1889 Columbus (Buckeyes)
Left: This rendering is 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 rendering.
Rendering accuracy: Year: documented Team: documented
Center: This rendering is based on visual documentation for uniform style and unconfirmed written documentation for color. Some important details may be undocumented or difficult to determine. An educated guess is made to complete the rendering.
Rendering accuracy: Year: documented Team: documented
Right: 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 these uniforms:
Photo A
Date 1889. Old Judge baseball card of A Mays (89, 90). Full view at left, detail view at right. Date of 1889 can be confirmed as photo background matches photo C. Player wore a white uniform with thick pinstripes in this photo. A contemporary newspaper report described the pinstripes as black in color, and the belt and stockings as dark blue. Based on this and other photos from this photo session, the pinstripes may have been gray, not black. Detail view shows thickness and spacing of pinstripes on shirt and pants, as well as unique lettering with rounded letter forms across chest, and subtle horizontal banding on cap. City name may have been hand-cut or hand-painted on shirt. Years Mays with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Photo B
Date 1889. Old Judge baseball card of N Bligh (89, 90). Full view at left, detail view at right. Date of 1889 can be confirmed as photo background matches photo C. Detail view shows thick pinstripes on shirt and pants. Years Bligh with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Photo C
Dated 1889. Old Judge baseball card of L Marr (89). Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date confirmed as this was the only year Marr played for team. Player was photographed wearing a dark-colored uniform. The shirt had lace ties ending above the lettering. A preseason newspaper report said this uniform was to be either navy blue or black in color. The shirt and the pants in this photo appear to be made of different material or may have been slightly different in color. Detail view shows quilted padding at the knees and hips, sewn in larger sections when compared to other uniforms from this period. Year Marr with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Photo D
Dated 1889. Old Judge baseball card of W Widner (89, 90). Full view at left, detail view at right. Date of 1889 can be confirmed as photo background matches photo C. Detail view shows bold lettering across chest with letters extending to the arm pits. Player’s surname was spelled incorrectly on this card. Years Widner with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Photo E
Dated September 1889. Photo year confirmed by appearance of player Orr, front row far left. Photo of team most likely taken at Athletic, Philadelphia, at Jefferson Street Grounds. If date in photo caption is correct, this photo was made on September 28 or September 29, 1889, when Columbus played at Athletic. This date range can be further confirmed by appearance of player Crooks in photo. Crooks played his first game with Columbus on September 26, 1889. All but one of the Columbus players in this photo appear to be wearing a light-colored uniform with subtle light-colored lettering, and a white cap. The player in the front row, far right, appears to be wearing the pinstriped uniform with darker lettering as shown in the Old Judge baseball cards from this same year, see photo A. All shirts in this photo were short-sleeved, and one player in the back row wore his collar up. Three of the players wearing a dark undershirt appear to be wearing the dark alternate uniform from this year under their shirt. Note the light-colored bands at the sleeves of several players and compare to photo C. One player in back row has an undershirt with thin horizontal stripes.
Top row, from left: (M Baldwin 89), J Crooks (Omaha WA 89, Col AA 89-91), J McTamany (89-91), H Gastright (89-91) and E Daily (89). Middle: D Orr (89), L Marr (89), B Greenwood (89), (A Buckenberger, mgr 89, 90), J Doyle (Canton TSL 89, Col AA 89, 90), J O’Connor (89-91) and S Johnson (89, 90). Front, on ground: J Easton (Springfield TSL 89, Col AA 89-91). Player IDs from Mark Fimoff, SABR 19th-century Pictorial Committee. Greenwood ID from T. Scott Brandon, SABR 19th-century Pictorial Committee. Input on player IDs also from David Nemec and Nigel Ayres. Years with team and Crooks debut info from baseball-reference.com. Game dates in Philadelphia and Jefferson Street Grounds info from retrosheet.org. Original photo published in Athletic Sports in America, England and Australia (1889). Original photo by Levytype Co., Philadelphia.
Dated September 1889. Detail view of photo E. Detail view shows subtle lettering across chest. The letter forms were rounded and similar to that used on the pinstriped uniform, see photo A. However the placement of the letters across the shirt was different than the pinstriped shirt. On this light-colored shirt, only the “M” of Columbus was positioned on the button packet. On the pinstriped shirt, the “U” was positioned on the placket.
Written documentation on these uniforms:
February 1889: “It has been reported, although with what authority is unsaid, that Columbus has selected uniforms for next season. There will be, it is said, two in use–a blue and a black. The blue will consist of dark navy blue shirt, pants and stockings, blue or white cap, and white belt. The other will consist of black Jersey shirt and pants, black stockings and cap, and white belt. One of the directors, however, has denied that anything has been said about the uniforms, so it is in doubt yet.” From The Sporting Life, February 6, 1889. Research from Chuck McGill.
April 1889: “The Columbus Club’s second uniform has arrived and is a light gray, nearly white, with a narrow black stripe running through it, white cap, dark blue belt and stockings, with the name of the club across the breast. It will be […] worn for the first time next Sunday.” From The Sporting Life, April 17, 1889. Research from Chuck McGill. “Next Sunday” was referencing the home opener on April 28, 1889 v. Athletic, Philadelphia. Game date from retrosheet.org.
Team genealogy:
Columbus 1889-1891
Columbus joined the American Association (AA) for the 1889 season. The AA was a major league operating 1882-1891. Columbus played in the AA through the 1891 season when the league folded. Information from wikipedia.
Rendering posted: October 16, 2016
Diggers on this uniform: Chuck McGill, David Nemec, Mark Fimoff, Nigel Ayres, T Scott Brandon,