1899 Pittsburgh (Pittsburghs, Pirates)
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
Right: This rendering is based on 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 these uniforms:
Photo A
Dated March 24 to March 30, 1900. This team photo was taken at spring training and when players were wearing uniforms from the 1899 season. Year of 1900 confirmed by the appearance of players Woods, Flaherty, Latimer and O’Brien, all of whom only played for Pittsburgh in 1900. The date range of March 24 to March 30 can be determined by the details found in the photo, but first let’s look at the image overall. Based on the ramshackle outfield wall, the budding trees, and the mix-matched uniforms, this photo was clearly made during spring training. Though this was a photo of the Pittsburgh team, ten players in the image were recent transfers from the suddenly defunct Louisville NL team. Accordingly these men wore the 1899 Louisville uniform in this photo, many of which featured a large script “L” on the right breast and dark-colored collars. On March 21, the newly consolidated team headed south for spring training. Wagner stands in the top row second from left, while Waddell sits front row far right.
Dated March 24 to March 30, 1900. Detail view of photo A. Detail view showed the 1899 Louisville uniform at left (worn by Wagner), and the 1899 Pittsburgh uniform, at center and right, with lettering removed.
As noted by the watermark, the scan of this image is available at Getty Images, which supplied the following caption: “Pittsburgh Pirates pose for a team photo during spring training in March of 1900 in Hot Springs, Arkansas.” However, this contradicts newspaper accounts that stated the team conducting spring training in Thomasville, GA, arriving there on March 22. After their time in Thomasville, reports stated the team played exhibition games in Memphis, Louisville and Dayton, OH, before starting the regular season in St. Louis on April 19, with no mention of Hot Springs. So where was this photo taken? The crude advertising sign in the outfield holds the answer. The four businesses listed on the sign were J W Peacock, druggist; H J Ashley, plumbing and tin shop; H H Martin, barber shop; and J H Brown, wall paper decorations. The 1900 US census confirms that these gentlemen all lived in Thomasville. So this photo was taken in Thomasville, not Hot Springs. “Thomasville Park” in 1900 was described as having a spacious layout, noted to be “twice the size as Exposition grounds” in Pittsburgh, and included “a half-mile track on which the boys take sprints.” Regarding the men who advertised on the sign, the census listed their full names, age, and occupations as follows: James W. Peacock, age 36, druggist; Harry J Ashley, age 37, plumbing and sheet milling; Harry H. Martin, age 39, barber; and James H. Brown, age 33, paper hanger. Though the occupations of the four men varied, it is interesting that all four were roughly the same age. One can speculate that they were baseball followers who saw an advertising opportunity with a big-league team coming to town. Regarding Hot Springs, it should be noted that the Pirates did train there, but not until the following year of 1901 and then consecutively thereafter through to 1913.
With the Thomasville location confirmed, a date range can then be determined based on newspaper reports of team activities there. It was reported that the team “put on their uniforms for the first time on Saturday [March 24].” This report most likely refers to their practice uniforms reused from previous seasons. New uniforms would typically not have been issued until near or at the start of the season. Newspapers reported that after a week of training in Thomasville, the team headed to Memphis to play exhibition games, arriving there in the evening of March 30. Based on these reports we can determine the photo was taken in Thomasville between March 24 and March 30. But can we narrow the date further? Maybe. Soon after arriving in Georgia, it was reported that pitcher Deacon Philippe, middle row fourth from left, “was a victim of ivy poisoning.” The Sporting Life humorously noted that Philippe had “gone where the woodbine twineth” and “caught hold of one of those pesky vines.” They reported that “the poison spread to his hands and face” and that “his own mother would have trouble trying to find the sober face of her son.” As Philippe does not appear to be in too much physical distress in the photo, it could be suggested the image was taken soon after the team first put on their uniforms on March 24 and before Philippe had his encounter with nature. Is it possible the poison ivy was found just beyond the broken outfield fence in photo A? Philippe recovered well enough to be Pittsburgh’s starting pitcher for the third game of the regular season played on April 22.
As mentioned, players wore uniforms from previous seasons in this photo. Eight of the men in this photo (Schriver, Beaumont, McCreery, Williams, Tannehill, Leever, Ely and Dillon) played with Pittsburgh in 1899, and all wore white or light-gray uniforms, white caps and dark-colored stockings in photo A. The 1899 Pittsburgh uniform had the city name arched across the chest, while the shirts worn in photo A had no lettering across the chest. However with closer inspection, several shirts showed outlines where the lettering had been removed, see detail view below. It is possible that all of these players wore their 1899 Pittsburgh uniforms in this photo and with the lettering removed. Ten men in the photo (Leach, Wagner, Woods, Flaherty, Zimmer, Latimer, Phillippe, Clark, Ritchey and Waddell) wore Louisville uniforms from 1899, and one player (O’Brien) wore the 1899 New York uniform. Several players wore caps that did not match either the Pittsburgh or Louisville uniforms. One player in the back row wore a dark colored newsboy-style cap, another in the back row wore a pillbox-style cap with two horizontal bands, one player in the middle row wore a dark cap with a rounded crown, and one player in the front row wore a plaid cap and also striped stockings.
Top row, from left: T Leach (00-12), H Wagner (00-17), P Schriver (98-00), G Beaumont (99-06), T McCreery (98-00), W Woods (Pit 00, Spr EL 00) and P Flaherty (00). Middle: C Zimmer (00-02), T Latimer (Pit 00, Syr El 00, NC ISL 00), T O’Brien (00), D Phillippe (00-11), J Williams (99, 00), F Clarke (00-11 mgr 00-15) and J Tannehill (97-02). Front: S Leever (98-10), B Ely (96-01), unidentified, unidentified, P Dillon (Pit 99, 00, Det AL 00), C Ritchey (00-06) and R Waddell (Pit 00, Mil AL 00). Player IDs from Ken Samoil and Nigel Ayres. Info on Louisville dissolvement from The Sporting Life, March 10, 1900. Info on the team in Thomasville from The Sporting Life, March 17, 24 and 31, 1900. Info on Thomasville Park from the Sporting News, March 24, 1900, with research from Terry Sloope. Years Pittsburgh trained at Hot Springs from baseball-almanac.com, retrieved March 22, 2022. US census info from Bob Barrier. Image scan from Getty Images/Transcendental Graphics, collection of Mark Rucker.
Dated March 24 to March 30, 1900. Top, detail view of photo A showing the Pittsburgh uniform from 1899 with the letters on the shirt removed; bottom, same view with lettering enhanced. Detail view also showed that the shirt did not have a pocket. Compare the enhanced view, where red letters show the original position of the city name, to the view above, where the faint outline of these letters was barely visible. Note that the “S” in the city name was centered on the button packet. This indicates that the “H” at the end of the word was not included, as shown below in photo B. “Pittsburg,” with no “h,” had become the official spelling for the city in 1891, and did not revert back to the spelling used today until 1911. Throughout the 1890s Pittsburgh baseball teams used both spellings.
Photo B
Dated 1898 to 1900. Portrait of P Schriver (98-00), full view at left, detail view at right. Portrait showed a light gray shirt with white buttons and no pocket. The city name was arched across the chest in light-colored lettering. Note that the “S” in the city name was centered on the button packet and that there was no “H” at the end of the name. This lettering matched the “ghosted” lettering on the shirts worn in the spring training photo above, see photo A. Image scan and player ID from Ken Samoil. Years with team from baseball-reference.com.
Photo C
Date unknown, possibly May 1899 to June 1899. Photo of H Payne (99), full view at left, detail view at right. Year of photo determined by fact that Payne only played for Pittsburgh in 1899. Date range of May 1899 to June 1899 determined by a newspaper report that stated that “pitcher Harley Payne will join the club May 1.” His last appearance in a game was on June 8, 1899. However, the age shown on the player’s face may suggest that this photo was made later than 1899. It is possible the player was photographed wearing his old uniform sometime in the first decade of the 20th century, or that this uniform represented a semi-professional or factory team. Player wore a light gray uniform in this photo with a dark belt and dark stockings. The buttoned shirt had short sleeves and a shirt pocket that featured a light-colored letter “P” on the left breast. The cap was also light gray in color with two thin horizontal bands in a dark color. The pants had quilted padding at the knees and hips. The player also wore a short-sleeved undershirt. Player ID, year with team and last game played from baseball-reference.com. Info on Payne joining team from the Chicago Daily Tribune, February 25, 1899. Tribune research from Don Stokes.
Photo D
Date unknown, possibly May 1899 to June 1899. Photo of H Payne (99), full view at left, detail view at right. Another photo from the same session as photo A, see info above. Image scan from Ken Samoil.
Written documentation on these uniforms:
February 1899: “Manager Watkins has decided upon the uniforms for 1899. At home the players will wear white and blue and on the road they will be in pearl gray suits with royal blue stockings, caps and belts.” From the Pittsburgh Press, February 24, 1899. Research from Ed Morton.
February 1899: “Manager Watkins of the Pittsburg[h] club took charge today [February 24, 1899]. He announces the Pirate uniforms will be exactly like the famous Providence Grays’ uniform. […] For home service the suit will be white, with royal blue trimmings. The traveling outfit will be pearl gray with blue trimmings. Jackets to match will be worn.” From the Chicago Daily Tribune, February 25, 1899. Research from Don Stokes.
March 1899: “The Pittsburg[h]s will be rigged out like the old Providence Grays’ white uniforms with royal blue trimmings for home, and gray with blue trimmings for abroad.” From The Sporting Life, March 4, 1899. Research from Chuck McGill.
April 1899, Pittsburgh v. St. Louis, at Pittsburgh, home opener: “The boys looked splendid in their new garb and the rooters were proud of them. […] That is a pretty combination of colors the Pirates wear. White suits with pronounced blue caps and stockings. A dash of red would make it a patriotic combination. […] Beaumont was the only patriot on the team. He wore a white uniform, blue cap and stockings and he has red hair.” From the Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette, April 29, 1899. Research from Ed Morton. Speaking of patriotism, the newspaper also wrote that “management had not trusted the beautiful appearance of the park to make the proper sort of an impression on those in attendance, but had made special preparations to win the admiration and incidentally allegiance of the fans. In the pitcher’s position and at each pf the corners was an American flag.”
July 1899: “Those blue caps of the Pittsburg[h]s and the crimson headgear of the St. Louis certainly made for a nice contrast to the regulation affairs seen on visiting clubs [at Boston] in late years.” From The Sporting Life, July 29, 1899, written by the Boston correspondent. This report implied Pittsburgh wore blue caps on the road.
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.
1899 Pittsburgh summary
Uniform: home – white, blue caps and stockings
First worn:
Photographed:
Described: February-April
Material:
Manufacturer:
Supposition: cap style and letter
Variations:
Other items: light gray jackets
Opening Day report: yes, April 28 v. St. Louis
Uniform: road – light gray, blue caps and stockings
First worn:
Photographed: speculation May-June
Described: February-April, July
Material:
Manufacturer:
Supposition: cap style and letter
Variations:
Other items: light gray jackets
Rendering posted: March 24, 2022
Diggers on this uniform: Bob Barrier, Chuck McGill, Don Stokes, Ed Morton, Ken Samoil, Nigel Ayres, Terry Sloope,