Stirrups are uniform socks commonly worn by baseball players up until the mid-1990s, when major-league players began wearing their pants down to the ankles, setting a trend soon picked up by players in minor and amateur leagues. Until then, stirrup socks had been an integral part of the traditional baseball uniform, giving them a distinctive look. A high sock was needed because baseball players wore knickerbockers ("knickers"), worn by many boys in the late 19th century and into the 20th century. The stirrup socks served to display team colors, stripes or team logos. For example, for several years the Minnesota Twins wore navy-blue stirrups with "TC" on the side, for "Twin Cities", and in 1987 an "m" was placed on side. The Houston Astros wore navy blue stirrup socks with a white star on t