1865 Athletic, Philadelphia (Athletics)
This rendering is based on partial or inconclusive visual documentation for uniform style only. Color information is unknown and the uniform is rendered in values of gray. Other important details may also be undocumented or difficult to determine and an artist’s conceptualization is used to complete the rendering.
Rendering accuracy:Year: documented Team: documented
Visual documentation on this uniform:
Photo A
Dated 1865. Montage of player portraits, full view at left, detail views at right. Players were photographed wearing a white or light-colored shirt with dark decorative trim along the shoulder boards, on the button placket and on the breast pocket. These photos may have been enhanced by a retouch artist.
Cclockwise from top: D McBride (61-75), N Berkenstock (<63-66), A Reach (65-75), M Smith (<63-65), Luengene (64, 65), C Gaskill (<63, 64, 66), H Hayhurst (64-69) and E Gaskill (?). Center: D Kleinfelder (<63-68). Years with team from Marshall D. Wright, The National Association Of Base Ball Players, 1857-1870 (2000), from Paul Batesel, Players And Teams Of The National Association, 1871-1875 (2012), and from wikipedia.com. Image scsan from SABR, The National Pastime (Number 3, Spring 1984).
Photo B
Dated 1865. This 20th-century newspaper clipping utilized the same portraits as shown in the montage of oval portraits above, see photo A. Some portraits may have been enhanced by the newspaper artist. Also included in the montage was a photo of the Athletic clubhouse.
Top row, from left: E Gaskill (?) and N Berkenstock (<63-66). Middle: M Smith (<63-65), H Hayhurst (64-69), D Kleinfelder (<63-68), A Reach (65-75) and Luengene (64, 65). Bottom: C Gaskill (<63, 64, 66) and D McBride (61-75). Years with team from Marshall D. Wright, The National Association Of Base Ball Players, 1857-1870 (2000), from Paul Batesel, Players And Teams Of The National Association, 1871-1875 (2012), and from wikipedia.com. Image from Ron McCullough, How Baseball Began (1995), citing the collection of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
Photo C
Dated early 1860s. Detail view of a photo of the Athletic clubhouse at Philadelphia, Athletic Park, and showing club members and players. This same image was included in the montage of player portraits, see photo B. Players in uniform in photo C wore a white collarless shirt. Possible IDs: N Berkenstock, back row in dark coat standing in front of door; and D McBride, sitting in front, fourth from left. Image from SABR, The National Pastime (Spring 1984), citing the collection of Barry Halper.
Photo D
Dated 1860s. View of Athletic clubhouse. Image from John Thorn, Our Game, A Reconstruction of Town Ball, posted May 29, 2013, and retrieved December 2, 2025, citing research by Richard Hershberger.
Photo E
Dated 1865. Detail view of an engraving of a game between Athletic and Atlantic, Brooklyn, played in Philadelphia at Athletic Park on October 30, 1865. Image from Tom Shieber, Baseball Researcher, There Used to be a Ballpark Right Here — Athletic Park, posted November 15, 2014, and retrieved December 2, 2025, and citing the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Shieber called attention to the words, “‘ATHLETIC 1860’ posted across the façade. Why 1860? Because the Philadelphia club was organized on April 7th of that year.”
Written documentation on this uniform:
None
Team genealogy: Athletic, Philadelphia 1859-1876
Athletic was formed in 1859 in Philadelphia, PA, and began playing the New York-style game about 1860. Athletic belonged to the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP), baseball’s first organization operating 1857-1870. Athletic joined the National Association (NA), the first baseball league, in 1871 at its inception and competed in every year of league’s existence, 1871-1875. Athletic then joined the National League (NL) in 1876 for its inaugural season. The club was removed from the NL before the 1877 season and subsequently disbanded. The Athletic name was used by subsequent teams in Philadelphia, including the American Association team (1882-1890) and the American League team (1901-1954). Information from William J Ryczek, Peter Morris and others, Base Ball Founders (2013).
Rendering posted: May 25, 2014
Diggers on this uniform: John Thorn, Richard Hershberger, Tom Shieber,