1892 New Orleans
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 1892 to June 1892. Year of photo confirmed by appearance of players Martin, Plock, McKee, Ortman, LaCourage, Cruso, Webber, Adams and Smith, as all of these men only played for New Orleans in 1892. Date range of April 1892 to June 1892 determined by the fact that a drawing made from this photo was published in a newspaper on June 26, 1892, see photo B. Players wore a white uniform in this photo, with a dark belt and stockings. The city name was arched across the shirt. The cap, shown on the ground, was white with dark horizontal bands. Seven of the twelve players in this photo wore short sleeves. At least one player wore padded pants. A newspaper from 1892 described this uniform as “all white with red trimmings, red and white striped cap, red stockings and belt.” It also described the letters on the shirt as red.
Top row, from left: J Dowie (86, 87, 89, 92-96, 01), J Martin (NO 92, Galv TxL 92), W Plock (92), B Crowell? (92) and McKee (92). Middle: G Ortman (92), F LaCourage (NO 92, Mob SA 92), J Bammert (NO 92, 93, Galv TxL 92) and J Cruso (92). Front: R Webber (92), G Adams (NO 92, Galv TxL 92) and B Smith (92). Player IDs from the Atlanta Sun, June 26, 1892, see photo B. Identification of player Crowell from Nigel Ayres and based on a review of New Orleans box scores leading up to the publication of the team photo in the Atlanta Sun. Ayres writes that “twelve players represented the New Orleans team in the box scores. These were the 11 players identified in the Atlanta Sun plus one addition. The additional player is Billy Crowell who first appeared in a New Orleans box score on June 14th. To my eye Crowell could very well be the player on the top row.” Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Photo from Heritage Auctions. Research from Carson Lorey.
Dated April 1892 to June 1892. Detail view of photo A. Detail view showed the city name in a pronounced arch that also extended to the armpits. The lettering may have been a lighter shade of red than the color of the belt and stockings.
Photo B
Dated June 26, 1892. This drawing was based on a photograph of the team, see photo A, and published in a newspaper on this date. One player shown in the original photo had been omitted from this drawing, suggesting the player had been traded, released, or possibly was new to the team and could not be identified by the newspaper.
Top row, from left: J Dowie (86, 87, 89, 92-96, 01), J Martin (NO 92, Galv TxL 92), W Plock (92) and McKee (92). Middle: G Ortman (92), F LaCourage (NO 92, Mob SA 92), J Bammert (NO 92, 93, Galv TxL 92) and J Cruso (92). Front: R Webber (92), G Adams (NO 92, Galv TxL 92) and B Smith (92). Player IDs from item. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Drawing from the Atlanta Sun, June 26, 1892. Research from Nigel Ayres. Regarding player Adams, baseball-reference listed two players with that surname on the 1892 team, George Adams and Jim Adams. Ayres noted that while “Adams is just listed as Adams CF [in the caption above], he is also detailed in the [newspaper’s] narrative as George Adams, the centerfielder, so I am convinced this is George Adams, not Jim.”
Written documentation on this uniform:
April 1892: “The new uniform of the team has been completed. It is all white, with red trimmings, red and white striped caps, red stockings and belt, and ‘New Orleans’ in red letters across the shirt. This will be for use at home, and some darker color will be selected for traveling.” From The Sporting Life, April 2, 1892. Research from Chuck McGill.
May 1892: “The New Orleans uniform will be white and red at home, with some darker colors for the road. […] In all Southern League games the home clubs wear the lighter blouses to make a distinction between visiting and home clubs.” From the Atlanta Constitution, May 25, 1892. Research from Terry Sloope.
Team genealogy: New Orleans, 1892-1896
New Orleans joined the Southern League (SL) in 1892 when the league reformed. The reorganized SL operated between 1892 and 1896 and folded after the 1896 season. New Orleans played in the SL between 1892 and 1896. Information from wikipedia.com and baseball-reference.com.
Rendering posted: January 1, 2020
Diggers on this uniform: Carson Lorey, Chuck McGill, Nigel Ayres, Terry Sloope,