1889 Washington DC (Washingtons)

These renderings are 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

Dated April-May 1889. Old Judge baseball card of H Ebright (Stockton CL 89, Was 89). Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date determined in combination with Old Judge card of player Banning, see photo B. Both photos utilized the same studio background suggesting the images were made at the same time and both players were released from the team in June 1889. Ebright played for Washington in 1889 only and he most likely returned to the team after his release. An 1890 newspaper report stated Ebright was with Washington “during the latter part of last season [1889].” It is possible he can also be identified in the Washington team photo dated September 1889, see team photo below. Ebright wore a white or light-colored uniform in photo A, with a matching cap and a light-colored belt and stockings. The shirt had lace ties that ended above a letter “W” which was centered on the shirt and utilized a block-serif font. Based on this photo Ebright may have worn a cap with horizontal bands, though unconfirmed. Note that the player wore two types of fielding gloves in this photo, a fingerless glove on his throwing hand and a padded glove on the other. Year Ebright with team from baseball-reference.com. Release info from the New York Herald, June 20, 1889. Return to Washington info from the New York Herald, January 16, 1890. Image scan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Photo B

Dated April-May 1889. Old Judge baseball card of J Banning (88, 89). Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date determined in combination with Old Judge card of player Ebright, see photo A. Both photos utilized the same studio background suggesting the images were made at the same time and both players were released from the team in June 1889. A newspaper report from June 2, 1889 stated Banning had been recently released. Note the oversized fielding glove worn by player. Detail view shows how similar in tone the uniform and the shirt letter appeared when represented in values of gray. Years Banning with team from baseball-reference.com. Release info from the Buffalo Sunday News, June 2, 1889. Image scan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Photo C

Dated April-May 1889. Old Judge baseball card of A Ferson (89). Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date range determined by similarity in studio background to photos A & B. Detail view shows another view of the letter “W” on the shirt in a block-serif font. Player wore a dark undershirt. Year Ferson with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Photo D

Dated April-May 1889. Old Judge baseball card of G Keefe (NL 86-89, AA 91). Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date range determined by similarity in studio background to photos A & B. Detail view shows view of belt and closure. Years Keefe with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Photo E

Dated April-May 1889. Old Judge baseball card of P Sweeney (Was 88, 89, StL AA 89). Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date range determined by similarity in studio background to photos A & B. Detail view shows undershirt with bands of double stripes. Year Sweeney with team and surname spelling from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Photo F

Dated September 1889. Photo year can be confirmed by appearance of players Daly, Ebright, A Irwin, Carney, Clark and Ferson. These men played for Washington in 1889 only. Photo date of September 1889 from photo caption may further be confirmed by player A Irwin, who was purchased by Washington from Philadelphia on June 8, 1889. Players wore a tight-fitting dark cloth uniform in this photo, with dark stockings and cap. The cap can be seen in the foreground of the photo. Also note the bat bag in the foreground. The belt of the uniform was white or light-colored, as was the sans-serif letter “W” centered on the shirt.

Top row, from left: J Irwin (87-89), unidentified, C Mack (86-89), G Haddock (88, 89) and T Daly (89). Middle: H Ebright (Stockton CL 89, Was 89), W Witmot (88, 89), D Hoy (88, 89, 92, 93), A Irwin (Phi 89, Was 89), unidentified and J Carney (89). Front, on ground: S Clark (89) and A Ferson (89). Player IDs from Ken Samoil. Additional info on player IDs from Nigel Ayres, who speculates unidentified players may be Sullivan and Healy. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from Athletic Sports in America, England and Australia (1889).

Dated September 1889. Detail view of photo E. Detail view shows lace ties ending above the letter.

Written documentation on these uniforms:
March 1889: “The Washington Club’s uniforms are being made here [in Philadelphia].” From The Sporting Life, March 27, 1889.

April 1889: “In all probability the two [Washington] uniforms will be two shades of gray, with blue stockings for both. The darker uniform will be best adapted for traveling purposes and the lighter one for use at home, where laundries are more convenient.” From the Washington Star, April 13, 1889. Report from Peter Morris, A Game of Inches (2006, 2010), referencing research from David Ball. Note that this report when compared to additional reports below give conflicting color information for the Washington uniforms. Uniform color in these reports has been described as gray, brown and blue.

April 1889: “The Washington team is to have a new uniform of brownish color, trimmed with royal blue, with stockings to match.” From the New York Evening Telegram, April 26, 1889.

May 1889: “The new white uniforms of the Giants were heavy and clumsy looking in comparison to the neat blue suits of the Washingtons.” From the New York Evening Telegram, May 14, 1889.

July 29, 1889, Washington v. New York at Washington: “By telegraph to the Herald – John Irwin and Beecher wore league uniforms.” From the New York Herald, July 30, 1889. The meaning of this newspaper entry is unclear.

Team genealogy:
 Washington 1886-1889
Washington was formed in Washington, DC, to join the National League (NL) in 1886. The NL began operation in 1876 and Washington played in the NL between 1886 and 1889. The team disbanded after the 1889 season. Information from Wikipedia.