1879 Cleveland (Clevelands, Forest Citys, Blues)
Left: This rendering is based on written documentation for uniform style and color. No visual documentation is known and an artist’s conceptualization is used to create the rendering.
Rendering accuracy:Year: documented Team: documented
Right: This rendering is based on visual documentation for uniform style only. An educated guess is made on uniform color, based on other color descriptions from this year, and also on minor details that may be missing or difficult to determine.
Rendering accuracy:Year: documented Team: documented
These renderings are included in the book, BASEBALL THREADS.
Visual documentation on these uniforms:
Photo A
Dated 1879. Year of photo determined by the appearance of players Carey, Riley, Warner and Mitchell, all of whom only played for Cleveland in 1879. Players wore a white or light-colored uniform in this photo. The stockings were a middle-tone in color and the players wore a white or light-colored truncated necktie. It is possible the caps shown in the foreground of this photo differ from the caps held on the laps of several players, see detail view.
Top row, from right: J Glasscock (79-84), B Phillips (79-84), J McCormick (79-84) and G Streif (79, 84). Middle: C Eden? (79), T Carey (79), (J Mack mgr), D Kennedy (79-82) and B Riley (79). Front, on ground: F Warner (79) and B Mitchell (79). Player IDs from David Nemec, The Great Encyclopedia of 19th Century Major League Baseball (1997) and from Nigel Ayres. Years with team from baseball-reference.com.
Dated 1879. Detail view of photo A. Detail view showed the white truncated ties that the players wore. Note that white pillbox-style caps with two broad horizontal bands can be seen sitting on laps of several players. Also note that the bottom of the button placket in this detail view seemingly was not sewn to the material of the shirt.
Written documentation on these uniforms:
March 1879: “The [Cleveland] uniform will be white caps, shirts, trousers and brown stockings.” From the Cincinnati Enquirer, March 14, 1879. Reports from April 1879 said the team wore blue stockings.
March 1879: “There will be four red-stocking clubs in the league, viz.: Cincinnati, Boston, Cleveland and Buffalo.” From the Chicago Daily Tribune, March 23, 1879. Research by Don Stokes. Reports from April 1879 said the team wore blue stockings.
March 1879: “There will be five red stocking clubs in the [National] League this season: Cincinnati, Cleveland, Boston, Buffalo and Troy clubs. The Chicago club wears white stockings and the Syracuse club brown.” From the New York Daily Tribune, March 29, 1879. Reports from April 1879 said the team wore blue stockings.
March 1879: “The Cincinnati, Boston, Cleveland and Buffalo clubs will all glory in garish red hosiery this coming season. The fatted calves of the Chicagos will be cased in pure white […] and the shapely shins of the [Syracuse] Stars in puritanical brown. How the Providence will be stockinged remains a secret locked in the bosom of George Wright.” From the Syracuse Daily Courier, March 30, 1879. Reports from April 1879 said the team wore blue stockings.
April 1879: “A. G. Spalding & Bros. are making base ball suits for the Nationals of Washington, the Buffalo and the Cleveland nines. The latter are to have an odd-looking costume, made of black and white check material.” From the Chicago Daily Telegraph, April 13, 1879.
April 1879: “The following will be the uniforms of the [National] League clubs this season: Chicagos, white suits with different colored caps, belts, neckties and stockings. Bostons, white suits, white caps, red stockings, belts and neckties. Buffalos, white suits, white caps, blue stockings, belts and neckties. Cincinnatis, white suits, white caps, red stockings, belts and neckties. Troys, light gray suits and caps, cardinal red belts and stockings, ‘T. C.’ on shirt front. Clevelands, black and white checkered suits, blue trimmings, white caps, blue belts and stockings, ‘Clevelands’ on shirt front. Syracuse, white suits, white caps with brown trimmings, brown stockings. Providence, light gray suits with blue trimmings, blue belts, stockings and caps.” From the Buffalo Courier, April 13, 1879.
April 1879: “The new uniform of the Cleveland team will consist of a black-and-white check suit, with blue stockings and trimmings and white cap.” From the Boston Globe, April 17, 1879. Research from Tom Shieber.
April 1879: “The [Cleveland] Leader announces that the uniform of the Cleveland team will consist of a black and white check suit and blue trimmings and stockings and white cap. The name ‘Cleveland’ will be worked on the jacket front—to prevent the boys from getting lost, it is supposed.” From the Cincinnati Enquirer, April 19, 1879. Research from Bill Hickman.
April 1879: “The Cleveland uniforms consist of black and white checked shirts, and pantaloons, blue belt, blue stockings and shoes made of French leather. We don’t want to convict anybody, but [we] should imagine that the team on the field would suggest State Prison or County Penitentiary.” From the Buffalo Commercial, April 21, 1879.
April 1879: “The Cleveland team practiced yesterday [April 23, 1879] in a new uniform designed specifically for practice —blue pantaloons and shirts and brown stockings. This uniform will be worn in the game on Saturday [April 26 v. picked nine].” From the Cleveland Evening Post, April 24, 1879. Research from Gary Kodner.
May 1, 1879, Cleveland v. Providence, at Cleveland, home opener: “Probably the miserable looking uniform of the Cleveland nine had something to do with their defeat. The boys probably all wanted to crawl into a hole. The uniform is enough to take the spirit out of them. It makes them look as if they had been thrown into the lake and hadn’t got dry.” From the Cleveland Plain Dealer, May 2, 1879, page 1.
May 1879: “[Manager] Joe Mack has ordered the Cleveland uniforms to be shot. The execution will take place next Saturday [May 10] at sundown.” From the Cincinnati Enquirer, May 5, 1879.
May 1879: “The [Cleveland] Directors had not yet decided what the new uniform would be. A general yearning seems to go out for the old plain white, which, when kept clean, is the best-looking rig of them all. President Evans says the new dress will be ready for the first tour, at any rate.” From the Cincinnati Enquirer, May 8, 1879, citing the Cleveland Leader. Cleveland started their road schedule on May 28, 1879, at Syracuse.
May 1879, a stanza from a poem: “In happy homes they saw a sight/Which made their bosoms swell with fight/The girls all wore a ribbon blue/And that was Cleveland’s noble hue.” From the Cleveland Leader, May 8, 1879, page 3, citing the Providence Sunday Dispatch.
May 1879: “The Cleveland nine will appear in new uniforms this week. The old ones did not suit the public.” From the Chicago Tribune, May 11, 1879. Research from Tom Shieber. Note, it is possible the new uniform mentioned in this report is the outfit shown in photo A.
May 1879: “The uniforms of the eight [National] League teams are as follows: Boston, white trousers, shirts and caps, with red stockings, neckties and belts; Cleveland, black and white checked suits, white caps, blue stockings and trimmings; Providence, light gray trousers, jackets and caps, with blue stockings, belts and neckties; Chicago, white suits with different colored caps, belts and neckties, and white stockings; Buffalo, white suits, and white caps with blue trimmings, neckties and blue stockings; Cincinnati, white suits and caps, with red trimmings, belts, neckties, and red stockings; Troy, light gray suits and caps, cardinal red belts and stockings, and ‘T.C.’ on shirt front; Syracuse, white suits, white caps with brown trimmings, and brown stockings.” From the New York Tribune, May 14, 1879. Research from Richard Hershberger. Note that this was a version of a circulated report originally published in early April.
July 31, 1879, Cleveland v. Chicago, at Chicago: “The Chicagos defeated the Cleveland Blues yesterday in an old-fashioned, squarely played game.” From the Chicago Inter Ocean, August 1, 1879. An example of the Blues nickname in use, presumably based on the team’s stocking color.
September 9, 1880, Cleveland v. Buffalo, at Buffalo: “The visitors arrived from Cleveland, having left their trunk and bat-bag behind, and had to go on the field half in partial uniforms, borrowed from local men, and the remainder in citizen’s cloths.” From the Cincinnati Enquirer, September 10, 1880.
Team genealogy:
Cleveland 1879-1884
Cleveland joined the National League (NL) in 1879. The NL began operation in 1876 and Cleveland played in the NL through the 1884 season. The team disbanded prior to the 1885 NL season. Information from wikipedia.com.
1879 Cleveland summary
Uniform: black and white checked, blue stockings
First worn: last worn May 10
Photographed:
Described: March, April
Material: leather shoes
Manufacturer: Spalding & Bro.
Supposition: cap style, shirt style, shirt lettering and color
Variations:
Other items: practice uniform of blue shirt and pants, and brown stockings
Home opener report: no, May 1 v. Providence
Uniform: white, blue stockings
First worn: mid-May
Photographed: May or after
Described: May, July
Material: leather shoes
Manufacturer:
Supposition:
Variations:
Other items:
Rendering posted: May 8, 2015
Diggers on this uniform: Bill Hickman, Don Stokes, Gary Kodner, Nigel Ayres, Richard Hershberger, Tom Shieber,