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1894 Boston (Bostons, Beaneaters)

National League

These renderings are based on visual documentation for uniform style and written documentation for color. Some 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 1894 or 1895. Boston team photo. Photo date of 1894 can be suggested by a March 1895 newspaper report that stated the team was to wear red caps in 1895 and “discard the white caps because they soil so quickly,” implying the team wore white caps in 1894. The white caps in this photo also had an insignia on the front. This insignia may have been the same B.B.C. monogram, for Boston Ball Club, that was worn on the road cap in 1894, see photo D. Because of image quality, identities of certain players in this photo cannot be confirmed. Identifying these players would help to confirm the 1894 photo date. The appearance of player Ganzel, top row second from left, determined that this photo was not made between July 24, 1894 and August 4, 1894. Ganzel was released and then resigned by Boston on these dates. Players wore a white home uniform in this photo, with dark stockings and dark belt. The traditional color for the Boston home uniform was white and red, and these colors were confirmed by a newspaper report from March 1894. This uniform may have been the first for Boston where the letter forms of the city name were more condensed when compared to earlier years, when the letter forms were more square. The player standing at far left wore a dark colored cap. This was most likely the blue road cap, see photo D.

Top row standing, from left: unidentified, C Ganzel (89-97), (F Selee mgr 90-01), B Nash (NL 85-89, 91-95, PL 90), J Stivetts (92-98) and unidentified. Middle row, sitting on chairs or kneeling: T Tucker (90-97), K Nichols (90-01), H Long (90-02), J Bannon (94-96), H Duffy (AA 91, NL 92-00), J Ryan (94-96) and B Lowe (90-01). Front row, on ground: unidentified, unidentified and unidentified. Unidentified players in photo may be the following, though unconfirmed: standing far left, F Tenney; standing far right, H Staley; on the ground from left, G Hodson, T Lovett, T McCarthy or F Connaughton. Player IDs determined by referencing other photos from this period and also from researchers Ken Samoil, Nigel Ayres and Mark Pestana. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Ganzel transaction info from retrosheet.org. Original photo by G. Waldon Smith, Boston. Photographer info from SABR, The Rucker Archive.

Photo B

Dated 1894 or 1895. Portrait of H Duffy (AA 91, NL 92-00), full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date of 1894 can be suggested by a March 1895 newspaper report that stated the team was to wear red caps in 1895 and “discard the white caps because they soil so quickly,” implying the team wore white caps in 1894. This uniform also was similar to the uniform shown in photo A. Detail view showed that player wore a tight-fitting cap with a rounded crown and a B.B.C. monogram above the visor. This monogram was very similar or exactly the same as the monogram worn on the road cap, see photo D. Years Duffy with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from the Boston Public Library.


Dated 1894 or 1895. Another detail view of photo B. Detail view showed city name in condensed letter forms. Image scan from the Boston Public Library.

Photo C

Dated 1894 or 1895. Another portrait of H Duffy (AA 91, NL 92-00) taken during the same photo session as photo C. Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date of 1894 can be suggested by a March 1895 newspaper report that stated the team was to wear red caps in 1895 and “discard the white caps because they soil so quickly,” implying the team wore white caps in 1894. Photo caption stated Duffy was a “Champion Batsman.” Duffy won the NL batting title in 1893 and 1894. Detail view showed the side view of the rounded crown cap and the short visor. Years Duffy with team from baseball-reference.com.

Photo D

Dated July 1894. Portrait of F West (Bos NL 94 1 game, Reading PSL 94, Altoona PSL 94). West played only one game for Boston in mid-July 1894, his only year with the team. Caption under photo reaffirms the photo date. Player wore the Boston road uniform in this photo. This uniform was described in newspaper accounts from 1894 as being gray in color with a blue cap and a white B.B.C. monogram above the visor. Image scan from the Pittsburgh Press, August 7, 1907. Research from Justin Mckinney. Year West with team from baseball-reference.com. West transaction info from The Sporting Life, July 21 1894, which reported that West was released by Boston “after one trial.”

Photo E

Dated April 21, 1894. Photo of the Brooklyn team, left, and the Boston team in Brooklyn, Eastern Park, opening day. The Boston team wore a uniform that was described on this day as being gray in color, with dark blue stockings, sweaters, and caps. Image scan from Ken Samoil. Original image from Leslie’s Weekly, April 1894.

Photo F

Dated April 21, 1894. Game photo of the Boston team in the field at Brooklyn, Eastern Park, opening day. The Boston team wore a uniform that was described on this day as being gray in color, with dark blue stockings and caps. Image scan from Ken Samoil. Original image from Leslie’s Weekly, April 1894.


Written documentation on these uniforms:
March 1894: “White with red stockings will be the Boston colors this year. Manager Selee thinks that the old Providence uniform will make the best one for traveling—gray with blue stockings.” From The Sporting Life, March 3, 1894.

March 1894: “Boston, March 22— […] Manager Selee and Director Conant picked out the uniforms last week. […] The home uniform will consist of the familiar white, with red stockings and trimmings, while the traveling suit will greatly resemble that of the old Providence gray, consisting of Providence gray cloth, blue stockings, belts and caps, and blue sweaters.” From The Sporting Life, March 24, 1894. Research from Chuck McGill.

April 1894: “A very pretty thing about the traveling uniform of the Bostons will be the cap which will bear the monogram, ‘B.B.C.’ of Boston Ball Club.” From The Sporting Life, April 7, 1894.

April 11, 1894, Boston v. Brown University at Boston, exhibition game: “Boston, April 12— […] The new [Boston] suits were greatly admired by all who saw them, the caps with initial letter especially coming in for a great deal of praise.” From The Sporting Life, April 14, 1894.

April 21, 1894, Boston v. Brooklyn at Brooklyn, Eastern Park. “The Bostons’ new traveling uniform of gray is similar to that of the Providence pennant winning team. The trimmings are blue.” From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 22, 1894. Game date from retrosheet.org.

April 21 1894, Boston v. Brooklyn, at Brooklyn, Eastern Park, opening day: “A rattling cheer announced the appearance of the Bostons, who filed through the little door on the left hand side of the grand-stand. […] They wore gray uniforms, with dark-blue stockings, sweaters, and caps, the latter being on the Yale pattern with the initials of the club in white over the visors. […]—New York Sun.” From Leslie’s Weekly, April 1894. Research from Ken Samoil. Game date from retrosheet.org.

May 15, 1894, Boston v. Baltimore, at Boston, South End grounds, game stopped by a ballpark fire: ”John Haggerty, the Beaneaters equipment manager, saved the team’s bats and uniforms but lost four dozen balls when he could not find the key to the storage closet. He also reported that the fire had destroyed the team’s championship pennant from 1893. […] Catcher Charlie Ganzel bravely saved the team’s large photograph from the pavilion’s foyer.” From Terry Gottschall, “It Was a Hot Game, Sure Enough!” a chapter in Inventing Baseball (SABR, 2013).

May 1894: “The Boston Club’s gray suits were burned.” From the Philadelphia Record, May 18, 1894. Research from Ed Morton. The uniforms were burned in a ballpark fire that in Boston occurred on May 15.

1894, referenced in 1895: “It is possible that a new style of traveling uniforms may be adopted [for the National League]. Instead of gray flannel some people think that dark blue suits, such as the Bostons wore last season [in 1894], would be better.” From the Brooklyn Standard Union, February 1895. Exact date not included on newspaper scan. More research is needed to determine if Boston wore a dark blue uniform in 1894.

1894, referenced in 1895: “Boston, March 13. — […] The home uniform [for 1895] will be of white with cardinal stockings and caps. [Manager] Selee will discard the white caps [of 1894] because they soil so quickly.” From The Sporting Life, March 16, 1895. Research from Chuck McGill.


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: June 21, 2018
Diggers on this uniform: Chuck McGill, Ed Morton, Justin Mckinney, Ken Samoil, Mark Pestana, Nigel Ayres,