1895 Kansas City (Kansas Citys, Blues, Cowboys)

This rendering is based on incomplete visual documentation for uniform style and incomplete 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 May 1, 1895. This illustration, most likely based on a photograph, was published in a newspaper on this date. The year of the rendering can be confirmed by the appearance of players Hastings, Nattress, Rupert, Bergen and Stultz, all of whom only played for Kansas City in 1895. The players were depicted wearing a dark uniform, with a dark pillbox-style cap and dark stockings. The letters “K” and “C” were positioned on either side of shirt opening and were most likely white in color. Three of the eleven players depicted in the rendering wore short sleeves with white undershirts. In 1895, newspapers often called the team by their traditional nickname, the Blues, suggesting the uniform was blue in color.

Top row, from left: T Hernon (94, 95), S Nicholl (94-96), P Daniels (94, 95), C Hastings (95) and J Manning (WL 87, 92, 94-97, WA 88, 90, 91, AA 89). Front: F Connaughton (95, 97, 98), B Klusman (94-96), B Nattress KC 95, Oma WA 95), J Rupert, (KC 95, Lew NEL 95, FR NEL 95), M Bergen (95) and G Stultz (KC 95, StJ WA 95). Image and player IDs from the Kansas City Times, May 1, 1895. Image scan from Carson Lorey.

Dated May 1, 1895. Detail view of photo A. Detail view indicated that the shirt had buttons and that the letters may have been smaller in size when compared to other Kansas City uniforms from this period.

Images B, C & D

Dated May 2, 1895. These sketches were published in newspapers on this date, depicting scenes from the Kansas City home opener v. St. Paul on May 1. The illustration at left was published in the Kansas City Star, May 2, 1895, and showed a Kansas City player wearing a pillbox cap and the letters “K” and “C” on his shirt. The illustrations at center and right were published in the Kansas City Journal, May 2, 1895, and indicated that the Kansas City players wore a pillbox cap, a dark shirt, white pants and dark stockings.

Written documentation on this uniform:
January 1895: “Manager Manning will order the Blues to report here [Kansas City] about the first of April, and has arranged a series of exhibition games […] against a crack colored team from Adrian, Mich., which is going to make a Western tour.” From the Kansas City Star, January 5, 1895.

April 1895: “[An exhibition game on April 28, 1895, in Kansas City v. Omaha] will be the last appearance of the Blues on the home grounds until the opening of the championship season – on Wednesday next [May 1] – and Manager Manning will celebrate it by allowing the boys to appear in their spick [and] span new uniforms.” From the Kansas City Journal, April 28, 1895. This is one of many reports that call the team “the Blues,” possibly a reference to the color if the uniform.

May 1, 1895, Kansas City v. St. Paul, at Kansas City, Exposition Park, home opener: “The Blues clearly outfielded the Saints.” From the Kansas City Star, May 2, 1895. A report using the “Blues” nickname.

May 29, 1895, Kansas City v. Detroit, at Detroit: “Stultz […] was hit steadily and hard, and the victory was as cleanly earned [by Detroit] as was that of the Cowboys on Monday [May 27].” From the Kansas City Times, May 30, 1895. A report using the “Cowboys” nickname.

June 16, 1895, Kansas City v. St. Paul, at St. Paul, West Side ball park: “The Cowboys were unable to get a man around the bases until the seventh inning.” From the Minneapolis Tribune, June 17, 1895. A report using the “Cowboys” nickname.

July 30, 1895, Kansas City v. Detroit, at Kansas City: “The fourth saw two Blues on bases — Hernon and Kling.” From the Kansas City Times, July 31, 1895. A report using the “Blues” nickname.

December 1895: “Kansas City will endeavor to secure Nyce or Harrington, of Boston, to play in the Cowboy’s infield.“ From the Minneapolis Daily Times, December 29, 1895. A report using the “Cowboys” nickname.

Team genealogy: Kansas City 1894-1900
Kansas City joined the Western League (WL) in 1894 when the league reformed. The reorganized WL operated between 1894 and 1899 and reformed again as the American League (AL) for the 1900 season. Kansas City played in the WL between 1894 and 1899 and in the AL in 1900. The team was dropped when the AL declared major-league status in 1901 and awarded the franchise to Washington DC. Information from wikipedia.com.