1885 Star, Syracuse (Stars)
Left: 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
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 mid-June 1885 to mid-July 1885. Year of photo determined by the appearance of players Reardon, Spill, Kearns, Van Alstyne, MacArthur, Darling and Humphries, all of whom only played for Syracuse in 1885. Date range of mid-June 1885 to early August 1885 determined by two factors. One, four men in this photo, players Reardon, Darling, Faatz and Kearns, were all signed by Syracuse shortly before June 19, 1885. And two, this photo was most likely the image mentioned in a newspaper on July 22, 1885 (see written descriptions below). Players wore a gray uniform in this photo with a dark belt and dark stockings. Ten of the twelve players shown wore a shirt with a shield bib and the word “Star” across the chest. The remaining two players wore a buttoned shirt, possibly this was the same uniform but with the bib removed. The letter forms on the shirts varied in thickness and size, indicating they were either hand-cut from fabric or possibly hand-painted onto the shirt. A newspaper report from 1885 described the Syracuse uniform as blue-gray in color with maroon stockings.
Top row, from left: J Reardon (85), C Osterhout (85), D Oberlander (85, 86) and F Spill (85). Middle: T Kearns (Syr 85, Tol WL 85), H Van Alstyne (85), (H Ormsbee, mgr 85, 86, 91), S Griffin (Syr 85, Uti NYSL 85), J Faatz (Syr 85, 91, 92, Tol WL 85). Front: M MacArthur (Syr 85, Tol WL 85), D Darling (Syr 85, Eri ISL 85), J Devine (85, 86), J Humphries (85). Player IDs, with the exception of player Griffin, from photo. Photo research from Mark Fimoff, SABR 19th-Century Pictorial Committee, Reflecting the Past newsletter, June 2015. Identity of Griffin from Nigel Ayres, Carson Lorey and Ken Samoil. The photo above listed this player as B Casey (Syr 85, Ham CL 85), however Lorey noted that “Casey left the team on June 15.” Ayres noted that Griffin was playing for Syracuse in a game on July 17, 1885, referencing research by Ron Gersbacher, History of Syracuse Baseball, retrieved online July 26, 2020. Baseball-reference.com has Sandy Griffin incorrectly listed as Mike Griffin. Years players with team from baseball-reference.com. Info on four players signing with Syracuse from The Sporting Life, June 24, 1885. Image scan from Carson Lorey and also from Nigel Ayres. Original photo by Philip S. Ryder, Syracuse. This image was most likely the one sent by Ryder to The Sporting Life in early August 1885, see written descriptions below.
Dated mid-June 1885 to mid-July 1885. Detail view of photo A. Detail view showed the shield bib on the shirt which was held in place with white buttons. Detail view also showed the irregular letter forms on the shirt, indicating they were produced by hand.
Photo B
Dated mid-June 1885 to early August 1885. This is the same photo as shown in photo A, however this scan showed the full studio background as well as the photographer’s cardboard mount. This full view also showed the team’s cap in the foreground. The cap was in the pillbox style and was described as being blue-gray in color. The two horizontal bands were most likely maroon. The lower horizontal band touched the bill of the cap, which also may have been maroon. Image scan from Robert Edward Auctions. Original photo by Philip S. Ryder, Syracuse.
Written documentation on these uniforms:
April 1885: “The Star Base Ball club uniforms will be gray and maroon. The pants and shirts will be made of the first named color, and the caps, stockings and jersey of the latter. It is probable that a game will be arranged with Auburn’s nine for Monday next [April 27, 1885].” From the Oswego (NY) Times and Express, April 25, 1885. Research from Ed Morton. The term “jersey” in this report referred to the team’s sweater.
July 1885: “Bets are now being made that the Syracuse Stars will win the pennant. The team has been photographed by Ryder, the artist. The picture reflects credit on the popular photographer.” From The Sporting Life, July 22, 1885.
August 1885: “Our thanks are tendered Mr. P. S. Ryder, president of the Syracuse Stars in 1876-77, for a large, finely-executed group picture of the excellent Syracuse Stars of this season [1885].” From The Sporting Life, August 12, 1885.
August 1885: “The new uniforms of the Stars arrived last night [August 30, 1885]. They resemble the old uniforms, but with the word ‘Star’ omitted from the breast, which is laced.” From the Syracuse Standard, August 31, 1885. A similar report was published in the Rochester Post Express, September 2, 1885. Post Express research from Priscilla Asitfan.
1885, referenced in 1886: “The [Star] uniform will be as last season [1885], bluish gray, trimmed with maroon and maroon stockings.” From the Syracuse Daily Standard, April 1, 1886.
1885, referenced in February 1887: “The Syracuse Stars will wear gray suits like those worn in 1885, with maroon stockings. They will use their old suits [from 1886] on their trip in the spring.” From the Buffalo Commercial, February 8, 1887. Research from Don Stokes.
Team genealogy: Coming soon
Rendering posted: July 25, 2020
Diggers on this uniform: Carson Lorey, Don Stokes, Ed Morton, Mark Fimoff, Nigel Ayres, Priscilla Astifan,