1867 Union, Morrisania NY (Unions)

This rendering is based on visual documentation for uniform style only. Color information is unknown and the uniform is rendered in values of gray. Minor details may also be undocumented or difficult to determine and an educated guess is made to complete the rendering.

Rendering accuracy:Year: documented    Team: documented

Visual documentation on this uniform:

Photo A

Dated October 26, 1867. This illustration was published in a newspaper on this date. According to a newspaper account, the team first wore the uniform shown above in a game played on July 31, 1867. Players were depicted wearing white shirts with the letter “U” on the breast and caps and pants made of a checked material. The caps also had a white or light-colored visor. The shirts had an off-centered opening and many of the players wore baggy pants bound tightly at the ankles.

From left: H Austin (65-70), G Smith (65-69), J Goldie (66-69), unidentified, A Martin (66-68), A Akin (66, 67), D Birdsall (63-68, 70), C Pabor (65-70) and T Beals (67). Years with team from Marshall D. Wright, The National Association Of Base Ball Players, 1857-1870 (2000). Unidentified player possibly W Abrams (62-67), W Hudson (64-67), A Norton (67) or B Hannegan (59, 60, 62-66). Some of the depictions of the players were used again for an illustration made in 1868 of the Union team. Image from the Harper’s Weekly, October 26, 1867. Drawing made from an original photograph by John H. and William G. Grotecloss, New York.

Dated October 26, 1867. Detail view of photo A. Detail view shows checked caps with a white visor and checked pants. The belt had multiple horizontal bands.

Photo B

Dated 1867. Studio portrait of T Beals (67), full view at left, detail view at right. Year of photo can be determined by the fact that Beals only played for Union in 1867. This photo was used to create a depiction of Beals in the team illustration above. Note that the illustration of Beals was flopped from this original photo, see far right of photo A. Original photograph likely by John H. and William G. Grotecloss, New York.

Written documentation on this uniform:
July 31, 1867, Union, Morrisania, v. Atlantic, Brooklyn, at Melrose, Morrisania NY: “The Unions donned for the first time they’re new and neat uniform, and cast aside the old vestments, which to the club, as a whole, would serve as a simile of Joseph’s coat. The new uniform comprises a shirt of white flannel, with the letter “U” in German on the bosom, and pantaloons and cap of check woollen stuff. The Atlantics wore their old uniforms.” From the New York Herald, August 1, 1867. This passage was referenced by Preston D. Orem, Baseball 1845-1881 From Newspaper Accounts (1961), saying, “Union donned new uniform, casting aside old, which were a simile of ‘Joseph’s coat.’ New outfits were a shirt of white with a large “U” and pantaloons and cap of a checked material.”

Team genealogy: Union, Morrisania NY, 1855-1870s
Union was formed in Morrisania, NY, in 1855. Morrisania was the original name for the South Bronx where the prominent Morris family was seated. Union belonged to the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP), baseball’s first organization operating 1857-1870, but did not join the National Association (NA), baseball’s first league, when it was formed in 1871. Subsequently, the Union club stopped playing games competitively during this time. Information from Aaron W Miller, Peter Morris and others, Base Ball Founders (2013).