1887 Pittsburgh (Pittsburghs, Pittsburgs, Alleghenys)

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 1887. Old Judge baseball card of A McKinnon (87). Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date confirmed as 1887 was the only year McKinnon played for Pittsburgh. Detail view shows a shirt pocket. It is possible this uniform, in addition to all of the Pittsburgh uniforms displayed on the Old Judge cards in 1887, was the pearl-gray road uniform described in a newspaper account from this same year. Year McKinnon with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Photo B

Dated 1887. Gypsy Queen baseball card of A Whitney (AA 84-86, NL 87). Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date confirmed as studio background matches McKinnon photo, see photo A. Detail view shows short sleeves or detachable sleeves and a pant seam without trim. Years Whitney with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Photo C

Dated 1887. Old Judge baseball card of S Barkley (AA 86, NL 87). Full view at left, detail view at right. Detail view shows light-colored or white lace ties and decorative stitching on the shirt placket and shirt pocket. Years Barkley with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from the Library of Congress, Washington DC.

Dated 1887. Detail view of photo C. Detail view shows subtle bands, possibly 3 or 4, circling the cap.

Photo D

Dated 1887. Old Judge baseball card of T Brown (Pit AA 85, 86, Pit NL 87, Ind 87). Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date may be confirmed by similarities in studio background between this image and that of McKinnon confirmed as 1887, see photo A. Photo was most likely made before August 15, 1887 as this was the date Brown was released by Pittsburgh. Detail view seems to confirm that lace ties were worn by this team. Detail view also shows creases or seam lines in pants, possibly suggesting padding around the knees. Only a few Pittsburgh players from this photo session appeared to be wearing this style of pants. Years Brown with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Brown release date from wikipedia.

Photo E

Dated 1887. Old Judge baseball card of F Carroll (AA 85, 86, NL 87-89, 91, PL 90). Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date may be confirmed by similarities in studio background between this image and that of McKinnon confirmed as 1887, see photo A. Detail view shows creases or seam lines in pants, possibly suggesting padding around the knees. Only a few Pittsburgh players from this photo session appeared to be wearing this style of pants. Years Carroll with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Photo F

Dated 1887. Kalamazoo Bats baseball card. Team wore a white uniform in this photo with dark caps and middle-tone belts and stockings. Based on the grandstand behind the players, this photo was most likely taken at Recreation Park, Pittsburgh. A similar grandstand appeared in an 1889 team photo. It can then be assumed the team was wearing the home uniform in this 1887 photo. Contrary to the newspaper reports from 1887 (listed below) the team wore dark caps, probably red in color, with this home uniform.

From left: A Dalrymple (87, 88), T Brown? (Pit AA 85, 86, Pit NL 87, Ind NL 87), A Whitney? (AA 84-86, NL 87), P Galvin (AA 85, 86, NL 87-89, 91, 92, PL 90), A McKinnon? (87), E Morris (AA 85, 86, NL 87-89, PL 90), F Carroll (AA 85, 86, NL 87-89, 91, PL 90), J Coleman? (AA 86, NL 87, 88, 90), D Miller (AA 84-86, NL 87-93) and P Smith (AA 85, 86, NL 87-89). Image scan from Jay Miller, Joe Gonsowski and Richard Masson, The Photographic Baseball Cards of Goodwin & Company, 1886-1890 (2008). Player IDs from Nigel Ayres. Due to quality of image, some identifications are unconfirmed. Ballpark name from retrosheet.org.

Written documentation on these uniforms:
March 1887: “As the members of the [Pittsburgh] team report they are measured for their uniforms. Each man will have two — one of pearl gray, with blue trimmings, and the other will likely be white and blue, although it has not yet been decided definitely. Spalding will make them.” From the Philadelphia Times, March 27, 1887.

March 1887: “Pittsburg[h] is to adopt the famous maroon stockings as part of its costume.” From the Owego Daily Record, March 30, 1887.

April 1887: “When the Pittsburg[h] Club makes its first appearance in other [National] League cities, the spectators will be very apt to think that a circus has struck town. Their uniform coats will be the cause of suspicion. They are made of flannel, with alternate stripes of red and white. The boys have poked a good many jokes at Manger Phillips over his selection.” From the Philadelphia Times, April 3, 1887.

April 1887: “The Pittsburg[h] players away from home will wear gray with maroon belts and stockings, and for the home games the costumes will be white with the same color in stockings and belts. The caps will match the uniforms.” From the Washington (DC) Evening Star, April 5, 1887.

April 1887: “The traveling suits of the Pittsburg[h] team will be of pearl-gray color. The color of the playing uniform has not been decided upon yet, but will likely be a white jacket, with blue trunks.” From The Sporting Life, April 6, 1887.

April 19, 1887, Pittsburgh v. Altoona (PSA), at Pittsburgh, Recreation Park, exhibition game: “The Alleghenys wore their new maroon jackets yesterday [April 19].” From the Pittsburgh Post, April 20, 1887. This report called the Pittsburgh team the “Alleghenys” throughout.

April 1887: “At the beginning of the 1887 season [Pittsburgh catcher Fred] Carroll buried his pet monkey, which earlier served as an unofficial team mascot for the team, beneath the home plate at Pittsburgh’s Recreation Park in a pre-game ceremony.” From the Fred Carroll bio page at wikipedia.com, citing several non-contemporary sources, retrieved June 24, 2023.

June 1887: “The color of a least one uniform of each club in the [National] League and American Association is given below. It would be next to impossible to give the several different uniforms of each club, as they change the different pieces of one uniform to another, and may appear on the field in a different make-up every day for a week. However, one complete uniform of each club is as follows: […] Pittsburg[h] — White flannel, with maroon stockings, and cap as same material as shirts and trousers.” From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 14, 1887, citing the New York Sun. Research from Todd Radom.

Team genealogy:
 Pittsburgh 1870s-
Pittsburgh began as Allegheny, an independent pro team in Pittsburgh formed in the late 1870s. Allegheny joined the American Association (AA) at its formation in 1882. The AA was a major league operating between 1882 and 1891. Allegheny played in the AA through the 1886 season and then moved to the National League (NL) as Pittsburgh in 1887. The NL began operation in 1876 and Pittsburgh has played in the league every year from 1887 to present time. Information from wikipedia.