1894 Brooklyn (Brooklyns, Bridegrooms)
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 21, 1894. Photo of the Brooklyn team, left, and the Boston team in Brooklyn, Eastern Park, opening day. The Brooklyn team wore a uniform that was described on this day as being creamy white, with red stockings and belts. Image scan from Ken Samoil. Original image from Leslie’s Weekly, April 1894.
Photo B
Dated April 21, 1894. Photo of the Brooklyn team in Brooklyn, Eastern Park, opening day. Brooklyn wore a uniform that was described on this day as being creamy white, with red stockings and belts. Image scan from Ken Samoil. Original image from Leslie’s Weekly, April 1894.
Photo C
Dated April 1894 to mid-May 1894. Collage of player portraits. Year of issue confirmed by appearance of player Gilbert, who only played for Brooklyn in 1894. Date range of April to mid-May 1894 suggested by appearance of player Sharrott, who was released by the team in mid-May 1894. Players wore a white or light-colored uniform in this collage with the city name across the front of the shirt in dark letters. A newspaper report from opening day in 1894 stated that the Brooklyn home uniform was creamy white with red lettering. When examining the lettering on the shirts in these portraits, several subtle variations can be detected, and it can be suggested that this collage was made up of portraits taken from the years 1891 to 1894. See uniform study below.
Top row, from left: D Daub (93-97), B Shindle (94-98), C Daily (PL 90 NL 91-95), G Treadway (94, 95), T Corcoran (92-96) and M Griffin (91-98). Middle: C Lachance (93-98), T Kinslow (PL 90, NL 91-94), D Foutz (AA 88, 89, NL 90-96), O Burns (AA 88, 89, NL 90-95) and G Shoch (93-97). Front: E Stein (92-96, 98), T Daly (90-01), G Sharrott (93, 94 3gms), P Gilbert (Bklyn 94, Lou 94) and B Kennedy (92-01). Image and player IDs from the Spalding Base Ball Guide, 1895. Player ID research also from Mark Fimoff, Ken Samoil and Nigel Ayres. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Sharrott release info from The Sporting Life, May 26, 1894.
Photos D & E
Two detail views from the early 1894 photo collage, see photo C. Left: portrait of C Lachance (93-98), made between 1893 and early 1894. 1893 was the Lachance’s first year in Brooklyn and this portrait was included in the early 1894 collage, see photo C. Right: portrait of P Gilbert (Bklyn 94, Lou NL 94) made in early 1894. Gilbert joined Brooklyn in 1894 and was released by the team in June 1894. An 1894 date can also be suggested for both of these portraits by analyzing the uniforms worn by Brooklyn players in the 1894 photo collage, see uniform study below. Both uniforms shown here had the same lettering style, distinguished by the second “O” in “Brooklyn” that was divided across the shirt opening, and by the unusual wide letter spacing between the “O” and the “K.” Years Lachance and Gilbert with team and Gilbert release info from baseball-reference.com.
Photo F
Dated April 1894 to mid-May 1894. Portrait of B Shindle (94-98)), full view at left, detail view at right. Date range determined by the fact that 1894 was the player’s first year in Brooklyn and by the fact that this portrait was included in a photo collage that was compiled by mid-May 1894, see photo C. An 1894 date can be further suggested for this portrait by analyzing the uniforms worn by the Brooklyn players in the 1894 photo collage, see uniform study below. Player wore a uniform in this portrait that was similar to the uniforms shown in photos D and E. Years Shindle with team from baseball-reference.com.
Photo G
Dated April 1894 to mid-May 1894. Collage of illustrated portraits, drawn from the photo collage from the same year. Year of issue confirmed by appearance of player Gilbert, who only played for Brooklyn in 1894. Issue date range suggested by appearance of player Sharrott, who was released by the team in mid-May 1894.
Top row, from left: T Kinslow (PL 90, NL 91-94), C Lachance (93-98), C Daily (PL 90 NL 91-95), B Kennedy (92-01), E Stein (92-96, 98) and J Korwan (94 1 gm). Middle row: G Treadway (94, 95), G Sharrott (93, 94 3gms), D Foutz (AA 88, 89, NL 90-96), G Shoch (93-97) and D Daub (93-97). Bottom row: B Shindle (94-98), M Griffin (91-98), T Corcoran (92-96), P Gilbert (Bklyn 94, Lou 94), T Daly (90-01) and O Burns (AA 88, 89, NL 90-95). Player IDs from collage. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from Nigel Ayres.
Uniform Study
Dated April 1894 to mid-May 1894. Collage of photo portraits published in the Spalding Baseball Guide, 1895. By studying the shirt lettering, this collage can help to identify Brooklyn uniforms from the years 1891 to 1894. The red boxes correspond with the detail views below.
Four detail views of the Brooklyn uniform from the photo collage shown above. Detail views show subtle differences in the lettering on the shirt:
–Uniform A was distinguished by a button that overlapped the vertical stroke of the second “O,” see arrow. Based on the players who wore this uniform (Foutz & Daly), an 1891 photo date can be suggested
–Uniform B was distinguished by slightly thicker and tightly spaced lettering when compared to uniform A. The second “O” ran along the edge of the shirt opening, see arrow. It also had a slightly wider letter “K” and no buttons overlapping letters. Based on the players who wore this uniform (Griffin & Kennedy), an 1892 photo date can be suggested
–Uniform C was distinguished by letters that were thicker and more square in shape than all other examples. Also, the second letter “O” was divided across the shirt opening, see arrow. Based on the players who wore this uniform (Daub & Sharrott), an 1892 or 1893 photo date can be suggested
–Uniform D was distinguished by thinner lettering that was similar to uniform A, but with the second “O” divided across the shirt opening, similar to uniform C. Uniform D also had unusually wide letter spacing between the “O” and the “K,” see arrow. Based on the players who wore this uniform (Shindle & Gilbert), an 1894 photo date can be suggested
Written documentation on this uniform:
April 3, 1894, Brooklyn (NL) v. Brooklyn A’s at Brooklyn, Eastern Park, exhibition game: “[Due to a close play at second base] some failed to see [Brooklyn manager] Foutz’s six odd feet of uniform, glaring red sweater and all, cross home plate.” From the New York Sun, April 4, 1894.
April 1894: “The Brooklyns wore the same kind of uniforms now sported by the Sioux City, gray with blue stockings and belt.” From the Pittsburgh Post, April 5, 1894. Research from Ed Morton.
April 21, 1894, Brooklyn v. Boston, 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 grandstand. […] 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. A moment later the Brooklyns pushed their way on to the green grass amid a wild scene. They had on creamy white uniforms with red stockings and belts.—New York Sun.” From Leslie’s Weekly, April 1894. Research from Ken Samoil. Game date from retrosheet.org.
Team genealogy: Brooklyn 1883-1957
Brooklyn was formed as a minor league team in 1883 and joined the American Association (AA) in 1884. The AA was a major league operating 1882-1891 and Brooklyn played in the AA between 1884 and 1889. Brooklyn moved to the National League (NL) for the 1890 season. The NL began operation in 1876. Brooklyn played in the NL between 1890 and 1957, when the team moved to Los Angeles. Information from wikipedia.
Rendering posted: May 27, 2018
Diggers on this uniform: Ed Morton, Ken Samoil, Mark Fimoff, Nigel Ayres,