1896 Brooklyn (Brooklyn, Bridegrooms)

This rendering is based on partial written documentation for uniform color only. An artist’s conceptualization is used to create the rendering based on this and documentation of uniform style from a related year.

Rendering accuracy:Year: documented    Team: documented

Visual documentation on this uniform:

Photo A

Dated April 17, 1896. Date of photo determined by a drawing made from this photo and subsequently published in a newspaper on April 19, 1896, see photo B. The caption on the drawing suggested this original photo of players wearing their street clothes was made in Baltimore, most likely as the team returned from spring training. Image from wikipedia.com.

Photo B

Dated April 19, 1896. This drawing (partial view shown) was published in a newspaper on this date. According to the printed caption, the drawing was based on a photo “taken specially for the [Brooklyn Daily] Eagle in Baltimore last Friday” on April 17, 1896. However, the team wore their street clothes in this photograph, see photo A. The drawing shown here was based on this photo with the players being drawn in the exact same positions, most noticeable in the position of the player’s hands in the front row. The drawn uniforms were a creation of the newspaper artist and were not depictions of the actual team uniform. The head of player B Shindle, top row second from left, was added onto the body of player Yager, possibly G Yeager, in the original photo. Image from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 19, 1896. Full view not available on the newspaper scan.

Written documentation on this uniform:
March 1896: “Charlotte, N.C., March 19 — […] A large attendance is looked for tomorrow afternoon when the first [exhibition] game will be played. Two teams will be made up with a majority of the older players to be called the Regulars and the new men with a veteran here and there to steady them to be designated as the Colts. The former will wear white uniforms and black stockings and the latter team gray uniforms and red stockings.” From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 19, 1896. It is possible the uniforms described here were from the previous season of 1895, or a combination of old and new uniforms from 1895 and 1896.

April 1896: “The nicknames of the National league clubs are as follows: Boston, Beaneaters; Cleveland, Spiders; Pittsburg[h], Pirates; Philadelphia, Quakers; Baltimore, Orioles or Oysters; Brooklyn, Bridegrooms; Cincinnati, Reds; Louisville, Colonels; St. Louis, Browns; New York, Giants; Washington, Senators; Chicago, Colts.” From the Windsor (ON) Evening Record, April 14, 1896.

April 29, 1896, Brooklyn v. Washington at Brooklyn, Eastern Park, Opening Day: “The Brooklyns made a handsome appearance in their new uniforms of white and red.” From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 29, 1896.

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.