1889 Kansas City (Kansas Citys, Cowboys)
Left: This rendering is based on partial 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 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 1889. Old Judge baseball card of B Hamilton (88, 89). Full view at left, detail view at right. Player wore a light-colored uniform with a dark cap, belt and stockings. This uniform may be the gray uniform (possibly light gray), with blue cap and stockings as described in a preseason newspaper report from 1889. Detail view show pants with a large area of quilted-padding at the knees and hips. Years Hamilton with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Dated 1889. Detail view of photo A. Detail view shows the lettering on shirt, the button placket with a square tab at bottom, and a long shirt pocket below the left breast.
Photo B
Dated 1889. Old Judge baseball card of J Burns (AA 88, 89, WA 90). Full view at left, detail view at right. Uniform and photo background appears to match photo A suggesting images were made at the same session. Detail view shows cap without subtle horizontal bands that were common for the period. Years Burns with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Photo C
Dated September 3 or 4, 1889. Year of photo can be confirmed by appearance of players Alvord and Sowders, as these men only played for Kansas City in 1889. Date of September 3 or 4 can be determined by the photo caption and by the possible identity of player Mattimore, who was released by Athletic, Philadelphia, on September 1, 1889 and subsequently signed by Kansas City. One newspaper said that “Mattimore, the Athletic substitute, was signed by the cowboys this morning [September 3, 1889] and this afternoon he picked out a long stick and won the game for the Kansas Citys.” Kansas City was playing Athletic at the time, therefore photo C was most likely taken in Philadelphia at the Jefferson Street Grounds on September 3 or September 4, 1889. These were the last dates Kansas City played at Athletic for the remainder of the season. The background of this photo, when compared to other images, would also suggest the Philadelphia location. It is likely the players in this photo wore the same light gray uniform with blue stockings and caps as shown in the Old Judge baseball cards above. The players wore a short-sleeved shirt in this photo. Only the uniform of player Hamilton, front row far right, was long-sleeved. Two players in the back row wore a dark undershirt, and one player in the front row wore a white undershirt.
Top row, from left: J Burns (AA 88, 89, WA 90), D Stearns (AA 89, WA 90, 91), B Alvord (89), M Mattimore? (KC AA 89, Phi AA 89) and P Swartzel? (WA 88, 91, AA 89). Front: H Long (WA 88, AA 89), J Conway (WA 88, 91, AA 89), J Gunson (WA 88, 90, 91, AA 89), (B Watkins, mgr 88, 89), J Manning (WA 88, 90, 91, AA 89), J Sowders (KC AA 89, WA 91, StP WA 89) and B Hamilton (88, 89). Player IDs from a consensus opinion of multiple baseball researchers. The identities of Mattimore and Swartzel cannot be confirmed. Some feel the player standing fourth from left should be J Donahue (KC AA 88, 89, WA 90). The facial analysis below makes a case for Mattimore. Note that both Conway and Sowders, seated in the front row, held a baseball signifying they were pitchers. Years with team and Mattimore release date from from baseball-reference.com. Mattimore signing date from the Kansas City Times, September 4, 1889. Game dates in Philadelphia and Jefferson Street Grounds info from retrosheet.org. Original photo published in Athletic Sports in America, England and Australia (1889). Original photo by Levytype Co., Philadelphia.
Dated September 3 or 4, 1889. Detail view of photo C. Detail view shows the lettering style of the city name across the button placket and the position of four white buttons running down the placket. The position of the buttons in relationship to the lettering differed from uniform to uniform in this photo. For example, note the position of the button between the letters “I” and “T” in the word “city” on the two seated players in this detail view. Also note the slightly differing positions of the button partially covering the letter “N.”
Facial analysis: Mattimore vs. Donahue:
Facial analysis of the player standing back row, fourth from left. What do you think, was it Mattimore or Donahue?
Photo D
Dated September 1889. This the same image as photo C. In this version, player identities have been written on the photo. This image is in the possession of the Kansas City Public Library which stated the photo was made “on opening day in 1889” and that the image “was signed by [the] players.” Documentation shown above on this page suggests the image was made in September 1889 in Philadelphia, and not at the Kansas City home opener which took place on April 25, 1889. Additionally, the similarity in how the names were written on the print would indicate all were penned by one person and not by the individual players. The names may have been added at a later date as Manager Watkins, front row fourth from left, was identified as “Walker.” Also, the identities of players Donahue, Alvord, Mattimore and Swartzel were seemingly labeled incorrectly. Image published online by Anne Kniggendorf, KCUR, NPR Kansas City, March 22, 2024, citing the Missouri Valley Special Collection, Kansas City Public Library. The image was included as part of a story on the release of the book, The Kansas City Royals: The Story of Professional Baseball in Kansas City (2024), by Matt Stewart. Image scan from Andy Terrick.
Photos E & F
Dated April 26, 1889. These drawings were published on this day and depicted scenes from the Kansas City home opener on April 25, 1889. Drawing at left indicated that Billy Hamilton’s cap had vertical stripes. Drawing at right depicted a white cap and the city name displayed on the shirt. Images from the Kansas City Times, April 26, 1889.
Photos G & H
Dated April 26, 1889. These drawing were published on this day in newspaper reports of the Kansas City home opener on April 25, 1889. The scene at left depicted Kansas City player Hoover reaching third base with a triple. One newspaper stated that “Hoover’s exertions in covering the bases were so great that he reached third in a faint. His sickness lasted but a few minutes, however, and he came in on Davis’ sacrifice.” The scene at right depicted Kansas City player Hamilton sliding into a base. A newspaper remarked that Hamilton was “in every instance easily beating the ball” and that “once Easterbrook thought he had him for sure, and turning to touch him with the ball, was surprised to find Hamilton looking up at him from his safe position on the bag and giving him a laugh.” In both scenes the Kansas City players were depicted wearing caps with vertical stripes. Image at left from the Kansas City Times, April 26, 1889, at right from the Kansas City Journal, April 26, 1889.
Written documentation on these uniforms:
January 1889: “Manager Watkins thinks blue uniforms are a ‘hoodoo,’ and the new Cowboys’ attire will be a black shirt, with gray pants and dark colored stockings.” From The Sporting Life, January 2, 1889. This uniform description differs from a second preseason report published later in January, see below.
January 1889: “Kansas City has selected its new uniforms for next season. The home suits will be made up of white flannel shirts and pants, with brown stockings and belt and striped caps, and the traveling suits will consist of gray flannel pants, shirts and caps, with blue stockings, belts and trimmings.” From The Sporting Life, January 30, 1889. Research from Chuck McGill.
February 1889: “Samples of the two uniforms that will be worn by the Kansas City club this season [1889] were received yesterday and are on exhibition in the windows of J. F. Schmelzer & Son’s on Main Street. […] The suit which will be worn at home is of white with brown trimmings, brown and white striped cap and brown stockings. The one which be used on the road is a beautiful blue-gray shade with black cap and trimmings throughout.” From the Kansas City Journal, February 10, 1889, page 14.
April 23, 1889, Kansas City v. Cincinnati, at Cincinnati: “The Cowboys marched upon the field attired in a light gray uniform.” From the Kansas City Star, April 24, 1889, page 2, citing the Cincinnati Commercial-Gazette.
April 25, 1889, Kansas City v. Louisville, at Kansas City, home opener: “The Kansas Citys wore their new suits yesterday [April 25]. The uniforms were white with brown stockings and brown striped caps at the opening and wholly brown when the boys finished sliding for bases.” From the Kansas City Times, April 26, 1889.
April 25, 1889, Kansas City v. Louisville, at Kansas City, home opener: “The new uniforms of the Kansas Citys are white with brown stockings and brown and white caps.” From the Kansas City Star, April 26, 1889.
September 2, 1889, Kansas City v. Athletic, Philadelphia, at Philadelphia, game one: “The Cowboys walked off with the honors by winning the first game in a handy manner.” From the Kansas City Journal, September 3, 1889. Use of the cowboy nickname for the Kansas City team.
1889 Kansas City uniform summary
Uniform: white, brown and white striped caps, brown stockings
First worn:
Photographed:
Described: January, February, April
Material:
Manufacturer:
Supposition:
Variations: shirt style, lettering style
Other items:
Home opener report: yes, April 25 v. Cincinnati
Uniform: gray, black cap and stockings
First worn:
Photographed: team photo from early September, player portraits from year
Described: January, February, April
Material:
Manufacturer:
Supposition:
Variations:
Team genealogy:
Kansas City 1888-1889
Kansas City was formed to join the American Association (AA) in 1888. The AA was a major league operating between 1882 and 1891. Kansas City played two season in the AA and folded after the 1889 season. Information from wikipedia.
Rendering posted: May 24, 2025
Diggers on this uniform: Andy Terrick, Chuck McGill, Ken Samoil, Mark Fimoff, Paul Winter,