1887 Minneapolis

This rendering is based on visual documentation for uniform style only. Color information is unknown and the uniform is rendered in values of gray. Minor details may also be undocumented or difficult to determine and an educated guess is made to complete the rendering.

Rendering accuracy:Year: documented    Team: documented

Visual documentation on this uniform:

Photo A
Dated 1887, possibly April 1887. Year of photo can be confirmed by the appearance of player Peak, who only played for this team in 1887. An April 1887 date can be suggested by the appearance of player Ganzel who was released from the team on April 28, 1887. See more on Ganzel in the next paragraph. Players wore a gray or mid-tone uniform in this photo. The belt and the stockings were dark in color. The pillbox-style cap was the same color as the shirt and pants and had a single thin dark horizontal band and also a white cord above the brim. The lettering on the shirt was similar but smaller in size when compared to the lettering on the 1888 Minneapolis uniform. Ten of the thirteen players in the photo wore long sleeves. The remaining three players wore short sleeves, and two of these men can be identified as pitchers.

Top row, from left: unidentified, G Winkleman (87, 88), unidentified, (unidentified), O Patton (87, 88), J Shaw (87, 88) and C Willis? (Min 87, EuC NWL 87). Front: M Murray? (87), G Ganzel? (87), E Peak (Min 87, Dul NWL 87, EaC NWL 87), E Foster (87, 89, 90), B Hawes (87, 88), W Tuckerman (Min 87, EaC NWL 87) and unidentified. Players IDs from researchers Carson Lorey, Nigel Ayres and Ken Samoil. Lorey surmised that the image was possibly “a preseason photo” and that it featured “several players that appeared only in the first month.” Ayres added that “in the team’s first public outing of the year on April 13th against the local university team 13 players participated. This may be significant as 13 players are depicted in the team photo. The uniforms appear to be pristine and we know the practice of team photos being taken early in a season.” Based on these early games, the unidentified players may be, top row far left, J Moriarty (87); top row, 3rd from left, J McKeever (Min 87, EaC NWL 87); and front row, far right, G Meister (87); all unconfirmed. The man in street clothes may be the manager, R Foster (87). Samoil added that “the key to placing the date of the photo as just before or at the very start of the season, though, is our identification of George Ganzel. […] Ganzel played in an [exhibition] game against St. Paul on April 26th; the [St. Paul] Globe reporter stated that ‘the lack of judgment by Ganzel in left field would make an amateur blush.’ On the [April] 28th, the Globe noted that ‘Ganzel, who played left, has been laid off.’” The identification of Ganzel cannot be verified. Samoil has determined that “there is only one known image of [Ganzel], one with poor resolution taken in 1906, but it seems to match the second player from the left in the bottom row of the Minneapolis photo.” Image scan from REA Auctions.

Dated 1887, possibly April 1887. Detail view of photo A. Detail view showed a pillbox-style cap with both a single dark-colored horizontal band and a white thin braid above the brim. This was most noticeable on the player seated at left. The shirt had lace ties and the majority of players in this photo tied their laces using an “x” configuration. The shirts had a pocket on the left breast, though some shirts may have been without a pocket.

Written documentation on this uniform:
None

Team genealogy: Coming soon