1859 Excelsior, Brooklyn (Excelsiors)

As historic baseball photos go, this well-known image is one of the best. It shows two of the game’s most important early clubs, Knickerbocker of New York, standing left, and Excelsior of Brooklyn, standing right, outdoors, in situ, basking in the sun of 1859.

Photo A

Historian Tom Shieber describes this image as “the earliest-known on-field baseball photograph,” made “at the Excelsior’s grounds, August 2, 1859. Excelsior BBC topped the Knickerbockers that day, 20-5.”

MLB Historian John Thorn agrees, writing that the image was “by Williamson at the Excelsior grounds, August 2, 1859. Long identified as being shot in 1858.” As with most early images, there is confusion as to when and where this photo was taken. Existing prints have both 1858 and 1859 attached to it. Even today some websites differ on the exact date and place. In recent years these differing dates have been picked up, posted, and passed on.

A deep dive on the date and location of this image can be found here.

Identifying the Excelsior players.

Dated August 2, 1859. Detail view of Photo A.

In America’s National Game, Albert Spalding listed the Excelsiors in photo A standing right of Dr. Jones as Polhemus, Pearsall, Leggett, Holden, Russell, Dupont, H. Brainard, unidentified and unidentified. A box score from the August 2 game published in the Brooklyn Evening Star listed the Excelsiors lineup as Reynolds 2b, Pearsall 1b, Russell p, C Whiting rf, Holden ss, Polhemus cf, Markum lf, J C Whiting 3b, Leggett c. The scorer was S. S. Gregory. Clearly Spalding and the Star were not in agreement; according to the Star neither Dupont nor Brainard appeared in the August 2 game.

When comparing photo A to a known photo of the Excelsior team from 1860, the following identities can be made. The identity of Charles Whiting, brother to John, is determined by the process of elimination.

The Excelsior uniform.
The Excelsior players wore a variety of shield-front shirts in photo A. Per Charles A. Peverelly, The Book Of American Pastimes (1866), the traditional colors of the Excelsior uniform were blue pants and cap, with white shirt, belt and shoes.

Dated August 2, 1859. Another detail view of Photo A. Detail view shows a variety of shield configurations. The players at the far left and the three players at the far right of this detail view wore a shield with a flat bottom. The far left shield had the letter “E” in the center. Based on the quality of the photo it is hard to determine if the other flat-bottomed shields also had a letter. The player second from left wore a shield that was actually shield-shaped and with a large letter “E”. The player third from left wore a shield with extra decorative trim down the middle. All of these shields were accented with a dark-colored trim. He and several other players had their shield unbutttoned at the neck indicating a warm summer day.

Dated August 2, 1859. Still another detail view of Photo A. Note that two players had lettering on their belts, while the remaining Excelsior players did not. The belt in the center of this detail view carried the player’s name, A. T. Pearsall, not the team name. Also note the style of cap held by the players. It featured white ribs on a dark rounded crown and a large white visor. This style of cap was often called a “jockey cap” and is somewhat similar to today’s baseball cap.

Written documentation on this uniform:
September 1859: “Dr. J. B. Jones, president, addressed Mr. Joseph B. Leggett, the well-known catcher and captain on the first nine, and, on behalf of the Excelsior club, presented him with a gold tobacco box, of appropriate design and elegant workmanship. On one side of this beautiful testimonial is the inscription: Presented to Joseph B. Leggett by the Excelsior B.B.C., September 10, 1859. On the other side are engraved various symbols of the game: two bats are crossed and supporting a belt; on one side of the bats a cap, and the other a shoe; above a base and below bases and a ball. In making the presentation, Dr. Jones said just what was proper as to Mr. Leggett’s position in the club and in the respect and regard of the members, and Mr. Leggett in reply acknowledged in fitting terms the unexpected compliment.” From the Brooklyn Evening Star, September 14, 1859, page 2. Not uniform related, but I love these little nuggets.

The following year, on July 3, 1860, Excelsior played Victory of Troy NY, at Troy, Wier’s Course. The uniform was describes as follows: “The Excelsiors wore a pretty uniform — blue caps, white merino [wool] shirts, trimmed with blue, white belts, blue pants and white shoes.” From the Troy (NY) Daily Whig, July 4, 1860. Research from Ed Morton.

Team genealogy: Excelsior, Brooklyn, 1854-1870s
Excelsior was formed in Brooklyn, NY, in late 1854. The club was one of 16 charter members of the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP), baseball’s first organization, operating 1857-1870. Named after the New York State motto, Excelsior was noted for organizing one of the first baseball tours, traveling to upstate New York in 1860 and playing in Albany, Troy, Buffalo, Rochester and Newburgh. Excelsior retained amateur status with the advent of open professionalism in 1869 and ceased to play games competitively in the 1870s. The success and popularity of the club before the Civil War led to frequent use of the Excelsior name by other teams in all areas of the country. Info from William Ryczek, Peter Morris and others, Base Ball Founders (2013).

Related uniforms:
1860 Excelsior, Brooklyn
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