Bust Out the Boobs: Royals Contemplate Halter Top Day

Was a time when baseball and motherhood and apple pie were it...

That was prior to the free wheeling 1970s. And after the smoke from the bra burnings of the 1960s cleared, the Kansas City Royals emerged with one of the team’s most popular – albeit infamous – promotions ever, Halter Top Day. Free Royal blue halter tops were distributed to ticket-toting female fans. Oh and it was a dude magnet too.

But at some point in time Halter Top Day went away – too tacky, too tired – whatever.

Flash forward to the present and the team’s 40th anniversary.

“There are a couple of things we’re doing for the 40th anniversary,” says Royals spokesman Toby Cook. “We’ll have retro nights, like the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s and we’ll roll back prices.”

Along with things like a ’70s theme?

“Yes, it’s not guaranteed, but the marketing department is asking fans to vote on their favorite promotions of all time and it would be a surprise to everyone if halter tops didn’t top the list or be in the top five.”

The jury may yet be out, but it sounds like a near done deal.

“I’ve seen the prototype,” Cook says.

Popular as it was, Halter Top Day was always a bit over the, um, top.

“They were infamous,” Cook muses. “The other infamous thing with the Halter Top Days was the young ladies would go ahead and change into them, especially in the right and left field GA sections – which was not lost on some of the ball players.”

Brooksider Marti Dolinar remembers it all too well.

“Oh yeah, the problem with Halter Top day is there were a lot of women wearing halter tops that shouldn’t be wearing halter tops,” Dolinar says. “Because they just don’t have the body shape and style to pull it off.”

The percentage of fans who do versus don’t: “I would say probably 70 percent shouldn’t and 30 percent should or could,” Dolinar says. “I mean, you’d get all the fat bellies and belly rolls – it was disgusting. I think it’s a fan friendly promotion, I don’t think it’s a family friendly promotion. The Royal would be better off doing Disco Destruction.”

PR dude Will Gregory’s take on the concept of bringing back HTD?

“I’m all for it,” he quips. “But I’m curious who is going to sponsor it, and the logo placement for the sponsorship is going to be key.”

Dolinar’s overall take: “Great idea, bad decision. You know, nothing good is going to come out of Halter Top day…There’s going to be all these little white trash chicks getting drunk and there will be boobies everywhere.”

That said, count Dolinar is on being at the K for the big day.

“Nobody likes a train wreck better than I like a train wreck,” he says. “It”ll be interesting to see how many families go that day. I’m sure that most people who take their kids would not approve of the boobies flopping. I know they’re going to get a lot of complaints.”

Birdies Panties owner Peregrine Honig wonders for a different reason if HT Day will fly in 2009.

“People are really nervous about anything showing nowdays,” Honig says. “The standard American bra today is so structured – you can’t see nipples, you can’t see anything. People are really nervous about showing anything.”

On a more personal level, “You know I don’t wear sports insignias,” she adds. “But I think it’d be fun if they gave out like big blue floppy beach hats to keep people from getting sunburned. or maybe they should make Royals pasties.”

Honig’s bottom line on who can or should wear a halter top:

“If you don’t need a lot of support in the front and have a beautiful back it looks great,” she says. “Would I put half the people in America in a halter top? No. But if somebody really feels comfortable in a blue Royals halter top, they’re going to work it.”