1897 Grand Rapids MI (Bobolinks)
Left: 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
Right: This rendering is based on 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 1897 to early June 1897. Year of photo determined by the appearance of twelve of the fourteen players shown in the photo. These twelve men only played for Grand Rapids in 1897. A mid-April 1897 to early June 1897 date range for the photo can be determined by several factors. The mid-April 1897 date can be determined by the appearance of player Foreman, who joined the team on April 10. The early June date can be determined by the appearance of players Gettinger and Buckley, both of whom were released by the team in the week before June 5. A late April 1897 date could be suggested for the photo by the non-appearance of player M Hogan (GR 97, Day ISL 97). Hogan joined the team in early May, played in a game on May 8, and after 4 games was released before May 22. Players wore a white or light gray uniform in this photo, with dark lettering, a dark belt and dark stockings. The city name covered most of the shirt front and the shirt may have been without a shirt pocket. Two of the players wore a turtleneck sweater under their uniform with the collar rolled down on top of the shirt collar. Four of the six players in the front row wore pants with quilted padding. A newspaper in early 1897 described the team’s home uniform as white with black trimmings. The color of the cap was not included in this description.
Top row, from left: L Cross (GR 97, StP WL 97), J Strauss (GR 97, Co WL 97), J Ganzel (97), A Twineham (97), E Scott (97) and C Campau (97). Front: J Slagle (97), unidentified in back, G Hatfield in front (GR 97, New AtL 97), T Gettinger? (GR 96, 97, KC WL 97), B Glenalvin (GR 97, StP WL 97), B Reidy (GR 97, Mil WL 97), B Foreman (GR 97, KC WL 97, Col WL 97) and D Buckley (GR 97, Col WL 97). Players IDs based on reference photos from baseball-reference.com and wikipedia.com, retrieved April 22, 2020. Assistance on IDs from Ken Samoil and Nigel Ayres. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Foreman arrival info from The Sporting Life, April 17, 1897. Gettinger and Beckley release info from The Sporting Life, June 5, 1897, with research from Ken Samoil. Hogan game info from The Sporting Life, May 15, 1897, and release info from The Sporting Life, May 22, 1897. The name listed below the picture was that of Bryson J. Reynolds, a cigar merchant in Grand Rapids. Reynolds info from the Grand Rapids City Directory, 1902. Image scan from Chuck McGill. This print was labeled in the lower right corner, “Reed Eng Co.” Possibly this was the photographer or printer.
Dated mid-April 1897 to early May 1897. Detail view of photo A. Detail view showed that a white shirt button overlapped the top of the letter “A” in “Grand” on the front of the shirt.
Written documentation on these uniforms:
January 1897: “‘No More Gold Bugs’ — The ‘Sound Money’ campaign being over, Grand Rapids will reform. The uniforms of the Grand Rapids team next year will be black knee breeches and white shirts.” From The Sporting Life, January 1, 1897. Research from Ed Morton. A newspaper reported in March 1897 that the home uniform was white, with no mention of black pants. The ‘sound money’ reference in the above report pointed to the recent 1896 presidential election in which the “gold standard” monetary system was a primary campaign issue.
January 1897: “While it is a little too early to discuss dates, [Grand Rapids owner] Mr. Leadley stated that […] the old gold uniforms are going to be done away with. Early in the spring a select coterie of fans will be invited to the park, and there, with suitable exercises, the hoodoo will be burned. And there will be a general rejoicing all along the line. Next season [1897] the name of ‘Gold Bugs’ is barred, and if there is anything yellow about the team it will not be the uniforms.” From the Detroit Free Press, January 2, 1897, citing the Grand Rapids Herald.
January 1897: “The Grand Rapids team will be known as the ‘Bobolinks’ in honor of the ‘Two Bobs.’ The Herald and Democrat some time ago asked for votes from the fans, and the two papers received 78 answers, with ‘Bobolink’ in the lead. ‘Polishers’ and ‘Sweepers’ were the next chances, and the Herald received two votes for ‘The Lords.’” From the Nashville Banner, January 26, 1897. Research from SirParsifal on reddit.com, retrieved July 31, 2025.
March 1897: “The traveling uniforms of the several Western League teams this season will be as follows: Indianapolis, gray with brown trimmings; Milwaukee, gray with light blue trimmings; St. Paul, dark blue with black trimmings; Minneapolis, gray with black trimmings; Kansas City, dark blue throughout; Columbus and Detroit, gray with maroon trimmings; Grand Rapids, gray with black trimmings. All the clubs will wear white at home, with the same colored trimmings as used on the road uniform.” From St. Paul Globe, March 21, 1897, from The Sporting Life, March 27, 1897, and from the Columbus Dispatch, March 31, 1897, citing the Kansas City World. Globe research from Peter Reitan and Chuck McGill. Sporting Life research from Chuck McGill. Dispatch research from Terry Sloope.
May 1897: “Every ball club has to have a name. […] It was the Gold Bugs last year for Grand Rapids and now it’s the Bobolinks. It is supposed the name is taken because the names of the two owners are ‘Bob.’” From The Sporting Life, May 1,1897. In 1897, the owners of the Grand Rapids team were Bob Leadley and Bob Glenalvin. The Bobolink is a small, black bird with a colored head and that breeds in the summer in the northern U.S. and southern Canada. Bobolink info from wikipedia.com.
May 4, 1897, Grand Rapids v. Columbus, at Columbus: “The hoodoo still hangs over the Grand Rapids ball team and the ninth consecutive game of the season was lost yesterday [May 4], the last six going to swell the percentage of Columbus. In a vain attempt to change his luck, Glenalvin brought his men on the diamond with misfit stockings, each man wearing one red and one black one, but it would not work.” From The Columbus Dispatch, May 5, 1897. Research from Terry Sloope.
May 4, 1897, Grand Rapids v. Columbus, at Columbus: “Grand Rapids fans are beginning to believe that it is not a hoodoo that is following the Bobolinks, but a case of being outplayed at every point. Glenalvin tried everything known to baseball art yesterday [May 4] to beat Columbus, even to sending his team into the field with a black and red stocking apiece to shake the demon of ill luck, but it was no use.” From the Detroit News, May 5, 1897. Research from Terry Sloope.
Team genealogy: Grand Rapids 1894-1897
Grand Rapids, Michigan, joined the Western League (WL) in 1894 when the league reformed. The reorganized WL operated between 1894 and 1899. Grand Rapids played in the WL between 1894 and 1897. The team was transferred to Omaha for the 1898 season. Information from wikipedia.com.
Rendering posted: April 23, 2020
Diggers on this uniform: Chuck McGill, Ken Samoil, Nigel Ayres, Peter Reitan, Terry Sloope,