1898 Louisville (Louisvilles, Colonels)
These renderings are based on visual documentation for uniform style only. Color information is unknown and the uniform is rendered in values of gray. Minor details may also be undocumented or difficult to determine and an educated guess is made to complete the rendering.
Rendering accuracy:Year: documented Team: documented
Visual documentation on these uniforms:
Photo A
Dated early April 1898 to mid-April 1898. Year of photo determined by the appearance of players Carey, Dolan, J Clarke and Mahaffey, all of whom only played for Louisville in 1898. An early April 1898 to mid-April 1898 date range can be determined for this photo. The early April 1898 date can be determined by the appearance of player Ehret, who according to a newspaper had “just reported” to the team on April 4, 1898. The mid-April 1898 date can be determined by players Dolan, Mahaffey and Fuller, all of whom were to be “farmed out” by Louisville according to a newspaper report written on April 11, 1898. Dolan was subsequently released by Louisville on April 17, 1898. Players wore a light gray uniform in this photo with white stockings. The caps were white in color and featured a soft-formed rounded crown with colored trim on the vertical ribbing. The visor on the cap was of a mid-tone color. The uniform shirt had an old-English L on the right breast and no shirt pocket. At least eight of the twenty players shown wore a long-sleeved shirt and at least five wore short-sleeved shirts. All of the players in the front row wore low-cut shoes.
Top row, from left: D Clarke (97, 98 3 gms), B Fuller? (dnp, CR WA 98), H Wagner (97-99), S Carey (Lou 98, Min WL 98), R Ehret (AA 89-91, NL 98), B Wilson (97, 98), H Smith (97, 98), J Dolan (dnp, Lou 96, 97, Det WL 98, Min WL 98). Middle: P Dowling (97-99), B Clingman (96-99), B Magee (97-99), F Clarke (94-99), J Clarke (98), L Mahaffey (98 1 gm), G Stafford (97, 98). Front: B Cunningham (95-99), C Fraser (Lou 96-98, Cle 98), C Dexter (96-99), D Hoy (98, 99), C Ritchey (98, 99) and K Nance (Lou 97, 98, Pat AtL 98). Player IDs based on item B. Identifications of Dolan, Mahaffey and Fuller from Ken Samoil, Carson Lorey and Nigel Ayres. Years with team from baseball-refrence.com. Date of Ehret joining the team from The Sporting Life, April 9, 1898. Info on Dolan, Mahaffey and Fuller being farmed out from The Sporting Life, April 16, 1898. Dolan release date from retrosheet.org. Image scan from Ken Samoil. The photogrpher’s mark on this scan is hard to decipher, however it is possible the original photo was made by Edward Klauber, Louisville.
Dated early April 1898 to mid-April 1898. Detail view of photo A. Detail view showed the unique old-English letter “L” on the right breast.
Photo B
Dated April 15, 1898. These portraits were published in a newspaper on this date. Players wore a cap similar to that shown in photo A. The majority of players wore neckties in these portraits, possibly indicating the images were not taken at the same time as the team photo, see photo A.
Top row, from left: J Clarke (98), H Smith (97, 98), S Carey (Lou 98, Min WL 98), D Clarke (97, 98 3 gms), B Clingman (96-99) and G Stafford (97, 98). Middle: C Dexter (96-99), C Fraser (Lou 96-98, Cle 98), B Magee (97-99), R Ehret (AA 89-91, NL 98), F Clarke (94-99) and H Wagner (97-99). Bottom: B Cunningham (95-99), P Dowling (97-99), D Hoy (98, 99), C Ritchey (98, 99), B Wilson (97, 98,) and K Nance (Lou 97, 98, Pat AtL 98). Player IDs from item. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Note that players Dolan, Mahaffey and Fuller, were not included in this montage of portraits, but were included in the team photo above, see photo A. These three players were to be “farmed out” by Louisville according to a newspaper report written on April 11, 1898. Dolan was subsequently released by Louisville on April 17, 1898. Portraits from the Louisville Courier, April 15, 1898. Info on Dolan, Mahaffey and Fuller being farmed out from The Sporting Life, April 16, 1898. Dolan release date from retrosheet.org. Image scan and publish info from Ken Samoil. Original portraits by Edward Klauber, Louisville.
Dated April 15, 1898. Detail view of photo B. Detail view showed that the Louisville caps were white in color and featured a soft-formed rounded crown with colored trim on the vertical ribbing. The visor on the cap was of a mid-tone color. In April 1898 a newspaper reported that the Louisville caps were “peculiar-shaped” and that they made the players “look like bakers,” see written descriptions below.
Photo C
Dated 1898. National Copper Plate Company portrait of C Dexter (96-99), full view at left, detail view at right. This portrait was taken at the same time as the portraits in the montage published by a newspaper on April 15, 1898. see photo B. However this portrait of Dexter was a different pose than that shown in the montage. In addition, the background behind the subject was added after the image had been taken. Detail view showed a closeup of the cap from this year. Player ID from item. Years Dexter with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from Ken Samoil. The caption on photo B stated that the Louisville portraits were made by Edward Klauber, Louisville.
Photo D
Dated 1898, probably September 21-23, 1898. Year of photo confirmed by the appearance of player Smith in combination with players Kittridge, Ritchie, Hartsel, Decker and Powers. These men only played together for Louisville in 1898. A date of September 21-23, 1898, can be suggested by the appearance of Hartsel and by the location in which the photo was taken. Hartsel was purchased by Louisville from Grand Rapids of the Western Association on September 9, 1898. The location of the photo was the Polo Grounds in New York. This can be determined by comparing the grandstand in the background to other known photos of the ballpark from this period. The only contests in which Louisville played in New York after Hartsel joined the team was a 3-game series on September 21-23, 1898. Box scores indicated that Louisville pitcher Cunningham played in the September 21 game. As he was not included in the team photo it could be suggested this photo was from September 22 or 23, 1898. Players wore a light gray uniform in this photo similar to that worn in a team photo taken in April 1898, see photo A. However, unlike the earlier team photo, the players in photo D wore stockings in a mid-tone color, not white. The caps also matched that shown in photos A and B. The player standing a far left in photo D wore a cap of a different color. Six of the fourteen uniformed players in the photo wore short sleeves, three wore 3/4-length sleeves and two wore long sleeves. One player, Magee a pitcher seated in the front row far left, wore one long and one short sleeve. Magee was listed as a right-handed pitcher on baseball-reference.com yet his short-sleeve was on his left arm. The sleeve lengths of two players in the photo cannot be determined. The player standing at far right wore pants with padding at the hips.
Top row, from left: M Kittridge (98, 99), T Leach (Lou 98, 99, Ham VL 98, Han CVL 98), D Hoy (98, 99), F Clarke (94-99), (in street clothes, N Altrock Lou 98, GR ISL 98), C Dexter (96-99), H Smith (97, 98), C Ritchie (98, 99) and T Hartsel (98, 99). Front: B Magee (97-99), P Dowling (97-99), H Wagner (97-99), G Decker (Lou 98, 99, StL 98), B Clingman (96-99) and D Powers (98, 99). Player IDs and image from the Spalding Base Ball Guide 1899, published as a review of the 1898 season. Note that in the Spalding Guide the identity of Leach was listed in error as that of Altrock, and that Altrock, standing in back in street clothes, was not identified. Correct identifications of Leach and Altrock from Ken Samoil. Years with team and Hartsel purchase info from baseball-reference.com. Info on Cunningham pitching from The Sporting Life, October 1, 1898. This photo was credited to the American Sports Publishing Co., New York, which also published the Spalding Base Ball Guide and was owned by Albert Spalding.
Dated 1898, probably September 21-23, 1898. Detail view of photo D. Detail view showed the unique old-English letter “L” on the right breast.
Photo E & F
Dated circa 1898. Two items related to Honus Wagner Cigars. At left, a cigar box and at right, an advertisement. Both items utilized a portrait of Wagner published on April 15, 1898, see photo B. Image of cigar box from Robert Edward Auctions. Image of ad from Mears Auctions.
Photo G
Dated April 1899, misdated as 1898. This team photo has at times been published with the date of 1898 as seen in the example above. An 1899 date can be determined for this image based on the players shown, including player W Woods, who was transferred to Louisville by the Chicago team on January 11, 1899, as part of a “conditional deal.” A newspaper reported in late January 1899 that the transfer “looks like an accomplished fact.” Woods transfer info from baseball-reference.com and from The Sporting Life, January 28, 1899.
Written documentation on these uniforms:
April 15, 1898, Louisville v. Pittsburgh, at Louisville, opening day: “Two squads of uniformed men march on the lawn. Those in white trot to the little house far out there where the fences join. Those in red and blue stop once they are within. […] The Colonels’ new uniform received considerable comment. The white stockings were new to the ‘fans’ and it will take some time to get used to them. If the Louisville players were a little taller they would look very much like Anson’s famous ‘White Stockings.’” From the Louisville Courier-Journal, April 16, 1898.
April 1898: “The new uniforms of the Colonels are likely to cause them to lose their present cognomen [i.e., nickname]. With their white stockings and peculiar-shaped caps they look like ‘bakers’ and the bleachers are already calling them ‘bakers.’” From The Sporting Life, April 23, 1898. Research from Chuck McGill.
April 29, 1898, Louisville v. Chicago, at Chicago: “The Colonels created great enthusiasm when they walked on the field wearing red, white and blue stockings.” From the Louisville Courier-Journal, April 30, 1898. Research from Chris Betsch, who adds that the stockings were “undoubtedly in support of America as it was early in the Spanish-American War.”
May 8, 1898, Louisville v. Cincinnati, at Cincinnati: “The Colonels got a deserved round of applause for their patriotism. They came on the field in pants, shirts and caps of Confederate gray and stockings of red, white and blue. Hand-clapping and cheers rent the air from the big Sunday crowd as the Louisvilles came through the carriage gait [sp] and filed over to their bench.” From the Cincinnati Enquirer, May 9, 1898. Research from Chris Betsch.
May 9, 1898, Louisville v. Pittsburgh, at Pittsburgh: “The Louisville players are patriotic to the core. They not only wore red, white and blue stockings, but each player had an American flag in his hat.” From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 10, 1898. Research from Chris Betsch.
May 30, 1898, Louisville v. Philadelphia, at Philadelphia: “Colonel Rogers perpetrated this yesterday: Referring to the stockings worn by the Louisvilles — red, white and blue — he said that he could not understand why they had adopted those colors, for they (the colors) ‘were never known to run.’ The Bourbons’ traveling make up is positively the most ultra thing that gas been developed in baseball garniture since the season in which the players were dressed according to the position in which they played in the field. Their trousers are unusually long, and suggest the kind McCann furnishes at bathing hours. The stockings, with their horizontal patriotic stripes, convey the idea of teaberry candy sticks of generous proportions, while the caps might be utilized for anything from sleeping in to playing golf. But the make up in no way affects the Colonels’ playing abilities. They’ll win their share of games on the trip.” From the Philadelphia Inquirer, May 31, 1898. Research from Chris Betsch.
June 3, 1898, Louisville v. Washington, at Washington: “The Colonels changed socks for the game and instead of enveloping their calves in the red, white and blue, wore the Chicago whites. A superstitious rooter said the switch in hosiery hoodooed the Senators.” From the Louisville Courier-Journal, June 4, 1898. Research from Chris Betsch. Louisville had been on a 5-game losing streak before the game with Washington on June 3, where they beat the Senators 16 to 4.
Team genealogy: Louisville 1870s-1899
Louisville began as Eclipse, a semi-pro team in Louisville formed in the late 1870s. As Eclipse, they joined the American Association (AA) at its formation in 1882. The AA was a major league operating between 1882 and 1891. Eclipse was known as Louisville by 1884 and the team played in the AA through the 1891 season. The team joined the National League (NL) in 1892 when the AA and NL merged, and was disbanded after the 1899 season when the NL contracted from twelve to eight teams. Information from wikipedia.com and Ken Samoil.
Rendering posted: October 4, 2020
Diggers on this uniform: Carson Lorey, Chris Betsch, Chuck McGill, Ken Samoil, Nigel Ayres,