1900 Buffalo (Buffalos, Bisons)
Left: This rendering is 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 rendering.
Rendering accuracy:Year: documented Team: documented
Right: 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
Visual documentation on these uniforms:
Photo A
Dated mid-April 1900 to early May 1900, possibly April 26, 1900. This photo was published in a newspaper on May 6, 1900. The caption stated this image was taken “on the first day of the local season.” The Buffalo home opener was played at Olympic Park on April 26, 1900, against Detroit. Players wore a white or light gray uniform in this photo, with a cap in a mid-tone color, a dark-colored belt and dark-colored stockings. The cap had a rounded crown and white trim on the vertical ribbing. The shirt had a large old-English B on the left breast. Players wore a combination of short-sleeved and long-sleeved shirts in this photo. The pants worn by the players had one narrow front-facing belt loop positioned off-center. Nine of the fourteen players in the photo wore their shirt collar styled up. A newspaper in May 1900 described the home uniform as “Princeton” gray in color with blue stockings. The cap was described as royal blue in color “with a white star in the center and white stripes across each quarter.” Note that the photo included a mascot in full uniform sitting in the front row. Image from the Buffalo Courier, May 6, 1900. Image scan from Ken Samoil, who noted that player identifications were not given by the newspaper. The Buffalo players who participated in the home opener on April 26 were: J Knoll (Buf 99, 00, Spr EL 00), T Flood (Buf 00, Cle AL 00), J Shearon (Buf 95, 99, 00, 03, Cle AL 00), J Gettman (00-07), S Carey (00, 01, 03), B Hallman (99, 00), D Andrews (00, 01), G Speer (00, 01) and D Amole (00-02). Opening-day players from The Sporting Life, May 5, 1900.
Dated mid-April 1900 to early May 1900, possibly April 26, 1900. Detail view of photo A. Detail view showed the large letter B on the shirts and the white accents on the caps. A newspaper in April 1900 noted that the caps had “a white star in the center” and this element can be seen on the tops of the caps in this photo. Note that the player in the back row, far left, was wearing as shirt that had the city name spelled out across the chest. This shirt may also have been a slightly darker shade of gray, possibly suggesting it was part of the road uniform from 1900. Reports differed on the color of the road uniform in 1900. Several reports made in early April stated that the road uniform was planned to be “dark blue,” however an eye-witness report in May described the road uniform as gray.
Written documentation on these uniforms:
April 1900: “New uniforms are being built for the Buffalos, and are to be ready for the opening game in Buffalo. The suits will consist of blue coats, white pants, blue cap, all to be set off with white trimmings, and blue stockings will cover the running gear.” From The Sporting Life, April 7, 1900. Research from Ed Morton.
April 1900: “[Bill] Hallman is to captain the [Buffalo] team this year and he has selected white uniforms for home and dark blue for the road.” From the Buffalo Courier, April 8, 1900. Research from Ken Samoil.
April 1900: “White suits for home and dark blue for traveling have been decided on, and will be ordered soon.” From the Buffalo Express, April 8, 1900. Research from Ken Samoil.
April 19, 1900, Buffalo v. Detroit, at Detroit, opening day: “The players of the Detroit club, wearing their new and neat white uniforms with black trimmings, were seated on one coach, while the plain gray of the Buffalo men adorned the top of another coach.” From the Detroit Free Press, April 20, 1900. Research from Jeff Samoray. The Free Press also wrote that “the Tigers made a start yesterday such as was never equaled in the history of baseball” noting that the Detroit team was no-hit by Buffalo pitcher Doc Amole.
April 1900: “The Bisons will wear their new uniforms for the first time today [April 26 in Buffalo]. They are made of Princeton gray, and a Roman letter B adorns the left side of the shirts. Blue stockings to match the trimmings have been secured and the caps are of royal blue with a white star in the center and white stripes across each quarter.” From the Buffalo Evening Times, April 26, 1900. Research from Ken Samoil.
April 1900: “It was reported yesterday that the Detroit players would don their new traveling suits of gray for the first time today [April 26 in Buffalo], the Tigers’ home uniforms being made of white material. The traveling uniform of the Buffalos is of blue.” From the Buffalo Morning Express, April 26, 1900. Research from Ken Samoil.
April 26, 1900, Buffalo v. Detroit at Buffalo, opening day: “The Buffalos appeared […] in their new white uniforms, blue stockings and blue cap with white star. […] The Detroits wore for the first time their new traveling suits of gray, with gray cap and black stockings.” From the Buffalo Review, April 27, 1900. Research from Ken Samoil.
Team genealogy: Buffalo 1891-1900
Buffalo joined the Eastern Association/League (EL) in 1891. The EL operated between 1891 and 1911, and became the International League in 1912. Buffalo played in the EL between 1891 and 1898 and transferred to the Western League (WL) in 1899. The reorganized WL operated between 1894 and 1899 and reformed again as the American League (AL) in 1900. Buffalo played in the WL in 1899 and in the AL in 1900. The team was then dropped when the AL declared major-league status in 1901 and awarded the franchise to Boston. EL information from Bill O’Neal, The International League (1992). WL information from wikipedia.com.
Rendering posted: November 27, 2021
Diggers on this uniform: Ed Morton, Jeff Samoray, Ken Samoil,