1891 Baltimore (Baltimores, Orioles)

This rendering is based on visual documentation for uniform style only. Color information is unknown and the uniform is rendered in values of gray. Important details may also be undocumented or difficult to determine and an educated guess is made to complete the rendering.

Rendering accuracy:Year: undocumented    Team: documented

Visual documentation on this uniform:

Photo A

Dated 1891 or 1892. Studio portrait of G Van Haltren (91, 92), full view at left, detail view at right. Van Haltren played for Baltimore in 1891 and 1892, and was traded in early September 1892 to Pittsburgh. The style of the lettering on the shirt did not match the 1892 Baltimore team photo, possibly indicating that photo A was of the 1891 uniform. Player wore a white or light gray uniform in this photo. The shirt had a narrow button placket and the pants had quilted padding. The belt and stockings were dark in color. The pillbox-style cap was also white or light gray in color, had horizontal stitching around the body and a dark-colored cord above the brim. Player ID and image from the Oakland Post Enquirer, June 17, 1939. Years Van Haltren with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from Carson Lorey. The 1939 photo essay by the Post Enquirer also showed Van Hatren holding a framed enlargement of the 1890 Brooklyn team, of which he was a member, as well as a silver bat that he was awarded. This suggests that many players cherished their photos and keepsakes from their playing days.

Written documentation on this uniform:
August 1891, the McGraw uniform story:
—Reported in April 1899: “It is an odd fact, but true, that the first game in which [John] McGraw played he was given an old uniform which a few days before had graced the athletic and mastadon-like form of our old friend and fellow townsman, Sam Wise. […] As Wise would make three McGraws the appearance of the dumpy third baseman was certainly ridiculous, but not withstanding the fact that he tripped all over himself.” From the Buffalo Enquirer, April 27, 1899.
—Written in 1961: “The young John McGraw reported to Baltimore. The management was most impressed by the skinny little youngster but fitted him out in a uniform several sizes too large.” From Preston D. Orem, Baseball 1845-1881 From Newspaper Accounts (1961).
—Written in 1988: “[Baltimore manager Billy] Barnie told [John McGraw] to report to the ballpark that afternoon [August 24, 1891], when the Baltimore team would be finishing a series with Washington. […] At the Orioles clubhouse Barnie gave [McGraw] a contract for $200 a month for what remained of the season and a uniform worn by Sam Wise, a recently released eleven-year veteran. The uniform was about four sizes too big, but the newcomer gathered and tucked and belted the woolen flannel shirt and pants as best he could. He then pulled on his maroon woolen stocks, laced the hightop spiked shoes that would continue to be the standard baseball footwear for another fifteen years, carefully set his pillbox-shaped cap (with maroon horizontal stripes), and followed the rest of the Orioles onto the field.” From Charles C. Alexander, John McGraw (New York: Bison Books, 1988), no citation given. Note that McGraw did not play in this game against Washington but, according to baseball-reference.com, did debut in the following game vs. Columbus on August 26, 1891 in Baltimore. SABR researcher Larry DeFillipo has noted in the SABR Games Project, August 26, 1891: John McGraw beats back butterflies to ignite game-winning rally in debut (2023), that Sam Wise was 3 inches taller and 70 pounds heavier than McGraw. Info from DeFillipo retrieved February 26, 2023.
—The Wise uniform: The Baltimore Sun reported on August 27, 1891, that “Manager Barnie came to Baltimore from Washington for a few hours yesterday morning [August 26] and during his stay notified Second-baseman Wise and Pitcher Bakely of their releases.” This may imply that McGraw did not wear Wise’s uniform on August 24 as suggested by Alexander, but possibly that belonging to another player. The Sun made no mention of McGraw’s oversized uniform in their report of the August 26 game vs. Columbus or from any game report for the remainder of the 1891 season.
—McGraw’s autobiography, My Thirty Years in Baseball (1923), did not seem to mention the oversized uniform.

Possibly 1891, described in March 1892: “The uniforms worn by seven active-looking men who practiced in Baltimore Athletic Club gymnasium yesterday morning [March 25, 1892] were not the kind usually worn, […] the word ‘Baltimore’ worked in red letters across the shirts explained everything. The wearers of these uniforms were McMahon, Gilbert, Cobb, Gunson, Hess, Whistler and McGraw, the first installment of the Baltimore Base-ball Club.” From the Baltimore Sun, March 26, 1892. According to the Sun, the team first wore their new uniforms for the 1892 season on April 9, 1892. Therefore, it is likely the uniforms that players wore at the Baltimore Athletic Club on March 25, 1892, were from the previous season of 1891.

Team genealogy: Baltimore 1882-1899
Baltimore was formed to join the American Association (AA) in 1882. The AA was a major league operating 1882-1891. Baltimore played in the AA from 1882 to 1889 and then joined the Atlantic Association, a minor league, for the 1890 season. The team rejoined the American Association in late 1890 when the Brooklyn AA team failed. Baltimore played in the American Association for the 1891 season and when the AA folded, Baltimore was added to the National League (NL) for the 1892 season. The NL began operation in 1876. Baltimore played in the NL from 1892 to 1899. After the 1899 season, Baltimore was dropped by the league and the team disbanded. Information from wikipedia.com.