1865 Atlantic, Brooklyn (Atlantics)

This rendering is based on visual documentation for uniform style only. An educated guess is made on uniform color based on documentation from a related year. Minor details may also be missing or difficult to determine.

Rendering accuracy:Year: documented    Team: documented

Visual documentation on this uniform:

Photo A

Dated November 7, 1865. Photo of the Atlantic club. Year of photo was printed on the photo mount. Date of photo, November 7, 1865, confirmed from a newspaper report on November 10, 1865 which stated the team “had a sitting at Charles H. Williamson’s Gallery of Art.” Players wore a white shirt and mid-tone pants in this photo. The shirt had a bib front with the teams initials of “A.B.B.C.” above a small graphic of a ball and crossed bats. The cap was white with a wide band and several were shown in this photo at the feet of the players. The player at far left, Norton, wore a white coat. The player at far right, Pratt, held a baseball indicating he was the pitcher.

From left: F Norton (played for Star in 65, agreed to join Atlantic in late 65 for 66 season, then switched to Excelsior for 66), S Smith (62-66), D Pearce (56-70, 73, 74), J Start (62-70), (P O’Brien 57-65), C Smith (58-65,67-70), J Chapman (62-66,68,70,74), J Galvin, sitting (63-67), F Crane, standing (62-69) and T Pratt (63-66,68,69). Player IDs from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 15, 1896. Years with team from Marshall D. Wright, The National Association Of Base Ball Players, 1857-1870 (2000), Peter Morris and others, Base Ball Founders (2013), Paul Batesel, Players And Teams Of The National Association, 1871-1875 (2012), and wikipedia.com. Image scan from thee Library of Congress. Original photo by Charles H. Williamson, Brooklyn.

Dated November 7, 1865. Detail of photo A. Detail view shows two versions of the bib on the shirt. Note the difference in the crossed bats graphic on these bibs.

Photo B

Dated November 7, 1865. Photo of the Atlantic club taken on the same day as photo A. In this version, two players (Norton and Pratt) have switched places. This exposure was sharper than that shown in photo A and therefore showed more detail of the uniform.

From left: T Pratt (63-66,68,69), S Smith (62-66), D Pearce (56-70), J Start (62-70), (P O’Brien 57-65), C Smith (58-65,67-70), J Chapman (62-66,68,70,74), J Galvin (63-67), F Crane (62-69) and F Norton (Star 65, Atlantic 66). Player IDs from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 15, 1896. Years with team from Marshall D. Wright, The National Association Of Base Ball Players, 1857-1870 (2000), Peter Morris and others, Base Ball Founders (2013), Paul Batesel, Players And Teams Of The National Association, 1871-1875 (2012), and wikipedia.com. Original photo by Charles H. Williamson, Brooklyn.

Dated November 7, 1865. Detail view of photo B. Detail view showed the shirt bib of the players. The bib of player Pearce, middle left, was trimmed with dark fabric and fastened by white buttons. The graphic on the bib featured a large ball positioned above two crossed bats. Pearce and player C Smith were the only two players in this photo wearing a bib with white buttons. In comparison, the bib of player Start, center, was trimmed with thinner fabric and was fastened with smaller dark buttons. The graphic displayed a smaller ball above the crossed bats. This may indicate the two bibs were made a different times, or different years. The bib of player Smith, far left, appeared to be blank.

Dated November 7, 1865. Another detail view of photo B. This detail view showed the caps at the players’ feet. The caps were white in color and had a thick band of dark material surrounding the base of the body and above the visor.

Photo C

Dated November 7, 1865. This is the same photo as shown in photo B. However in this version more of the studio can be seen on either side of the players.

Photo D

Dated March 15, 1896, and based on a photo made November 7, 1865. This drawing was based on photo B and published in a newspaper 30 years later. The names of the players and their positions were included in the photo caption. The year of the photo was incorrectly given as “1863” in the photo caption. Image and player IDs from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 15, 1896.

Photo E

Dated November 7, 1865, and published January 27, 1900. This is the same image as photo B, published in a newspaper almost 35 years later. The names of the players and their positions were included in the photo caption. Image and player IDs from the Brooklyn Times, January 27, 1900.

Photo F

Dated late 19th century or early 20th century, based on a photo made November 7, 1865. This painting by an unknown artist was seemingly based on photo A. However in this artwork, players have taken slightly different positions — most noticeable in the poses of players Norton, far left holding a bat with both hands, and Pratt, far right holding a baseball closer to his face. This may suggest that a third exposure was made by Williamson at the November photo session.

Photo G

Dated November 3, 1866. Detail view of a drawing published in a newspaper on this date and based on the Williamson photos of the team from November 7, 1865. Many of the player poses in this drawing were the same as shown in photo B, however the artist had enhanced and added to the drawing to better complete the picture. Image scan from Harper’s Weekly, November 3, 1866.

Dated November 3, 1866. Detail view of photo F. This drawing was published in a newspaper on this date and was based on the Williamson photos of the team from November 7, 1865. The artist has depicted the shirt bibs with the letters “ABBC” above the ball and bat graphic.

Photo H

Dated November 4, 1865. Two detail views of P O’Brien (57-65) from a montage of player drawings published by a newspaper on this date. Player was depicted wearing a bib shiirt with the letters “ABBC” across the front. This drawing may have been based on a photo taken in the late 1850s or early 1860s and therefore may not reflect the Atlantic uniform of 1865. Years O’Brien with team from Marshall D. Wright, The National Association Of Base Ball Players, 1857-1870 (2000). Image from the Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, November 4, 1865.

Written documentation on this uniform:
August 1865: “The Atlantics became the first baseball team to visit the White House. Arthur Gorman, one of the founders of the Washington Nationals Base Ball Club and an acquaintance of President Andrew Johnson, organized a tournament featuring his team, the Athletic Base Ball Club of Philadelphia and the Atlantics. Philadelphia refused to play in the final game as they would not receive any of the gate revenue and left [town]. Having known President Johnson since his days as a page in the United States Senate, Gorman offered to take the visiting team to the White House to meet the President. Brooklyn accepted and visited on August 30, 1865.” From wikipedia.com, citing the Atlantic Monthly, “Politicians and Baseball: How a Dubious 150-Year-Old Tradition Was Born,” March 11, 2011, and from George Kirsch, Baseball in Blue and Gray: The National Pastime during the Civil War (2013). Retrieved July 25, 2023.

November 1865: “The champion nine of the United States [i.e., Atlantic] had a sitting at Charles H. Williamson’s Gallery of Art on Tuesday [November 7, 1865], and that the gentleman has completed a fine picture of them. The picture embraces the veteran Peter O’Brian, in the center, in citizen’s dress, surrounded by the new nine. […] The likenesses are, of course, accurate, the positions admirable, and the workmanship a perfect piece of art. They will be finished in large groups, and carte de visite size, so that all desiring can have their choice. The nine of 1864 has been generally sought after, and it is expected the same thing will occur with the nine of 1865. They will be ready in a few days.” From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, November 10, 1865. Research by Tom Shieber, baseballresearcher.blogspot.com, posted January 30, 2018 and retrieved February 28, 2018.

1865, referenced in March 1896 when the Brooklyn Daily Eagle published a drawing made from the 1865 team photo above (photo A): “Some Ball History Recalled by a Photograph. […] The photograph, of which the accompanying [wood]cut is a copy, was taken in 1863 by Williamson. […] It is the only one known in existence in this city. It is well preserved and is owned by John C. Chapman, who proposes to loan it to the Brooklyn Lodge of the Elks.” From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 15, 1896. The Daily Eagle incorrectly dated the photo as 1863. The following issue of the Daily Eagle, published on March 22, 1896, included a letter to the editor from John Chapman, written on March 21 and stating that “the photograph [engraving] published last Sunday was taken by Williamson during the 1865 season. […] There must be more than one of the photographs, as each player received one at the time.” In addition to Chapman’s letter, the newspaper also printed a letter from Dickey Pearce in response to the engraving published on March 15.

Years prior to 1866: “[The Atlantic] uniform consists of light blue pants, white flannel shirt, red and white caps.” From Charles A. Peverelly, The Book Of American Pastimes (1866). This description from 1866 may be referencing the team’s uniform, in general, since the club’s inception in 1854.

Team genealogy: Atlantic, Brooklyn, 1854-1875
Atlantic 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. The club initially chose not to enter the National Association (NA), baseball’s first professional league, operating 1871-1875. However, Atlantic did join the NA in 1872 and played in the league until 1875, when they disbanded. The success and popularity of the club during the 1860s led to the frequent use of the Atlantic name by other clubs. Information from Craig B Waff, William Ryczek, Peter Morris and others, Base Ball Founders (2013).