1894 Nashville (Nashvilles)

Left: 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

Right: 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

Visual documentation on this uniform:

Photo A

Dated March 25, 1894. This rendering of the team, based on a photo, was published in a newspaper on this date. Year of photo can be confirmed by the appearance of players Whitehead, Meara, O’Brien, Dooley, Lookabaugh, Webster and Borchers, all of whom only played for Nashville in 1894. Players were depicted wearing a white or light-colored uniform, with dark belts and dark stockings. The buttoned shirt had a large “N” in a serif font on the left breast, and no breast pocket. Players wore short-sleeved shirts in this depiction, some wore sleeve extensions while other wore white undershirts. The dark-colored pillbox-style cap had two horizontal bands and trim along the front of the visor. The pants had a thin line of trim running down the seam. A newspaper in March 1894 described this uniform as consisting of “light golden-brown shirt and trousers, with seal-brown caps, belts, and stockings.”

Top row, standing, from left: J Collopy (Nas 94, Mac SL 94, GR WL 94), M Whitehead (Nas 94, Bin EL 94, Tro EL 94), J Meara (94), J O’Brien (Nas 94, Buf EL 94) and C Dooley (Nas 94, Det WL 94). Front row, sitting: J Lookabaugh (94), E Webster (94), G Stallings (plyr/mgr 94, 95), G Cleeve (Nas 94, Atl SL 94) and G Borchers (Nas 94, Det WL 94). Image and player IDs from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nashville_Tigers, citing the Nashville Daily American, March 25, 1894. Years players with team from baseball-reference.com.

Dated March 25, 1894. Detail view of photo A. Detail view showed the large letter on the shirt and the dark cap with two horizontal bands and trim along the front edge of the visor.

Photo B

Dated July 7, 1894, depicting a scene of Nashville pitcher George Harper in costume playing in an exhibition game on July 6, 1894. A full explanation comes from research presented on en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nashville_Tigers: “The Independence Day doubleheader [in Nashville] was originally scheduled to be capped off by a night game, but was prevented by rain [and] finally scheduled for July 6. […] The night game would be contested merely as an exhibition with all proceeds going to Nashville’s players. […] Fifty-four large electric lights were placed around Athletic Park to illuminate the field, and the baseball was covered with phosphorus to aid visibility. Adding to the novelty of a night game, players marched onto the field wearing burlesque costumes that included ballet outfits, loud suits, dresses, wigs, and bonnets.” References cited were the Nashville Daily American, July 4, 1894, and July 7, 1894.

Written documentation on this uniform:
March 1894: “The grandstand has already been engaged […] to get a first sight of Stallings’ dudes in their new uniforms, consisting of a light golden-brown shirt and trousers, with seal-brown caps, belts, and stockings, over which pretty dark brown, double-breasted sack coats, with large pearl buttons, will be worn.” From the Nashville Daily American, March 11, 1894. Research presented on en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nashville_Tigers.

May 1894: “Manager Stallings is somewhat superstitious. He has played on seven pennant-winning teams, all of which had uniforms of black pants and stockings with white shirts and caps. His superstition has caused him to order new uniforms as above for the Nashville club. The team will appear in the new uniforms in Tuesday’s game [on May 22].” From the Nashville Daily American, May 20, 1894. Research presented on en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nashville_Tigers.

Team genealogy: Nashville 1893-1895
Nashville joined the Southern League (SL) in 1893. The reorganized SL operated between 1892 and 1896 and folded after the 1896 season. Nashville played in the SL between 1893 and 1895 and folded after the 1895 season. Information from wikipedia.com and baseball-reference.com.