1888 Boston (Bostons, Beaneaters, Reds)
Left: This rendering is based on visual documentation for uniform style only. An educated guess is made on uniform color based on a documentation from a related year and also on minor details that may be missing or difficult to determine.
Rendering accuracy:Year: documented Team: documented
Right: This rendering is based on visual documentation for uniform style and color. Minor details may 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 1888. Photo year determined by the appearance of player Klusman, who only played in Boston in 1888. Year can also be determined by the appearance of players S Wise, Tate, Sutton, O’Rourke and Conway in combination with players Clarkson and Sowders, these men only played together for Boston in 1888. Players were photographed wearing the traditional Boston uniform: a white uniform and cap, with red stockings and belt. All but three of the players pictured wore short sleeves. Several players wore white undershirts, one player wore a dark-colored undershirt, presumably red.
Top row, from left: N Wise? (88), B Klusman (88), S Wise (82-88), M Kelly (NL 87-89, 91, 92, PL 90, AA 91), J Clarkson (88-92), T Brown (NL 88, 89, PL 90, AA 91), P Tate (85-88) and E Sutton (77-88). Middle: D Johnston (NL 85-89, PL 90), C Radbourn (NL 86-89, PL 90), J Morrill (NL 76-88, PL 90), B Sowders (88, 89) and T O’Rourke (87, 88). Front: B Nash (NL 85-89, 91-95, PL 90), D Conway (87, 88) and K Madden (NL 87-89, PL 90, AA 91). Player IDs and image scan from Mark Fimoff, SABR 19th-century Pictorial Committee. Identification of N Wise unconfirmed. Original photo by George H. Hastings, Boston.
Dated 1888. Detail view of photo A. Detail view shows white lace ties above the lettering.
Photo B
Dated 1888. This team photo has been heavily retouched, most likely by the photo studio of Joseph Hall, Brooklyn. The bodies of the Boston players in this photo were actually those of Brooklyn players taken from a team photo made by Hall during this same year. The heads of the Boston players, cut-out from other photos, were then added in place of those of the Brooklyn players. Note how the shadows on the faces varied from player to player, indicating different original sources. The lettering across the shirts was then added by hand and a painted backdrop was added behind the image. Image scan from Nigel Ayres.
Photo C
Dated 1888. Old Judge baseball card of B Sowders (88, 89). Full view at left, detail view at right. Uniform shown is consistent with that shown in photo A. Years Sowders with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Photo D
Dated April 1888. Portrait of J Clarkson (88-92). Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date determined by photo frame. Uniform shown was consistent with that shown in photo A. Detail view showed white lace ties that ended above the city name. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from Hunt Auctions. Original photo by Charles Conly, Boston.
Photo E
Dated April 1888. Boston schedule card of J Clarkson (88-92). Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date determined by similarity to photo D. Uniform shown was consistent with that shown above. Detail view shows three subtle horizontal bands on the cap and buttons on the short sleeves, indicating sleeve extensions were available. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Original photo by Charles Conly, Boston.
Photos F & G
Left: dated circa 1887, Allen & Ginter baseball card of J Clarkson (88-92). This card depicted Clarkson in a Boston uniform. Clarkson played for Chicago in 1887 and was sold to Boston on April 3, 1888. This therefore suggests the card had an issue date of 1888. It is unknown if the illustration of Clarkson wearing a Boston uniform was made from a photograph. Clarkson card issue date of 1887 from oldcardboard.com. Clarkson sale date from Brian McKenna, SABR Bio Project. Years with team from baseball-reference.com.
Right: dated 1888, Goodwin Champions baseball card of M Kelly (NL 87-89, 91, 92, PL 90, AA 91). This card depicted Kelly in a brown-gray uniform. Other uniform detail such as the decorative collar stitching and the white lace-ties running below the shirt lettering were more consistent with Kelly’s Chicago uniform, circa 1886, or the Kelly Special Boston uniform from early 1887. Issue date of 1888 for the Goodwin Champions card of Kelly from Jay Miller, Joe Gonsowski and Richard Masson, The Photographic Baseball Cards of Goodwin & Company, 1886-1890 (2008). Years with team from baseball-reference.com.
Photos H & I
Dated 1888. Baseball playing cards (WG1) of J Clarkson (88-92), left, and S Wise (82-88), right. Issue date can be confirmed as Clarkson and Wise only played together in 1888 for Boston. Cards show a white uniform with red belt and stockings. Image scans from www.oldcardboard.com.
Photo J
Dated 1888. Promotional poster for Old Judge baseball cards. Full view at left, detail view of player M Kelly (NL 87-89, 91, 92, PL 90, AA 91) at right. Illustration of Kelly was based on Old Judge baseball card dated 1887 where Kelly wore a specially made Boston uniform. This same image was colorized to reflect the 1888 Boston dark uniform for use in the Old Judge promotional poster shown here. Years Kelly with team from baseball-reference.com. Poster image from Jay Miller, Joe Gonsowski and Richard Masson, The Photographic Baseball Cards of Goodwin & Company, 1886-1890 (2008).
Photo K
Dated 1888. Promotional poster for Old Judge baseball cards. Full view at left, detail view of player C Radbourn (NL 86-89, PL 90) at right. Illustration of Radbourn was based on Old Judge baseball card dated 1887 and colorized to reflect the 1888 Boston dark uniform. Years Radbourn with team from baseball-reference.com. Poster image from Jay Miller, Joe Gonsowski and Richard Masson, The Photographic Baseball Cards of Goodwin & Company, 1886-1890 (2008).
Photos L, M & N
Left: dated circa 1888, Yum Yum baseball card of J Morrill (NL 76-88, PL 90). Center: dated April 14, 1889, this rendering of Morrill was published in a newspaper on this date. Right: dated April 14, 1889, this rendering of S Wise (82-88) was published in a newspaper on this date. Both of the Morrill renderings were based on the same photograph, possibly taken during a photo session for an Old Judge baseball card circa 1887, though this pose shown above was not produced for a card. The Yum Yum card may have had some elements altered from the original image. The cap and belt loops may have been made dark, and extra grass may have been added by the artist. The Wise rendering was based on a circa 1887 Old Judge baseball card. Wise wore a mustache for the Old Judge card photos but did not wear one in the 1888 team photo above or in an 1887 team photo, possibly suggesting an 1886 date for the original image. Image of Morrill (center) and Wise from the Wilkes-Barre Sunday Leader, April 14, 1889, which reported that “‘Honest John’ Morrill and ‘Big Sam Wise’ had been released by the Boston Club.” Years with team from baseball-reference.com.
Written documentation on this uniform:
April 8, 1888, exhibition game at Boston: “The Bostons wore their gray uniforms, which are only worn away from home, on that day. They looked very neat indeed.” From the New York Clipper, April 8, 1888. Note, newspaper describes the Boston field as wet and muddy, which may explain why the team wore their gray uniform at home.
April 20, 1888, Boston v Philadelphia, at Philadelphia, opening day: “Almost freezing weather at Philadelphia. […] The new Boston uniforms were red and gray.” From Preston D. Orem, Baseball 1882-1891 From The Newspaper Accounts (1966, 1967, reprinted by SABR in 2021), pg. 357.
Team genealogy:
Boston 1871-1952
Boston was formed to enter the National Association (NA) in 1871. The NA was baseball’s first league, operating 1871-1875. Boston played in the NA in every year of the league’s existence and moved to the National League (NL) upon its start in 1876. Boston played in the NL from 1876 to 1952 and moved to Milwaukee for the 1953 NL season. Information from Paul Batesel, Players And Teams of the National Association, 1871-1875, from baseball-reference.com and from wikipedia.com.
Rendering posted: March 19, 2016
Diggers on this uniform: John Thorn, Mark Fimoff, Nigel Ayres,