1869 Cincinnati (Red Stockings)
This rendering is based on 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
Visual documentation on this uniform:
Image A
Dated April 1869 to July 1869, possibly June 18, 1869. Photo year based on appearance of player Hurley, who only played with Cincinnati in 1869. Photo date range of April 1869 to July 1869 determined by fact that a drawing made from this photo was published on July 3, 1869. The photo was taken by a photographer based in Newark, NJ, so it could be suggested the team was photographed on their famed east coast trip in June 1869. Cincinnati played a game at Irvington, NJ, on June 18, 1869 and this may also be the date of the photo. Irvington and Newark are only three miles apart. Cincinnati traveled to the New York metro area from Boston on June 13 or 14, 1869. They played games in Brooklyn on June 15, 16 & 17, in Irvington NJ on June 18, and then went to Philadelphia for a game on June 19. Players wore a white uniform in this photo, augmented with a red “C” on the chest, a red belt and red stockings.
Players in photo, top row from left: D Hurley (69), G Wright (69, 70), D Allison (68-70), C McVey (69-70) and A Leonard (69, 70). Front: C Sweasy (69, 70), F Waterman (68-70), H Wright (66-70), A Brainard (68-70) and C Gould (68-70). This image was reproduced on a trading card printed by Peck & Snyder, New York, in 1869 or 1870, and the players identifications for this image come from this trading card. Years with team from wikipedia.com. East coast game dates from baseball-reference.com. Trading card info from oldcardboard.com. Original photo by Ferdinand L. Huff, Newark, NJ.
Image of the 1994 Cincinnati uniform including a shirt patch (see circle) commemorating the 125th anniversary of professional baseball. The patch featured the 1869 Cincinnati team photo, see photo A.
Image B
Dated July 3, 1869 and based on a photo possibly made on June 18, 1869, see photo A. This drawing was published in a newspaper on July 3 and it showed uniform detail not visible in printings of the original photo. Drawing indicated that several players may have worn a shirt with a bib front, though unconfirmed. Several players were depicted wearing medals on their shirts, see detail view below. Note that several players in this rendering were depicted in slightly different positions when compared to photo A, suggesting more than one photo was taken on this day. Image from Harper’s Weekly, July 3, 1869.
Left & center: Two detail views of image B. Right: illustration of a New York Clipper Medal issued in January 1869. Players G Wright (69-70), left, and F Waterman (68-70), center, were photographed in 1869, possibly in June 1869, wearing medals on their Cincinnati uniforms. The two detail views shown here were from an illustration of that photograph published in Harper’s Weekly, July 3, 1869. The illustration of the New York Clipper Medal, right, was published in Baseball in Cincinnati, A History (1907) by Harry Ellard, with the caption that the Clipper Medal was awarded to “the best player in his position among all the clubs of the country in 1868.” According to the New York Clipper Annual For 1893 (1893), the medals were awarded on January 12, 1869, and the recipients included George Wright, shortstop for Union, Morrisania NY, and Fred Waterman, third baseman for Cincinnati. The news broke a few days earlier as the Buffalo Courier reported the winners on January 6, 1869. It was likely that both Wright and Waterman were wearing their Clipper Medals for this 1869 photograph. Speaking of medals, Ellard also wrote that at the end of the previous season, in September 1868, player-manager Harry Wright received a “beautiful gold medal upon which was inscribed his name with those of all the players on the [Cincinnati] nine.” This medal was given to Wright by the team to commemorate his marriage at that time. Wright was not wearing his medal when the Huff photograph was made. The Buffalo News research comes from Don Stokes.
Image C
Published October 1914. Image dated April 1869 to July 1869, possibly June 18, 1869. This image, almost identical to the team photo shown in photo A, was published in a Philadelphia newspaper in 1914. In this printing of the photo, two players (Hurley, top row far left, and Waterman, front row second from left) were show wearing white caps where in the original photo they were not. The caps may have been added to this version of the photo when the original studio background behind the players was removed. The printed caption from 1914 said that this picture was obtained by the owner “more than 40 years ago when he saw the Red Stockings in Philadelphia.” This further suggests the caps were added when this version of the image was originally produced circa 1869 and not by the newspaper when the image was published in 1914. Image from the Philadelphia Public Ledger, October 11, 1914. Image scan from Ed Morton.
Image D
Dated July 17, 1869 and based on a photo possibly made on June 18, 1869, see photo A. Collage of player portraits, full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date determined by fact that this collage was published on July 17. Player portrait at top of detail view shows style of cap with a short straight brim. Player portrait at bottom of detail view shows a shirt with a top button at the neck and the faint outline of a bib on the front of the shirt.
Clockwise from top: A Leonard (69, 70), C Gould (68-70), C McVey (69-70), D Allison (68-70), A Brainard (68-70), F Waterman (68-70), D Hurley (69), C Sweasy (69, 70) and G Wright (69, 70). Center: H Wright (66-70). Player IDs from item. Years with team from wikipedia.com. Image from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, July 17, 1869.
Image E
Hand-dated July 31, 1869. Collage of player portraits, full view at left, detail view at right. Detail view depicts color version of uniform, including red “C” on shirt, red belt and red stockings. Detail view also showed a shirt bib with a rounded form at the bottom.
Clockwise from top right: A Brainard (68-70), C Sweasy (69, 70), A Leonard (69, 70), C Gould (68-70), H Wright (66-70), D Allison (68-70), G Wright (69, 70), C McVey (69-70) and F Waterman (68-70). Center: H Wright (66-70). Player IDs from item. Years with team from wikipedia.com.
Image F
Dated 1869-1870. Sheet music cover, full view at left, detail view of player A Brainard (68-70) at right. Portraits of players were illustrations drawn from photographs produced in a separate collage (not shown) dated 1869. The drawings on the sheet music cover were transposed from the original photos. Detail view of sheet music depicts player in the traditional Cincinnati uniform, however the stockings do not appear red (dark) in tone. Illustration also shows a medal or ribbon on the player’s shirt. An advertisement for this sheet music was published in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle on June 14, 1870.
Clockwise from top: H Wright (66-70), D Allison (68-70), F Waterman (68-70), C McVey (69-70), A Leonard (69, 70), A Brainard (68-70), G Wright (69, 70), C Gould (68-70) and C Sweasy (69, 70). Center: A Brainard (68-70). Player IDs from item. Years with team from wikipedia.com.
Image G
Dated 1869 or 1870. Carte de visite portrait of C McVey (69-70), full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date of 1869 is possible as photographs of McVey from the following year show that the player wore a mustache during the 1870 season. Detail view shows stitching on letter “C” on shirt and that the letter was thicker in form when compared to pictures of the Cincinnati uniform from 1870. Years with team from wikipedia.com. Image from Bruce Garland.
Photo H
Dated 1869 or 1870. Carte de visite portrait of H Wright (66-70), full view at left, detail view at right. Date range based on similar portrait of player McVey, see photo G. Detail view shows cap with color trim along front edge of bill. Note that Wright did not wear a goatee in this photo as he had in most photos from early 1869. This may suggest a late 1869 or 1870 photo date for this portrait. Years with team from wikipedia.com. Image from Bruce Garland.
Photos I & J
Dated 1869 or 1870. Two versions of same collage of player portraits. Player in center of collage, H Wright (66-70), wore the team uniform.
Clockwise from top: D Allison (68-70), F Waterman (68-70), G Wright (69, 70), A Leonard (69, 70), C Sweasy (69, 70), C McVey (69-70), A Brainard (68-70) and C Gould (68-70). Center: H Wright (66-70). Player IDs from item. Years with team from wikipedia.com.
Photo K
Dated 1869 or 1870. Team photo of the Cincinnati team. Some versions of this photo are hand-dated as 1869. An 1869 photo date has also been given by Harry Ellard, Base Ball in Cincinnati: A History (1907). Ellard stated this photo was “taken by [Mathew] Brady in Washington at the time when they [i.e., Cincinnati] played the Nationals.” A photo year of 1870 is also possible based on facial hair comparisons with other 1869 photos of players Allison, McVey, Sweasy, H Wright and Gould. See facial hair study on the 1870 Cincinnati page here. All players in photo were members of both the 1869 and 1870 teams. Cincinnati played in Washington DC on June 25 thru June 28, 1869 and on June 27 and June 28, 1870. During the 1869 visit, the team visited President Ulysses S. Grant at the White House on June 26. As to the 1869 or 1870 question, Cincinnati researcher Darryl Brock suggests the 1869 date: “The Brady studio was not far from Willard’s Hotel [in Washington] where the Red Stockings lodged, and photographers were hungry for hot-selling topical items. The Red Stockings were far fresher and hotter in ’69, and [conversely] in ’70 their [winning] streak was broken in Brooklyn not long before they played in Washington. Also, they were in town a day longer in ’69. In ’70 their game with the Nats went only 7 innings, at which point the Red Stockings departed for a train bound for home, leaving little or no time for a studio visit.” Author Christopher Devine, on page 54 of his book, Harry Wright: The Father of Professional Base Ball (2003), states that the players were taken to Brady’s studio following the Nationals game on June 25, 1869.” In the team photo, players wore the traditional white Cincinnati uniform, with red letter “C” on chest, red belt and red stockings. Detail view at right shows smaller and thinner “C” on chest when compared to photos of the Cincinnati uniform from 1869.
Players in team photo, top row from left: C McVey (69-70), C Gould (68-70), H Wright (66-70), G Wright (69,70) and F Waterman (68-70). Front: A Leonard (69,70), D Allison (68-70), A Brainard (68-70) and C Sweasy (69,70). Player IDs from photo frame (not shown) and from Harry Ellard, Base Ball in Cincinnati: A History (1907). Years with team from wikipedia.com. Washington game dates from Marshall Wright, The National Association of Base Ball Players, 1857-1870 (2000) and from Chris Eckes, Curator of the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum. White House visit info from Greg Rhodes and John Snyder, Redleg Journal, Year by Year and Day by Day With the Cincinnati Reds Since 1866 (2000), support documentation not given. Research assistance from Cam Miller.
Dated 1869 or 1870. Detail view of photo K. Detail view showed a cap with trim along the front edge, the letter on the shirt, the style of the belt and two symmetrical belt loops at the front of the pants. Note that all of the players standing in the back row of this photo wore the same style pants, except for player F Waterman at far right, see full view above. His pant loops were at the hips with no loops in front. Due to the quality of the photo, it cannot be determined from this detail view if the shirt had a shirt bib.
Dated 1869 or 1870. Another detail view of photo K. Note that player A Leonard, left, may have. been wearing a medal on his uniform.
Photos L & M
Dated August 1887, depicting scenes from 1868-1870. These illustrations of A Brainard (68-70), left, and D Allison (68-70), right, were published in a magazine on this date. Players were depicted wearing a uniform that was consistent with what the Cincinnati team wore between 1868 and 1870. A bib on the front of the shirt was not clearly visible in these illustrations, and it is unknown if the artist, Richard Outcault (1863-1928), based these drawings on contemporary photos of the players or reference photos of other players from the period. Images, player IDs, and identity of Outcault from John Thorn, Our Game, June 4, 2019, citing an article written by former Cincinnati club president, Aaron B. Champion, and published in Saxby’s Magazine, August 1887.
Photo N
Dated 1907. Book cover illustration, presumably of the 1868-1870 Cincinnati uniform. Full view at left, detail view at right. Illustration showed similarities to photographs of the early Cincinnati uniform: the cap with a truncated bill, rolled up sleeves, an old-English letter “C” on the chest, knickers with exposed stockings and possibly white shoes. The illustration also showed a shield-shaped bib front. It is unconfirmed if a bib front was part of the Cincinnati uniform from this period. Image from Harry Ellard, Base Ball in Cincinnati: A History (1907), cover illustration of book.
Written documentation on this uniform:
March 1869: “Beware of red stockings. A French chemist has established the fact that they are dangerous things to have in the house. After extracting the coloring matter, he introduced a certain quantity beneath the skin of a dog, which died in twelve hours. A rabbit similarly treated expired in eight hours. […] M. Tardieu condemns the use of ‘coraline’ […] and recommends that the importation of Red Stockings from England be absolutely prohibited.” From the Cincinnati Enquirer, March 10, 1869. Not baseball related, but an interesting blurb for the largest Cincinnati newspaper to publish on the eve of the team’s greatest season. Possibly, the editor of this section of the Enquirer was not a baseball fan.
April 17, 1869, Cincinnati v. picked nine at Cincinnati: “The Cincinnatis opened play for the season against the field on Saturday afternoon last, the 17th last. […] The uniform of the Cincinnati nine (white, with red stockings) looked particularly clean and bright in contrast with the green turf.” From The New York Clipper, April 24, 1869.
June 1869: “The Red Stockings — Inasmuch as the Cincinnati club will visit our ball players [in Brooklyn] next week, the following, which gives the names, age, occupations, weight and height of the nine, will not be uninteresting.” From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, June 10, 1869. This entry mentioned the team nickname and the team’s stocking color. As stated, the article also listed the players occupations: Harry Wright, jeweler; Brainard, insurance; Allison, marble cutter; Gould, bookkeeper; Sweasy, hat finisher; Waterman, insurance; George Wright, engraver; Leonard, hatter; and McVey, plate maker.
June 15, 1869, Cincinnati v. Mutual, at Brooklyn, Union Grounds: “The ‘Red Stockings’ arrived in the metropolis [New York] on the evening of the 14th from New Haven. […] The visitors made their appearance on the ball field shortly before 3 o’clock. As they were already attired in their neat and picturesque uniform, but little time was lost in getting to work.” From the New York Clipper, June 26, 1869.
June 25, 1869, Cincinnati v. National, Washington DC, at Washington: “Their [Cincinnati] uniform consists of white cap, shirt and pants, with long red stockings drawn over the lower portion of the pants. On the bosom of each shirt is the letter C.” From the National Republican (Washington DC), June 26, 1869. Research and game date from Brian McKenna. Note that this report described that the stockings were worn over the lower pant legs.
December 1869: “The original uniform of the Cincinnatis was plain white, with red belt. The famous scarlet stockings were added in the latter part of 1867.” From the New York Clipper, December 18, 1869. This article was a review of the Cincinnati team’s seasons from 1866 to 1869. For the 1869 season, the newspaper stated that “it was determined to have a full professional nine for this year, the intermixture of amateurs with professionals not being considered advisable.”
Who was the originator of the red stocking uniform?
Both Harry Wright, Cincinnati player/manager from 1866 to 1870, and George Ellard, Cincinnati player in 1866 and 1867, have been connected to the origination story of the Cincinnati uniform, which famously featured short pants and exposed red stockings in 1867, and added a red “C” on the chest in 1868. See the 1867 Cincinnati page for written documentation of the earliest claims made for each.
Team genealogy: Cincinnati 1866-1870
The Cincinnati club was formed in 1866 and was one of the first to use a city name as a team name. Their Red Stocking nickname derived from when the team first wore red stockings and knickers during the 1867 season. Cincinnati ushered in the era of professionalism as one of the first openly salaried teams and an undefeated season in 1869. Despite the team’s success, Cincinnati dissolved due to financial reasons after the 1870 season. Information from David Ball, Peter Morris and others, Base Ball Pioneers, 1850-1870 (2012).
Rendering posted: June 25, 2017
Diggers on this uniform: Brian McKenna, Cam Miller, Chris Eckes, Darryl Brock, Don Stokes, Ed Morton, John Thorn,