1890 Boston (Bostons, Beaneaters)
Uniform documentation:
Cream– visual & written
Gray– written only
These renderings are included in the book, BASEBALL THREADS.
Visual documentation on these uniforms:
Photo A
Dated April 1890 to June 1890. Team photo taken at Boston, South End Grounds. Photo date determined by appearance of player Schellhase, who only played for Boston (NL) in 1890 and was released by the team June 28, 1890. Players wore the traditional Boston white or cream-colored uniform in this photo with a white cap, red stockings and a red belt. The shirt had dark-colored lace ties, presumably red, that ended above the city name. The lettering on the shirt was positioned in a pronounced arch across the chest. This uniform was very similar to that of the 1890 Boston Players’ League team. The only distinguishing features to have identified one uniform from the other was the color of the shirt laces, the arched lettering across the chest and the position of the belt loops on the pants. In this NL team photo, three players, Getzein, Sullivan and Schellhase, wore uniforms that displayed the lettering in a subtle arch, not in a pronounced arch, across the chest. This style was similar to the 1890 Boston PL uniform. It was also similar to the style of 1889 Boston NL uniform, however none of the three players mentioned played for Boston in 1889. Of the 16 players shown in the photo, three wore long-sleeved shirts, two wore long-sleeve attachments and the remaining players wore short sleeves, seven of which wore undersweaters or undershirts.
Top row, from left: C McGarr (90), P Getzein (90, 91), P Donovan (Bos NL 90, Bro NL 90), C Ganzel (89-97), J Taber (90 2 gms), M Sullivan (90, 91) and T Tucker (90-97). Middle: K Nichols (90-01), H Long (90-02), C Bennett (89-93), (F Selee mgr 90-01), J Clarkson (88-92), P Smith (89, 90) and S Brodie (90, 91). Front, on ground: B Lowe (90-01), A Schellhase (90) and L Hardie (90). Ballpark ID and player IDs, except that of player Schellhase, from the Boston Public Library. Years with team, Schellhase identification and Schellhase release date from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from Mark Fimoff, SABR 19th-century Pictorial Committee. Original photo by G. Waldon Smith, Boston.
Date April 1890 to June 1890. Detail view of photo A. Detail view shows lace ties and lettering on shirt in pronounced arch. Detail view also shows wide seams on the shirt sleeves and the belt closure. Detail image scan from the Boston Public Library.
Dated April 1890 to June 1890. Detail view of photo A. Detail view shows white caps with three subtle horizontal pleats. Detail image scan from the Boston Public Library.
Dated April 1890 to June 1890. Detail view of photo A. Detail view shows alternate style for city name where lettering was positioned in a subtle arch, not a pronounced arch. Detail view also faintly shows the shirt placket, extending wide beyond the lace ties and extending downward behind the letters “S” and “T” in Boston. Detail image scan from the Boston Public Library.
Photo B
Dated 1890. Full view at left, detail view of player McGarr at right. Issue date confirmed by appearance of players McGarr, Hines, Donovan, Hardie and Taber, all of whom only played for Boston in 1890. Player Hines was signed by Boston on June 23, 1890 and player Donovan was released by Boston and signed with Brooklyn in early August 1890. Based on this, it is possible this printed collage was issued between late June 1890 and early August 1890. The team photo in the center can be dated April 1890 to June 1890, see photo A. Of the 16 portraits shown, 12 were of players who were new to the team in 1890. Each of these players was photographed wearing a uniform with dark-colored laces, probably red in color. All but two of these 12 players had the city name displayed in a pronounced arch across the chest. Players Getzein and Sullivan were the only 2 new players who wore a uniform where the city name had a subtle arch. Four portraits in the collage were of men who had also played with Boston the previous year of 1889: Ganzel, Clarkson, Bennett and Smith. Their portraits had been printed in a team collage from 1889 and the uniforms they wore, one with white lace ties and a subtle arch to the lettering, were representative of the 1889 NL uniform. It is likely the portrait of player Hines, who as mentioned joined the team in June 1890, was made separate from the others as the studio background does not match the other 1890 portraits.
Clockwise, from top left: H Long (90-02), J Clarkson (88-92), (F Selee mgr 90-01), C Bennett (89-93), M Sullivan (90, 91), P Hines (90), P Donovan (Bos NL 90, Bro NL 90), P Getzein (90, 91), B Lowe (90-01), L Hardie (90), K Nichols (90-01), C Ganzel (89-97), T Tucker (90-97), P Smith (89, 90), S Brodie (90, 91), J Taber (90 2 gms) and C McGarr (90). Player IDs from collage. Years with team and Hines sign date from baseball-reference.com. Donovan transaction info from the Auburn (NY) Bulletin, August 25, 1890. Original photos by G. Waldon Smith, Boston.
Dated 1890. Detail view of photo B. Note the differences in the lettering between players Getzein and Lowe. Also note the exterior view of the Boston ballpark, South End Grounds.
Photo C
Dated 1890. Left: portrait of J Taber (90) from the team collage, see photo B. Right: detail view of Taber’s uniform from the team photo, see photo A. Note the poor spacing and positioning of the lettering across the chest on both uniforms. This confirms player wore his game uniform for the studio portrait.
Photo D
Dated 1890. Left: detail view of the 1890 Boston NL uniform. Right: detail view of the 1890 Boston PL uniform. Note the subtle differences in the letter “S” between the National League uniform and the Players’ League uniform. Newspapers from 1890 reported the National League uniform was made by John P. Lovell Arms Company and the Players’ League uniform was made by Wright & Ditson.
Photos E & F
Left, dated April 30, 1890, drawing of J Clarkson (88-92). Right, dated circa 1888, photograph from which the drawing was made. The drawing of Clarkson at left was published in Harper’s Weekly, April 30, 1890, and was not a depiction of the 1890 uniform. The photograph of Clarkson at right was made by Charles F. Conly, Boston, and was most likely made at the same time as other photos of Clarkson by Conly and subsequently used in the Old Judge baseball card series circa 1888. The pose of Clarkson, who came to Boston in 1888, was meant to mimic a similar pose by the pitcher when he played for Chicago, 1884-1887. Years Clarkson with teams from baseball-reference.com.
Written documentation on these uniforms:
November 1889: “When the [National] League [meeting] finally adjourned for the day, its accomplished business included […] the authorization of President Young to fix a distinctive color for each club uniform [for the 1890 season].” From the Paterson (NJ) Morning Call, November 16, 1889.
January 1890, referencing the Boston PL and NL uniforms: “Boston, January 1—The uniforms of the Boston Players’ [League] Club have been selected. They will be the same as the [Boston National] League Club, white with red stockings at home, and gray with red stockings when on trips away from here.” From the Buffalo Courier, January 2, 1890.
January 1890: “[The National League] decided unanimously by selection of white suits to be […] worn at home at all times. Visiting teams will have their own options in selecting their dress, providing […] it is easily distinguished from the home team.” From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 30, 1890. Research from Gary Kodner.
March 1890: “The uniforms of the Boston [National] League team will be made by the John P. Lovell Arms Company this year. The home uniforms will be white, with red trimming and stockings. While traveling they will wear gray suits with red trimmings. There will be 30 uniforms in all, making an outfit for 15 men.” From the Buffalo Courier, March 1, 1890. Note that this report may suggest the NL team used a new manufacturer for their uniforms in 1890.
April 1890: “Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes attends the baseball games in Boston, but it has not yet been determined whether he is a mascot or a hoodoo.” From the Minneapolis Tribune, April 14, 1890. Per wikipedia.com, Holmes (1841-1935) was “one of the most widely cited and influential Supreme Court justices in American history.”
April 19, 1890, Boston (NL) v. Brooklyn (NL), at Boston, home opener: “The 17 men under contract with the Boston club, clothed in their neat and new white uniforms, made by the John P. Lovell Arms Company of this city [Boston], filed upon the field.” From the Boston Herald, April 20, 1890, page 4. Research from Mark Pestana, and from Terry Sloope.
June 14, 1890, Boston (NL) v. Philadelphia (NL), at Boston: “The Boston nine were bedecked in new uniforms, worn for the first time. Some of the tall fellows looked as though they had trousers belonging to some short fellow, and vice versa. […] Patsy Donovan’s cracking single to left brought home two pairs of red legs.” From the Boston Globe, June 15, 1890, page 4. Research from Mark Pestana.
July 16, 1890: “The home team [Boston] did not look natural in their blue stockings and caps, but probably the red stockings are being reheeled.” From the Boston Globe, July 17, 1890. Research from Sam Wallace. This report may suggest that the Boston NL team at times wore blue caps and stockings on the road similar to the PL team, and that the team wore these items out of necessity at home on June 16.
1890, referenced in 1961: “The Boston Nationals paid $56 per uniform in 1890 when they were outfitted by A. G. Spalding.” From Raymond Johnson, “Vols New Frontier Motif Carried Over into Uniforms,” Nashville Tennessean, April 20, 1961. The cost of the 1890 Boston uniform was included in a Spalding press release from early 1961. The Glenn Falls (NY) Post-Star reported on April 15, 1961 that they “recently received an interesting four-page release from A. G. Spalding and Bros., concerning their baseball uniforms.” The Spalding release also included a photographs of an 1876 uniform reproduction, as well as, various 20th-century uniforms.
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 18, 2017
Diggers on this uniform: Mark Fimoff, Mark Pestana, Sam Wallace, Terry Sloope,