1897 Pittsburgh (Pittsburghs, Pirates)
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 these uniforms:
Photo A
Dated April 1897. This photo was published in a newspaper on May 1, 1897. Year of photo can be confirmed by the appearance of player Kuhns, who only played for Pittsburgh in 1897. Players wore a white uniform in this photo, with dark lettering on the shirt, a dark belt and dark stockings. The caps were white with a rounded crown and with a letter “P” above the brim. Newspapers reported in 1897 that the home uniform was white with brown trimmings. Two players wore a dark cap in the photo and this was either the road cap from 1897, described by newspapers as brown in color, or the blue cap from the previous season of 1896. Players wore a combination of short- and long-sleeved shirts in this photo. Five of the 18 players wore a sweater under their uniform with the sweater collar splayed open on top of the shirt collar. Four players wore a sweater or jacket over their uniform. The stockings had ribbing.
Top row of eight men, from left: D Padden (96-98), J Tannehill (97-02), T Leahy (Pit 97, Was NL 97), H Davis in back (96-98), P Hawley (95-97), C Kuhns in back (Pit 97, FR NEL 97), J Gardner (95, 97-99) and F Killen (93-98). Middle: D Lyons (94, 96, 97), J Donnelly (Pit 97, NY NL 97), C Hastings (96-98), P Donovan (92-99, mgr 97, 99), J Sugden (93-97) and M Smith (92-97, 01). Front, on ground: B Merritt (95-97, 99), J Hughey (96, 97), B Ely (96-01) and S Brodie (97, 98). Player IDs and image from the Pittsburgh Bulletin, May 1, 1897. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from Andy Terrick.
Dated April 1897. Detail view of photo A. Detail view showed the white cap with a rounded crown. The cap had both a thin dark braid and the letter “P” above the brim. The lettering on the shirts had the letter “B” centered on the button placket. This differed from the shirt of the previous year of 1896 which had the “S” and “B” together on the placket. Note that the city name on the shirts was spelled with an “H” at the end of the word.
Photo B
Dated 1897. Cameo Pepsin Gum pin. This item utilized cut-out images from the 1897 team photo, see photo A. All of the players in the team photo were included on this pin with the exception of player C Kuhns (Pit 97, FR NEL 97). Kuhns had been on the Pittsburgh roster from the beginning of the 1897 season but played in only one game on June 4, 1897. In that game he made several errors and by mid-June had been sent to play in the New England league. Years Kuhn with team and date of game played from baseball-reference.com. Kuhn errors and playing in the New England League from The Sporting Life, June 19, 1897. Image scan from Lelands Auctions.
Photos C & D
Dated circa 1897. Cameo Pepsin Gum pins of players P Donovan (92-99, mgr 97, 99) and J Sugden (93-97). These pins utilized images from the 1896 Pittsburgh team photo and were not made from images taken in 1897. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan of Donovan pin from Huggins and Scott Auctions.
Photo E
Dated May 15, 1897. Studio photo of P Hawley (95-97), full view at left, detail view at right. This image was published in a newspaper on this date. The player wore a uniform in this photo with no apparent lettering on the shirt and no letter on the cap. This may have been a photo of the 1897 Pittsburgh road uniform. Image and player ID from the Pittsburgh Bulletin, May 15, 1897. Image scan from Andy Terrick.
Photos F & G
Dated May 4, 1897. These cartoons were published by a newspaper on this day as part of a montage depicting scenes from the May 3, 1897, home opener vs. Louisville. Drawings showed the Pittsburgh players wearing a white cap. Montage from the Pittsburgh Post, May 4, 1897. Image scan from Andy Terrick.
Photo H
Dated May 8, 1897. Photo of Pittsburgh playing Cincinnati in Pittsburgh at Exposition Park. This image was published in a newspaper on May 15, 1897. Game date and opponent from the photo caption (not shown). Image depicts a Pittsburgh player caught in a rundown between home plate and third base. In this photo the Pittsburgh uniform was white with dark caps, suggesting the team may have worn both the white home cap and the brown road cap while at home. The Cincinnati players wore a light gray uniform with a light gray cap. Image from the Pittsburgh Bulletin, May 15, 1897. Image scan from Andy Terrick.
Photo I
Dated mid-March 1897 to early April 1897. Spring training photo of the Pittsburgh team taken in Roanoke, Virginia. The team trained in Roanoke for “nineteen days” and returned to Pittsburgh on April 9, 1897. Spring training info from The Sporting Life, April 17, 1897.
Top row, from left: C Kuhns wearing a Freeport, PA, uniform (Pit 97, FR NEL 97), T Leahy? (Pit 97, Was NL 97), H Davis? (96-98), unidentified, F Killen (93-98), M Smith (92-97, 01), J Tannehill (97-02) and S Brodie wearing a Baltimore sweater (97, 98). Middle: C Hastings? (96-98), D Padden (96-98), J Hughey (96, 97), P Hawley (95-97), P Donovan (92-99, mgr 97, 99), unidentified, T Leahy (Pit 97, Was NL 97) and D Lyons (94, 96, 97). Front row: B Merritt (95-97, 99), J Sugden (93-97), (mascot), B Ely (96-01) and J Gardner (95, 97-99). Player IDs based on photo A. Some identifications from Nigel Ayres, Carson Lorey and Ken Samoil. Ayres suggests that the unidentified player in the back row was B Foreman and that the unidentified player in the middle row was J Donnelly. Ayres also believes the player in the front row, far right, may have been L Bierbauer. Years with team from baseball-reference.com.
Dated mid-March 1897 to early April 1897. Detail view of photo G. Detail view showed that the players wore a variety of uniforms, sweaters, jackets and caps from previous seasons. Player Brodie, standing far right, wore the sweater of his former team, Baltimore.
Photo J
Dated March 27, 1898. This drawing of T Donahue (Chi 95-00) was made from a photograph and published in a newspaper on this date. Donahue, who never played for Pittsburgh, played for Chicago in March 1897 while the team held spring training at Waycross, GA. Why he was photographed wearing a Pittsburgh uniform is unknown. As this was a spring training photo, it was likely a depiction of the 1897 Pittsburgh uniform, and not the 1898 Pittsburgh uniform. Player ID and image scan from the Chicago Inter Ocean, March 27, 1898.
Written documentation on these uniforms:
January 1897: “Manager Donovan yesterday selected the colors of the uniform to be worn by the Pittsburg[h] team the coming season. At home, as per constitution, the boys will wear the regulation white, with brown trimmings. The traveling uniform will be a reddish gray, with brown trimmings. The word ‘Pittsburg’ will be strung across the breast in brown letters. The stockings will be brown, both at home and on the road. Last season the players sported red jackets, but the coming season their jackets will be brown, and double-breasted at that.” From the Pittsburgh Daily Post, January 26, 1897. Research from Don Stokes. This same report was printed in the Louisville Courier-Journal, January 30, 1897. Research from Ed Morton. The new double-breasted jacket mentioned in this report was worn by one player in the team photo from early 1897, see photo A.
January 1897: “The Pittsburg[h]s will be more piratical than ever this coming season. Traveling uniforms of a light chocolate color, with brown trimmings, and cap and a dark seal brown double breasted coat have been selected for them by Manager Donovan.” From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, January 30, 1897. Research from Ed Morton.
February 1897: “Manager Donovan has decided upon the Pittsburg[h] uniform. It will be […] white and seal brown at home and light gray abroad. Spalding will make them.” From The Sporting Life, February 6, 1897. Research from Chuck McGill.
April 1897: “The indications are that a ball game will be played today [in Pittsburgh] at Exposition park this afternoon, when the Pittsburg[h]s will meet the Carnegie A. C. team of Braddock [PA]. […] The Pittsburg[h] players will appear in their new traveling uniforms of granite gray. As will be remembered, National league teams must wear white uniforms on the home grounds, and any color of suits excepts white abroad. This regulation was adopted to guard against teams appearing on the field in like uniforms, confusing not only the spectators, but the players themselves.” From the Pittsburgh Post, April 19, 1897. Research from Andy Terrick.
April 19, 1897, Pittsburgh v. Carnegie A.C. at Pittsburgh, Exposition Park, exhibition game: “The Pittsburg[h]s looked neat in their new uniforms of granite gray with brown trimmings. All but Killen [the pitcher] appeared in the new traveling suits.” From the Pittsburgh Post, April 20, 1897. Research from Andy Terrick. Research also from Don Stokes and Graig Kreindler.
May 3, 1897, Pittsburgh v. Louisville, opening day parade in Pittsburgh: “Headed by the Grand Army band, the procession moved in the following order, with participants in carriages: The local tossers [Pittsburgh] in their attractive brown sweaters; the Lousiville team in deep red over-garments; officials of the club and local and visiting newspaper men.” From the Pittsburgh Post, May 4, 1897. Research from Andy Terrick.
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.
Rendering posted: May 25, 2020
Diggers on this uniform: Andy Terrick, Carson Lorey, Chuck McGill, Don Stokes, Ed Morton, Ken Samoil, Nigel Ayres,