1876 Star, Syracuse (Stars)
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 April 1876 to July 1876. Photo year stated in a newspaper printing of image published in 1937, which also included player identifications. Based on these identifications, the photo year can be confirmed by appearance of players Madden, Crosscup, McGlynn and Purroy in photo, all of whom only played for Syracuse in 1876. Date range of April 1876 to July 1876 can be suggested by appearance of player Dunn, who retired in July 1876 and by appearance of players McGlynn and Purroy who were replaced on the team in July 1876. Players wore a white collarless pullover shirt in this photo, with white pants, a dark belt and dark stockings. The team name was displayed in large, bold letters and a decorative starburst design was displayed around the neck of the shirt. A dark cap was possibly shown on the lap of player seated far right.
Top row, from left: B Geer (76, LA 77), J Dunn (66-76) and J Madden (76). Middle: M Dorgan (76, LA 77, IA 78, NL 79, AA 90), F Crosscup (76), G Adams (76, IA 78) and A McKinnon (76, LA 77, IA 78). Front: H McCormick (75, 76, LA 77, IA 78, NL 79), E McGlynn (76) and C Purroy (76). Image and player IDs from the Syracuse Journal, February 22, 1937. Research from Justin Mckinney. Years with team (1866-1876), Dunn retirement info and McGlynn and Purroy release info from Ron Gersbacher, The History of Syracuse Baseball (2012), retrieved online June 2017. Gersbacher research is undocumented. Years with team (1877 and after) from baseball-reference.com.
Dated April 1876 to July 1876. Detail view of photo A. Detail view shows lettering on shirt and decorative starburst design around neck of shirt.
Photo B
Dated October 1876. Photo year determined by appearance of players Tipper and Allen, who only played for Syracuse in 1876. Photo date determined by undocumented research citing that the team had received gold star medals in early October 1876. Player wore their medals in this photo (also see written description below). A photo date of October 1876 can be further suggested by appearance of players Allen and Hall, who joined the team in July 1876, replacing players McGlynn and Purroy. Players wore dark-colored sweaters in this photo, obscuring the team uniform. A shirt collar can be seen under the sweaters of three players, suggesting the team replaced the collarless shirt (see photo A) during the latter part of the 1876 season. Players McKinnon and Dorgan wore sweaters with a slightly different trim design.
Top row, from left: B Geer? (76, LA 77), A McKinnon (76, LA 77, IA 78) and H Allen (76). Middle row: J Tipper (76), H McCormick (75, 76, LA 77, IA 78, NL 79), M Dorgan (76, IA 78, NL 79, AA 90), G Adams (76, IA 78) and A Hall (76, LA 77). Front row: J Madden? (76) and J Farrell (76, LA 77, IA 78). Player IDs are based on other Syracuse team photos from this period and also from Nigel Ayres. Madden identification is unconfirmed. Tipper identification from wikipedia. Years with team (1866-1876), as well as Allen and Hall signing info from Ron Gersbacher, The History of Syracuse Baseball (2012), retrieved online June 2017. Gersbacher research is undocumented. Years with team (1877 and after), as well as Allen identification from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from Mark Fimoff, SABR 19th-century Pictorial Committee.
Dated October 1876. Detail view of photo B. Detail view shows partial view of shirt collars under sweaters, suggesting the team wore new uniforms at the end of the 1876 season. Note the star-shaped medals that players wore, see full description below.
Written documentation on this uniform:
October 1876: “October 7, 1876–each member of the Stars received a ‘Gold Badge’ in the shape of a star. The star-shaped badge was attached to a cluster of baseballs and bats with a pin attached to the back with their name inscribed.” From Ron Gersbacher, The History of Syracuse Baseball (2012), retrieved online June 2017. Gersbacher research is undocumented. Note that photo B shows the team wearing medals matching those described in this report.
October 1876: “Team photos were taken by Mr. [Philip S.] Ryder on October 16. The Stars were pictured in their new brown uniforms trimmed with white, brown stockings and white hats with brown trim.” From Ron Gersbacher, The History of Syracuse Baseball (2012), retrieved online June 2017. Gersbacher research is undocumented.
1876, referenced in 1877: “The tight-fitting under shirt, worn by the Stars and St. Louis Browns, last season [1876], will be discarded by both clubs.” From the Syracuse Daily Courier, April 1877. This report was from the first week in April however the exact date is unreadable on the newspaper scan. This report also suggested the uniform shown in photo A was worn for the majority of the 1876 season.
Team genealogy: Star/Syracuse, 1866-1879
Star was formed in Syracuse in 1866 and began as a junior team. During the 1870s Star played as an independent and in 1877 they joined the League Alliance (LA). The LA was an organization of independent teams playing in cooperation with the National League. The LA dissolved after one year. Star joined the International Association (IA) for the 1878 season and then, as Syracuse, joined the National League (NL) in 1879. The NL had begun operation in 1876. Syracuse folded before the end of the 1879 season and disbanded. Information from Ron Gersbacher, The History of Syracuse Baseball (2012), retrieved online June 2017.
Rendering posted: June 10, 2017
Diggers on this uniform: Justin Mckinney, Mark Fimoff, Nigel Ayres,