1900 Minneapolis (Millers)
This rendering is 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 this uniform:
Photo A
Dated August 17-19, 1900. This photo has at times been incorrectly attributed to the year of 1899. Year of 1900 can be determined by the appearance of players Ehret, McCann, and Nichols, all of whom only played for Minneapolis in 1900. Date range of August 17-19, 1900, can be suggested based on Nichols and the likelihood that this photo was taken when the team played at Kansas City on these dates. Nichols joined the team in early August and played his first game for Minneapolis on August 8. He was with the team and appeared in games when Minneapolis played their last series of the season in Kansas City on August 17-19. Kansas City superintendent Charles Meyer organized photos of visiting Western and American League teams to be taken on the field in Kansas City during the 1898, 1899 and 1900 seasons. As with photo A, these images included a large white backdrop hung behind the players. The photos also were typically marked “C. H. Meyer” and “K.C. Mo.” in the bottom corner of the image, however photo A was not marked as such. Player McCann, top row middle, wore street clothes in this photo. McCann was the Minneapolis pitcher in the August 17 game in Kansas City and therefore it could be suggested this photo was taken on August 18 when McCann was not available and therefore did not dress. The August 18 date can be further suggested by the other three pitchers shown in this photo. Pitcher Ehret, top row far left, wore his uniform in this photo and he was on the mound for the August 18 game. Pitchers Bailey, possibly top row second from left, and Harvey, top row far right, started games on August 19 when the teams played a doubleheader. Each wore sweaters in this photo, possibly indicated they were available on August 18 as the team’s bullpen. Interestingly, the second game on August 19 “was called at the end of the sixth inning to allow the visitors to catch a train.”
The players wore a white or light gray uniform in this photo with a dark-colored cap, a dark stylized serif letter “M” on the shirt, and dark stockings. The cap had a rounded crown with thin light-colored trim on the vertical ribbing. The shirt featured a short run of lace ties. Six of the nine shirts worn in this photo were short-sleeved, the other three were long-sleeved. Two players wore a shirt with no letter, one player wore a shirt with a sans-serif letter “M” centered on the shirt. This letter matched that shown on the uniform from the previous season of 1899, as shown in team photos. Two players wore non-matching caps in photo A. The white or light-gray cap worn by player Werden, middle row far left, had a small insignia above the brim. Note the sleeping dog(?) on the legs of player Davis, front row far right.
Top row, from left: R Ehret (00), unidentified, (G McCann 00), D Lally (Min 95-98, 00, 02-04, Chi AL 00) and Z Harvey (Min 97, 00, Chi NL 00). Middle: P Werden (94-96, 99, 00, 02), A Nichols (Min 00, Chi NL 00), I Fisher (98-00), W Wilmot (96-00, 02, 03), G Smith (99, 00). Bottom: unidentified and L Davis (98-00). Majority of player IDs and years with team from baseball-reference.com. Identification of Lally based on 1899 St. Paul photos. Identification of McCann based on photos from Carson Lorey and Ken Samoil. Additional info on player IDs from Nigel Ayres. The box scores of the August series played in Kansas City suggest that the unidentified players were H Bailey (Min 00, 04, Bos NL 00) and D Higgins (00). Bailey was most likley the unidentified player in the top row, though unconfirmed. No reference photos are know for Higgins, who played only 12 games for Minneapolis at the end of the season and no other year in professional baseball. According to a newspaper late in the season, Higgins was “a new second baseman […] hailing from Nellisville, Wisconsin.” Date of Nichols first game from The Sporting Life, August 17, 1900. Box score info from The Sporting Life, August 17, 25 and September 1, 1900. Higgins info from The Sporting Life, September 1, 1900. Image scan from John thorn, Our Game blog, retrieved March 18, 2022, and whom had identified the photo as from 1899. Original image most likely by Charles H. Meyer, Kansas City.
Dated August 17-19, 1900. Detail view of photo A. Detail view showed the distinctive serif letter on the left breast of the shirts and that the short-sleeved shirts had button holes for sleeve extensions. It also showed that the shirts did not have a breast pocket. The caps had a rounded crown with thin, light-colored trim on the ribbing. Note the non-matching cap at left and the non-matching shirt at right. This non-matching shirt was similar to that worn by the team during the previous season of 1899.
Written documentation on this uniform:
April 1900: “Friday [April 27], which is opening day of the baseball season in Minneapolis, will be a gala day. […] New white uniforms await the men, who will appear in their immaculate ‘duds’ at the opening game.” From the Minneapolis Times, April 25, 1900. Research from Ed Morton. This report also said that “President Clarence Saulpaugh […] is now preparing a program which promises to be away ahead of those furnished by some of the clubs in other cities.”
April 27, 1900, Minneapolis v. Kansas City, at Minneapolis, Nicollet park, opening day: “The ball players, the Minneapolis team in nice new white uniforms and the Blues in nice new blue uniforms, were parading the down-town streets while the crowd was making its way to the park.” From the Minneapolis Tribune, April 28, 1900. Research from Ed Morton.
Team genealogy: Minneapolis 1894-1900
Minneapolis 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. Minneapolis played in the WL between 1894 and 1899 and in the American League in 1900. The team was dropped before the 1901 AL season when the league declared major league status. Information from wikipedia.com.
Rendering posted: March 19, 2022
Diggers on this uniform: Carson Lorey, Ed Morton, Ken Samoil, Nigel Ayres,