1900 Brooklyn (Brooklyns, Superbas, Trolley Dodgers)
These renderings are 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 renderings.
Rendering accuracy:Year: documented Team: documented
Visual documentation on these uniforms:
Photo A
Dated April 24 to April 27, 1900. This team photo was published in a newspaper on May 4. Year of photo can be confirmed by the appearance of players Nops, Smith, McGinnity and DeMontreville, all of whom only played for Brooklyn in 1900. Date range of April 24 to April 27, 1900, can be suggested by the location of the photo. The grandstand in the background of this image indicated the photo was taken at the National League park in Philadelphia, and accordingly the April dates were the only time Brooklyn played at Philadelphia before the photo was published. Reason would dictate that the team wore a light-gray road uniform in this photo. The uniform clearly had a dark letter on the breast, dark stockings, and a light-colored cap that was somewhat boxy in form — a hybrid between a rounded-crown and a pillbox-style profile. However, based on the photo above, it was also possible the team was wearing their white uniforms in this photo, not their gray uniforms typically worn on the road. A newspaper in April 1900 described the road uniform as “blue-gray panties and shirts, maroon stockings.”
Top row, from left: D McGuire (99-01), J Nops (00), A Smith (00), J McGinnity (00), F Steelman (Bro 00, 01, Har EL 00) and H Jennings (99-01, 03). Middle: F Kitson (00-02), F Jones (96-00), B Dahlen (99-03, 10, 11), J Kelley (99-01), J Dunn (Bro 97-00 Phil NL 00), J Yeager (98-00) and J Sheckard (97, 98, 00-05). Front: H Howell (98, 00), G DeMontreville (00) and W Keeler (93, 99-02). Image and player IDs (not shown) from the Philadelphia Record, May 4, 1900. The Record included a caption with the photo that read “Taken for the ‘Hot Air’ Club.” Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from Ed Morton. Original image from C. M. Gilbert, Philadelphia.
Dated April 24 to April 27, 1900. Detail view of photo A. Detail view showed the old-English letter B on the left breast.
Photo B
Dated August 3, 1900. Drawing of D McGuire (99-01) and team mascot named Casey, full view at left, detail view of McGuire at right. This drawing, based on a photograph, was published in a newspaper on this date and was one of many drawings and photographs published in early August 1900, see more below. Player wore a uniform with an old-English B on the left breast. The short-sleeved shirt had buttons and an elongated tab under the button placket. The cap had a soft, rounded crown. The belt and the stockings were dark in color and the pants had three front-facing belt loops and were loose-fitting at the knees. Many of these uniform features were repeated in the published images from this period and strongly suggest that all images were depictions of the 1900 Brooklyn home uniform. A newspaper in April 1900 described the Brooklyn home uniform as “white with maroon trimmings.” Image and player ID from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 3, 1900. Years McGuire with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from Ken Samoil.
Photos C, D & E
Left: dated August 4, 1900, photo of J Dunn (Bro 97-00, Phi NL 00). Center: dated August 5, 1900, photo of J McGinnity (00). Right: dated August 6, 1900 photo of H Jennings (99, 00, 03). These photos were published in a newspaper on three consecutive days. The uniforms shown in these photos were white in color and were depictions of the team’s home uniform. A newspaper in April 1900 described the Brooklyn home uniform as “white with maroon trimmings.” Many of the uniform features shown in these photos matched those depicted in the McGuire drawing above, with some exceptions: Dunn wore a cap of a mid-tone color, McGinnity wore a shirt with no letter on the left breast, and Jennings may have worn a pillbox-style cap, not a cap with a rounded crown. The images of Dunn and Jennings were retouched to enhance the button placket and the seam of the pants. The image of Dunn was published two weeks before he was released by the team on August 20, 1900. Images and player IDs from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 4-6, 1900. Years with team and Dunn release date from baseball-reference.com. Image scans from Ken Samoil.
Photos F, G & H
Left: dated August 7, 1900, photo of G DeMontreville (00). Center: dated August 8, 1900, photo of L Cross (Bro 00, StL NL 00). Right: dated August 9, 1900, photo of T Daly (90-96, 98-01). These photos were published in a newspaper on three consecutive days. The photos of DeMontreville and Cross can confirm these were photos of the 1900 Brooklyn uniform as both men only played for Brooklyn during this year. The uniforms shown were white in color and were depictions of the team’s home uniform. A newspaper in April 1900 described the Brooklyn home uniform as “white with maroon trimmings.” Many of the uniform features shown in these photos matched those depicted in the McGuire drawing above, with the exception that Cross wore pants with one center belt loop, not three front-facing belt loops. All three images were retouched to enhance the button placket on the shirt. Images and player IDs from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 7-9, 1900. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scans from Ken Samoil.
Photos I, J & K
Left: dated August 10, 1900, drawing of F Kitson (00-02). Center: dated August 11, 1900, photo of F Jones (96-00). Right: dated August 15, 1900, photo of H Howell (98, 00). These drawings, based on photographs, were published in a newspaper on these days. The uniform features shown in these drawings matched those depicted in the McGuire drawing above. In these drawings, Kitson was depicted wearing short sleeves and a dark undershirt, Jones with sleeve extensions on his shirt, and Howell with short sleeves and no undershirt. Images and player IDs from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 10, 11, 15, 1900. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scans from Ken Samoil.
Photo L
Dated April 21, 1900. This photo montage was printed in a New York newspaper on this date. From left: B Dahlen (99-03), G DeMontreville (00), J Sheckard (97, 98, 00-05), H Howell (98, 00) and W Keeler (99-02). These individual photos were most likely taken during Brooklyn’s first games in New York to start the season on April 19 and 20, 1900, and may have depicted the team’s road uniform. Note the use of the “Dodgers” nickname in the photo caption. Image and player IDs from the New York World, April 21, 1900. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from Ken Samoil.
Dated April 21, 1900. Detail view of photo K, showing players Howell and Keeler. Detail view showed that the road cap was in the pillbox style. Detail view also showed a partial view of the road shirts which appeared to be blank of any lettering across the center of the shirt. It is also possible portions of the photographs had be enhanced or altered by the newspaper artist.
Photo M
Dated early November 1900. Photo of players representing the Brooklyn and New York teams who participated in a series of exhibition games in Havana, Cuba. The players representing Brooklyn, seated in the top two rows, wore white uniforms and white caps in this photo. An old-English letter “B” can be seen on the left breast. This uniform matched that shown in the above photos and it is likely this was the outfit worn during the 1900 season. The caption beneath the image translates as “group of players from the Brooklyn and New York clubs.”
Brooklyn players in photo. Note that several of the players wearing Brooklyn uniforms represented other team during the 1900 season. Top row of seven Brooklyn players, from left: J Tannehill? (Pit NL 00), W Keeler (93, 99-02), B Dahlen? (99-03, 10, 11), P Schriver, D Casey? (Bro 99, 00, Det AL 00), H Jennings (99-01, 03) and J Callahan (Chi NL 00). Second row of two Brooklyn players: J Sheckard (97, 98, 00-05) and S Barry (Bos NL 00). Third row: far left B Donovan? (Bro 99-02, Har EL 00) and far right T Daly (90-96, 98-01). Remaining players represented New York. Player IDs, image scan and publication info from Ken Samoil. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Original image published in the Cuban periodical El Score, January 6, 1901.
Photo N
Dated early April 1901. Left, sitting in center: L Cross (00), possibly wearing the 1900 Brooklyn uniform, and right: detail view of Cross. Image of Cross was cropped from a team photo of the 1901 Philadelphia Athletics. The photo of the Athletics was taken before the team received their uniforms for 1901 season and where players wore uniforms from the previous years. The uniform Cross wore, with the exception of the cap, matched that shown in the photos above of the 1900 Brooklyn uniform. The fact that Cross only played for Brooklyn in 1900 may further suggestion this was a Brooklyn uniform. The cap had a rounded crown and was in a mid-tone color with white vertical ribbing. The cap did not match the cap shown in the photos above. Player IDs and image scan from Ken Samoil. Years Cross with team from baseball-reference.com.
Photo O
Drawings of the 1900 Brooklyn uniforms by baseball historian Marc Okkonen. Drawings from the Dressed To The Nines uniform database at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum website, and retrieved November 24, 2021.
Written documentation on these uniforms:
April 1900: “The Superbas were without Dahlen yesterday, for this player sat upon the bench and nursed a bruised finger-tip.” From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 11, 1900. This entry, describing a spring training game, used the Superbas nickname.
April 19, 1900, Brooklyn v. New York, at New York, Polo Grounds, opening day: “The Grooms piled out clad in blue-gray panties and shirts, maroon stockings inclosing [sp?] their legs and navy blue coats enshrouding their swelling chest and palpitating hearts.” From the New York Evening World, April 19, 1900. Research from Ed Morton. Note that this entry used the “Grooms” nickname.
April 19, 1900, Brooklyn v. New York, at New York, Polo Grounds, opening day: “The Brooklyn players, in their bright new uniforms of gray, with maroon trimmings and navy jackets, were first on the field.” From the New York Evening Telegram, April 19, 1900. Research from Ed Morton.
April 1900: “The Brooklyn players will appear in new uniforms of white with maroon trimmings, including a new coat patterned after the military style.” From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 20, 1900. This entry was included in a preview of the home opener in Brooklyn v. New York on April 21, 1900.
April 21, 1900, Brooklyn v. New York, at Brooklyn, Washington Park, home opener: “The Brooklyns wore uniforms of white, with maroon stockings and a blue coat, which swell cyclists would revel in.” From the Brooklyn Citizen, April 22, 1900. Research from Ed Morton.
May 1900: “Trolley Dodgers Make It Three Straight.” Headline from the Paterson (NJ) Morning Call, May 2, 1900. Use of the team’s unique nickname.
May 1900: “Little Casey, the mascot who is decked out in full uniform, the gift of Frank Creamer, is a show in himself. The way he handles the swift pitching of McGinnity and others during practice is entertaining to the spectators and they manifest their appreciation by frequently applauding.” From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 31, 1900.
August 1900: “Pitcher Hughey […] bowled over the champions. His curves were too much for the Trolley Dodgers, while Kennedy was easy for the Cardinals.” From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 12, 1900. The Eagle used the nicknames of “Champions,” “Superbas,” and “Trolley Dodgers” throughout the 1900 season.
September 4, 1900, Brooklyn v. Chicago, at Brooklyn: “The Brooklyn players all appeared yesterday [September 4, 1900] in new white hats. They were badly needed by several of the players, especially by Farrell and McGuire, who had both been dusting off the plate with their old headgear.” From the Brooklyn Times, September 5, 1900. Research from Ed Morton. Note that Farrell and McGuire were the team’s catchers. This would suggest that umpires did not clean home plate regularly in games during the 1900 season. Historian Peter Morris, A Game of Inches (2006, 2010), has found that use of whisk brooms by umpires did not come into use until circa 1904, writing that “umpires used large brooms to clean home plate until a game on May 14, 1904, when Cubs outfielder Jack McCarthy stepped on one and sprained his ankle. The injury led […] to mandate the use of whisk brooms.”
September 1900: “All the lanky players of the Chicago team are now wearing their stockings in golf style. The fad just struck the Brooklynites, and now many of them wear theirs the same style.” From the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, September 17, 1900. This same blurb appeared in The Sporting Life, September 22, 1900, and in the Brooklyn Times, September 24, 1900. Democrat and Times research from Ed Morton. Sporting Life research from twitter@baseballminutia and Tom Shieber. “Golf-style” stockings may be either 1) pants tucked into the tops of the stockings or 2) stockings rolled down at the top.
1900: “The Brooklyns of 1900 wore the standard white at home and gray on the road. Home caps were solid white with a rounded ‘pill-box’ shaped crown. Road caps were the same in gray. Stockings were solid maroon at home, black on the road. Shirts were the standard buttoned front with a fold-down collar style. The road shirts displayed ‘Brooklyn’ in arched block capitals while the home shirts were plain or with an old English B on the breast.” From Marc Okkonen, Baseball Uniforms of the 20th Century (1991).
Team genealogy: Brooklyn 1883-1957
Brooklyn was formed as a minor league team in 1883 and joined the American Association (AA) in 1884. The AA was a major league operating 1882-1891 and Brooklyn played in the AA between 1884 and 1889. Brooklyn moved to the National League (NL) for the 1890 season. The NL began operation in 1876. Brooklyn played in the NL between 1890 and 1957, when the team moved to Los Angeles. Information from wikipedia.
Rendering posted: March 6, 2022
Diggers on this uniform: Ed Morton, Ken Samoil, Tom Shieber,