1892 Philadelphia (Philadelphias, Phillies)

Left: This rendering is based on written documentation for uniform style and color. No visual documentation is known and an artist’s conceptualization is used to create the rendering.

Rendering accuracy:Year: documented    Team: documented

Right: This rendering is based on visual documentation for uniform style and written documentation for color. Important 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 these uniforms:

Photo A

Dated mid-October 1892. Photo year determined by appearance of player Connor, his only year with the team. Photo date of mid-October 1892 determined by a newspaper report from October 23, 1892, that stated “the Phillies were photographed in a group in a Chestnut street studio the past week.” The photo frame above confirmed the Chestnut Street studio. Players wore a light-toned or light gray uniform in this photo with dark lace ties, a dark belt and dark stockings. The shirt displayed an old-English letter “P” on the left breast.

Top row standing, from left: C Reilly (92-95), S Thompson (89-98), (H Wright, mgr 84-93), R Connor (92), and B Hallman (NL 88, 89, 92-97, 01-03, PL 90, AA 91). Middle row, sitting: B Allen (90-94), E Delahanty (88, 89, 91-01), G Weyhing (AA 87-89, 91, NL 92-95), J Clements (UA 84, NL 84-97), T Keefe (91-93), L Cross (PL 90, AA 91, NL 92-97) and B Hamilton (90-95). Front on ground: K Carsey (92-97). Player IDs and image scan from the New York Public Library, A. G. Spalding Collection. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Original photo by Gilbert & Bacon, Philadelphia; Conrad M. Gilbert and W. Frank Bacon.

Dated mid-October 1892. Detail view of photo A. Detail view shows thin lace ties on the center of the shirt and an old-English style letter “P” on the left breast.

Written documentation on these uniforms:
April 1892: “The Phillies are wearing in practice at Gainesville [Florida] new gray uniforms with red stockings.” From the Philadelphia Inquirer, April 8, 1892. Research from Ed Morton.

April 12, 1892, Philadelphia v. New York, at Philadelphia, opening day: “Right behind [the marching band] came the Philadelphia players in their new white and red suits, sixteen strong, company front, and keeping step like veterans. Then followed a dozen of the Giants in their gray suits. The band played, the people yelled, and the nearer the players came to the stand the greater the enthusiasm grew. Right up to home plate marched the thirty players, then they marched around it in a circle, and then the Phillies deployed to the left, and the Giants to the right, and marched to the players’ benches. Then a photographer brought out a big camera, and took a group picture of the home team. The crowd said he was a ‘Jonah,’ and after the game Captain Clements said his men were hoo-dooed by having their pictures taken.” From the Philadelphia Inquirer, April 13, 1892. Research from Ed Morton. Philadelphia lost to New York, 5 to 4. Game info from retrosheet.org.

October 1892: “The Phillies were photographed in a group in a Chestnut street studio the past week.” From the Philadelphia Record, October 23, 1892.Research from Ed Morton.

Team genealogy: Philadelphia 1882-
Philadelphia was formed to play in the League Alliance (LA) in 1882. The team joined the National League (NL) in 1883. The NL began operation in 1876 and Philadelphia has played in the league every year since 1883. Information from wikipedia.com and Robert D. Warrington.