1867 Union, Lansingburgh NY (Unions, Troy Haymakers)

This rendering is based on visual documentation for uniform style and written documentation for color. Minor details may be undocumented or difficult to determine. An educated guess is made to complete the rendering.

Rendering accuracy:Year: documented    Team: documented

Visual documentation on this uniform:

Photo A

Dated 1867. Photo date determined by appearance of players Leavenworth and M King. Both of these men only played together for Union in 1867. Players wore a white shirt with a triangular bib in this photo, a white belt and dark pants. The players held pitchforks to reinforce the team nickname of Haymakers.

Top from left: S King (66-72), B McAtee (66-69, 72), W Abrams (66-69), B Craver (66-71) and M King (67-69, 72). Front: J Ward (67, 68), P McKeon (66-70, died 70), S Leavenworth (66, 67) and C Penfield (66-70). Player IDs of all except the King brothers from Albert G Spalding, America’s National Game (1911). When studying photos of the King brothers, standing far left and far right in the photo above, it is possible the identities were switched in the Spalding book. Photo evidence may suggest Steve King was at far left and Mart King was at far right. Years with team from Peter Morris, Base Ball Pioneers, 1850-1870 (2012), Paul Batesel, Players And Teams Of The National Association, 1871-1875 (2012), and wikipedia. Image scan from Getty Images.

Dated 1867. Detail of photo A. Detail view showed that the shirt bib had large dark-colored buttons.

Photo B

Dated 1867. This photo was taken at the same time as photo A. In this photo players were in slightly different positions, suggesting this image was made seconds before or after photo A. Compare the hand positions of the player sitting second from left in both photos.

Dated 1867. Detail view of photo B.

Written documentation on this uniform:
September 4, 1867, Union, Lansingburgh vs. National, Washington DC: “National vs. Union, alias Haymakers […] The uniform of the Union club consisted of blue pants, white shirts and belts, and red caps with a white star on top.” From the National Republican (DC) September 5, 1867. Research from Brian McKenna.

Team genealogy: Union, Lansingburgh NY, 1865?-1872
Union was formed in Lansingburgh, NY, in 1865 or 1866. Lansingburgh is located next to Troy, NY, and the Union club was often referred to as Troy or the Troy Haymakers. The Haymaker nickname originated in 1866 and may have derived from “hay raker”, a comment on the team’s rural roots, or reaction from one game when the team chose to play in bare feet for better traction. Union was commonly known as Troy when they played in the National Association (NA) in 1871 and 1872. The NA was baseball’s first league, operating 1871-1875. The team folded after the 1872 season. Information from Peter Morris, Base Ball Pioneers, 1850-1870 (2012).