1858 Live Oak, Rochester (Live Oaks)

This rendering is based on written documentation only for uniform style and color. No visual documentation is known. However, the written documentation closely matches a related year where visual documentation is known and that visual documentation is the basis for this rendering.

Rendering accuracy:

Year: documented    Team: documented

Visual documentation on this uniform:
None

Written documentation on this uniform:
July 1, 1858: “On July 1 [Live Oak] wore their new uniforms comprised of Marie Louis blue flannel shirt trimmed with white silk and ‘neatly embroidered sprigs of oak’ encircling the letters L.O. on the left breast. Their pants were white flannel with a blue stripe on each side, and they wore jockey-style caps with white flannel corded with blue, and front trimming of the same color.” Research from Priscilla Astifan, Peter Morris and others, Base Ball Pioneers, 1850-1870 (2012), citing the Rochester Democrat and American, July 2, 1858. Astifan added that the term “Marie Louise” flannel most likely derived from a new shade of bright blue color named in honor of the Empress Marie-Louise of France (1791-1845), the second wife of Napoleon I of France. Astifan credits baseball historian John Thorn for suggesting the origins of this term.

August 5, 1858, Live Oak, Rochester, v. Flour City, Rochester, at Rochester: “Live Oaks wore white pants, blue stripe, blue shirt with the L.O. on left breast, black belt, and a skull cap, white body, blue ribs, and front piece blue.” From Porter’s Spirit of the Times, Aug 14, 1858. Research from Craig Waff and submitted to protoball.org.

Team genealogy: Live Oak, Rochester, 1858-1861
Live Oak was formed in Rochester, NY, in 1858. The club merged with another Rochester team in 1861 but then became defunct with the start of the Civil War. Information from Priscilla Astifan, Peter Morris and others, Base Ball Pioneers, 1850-1870 (2012).