In sports, particularly team sports, the player name, often referred to as the uniform name, squad name, jersey name, shirt name is the name worn on a player's uniform. Originally, the number worn on a player's uniform was used to identify and distinguish each players from others wearing the same or similar uniforms. Generally, a surname is used, but a nickname is also common. The name is typically displayed on the rear of the jersey, often accompanied by the number. Name printing is also used from a sports marketing point, such as to promote the player to fans and jersey sales.
In Major League Baseball, uniform numbers were not introduced until 1929 by the New York Yankees; names on uniforms were introduced in 1960s. Despite introducing numbers to professional baseball, however, the current Yankees uniform do not have player names printing because of team tradition and philosophy, arguing that baseball is a team sport and not having player names emphasizes the value the importance of teamwork and unity over individual stardom.
Gridiron football
In gridiron football, which includes American football and Canadian football, names on jerseys are used frequently and are mandatory in current professional play. In college football and high school football, where team rosters are often in excess of one hundred players, there may be multiple players with the same uniform number; player names help with disambiguation between the players. Some schools may choose not to print player names on uniforms either for financial or philosophical reasons; Penn State and Notre Dame are examples of the latter. The original 2001 incarnation of the XFL infamously allowed players to replace their surnames with a nickname of their choosing; the most well-known of these was Rod Smart who chose to put the phrase "He Hate Me" on his uniform. In 2018, players at Temple were allowed to replace their surnames with their Twitter account handles for their annual spring game as a promotional stunt.
Ice hockey
At the start of the 1977–78 season, the National Hockey League placed into effect a rule that also required players' sweaters to display the names of the players wearing them in addition to their number, but Toronto Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard initially refused to follow the new rule, fearing that he would not be able to sell programs at his team's games. The NHL responded by threatening to levy a fine on the team in February 1978, so Ballard complied by making the letters the same color as the background they were on, which for the team's road jerseys was blue. The NHL threatened further sanctions, and despite playing more than one game with their "unreadable" sweaters, Ballard's Maple Leafs finally complied in earnest by making the blue jerseys' letters white.
