1871 Eckford, Brooklyn (Eckfords)

This rendering is based on written documentation only 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 this uniform:
None

Written documentation on this uniform:
1871: “Uniformed in white flannel trimmed with orange, stockings and belts of a ‘rich orange color’, an orange ‘E’ on the shirt bosom, and small round hats instead of caps.” From Preston D. Orem, Baseball 1845-1881 From Newspaper Accounts (1961). No specific references given, although this entry most likely came from the New York Herald report below..

April 17, 1871, Eckford, Brooklyn, v. Tony Pastor, at Brooklyn, Union Grounds, Williamsburg: “The Eckfords appeared on this occasion in their new uniforms, which is of white flannel trimmed with orange. […] The stockings are of a rich orange color as are the belts and the letter “E” which is worked on the bosom of the shirt.[…] Instead of a cap they wore a small round white hat, which not only looks better than the common style of cap usually worn, but is much better as it affords more protection against the sun.” From the New York Herald, April 18, 1871. Research from Ed Morton. The Tony Pastor team was called the “Black Stocking nine” by the newspaper and most likely was a local amateur team organized by noted stage performer and theatre owner Tony Pastor (1837-1908). Pastor info from wikipedia.com.

July 8, 1871, Eckford, Brooklyn, v. Mutual, New York, at Brooklyn: “The Mutual redeemed the errors of their ways on the Fourth of July by giving the Eckfords the worst defeat they have yet had this season, the New-York Green Stockings beating the Brooklyn Orange-hose players by a score of 23 to 6.” From the New York Times, July 9, 1871.

Team genealogy: Eckford, Brooklyn, 1855-1872
Eckford was formed in Brooklyn, NY, in 1855. The club was named in honor of Henry Eckford (1775-1832), a Scottish-born American shipbuilder and political figure who operated a shipyard in Brooklyn. The Eckford club was one of 16 charter members of the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP), the first baseball organization operating 1857-1870. Eckford joined the National Association (NA), baseball’s first league, midway during the first season. The NA operated 1871-1875. Eckford left the league during the 1872 season and subsequently dissolved. Info from William Ryczek, Peter Morris and others, Base Ball Founders (2013), from Paul Batesel, Players And Teams Of The National Association, 1871-1875 (2012), and from wikipedia.