1876 Boston (Bostons, Red Stockings)

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 April 1876 to August 1876. Studio portrait of J Borden (76), alias “Josephus.” Full view at left, detail view at right. Date range determined by player’s time with the team. Borden signed with Boston on September 5, 1875 but did not play in an official game until the start of the 1876 National League season. He was released by Boston on August 17, 1876. Player wore the traditional Boston uniform in this photo consisting of white cap, shirt and pants, with red trim on the bill of the cap, red lettering that was vertically-arched across the chest and red stockings. Detail view showed the faint outline of a large shirt bib and that the player wore a necktie that he tucked under his bib at the top. Borden was a pitcher and in this studio portrait he had rolled-up his shirt sleeves high on his arms to mimic how he would appear on the field. Note that the player’s shoes were not white as in previous years.

Joe Borden played under an alias during his short career. Historian Rich Westcott wrote that “Borden’s family […] did not approve of his playing baseball” and because of this Borden often went by the surname Josephs. Borden was also known by the surname Josephus when he pitched for Philadelphia of the National Association in 1875 and this name was included under the printed portrait above. Borden sign and release dates with Boston from Charlie Weatherby, SABR BioProject: Joe Borden, retrieved December 30, 2017. Westcott quote from Weatherby, citing SABR The National Pastime, Volume 23 (2003). Josephus research from Preston Orem, Baseball, 1845-1881, from the Newspaper Accounts (1961).

Photo B

Dated 1876. Collage of player portraits, full view at left, detail view of G Wright at right. Year of issue confirmed by appearance of players Borden, Parks, Whitney and McGinley, all of whom only played for Boston in 1876. The portraits of the players in this collage were made from photographs. However the uniforms shown were not part of the original photographs and were added later by an artist. The portrait of G Wright, see detail view, may have been the only portrait showing an actual uniform. The other uniforms were drawn or painted to duplicate this look. The pronounced radially-arched style of the lettering on the shirt resembled the Boston uniform of 1871 and 1872 and seemingly was not a depiction of the 1876 uniform. These images were most likely the ones that George Wright touted in advertisements in the New York Clipper for his sporting goods business in 1876, stating that for 25 cents he would send customers an “illustrated catalogue, which contains a neat vignette picture of the Boston players for ’76 in uniform, with a [biographical] sketch of each one.”

Clockwise from top left: T Murname (NL 76, 77, UA 84), G Wright (NA 71-75, NL 76-78, 80, 81), T Nichols? (76), J Borden (76), B Parks (76), J O’Rourke (NA 73-75, NL 76-78, 80), A Leonard (NA 72-75, NL 76-78), H Schafer (NA 71-75, NL 76-78), F Whitney (76) and T McGinley (76). Center: (H Wright mgr, NA 71-75, NL 76-81). Player IDs from collage. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from baseball-fever.com.

Written documentation on this uniform:
April 1876, advertisement from George Wright: “Send me 25c. [cents] and I will return you my illustrated catalogue, which contains a neat vignette picture of the Boston players for ’76 in uniform, with a [biographical] sketch of each one.” From the New York Clipper, April 8, 1876. These “vignette” pictures were most likely the ones shown in photo A, above. In the ad, Wright described himself as a “dealer in baseball & cricket goods of all styles, and good stock” and that his store was located at “39 Eliot St., Boston, Mass.” Wright ran this ad for several months.

April 25, 1876, Boston v. Mutual, New York, at Brooklyn, Union Grounds: “The two nines looked well in their uniforms, but they were dressed too much alike. When they had their red jackets on, the Eastern nine [i.e., Boston] could of course be readily distinguished, but not otherwise, except by the caps and belts.” From the New York Clipper, May 6, 1876. From this report it was clear that both teams wore white uniforms with red stockings in this game. To differentiate the teams, the newspaper called Boston the “Red Jackets” and Mutual was called the “Brooklyn Red Stockings.”

July 1876: “The [St. Louis] Brown Stockings will endeavor to turn the tables on the skillful Red Legs from Boston.” From the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, July 8, 1876. Mention the stocking colors of both teams.

1876 and 1877, referenced in December 1888: “Many of the old-timers remember the Boston mascot of 1876 and 1877. [William Selden of the Cuban Giants] has since become one of the finest ball players in the business.” From the Boston Globe, December 24, 1888. This report gave some facts of Selden’s playing career, and included that he was “born October 10, 1866, at Norfolk, Va.,” and that he “he has lived in Boston since 1869.”

Team genealogy: Boston 1871-1952
Boston was formed to enter the National Association (NA) in 1871. The NA was baseball’s first league, operating 1871-1875. Boston played in the NA in every year of the league’s existence and moved to the National League (NL) upon its start in 1876. Boston played in the NL from 1876 to 1952 and moved to Milwaukee for the 1953 NL season. Information from Paul Batesel, Players And Teams of the National Association, 1871-1875, from baseball-reference.com and from wikipedia.com.

1876 Boston summary

Uniform: white, red stockings
First worn:
Photographed: before mid-August
Described: April
Material:
Manufacturer:
Supposition:
Variation:
Other items: red jacket
Home opener report: no, April 29 v. Hartford