1886 Metropolitan, New York (Metropolitans, Mets, Indians)

This rendering is based on visual documentation for uniform style and written documentation for color. Important 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 1886. Old Judge baseball card of J Crotty (Met AA 86, Syr IL 86). Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date determined by fact that 1886 was the only year Crotty played for team. A date of April to July 1886 can be determined as Crotty was released by Metropolitan by early August 1886. Crotty played for Syracuse (IL) for the remainder of the 1886 season. Player wore a white shirt with a long pointed collar and a spotted necktie in this photo. It appears the shirt had long sleeves. A newspaper report from 1887 described the 1886 uniform accent color for Metropolitan as blue. This may suggest the necktie color was blue as well. Detail view shows a wide placket behind the tie and a shirt pocket on the left breast. Year Crotty with team from baseball-reference.com. Release info from the New York Evening Telegram,  August 3, 1886. Syracuse info from the Syracuse Standard, August 29, 1886. Image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Original photo by J. Wood, New York.

Photo B

Dated 1886. Old Judge baseball card of E Foster (86). Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date determined by fact that 1886 was the only year Foster played for team. Detail view shows that Foster, on this day, wore his tie shorter in length than did Crotty, compare to photo A. Sixteen of the twenty-one players who played for Metropolitan in 1886 were featured in the “spotted tie” series by Old Judge. The majority of these sixteen players wore their ties similar to the length worn by Foster when they were photographed. Also note on the Foster photo how the shorter front tie was positioned on top of the longer back tie, a common style for the period. Year Foster with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Original photo by J. Wood, New York.

Photo C

Dated 1886. Old Judge baseball card of F Hankinson (85-87). Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date can be determined by similarities to photos A and B. Photo shows that player tucked his tie into his shirt opening. Of the sixteen players featured in the “spotted ties” series, only two wore their tie tucked in. Years Hankinson with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Original photo by J. Wood, New York.

Photo D

Dated 1886. Old Judge baseball card of E Cushman (85-87). Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date can be determined by similarities to photos A and B. Photo shows a different style for tying the necktie. Of the sixteen players featured in the “spotted ties” series, Cushman was the only player to style his tie in this manner. Years Cushman with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Original photo by J. Wood, New York.

Written documentation on this uniform:
March 1886: “The American Association players will have to pay for their uniforms this season.” From the Philadelphia Times, March 14, 1886.

April 1886: “The new uniform of the Metropolitans will be a great improvement on the slouchy suits they wore last season. They will be white shirts, knee breeches and caps, with blue stockings and belts.” From The Sporting Life, April 7, 1886. A similar report was published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 7, 1886.

April 17, 1886, Metropolitan, New York, v. Athletic, Philadelphia, at Philadelphia, Twenty-sixth and Jefferson street grounds, opening day: “The players of both teams were given a royal reception as they took their positions in spic and span new uniforms.[…] The ‘Mets’ had six extra players in full uniform yesterday.” From the Philadelphia Times, April 18, 1886.

April 17, 1886, Metropolitan, New York, v. Athletic, Philadelphia, at Philadelphia, Twenty-sixth and Jefferson street grounds, opening day: “The members of both teams appeared on the field in neat new uniforms, that of the visitors [Metropolitan] being white with blue stockings and belt, while that worn by the local nine [Athletic] was light gray with dark blue hose and caps.” From the Philadelphia Inquirer, April 19, 1886. Research from Ed Morton.

June 1886: “The Indians may justly be proud of their new club house, which is now being finished. [Metropolitan owner] Mr. Wiman has spared no expense.” From the New York Sun, June 27, 1886. The July 18, 1886, edition of the Philadelphia Times reported that the Mets’ clubhouse would have “hot and cold water baths, electrical apparatus, gymnasium, reading room and separate dressing rooms.” The Sun report included use of the Indians nickname.

July 1886: “Jimmy Roseman of the Metropolitan Club always takes up his position on the forward part of the Staten Island ferry-boat and looks for a green flag. […] If a green one is there the club is sure of a victory. […] The Metropolitan Club, as a whole, believe that white stockings and blue caps are the only lucky dress that a player can wear.” From the Washington (DC) Critic and Record, July 17, 1886, report on “Mascots on the Diamond.”

September 10, 1886, Metropolitan, New York, v. St. Louis, at New York, Staten Island: “The Westerners [St. Louis] played in form throughout, taking a long lead in the early part of the game and finally winning easily. The rally of the Indians came too late to be effective.” From the New York Tribune, September 11, 1886. Use of the Indians nickname for Metropolitan.

September 17, 1886, Metropolitan, New York, v. Pittsburgh, at New York, at Staten Island: “New York, Sept. 17. — The Met and Pittsburgh clubs played at Staten Island today. The Indians batted [Pittsburgh pitcher] Galvin all over the field.” From the Louisville Courier-Journal, September 18, 1886. The headline for this game report said “The Indians Scalp Galvin.”

1886, referenced in March 1887: “The Metropolitans […] dress uniform [for 1887] will be that worn last season [1886]—i.e., white, with blue belts and stockings.” From The Sporting Life, March 2, 1887. Research from Chuck McGill.

Team genealogy:
 Metropolitan, New York 1880-1887
Metropolitan was formed as an independent pro team in New York, NY, in 1880 and through the end of the 1882 season competed as an independent against teams from the National League (NL) and the American Association (AA). The AA was a new major league formed in 1882 and Metropolitan joined the AA for the 1883 season. They played in the new league between 1883 and 1887 and the team disbanded after the 1887 season. Information from wikipedia.

1886 Metropolitan summary

Uniform: white, light blue belt and stockings
First worn: April 17, Philadelphia
Photographed: team portraits, April-July
Described: April
Material:
Manufacturer:
Supposition: cap style
Variations: may have worn blue caps and white stockings in July
Other items:
Home opener report: no, April 22 v Athletic