1859 Live Oak, Rochester (Live Oaks)

This rendering is based on visual documentation for uniform style only. An educated guess is made on uniform color, based on information from related years, and on minor details that may be missing or difficult to determine.

Rendering accuracy:

Year: documented    Team: documented

Visual documentation on this uniform:

Photo A

Dated 1859. Illustration of team published in 1902 and based on a photo taken in 1859, see photo B. Year of 1859 can be determined by appearance of player Putnam in combination with players Heintz, Barker and Daly. These men only played together for Live Oak in 1859. Players wore a uniform identical to the one depicted in a color lithograph of sheet music published in May 1860 and which showed players wearing a blue coat and white pants.

Top from left: C Beardsley (58-60), H Whittlesey (58-60), G Putnam (58, 59). Middle: (J Backus, scorer 58-60), R Heintz (59, 60), H Putnam (59, 60), H Hartman (58-60), Daly (59, 60). Front: E Loder (58-60) and R Barker (58, 59). Player IDs from illustration. Years played with team from Priscilla Astifan, Peter Morris and others, Base Ball Pioneers, 1850-1870 (2012). Illustration from the Rochester-Post Express, May 1, 1902.

Photo B

Dated 1859. This is a reprint of the photo that was the basis for the illustration above. Image scan from the Rochester Herald, May 3, 1923.

Written documentation on this uniform:
None

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).