1887 Gorham, New York (Gorhams)

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 this uniform:
None

Written documentation on this uniform:
May 5, 1887, Gorham, New York, v. Keystone, Pittsburgh, at Pittsburgh, Recreation Park, opening game: “The Keystones appeared in their dark-gray uniforms, while the Gorhams wore their suits of blue and old gold trimmings.” From the Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette, May 6, 1887. Research from Ken Mars, The 1887 National Colored League Resource Guide (2017, SABR).

Team genealogy: Gorham, New York 1886-1892
Gorham was formed in New York in 1886 as an independent touring team. The Gorhams were organized by saloon owner Ambrose Davis, who named the team after Alexander Gorham, another saloon keeper in New York. Gorham joined the NCBL for the league’s inaugural season in 1887. Play began in early May 1887, however the league folded by the end of the month due to financial difficulties. Gorham continued on as a barnstorming team. They joined the Middle States League for the latter half of the 1889 season, representing first Lancaster PA and then Easton PA, and the Connecticut State League in 1891. The club disbanded in 1892. Years of formation and disbandment from Euell A. Dixon, blackpast.org, retrieved April 6, 2025.