1871 Athletic, Philadelphia (Athletics)

This rendering is based on partial visual documentation for uniform style and partial written documentation for color. Some 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:

Photos A and B

Left, montage of player portraits dated 1871. Players were photographed wearing a white jacket over their uniform. The collar of the uniform was visible on most of the portraits. Right, a Mort Rogers score card  from an Athletic-Boston game on June 12, 1872. The score card utilized one of the portraits from the 1871 collage.

Players in mollage, clockwise from top: J Sensenderfer (66-74), G Huebel (69, 71), W Fisler (66-76), F Malone (64, 70-72), G Bechtel (70, 71, 75), A Reach (65-75), J Radcliffe (67, 68, 70, 71), L Meyerle (69, 71, 72) and N Cuthbert (67-69, 71, 72). Center: D McBride (61-75). 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 C

Issued after October 30, 1871, the date the National Association season ended. These portraits were drawn from the same photos published in the montage, see photo A.

Clockwise from top left: A Reach (65-75), F Malone (64, 70-72), D McBride (61-75), L Meyerle (69, 71, 72), J Radcliffe (67, 68, 70, 71), G Bechtel (70, 71, 75), G Huebel (69, 71), J Sensenderfer (66-74), N Cuthbert (67-69, 71, 72) and W Fisler (66-76). 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). Original from National Baseball Hall Of Fame Library, Cooperstown, NY.

Written documentation on this uniform:
March 1871: “[In the National Association] the Athletics will wear blue stockings, and also the Olympics. The Chicagoans will wear white stockings, and the Mutuals green. The Haymakers will wear blue checked stockings, and the Boston nine the red stockings.” From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 3, 1871. Research from Don Stokes.

Team genealogy:
 Athletic, Philadelphia 1859-1876
Athletic was formed in 1859 in Philadelphia, PA, and began playing the New York-style game about 1860. Athletic belonged to the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP), baseball’s first organization operating 1857-1870. Athletic joined the National Association (NA), the first baseball league, in 1871 at its inception and competed in every year of league’s existence, 1871-1875. Athletic then 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. The Athletic name was used by subsequent teams in Philadelphia, including the American Association team (1882-1890) and the American League team (1901-1954). Information from William J Ryczek, Peter Morris and others, Base Ball Founders (2013).