseball, a game where he could shine as a left-handed batter with a pure natural swing. He excelled at baseball as well and was drafted in 1981 by both the National Basketball Association's San Diego Clippers (later the Los Angeles Clippers) and the MLB's San Diego Padres. After selecting the Padres as his team, he was called up to the major league squad during the 1982 season.

The first jersey he wore for away games in the 1982 season was brown, featuring "Padres" in gold lowercase 80s-style lettering and an orange outline. The 1982 - 84 Padres home jersey was white, with orange lowercase lettering and a gold and brown outline. 

At the start of the season, he split time between three outfield positions for the Padres before injuring his wrist. His 1982 batting average in 54 games was .289 with one home run.

1984 was the most successful season to date for both the Padres and Gwynn. Gwynn batted .351 in 1984, and the team finished the season with a 92-70 record. The Padres won the NL West before taking down the Chicago Cubs in five games in the NLCS. As a result, the team made its first World Series appearance that year, but lost to the Detroit Tigers.

In 1985, San Diego changed their jerseys again. You might remember their road jerseys for their standout brown pinstripes and interlocking SD in brown with an orange outline. The 85 - 90 Tony Gwynn Padres home jersey is white with brown pinstripes, and has an upslope Padres logo in brown with an orange outline on the front.

After four seasons in the league, Gwynn won a Gold Glove Award for his outstanding outfield defense in 1986, a skill he had worked hard to develop over the years.

In his first six seasons in the majors, Gwynn won two batting titles, was selected to four All-Star games, and led the Padres to a National League pennant.

Injury problems began to plague Gwynn in his seventh season in 1988. In the second half of the season, his game picked up and he won another batting title with a .313 average.

In the early 1990s, Gwynn continued to dominate, tallying a batting average of .324 from 1990 to 1993, and making All-Star appearances every season.

In 1991, the Padres jerseys got another redesign, replacing their original brown with navy blue. The 91 - 2001 Padres jerseys for away games were gray with "San Diego" in navy letters with a white and orange outline. The 91 - 2001 home tony gwynn throwback jersey kept its previous style, but changed the pinstripes and Padres logo to navy instead of brown. Tony Gwynn also wore the Padres' alternate navy jersey in 1997.

Before the infamous 1994 players strike canceled the rest of the season, Gwynn was experiencing his best season yet. He hit .394, the best batting average since Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941.

He rarely landed on the disabled list and consistently hit well over .300, making him one of the most consistent players in all of baseball. In 2001, Gwynn retired after a remarkable career. In addition to his 69 WAR, he had more than 3,000 hits, hit 135 home runs, and averaged a .338 batting average during his career.

!n 2007 Gwynn was inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility

See our extensive collection of Tony Gwynn MLB throwback jerseys from the 1980's and 1990's.