1897 Baltimore (Baltimores, Orioles)

Left: This rendering is based on partial 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

Center & right: These renderings are based on visual documentation for uniform style and partial written documentation for color. Important 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 these uniforms:

Photo A

Dated 1897, possibly late May 1897 to late July 1897. Collage of player photos, full view of collage at left, detail view of player Kelley at right. Based on the similarity of the studio background in all photos, it can be suggested these images were made at the same time. Year of photos can be confirmed by appearance of players Amole, O’Brien and Maul, each of whom only played for Baltimore in 1897. Date range of late May 1897 to late July 1897 can be determined by several factors. The late May 1897 date can be determined by player Maul, who last played for Washington on May 12, 1897 and had joined Baltimore by June 1, 1897. The late July 1897 date can be determined by a series of drawings made from the photos in the collage and published in a Baltimore newspaper over a period of time, at the minimum from late July 1897 to late August 1897. A late July 1897 date can also be determined by the appearance of players Amole and Maul. Amole came to Baltimore from Reading of the Atlantic League and Maul was sent to Reading around this time. Sixteen of the eighteen players in the collage wore a light gray uniform, with a dark rounded cap, a dark belt and dark stockings. The uniform shirt had a Roman-style letter B on the shirt pocket, similar to the letter worn two years earlier in 1895. Presumably this was the Baltimore road uniform for 1897. The shirts had four buttons and 3/4 length sleeves. Four of the eighteen players wore their collars turned up and two of the eighteen wore a turtleneck sweater under their shirt. Sixteen of the eighteen players had a long-sleeved undershirt or sweater covering their arms. One player, J Doyle (96, 97), wore a white uniform with no letter on the shirt pocket. This possibly was the Baltimore home uniform for 1897. One player, H Jennings (93-99), wore a light gray uniform with an old-English letter B on the shirt pocket. This matched the Baltimore road uniform from the previous year of 1896.

Top row, from left: B Clarke (93-00), D Amole (Bal 97, Rea AtL 97), B Hoffer (95-98), J Corbett (96, 97), A Pond (95-98), J Nops (NL 96-99, AL 01) and W Robinson (AA 90, 91, NL 92-99, AL 02, EL 03). Middle: H Reitz (93-97), H Jennings (93-99), (H Von der Horst, pres), (N Hanlon, mgr 92-98), J Kelley (NL 92-98, AL 02) and J Doyle (96, 97). Bottom: J Quinn (96-98), T O’Brien (97), J McGraw (AA 91, NL 92-99, AL 01, 02), F Bowerman (95-98), W Keeler (94-98), A Maul (Bal 97, 98, Was 97) and J Stenzel (97, 98). Player IDs from collage. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Date of Maul’s last game in Washington from Bill Lamb, SABR BioProject: Al Maul, retrieved January 26, 2020. Info on Maul joining Baltimore from The Sporting Life, June 5, 1897, with a story dateline of June 1, 1897. Amole and Maul transfer with Reading from The Sporting Life, August 14, 1897. Original photos by John Betz, Baltimore.

Photos B & C

Left, photo of W Keeler (94-98). This photo was included in the collage dated 1897, and possibly from late May to late July 1897, see photo A. Right, two drawings of Keeler that were published in a newspaper on August 24, 1897. The drawing at right was made from the photo of Keeler shown at left. Based on this and other drawings published in the same newspaper between late July 1897 and late August 1897, it can be suggested that two photos were made of each player at the photo session. Both the photo and the drawings show a cap with a rounded crown and a shirt with a “B” on the shirt pocket and 3/4 length sleeves. Years Keeler with team from baseball-reference.com. Drawings from the Baltimore Morning Herald, August 24, 1897. Original photo by John Betz, Baltimore.

Photo D

Dated 1897, possibly late May to late July 1897. Photo of W Robinson (AA 90, 91, NL 92-99, AL 02, EL 03), full view at left, two detail views at right. Date range of photo may be determined by fact that the photo background was very similar to others shown in the photo collage of the team from 1897, see photo A. Robinson wore his chest protector in the collage, however this photo above was most likely the second pose made of Robinson that day. Photo showed player wearing a light gray road uniform, with a dark cap, belt and stockings. Detail views showed the letter B on the shirt pocket. Though similar to the letter on the 1895 Baltimore uniform, the letter B on the 1897 uniform was larger by comparison and covered most of the shirt pocket (shown outlined in red). Years Robinson with team from baseball-reference.com. Original photo by John Betz, Baltimore.

Photo E

Dated 1897, possibly late May to late July 1897. Photo of J Doyle (96, 97), full view at left, detail view at right. Date range of the photo may be determined by fact that this photo was included in the collage of the team, see photo A. Player wore a white uniform and with no letter on the pocket. This most likely was the Baltimore home uniform of 1897. The cap in this photo appeared to have been made of leather and may not have been the cap worn on the field. Years Doyle with team from baseball-reference.com. Original photo by John Betz, Baltimore.

Photo F

Dated 1897, possibly late May to late July 1897. Photo of H Jennings (93-99), full view at left, detail view at right. Date range of the photo may be determined by fact that this photo was included in the collage of the team, see photo A. Player wore a light gray uniform with an old-English letter B on the pocket. This shirt matched the road shirt from the previous year of 1896. Years Jennings with team from baseball-reference.com. Original photo by John Betz, Baltimore.

Photo G

Dated 1897, possibly late May to late July 1897. Photo of J McGraw (AA 91, NL 92-99, AL 01, 02), full view at left, detail view at right. Date range of photo may be determined by fact that the photo background was very similar to others shown in the photo collage of the team from 1897, see photo A. The letter B on McGraw’s pocket appeared to be smaller than that on Robinson’s uniform, see photo above, and also smaller than that shown on other uniforms in the collage. McGraw also may not have been wearing his baseball shoes in this photo. Also note that McGraw wore a mustache in this photo while throughout most of his career he was clean shaven. Historian James H. Bready wrote in Baseball in Baltimore (1998) that one year earlier “in the spring of ‘96, McGraw caught typhoid fever and almost died. He grew a mustache during convalescence, shaving it off when finally able to rejoin the team.” McGraw rejoined the team late in the 1896 season and the New York Clipper reported on September 5, 1896 that McGraw played “his first game of the season” in the second game of a doubleheader against Cleveland on August 25, 1896 in Baltimore. If the photo session that produced the photos used in the 1897 collage (photo A) were all taken at the same time in 1897, it may be suggested that McGraw wore a mustache for some portion of the 1897 season as well. More evidence of McGraw wearing a mustache in 1897 was reported by the Buffalo Enquirer on March 23, 1897, which wrote in a humorous editorial that “Hughey Jennings, Mugsy McGraw, Joe Kelly [sp] and that Baltimore push wear their jewelry during the game. […] Mugsy McGraw has that mustache as an understudy for the diamond [ring that he wears]. When he tosses his glove on the ground and walks to the bench he pats the mustache with the hand that wears the $400 rock.” Interestingly, in the detail view above McGraw was photographed wearing a large ring on his left ring finger. Years McGraw with team from baseball-reference.com. Buffalo Enquirer research from Ed Morton. Image scan from James H. Bready, Baseball in Baltimore (1998). Original photo by John Betz, Baltimore.

Photo H

Dated August 13, 1897. Two drawings of E Horton (dnp, Rea AtL 97). These drawings were published in a newspaper on this date. Based on similar drawings made of other Baltimore players and published in the same newspaper between late July and late August 1897, it was likely these drawings were made from photos taken at the same time as the photos in the collage from 1897, see photo A. Horton did not play for Baltimore in an official game in 1897 and was not included in the printed collage, though he was with the team for most of the year. The caption on the published drawings stated that Horton had been “loaned to Reading” of the Atlantic League and The Sporting Life confirmed the transfer occurred about this same time. Teams Horton played for in 1897 from baseball-reference.com. Drawings from the Baltimore Morning Herald, August 13, 1897 and based on original photos by John Betz, Baltimore. Horton mid-August transfer from The Sporting Life, August 14, 1897.

Photo I

Dated 1897. Photo of J Quinn (96-98), full view at left, detail view at right. This photo was taken at the Polo Grounds in New York, identifiable by the rail line on the embankment in the background. Player wore a light gray uniform in this photo with a Roman-style letter B on the pocket, a dark cap with a rounded crown, and dark stockings. These uniform features matched that shown in the photo collage of the team dated 1897, see photo A. Years Quinn with team from baseball-reference.com. Image date, location and scan from James H. Bready, Baseball in Baltimore (1998).

Image J

Dated 1896 to 1898. Photo of J Quinn (96-98), full view at left, detail view at right. The studio background in this photo was very similar to the backgrounds shown in the portraits of Baltimore players from 1897, see photos A thru G above. Player wore a Baltimore team sweater in this photo, one that featured a decorative “B” on the front accompanied by two wings. This insignia was probably orange in color and the body of the sweater was probably black. The sweater was accented by orange and white bands at the cuffs and at the waist. Image from SABR Bio Project: Joe Quinn, retrieved August 31, 2020.

Written documentation on these uniforms:
March 1897: “Baseball headquarters [in Baltimore] wore a look of activity. This was heightened by the arrival of a big boxful of new uniforms, belts, shoes, hose and other baseball goods. Mr. Hanlon was very much pleased with the new uniforms and everything except the stockings. These he had ordered to be woven with alternate stripes of black and orange, like the old Oriole stockings, but the ‘orange’ turned out a very sickly yellow, much to Mr. Hanlon’s disgust, and he immediately wired for eighteen pair of solid black, which are expected to arrive today.” From the Baltimore Sun, March 16, 1897. Research from Ed Morton.

April 1897: “Elaborate preparations are being made for the parade that is to precede the first championship game here [in Baltimore on April 22] between Baltimore and Boston. […] Following the band will come the players, all in uniform. Then will come [on] a float on which will be arranged the three pennants and the Temple cup. The original pennants will not be used, as they are each twenty-six feet long and are too big to arrange nicely on floats. Fac similies[sp] about five feet long have been ordered from a local flagmaker and these will be artistically grouped.” From the Chicago Inter Ocean, April 3, 1897.

April 16, 1897, Baltimore v. Princeton, exhibition game: “The orange and black of Old Nassau [Princeton] was vanquished today [April 16, 1897] by the black and gold of the champion Orioles.” From the Scranton (PA) Times, April 17, 1897. Research from Ed Morton. This report suggested the Orioles wore the gold and black stockings in spite of the color being incorrect, also see August 22 entry below.

April 22, 1897, Baltimore v. Boston, at Union Park, Baltimore, opening day: “An inspiring sight […] the parade of champions [i.e., Baltimore] in their new uniforms.” From Bill Felber, A Game of Brawl (2007), citing The Sporting Life, exact date not available on scan.

August 1897: “The Baltimores have discarded their yellow ringed black stockings and now wear solid black.” From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 22, 1897.

Team genealogy: Baltimore 1882-1899
Baltimore joined the American Association (AA) in 1882. The AA was a major league operating 1882-1891. Baltimore played in the AA from 1882 to 1889 and then joined the Atlantic Association, a minor league, for the 1890 season. The team rejoined the American Association in late 1890 when the Brooklyn AA team failed. Baltimore played in the American Association for the 1891 season and when the AA folded, Baltimore was added to the National League (NL) for the 1892 season. The NL began operation in 1876. Baltimore played in the NL from 1892 to 1899. After the 1899 season, Baltimore was dropped by the league and the team disbanded. Information from wikipedia.