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1879 Providence (Providences, Grays)

National League

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:CirclesOnly_ThreeAndAHalfYear: documented    Team: documented


The gold standard for gray uniforms.
George Wright came to Providence in 1879 and immediately brought the city a National League championship. He also brought a new era to baseball fashion by dressing his team in a simple, unadorned gray uniform. Decades later, the term “Providence gray” was still commonplace for describing a uniform that wasn’t white.

Threads takes a closer look at this landmark uniform, puts an exact date to a well-known team photo, and even finds a typo in the process. See more below.


Visual documentation on this uniform:

Photo A

Dated April 1979 to mid-August 1879. Cabinet card with studio portraits of Providence players, full view at left, detail view of player Hague at right. The item was hand-dated “1879” and this year can be confirmed by the appearance of player O’Rourke, top center, who only played for Providence in 1879. Date range of April to mid-August based on the appearance of players Brown and Hague, both of whom started the season with Providence. Hague’s final game with the team was August 15, 1879 and both he and Brown were removed from the team by the end of the month. A newspaper stated on August 30, 1879, that “Brown will act as a substitute for the remainder of the season, and Hague has been released.” Based on the similar look of these images, it was likely all were made at the same time, probably at the beginning of the 1879 season.

A major influence.
The Providence uniform of 1879 had a far-reaching impact on baseball fashion. The team was not the first in the National League to wear gray, that honor went to 1877 Louisville, but Providence was the first to pair the gray color with a dominant team and a championship season. The uniform material, described by newspapers in 1879 as “light gray cheviot [wool]” with trimmings of “a very lively shade of blue,” was deemed a “great improvement” over the previous Providence uniform of 1878. And the look made its mark across all of baseball, for throughout the 19th century the term “Providence gray” was used to describe any team uniform that had a rich, gray color. As one example, a random search in the newspaper archives from 1900 revealed that the Philadelphia Phillies from that year “wore pretty uniforms of Providence gray with red trimmings.” This report came 21 years after the 1879 uniform was first worn.

Less is more.
The selection of the gray uniform was made by shortstop and team captain George Wright, who undoubtedly awarded the manufacturing contract to his own sporting goods company, Wright & Ditson. However, another uniform decision made by Wright in 1879 also had significant impact: the Providence uniform had no team name on the front of the shirt. The Chicago Tribune noted in April of this year that “George Wright […] hopes the Providence nine will make such a name this season that they will be well known without a word or letter on the shirt front.” This was a new trend in baseball dress and one Wright apparently found to his liking. The idea was possibly this: a uniform without any identification appeared sophisticated and upscale, and more importantly, it distinguished a National League team from the growing legion of minor-league teams. These lower clubs were typically outfitted by Spalding Bros. and usually their uniform included a “Chicago-style” cap and a bibbed shirt that featured a monogram (see 1878 Utica, as one example). It should also be noted that the uniform Wright chose for Providence was clearly different than the uniform of his former team in Boston, see photo B.

For the cabinet card shown above, the Providence players were photographed wearing light gray shirts and caps. The shirt had a wide button placket and collars that were also large in size. The pillbox-style caps had a single braid above the brim of the cap, most likely in light blue. Unlike the caps shown in photos B and C, the caps in photo A did not appear to have any horizontal bands sewn into the body. This suggests the team wore two differently-styled caps during the 1879 season. The detail view of player Hague, at right, showed that the button placket did not lay flat against the shirt, possibly indicating the placket was made of thick material or that the shirt was new and not worn-in when the photo was taken. Note that all team members wore neckties for these studio portraits. The color of the tie was also seemingly light blue, to match the uniform belt and stockings. Most of the players were not wearing neckties when the on-field photos were made, see photos B and C. This montage of portraits also included the words “Providence Grays,” confirming the use of the team nickname, apparently based on the color of the uniforms.

Clockwise from top: J O’Rourke (79), T York (78-82), J Start (79-85), M McGeary (79, 80), L Brown (78, 79), J Ward (78-82), B Mathews (79,81), B Hague (78, 79) and P Hines (78-85). Center: G Wright (79, 82). Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Info on Hague and Brown leaving the team from the New York Clipper, August 30, 1879. Mention of the Philadelphia Phillies wearing Providence gray from the Philadelphia Times, February 20, 1900. Image scan from Mark Fimoff, SABR 19th-Century Pictorial Committee, and from John Thorn, Our Game blog, November 9, 2020.


Dated April 1979 to mid-August 1879. Three detail views of photo A, from left, T York (78-82), J Start (79-85) and J Ward (78-82). Detail views showed the braid above the brim of the pillbox cap and the wide button placket of the shirts. Note that player Ward tucked his necktie into his shirt opening. Detail views also showed that the Providence shirts did not have any lettering across the front. Some of these portraits were used in a montage of Providence players published in 1880.

Photo B
1879_BostonandProvidence_teamphoto

Photo finale.
Dated September 30, 1879. Photograph of the Boston National League team, left, and the Providence team, right, at the Messer Street Grounds, Providence. Year of photo confirmed by the appearance of player O’Rourke, who only played for Providence in 1879. Date of September 30 determined by the following report from the Providence Evening Press, published on October 1, 1879, and with research from Ed Morton. It reads: “Previous to the commencement of the game the two nines [Boston and Providence], with their managers and Umpire McLean, arranged themselves in a semi-circle just beyond the diamond and were “photoed” [sp] by two artists, one taking a large picture of the two nines [separately?], the other gentlemen taking the nines together with a view of the entire grounds including the grandstand and the side seats. At three o’clock the copper was tossed [and] the Reds went to bat.” Unfortunately, the photographers’ names were not noted in the report. The September date can be further confirmed by the appearance of Providence player Gross who joined the team in mid-August 1879 and played his first game with the Grays on August 13. The only days that Boston played in Providence after Gross joined the Providence team was the final series of the season played at the end of September. September 30, the day of the photo, was the last day of the 1879 season. The Evening Press tells us that this photo was taken before the game was to begin at three o’clock. The long shadows cast by the players seem to corroborate the late afternoon of a fall day in New England. Note the pitcher’s box in the photo, along with the team benches and the upright stand next to one bench that held the bats to be used during the game by both teams. According to author Edward Achorn, Fifty-nine in ‘84 (2010), “the building on the right beyond the park, then the Willow Street School, still stands.”

Players wore a light gray uniform in this photo, with light-colored belts and stockings. A newspaper report from 1879 described the uniform as light gray in color with trimmings in a “lively shade of blue.” The shirts had large collars and a wide button placket. The pillbox-style caps had two horizontal bands, most likely light blue in color. One player, on ground, wore the team sweater, either gray or light blue in color. Though the strong sunlight on the players makes it difficult to determine, one can detect that four of the ten Providence players in this photo wore neckties: Gross, O’Rourke, Wright and Farrell(?). These ties were probably light blue in color.

Providence players, top row, from left: E Gross (79-82), T York? (78-82), J O’Rourke (79), J Start (79-85), J Ward (78-82), M McGeary (79, 80) and P Hines (78-85). Front, on ground: B Matthews (79,81), G Wright (79, 82) and J Farrell? (79-85). Player IDs based on photos A and C. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from Mark Fimoff, SABR 19th-Century Pictorial Committee.

1879_Providence_NL_teamphotodetail
Dated September 30, 1879. Detail view of photo B. Detail view showed that the cap may have had two horizontal bands, probably light blue in color, and that the fabric belt had a dark leather strap.

Photo C
1879_Providence_NL_teamphoto2

We are the champions.
Dated mid-September 1879 to October 1879. Photo of the Providence team at the Messer Street Grounds, Providence. Year of photo confirmed by the appearance of player O’Rourke, who only played for Providence in 1879. Date range of mid-September to mid-October determined by the appearance of player Farrell, who joined the Providence team after the Syracuse NL team folded on September 10. Box scores show that Farrell first played for Providence in a game on September 13. The ten players shown in photo C constituted the everyday lineup, in one form or another, for the remainder of the season. After the conclusion of the National League season on September 30, Providence continued to play exhibition games at home with these same players into October. Similar to photo B, the players were positioned in this photo on the playing field behind second base and in shallow center field. The short shadows cast by the players would suggest the photo was taken when the sun was high, possibly around noon, and that Messer Park was positioned with main grandstand facing south. Compare these shadows to those in photo B, where the shadows were longer, suggesting late afternoon and the sun in the west. This photo may have been taken to commemorate the team’s winning of the National League championship.

Players wore a light gray uniform in this photo, with light-colored belts and stockings. A newspaper report from 1879 described the uniform as light gray in color with trimmings in a “lively shade of blue.” The shirts had large collars and a wide button placket. The pillbox-style caps had two horizontal bands, most likely light blue in color. Though difficult to determine, only one player in this photo, player Wright standing fifth from left, wore a necktie, which he had tucked into his shirt opening, just as he did in photo B. The remaining players were not wearing neckties.

Top row, from left: J Ward (78-82), T York (78-82), E Gross (79-82), J Start (79-85), G Wright (79, 82), J O’Rourke (79), M McGeary (79, 80) and P Hines (78-85). Front, on ground: J Farrell (79-85) and B Mathews (79,81). Player IDs from another version of this print (not shown) where the names were written on the photo frame. In some publications, player Farrell has been identified as L Brown (78, 79). Years players with team from baseball-reference.com. Box score of Farrell first playing with Providence from the Chicago Tribune, September 14, 1879. Second version of print with names from John Thorn, Our Game blog, May 23, 2019.

1879_Providence_NL_teamphoto2detail
Dated mid-September 1879 to October 1879. Detail view of photo C. Detail view showed that the cap had horizontal bands.

Photos D & E

An error charged to whom?
Dated 1879. Championship medals made for Providence players; medal for G Wright, left, and for J O’Rourke, right. Medals were given to each player on the team upon winning the National League championship. A newspaper reported that the medals were handed out by the Providence mayor at a “grand banquet” held on the evening of September 30, 1879 (the same day that photo B was taken). The medals were of “costly solid-gold” and consisted of “superior workmanship.” Though the workmanship does indeed look superior, the medal maker did not spell O’Rourke’s name correctly. On the night of the banquet, a newspaper described how the men were to receive their medals, saying that when “each member appears on the platform his name will be presented in bright fire, and then in the glare of an electric light the presentation will take place.” One wonders if the glare from all of the light prevented O’Rourke from immediately seeing the typo on his medal? Image of the Wright medal from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Cooperstown, NY. Image of the O’Rourke medal from John Thorn, Our Game blog, May 23, 2019, citing the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Cooperstown, NY.


Written documentation on this uniform:
March 26, 1879: “Owing to the silence maintained by the Providence people in regard to the color of the rainment [i.e., clothing] in which the local nine was to be arrayed, it as generally expected that [Manager] George Wright was going to astonish the habitues [i.e., residents] of the diamond with a uniform of which the equal was never seen on a base ball field. It turns out the the backwardness of the Providence directors in announcing the color of their players’ uniform was due to the fact that they feared they could not get the cloth they desired, but it is settled that the ball-tossers from that city will be clothed the same as last season — that is, in gray with blue stockings.” From the Buffalo Morning Express, March 26, 1879

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.

March 1879: “The Providence nine has finally decided upon a uniform. It will be a light gray, with blue belt and stockings.” From the Chicago Daily Tribune, March 30, 1879. Research from Don Stokes.

April 1879: “The uniform of the Providence nine has been decided upon, and will consist of a lighter shade of gray with blue stockings and cap of the same color, with a white cord encircling the crown. The material will be much finer and more durable than that of last season [1878]. Instead of the full name ‘Providence’ across the breast, the letter ‘P’ will be substituted. Something nobby and neat is promised in the shape of a close-fitting jacket to be worn in cool and stormy weather. Captain [George] Wright is inclined to the opinion that inasmuch as the team adopted the gray uniform last season, it is best to retain it as the club color.” From the Boston Globe, April 1, 1879. This report also appeared in the Buffalo Commercial, April 2, 1879, and a truncated version appeared the Cincinnati Enquirer, April 9, 1879. Note that visual documentation of the 1879 Providence uniform does not show any lettering on the shirt.

April 1879: “Captain Wright says that the uniform for the Providence nine has not been decided upon. As the nine was known as the Grays last year, he thinks that he would select some shade of that color, that the name may live.” The New York Clipper, April 12, 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 style of the uniform heretofore mentioned for the Providence team has been varied somewhat. The color will remain the same, the stockings, belt and tie will be dark-blue, and the cap of gray, with a blue cord encircling it.” From the New York Clipper, April 19, 1879. Research from Ed Morton. Note that this report does not match the uniform shown in photos A & B. The mention of a dark blue stocking color matched the color described for the 1878 Providence team.

April 1879: “George Wright says that he hopes the Providence nine will make such a name this season that they will be well known without a word or letter on the shirt front.” From the Chicago Tribune, April 27, 1879. This same issue also offered up the following anecdote: “George Wright played a game of ball recently in uniform only. He caught cold and had ‘rheumatiz’ [rheumatism]. The next game he had on three pairs of pants, and jackets ad lib. He was warm, but couldn’t stoop and get a ball to save him.”

April 1879: “The Providence team have been provided with the blue Cardigan for cool and stormy weather, and their uniform will be very neat. The cloth of the suit is cheviot, and it is said to be very durable. The jacket is plain, with a plaiting [i.e., braided band] on the front, and, with the collar is relieved with a narrow blue piping cord.” From the Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, April 30, 1879.

May 1879: “The new uniform of the Providences is said to be a great improvement on that of last season. The texture is of light gray cheviot [wool], and the trimmings are of a very lively shade of blue.” From the New York Clipper, May 10, 1879. Research from Brian McKenna.

May 28, 1879, Providence v. Buffalo, at Providence, home opener: “The Greys [sp] did some fine base running.” From the Buffalo Express, May 29, 1879.

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.

September 1879: “Providence, R. I., September 29. — […] Tomorrow closes the [National] league season here, and the wind-up will be a glorious one. The Grays and Reds [of Boston] will be given a grand banquet, and then be taken to Park Garden, where the champions of ’79 and ’80 will be presented with costly solid-gold badges of superior workmanship. [Providence] Mayor Doyle will make the presentation speech, and as each member of the [Providence] nine appears on the raised platform and receives a badge Professor Blank, the garden pyrotechnist, will set off a piece of fireworks displaying in glaring, blazing letters, the name and fielding position of the recipient. The reception, which is to be given by the citizens, will wind up with a magnificent pyrotechnic display.” From the Boston Globe, September 30, 1879.

September 30, 1879, Providence v. Boston, at Providence, Messer Park: “The air was warm yesterday. […] Previous to the commencement of the game the two nines, with their managers and Umpire McLean, arranged themselves in a semi-circle just beyond the diamond and were “photoed” [sp] by two artists, one taking a large picture of the two nines, the other gentlemen taking the nines together with a view of the entire grounds including the grandstand and the side seats. At three o’clock the copper was tossed [and] the Reds went to bat.” From the Providence Evening Press, October 1, 1879. Research from Ed Morton.

September 1879: “On Wednesday, Oct. 1, the Providence Club is to be given a grand reception congratulatory upon the success of the team in winning the [National League] championship as they have done. The nine, with the Bostons as invited guests, will be banqueted at the Park Garden, after which badges will be presented to each member of the nine by [Providence] Mayor Doyle. As each member appears on the platform his name will be presented in bright fire, and then in the glare of an electric light the presentation will take place.” From The New York Clipper, October 4, 1879. Based on reports during this time from the Boston Globe, the reception took place on September 30.

September 1879: “Providence, R. I., September 30. — The concluding game of the [National] league season was played here today. […] In the evening the nines went to Park Garden and had a grand banquet, and were presented with sold gold badges by [Providence] Mayor Doyle in [sp] behalf of the citizens. The whole affair wound up with a grand pyrotechnic display.” From the Boston Globe, October 1, 1879.

1879: ”After their championships in 1879 and 1884 the Providence Grays commissioned a 30-foot white and black silk whip pennant for their home park.” From John Thorn, Our Game blog, July 25, 2020, retrieved July 28, 2020.


Team genealogy: Providence 1878-1885
Providence joined the National League (NL) in 1878. The NL was organized in 1876. Providence played in the NL for 8 years, disbanding after the 1885 season. Information from wikipedia.com.


1879 Providence summary

Uniform: light gray, light blue stockings
First worn:
Photographed: before mid-August
Described: March-May, September
Material: wool
Manufacturer:
Supposition:
Variations: also wore a cap with no horizontal bands
Other items: gray jacket with blue trim
Home opener report: yes, May 28 v. Buffalo



Rendering posted: July 28, 2022
Diggers on this uniform: Brian McKenna, Don Stokes, Ed Morton, John Thorn, Mark Fimoff, Richard Hershberger,