1874 Hartford (Hartfords, Grays, Nutmegs)
Uniform documentation:
Gray– written only
This rendering is included in the book, BASEBALL THREADS.
Visual documentation on this uniform:
None
Written documentation on this uniform:
February 1874: “The [Hartford] uniform will be the Yale College colors.” From the New York Clipper, February 28, 1874. Research from David Arcidiacono. This report suggested the uniform was planned to be a combination of gray and blue.
March 1874: “The [Hartford] uniforms will probably be of gray or drab cloth, trimmed with scarlet or blue, and with white stockings, with a broad band of the same color as the trimming of the uniform.” From the Hartford Evening Post, March 26, 1874. Research from David Arcidiacono.
March 1874: “For a uniform the directors have under consideration the following; knee breeches of light gray, trimmed with magenta or blue, shirts of same color and same trimming, with the word “Hartford” on the breast.” From the Hartford Times, March 26, 1874. Research from David Arcidiacono.
March 1874: “It is virtually decided that the uniform is to be of gray with magenta trimmings; stockings of white and magenta alternating in narrow horizontal stripes. On the front of the shirt will be the letter H, in the ordinary Roman style. The belts will be magenta colored; shoes white canvas.” From the Hartford Post, March 27, 1874. Research from David Arcidiacono.
March 1874: “The directors of the Hartford club will probably reconsider their action in designating gray and magenta as the color for the new uniform. Gray and blue are now talked of.” From the Hartford Times, March 28, 1874. Research from David Arcidiacono.
March 1874: “Each professional nine should have a color and uniform of its own. New York has the green, Boston the red, Philadelphia Athletics the blue, Chicago the white, Hartford will have gray or brown, and Baltimore should have the yellow.” From the New York Clipper, March 28, 1874.
March 1874: “The Hartfords have adopted a handsome and serviceable uniform, magenta and white stockings, light grey pants, shirt and cap, trimmed with magenta or blue.” From the Philadelphia Sunday Mercury, March 29, 1874. Research from David Arcidiacono.
March 1874: “It has been decided by the managers of this club [i.e., Hartford] to adopt the following uniform: knee breeches of gray, trimmed with magenta; gray shirt, trimmed with the same material, with the letter ‘H’ on the breast; striped stockings, colors magenta and white; cap white.” From the Brooklyn Daily Times, March 31, 1874. Research from Ed Morton.
April 1874: “At the meeting of the directors of the [Hartford] ball club held last evening, it was decided to change the color of the trimming of the uniform from magenta to blue, the main material to be gray as before selected.” From the Hartford Evening Post, April 2, 1874. Research from David Arcidiacono.
April 1874: “The Hartford ‘Nutmegs’ will, it is thought, pay St. Louis a visit toward the latter part of May or 1st of June. By the way, speaking of the Connecticut club, it might be interesting to our readers to describe their uniform, which will be a very neat affair. It will consist of white and magenta stockings, with a band of white and magenta stripes, sort of a light gray knee breeches with magenta stripes, shirt the same with magenta trimmings, and the name ‘Hartford’ inside the shield, cap same color, trimmed with magenta. The rig will be a durable one, and has great advantage over white, as it will not show dirt so badly.” From the St. Louis Democrat, April 5, 1874. Whoa — that’s a lot of magenta stripes. This shows how a newspaper report can get mangled when sent over the wires. Unbeknownst to the Democrat, the Hartford directors had recently changed the accent color of the uniform from magenta to blue.
April 1874: “The uniforms for the [Hartford] club were ordered today. They are to be gray flannel with blue trimmings as hereinbefore described.” From the Hartford Post, April 9, 1874. Research from David Arcidiacono.
April 1874: “The uniform of the Hartford club will be ready on Friday next in time for the game with Yale. It is a handsome rig from the establishment of W.E. Covey & Co., 45 Asylum St [in Hartford]. The suit will be displayed in their show window early next week.” From the Hartford Times, April 11, 1874. Research from David Arcidiacono, who adds that “only one [uniform] was completed by that time and Hartford had to wear their ‘practice uniform’ for the Yale game.”
April 1874: “The Hartfords will adopt the gray color with magenta trimmings, and white and magenta striped stockings for their suits. It will therefore be the Reds of Boston, the Whites of Chicago, the Pearls of Philadelphia, the Athletic Blues, the Baltimore Canaries, the Mutual Greens, and the Hartford Grays for 1874.” From the New York Clipper, April 11, 1874. The mention of magenta in this article was probably based on reports from late March 1874.
April 1874: “The Hartford players have all put in an appearance, and are daily practicing two hours in the gymnasium and two hours on the field. […] They have changed the color of the trimmings of their uniform from magenta to blue.” From the Philadelphia Sunday Mercury, April 12, 1874. Research from David Arcidiacono.
April 1874: “The uniforms of the Hartford nine will consist of knee breeches of gray trimmed with magenta, gray shirts, trimmed with the same with the letter ‘H’ on the breast, striped stockings – the color being magenta and white—and white caps.” From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 17, 1874. This report may have been based on information originally published in late March 1874. Subsequent reports stated the accent color had been changed from magenta to blue.
May 1, 1874, Hartford v. Mutual, New York, at Hartford, opening day: “The Hartfords appeared for the first time in their new uniform of gray with blue and white stockings.” From the Hartford Courant, May 2, 1874. Research from David Arcidiacono. Game date from retrosheet.org.
May 5, 1874, Hartford v. Athletic, Philadelphia, at Hartford: “The Hartfords were dressed in a neat and serviceable uniform of gray pants, shirts and caps, and blue and white stockings.” From the Philadelphia Sunday Mercury, May 10, 1874. Research from David Arcidiacono.
May 21, 1874, Hartford v. Philadelphia Pearls at Philadelphia: “[The Hartford] uniform is in every respect neat and serviceable–shirts, small caps, and knee breeches of the same shade as one predominant in the Quakers’ field costume. These are trimmed with magenta, the same hue being the stripe used in the stockings.” From the Philadelphia Sunday Dispatch, May 24, 1874. Research from Richard Hershberger, and also from David Arcidiacono, who writes that “most references to magenta [as the Hartford trim color] are from the pre-season. The only in-season reference is [this May 24 report]. There are three in-season references to blue and white (or just blue) stockings. Could the Sunday Dispatch reference been in error and based on previously reported plans for uniform colors?”
June 6, 1874, Hartford v. Mutual, New York, at Brooklyn, Union grounds: “The return game between the Mutuals and Hartfords was played on the Union ground last Saturday [June 6]. The first game was played in Hartford, May 30th, when the ‘Nutmeggers,’ won with a score of 10 to 7.” From the Brooklyn Daily Times, June 8, 1874, page 3. Research from Ed Morton. Use of the Nutmeg nickname by the Brooklyn newspaper.
July 23, 1874, Hartford v. Mutual, New York, at Brooklyn, Union grounds, headline: “The ‘Nutmegs’ of Connecticut vs. the ‘Green Stockings.’” From the New York Herald, July 24, 1874, page 10. Research from Ed Morton. Use of the Nutmeg nickname by the New York newspaper.The Herald also stated in this issue that “the Hartfords of Connecticut — known as the ‘Nutmeg’ team — arrived in town yesterday.”
September 30, 1874, Hartford v. Baltimore, at Hartford: “The Hartfords appeared in blue stockings.” From the Hartford Courant, October 1, 1874. Research from David Arcidiacono and Bob Tiemann.
Team genealogy: Hartford was formed to join the National Association (NA) in 1874. The NA was baseball’s first league, operating 1871-1875. After two years in the NA, Hartford joined the National League (NL) at its formation in 1876. The team removed to Brooklyn for the 1877 season and was then known as Hartford of Brooklyn. The franchise was dissolved at the conclusion of the 1877 season. –Information from Paul Batesel, Players and Teams of the National Association, 1871-1875 (2012), and from wikipedia.
Rendering posted: March 23, 2019
Diggers on this uniform: Bob Tiemann, David Arcidiacono, Ed Morton, Richard Hershberger,