1858 Atwater, Westfield MA

This rendering is based on visual documentation for uniform style only. Color information is unknown and the uniform is rendered in values of gray. Minor details may also be undocumented or difficult to determine and an educated guess is made to complete the rendering.

Rendering accuracy:Year: unconfirmed    Team: documented

Visual documentation on this uniform:

Photo A

Dated 1858 or 1859. 1858 date and team ID from William J. Ryczek, Baseball’s First Inning: A History  Of The National Pastime Through The Civil War (2009). 1859 date and team ID from Steven Wong, Smithsonian Baseball: Inside The World’s Finest Collections (2005), collection of  Corey R. Shanus. Ryczek wrote this caption in his book: “The team pictured in their snappy uniforms is the Atwater Club of Westfield, Massachusetts, in 1858, the year they were organized. The bats are big, and the hats are not aerodynamic, but the Atwater club was one of the first in Massachusetts to play the New York version of baseball.” Player IDs are unknown.

Dated 1858 or 1859. Detail of photo A.

Written documentation on this uniform:
None

Team genealogy:
 Atwater was founded in Westfield, MA, in 1858. — Info from William Ryczek, Baseball’s First Inning: A History of the National Pastime Through the Civil War (2009).