who was the first MLB player to abandon surgical hose & stirrup stockings?when & why did he do it?

Answer 1

The first I know of was Jose Canseco in the late 1980s. Rather than wear the double sock -- a white one with a team-color stirrup over it -- he switched to a standard sock with stripes down the sides. I think he just got tired of the stirrup type. This was around the time that players began wearing their pant cuffs down to their shoes, heels, or into the dirt (looking at you, Manny, Pedro, many others).