1885 Allegheny, Pittsburgh (Alleghenys)
Left: This rendering is based on visual documentation for 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
Right: 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
Visual documentation on these uniforms:
Photo A
Dated July 1885 to September 1885. Photo year of 1885 confirmed by appearance of players Scott and Meegan, who only played for Pittsburgh during this year. Photo date range of July 1885 to September 1885 determined by player Scott, who was acquired by Allegheny in July. Researcher Nigel Ayres says Scott was acquired July 25. Researcher Joe Gonsowski has the date as July 3 and that Scott’s first game may have been July 6. Well-known pitcher P Galvin, who was also acquired by Allegheny in July 1885, does not appear in this team photo. According the a newspaper account from 1885, the team wore gray uniforms with red stockings for most of the year. The September end date comes from the September 30, 1885, issue of The Sporting Life, which mentioned the that paper had recently received “an elegant large photo of the Pittsburg[h] Club taken by Baker.”
Top row, standing from left: A Whitney (84-87), Jones?, F Carroll (85-89), R Kemmler (82, 85), T Brown (85-87), and M Scott (Det 85, Pit 85). Middle row, seated: C Eden (84, 85), B Kuehne (AA 85-89, PL 90), D Miller (84-93), (H Phillips, mgr 84-89), P Smith (85-89) and F Mann (85-86). Front row, on ground: P Meegan (85) and E Morris (85-89). Image scan and player IDs from Nigel Ayres. Player IDs also from the Columbus Metropolitan Library, which stated that “the same photograph in the Lazarus Historic Photograph Collection, submitted by Mr. George Gress of 116 1/2 South Front Street, is misidentified as the Columbus Baseball Club, 1884.” The majority of Columbus players were sold to Pittsburgh after the 1884 season, effectively merging the two teams in Pittsburgh for the 1885 season.Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Original photo by L. M. Baker, Columbus, Ohio.
Dated 1885. Detail view of photo A. Detail view shows small lace ties on the shirt and light gray or white caps in the foreground. The player on ground at right may have been wearing an undershirt and not the uniform shirt.
Written documentation on these uniforms:
April 19, 1885, Allegheny, Pittsburgh, v. St. Louis (AA), at St. Louis, Sportsman’s Park: “Those present were treated to a very handsome display of base ball, St. Louis cleverly turning the tables on the ‘sluggers,’ and presenting them with a complete necklace of goose eggs.” From the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, April 20, 1885. Use of the “sluggers” nickname for Pittsburgh.
May 1885: “The members of the the Allegheny base ball club intend to have their portraits taken today [May 29, 1885]. They are good players and ought to have good pictures to represent the famous ‘nine’ of ’85.” From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 29, 1885.
May 30, 1885, Allegheny, Pittsburgh, v. Metropolitan, New York, at Pittsburgh: “The Alleghenys of Pittsburg[h], will decorate themselves on Decoration Day with a new suit of granite flannel, with red trimmings and blue stockings, and it is their intention to decorate the Metropolitans with two ignominious defeats.” From the New York National Police Gazette, June 6, 1885. Game date from retrosheet.org. Note, Decoration Day was celebrated on May 30th and was the predecessor to Memorial day. Decoration Day info from wikipedia.
June 1885: “The uniforms of the various clubs in the American Association are as follows: Louisville, white with dark red stockings and caps; Cincinnati, white with scarlet stockings; Pittsburg[h], gray, with red stockings; St. Louis, white, with brown stockings; Athletics; white, with blue stockings; Baltimore, white pants, pink-striped caps and jackets and red stockings; Brooklyns, gray, with red stockings; Mets, blue suits, with white stockings.” From the Ellicotville (NY) Post, June 15, 1885. A similar report was included in a research pamphlet by Preston Orem, Baseball From Newspaper Accounts, 1885 (early 1960s). Specific documentation was not provided by Orem but his finding most likely came from a newspaper from the June 1885 time period. Orem passage from John Thorn.
September 1885: “We are in receipt of an elegant large group photo of the Pittsburg[h] Club, taken by Baker, 163 S. High Street, Columbus, O. We have never seen a better sample of photographic art. By the way, we should be much pleased to receive photos of other clubs or individual players and managers for notice.” From The Sporting Life, September 30, 1885.
1885, referenced in 1886: “The [Pittsburgh] home management have decided to retain [in 1886] the same uniform as last season [1885]; gray with red trimmings, red stockings and jackets.” From The Sporting Life, March 3, 1886. Research from Ed Morton.
Team genealogy:
Pittsburgh 1870s-
Pittsburgh began as Allegheny, an independent pro team in Pittsburgh formed in the late 1870s. Allegheny joined the American Association (AA) at its formation in 1882. The AA was a major league operating between 1882 and 1891. Allegheny played in the AA through the 1886 season and then moved to the National League (NL) as Pittsburgh in 1887. The NL began operation in 1876 and Pittsburgh has played in the league every year from 1887 to present time. Information from wikipedia.
1885 Allegheny summary
Uniform: light gray, red stockings – short sleeved
First worn: May 30, Pittsburgh
Photographed: team photo from probably September, also possible portraits taken May 29 (today unknown)
Described: May, June
Material:
Manufacturer:
Supposition:
Variations: may also have worn blue stockings
Other items: possibly wore red jackets
Home opener report: none, April 28 v. Louisville
Rendering posted: August 16, 2015
Diggers on this uniform: Ed Morton, Joe Gonsowski, John Thorn, Nigel Ayres,