1864 Knickerbocker, New York (Knickerbockers, Knicks)

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 this uniform:

Photo A

Dated 1864. Players wore a shirt in this photo with a subtle checked pattern and a narrow button placket. The belt carried the team’s initials, and the pants were dark in color.

From left: Turner (64), (J Lindsley), Umpleby (64), Ford (64, 65), Corey (64, 65), (A Combs), (R DeWitt), (W Davis), Winne (64), Bliss (65), McDonald (64), (J Hurdis), Gardner (64), (J Cuyler), Lathrop (64). Player IDs from photo. Years with team from Marshall D. Wright, The National Association Of Base Ball Players, 1857-1870 (2000). Wright did not include years 1861-1864, 1866, 1867 for this team in his book so the photo year of 1864 cannot be confirmed. A copy of this photo was published in the Utica (NY) Sunday Tribune, February 5, 1911, with players identified. The caption from 1911 incorrectly labeled the team as “Knickerbocker Team of Albany.” Utica Sunday Tribune research from Ed Morton.

Dated 1864. Two detail views of photo A. Detail view at left shows the year 1864 included on the border of the image. Detail view at right shows the subtle checked pattern on the shirt of the players.

Written documentation on this uniform:
1849-1866: “On April 24, 1849, a uniform was adopted for the club: blue woolen pantaloons, white flannel shirt, chip (straw) hats; and it may here be mentioned that the blue and white has ever since remained the costume of the club. The straw hats were abolished some years later. […] On the 13th of August, 1855, the uniform of the club was again regulated. Blue woolen pants, white flannel shirt, with narrow blue braid, mohair cap, and belt of patent leather. With the exception of a change of cap, the uniform has ever since remained.” From Charles A. Peverelly, The Book Of American Pastimes (1866).

Team genealogy: Knickerbocker, New York, 1845-late 1860s.
Knickerbocker loosely formed in New York in 1842 and officially organized in 1845. The term Knickerbocker derived from a surname that symbolized the city’s Dutch origins. The club published a well-known set of game rules in 1845 which helped to codify the New York-style game. Knickerbocker was one of 16 charter members of the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) in 1857. The NABBP was baseball’s first organization, operating 1857-1870. The Knickerbocker club ceased to play games competitively in the late 1860s. Afterward, the Knickerbocker name has been used by many New York sports teams, including the NBA franchise, which took the name in 1946. Information from John Thorn, William Ryczek, Peter Morris and others, Base Ball Founders (2103), and from wikipedia.com.