1897 Syracuse (Stars)
This rendering is based on partial visual documentation for uniform style and 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 this uniform:
Photo A
Dated April 25, 1897. This drawing of the team, based on a photo, was published in a newspaper on this date. Players were depicted wearing both the team uniform and several styles of team sweaters. Five players wore the regular uniform shirt with the city name arched across a button placket, the “A” in the word Syracuse was split on either side of the shirt opening, similar to that shown in photo B. Three of these men wore the team sweater under their shirt and with the sweater collar splayed open on top of the shirt. Eight of the players in the drawing were depicted wearing a sweater on top of the shirt. The sweater was light in color, with lace ties, a wide collar featuring dark-colored bands, and cuffs with dark trim. Two players were depicted wearing a dark-colored turtleneck sweater. The cap in the foreground at right was mid-tone in color and had a rounded crown. The stockings were dark in color and had ribbing.
Top row, from left: W Gallagher (Syr 97, Reading AtL 97), A Shaw (97, 98), E Shearon (Syr 97, Roc EL 97), V Willis (97), A Lizotte (97-99) and J Ryan (96, 97). Middle: J Garry (96-98), H Lampe (97, 98), A Whitehill (Syr 97, Spr EL 97, New AtL 97), (A Buckenberger, mgr 97, 98), J Smith (97, 98), J Malarky (97-99) and J Grove (Syr 97, Pat AtL 97). Front: E Breckenridge (97), E Mason (97) and B Eagan (94-98). Image and player IDs from the Syracuse Sunday Herald, April 25, 1897. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from Carson Lorey.
Photo B
Dated 1897. Year of photo confirmed by the appearance of players Scheibeck, Willis and Horton, all of whom only played for Syracuse in 1897. A late 1897 date can be suggested for this photo by a newspaper report from October 1897 which stated that a photo of the team was “finished with the new idea of an almost black background.” Players wore a light gray uniform shirt in this photo with the city name arched across the chest. The pants and stockings were not shown and were eliminated by the black background that had been added to the photo. Newspaper reports from this year described the Syracuse uniform as “bluish gray” in color with blue letters, a blue belt and blue stockings. Based on the team photo above, the blue accent color was very light in tone. The team cap, also not shown in the photo, was described as having a blue star “placed in the center of the cap.”
Top row of eight men, from left: J Garry (96-98), F Scheibeck (97), V Willis (97), A Shaw (97, 98), H Lampe (97, 98), B Eagan (94-98), J Malarky? (97-99) and A Lizotte (97-99). Front row of seven: E Horton (Syr 97, Rea AtL 97), J Smith (97, 98), J O’Brien (Syr 97, 98, Scr EL 97), (A Buckenberger, mgr 97, 98), J Ryan (96, 97), H Earl (97, 98) and B Kissinger? (97, 98). Player IDs from item. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. This image was published in the Spalding Base Ball Guide 1898, which was produced in April 1898 as a recap of the 1897 season. Original photo by Philip S. Ryder, Syracuse.
Dated 1897. Detail view of photo A. Detail view showed the city name arched across the shirt and with the letter “A” in Syracuse divided across the shirt opening. Detail view also showed that the shirt did not have a breast pocket, a new trend during this period.
Written documentation on this uniform:
February 1897: “The Syracuse uniform this season will be gray with blue trimmings and stockings.” From The Sporting Life, February 20, 1897. Research from Chuck McGill. This same report was also published in the Scranton (PA) Republican, February 22, 1897. Research from Ed Morton.
April 1897: “Proprietor Kuntzsch [team owner George N. Kuntzsch] received the new uniforms for the team Saturday. They are of bluish gray material, the word Syracuse being printed across the shirt front in blue letters. A star is placed in the center of the cap. The stockings and belts are blue–Syracuse Journal.” From the Scranton (PA) Republican, April 21, 1897. Research from Graig Kreindler.
April 1897: “The Syracuse uniform for this season will be of bluish gray material with Syracuse lettered on the breast and a star on the cap. The stockings and belts are blue.” From the Wilkes-Barre (PA) Record, April 26, 1897. Research from Ed Morton.
April 1897: “The new uniform of the Syracuse team consists of gray material, with blue belts, blue stockings and a blue star on the caps. The word Syracuse is in blue across the breast.” From the Buffalo Courier, April 29, 1897. Research from Ed Morton. This report described the star on the Syracuse cap as being blue in color.
October 1897: “We acknowledge the receipt of a fine photograph of the Syracuse team, champions of the Eastern League, for which we extend thanks to P. S. Ryder, the leading photographer at Syracuse, N.Y. Every admirer of baseball should obtain a copy of the picture, which is finished with the new idea of an almost black background.” From The Sporting Life, October 30, 1897. The photo mentioned in this blurb was most likely the team photo shown in photo A, see above.
1897, referenced in March 1898; “The uniform which the Stars will wear this year [1898] will be made of a light blue gray cloth and will comprise the cap shirt and pants. On the cap will be sewn a small edition of ‘Old Glory’ in the place of the star [from the previous season].” From the Syracuse Daily Journal, March 11, 1898.
Team genealogy: Syracuse 1894-1901
Syracuse joined the Eastern League (EL) in 1894, their second entry into the league. The EL operated between 1891 and 1911 and became the International League in 1912. Syracuse played in the EL between 1894 and 1901 and dropped out after the 1901 season. Information from Bill O’Neal, The International League (1992).
Rendering posted: June 26, 2020
Diggers on this uniform: Carson Lorey, Chuck McGill, Ed Morton, Graig Kreindler,