1886 Cuban Giants, Trenton NJ (Trentons)
This rendering is based on visual documentation for uniform style only. An educated guess is made on uniform color based on partial documentation from a related year. Minor details may be missing or difficult to determine.
Rendering accuracy:Year: documented Team: documented
The Cuban Giants stood here, exactly here.
Those who have studied black baseball know that the story is missing chapters. Box scores are lost, player histories have holes, and existing photographs offer more questions than answers. Therefore, it’s somewhat unique that with one image we can pinpoint the exact location where a team was once photographed.
The Cuban Giants of 1885-1889 were an African-American all-star team of sorts, culled from top regional teams and using Trenton NJ as their home base. They were paid professionals with no off-season, barnstorming throughout the northeast from spring to fall and playing games in St. Augustine, Florida, in the winter. It was at the latter location, in the shadows of the city’s historic fort, that the team gathered for a photograph one day in early 1886. We know this for certain. To illustrate the location, the above composite was created by Threads, combining the original photo of the Cuban Giants with an image of the fort grounds from today. This is where the team once stood — and where a baseball diamond once existed. Scroll down to see more.
Visual documentation on this uniform:
Photo A
Dated January 1886 to March 1886. The identity of player Clarence Williams, seated middle row far right, confirmed the hand-written notation on the print that this was an image of the Cuban Giants, the top African-American team of the late 1880s. Williams was one of the team’s mainstays, playing from September 1885 to 1889, and then during periods in the 1890s. The date range for this photo can be determined by both where the image was taken and who was included in it. Image scan from Heritage Auctions.
Where the players stood.
The photographer’s stamp on the back of the photo mount suggested this image was taken in St. Augustine, Florida. When this print came up for sale at Heritage Auctions in 2019, it was purported that team was “set against the backdrop of the Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine, Florida, a Spanish fortress dating to the late 17th century.” Was this accurate? The answer is yes, for the watchtower and crenellation along the top of this fortification found today match that shown in the original photo (see circles B & C below), and confirms the team posed at the northwest corner of the fort grounds.
The two images above help to determine the location of photo A. Top: detail view of photo A. Bottom: July 2021 view of Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine, Florida, from the northwest corner of the grounds looking east. The berm (A), large watchtower (B) and crenellation (C) along the top of the fortification match in both photos, confirming the location of photo A. Bottom photo from Google maps, dated July 2021.
Photo B
Dated 1885. Detail view of Castillo de San Marcos and grounds, looking northwest, from a bird’s-eye view map of St. Augustine, published in 1885 by Norris, Welge & Swift, Brockton MA. While the city of St. Augustine crowded the fort to the south in 1885, the northwest portion of the grounds had ample room for a baseball diamond. Unfortunately, this map showed no such indication. The red letters, added by Threads, correspond with those marked in the photos above. The large building at the top of the image was the Hotel San Marco, where members of the Cuban Giants may have worked when not playing baseball. An advertisement in the 1885 St. Augustine city directory noted the San Marco Hotel was located “opposite the old Spanish fort.” The stand of trees (D) near the fort may be the same as shown in the team photo. Image from the Library of Congress.
Photo C
Dated 1885 to 1897. Photo of Castillo de San Marcos, looking southeast, and confirming that a baseball diamond once existed on the grounds. The use of the space for baseball can be corroborated by the Palatka (FL) Daily News on January 25, 1888, which stated that a game between two local teams was played “on the Fort grounds,” and that “at least two hundred people enjoyed the sport, including guests of the San Marco.” This photo was published by the National Park Service in 2020 as part of their “cultural landscapes inventory,” along with the caption, “Fort Marion from Hotel San Marco.” Fort Marion was a name given to the fort in the 1820s after the Florida territory was ceded to the US. In 1942, the original Spanish name was restored. The date range for photo C can be determined by the hotel from which the image was taken. The Hotel San Marco, located across the street from the fort, opened in January 1885 and was destroyed by fire on November 6, 1897. The red letters on the photo, added by Threads, correspond with the those marked in photos above. Info on hotel opening from the Boston Globe, January 11, 1885, and date of fire from the Crawford (FL) Gulf Coast Breeze, November 12, 1897. Image from the National Park Service. Note that a very similar image to photo C was taken from this same vantage point, but from a slightly different year, and is currently in the collection at the Library of Congress. NPS image scan from Ed Morton.
What the players wore.
The Cuban Giants wore white uniforms in photo A, with light colored stockings. The belts were white with a dark-colored band through the middle. Most of the players wore dark-colored neckties and white canvas shoes. The players wore a combination of different caps in this photo. Of the thirteen players shown, five wore white caps that featured two light-colored horizontal bands encircling the body of the cap, while three players wore the inverse: a light-colored cap with two white horizontal bands. Four players wore caps of a solid light color, and one player wore a solid white cap. The style of the belt and the shoes had fallen out of fashion in 1886, and were typically found in the baseball dress of the late 1870s. It is likely the color of the stockings were light blue or light gray. For the following season of 1887, the Trenton Daily True American reported on March 14, 1887, that the Cuban Giants would have three new uniforms, one of which was “all white with blue stockings.” Based on this, it is supposition that a blue color was also worn during the previous year of 1886.
Detail view of photo A. Detail view showed the white shirts of the players, as well as, two variations of caps. One cap had a white body with two light-colored bands, the other cap had a light-colored body with two white bands.
The lost photographer.
Stamped on the reverse of the cardboard mount of photo A was the name of a “photographic artist,” who had a studio located in St. Augustine on St. George Street. Unfortunately, the existing print has been cut down in size so the photographer’s name is now missing. Fortunately, the 1885 St. Augustine city directory listed only one photographer living and working on St. George Street. His name was W. A. Cox, the likely photographer. The stamp on the photo mount also listed several product offerings by the photo studio: “Porcelain miniatures a specialty. Groups taken at the fort & other places, also views of residences. Frames & gilding.”
Another detail view of photo A. This detail view showed the team’s light-colored stockings, as well as, a catcher’s mask with round eye-holes. In the foreground was a square home plate made of metal — tools of the trade for a team that traveled often.
From the evidence presented above, it is clear the team was photographed on the “fort green” at St. Augustine. But, when was the photo taken? Understanding the players in the photograph can help answer this question.
The men in the photo.
Both Christie’s in 2017, and Heritage Auctions in 2019, identified the following players in photo A. Top row, from left: Andrew Randolph, Harry Johnson, Ben Holmes, Shep Trusty, Art Thomas and Guy Day. Middle: Bill Whyte, Ben Boyd, George Parago and Clarence Williams. Front: G Shadney, John Dabney and S Epps. These identities do not come from the photo mount itself and their source is currently unknown. The first name for player Day comes from Bill Hickman.
The well-documented history of the Cuban Giants tells us the team was formed by Frank P. Thompson, in September 1885. Thompson in previous years had taken other baseball teams to St. Augustine to entertain hotel guests there. In the winter of 1885/1886, the Cuban Giants went south. The New York Times on October 1, 1885, described the team as that of “nine colored ball tossers who travel North in the Summer and South in the Winter.” The Baltimore American on April 27, 1886, stated that the team “are all hotel waiters on a holiday and working their way to various summer resorts. They started at St. Augustine, Fla.” For more information on the team’s first year and their connection to St. Augustine, see History Lesson below.
The appearance of player Shadney in photo A can seemingly confirm the January 1886 to March 1886 date for photo A. The outfielder and sometimes catcher was listed in box scores of Cuban Giant games from both before and after the team was photographed at St. Augustine. He appeared in the September 22, 1885, box score from Williamsport, and the April 26, 1886, box score from Baltimore. Shadney does not appear in any further known box scores for the team after this date or from any following year. This points to the suggested date for photo A.
The January 1886 to March 1886 date can be further confirmed by two players who do not appear in the St. Augustine photo: Abe Harrison and Jack Frye. Harrison, a shortstop, may have been the gentleman named “Harris” playing that position in the September 22, 1885, box score. Harrison was certainly the everyday shortstop from June 1886 through the end of the 1889 season, first appearing and described as “a new man” with the Cuban Giants in a box score from June 11, 1886. Frye was also described as “a new man” when he first appeared in a box score from July 21, 1886. Like Harrison, Frye was a regular on the team through the end of the 1889 season. Neither were with the team in early 1886, and accordingly neither appeared in photo A.
Eliminating other years.
To date, there are no records to suggest the team went to St. Augustine in the winter of 1886/1887 or the winter of 1887/1888. According to the Washington Post, the team did travel to Florida in the following winter of 1888/1889. In December 1888, the newspaper stated that “the Cuban Giants, the colored ball team of Trenton, passed through here [Washington DC] yesterday on their way to St. Augustine, Fla., where they will play until April 15.” Could photo A be from early 1889? The answer is no, for the Cuban Giants roster had a few changes by then. From a New York Sun report we know that the team’s primary pitcher, Shep Trusty, had been released from the team in April 1888. Trusty appeared in photo A.
There was also a new addition to the team. On January 30, 1889, the Buffalo Courier-Express reported that Frank Grant had joined the team in Florida. The newspaper said that the noted infielder was “basking with the alligators and yellow-fever microbes at St. Augustine Fla. He is touring with the Cuban Giants, and the Giants are not above earning their board by acting as waiters at Florida Hotels.” Of course, Grant was not with the team in 1886 and was not pictured in photo A.
Know more on the lesser-knowns?
If you have additional information on the lesser-known players in photo A (Day, Dabney and Epps), please email Threads. Player Dabney was John Milton Dabney, most likely the original owner of photo A. His stamp was included on the back of the photo mount and on the front side, the initials, “J. M. D.,” were added next to his image. Researcher Thom Karmick, of baseballhistorydaily.com, has found that “in 1885, Dabney went to work at the Argyle Hotel in Babylon, Long Island,” and that he “played baseball in Richmond for decades.” On a report of Dabney’s retirement from the US Postal Service in 1935, the Richmond Times-Dispatch on January 12 of that year stated that Dabney once “played with the Manhattan Giants” and that he competed “against several of the big league teams on a tour from New York to Florida.” Photo A may have passed from Dabney’s family to the Babylon (NY) Historical and Preservation Society. When this photo was published in Newsday in April 2010, the image was credited to this organization.
Researcher Bill Hickman adds that the player identified by Heritage Auctions as G Day in photo A was likely Guy Day. Hickman notes that “in The Negro Leagues Book, a SABR publication in 1994 by Negro Leagues Research Committee co-chairs Dick Clark & Larry Lester, Guy Day was listed as a catcher with the 1885 Argyle Hotel team. It seems quite likely that he would be the G. Day who appeared in that Florida photo with the Giants in 1886.”
—Thanks for your time, Craig
History lesson.
Much has already been written about the Cuban Giants, and many researchers know their story well. For those unfamiliar, please read on. The team’s formative years were an entanglement of opportunists and wannabe owners. The following history of the team’s first year, pulled from as many original sources as possible, helps to untangle the story.
Initial ties to St. Augustine.
Let’s backtrack a bit. Researcher Tony Kissel has found that during the previous year of 1885, the Sporting Life on April 29, 1885, reported that “the Athletic Base Ball Club, organized last summer [1884] at Babylon, [on New York’s Long Island], and managed by Mr. Frank P. Thompson, of that city, has, during the winter [of 1884/1885] been continued at St. Augustine, Florida.” This report establishes that Thompson, who would soon morph his Athletics into the Cuban Giants, had ties to St. Augustine. The newspaper went on to add that “the members [of the team] were waiters at the San Marco Hotel [in St. Augustine], and nearly all belong in Philadelphia.” After several months in Florida, the team headed back north in April 1885. The Palatka (FL) Daily News reported on April 28, 1885, that “the waiters of the hotel San Marco, at St. Augustine, left for the North Friday [April 24], and as they go North they intend playing match games of base ball in Southern cities. They call themselves the Ancient City Athletics, and headwaiter Frank P. Thompson will act as umpire.”
By the spring or summer of 1885, Thompson and his Athletics had returned to Babylon and were entertaining guests with baseball games at the Argyle Hotel, where Thompson was also the headwaiter. According to Kissel, the Sporting Life on July 1, 1885, reported that “a very interesting game of baseball was played on the Argyle Hotel Base Ball Grounds, Babylon, on June 25.” Two months later, on August 22, 1885, the Babylon South Side Signal reported that “a spirited game of base ball was played on the Argyle grounds” featuring “the Athletics, of Babylon, composed of employees at the Argyle.” While in Babylon that summer, Thompson and a new financial backer began the process of bringing together the best players from the region’s top African-American teams, including those from the Orion club of Philadelphia. By September, a new and improved baseball team emerged, and with a new name.
They might be Giants.
Researcher Brian McKenna has found a report from the Trenton Times on September 2, 1885, stating that “John Lang of Philadelphia, has organized and will manage a colored base ball club, to be known as Lang’s Colored Giants.” The newspaper went on to say that the “Giants” nickname derived from the fact that “all the players are nearly six feet in height,” though today, historians believe the name was borrowed from the New York Giants of the National League. According to Kissel, John Lang financed the Cuban Giants team and arranged a schedule of games in September and October throughout Pennsylvania, as well as, in New York City, Brunswick, NJ, and Bridgeport, CT. On September 19, 1885, the new team played one of its first games on the road at Hazleton, PA. The Hazleton Sentinel reported on September 21, 1885, that “the game Saturday [September 19] at the Base Ball Park between Lang’s Cuban Giants and the Hazleton club was witnessed by at least fifteen hundred people.” Note that in the nineteen days between the Times and Sentinel reports, the word “Colored” had been replaced by the latter newspaper with the word “Cuban” when referring to the team by name.
On the road and robbed.
The Hazleton Sentinel report from September 21, 1885, confirmed that upcoming games were to be played by the Cuban Giants at Mahoney, PA, Williamsport, Milton, PA, and Lock Haven, PA. It was clear the team was created to make their living on the road instead of at the Argyle Hotel. On the day of the Williamsport game on September 22, the Williamsport Sun-Gazette announced “the celebrated colored club known as the Cuban giants will play in this city.” This may have been the first use of the team name without the Lang prefix. The newspaper also published one of the team’s first known box scores from this game. Lang’s removal from the team name was based on his removal from the team itself, having deserted the ball club and taking the team’s coffers with him. Kissel has found a report in the Pottsville (PA) Daily Republican on September 30, 1885, stating that “Manager Lang skipped the town on Sunday [September 27], leaving his base ball players in the lurch. The ‘Giants’ threaten to do him up if they meet him around Lombard Street.” The Hazleton (PA) Sentinel reported on October 5 that the Cuban Giants were “financially wrecked.” Even so, the team persevered and continued playing their road schedule. They possibly played their last game of the season on October 10 against the Athletics of the American Association at Philadelphia. Reporting on this game, according to Kissel, the Philadelphia Record noted that the Giants were “made up principally of the players of the Orion club [of Philadelphia].”
To St. Augustine and back.
During the ensuing winter of 1885/1886, Thompson and the Cuban Giants took their game south to Florida, as Thompson had done in the previous year with the Keystone Athletics. The New York Times on October 1, 1885, knew the Cuban Giants as a team of “nine colored ball tossers who travel North in the Summer and South in the Winter.” No reports have been found to date of the team playing in St. Augustine that winter, however their time in the city was referenced when the team headed back north. After the Cuban Giants played at Baltimore on April 26, the Baltimore American on the following day stated that the team “are all hotel waiters on a holiday and working their way to various summer resorts. They started at St. Augustine, Fla., and have won five consecutive games before touching Baltimore.” The Cuban Giants played a second game in Baltimore on April 27, both games were against the Monumental club, a top African-American team from that city. But, here is where things get complicated.
Landing in Trenton — but why there?
In early May 1886, Thompson apparently sold his interest in the Cuban Giants. During these weeks, the team changed ownership several times and found a new home in Trenton, NJ. Why Trenton? A month earlier, the Trenton Daily True American reported on April 5, 1886, that W. E. Simpson, of Broad Street in Trenton and “backed by several Trenton sporting men,” had organized “the novelty of a professional colored team.” The team was named the Trenton Browns. Simpson, like Thompson, saw a financial opportunity in fielding an African-American team. However, after a 26-0 defeat in Trenton of the Browns by Jersey City on April 15, Simpson looked to improve his squad — and did so by stealing from the Cuban Giants. For a game played in Trenton on April 30, 1886, the Daily True American reported that “manager Simpson, of the Trenton Browns, has signed several of the Cuban Giants for the local club.” For the next several weeks, it’s likely the Cuban Giants were in a state of flux. Enter Walter I. Cook.
Tony Kissell has noted that Simpson’s association with the team “would be short-lived [as] their success caught the eye of Walter I. Cook.” According to wikipedia.com, Cook was “a wealthy white local resident” of Trenton who owned the Chambersburg grounds there. Cook apparently struck deals with both Thompson and Simpson and brought the remaining Cuban Giants to Trenton. On May 10, 1886, the Daily True American reported that “another effort is to be made to revive base ball here. A club of Cuban players has been secured.” The roster that the newspaper published on this day consisted of the known Cuban Giants team. Two days later on May 12, the Daily True American reported that “the Cuban Giants, under new management, make their first appearance this afternoon at Chambersburg grounds.” It is likely the Trenton Browns were dissolved by this time as the Cuban Giants had now become the resident team in Trenton. Reporting on a game played at Brooklyn at Arctic park on May 16, 1886, the New York Sun called the team both the Cuban Giants and the Trentons of Trenton. Despite this confusion and after a period where management of the team went from Thompson, to Lang, to Simpson, and finally to Cook, the Cuban Giants were now settled.
Research from the Palatka (FL) Daily News, the Trenton Daily True American and the Baltimore American from Ed Morton. Info from Tony Kissel on the Cuban Giants was gathered from posts to the baseball-fever.com forum between 2011 and 2015, and retrieved August 25, 2023. The Babylon South Side Signal report about “employees at the Argyle” and the New York Times report about traveling “south in the winter” from the Babylon Town Historian blog, The Legendary Cuban Giants, posted February 1, 2021, and retrieved August 25, 2023. Trenton Times report on John Lang from Brian McKenna posted to the baseball-fever.com forum in October 2011, and retrieved August 25, 2023. A similar report was published in the Boston Globe, September 2, 1885. Info from Karmick on Dabney, retrieved September 9, 2023.
Written documentation on this uniform:
None
Team genealogy: Cuban Giants, Trenton NJ, 1885-1889
The Cuban Giants were formed in late August 1885 in Babylon, NY, and moved to Trenton, NJ, for the 1886 season, where they played and toured as an independent professional team through the end of the 1888 season. In 1889 the team played in the Middle States League, and then relocated to York, PA, for the 1890 season. Info from wikipedia.com.
Rendering posted: September 9, 2023
Diggers on this uniform: Bill Hickman, Ed Morton,