1890 Chicago (White Stockings, Pirates)
Left: This rendering is based on written documentation and partial visual documentation for uniform style and color. Minor details may be undocumented or difficult to determine and an educated guess is made to complete the rendering.
Rendering accuracy:Year: documented Team: documented
Right: This rendering is based on written documentation for uniform style and color. No visual documentation is known and an artist’s conceptualization is used to create the rendering.
Rendering accuracy:Year: documented Team: documented
Visual documentation on these uniforms:
Photo A
Dated 1890. Score card cover. Full view at left, detail view at right. Illustration depticted player with a white uniform, white stockings and a black cap, lettering and belt. This illustration matched descriptions of the Chicago uniform printed in newspaper reports from this same year. Note that program displays the name of the Players’ League as the “Players’ National League.”
Written documentation on these uniforms:
November 1889: “The Chicago Brotherhood team is to be called the White Stockings.” From the Buffalo Express, November 17, 1889.
January 1890: “The Chicago Players’ League Club has already chosen its uniforms for next season. Keefe & Becannon will make them. The home suit will be of white, except a black belt and cap and the word ‘Chicago’ in black on the breast. The traveling suit will be of black cloth, with white cap, belt and stockings, and ‘Chicago’ in white on the breast. A black jacket will complete the uniform.” From the New York World, January 5, 1890. Also from The Sporting Life, January 15, 1890. The Sporting Life research from Chuck McGill.
January 1890: “Chicago Brotherhood Club Adopts Two New Uniforms. — Chicago, January 11. […] The team will have two outfits made by Tim Keefe, one for home use and the other for use while abroad. The home uniform will consist of white shirts, trousers and stockings of jersey cloth, with black caps and belts, and a narrow black ribbed seam on the side of the trousers. The word Chicago will be lettered on the breast of the shirt in plain black letters. The other uniforms will be made of expensive black cloth, with white stockings, belts and caps. The lettering will also be in white. Each suit will have [a] black cloth jacket.” From the Philadelphia Times, January 12, 1890. Research from Don Stokes. Note that this report mentioned the pants had trim running down the seam.
January 1890: “The White Stocking team of the Players’ League was completed this afternoon by the signing of Comiskey.” From the New York Sun, January 18, 1890. This report referenced the stocking color.
January 1890: “All the secretaries of the clubs in the Players’ National League [i.e., Players’ League] have sent their club uniform colors to Secretary Brunell. All the clubs, except Philadelphia, have selected white home and colored traveling uniforms, so that the audience can readily distinguish the teams in the field. The teams will be dressed as follows: […] Chicago– Home: White suits, black trimmings, cap and belt, ‘Chicago’ in black on breast of shirt, white stockings. Traveling: black suits, white cap, belts and stocking, ‘Chicago’ in white on breast of shirt, black cloth jacket.” From the Chicago Daily Tribune, January 29, 1890. Research from Don Stokes. A similar report was published in the Buffalo Courier, January 30, 1890, and The Sporting Life, February 5, 1890.
March 1890: “The Chicagos wore pretty uniforms of pure white, with black trimmings. Considering that all the stars of the St. Louis Browns are with the combination, and that Comiskey is at the helm, it would be more appropriate to trim white with brown.” From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 19, 1890. Research from Gary Kodner.
March 27, 1890, Chicago (PL) v. Cleveland (PL) at Memphis, exhibition game: “Memphis, March 27— […] The White Stockings won.” From the New York Press, March 28, 1890. This report referenced the stocking color.
April 1890: “[Arlie] Latham has been laid low, but not by a ballplayer. It was a constable. In his numerous divorce suits, he has employed a young attorney of this city [St. Louis], D. Castleman Webb. Webb has brought Latham safely out of his many matrimonial squabbles, but all bills for service have been repudiated by the ball player. Webb secured judgment against him several months ago [and yesterday] took possession of everything in the apartment [at the Lindell hotel]. […] At 6 o’clock the gay third baseman returned, and when he learned the horrible truth he swore harder than the army in Flanders. It was too much for even his temper. He had nothing to put on and was compelled to walk around in the corridor in his baseball uniform, with the sarcastic words on his sweater, ‘We are the people.’ He did not have a shirt or a pair of socks, but Comiskey finally came to the rescue and he is now wearing a suit three sizes too big and his trousers are turned up four inches. The constable has possession of $500 worth of wearing apparel.” From the Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 11, 1890, page 5, citing a St. Louis dispatch dated April 10.
April 19, 1890, Chicago (PL) v. Pittsburgh (PL), at Pittsburgh, home opener: “It was a great day for the Players’ League in Pittsburg[h], and the legend ‘We are the people’ in great black letters on Arlie Latham’s broad back is true sure enough.” From the Chicago Inter Ocean, April 20, 1890, page 1.
April 19, 1890, Chicago (PL) v. Pittsburgh (PL), at Pittsburgh, home opener: “The frisky Latham was seen on the diamond doing all kinds of acrobatic tricks. He was adorned with a sweater, on which was the announcement: ‘We are the people.’” From the Pittsburgh Dispatch, April 20, 1890, page 8. Research from Terry Sloope.
April 19, 1890, Chicago (PL) v. Pittsburgh (PL), at Pittsburgh, home opener: “[The Pittsburghs] were quickly followed by the Chicagos dressed in their unique costumes of black with white trimmings. […] Active Arlie Latham made the first pronounced hit of the occasion. His costume was an odd one. It was white, while his companions were dressed in black. When he stood on his head during the preliminary practice, it was noticed that the crowd immediately took on a mood of merriment.” From the Pittsburgh Press, April 20, 1890, page 6. Research from Terry Sloope.
April 1890: “The burgees [i.e., triangular flags] of the Players’ League clubs have been sent to the various teams and will be flown from the flagstaffs of the home teams this morning [April 19]. The burgees are colored as follows: Boston — White with “Boston” and red. Brooklyn — White with “Brooklyn” in blue. Pittsburg[h] — Red and white bars with “Pittsburg” in red and white. Cleveland — Bright blue flag with white border and “Cleveland” in white. Buffalo — Red, white and blue Flag, “Buffalo” in blue. New York — White flag with “New York” in black. Philadelphia — Red flag, dark blue border, white field with “Philadelphia” in light blue. Chicago — Black flag with a border of white stars and “Chicago” in white. From the Brooklyn Union, April 19, 1890.
April 21, 1890, Chicago (PL) v. Pittsburgh (PL) at Pittsburgh: “The laurel wreath of victory which adorned the camp of the Pirates, as the Chicago team has been dubbed on account its colors, has been supplanted by crepe tonight, and gloom reigns supreme.” From the Chicago Tribune, April 23, 1890. Research from Peter Reitan. Chicago, nicknamed Pirates because of their black road uniform, lost to Pittsburgh, 5 to 2.
April 1890: “Preparations are being made to receive 20,000 people on the Chicago grounds when the White Stockings [of the Players’ League] open the season here either May 3 with Cleveland or May 5 with Pittsburg[h]. It is likely that the local season will open here May 3. Anson and his colts [of the National League] open here that day, but the White Stockings are scheduled to play in Cleveland. By arrangement, however, the Cleveland game will be transferred to Chicago and the National League given another of the things it professes to love so well—conflicting dates. A special train carries the Chicago White Stockings and thirty admirers to Pittsburg[h] tonight. The latter go to see the opening series [Chicago at Pittsburgh] of the Players’ National League season.” From The Sporting Life, April 19, 1890. This report identified the Players’ League club as the “White Stockings.” Report also identified the PL by its official name, the Players’ National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs. Note that the Chicago PL team opened the season on the road at Pittsburgh (PL) on April 19, 1890 and that their home opener was May 5 v. Pittsburgh (PL). The Chicago NL home opener was April 29, 1890 v. Pittsburgh (NL), not May 3 as reported above. Full name of Players’ League from wikipedia.com. Game dates from retrosheet.org.
May 5, 1890, Chicago v. Pittsburgh, at Chicago, home opener: “Duffy stole second with a head-slide. […] When he got up his white suit looked like the groundwork of a pastel portrait. […] It was a game under two flags. The Chicagos in blue and white, with stars, floated from the east pavilion, while the Pittsburg[h]s in red and white flapped in the breeze on the west.” From the Chicago Daily News, May 6th, 1890, page 3. Research from Terry Sloope.
April 30, 1890, Chicago (PL) v. Cleveland (PL), at Cleveland: “Cub Stricker […] cracked one to Latham (whose white sweater bearing the inscription ‘We are the people’ did not seem to weaken his playing) and was out at first.” From the Cleveland Plain Dealer, May 1, 1890, page 4. Research from Terry Sloope.
May 1890: “The Chicago White Stocking Club will play the Chicago Black Stockings [in] a series of four, seven, or nine games in October.” From The Sporting Life, May 10, 1890. This was part of a letter written to the public by Charles Comiskey in response to Cap Anson’s challenge for the Chicago NL and PL teams to play each other. Note that article differentiated the teams by their stocking color.
May 26, 1890, Chicago (PL) v. Boston (PL) at Boston: “Boston, May 26—[…] The White Stockings forged ahead in the fourth…” From the New York World, May 27, 1890. This is one of several in-game reports describing the Chicago PL team’s stocking color.
August 15, 1890, Chicago (PL) v. Pittsburgh (PL), at Chicago, Brotherhood Park: “The Pirates wore their old dark-blue uniforms. They looked rather odd in them.” From the Chicago Tribune, August 16, 1890. It is undetermined if this was a reference to the Chicago team or the Pittsburgh team.
1890, referenced in April 1895: “W. P. Becannon, formerly of Keefe & Becannon, who were official outfitters of the Players’ League, has connected himself with W. C. Hodgkins & Co., 300 Broadway, New York City, as selling agent [for] the Players’ League ball, which gave such great satisfaction and stood the test so well in 1890.” From The Sporting Life, April 20, 1895. Research from Terry Sloope.
Team genealogy: Chicago 1890-1890
Chicago was formed to join the Players’ League (PL) at the league’s inception in 1890. The PL was a major league that played for one season before folding. The team subsequently disbanded after the 1890 season and was merged into the Chicago National League team. Info from wikipedia and from Gordon Gattie, sabr.org/research.
Rendering posted: March 30, 2017
Diggers on this uniform: Chuck McGill, Don Stokes, Gary Kodner, Peter Reitan, Terry Sloope,