1890 Rochester (Rochesters)

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

Visual documentation on this uniform:

Photo A

Dated April 1890 to mid-June 1890. Photo caption incorrectly dated as 1889. Photo year of 1890 can be confirmed by appearance of players Wells, Greenwood, McGuire and Lyons, all of whom only played in Rochester in 1890. Photo date of April to mid-June 1890 can be determined by fact that a drawing made from this photo was published in a newspaper on June 14, 1890. Date range can further be confirmed by appearance of player Wells, who was released from the team June 9, 1890. Players wore a white or light-colored uniform in this photo, with dark lettering, belt and stockings. A dark cap can be seen sitting on the pedestal next to the manager. A second dark cap can be partially seen at the feet of the player in the front row, second from right. These caps were depicted as white caps, not dark caps, in the published drawing, see photo B. The uniform worn in photo A was most likely the pearl-gray uniform with black trimmings that was described in a preseason newspaper report from March 1890. Another newspaper report from May 17, 1890 stated that “fine group photographs of the Rochester Club” were on sale. This may suggest that the team photo was made no later than mid-May.

Top row, from left: T Sheffler (AA 90, EL 98), T O’Brien (IL 89, AA 90), J Wells (dnp), B Barr (IL 86-89, AA 90), S Griffin (IL 88, 89, AA 90, EL 98) and J Knowles (IL 87, 89, AA 90). Middle: B Greenwood (90), D Burke (IL 89, AA 90), (P Powers, mgr IL 89, AA 90), D McGuire (90) and W Calihan (IL 88, 89, AA 90, EL 92, 96). Front: J Fitzgerald (IL 89, AA 90), D McKeough (IL 88, 89, AA 90, EL 92), Brinker (mascot), H Lyons (90) and M Phillips (IL 89, AA 90). Player IDs and Wells release info from The Sporting Life, June 14, 1890. Wells info also from Tim Hannan. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from collage of team photos of player Deacon McGuire. Photo caption incorrectly listed Manager Powers as Bowers. The mascot in the team photo was the son of General Henry Brinker. Brinker was the owner of the Rochester club and had two young sons in 1890. One son was Charles Brinker, born about 1877 and who later became a professional baseball player, and the second son was Henry Brinker, born about 1880. The younger Henry was likely the mascot for the 1890 team. The Sporting Life reported on July 5, 1890 that “Gen. Brinker and his wife accompanied the Rochester Club on their Western trip. Their little son, the mascot of the club, accompanied them.” Approximate birth years of Gen. Brinker’s sons from familysearch.org, transcription of 1892 New York State census.

Photo B

Dated June 14, 1890. This drawing, made from photo A, was published in The Sporting Life on this date. The original photo was made between April and mid-June 1890. This drawing showed more of the foreground of the original photo and included several caps that were depicted in this drawing as white in color. The original photo, as well as a newspaper report from 1890, confirm the caps were black in color.

Dated June 14, 1890. Detail view of photo B. Detail view shows lettering positioned high across chest and that the letter “H” in “Rochester” crossed over onto either side of the shirt opening. Detail view also shows three shirt buttons and a shirt pocket on the left breast.

Left: detail view of photo A, dated April to mid-June 1890. Right: detail view of photo B, dated June 14, 1890. Comparison shows that the team cap, sitting on the pedestal in both images, was black in color but was depicted as a white cap in the drawing at right.

Written documentation on this uniform:
February 1890: “It was decided that each team in the [American] Association should wear a white uniform (shirt and pants) upon the home grounds. The color of the cap, belt and stockings was left to the pleasure of the individual managers.” From The Sporting Life, February 19, 1890.

March 1890: “At a meeting of the directors of the Rochesters, Limited, on Tuesday evening the uniform for the club was selected. It will be pearl-gray shirts and pants, with black stockings, belts and caps, with the name of the club across the breast in black. The contract for the same has been awarded to A. G. Spalding & Bro.” From The Sporting Life, March 26, 1890. Research from Tim Hannan and also from Chuck McGill.

April 17, 1890, Rochester v. Athletic, Philadelphia, at Philadelphia, opening day: “Billy Sharsig’s Athletics won at home from Rochester, 11 to 8. The visitors were uniformed in gray blouses and knickerbockers, black belts, caps and stockings, ‘Rochester’ appeared in black letters across the blouses.” From Preston D. Orem, Baseball 1882-1891 From The Newspaper Accounts (1966, 1967, reprinted by SABR in 2021), pg. 456.

May 1890: “Fine group photographs of the Rochester Club are on sale.” From The Sporting Life, May 17, 1890. This most likely was a reference to the team photo from 1890, see photo A, and therefore suggests the photo was made between April and mid-May 1890.

Team genealogy: Coming soon