1887 Athletic, Philadelphia (Athletics)
These renderings are 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 renderings.
Rendering accuracy: Year: documented Team: documented
Visual documentation on these uniforms:
Photo A
Dated late July 1887 to October 1887. Kalamazoo Bats baseball card of the Athletic team. Year of photo determined by date on card. Year of photo also determined by the appearance of players Mann, McGarr, Milligan and Mathews, who last played for Athletic in 1887, in combination with players Poorman, Weyhing and Townsend, who first played for Athletic in 1887. Date range of July 1887 to October 1887 determined by Mann, who joined the team after July 22. Eleven of the twelve players in this photo wore the team’s gray uniform. The short-sleeved shirts featured an old-English letter “A” centered on a white button placket. Many of these players wore a light-colored belt and light-colored stockings. A newspaper described the team’s white uniform as having “blue stockings and belts” and on the day of the team photo the players wore these items with the team’s gray uniform. Based on photos of this team, the blue in 1887 was light blue, one of the traditional colors of the team. One player wore dark stockings with the gray uniform. A newspaper noted that the gray uniform was paired with red stockings. One player in the front row wore the team’s white uniform. it is possible the players were photographed at the team’s home ballpark, though unconfirmed. Note that a background with an outdoor scene was positioned behind the players, supported by large diagonal braces. This background, which featured a tall thin tree on the right side, was also used for the individual images of the players, see below.
Top row, from left: F Mann (Ath AA 82, Cle AA 87, Ath AA 87), H Stovey (83-89), W Robinson (86-90), and T Poorman (87, 88). Middle: C McGarr (86, 87), D Lyons (86-90), (C Mason mgr 87), H Larkin (84-89, 91) and L Bierbauer (86-89). Front: G Weyhing (Ath AA 87-89, 91, Phi NL 92-95), J Milligan (Ath AA 84-87, Phi PL 90, Ath AA 91), G Townsend (87, 88) and B Mathews (83-87). Player IDs from Nigel Ayres. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Mann info from Dick Leyden, SABR Baseball Biography Project. Original image produced by Charles Gross & Co. a Philadelphia-based cigar dealer.
Dated 1887. Detail view of photo A. Players wore a short-sleeved short with a wide button placket, and light-colored stockings.
Photo B
Dated late July 1887 to October 1887. This team photo was the same image used in the Kalamazoo Bats card shown above, see photo A. This version showed more of the overall image, allowing us to see both a catcher’s mask and a white cap in the foreground. Image scan from Ken Samoil.
Photo C
Dated late July 1887 to October 1887. Kalamazoo Bats baseball card of C McGarr (86, 87), mislabeled as McCan. Full view at left, detail view at right. Full view shows the same photo backdrop and real grass shown in the team photo above and in other player images below, including the image of player Poorman in photo D, confirming photo year of 1887, the only year both players were on the roster at the same time. Full view shows McGarr wearing dark stockings. Detail view shows wide button placket. Years McGarr with team from baseball-reference.com. Original image most likely produced by Charles Gross & Co. a Philadelphia-based cigar dealer.
Photo C
Dated late July 1887 to October 1887. Kalamazoo Bats baseball card of T Poorman (87, 88). Full view at left, detail view at right. Full view shows same photo backdrop and real grass shown in the team photo above, and also in the image that of player McGarr in photo C, confirming photo year of 1887, the only year both players were on the roster at the same time. Full view shows light colored stockings. Detail view shows wide placket, light colored belt and what appears to be a button hole on the sleeve to accept a sleeve extension. Years Poorman with team from baseball-reference.com. Original image produced by Charles Gross & Co. a Philadelphia-based cigar dealer.
Photo E
Dated late July 1887 to October 1887. Image of B Mathews (83-87). Full view at left, detail view at right. The studio backdrop and real grass foreground in the image matched the photos above, suggesting date of 1887. Photo shows Mathews wearing dark colored belt and light colored stockings. Years Mathews with team from baseball-reference.com. Original image most likely produced by Charles Gross & Co. a Philadelphia-based cigar dealer.
Photo F
Dated late July 1887 to October 1887. Image of H Stovey (83-89). Full view at left, detail view at right. This image was also used for a Kalamazoo Bats baseball card featuring Stovey and was taken on the same day as the other photos shown above. Full view showed that the team’s gray cap had a cord above the brim and was without any subtle horizontal banding. Note that other gray caps did show horizontal banding. Detail view showed the letter on the button placket. Years Stovey with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from wikipedia.com. Original image most likely produced by Charles Gross & Co. a Philadelphia-based cigar dealer.
Photo G
Dated late July 1887 to October 1887. Left, image of G Townsend (87, 88), catching, and J Milligan (Ath AA 84-87, Phi PL 90, Ath AA 91), batting. Right, detail view of Milligan. Based on the photo backdrop and the real grass in the foreground, this image was taken on the same day as the team photo and player photos shown above. Milligan wore the team’s white uniform in both this photo and the team photo above. It could be suggested that Milligan wore his white uniform specifically for the creation of this image and where the photographer’s intent was to feature a “home” batter and a “road” catcher. Detail view showed that the white cap had subtle horizontal bands. It is unknown if the shirt had light blue lettering or was plain. Player IDs and image scan from Ken Samoil. Years players with team from baseball-reference.com. Original image most likely produced by Charles Gross & Co. a Philadelphia-based cigar dealer.
Dated late July 1887 to October 1887. Another detail view of photo G, showing catcher Townsend. Note that the player wore a catching glove on his left hand, and a throwing glove on his right. Townsend’s gloves, catcher’s mask, and white undershirt all match that shown in the team photo, see photo A, confirming both images were taken on the same day. Image scan from Ken Samoil.
Photo H
Dated late July 1887 to October 1887. Kalamazoo Bats baseball card of L Bierbauer (86-89) and B Gallagher (dnp). This image showed the full view of the photo backdrop used in the Kalamazoo Bats photo session. Note the dark baseball shoes worn by Gallagher with the light colored accents. Years Bierbauer with team from baseball-reference.com. Original image produced by Charles Gross & Co. a Philadelphia-based cigar dealer.
Photo I
Dated 1887. Kalamazoo Bats baseball card of D Lyons (86-90). Full view at left, detail view at right. It is unclear if this image was made at the same time as the other images above. Detail view showed subtle horizontal bands on the team’s gray cap. Years Lyons with team from baseball-reference.com. Original image produced by Charles Gross & Co. a Philadelphia-based cigar dealer.
Written documentation on these uniforms:
March 1887: “The Athletics are painting their grand stand snow white. There is a little trick about this arrangement. The color is a very bad one for the players’ sight. They expect their players to become used to it in time, while members of other clubs who will not have the chance of playing there often will be dazzled by the reflection of the sun rays and make errors.” From the Philadelphia Times, March 13, 1887, citing the Cleveland Plain-Dealer.
March 31, 1887: “The Athletic players […] today will don their spic and span new uniforms, and play their first game in the field with the best team of the University of Pennsylvania.” From the Philadelphia Inquirer, March 31, 1887.
April 1887, Athletic, Philadelphia v. Philadelphia (NL) at Philadelphia, exhibition game: “The Athletics appeared for the first time in their new uniforms of white caps, breeches and shirts and blue stockings and belts.” From the Philadelphia Times, April 5, 1887. Research from Don Stokes.
June 1887: “[Athletic] has a uniform of gray, with red stockings.” From the St Louis Post-Dispatch, June 14, 1887, in correspondence with the New York Sun. Research from Todd Radom.
Team genealogy:
Athletic, Philadelphia 1880-1890
Athletic was formed in Philadelphia, PA, in 1880 as a touring team and joined the American Association (AA) in 1882. The AA was a major league operating 1882-1891. Athletic played in the AA between 1882 and 1890. The team was expelled from the AA after the 1890 season and the team subsequently folded. The Philadelphia team of the Players’ League (PL) joined the AA for the 1891 season after the PL folded in 1890 and used the Athletic name. Information from wikipedia.com.
Rendering posted: May 28, 2022
Diggers on this uniform: Don Stokes, Ken Samoil, Nigel Ayres, Todd Radom,