1887 Boston, Kelly Special
These renderings are based on visual documentation for uniform style only. An educated guess is made on uniform color and on minor details that may be missing or difficult to determine.
Rendering accuracy:Year: documented Team: documented
Visual documentation on these uniforms:
Two images of Mike “King” Kelly (Bos NL 87-89, 91, 92, PL 90, AA 91). Left: dated late February 1887 to mid-April 1887, cabinet card by George H. Hastings. Right: dated 1887, Old Judge baseball card.
According to research by Howard W. Rosenberg, the uniform worn by Kelly in these photographs was made by Chicago team president and sporting-goods magnate Albert G. Spalding. Kelly had played for Spalding since 1880, but was sold by Chicago to Boston on February 14, 1887 for a then-record $10,000. Kelly was subsequently dubbed the “$10,000 Beauty” by the press. The uniform, made for Kelly as a goodwill gesture by Spalding, was most likely similar to the 1886 Chicago uniform: blue in color with white lettering across the chest, and a white cap, belt and pant leg seam. The only differences were the city name and, in the Hastings photos, the color of the stockings.
With Boston in 1887 Kelly earned a $5,000 salary, in which a newspaper in February 1887 exclaimed “for his six months play he gets as much as any United States senator gets for a year.” The newspaper also noted that $3,000 of that salary was solely “for his photograph which the Boston directors feel they cannot do without. The picture will be of the cabinet size, obtainable in galleries for $3 a dozen, but at this time Kelly is very particular as to the [photo] albums he adorns.”
Uniform history and Hastings cabinet card info from Howard W. Rosenberg, Cap Anson 2: The Theatrical and Kingly Mike Kelly (2004). Years Kelly played for Chicago and Boston from baseball-reference.com. Kelly sale date to Boston from baseball-almanac.com. Newspaper report of Kelly’s 1887 earnings from the Paterson (NJ) Morning Call, February 21, 1887.
The following visuals are a further study of this Kelly-special uniform.
1 – Kelly in a Chicago uniform, 1886 or early 1887
Dated 1887. Old Judge baseball cards of Kelly. These images show Kelly wearing the 1886 Chicago uniform, which was an exact match to the Kelly-special uniform of 1887, with the obvious exception of the city name. The Chicago uniform was dark blue, with a white cap, belt, lettering, pant leg trim and stockings. The photo caption of “$10,000 Kelly” determines an issue date for these Old Judge cards of February 1887 or later. However since Kelly was photographed in his Chicago uniform it is likely the photo session took place before this date. The photo session appears to have been exclusive to Kelly as no other Chicago player was photographed against this exact background. Baseball card images from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Original photos by Charles H. Gallup, Poughkeepsie, NY.
Left: dated 1887, detail view of Old Judge baseball card of Kelly. Right: dated 1887, detail view of Old Judge baseball card of E Geiss (Chi 87). These detail views confirm that the Old Judge image of Kelly, left, was of the 1886 uniform. Note the white stitching of Kelly’s Chicago uniform compared to the dark-colored stitching on the 1887 Chicago uniform at right. Year of the Geiss image can be confirmed as 1887 was the only year Geiss played for Chicago. Also note that Kelly’s uniform had slightly larger lettering and slightly more vertically-extended letter forms, consistent with the 1886 Chicago uniform when compared to 1887. Year Geiss with Chicago from baseball-reference.com. Baseball card images from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
2 – The Hastings photos, late February 1887 to mid-April 1887
Dated late February 1887 to mid-April 1887. Two cabinet cards of Kelly, each credited to George H. Hastings, Tremont Street, Boston. The mid-April 1887 date can be determined by the fact that a drawing based on the photo at left was published in the Illustrated Police News, Boston, on April 16, 1887. The caption under the illustration read: “Photographed for the Police News by G. H. Hastings, 147 Tremont street, Boston.” The Boston Sunday Courier reported on May 8, 1887 that “photographer Hastings has some excellent likenesses of Kelly playing in costume. They are on exhibit at his studio, 147 Tremont Street.” The two photos shown above were made during the same session as the uniform and background were identical in both images. Photos show a uniform matching Kelly’s 1886 Chicago uniform, with the exception of the city name and the stocking color, the latter of which remains undiscovered. Illustrated Police News research from Ed Morton. Additional info from Howard W. Rosenberg, Cap Anson 2: The Theatrical and Kingly Mike Kelly (2004). Image scans from the New York Public Library, New York. Original images by George H. Hastings, Boston.
Dated late February 1887 to mid-April 1887. Detail view of Hastings cabinet card. Detail view shows a shirt in pristine condition, confirming Kelly’s uniform was newly made for this photo session and therefore not an altered version of his 1886 Chicago uniform. The uniform also shows no ghosts of previous lettering being removed. Note the position of the word “Boston” in relationship to the lace ties, and that the laces were tied in a “V” pattern above the city name and in an “X” pattern below the city name. This same style of tying his laces was displayed in Kelly’s Old Judge card from 1887, which was a photo made at a different session, see #3 below. Image scan from the New York Public Library, New York.
Left: dated 1887, Four Base Hits Baseball Card. Right: dated late February 1887 to mid-April 1887, cabinet card by Hastings, Boston. Image on left was a retouched version of the Hastings photo. Note that the uniform lettering and Kelly’s bat have been removed. The ornate wall and painted background have been partially altered as well. However, many identical items remain, such as the folds in Kelly’s uniform and shadow under Kelly’s right elbow. Image scan and issue date of Four Base Hits card from oldcardboard.com. Cabinet card scan from the New York Public Library, New York. Original image by George H. Hastings, Boston.
Dated April 1888. Left, page from Play Ball, Stories of the Ball Field, an autobiography by Kelly published by Emery & Hughes and released on April 1, 1888. Right: detail view of page. This woodcut of Kelly was created from one of the images made during the Hastings session, see above. The woodcut included the credit line of “Photo – Elec. Co., Boston.” Book release date from the Boston Globe, March 21, 1888. Image from Scott & Higgins Auctions.
3 – The Old Judge photos, 1887
Dated 1887. Left: Old Judge baseball card of Kelly, and right: detail view. The 1887 Old Judge cards of Kelly show the player in a uniform identical to that shown in the Hastings cabinet cards. Note that the lace ties match exactly to the Hasting photos. However, there were differences. Kelly wore white stockings at this session and appeared to have a slightly shorter haircut when compared to the Hastings photos. The studio background was different as well suggesting the Old Judge photo session took place on a different date in 1887 than that of the Hastings photos. Based on similar backgrounds of other Kelly images, this photo may have been made by Charles H. Gallup, Poughkeepsie, NY. Baseball card images from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Dated 1887. Left: Old Judge baseball card of Kelly, and right: detail view. Date determined by similarity in background to other Old Judge cards of Kelly dated 1887, see above. Detail view shows lettering conforming to the folds of Kelly’s shirt, see first letter “O” in “Boston.” This suggests the city name was not added by a retouch artist to a photo of Kelly wearing his Chicago uniform from 1886. Baseball card images from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Original photo by Charles H. Gallup, Poughkeepsie, NY.
4 – Comparing the two Old Judge photo sessions
Left: dated 1887, detail view of Old Judge baseball card of Kelly in Chicago uniform. Right, dated 1887, detail view of Old Judge baseball card of Kelly in special Boston uniform. The side-by-side comparison shows the identical features of the two uniforms, as well as, the intent of the baseball card company to replicate the feel of the background. Baseball card images from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Left: dated 1887, Old Judge baseball card of Kelly in Chicago uniform. Right: dated 1887, Old Judge baseball card of Kelly in Boston special uniform. The caption of “$10,000 Kelly” on both cards determines the issue date of February 1887 or later. These two cards were further examples of how the baseball card company intended to replicate the Kelly/Chicago cards once Kelly had been sold to Boston. Baseball card image of Chicago uniform from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, baseball card image of Boston uniform from Getty Images. Original photos by Charles H. Gallup, Poughkeepsie, NY.
Written documentation on these uniforms:
March 1887: “In March, upon arriving in Boston, Kelly had a Chicago road uniform of blue with him, with ‘Boston’ in white letters across the chest. ‘This uniform was sent to him with the compliments and best wishes of Al Spalding,’ said the Boston Herald at the time.” From Howard W. Rosenberg, Cap Anson 2: The Theatrical and Kingly Mike Kelly (2004).
April 1887: “Brooklyn, NY, April 14 — […] The announcement that the Boston Club was to play a series of games here in Brooklyn has been the main feature of interest in the base ball world for some time past, and the home management, alive to proper business methods, boomed most successfully the coming of the ‘great and only’ Kelly.” From The Sporting Life, April 20, 1887. This report was an example of spectator interest in Kelly in 1887.
May 1887: “Meanwhile [as Boston played in New York], George H. Lloyd of the Boston Sunday Courier was writing, ‘Photographer [George] Hastings has some excellent likenesses of Kelly playing in costume. They are on exhibit at his studio, 147 Tremont Street.'” From Howard W. Rosenberg, Cap Anson 2: The Theatrical and Kingly Mike Kelly (2004), citing the Boston Sunday Courier, May 8, 1887.
Rendering posted: September 23, 2022
Diggers on this uniform: Don Stokes, Joe Gonsowski, John Thorn, Mark Fimoff, Tom Shieber,