1896 Pittsburgh (Pittsburghs, Pirates)

These renderings are based on visual documentation for uniform style and inconclusive written documentation for color. Important details may be undocumented or difficult to determine. An educated guess is made to complete the renderings.

Rendering accuracy:Year: documented    Team: documented

Visual documentation on these uniforms:

Photo A

Dated April 1896 to early May 1896. Date range determined by fact that this photo was published in a newspaper on May 2, 1896. Players wore a white uniform with the city name arched across the chest. A newspaper in early 1897 recounted that the 1896 home uniform was white in color with black trimmings and that the 1896 road uniform was Yale gray with dark blue trimmings, see written descriptions below. Based on the tonal value of some items in this photo, it is possible the team wore a blue cap and stockings with the white uniform, and not black trimmings. The shirts sleeves in this photograph were a combination of 3/4 length and full length with sleeve extensions. One player, Hawley, wore his collar up. This same player did not wear his collar up in photo B.

Top row, from left: unidentified, J Beckley (NL 88, 89, 91-96, PL 90), J Sugden (93-97), J Hughey (96, 97) and C Hastings (96-98). Middle: P Hawley (95-97), J Goar (Pit 96, GR WL 96), P Donovan (92-99), F Killen (93-98), D Lyons (93, 94, 96, 97) and B Foreman (Pit 95, 96, Cin 96). Front: J Stenzel (92-96), M Smith (92-97, 01), B Ely (96-01), C Mack (91-96), B Merritt (94-97) and L Bierbauer (91-96). Player IDs based on photo B. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Image published in the Pittsburgh Bulletin, May 2, 1896. Bulletin research from Andy Terrick. Original photo by W. S. Bell, Pittsburgh.

Dated April 1896 to early May 1896. Detail view of photo A. Detail view showed the word “Pittsburgh” arched across the shirt and the “S-B” in the name centered on the button placket. The letter “S” was divided across the shirt opening and a white button fell upon the lower section of the letter “B.” Note that the city name included an “H” even though the official spelling from 1891 to 1911 was without an “H.” Spelling dates from wikipedia.com.

Photo B

Dated April 1896 to late June 1896. Date range of photo determined by appearance of player Goar, who only played for Pittsburgh in 1896. Goar was with Pittsburgh on May 21, 1896 and on June 8, 1896 and was subsequently playing in the minor leagues by June 26, 1896. The majority of players wore a white uniform in this photo while several players may have worn a light gray uniform. A newspaper in early 1897 recounted that the 1896 home uniform was white in color with black trimmings and that the 1896 road uniform was Yale gray with dark blue trimmings, see written descriptions below. Same as with photo A, it is possible the team wore a blue cap and stockings with the white uniform in photo B, and not black trimmings. Not all of the shirt lettering was the identical in this photo. Some of the lettering appeared lighter in tone, suggesting a lighter shade of color. 12 of the 16 players wore a uniform where the “S-B” in the city name was centered on the button placket with the “S” divided across the shirt opening. The other 4 players (Hawley, Ely, Smith and Sugden) wore uniforms where only the “B” in the city name was centered on the button placket and the “S” was not divided across the shirt opening. Two of these four shirts had lettering that was lighter in color when compared to the lettering on other uniforms in the photo, see more below. Note that all of the players appeared to have worn an identical uniform in photo A.

Top row, from left: J Stenzel (92-96), P Hawley (95-97), L Bierbauer (91-96), P Donovan (92-99), (F Balliett, sec), B Merritt (94-97), F Killen (93-98) and B Ely (96-01). Middle: M Smith (92-97, 01), J Hughey (96, 97), C Mack (91-96), J Beckley (NL 88, 89, 91-96, PL 90) and D Lyons (93, 94, 96, 97). Front: C Hastings (96-98), J Goar (Pit 96, GR WL 96), J Sugden (93-97) and B Foreman (Pit 95, 96, Cin 96). Player IDs from the Spalding Base Ball Guide 1897, which published this photo at the start of the 1897 season. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Balliett info and Goar June 8 date from Andy Terrick. Info on Goar last appearance from the Brooklyn Eagle, May 21, 1896. Info on Goar in minor leagues from the Wheeling (WV) Intelligencer, June 26, 1896.

Dated April 1896 to late June 1896. Detail view of photo B. Detail view showed that the team wore a cap with a rounded crown and that the letter “P” on the cap was in the Tuscan (Red Sox) font style.

Dated April 1896 to late June 1896. Another detail view of photo B. This detail view showed the differences in lettering between two uniforms. The example at left featured lettering in a light-toned color and with the “B” centered on the button placket. The example at right featured lettering in a mid-tone color and with the “S-B” centered on the button placket. Note how the “S” was divided by the shirt opening in this example.

Photo C

Dated June 27, 1896. This newspaper page with pictorials was published on this date, full view at left, detail view at right. The head and shoulder silhouettes of Pittsburgh players were taken from the team photo printed in a newspaper on May 2, 1896, see photo A. The full-body silhouettes of players in action poses featured a uniform with a dark pillbox cap, dark pants and dark stockings. This matched the Pittsburgh uniform worn in 1894 and may suggest these images were made during this year. All of the players shown in these action shots (Beckley, Smith, Donovan, Lyons, Mack and Bierbauer) were also members of the team in 1894. Newspaper page from the Pittsburgh Bulletin, June 27, 1896. Image scan from Andy Terrick.

Written documentation on these uniforms:
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.

1896, referenced in January 1897: “Last season [1896] the team wore a white uniform, with black trimmings, for the home games and their traveling uniform was a Yale gray, with dark blue trimmings. This style of uniform is in a measure a requirement of the National League, in order that strangers may without trouble designate the home for the visiting players.” From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 26, 1897. Research from Chuck McGill.

Team genealogy: Pittsburgh 1870s-
Pittsburgh began as Allegheny, an independent pro team in Pittsburgh formed in the late 1870s. Allegheny joined the American Association (AA) at its formation in 1882. The AA was a major league operating between 1882 and 1891. Allegheny played in the AA through the 1886 season and then moved to the National League (NL) as Pittsburgh in 1887. The NL began operation in 1876 and Pittsburgh has played in the league every year from 1887 to present time. Information from wikipedia.