1883 Detroit (Detroits)
Left: 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:Year: documented Team: documented
Right: 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
Visual documentation on these uniforms:
Photo A
Dated April 1883 to mid-August 1883, most likely April 12, 1883. Year of photo determined by the appearance of player Burns, who only played for Detroit in 1883. Date range of April 1883 to mid-August 1883 determined by the appearance of player Quest, who was released by Detroit on August 25, 1883. In April 1883, a newspaper reported that the “Detroit players were photographed in a body last Thursday [April 12, 1883],” and this most likely was referencing the photo shown above. Players wore a white uniform in this photo. The shirt had a white bib with dark trim and the city name arched across the front in dark letters. Several of the players in the photo were holding a white cap, with dark trim on the front edge of the brim and along the bottom edge of the body of the cap. The cap also had a dark button on top. The players wore a dark belt and dark stockings. Four of the eleven players shown in the photo wore their shirt sleeves rolled up. Nine of the players wore a necktie in this photo. Newspapers from early 1883 described the team’s accent color as brown, although one report said the white uniform had “gray facings” with brown stockings.
Top row, from left: S Trott (81-83), G Wood (81-85), M Powell (81-83) and C Bennett (81-88). Middle: S Weidman? (81-85), N Hanlon (81-88), (J Chapman mgr 83, 84), J Quest (Det 83, 85, StL AA 83) and D Burns (83). Front: J Farrell (82-84), S Houck (81, 83) and T Mansell (Det 83, StL AA 83). Player IDs from Carson Lorey and Nigel Ayres. Years with team and Quest release date from baseball-reference.com. Report on team being photographed on April 12, 1883, from the The Sporting Life, April 15, 1883. Image from the Kansas City Star, July 5, 1927. Detroit finished in 7th place in 1883 and the photo caption from the 1927 newspaper labeled the team as “the terrible Tigers of 1883.” By calling them Tigers, the Star used a little artistic license as research has shown the team nickname was not is use until the mid-1890s. The 1927 newspaper caption also stated that player Mansell, front row far right, was a detective captain in Kansas City, Kansas. It is likely this photo was in Mansell’s possession at the time, possibly while he lived in Kansas City. Mansell died in Auburn, NY, in 1934. Image scan from Carson Lorey.
Dated April 1883 to mid-August 1883. Detail view of photo A. Detail view showed dark trim on the edge of the shirt bib and the city name arched in dark lettering.
Dated April 1883 to mid-August 1883. Another detail view of photo A. This detail view showed the team’s white cap resting on the right knee of the player seated in middle. The cap had dark trim at the base of the cap and at the front edge of the bill. The cap also had a dark button on top.
Written documentation on these uniforms:
December 1882: “Committees [at a National League meeting] were appointed to make recommendations for the 1883 uniform and the 1883 championship schedule.” From Base Ball’s 19th-Century Winter Meetings, 1857-1900 (SABR, 2018), citing the New York Clipper, December 16, 1882. Research from Michael R. McAvoy. The uniform committee was most likely responsible for recommending and approving the stocking color for each team.
1883: “For uniforms for [National] league clubs, in the future, no two of them are to appear in the same colors. Red stockings are to mark the Boston Club; gray stockings, the Buffalo Club; white stockings, the Chicago Club; navy blue stockings, the Cleveland Club; brown stockings, the Detroit Club; blue and white check stockings, the Philadelphia Club; light blue stockings, the Providence Club.” From the DeWitt Base-Ball Guide, 1883, p. 29. Research from John Thorn.
1883: “Messrs. Buckley, Day and Wright were appointed to constitute [a uniform] committee, who reported in favor of the clubs named being permitted to wear colored stockings selected by them as follows: Boston, red; Chicago, white; Detroit, brown; Buffalo, gray; Cleveland, navy blue; Providence, light blue. Also of allowing New York and Philadelphia clubs to select their own colors prior to the commencement of the season, which should be distinctive and not in conflict with any of the colors selected by the above named clubs.” From the Spalding Guide 1883, p.101. Research from John Thorn.
March 1883: “The Detroits will have two uniforms this year, a gray suit with brown stockings, and a white suit, with gray facings and brown stockings.” From the Detroit Free Press, March 28, 1883. Research from Tom Shieber. This report may suggest the white uniform had gray lettering and trim, not brown.
April 1883: “Manager Chapman, who went to Chicago last week to order his club uniforms, says they will be the finest out. One will be of gray and the other of white flannel of the best quality. The shirts will lace in front, the same as the parti-colored costumes, that will keep people in laughing material for years to come. Buttoning across the breast there will be a shield, upon which will be the word ‘Detroit.’ This will protect the lungs in cool weather, and can be removed when it is extremely hot. Although the gray is intended for spring play, it will be donned at intervals and the white sent to the laundry.” From the Detroit Free Press, April 1, 1883. Research from Don Stokes. This report details that shirt had both lace ties and a bib front worn over the laces.
April 1883: “The Detroits will have two uniforms, one of gray and the other of white.” From the Cincinnati Enquirer, April 5, 1883. Research from Tom Shieber.
April 1883: “The Detroit players were photographed in a body last Thursday [April 12, 1883].” From The Sporting Life, April 15, 1883.
April 1883: “They [Detroit] start for Indianapolis […] and play […] Thursday and Friday. They will use their new gray suits while away, the white ones being reserved for hot weather.” From the Detroit Free Press, April 17, 1883. Research from Tom Shieber.
May 1883, Detroit v. Chicago: “ The Detroits wore their white new uniforms, and the Chicagos came out flaming—red caps and knee breeches, white shirt and stockings.” From the Detroit Free Press, May 6, 1883. Research from Tom Shieber. Detroit hosted Chicago May 1 and 2, then played at Chicago May 3 and 5. Game dates from Retrosheet.org.
May 1883: “Mayor Thompson, of Detroit, President of the club […] declares himself deeply grateful to President Spalding for not having introduced the Chicago turkey-cock uniform in the games here [in Detroit], for those fiery red pants would have thrown the esthetes [sp?] of this Michigan metropolis into fits and broken up base ball forever.” From The Sporting Life, May 20, 1883. This issue also included a report saying: “A gentleman of this city [Detroit] offers to give each member of the Detroit club a handsome silk-lined coat if they win the championship.”
June 12, 1883, Detroit v. Boston at Boston: “The Detroits wore their gray uniform yesterday [June 12].” From the Boston Globe, June 13, 1883. Research from Tom Shieber. Game date from retrosheet.org.
June 1883: “[Detroit manager] Chapman bought the boys some new red stockings on Saturday [June 30] to change their luck. Wrong color.” From the Detroit Free Press, July 2, 1883.
July 1883: “Detroit recently changed to red stockings for luck, but were not successful in attaining the desired end.” From the Cincinnati Enquirer, July 22, 1883. Research from Ed Morton.
September 5, 1883, Detroit v. Chicago at Chicago: “The visitors [Detroit] appeared in their neat gray uniforms.” From the Chicago Tribune, September 6, 1883. Research from Tom Shieber. Game date from retrosheet.org.
November 1883: “The St. Louis people gave [Detroit manager] Jack Chapman credit for able management in having his men appear on their ground on a muddy day, with a snowy white uniform, looking as nice as though it was brand new.” From the National Police Gazette, November 3, 1883.
Team genealogy:
Detroit 1881-1888
Detroit was formed to join the National League (NL) in 1881. The NL began operation in 1876. Detroit played in the NL between 1881 and 1888. The team disbanded after the 1888 season. Information from wikipedia.
1883 Detroit summary
Uniform: white, brown stockings
First worn: early May
Photographed: April 12
Described: March-May
Material: flannel
Manufacturer: Spalding & Bro.
Supposition:
Variations: may have worn shirt without bib showing lace ties underneath; wore red stockings in late June
Other items: necktie
Home opener report: yes, May 1 v. Chicago
Uniform: light gray, brown stockings
First worn: worn in April and sporadically throughout the year
Photographed:
Described: March, April, June, September
Material:
Manufacturer: Spalding & Bro.
Supposition: cap style, shirt style, lettering
Variations:
Other items:
Rendering posted: August 29, 2021
Diggers on this uniform: Carson Lorey, Don Stokes, John Thorn, Nigel Ayres, Tom Shieber,