1870 Mutual, New York (Mutuals, Mutes, Green Stockings)

Left: 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

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 1870. Year of photo determined by the appearance of player Nelson, who only played for Mutual in 1870. The poor quality of the photo washed out most of the uniform detail. What can be seen is that the the team wore a white or light-colored uniform with an oblong-shaped bib on the shirt and dark stockings. A letter “M” was centered on the bib. The team’s white caps were displayed on the ground. The team was known as the green stockings and newspapers from 1870 confirm that the team wore green below the knee this year. However, these newspapers described two different Mutual uniforms. One account from April 1870 detailed black “piratical” caps, white shirts and baggy pants in “sky blue,” a uniform the New York Herald called “almost ridiculous.” Descriptions from June and August 1870 described a uniform with a white cap, white shirt and white pants. It is possible the team photo above was of this second uniform, and after the team discarded the black caps and blue pants. The players may have worn their civilian shoes in this photo, and not their baseball shoes, which were most likely white in color.

Top row, from left: C Nelson (70), A Martin (70, 71), M Swandell (68-70) and D Eggler (69-71). Front: E Mills (69, 70), J Hatfield (66, 67, 69-76), C Mills (69-72), R Wolters (69-71) and D Patterson (70, 71). Player IDs from photo caption. Years with team from Paul Batesel, Players And Teams Of The National Association, 1871-1875 (2012), and from Marshall D. Wright, The National Association Of Base Ball Players, 1857-1870 (2000).

Photo B

Dated 1870. This was the same image as photo A, however this version had been retouched to accentuate detail and also remove the background. The trim around the bib and the letter “M” on the bib had also been enhanced. The caps on the ground were retouched to show colored ribbing.

Photo C

Dated February 26, 1898. This drawing of the 1870 team, made from photo A, was published in a newspaper on this day. This drawing more clearly showed the light-colored necktie worn by player Hatfield, seated second from left, and the baseball held by player Walters, seated second from right. However the artist seemed to have interpreted the team caps, sitting in the foreground in the original photo, as bases from the field. Drawing from the Brooklyn Times, February 26, 1898. Times research from Ed Morton.

Written documentation on these uniforms:
April 19, 1870, Mutual, New York, v. picked nine, at Brooklyn, Union Grounds, exhibition game: “It is said that the Mutuals will soon appear in an entirely new uniform.” From the New York Times, April 20, 1870.

May 30, 1870, Mutual, New York, v. Forest City, Rockford, IL, at Brooklyn, Union Grounds: “The Mutuals donned their new dress yesterday, consisting of a white shirt, with the ‘sickest looking’ letter M on the breast ever witnessed, sky blue pants that resembled ‘the youthful hose well saved, by far too wide for their shrunk shanks’ and black caps, piratical caps, making their tout ensemble almost ridiculous.” From the New York Herald, May 31, 1870. This same report was researched by Preston D. Orem, Baseball 1845-1881 From Newspaper Accounts (1961). The “youthful hose” quote from this report was borrowed from As You Like It by William Shakespeare, first published in 1623, referring to the dress of a thin elderly man: “His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide for his shrunk shank.” Shakespeare info from wikipedia.

June 28, 1870, Mutual, New York, v. Atlantic, Brooklyn, at Brooklyn, Union Grounds: “On Tuesday, the Mutuals appeared for the first time this year in a neat and appropriate costume, one adapted to the exigencies [i.e., demands] of the game and the season of the year. Their dress upon this occasion was white flannel shirt, cap, and knickerbocker breeches, with green stockings.” From Wilkes Spirit Of The Times, July 2, 1870. Game date from Marshall D. Wright, The National Association of Base Ball Players, 1857-1870 (2000).

August 16, 1870, Mutual, New York, v. Forest City, Cleveland, at Brooklyn, Union Grounds: “Both nines appeared on the field in their regular uniforms, the Mutuals in white suits and green stockings, and the Forest Citys in white dress with blue stockings.” From the New York Clipper, August 27, 1870.

August 29, 1870, Mutual, New York, v. Athletic, Philadelphia, at Brooklyn, Union Grounds: “The ‘Mutes’ were out [on the field] in their well-known ‘Green Stocking’ uniform.” From the New York World, August 30, 1870.

1870, referenced in March 1871: “The uniform of the Mutual Club [of 1871] will be same as last season [1870], viz: white flannel shirt and pants, the former having the letter “M” worked in German text on the breast, white cap and green stockings.” From the NY Spirit Of The Times, March 18, 1871. Research from Brian McKenna.

Team genealogy: Mutual, New York, 1857-1876
Mutual was formed in New York, NY, in 1857 and was named after the Mutual Hook and Ladder Company No. 1, New York. Mutual belonged to the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP), baseball’s first organization operating 1857-1870. Mutual played in the National Association (NA), competing in every year of league’s existence, 1871-1875, and joined the National League (NL) in 1876 for its inaugural season. The club was removed from the NL before the 1877 season and subsequently disbanded. Information from William J Ryczek, Peter Morris and others, Base Ball Founders (2013).