1878 Utica NY (Uticas)
This rendering is based on visual documentation for uniform style only. Color information is unknown and the uniform is rendered in values of gray. Minor details may also 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:
Photo A
Dated April 1878. Year of photo determined by the appearance of players Purcell, Clack, Smith, Richmond and Latham, all of whom only played with Utica in 1878. Date of April 1878 suggested by a newspaper report from this month that stated “the group photograph of the club, taken by Mundy, is generally admired.” See more info in the written descriptions below. Players wore a white uniform in the photo with a white cap, dark belt and dark stockings. The pillbox-style cap had two horizontal bands and also trim along the front of the bill. The shirt had a shield bib edged with trim and with a monogram in the middle. A newspaper from March 1878 described the uniforms as “white flannel with bright blue trimmings and stockings.”
Top row, from left: E Kennedy (IA 78, NA 79), B Purcell (78), B Clack (78) and J Roche (IA 78, NA 79). Middle: P Smith (78), J Richmond (78), (J Gifford 78), J Latham (78) and J McGuinness (IA 78, NA 79). Front: H Richardson (IA 78, NYSL 98) and N Alcott (IA 78, NA 79). Player IDs from back of photograph. Info from T. Scott Brandon, and from Scott Fiesthumel. Years played with team from baseball-reference.com. Original photo by L. C. Mundy, Utica, NY.
Written documentation on this uniform:
March 1878: “The Utica’s uniforms will be of white flannel, with bright blue trimmings and stockings. The cap will be the college cap. On the shield of the shirt will be ‘U.T.K.’ in a monogram.” From the Buffalo Express, March 28, 1878. Research from Ed Morton. Note that the team photo from this year showed only the letter “U” on the shield, see above.
April 1878: “The Uticas left for Binghamton, last evening, to play the Crickets there today [April 20, 1878]. They were accompanied by the Dudley House coach dog, ‘Colonel,’ which the club has adopted and provided with a collar bearing the club colors and initials. ‘Colonel’ won his honors by being one of the most interested spectators of the two games won by the Uticas this week. […] The group photograph of the club, taken by Mundy, is generally admired for its truthfulness of portraiture and artistic finish.” From the Utica Morning Herald & Daily Gazette, April 20, 1878. Research from Ed Morton.
Team genealogy: Coming soon.
Rendering posted: December 2, 2019
Diggers on this uniform: Ed Morton, Scott Fiesthumel, T Scott Brandon,