1900 Boston (Bostons)
Uniform documentation:
White– visual & written
Gray– written only
These renderings are included in the book, BASEBALL THREADS.
Visual documentation on these uniforms:
Photo A
Dated 1900. Year of photo determined by the appearance of player Clements, who only played for Boston in 1900. The photo was not taken between late August 1900 and late September 1900 as Clements was not on the team during this period. Clements was loaned to Providence of the Eastern League in the last week of August and was returned to the Boston team in the last week of September. Players were photographed at their home ballpark, South End Grounds, wearing white uniforms with dark-colored belts and stockings. The city name was arched across the shirt in dark-colored lettering. The pillbox-style cap was white in color with two dark horizontal bands and a dark button on top. Of the seventeen players shown, eight or almost half wore their shirt collar styled up. One player wore his shirt unbuttoned down to the letters. All of the shirts shown in the photo were short-sleeved. Two of the players wore dark-colored undershirts while the remaining men wore white undershirts. A newspaper reported in April 1900 that the Boston team was to wear white at home “with stockings and trimmings of red.”
Top row, from left: B Lowe (90-01), S Barry (00, 01), C Stahl (NL 97-00, AL 01-06), H Duffy (AA 91, NL 92-00) and B Clarke (93-00). Middle: N Cuppy (NL 00, AL 01), B Freeman (NL 00, AL 01-07), B Sullivan (99, 00), B Dineen (NL 00, 01, AL 02-07), V Willis (98-05) and T Lewis (NL 96-00, AL 01). Front: J Clements (Bos NL 00, Pro EL 00), B Hamilton(96-01), K Nichols (90-01), (F Selee mgr 90-01), H Long (90-02), F Tenney (94-07, 11) and J Collins (NL 95-00, AL 01-07). Image and player IDs from the Spalding Base Ball Guide 1901, which was published in April 1901 as a recap of the 1900 season. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Info on Clements going to Providence from The Sporting Life, September 1, 1900. Info on Clements returning to Boston from The Sporting Life, October 6, 1900. Original image from Elmer Chickering, Boston.
Date 1900. Detail view of photo A. Detail view showed the shirt lettering and the pillbox-style cap with two horizontal bands. Detail view also showed that the players wore thin belts and that the belt loops were more narrow than what was typically found during this period.
Photo B
Dated 1900. This is the same image as photo A, but in this version more of the Boston ballpark was visible behind the players. The men were situated on the furthest grandstand from home plate down the first base line. In the background, the rear of several buildings on Columbus Avenue can be seen. For player IDs, see photo A. Image scan from the Boston Public Library. Original image from Elmer Chickering, Boston.
Photos C & D
Dated 1900. Left: photo of S Barry (00, 01). Right: photo of B Lowe (90-01). Both of these images were taken from the 1900 team photo, see photo A, and were published in a montage of player portraits in the Spalding Base Ball Guide 1901. Both photos showed that the uniform shirt had a button placket and that the “S” in the city name was divided across the shirt opening.
Photo E
Dated 1899 to 1900. Photo of B Sullivan (99, 00), full view at left, detail view at right. Player wore a gray uniform in this photo, which was published in a newspaper, name of paper and date not documented. This may be a photo of the Boston road uniform from 1900. Detail view showed that the style of the cap, the lettering on the shirt, and the narrow front belt loop were all similar to the white uniform worn in photos A & B. Player wore a sweater under his shirt suggesting the photo was taken early in the year. A newspaper report from April 1900 described the Boston road uniform as “suits of gray with navy blue trimmings.” Years Sullivan with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from Ken Samoil.
Photos F & G
Two images of B Sullivan (99, 00). Left: image dated April 1899 to April 1900. This image was published in a newspaper, name of paper and date not documented. Center: image dated April 14, 1900. The drawing in center was based on the photo at left and was published in a newspaper on this date. Right: detail view of drawing. Detail view showed that the uniform featured a pillbox cap with horizontal bands and shirt lettering with the “S” in Boston divided across the shirt opening. Both of these features were similar to those shown in photos A & B. Also note the length of the sewn tab under the button placket and the position of the shirt buttons in relationship to the lettering. Both of these features were similar to the depiction of the uniform worn by player Chambers, see photo H. Photo at left from Marc Okkonen, Baseball Memories 1900-1909 (1992). Drawing at center from the Boston Globe, April 14, 1900, and republished again on July 24, 1900. Boston Globe scan from Ken Samoil.
Photo H
Dated April 9, 1900. This drawing of R Chambers (Bos 00, Tor EL 00) was published on this day and was based on a photograph taken during spring training in Greensboro, NC. Full view at left, detail view at right. Detail view showed that the uniform featured a pillbox cap with horizontal bands and shirt lettering that was similar to that shown in photos A & B. Also note the length of the sewn tab under the button placket and the position of the shirt buttons in relationship to the lettering. Both of these features were similar to the depiction of the uniform worn by player Sullivan, see photo G. This drawing of Chambers was made soon after new uniforms were distributed while the team was in North Carolina. The Boston Globe reported on April 2, 1900, that “new uniforms arrived and were distributed by manager Selee” on this day in Greensboro when the team “took their first practice.” Also on this day, or in the days immediately following, Chambers joined the team. The Sporting Life on April 7, 1900, stated that “Rome Chambers, the Georgia pitching wonder, unearthed by Manager Selee, has joined the Bostons at Greensboro.” Research on new uniforms in Greensboro from Ed Morton. Drawing from the Boston Globe, April 9, 1900. Image scan from Ken Samoil.
Photo I
Dated circa June 1900. This drawing, made from a photograph, was published by newspapers across the wire service during the summer of 1900. Full view at left, detail view at right. The drawing depicted two young boys, nicknamed “Hink and Dink,” and identified as Francis Walsh of Kansas City, “who has been visiting Boston lately,” and Freddy Wiltzinger of Dorchester MA. The accompanying article said that “both [boys] are friends of Charley Nichols of the Boston club, two of whose uniforms were remade to fit the young players.” Based on the uniforms depicted in the drawing, it was apparent Nichols had the uniforms made from leftovers from the previous season of 1899. Image from the Boston Globe, reprinted in the Rock Island (IL) Argus, June 28, 1900.
Photos J & K
Two portraits published in 1900, and where the original images were taken in 1899. Left, B Freeman (00); and right, C Stahl (97-00). The Freeman portrait was published in The Sporting Life on April 14, 1900, and was most likely made when Freeman was with the Washington team in 1899. It is possible the “W” on the shirt had been removed by a retoucher to make the image more “accurate” as Freeman had recently been purchased by Boston from Washington on February 11, 1900. The Stahl portrait was published by The Sporting Life on August 18, 1900, and was one from the series of portraits of Boston players taken in July 1899 by Elmer Chickering. Years Freeman and Stahl with Boston (NL) from baseball-reference.com.
Photo L
Drawings of the 1900 Boston uniforms by baseball historian Marc Okkonen. Of the two home uniforms depicted by Okkonen, photographic evidence suggests that the uniform with the old-English “B” on the shirt was most likely from the 1901 season, not 1900. Furthermore, on the home uniform depicted with the city name across the chest, Okkonen used dark blue lettering as well as dark blue bands on the cap. A newspaper account from April 1900 said the team was to wear “stockings and trimmings of red” on the home uniform. Okkonen also depicted these uniforms to have shirt laces, while the imagery found to date and shown on this page indicated that the Boston shirts in 1900 had buttons, not laces. Drawings from the Dressed To The Nines uniform database at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum website, and retrieved November 20, 2021.
Written documentation on these uniforms:
March 1900: “Gray and navy blue will be the prevailing colors of the [Boston] traveling uniform. The shirts and trousers will be of gray, with navy blue trimmings, and the word Boston in plain navy blue lettering across the shield of the shirt. The caps will be gray and the stockings of navy blue. For the home uniform the regular red stocking suits will be worn, white with red stockings, not maroon or cardinal but plain, everyday red.” From the Boston Traveler, March 29, 1900. Research by Marc Okkonen, documentation from Tom Shieber.
April 1900: “Greensboro, N. C. April 2 — The Boston players took their first practice of the season here today. […] The new uniforms arrived and were distributed by manager Selee. They are neat and about the style of last season’s traveling suits [from 1899].” From the Boston Globe, April 3, 1900. Research from Ed Morton.
April 1900: “Horace Keith of the Spaldings succeeded in getting the contract for the uniforms of the Bostons. […] For the road Manager Selee has selected suits of gray with navy blue trimmings. The cap, shirt and trousers will be of gray, the stockings of blue and the word ‘Boston’ in plain lettering will appear on the shirt. At home the team will wear white with stockings and trimmings of red. About any color but red has been used in late seasons, maroon and cardinal for the most part.” From The Sporting Life, April 7, 1900.
April 20, 1900, Boston v. Philadelphia at Philadelphia, home opener: “The Boston team, in blue coats, gray suits and black stockings, emerged from under the grand stand and strolled over to the clubhouse by way of the bicycle path.” From the Philadelphia American, April 21, 1900. Research by Marc Okkonen, documentation from Tom Shieber.
May 30, 1900, Boston v. Cincinnati at Boston: “Boston, Mass., May 30. — The Cincinnati team made their first appearance here [in Boston] today, dressed in a Boston uniform, the hoodoo uniform worn by the local team [Boston] on their disastrous Western trip.” From the Cincinnati Enquirer, May 31, 1900. Research from Ed Morton. Cincinnati had lost their uniforms when their grandstand and clubhouse caught fire on May 28, 1900. Boston won only three games during a recent eleven-game road trip that ended May 26, 1900. Fire date from wikipedia.com. Boston road trip record from retrosheet.org.
October 1900: “That idea of khaki for home uniforms is all right. If clubs will persist in white why not do as the Pittsburg[h] people and pay for the laundry. It wouldn’t cost the earth and the investment [would] bear rich interest. Our [Boston] suits were sights this year.” From The Sporting Life, October 6, 1900, and written by Jacob Morse, the Boston correspondent.
1900: “After 1900, both home whites and road grays displayed ‘Boston’ in standard arched block capital letters across the chest. Caps were usually the ‘Chicago’ style, a pillbox shape with horizontal striping of various combinations. The trim color was most often maroon or red through the first five or six years of the decade.” From Marc Okkonen, Baseball Uniforms of the 20th Century (1991).
Team genealogy: Boston 1871-1952
Boston was formed to enter the National Association (NA) in 1871. The NA was baseball’s first league, operating 1871-1875. Boston played in the NA in every year of the league’s existence and moved to the National League (NL) upon its start in 1876. Boston played in the NL from 1876 to 1952 and moved to Milwaukee for the 1953 NL season. Information from Paul Batesel, Players And Teams of the National Association, 1871-1875, from baseball-reference.com and from wikipedia.com.
Rendering posted: November 20, 2021
Diggers on this uniform: Ed Morton, Ken Samoil, Tom Shieber,