1870 Athletic, Philadelphia (Athletics)

These renderings are based on written documentation only for uniform style and color. No visual documentation is known and an artist’s conceptualization is used to create the renderings.

Rendering accuracy:Year: documented    Team: documented

Visual documentation on these uniforms:

Photo A

Dated March 1870. Illustration of various teams. It is unknown if this artwork was depicting actual uniforms or simply the typical styles of the day. Several uniforms seemed to closely follow uniforms from the period. The uniform at far left closely followed Cincinnati and the uniform of the player seated at center closely followed Star, Brooklyn. Likewise, the uniform of the player standing second from left closely matched the description below of the 1870 Athletic uniform and this illustration is the basis for the Threads rendering.

This image was published by Butterick & Company. According to oldprintshop.com, Butterick & Co. was a clothing fashion firm in New York whose founder was “the inventor of the graded sewing pattern.” They stated that this printed piece was produced by Hatch & Co., New York, and that the artist was Jno. (John) Schuller who added his name “in small script on the fence to the far right.” They also state that the field depicted was the Union Grounds, Brooklyn. Information retrieved from oldprintshop.com on December 12, 2019.

Photo B

Dated July 2, 1870. These drawings were published in a newspaper on this date. Left: G Wright, Cincinnati, and D McBride, Athletic, Philadelphia (61-75). Right: detail view of McBride. Detail view depicted the Athletic uniform as being gray or mid-tone in color. The shirt had long sleeves and a rectangular bib with the letter “A” in the center. The shirt did not have a collar and the player wore a white shirt and necktie under the uniform shirt. The player wore long pants and possibly white shoes. This uniform was the same as shown in photo C. This rendering may have been a depiction of the team’s “fawn colored” uniform worn in early 1870, or possibly the drawing was made from photograph from another year and depicting the uniform from another season. A newspaper described the 1868 uniform as gray in color. Two weeks after these renderings were published in 1870, the Athletics were described as wearing a new uniform with knickers and exposed stockings, see written documentation from July 21 below. Image scan and player IDs from the New York Clipper, July 2, 1870. Years McBride with team from wikipedia.com.

Left: drawing of D McBride, Athletic, Philadelphia (61-75), published on July 2, 1870. Center and right: two views of a hand-colored version of the same rendering, date of hand-coloring unknown. Views at right show more uniform detail and suggests the Athletic uniform was blue in color. Image scan and player IDs from the New York Clipper, July 2, 1870. Hand-colored version from John Thorn, Our Game blog, retrieved December 12, 2019. Years McBride with team from wikipedia.com.

Photo C

Dated July 9, 1870. These drawings were published in a newspaper on this date. Left: C Pabor, Union, Morrisania NY, and A Reach, Athletic, Philadelphia (65-75). Right: detail view of Reach. Detail view depicted the Athletic uniform as being gray or mid-tone in color. The shirt had long sleeves and a rectangular bib with the letter “A” in the center. The shirt did not have a collar and the player wore a white shirt and necktie under the uniform shirt. The player wore long pants and possibly white shoes. This uniform was the same as shown in photo B. This rendering may have been a depiction of the team’s “fawn colored” uniform worn in early 1870, or possibly the drawing was made from photograph from another year and depicting the uniform from another season. A newspaper described the 1868 uniform as gray in color. Two weeks after these renderings were published in 1870, the Athletics were described as wearing a new uniform with knickers and exposed stockings, see written documentation from July 21 below. Image scan and player IDs from the New York Clipper, July 9, 1870. Years Reach with team from wikipedia.com.


Dated July 9, 1870. A reproduction of the newspaper rendering of A Reach, Athletic, Philadelphia (65-75). This version showed greater uniform detail than the version above. Image scan and player IDs from the New York Clipper, July 9, 1870. Years Reach with team from wikipedia.com.

Written documentation on these uniforms:
April 21, 1870, Athletic, Philadelphia, v. Intrepid, Philadelphia: “The Athletics of Philadelphia […] appeared, for the first time, in their new and pretty uniform of fawn colored pants, shirt and caps, with scarlet trimmings.” From the New York Clipper, April 30, 1870. Research from Brian McKenna. Game date from Marshall D. Wright, The National Association Of Base Ball Players, 1857-1870 (2000).

May 2, 1870, Athletic, Philadelphia, v. Keystone, Philadelphia, at Philadelphia, Fifteenth and Columbia Grounds: “The players of the Keystone Club wore their new uniform of mazarine blue, and presented a very pretty appearance in comparison with the dull-colored suits of the Athletics.” From the Philadelphia Inquirer, May 3, 1870. Research from Ed Morton. “Mazarine” blue is described by merriam-webster.com as a deep purplish blue color.

July 1870: “The mania for ‘stockings’ has taken possession of the Athletic Base-ball Club.” From the Philadelphia Press, July 13, 1870. Research from Ed Morton.

July 1870: “The Athletic Base Ball Club of this city and the Maryland play tomorrow afternoon [July 22nd] […] The Athletic will make their appearance in the new uniform […] white flannel cap, shirt and pants and blue and white stockings.” From the Philadelphia Daily Evening Telegraph, July 21, 1870. Research from Brian McKenna.

July 1870: “The style of the uniform to be worn by the Athletic Base-Ball Club, of this city [Philadelphia], was introduced by the Liberty Club of New Brunswick [New Jersey].” From the Philadelphia Evening Telegraph, July 22, 1870. Research from Ed Morton.

July 1870: “The Athletics […] new uniform is a decided improvement on their old drab baggy garments. They now attire themselves in white caps, silk shirts, white flannel trousers and stockings of light blue plaid.” From the Philadelphia Daily Evening Bulletin, July 29, 1870. Research from Brian McKenna.

July 22, 1870, Athletic, Philadelphia, v. Maryland, Baltimore, at Philadelphia: “On July 22nd the Maryland Club visited Philadelphia to play the first of a new series of games with the Athletics, on which occasion the Athletics appeared in their new and handsome uniforms […] consisting of white caps, white flannel jackets, flesh colored shirts, blue belts, white melton [cloth] knee breeches, with blue and white stockings.” From the New York Clipper, July 30, 1870. Melton cloth is heavy woolen cloth with a close-cut nap and named after Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, England, a 19th-century center for cloth manufacturing.

August 29, 1870, Athletic, Philadelphia, v. Mutual, New York, at Brooklyn, Union Grounds: “The Athletics showed on the ground in a new uniform, and made a fine appearance. They wore white flannel Knickerbocker pants, flesh-colored silk shirts, white caps, and diagonally checked stockings of white and blue.” From the New York World, August 30, 1870.

Team genealogy: Athletic, Philadelphia 1859-1876
Athletic was formed in 1859 in Philadelphia, PA, and began playing the New York-style game about 1860. Athletic belonged to the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP), baseball’s first organization operating 1857-1870. Athletic joined the National Association (NA), the first baseball league, in 1871 at its inception and competed in every year of league’s existence, 1871-1875. Athletic then joined the National League (NL) in 1876 for its inaugural season. The club was removed from the NL before the 1877 season and subsequently disbanded. The Athletic name was used by subsequent teams in Philadelphia, including the American Association team (1882-1890) and the American League team (1901-1954). Information from William J Ryczek, Peter Morris and others, Base Ball Founders (2013).