1887 Philadelphia (Philadelphias, Phillies)
These renderings are based on visual documentation for uniform style and written documentation for color. Minor details may be undocumented or difficult to determine. An educated guess is made to complete the rendering.
Rendering accuracy:Year: documented Team: documented
Visual documentation on these uniforms:
Photo A
Dated 1887. Photo date based on appearance of player Gunning, who only played for Philadelphia in 1887. Photo taken in Philadelphia at Huntingdon Grounds. Though nine of the twelve players in this photo wore the Philadelphia team sweater, the remaining three players displayed the team’s white uniform. The cap was also white with two dark horizontal bands and dark trim along the edge of the bill. The belt and stockings were also dark in color, and this accent color may have been red, the traditional color for the Philadelphia NL team during this period. Four of the players in this photo wore their shirts unbuttoned at the collar. All three of the visible shirts were short-sleeved; one was worn with a white undershirt, one with a dark-colored undershirt, and the other with no undershirt.
Top row, from left: A Irwin (86-89), A Maul (87, 00), D McGuire (86, 87), G Wood (86-89, Phi PL 90, Ath AA 91), J Fogarty (84-89, Phi PL 90) and C Ferguson (84-87). Middle: S Farrar (83-89, Phi PL 90), T Gunning (87, Ath 88, 89), (H Wright, mgr 84-93), J Clements (84-97, Phi UA 84) and C Buffinton (87-89, Phi PL 90). Front: C Bastian (85-88, 91) and J Mulvey (83-89, 92, Phi PL 90, Ath 91). Player IDs and photo scan from Mark Fimoff, SABR 19th-century Pictorial Committee. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Original photo by William Phillippi & Bro., Philadelphia.
Dated 1887. Detail view of photo A. Note the unbuttoned shirts and the light-colored, rubber-like fielding glove on the left hand of one of the players.
Dated 1887. This is the same team photo as shown above. In this version, more of the background is shown. Image from wikipedia.com.
Photo B
Dated 1887. Photo of T Gunning (87, Ath AA 88, 89), full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date of 1887 confirmed as this was the only year Gunning played for Philadelphia (NL). This photo was taken in Philadelphia at Huntingdon Grounds and was also issued on a Kalamazoo Bats baseball card in 1887. Photo showed a white uniform similar to that shown in photo A, and that the player wore fielding gloves on both hands. Year Gunning with team from baseball-reference.com. Photo from www.19cbaseball.com. Baseball card issue date from oldcardboard.com.
Photo C
Dated 1887. Photo of J Clements (84-97, Phi UA 84), full view at left and detail view at right. This photo was taken in Philadelphia at Huntingdon Grounds and was also issued on a Kalamazoo Bats baseball card in 1887. Photo showed side view of white uniform including a back pocket. Based on the markings in the dirt, this photo was made at the same time as photo B. Note also the large, open-backed fielding glove shown in the photo. Clements’ position was catcher. Years Clements with team from baseball-reference.com. Baseball card issue date from oldcardboard.com.
Photo D
Dated August 22 or August 23, 1887. Photo of two Philadelphia players, C Bastian (85-88, 91) standing, and H Lyons (Phil NL 87 1 gm, StL AA 87, 3 minor lg teams 87), sliding, at Huntingdon Grounds, Philadelphia. The photo date of August 22 or August 23, 1887, was determined by historian Tom Shieber who found that player Lyons was new to the team in late August 1887, making his debut on August 29, 1887. The specific date range for the photo was determined by Shieber after further analyzing the team match-ups on the outfield wall scoreboard. Lyons was released in September 3, 1887 and subsequently joined St. Louis (AA). This same photo was issued on a Kalamazoo Bats baseball card in 1887. Player Bastian wore a white uniform in this photo. Player Lyons may have worn the team’s light gray road uniform in this photo. He also wore a cap without horizontal stripes. Researcher Matt Albertson has discovered that the uniform Lyons wore had a subtle checked pattern, see detail view below. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Shieber research from Baseball Researcher: Arthur Irwin and Kalamazoo Bats, published August 3, 2015 and retrieved May 5, 2019. Devlin release date from the Philadelphia Inquirer, September 5, 1887. Baseball card issue date from oldcardboard.com. Image scan from Matt Albertson.
Dated August 22 or August 23, 1887. Detail view of photo D. Detail view showed that the light gray uniform had a subtle checked pattern, visible in the areas highlighted by red circles when viewed on a large monitor.
Photo E
Dated August 22 or August 23, 1887. Kalamazoo Bats baseball card of A Irwin (86-89), standing, and A Maul (87, 00), sliding. This photo was taken at the same session as photo D. Both players wore a white uniform in this photo, similar to that shown in photo A. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Baseball card issue date from oldcardboard.com. Card issued by Charles Gross & Company, a Philadelphia-based cigar manufacturer and merchant.
Photo F
Dated 1887. Kalamazoo Bats baseball card of J Mulvey (83-89, 92, Phi PL 90, Ath 91). Full view at left, detail view at right. Player wore a white uniform that matched those worn in photos above. The shirt had a breast pocket and the player wore his shirt unbuttoned at the neck. Mulvey also wore a full mustache in this photo, but was clean-shaven in the team photos from this year. The setting for the photo is undetermined. Years Mulvey with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from Love of the Game Auctions. Card issued by Charles Gross & Company, a Philadelphia-based cigar manufacturer and merchant.
Photo G
Dated 1887. Kalamazoo Bats baseball card of S Farrar (83-89, Phi PL 90). Full view at left, detail view at right. Player wore a white uniform that matched those worn in photos above. The player wore his shirt unbuttoned at the neck. The setting for the photo is undetermined. Years Farrar with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from Love of the Game Auctions. Card issued by Charles Gross & Company, a Philadelphia-based cigar manufacturer and merchant.
Photo H
Dated late August 1887 to early September 1887, likely August 22 or August 23, 1887. Photo year based on appearance of players McLaughlin, Gunning, Devlin, Lyons and Gibson, all of whom only played for Philadelphia in 1887. Date range of late August 1887 to early September 1887 determined by players McLaughlin, Lyons and Gibson, all of whom were on the roster for a short period at this time. Lyons joined the team in late August 1887. Gibson may have played his first game on August 28, 1887. One local newspaper said the following day that the “the Phillies pony battery, Devlin and Gibson, showed up well.” McLaughlin, Lyons, Devlin and Gibson were all released from the team on Saturday, September 3. Players wore a light gray uniform in this photo, with a dark belt, dark stockings and white caps with two dark-colored horizontal bands. A newspaper described the accent color for the light gray uniform as red. All but two of the seventeen players in this photo were wearing short sleeves. At least two players appear to have cut-off their sleeves to make them shorter still. Three players with short sleeves were wearing white undershirts, the rest were bare armed. Four players wore their shirts unbuttoned at the collar.
Top row, from left: B McLaughlin (87), S Farrar (83-89, Phi PL 90), D Casey (86-89), C Buffington (87-89, Phi PL 90), J Mulvey (83-89, 92, Phi PL 90, Ath 91), J Fogarty (84-89, Phi PL 90) and E Andrews (84-89). Middle: T Gunning (87, Ath 88, 89), J Devlin (87), G Wood (86-89, Phi PL 90, Ath AA 91), (H Wright), D McGuire (86, 87), A Irwin (86-89), H Lyons (87 1 gm, StL AA 87, in minors in 87) and J Clements (84-97, Phi UA 84). Front: A Maul (87, 00), W Gibson (dnp, in minors in 87) and C Ferguson (84-87). Player IDs from photo. Lyons time with team from Tom Shieber, Baseball Researcher: Arthur Irwin and Kalamazoo Bats, published August 3, 2015 and retrieved May 5, 2019. Gibson first game from the Philadelphia Inquirer, August 29, 1887. McLaughlin, Lyons, Devlin and Gibson release date from the Philadelphia Inquirer, September 5, 1887. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Original photo from MacIntire Brothers, Philadelphia.
Dated late August 1887 to early September 1887, likely August 22 or August 23, 1887. Detail view of photo F. Note that at least three players in the middle row of this photo had hand-cut their sleeves to be shorter in length.
Photo I
Dated late August 1887 to early September 1887, likely August 22 or August 23, 1887. Baseball card of J Devlin (87) and T Taylor, trainer. Full view at left, detail view at right. Devlin was mistakenly identified as Lyons on card. Photo date range determined by fact that this was only with the team for a short period of time. It is possible this image was made at the same time as the team photo, see above. Devlin wore a gray uniform in this photo with cut-off sleeves. Devlin wore the same uniform in team photo above. Note the large shirt pocket and the button placket with a pointed tab. Year Devlin with team from baseball-reference.com. Confirmation of trainer Taylor from Tom Shieber, Baseball Researcher: Arthur Irwin and Kalamazoo Bats, published August 3, 2015 and retrieved May 5, 2019.
Photo J
Dated 1887. Old Judge baseball card of E Dailey (85-87, Was NL 87). Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date of April 1887 to mid-June 1887 can be determined as Dailey was purchased by the Washington team approx. June 20, 1887. Photo shows short-sleeved gray uniform with shirt pocket. Years Dailey with team and transaction info from baseball-reference.com.
Photo K
Dated 1887. Old Judge baseball card of D Casey (86-89). Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date of April 1887 to mid-June 1887 can be suggested by the similarity in background to the Dailey photo above. Photo showed a gray uniform with button placket, detachable sleeves and shirt pocket. Years Casey with team from baseball-reference.com.
Photo L
Dated 1887. Old Judge baseball card of C Ferguson (84-87). Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date of April 1887 to mid-June 1887 can be suggested by the similarity in background to the Dailey photo above. Photo showed a gray uniform with button placket, detachable sleeves and shirt pocket with rounded corners at the bottom. The button placket had a pointed tab. Years Ferguson with team from baseball-reference.com.
Photo M
Dated circa 1887. Cabinet card of of J Clements (84-97, Phi UA 84), full view at left and detail view at right. Year of photo determined by the fact the this image was used on an Old Judge baseball card dated 1887. This image was made by a Boston photographer and therefore Clements may have been wearing the team’s gray uniform. Detail view showed that the sweater had large white buttons and pockets. Image from New York Public Library, A. G. Spalding Collection. Original image by George E. Gray, Boston.
Photos N & O
Dated circa 1887. Buchner Gold Coin (N284) baseball cards. Left: S Farrar (83-89, Phi PL 90). Right: C Bastian (85-88, 91). Cards depicted a gray uniform with red belt and stockings. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scans and issue date from oldcardboard.com.
Photos P & Q
Dated circa 1887. Buchner Gold Coin (N284) baseball cards. Left: E Andrews (84-89). Right: J Mulvey (83-89, 92, Phi PL 90, Ath 91). Cards depicted a uniform with light blue shirt. No additional reference has been found to confirm this was a uniform worn by the team. Image scans and issue date from oldcardboard.com. Years with team from baseball-reference.com.
Photo R
Dated 1888, likely based on uniforms from 1887. Cut-out paper figures representing the Philadelphia NL team (detail view) for Base Ball Game, a board game by McLoughlin Bros. Figures were depicted wearing a white cap with a star on top, light blue shirt, white pants, and red belt and stockings. This may be a depiction of an alternate Philadelphia uniform from 1887 or 1888. Image from Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images. Figures were produced by McLoughlin Bros., New York, copyright 1888, and with the title, “Amusement for Boys to Cut Out.”
Photo S
Dated post 1950, original image taken in 1887. This is the same team photo as shown in photo A. This version was produced in a newspaper, date unknown. Inexplicably, Manager Wright’s top hat had been retouched by the newspaper as a bowler. Image scan from ebay.com.
Written documentation on these uniforms:
February 1887: “The new costumes of the members of the Philadelphia [National] League Club are being made by A. J. Reach & Co. and it is expected that they will be turned over to the players on the 1st of March, in time for the proposed Southern trip. The suits will differ but little from those worn by the team last season. One will be made of fine white English flannel and the other will be of gray flannel. Both will have the customary cardinal trimmings and the boys are expected to look their best all summer.” From the Philadelphia Times, February 20, 1887. Research from Ed Morton.
April 1887, not uniform related but interesting nonetheless: “The Philadelphia players traveled out to Broad and Huntington streets this afternoon [April 25, 1887] to play their first practice game on the new grounds. While the players were changing their street clothes for their uniforms, Manager Wright climbed to the top of the new pavilion in order to get a better view of the ball field. Something was wrong with the newly laid out diamond. It appeared entirely out of proportion. An examination revealed the fact that the first and third base lines were too close together and that the second base was nearer to the pitcher’s box than it ought to be. The laborers in laying out the grounds had mistaken the grading stakes for those intended for the diamond, and the infield had been sodded and the bases laid out without discovering the error.” From the New York Times, April 26, 1887.
April 30, 1887, Philadelphia v. New York, at Philadelphia, new grounds at Broad Street and Lehigh Ave, opening day: “The Phillies, in their white flannel suits and scarlet jackets, and the Giants, in their white trousers and maroon-colored jerseys, met in a single file and paired off. […] Harry Wright hurried down the field with a bundle under his arm and join the players. […] The bundle was the Phillies’ big new flag. […] The flag was unfurled and the stiff wind sent the stars and stripes flying and flapping.” From the Philadelphia Times, May 1, 1887. The Times also included drawings of the new ballpark.
June 1887: “The color of a least one uniform of each club in the [National] League and American Association is given below. It would be next to impossible to give the several different uniforms of each club, as they change the different pieces of one uniform to another, and may appear on the field in a different make-up every day for a week. However, one complete uniform of each club is as follows: […] Philadelphia — Gray trousers and shirt, red stockings and belt, gray cap with red trimmings.” From the New York Sun, June 12, 1887, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 14, 1887. Research from Todd Radom. Note, in photo examples dated from this year, see above, it appears a white cap, not a gray cap, was worn with both the white and the gray uniforms.
July 1887, not uniform related but interesting nonetheless: “Detectives have been shadowing the players of the Philadelphia and Pittsburg[h] Base Ball Clubs for several nights, and in consequence of evidence that has been collected against several of the players of both clubs, they are to be released and other men will take their places. […] It has been an open secret among men about town for the past month that several members of the Philadelphia team have been drinking hard, and it has also been known, as their record shows, they have played wretched ball. These men stayed up last Sunday night [July 3, 1887] to welcome the 4th of July and two of the players didn’t go to bed at all. On the Fourth they played two games with the Pittsburg[h] team and both clubs played wretchedly. In the afternoon game, twenty-five well-known lovers of the game signed an agreement not to go see another game on the Philadelphia grounds until the Phillies played better ball, the penalty to be the forfeiture of $10 every time any one of the twenty-five violated his promise. […] Harry Wright went to the head of a well-known detective agency near Fourth and Walnut streets [in Philadelphia] and told the detective what he wanted. […] The ball players were to be shadowed and when they were caught in the saloon having a good time Manager Wright, who was to be in the waiting at a place agreed upon, was to be sent for so that he could see with his own eyes just who the men were and what their condition was. […] It had been arranged that some of the Phillies were to show some of the Pittsburg[h]ers the town. [Pittsburgh] Pitcher Morris and Catcher Carroll and Captain Brown, the “Californian Trio,” [waited] for darkness and [also for Jim] Fogarty, of the Philadelphia club, who was to be their guide. Darkness came and so did Fogarty, and the quartet started off up Chestnut street and up Tenth. They were on the point of entering a saloon opposite St. Stephen’s Church when Manager Harry Wright, of the Phillies, who was in ambush at Tenth and Market streets, came down Tenth street. Fogarty saw him, and he and his companions went up a blind alley until Harry Wright passed down the street. […] One of the detectives went after [Pittsburgh] Manager Phillips to the Gerard house. Manager Phillips disguised himself in a slouch hat, pulled it down over his eyes and hurried on to Jayne street [where the men were now at a billiards hall]. He got there just as Morris and Brown were taking another beer. […] Then there was a stampede. It was nearly midnight. One of the detectives fell down a coal hole and bruised his shins. […] How long the [players] are to be watched is not known, but the detectives were still shadowing them at midnight last night [July 6].” From the Philadelphia Times, July 7, 1887. The Times dedicated several columns to the escapades of Fogarty and the California Trio, more beyond what has been included here. The newspaper cited that “detectives watching ball players is the very latest novelty in connection with the national game.”
November 20, 1887, description of parade welcoming “Eastern Clubs” to San Francisco for a series of exhibition games: “First came the brass band, then a hack containing D. R. McNeill, President of Central Park Association, James A. Hart, manager, and C. B. Powers, the umpire. Next rode the Philadelphias, clad in white pants and shirts, red stockings and white caps ornamented with red stripes. After them came the famous St. Louis Browns, in red and white habiliments, while last rode the Chicagos, who wore suits of blue and white, with the blue almost washed out. Were it not that ‘beauty unadorned is best adorned’ the Chicagos would have looked a dingy crowd.” From the San Francisco Examiner, November 21, 1887. Research from Gary and Oliver Kodner.
1887 Philadelphia summary
Uniform: white, red stockings
First worn: completed early March
Photographed: team photo from year, player portraits from August
Described: February, April, November
Material: flannel
Manufacturer: A. J. Reach & Co.
Supposition:
Variations: may have worn with light blue shirts
Other items: red jackets, dark buttoned sweater
Home opener report: yes, April 30 v New York
Uniform: gray, white cap, red stockings
First worn: completed early March
Photographed: team photo and player portraits from late August
Described: February, June
Material: flannel
Manufacturer: A. J. Reach & Co.
Supposition:
Variations:
Team genealogy:
Philadelphia 1882-
Philadelphia was formed to play in the League Alliance (LA) in 1882. The team joined the National League (NL) in 1883. The NL began operation in 1876 and Philadelphia has played in the league every year since 1883. Information from wikipedia.com and Robert D. Warrington.
Rendering posted: May 6, 2019
Diggers on this uniform: Ed Morton, Gary Kodner, Mark Fimoff, Matt Albertson, Oliver Kodner, Todd Radom, Tom Shieber,