1888 Kansas City (Kansas Citys, Cowboys)
Uniform documentation:
White– visual & written
Brown– visual & written
Blue– written only
These renderings are included in the book, BASEBALL THREADS.
Visual documentation on these uniforms:
Photo A
Dated May 21, 1888. Year of photo confirmed by the appearance of players Allen, Fagan, McTamany, Esterday, Briody and Hankinson, all of whom only played for Kansas City (AA) in 1888. Date of May 21 determined by the appearance of pitcher John Kirby, sitting on the ground front right. Photo was made by a Broklyn photographer. In early May, Kirby was pitching in the Southern League when one newspaper noted that his “arm gave way recently.” After a dispute with his team about his condition, Kirby “was granted a vacation,” which apparently meant a trip to Brooklyn where Kansas City signed him to pitch against Brooklyn on May 20. He lost 9-0, and after four more starts, Kansas City released him July 10. The only contests played in Brooklyn when Kirby was on the team was the four-game series, May 19-23. The May 20 game, a Sunday, was played at Ridgewood Park in Queens. There was no game played on May 21, and it is possible the team was photographed by Hall on this date. Players wore a light gray uniform under dark-colored coats in this photo. The letters “K C” and lace ties can be seen on the shirts of several of the players. This uniform was likely the one described as “grayish brown” with red stockings, belts and caps, see written descriptions below.
Top row, from left: H Porter (AA 88, 89), M Allen (KC AA 88, Alb IA 88), B Fagan (KC AA 88, Tro IA 88), J McTamany (AA 88) and H Esterday (AA 88). Middle: S Barkley (AA 88, 89), J Davis (UA 84, AA 88, 89), D Rowe (NL 86, AA 88), F Briody (NL 86, AA 88) and F Hankinson (AA 88). Front, on ground: J Donahue (AA 88, 89, WA 90) and J Kirby (UA 84, AA 88). Player IDs from photo. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Report of Kirby dispute from the Memphis Avalanche, May 4, 1888, and report of his vacation from the Cleveland Leader, May 20, 1888, page 15. Image scan from Mark Fimoff, SABR 19th-century Pictorial Committee. Barkley and Briody spelled incorrectly on mount. Baseball-reference has Esterday spelled as Easterday. Original photo by Joseph Hall, Brooklyn.
Dated May 21, 1888. Detail view of photo A. Detail view shows shirt lacing, tied in either an “x” or an inverted “v” pattern, and the team’s dark-colored pillbox-style cap that had horizontal stitching around the body.
Photo B
Dated April 1888 to mid-May 1888. Old Judge baseball card of B Fagan (KC AA 88, Tro IA 88). Full view at left, detail view at right. Year of photo confirmed by fact that this was the only year Fagan played for the team. Date range of April to mid-May determined by the Hafner card, see below. Full view shows a white uniform with dark-colored cap, belt and stockings. Detail view shows quilted padding on pants, including additional pant material below the knee padding. A newspaper described this uniform as “pure white with maroon stockings,” see descriptions below. Year Fagan with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Photo C
Dated April 1888 to mid-May 1888. Old Judge baseball card of J Donahue (AA 88, 89, WA 90). Full view at left, detail view at right. Date range of April to mid-May 1888 determined by the Hafner card, see below. Detail view shows cap with subtle horizontal stitching and a white braid above the visor, and a white shirt with lace ties. A newspaper described this uniform as “pure white with maroon stockings,” see descriptions below. Years Donahue with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Photo D
Dated April 1888 to mid-May 1888. Old Judge baseball card of M Allen (KC AA 88, Alb IA 88). Full view at left, detail view at right. Year of photo confirmed by fact that this was the only year Allen played for the team. Date range of April to mid-May determined by the Hafner card, see below. Detail view shows dark-colored cap, quilted padding on hip and knees, and dark-colored trim on the pant seam. A newspaper described this uniform as “pure white with maroon stockings,” see descriptions below. Year Allen with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Photo E
Dated April 1888 to mid-May 1888. Old Judge baseball card of L Daniels (AA 88). Full view at left, detail view at right. Year of photo confirmed by fact that this was the only year Daniels played for the team. Date range of April to mid-May determined by the Hafner card, see below. Player wore a light gray uniform in this photo, with dark colored cap, belt and stockings. Detail view shows shirt lettering, lace ties and pocket all similar to the white uniform shown above. Similarity in photo backgrounds between this photo and the Old Judge cards shown above suggest all photos were taken at same session. Note the fielding glove worn on the player’s left hand. Year Daniels with team from baseball-reference.com. A newspaper described this uniform as “grayish brown” with red stockings, belts and caps, see descriptions below. Image from Jay Miller, Joe Gonsowski and Richard Masson, The Photographic Baseball Cards of Goodwin & Company, 1886-1890 (2008).
Photo F
Dated April 1888 to mid-May 1888. Old Judge baseball card of F Hafner (AA 88, 2 gms). Full view at left, detail view at right. Year of photo confirmed by fact that this was the only year Hafner played for the team. Date range of April to mid-May determined by Hafner’s time with the team. He arrived in Kansas City to begin practice on March 19, 1888, and was released by the team before May 23. The similarity of the the studio backdrop of this card to others from this year suggests that all Old Judge photos were made at the same time. Player wore a light gray uniform in this photo, with dark colored cap, belt and stockings. Detail view shows quilted padding on the pants at the hips and the knees. Similarity in photo backgrounds between this photo and the Old Judge cards shown above suggest all photos were taken at same session. A newspaper described this uniform as “grayish brown” with red stockings, belts and caps, see descriptions below. Year Hafner with team from baseball-reference.com. Arrivial date from the Kansas City Journal, March 20, 1888. Release info from the Kansas City Star, May 23, 1888. Image from Jay Miller, Joe Gonsowski and Richard Masson, The Photographic Baseball Cards of Goodwin & Company, 1886-1890 (2008).
Photos G & H
Dated April 24, 1888. These portraits were published in a Kansas City newspaper on this date. Left, F Briody (NL 86, AA 88) and right, F Hafner (AA 88, 2 gms). It is likely these portraits were drawn from photographs but that the uniform, based on the rendering of the shirt letters, were possibly a creation of the artist. Images and player IDs from the Kansas City Times, April 24, 1888. Years with team from baseball-reference.com.
Photo I
Dated April 26, 1888. This drawing, full view at left, detail view at right, was published in a Kansas City newspaper on this day as part of a report on a game between the Kansas City NL team and Louisville on April 25. This drawing depicted a uniform with a dark cap and the letters “K C” on the shirt, and may have been made from a photograph. Image from the Kansas City Times, April 26, 1888, page 2.
Written documentation on these uniforms:
March 1888: “Manager Rowe yesterday [March 12] ordered uniforms for the American Association team. One will be a dress uniform which the boys will wear on the home grounds and the other will be a knockabout to be worn abroad. The regular uniform will be pure white with maroon stockings, belts and caps. The knockabout uniform will be a grayish brown or chocolate color, with red stockings, belts and caps. The uniforms will be made at once, so as to be ready for the team by the 20th inst.” From the Kansas City Journal, March 13, 1888.
March 1888: “The uniforms selected by Manager Rowe are one of white with maroon cap, belt and stockings, and another of chocolate with red trimmings.” From the Kansas City Times, March 25, 1888.
March 1888: “Kansas City has not yet made up its mind on what its team will wear next season. There is no doubt, however, but that the Cowboys will make a very presentable appearance.” From the St. Paul Globe, March 25, 1888. Research from Don Stokes. Apparently news travels slow to St. Paul.
March 1888: “The Kansas City Club has decided upon a gray uniform with blue trimmings.” From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 26, 1888, citing the Cincinnati Commercial. Research from Gary and Oliver Kodner.
April 1888: “As to the [uniform of the] Kansas Citys, nothing has been done so far, but it is conjecture that Manager Dave Rowe will fit them out in the same manner as he did in the Lincoln, Neb., club last season [1887].” From the Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 1, 1888. Research from Gary Kodner.
August 1888: “Hamilton, the Cowboys’ new fielder, ran 100 yards in 11 seconds last Thursday at Lowell, Mass. He also made the circuit of bases in 15 1/4 seconds.” From the Kansas City Journal, August 2, 1888. Use of the Cowboy nickname.
September 1888: “The Cowboys will soon be dressed in soft navy blue flannel, with red caps, belts and stockings. The name Cowboys, in large three-inch letters, will decorate the bosom of each shirt.” From the Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 2, 1888. Note that this may be one of the first examples of a team officially known by its city name to instead display the unofficial team nickname on its uniform.
September 1888: “The Kansas City Club are having new uniforms made, which will have the word ‘Cowboys’ in large letters on the breast.” From the Baltimore Sun, September 6, 1888.
September 12, 1888, Kansas City v. Cincinnati, at Cincinnati: “The Kansas City players appeared in their handsome new uniforms today [September 12] of blue with red caps, belts and stockings. Lettered in red across the front of the shirt was the word ‘Cowboy.’” From the Kansas City Journal, September 13, 1888, page 2, citing a dispatch from Cincinnati.
September 1888: “It’s rather late in the season, nevertheless the Cowboys have been spruced out in new uniforms of navy flannel. They will be worn for the first time at Cincinnati on Sept. 11.” From the Sporting Life, September 12, 1888. Research from Chuck McGill. Reports suggest the new blue uniform was first worn by Kansas City on September 12 in Cincinnati.
September 14, 1888, Kansas City v. Louisville, at Kansas City: “The new ‘Cowboy’ uniform is bluer than that of the [Western Association] Blues. It is very neat.” From the Kansas City Star, September 15, 1888.
September 14, 1888, Kansas City v. Louisville, at Kansas City: “The Cowboys signalized their return home, yesterday [September 14], by shutting out the Louisville aggregation very thoroughly. […] It was the first time Mr. Watkins’ young men have appeared on their native heath, so to speak, in their new and elaborate uniforms of blue and red.” From the Kansas City Journal, September 15, 1888, page 2. Includes use of the Cowboy nickname.
September 14, 1888, Kansas City v. Louisville, at Kansas City: “The Cowboys appeared for the first time in their neat new blue uniforms, with ‘Cowboy’ across the breast. From the Kansas City Times, September 15, 1888, page 3.
September 1888: “The Kansas City team’s new uniforms are very unique. They are made up of dark blue shirts and knickerbockers, red stockings and belts and regular cowboy hats with the word ‘Cowboy’ worked on the shirt front. They do not carry any lassos nor concealed weapons with them. Their appearance alone is enough to rattle any team, much more the umpire.” From the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, September 17, 1888.
September 1888: “Kansas City’s team is having a new uniform made of blue flannel. Each shirt is ornamented with the word ‘Cow Boys’ in red letters.” From the New York Herald, September 18, 1888.
September 18, 1888, Kansas City v. Cleveland, at Kansas City: “Many attribute the victory to the handsome new uniforms of navy blue with red trimmings adorned with the word ‘Cowboy’ across the breast.” From the Kansas City Times, September 19, 1888.
1888: “Kansas City had ordered new uniforms. The word: ‘Cowboys’ would appear on the shirts.” From Preston D. Orem, Baseball 1882-1891 From The Newspaper Accounts (1966, 1967, reprinted by SABR in 2021), pg. 354.
December 1888: “Manager Watkins thinks blue uniforms are a hoodoo, and next year the Kansas Citys will be attired in black shirts and gray pantaloons.” From the Indianapolis Journal, December 30, 1888, page 9.
1888, referenced in January 1889: “Manager Watkins thinks blue uniforms [from 1888] are a ‘hoodoo,’ and the new Cowboys’ attire [in 1889] will be a black shirt, with gray pants and dark colored stockings.” From The Sporting Life, January 2, 1889.
1888 Kansas City summary
Uniform: white, red stockings and cap
First worn:
Photographed: in portraits from before mid-May
Described: March
Material:
Manufacturer:
Supposition:
Variations:
Other items: dark-colored jackets
Home opener report: no, April 18 v. Cincinnati
Uniform: light brown, red stockings and cap
First worn:
Photographed: team photo from May 19-23, and in portraits from before mid-May
Described: March
Material:
Manufacturer:
Supposition:
Variations:
Uniform: dark blue, red stockings
First worn: possibly September 11, Cincinnati
Photographed:
Described: September
Material: flannel
Manufacturer:
Supposition: cap and shirt style, lettering style
Variations:
Team genealogy:
Kansas City 1888-1889
Kansas City was formed to join the American Association (AA) in 1888. The AA was a major league operating between 1882 and 1891. Kansas City played two season in the AA and folded after the 1889 season. Information from wikipedia.
Rendering posted: September 20, 2025
Diggers on this uniform: Don Stokes, Gary Kodner, Mark Fimoff, Oliver Kodner,