1898 Kansas City (Kansas Citys, Blues)

This rendering is 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 this uniform:

Photo A

Dated August 7, 1898. This illustration was drawn from a studio photograph and was published in a newspaper on this date. The year of the photo can be confirmed by the appearance of players Frisbee, Hausen, Wilson, Egan, O’Hagan, Merideth, Slagle and Williams, all of whom only played for Kansas City in 1898. The players were depicted wearing a dark-colored uniform, with a dark cap, dark belt and dark stockings. This shirts featured a large “K.C.” monogram on the left breast and also had white buttons down the front of the shirt. Newspapers in 1898 called the team the “Kansas City Blues” and it is likely the team wore blue uniforms this year.

Top row, from left: C Frisbee (98), H Hausen (KC 98, StJ WA 98), P Wilson (KC 98, NY NL 98), A Pardee (97, 98) and F Connaughton (97, 98). Middle: R Egan (98), D Gear (KC WL 97-00, KC AA 02-04), H O’Hagan (98), M McVicker (97-99) and E Merideth (98). Front: J Slagle (98), J Williams (98) and R Viox (96, 98, 99). Player IDs and image from the Kansas City Times, August 7, 1898. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from Carson Lorey. Original illustration by P. S. McCarty.

Dated August 7, 1898. Detail view of photo A. Detail view showed a large “K.C.” monogram on the left breast. This monogram was very similar to the one worn on the 1897 Kansas City uniform.

Written documentation on this uniform:
April 1898: “Rain prevented the scheduled opening game of the championship game between the Blues and the Millers.” From The Sporting Life, April 30, 1898. This was one of many newspaper entries using the team nickname of “Blues,” the traditional color of the Kansas City team. This April 1898 report also added that “President Manning is patriotic. Yesterday he purchased 5,000 flags, 8 x 12 inches, and announced that one would be tendered to every patron of the opening game.” The Spanish-American War had commenced two weeks earlier on April 12, 1898.

July 1898: “President Manning has hopes for the pennant and to win it he must have ball payers who can keep in the same class with [players Jimmy] Williams and [Charlie] Frisbee. These two men will surely go to the big League next year, and possibly two other wearers of the blue.” From The Sporting Life, July 16, 1898. This entry suggested the team uniforms were blue in color.

Team genealogy: Kansas City 1894-1900
Kansas City joined the Western League (WL) in 1894 when the league reformed. The reorganized WL operated between 1894 and 1899 and reformed again as the American League (AL) for the 1900 season. Kansas City played in the WL between 1894 and 1899 and in the AL in 1900. The team was dropped when the AL declared major-league status in 1901 and awarded the franchise to Washington DC. Information from wikipedia.com.