1887 Detroit (Detroits, Wolverines, Sluggers)
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
Center: This rendering is based on partial 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
Right: This rendering is based on partial visual documentation for uniform style and color. Some important details may 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 these uniforms:
Photo A
Dated April 1887 to early August 1887. Photo year confirmed by appearance of player Briody, who only played for Detroit in 1887. Photo date range of April to early August determined by appearance of player Weidman who left the team on August 5, 1887. Players wore a white uniform with blue pants in this photo. This uniform was described in newspaper accounts from this year.
Top row, from left: C Bennett (81-88), D Brouthers (86-88), S Thompson (85-88), C Ganzel (86-88), L Twitchell (86-88) and L Baldwin (86-88). Middle: F Briody (87), F Dunlap (86, 87), (B Watkins, mgr 85-88), D White (86-88), N Hanlon (81-88), B Shindle (86-87) and C Getzein (84-88). Front: J Rowe (86-88), S Weidman (Det 81-85, 87, NY AA 87) and H Richardson (86-88). Player IDs from photo. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Weidman info from Joe Gonsowski. Image from Mark Fimoff, SABR 19th-century Pictorial Committee. Original photo by Frank N. Tomlinson, Detroit.
Photo B
Dated 1887. Image was made between April and early August 1887 and taken during the same studio session as shown in photo A. Note, player Weidman sitting in left foreground has been altered with head of player P Conway (86-88) and relabeled as such in the photo caption. Weidman left the team on August 5, 1887. Note, players are also in slightly different positions when compared to photo A and the position of the studio background has changed. Weidman info from Joe Gonsowski. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. An illustration made from this photo, with Weidman in place (and with a mustache!), was published in the Illustrated Police News, Boston, October 8, 1887. Police News research from Ed Morton.
Date 1887. Detail view of photo B. Note, this detail view has been retouched by an artist to accentuate collar and sleeve details. Detail view from Joe Gonsowski.
Photo C
Dated October 1887. Full view at left, detail view at right. This photo collage was made after Detroit had won the league championship in October 1887. Detroit’s last regular season game was played on October 8, 1887. In this collage, players wore shirts similar to those shown in photos A and B.
Outer ring, clockwise from top left: C Getzein (84-88), H Richardson (86-88), D Brouthers (86-88), L Baldwin (86-88), C Bennett (81-88), J Rowe (86-88), C Ganzel (86-88), P Conway (86-88), D White (86-88) and B Shindle (86-87). Center, clockwise from top: (B Watkins, mgr 85-88), S Thompson (85-88), N Hanlon (81-88) and L Twitchell (86-88). Note, Conway portrait in collage is similar to head of Conway added to photo B. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Detroit last game date from retrosheet.org.
Photo D
Dated 1886 or 1887. Date of 1887 most likely as portrait matches image of P Conway (86-88) in collage dated 1887, see photo C. Full portrait at left, detail view at right. Note, detail view shows rows of stitching around shirt placket and on shirt pocket. Image from Joe Gonsowski. Years with team from baseball-reference.com.
Photo E
Dated 1887. Studio portrait of F Briody (87). Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date confirmed as this was the only year Briody played with team. Player wore a uniform that matched that shown in photos A and B. Newspaper accounts from this year described the pant color of this uniform as blue. Image from Joe Gonsowski. Years with team from baseball-reference.com.
Photo F
Dated 1887. Old Judge baseball card of S Thompson (85-88). Full view at left, detail view at right. Player wore a uniform that matched that shown in photos A and B. Newspaper accounts from this year described the pant color of this uniform as blue. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from wikipedia.
Photo G
Dated 1887. Portrait of S Weidman (Det 81-85, 87, NY AA 87). Full view at left, detail view at right. Studio background matches photo F, suggesting 1887 date. Photo most likely taken prior to August 5, 1887 as Weidman left Detroit on this date and joined New York (AA) this same year. Note, full view shows altered uniform where city name of Detroit was to be replaced with New York. Detail view shows cap details, including cap braid above the bill and 3 or 4 thin bands around the cap. Top band on cap may be the stitched seam between the cap sides and top. Image and Weidman info from Joe Gonsowski. Years with team from baseball-reference.com.
Photos H & I
Dated circa 1887. Buchner Gold Coin (N284) baseball cards. Left: H Richardson (86-88). Right: D Brouthers (86-88). Cards suggest blue lettering across shirt. Images from oldcardboard.com. Years with team from baseball-reference.com.
Photos J & K
Dated circa 1887. Buchner Gold Coin (N284) baseball cards. Left: S Thompson (85-88). Right: C Getzein (84-88). Cards suggest white pants and blue stockings. Possibly this was an alternate uniform for this time period, or the colors were the creation of the baseball card illustrator. Images from oldcardboard.com. Years with team from baseball-reference.com.
Photo L
Dated 1886 or 1887, possibly July 2 or 5, 1886, or July 4, 1887. Detail view of game action (full view not shown) at Detroit’s Recreation Park. The Detroit location can be confirmed by the advertisement on the outfield wall for the Detroit Music Company. The Detroit team was in the field and wearing a white shirt and cap, dark pants and white stockings. The shirt had the city name arched across the front, most visible on the uniform of the first baseman. The visiting team wore a gray uniform and cap, with dark stockings. Image from Old-Time Baseball Photos on twitter @OTBaseballPhoto, which dates the photo as 1886. Other images from this game also exist and several were posted by MLB historian John Thorn, Our Game blog, on May 30, 2017, and credited to the Detroit Historical Society. The DHS also dated the series to 1886, though the date July 4, 1887, has also been given to at least one of these images. In a June 19, 2023, post on Our Game, Thorn identified the pitcher as left-handed pitcher Lady Baldwin, who pitched for Detroit between 1886 and 1888. Baldwin was the starting pitcher for Detroit in games against Boston, at Detroit, on July 2 and 5, 1886. Baldwin was also the starting pitcher the following year, again against Boston at Detroit, on July 4, 1887. Detroit wore the same uniform during both of these years. A twitterer responding to the Old-Time Baseball Photos post suggested the pitcher may be the left-handed Phenomenal Smith, who played for Detroit at the end of the 1886 season only. Years Baldwin and Smith with Detroit from baseball-reference.com. Thanks to Bill Grindler for bringing these images to our attention.
Photos M thru U
Dated 1887. Scrapps Die-Cut figures of Detroit players. Drawings show cap with vertical stripes, decorative stitching on the collar, placket and pocket, and yellow or golden lace ties and cap braid. This may be the uniform worn by Detroit for the 1887 championship series, see newspaper accounts below from late 1887. Top row, from left: S Thompson (85-88), C Getzein (84-88), D White (86-88), N Hanlon (81-88) and H Richardson (86-88). Bottom: F Dunlap (86, 87), D Brouthers (86-88), C Bennett (81-88) and J Rowe (86-88). Photos from Joe Gonsowski. Year of issue for cut-outs from oldcardboard.com. Years with team from baseball-reference.com.
Photo V
Dated circa 1887. Montage of illustrations of Detroit players. Full view at left, detail view of C Bennett (81-88) at right. These illustrations were based on the studio portraits made by Frank N. Tomlinson, Detroit, on April 27, 1886, and were not made in 1887 or later. Image from The Graphic News, circa 1887. Image scan from SABR/Rucker Archive.
Written documentation on these uniforms:
February 1887: “The manager of the Detroit team says he is determined to have the finest uniform in the [National] League. The pants will be of English cricket flannel of indigo blue color, and the team will wear tourist blouses, which are expected to give the costume a jaunty appearance. We think the Detroit uniform will not be bad. Dark blue preserves its richness far better than light blue, which is apt to look shabby and used up. But for all uniforms white is best, and whatever color each club selects can be best limited to the stockings, if knickerbockers are worn, and to some slight trimmings of the shirt.” From the New York Sun, February 16, 1887, referencing the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. Research from Don Stokes and Graig Kreindler.
March 1887: “The Detroits…new suit will consist of navy blue blouse breeches, with white shirt, cap, belt and stockings.” From the New York Herald, March 12, 1887.
April 28, 1887, Detroit v. Indianapolis, at Indianapolis, opening day: “The Detroits, a stalwart body of men, wore dark uniforms with white stockings and caps and new market overcoats.” From the Indianapolis News, April 28, 1887.
April 28, 1887, Detroit v. Indianapolis, at Indianapolis, opening day: “Both clubs were becomingly uniformed, […] the visitors [Detroit] in blue trousers, white shirts and caps, and blue jackets.” From the Indianapolis Journal, April 29, 1887.
June 1887: “The color of a least one uniform of each club in the [National] League and American Association is given below. It would be next to impossible to give the several different uniforms of each club, as they change the different pieces of one uniform to another, and may appear on the field in a different make-up every day for a week. However, one complete uniform of each club is as follows: […] Detroit — White shirts, trousers and caps, with dark blue stockings.” From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 14, 1887, citing the New York Sun. Research from Todd Radom.
September 1887: “The Detroits have been furnished with three new styles of shirts since the commencement of the season. They began with a white flannel which they wore until about a month ago when a set of knit shirts such as those worn by the Chicagos were ordered, except they were white instead of blue. These were found to be unsatisfactory for the reason that a player cooled too quickly while wearing them after violent exercise. A third lot was accordingly ordered. These are blue in color, of thick flannel and it is thought are just the thing for the cool days that are liable to come before the close of the season. They make the Detroits in general appearance the same as the Chicagos except that the champion’s uniform is knit and the Detroits’ are ordinary heavy-weight flannel. It does not make as pretty a uniform as did the original costume of the Detroits, but it will be more serviceable for the balance of the season.” From The (Philadelphia) Times, September 18, 1887. Research from Richard Hershberger.
September 1887: “A uniform shirt which catcher Bennett wears is considered to be a mascot for the Detroit Club. Every time he has worn this garment the team has been victorious.” From the New York Telegram, September 20, 1887.
September 22, 1887, Detroit v. New York at Detroit: “The Detroits were attired in their new blue uniforms, which made them appear much larger than heretofore.” From the Detroit Evening Journal, September 23, 1887. Research from Joe Gonsowski. Gonsowski adds: “I believe these are the uniforms Detroit wore for the upcoming 15-game World Championship with St. Louis, as chronicled by the Scrapps Die-cuts.” The first game between Detroit and St. Louis was played October 10, 1887. Info on September 22 opponent from retrosheet.org. World Series start date from wikipedia.
October 1887: “Editor Al. Spink, of the Sporting News, published a pictorial number of his paper last week containing portraits of both the St. Louis and Detroit champion teams.” From the Philadelphia Times, October 2, 1887. The portraits of the Detroit players were of the men wearing street clothes.
October 1887, World’s Championship Schedule between Detroit and St. Louis: St. Louis, Oct 10 and 11; Detroit, Oct 12; Pittsburgh, Oct 13; Brooklyn, Oct 14; Staten Island, Oct 15; Philadelphia (League grounds), Oct 17; Boston (Union grounds), Oct 18; Philadelphia (Association grounds), Oct 19; Washington, Oct 20; Baltimore, Oct 21; Brooklyn, Oct 22; New York (Polo grounds), Oct 24; and Louisville, Oct 26. — From the Boston Globe, October 11, 1887.
October 10, 1887, Detroit v. St. Louis, at St. Louis, first game of championship series: “Suddenly there is a great shout and a dozen big fellows in dark blue suits and white stockings come trotting into the field. ‘The Detroits,’ ‘The Sluggers,’ is the yell.” From the Detroit Free Press, October 11, 1887.
October 14, 1887, description of Detroit and St. Louis teams arriving in Jersey City for a “championship series” game to be played in Brooklyn, at Washington Park: “The palace car [of the train] occupied by the players of the [National] League was distinguished by flaming banners, on which appeared the description: ‘The Detroits, Champions of the League.’ That of the St. Louis team bore on one side the words: ‘St. Louis Browns, Champions of the World,’ and on the other: ‘Champions of the American Association, 1885, 1886, 1887.’ […] For several hours the players remained in their apartments, but presently they strolled down into the hotel corridors and proved the center of attraction for many delighted eyes. The uniform of the Detroits is a black suit, with snow-white caps and stockings. The St. Louis men take their popular name from their brown stockings and the broad stripes of brown on their blue caps.” From the New York Evening World, October 14, 1887. Research from Gary Kodner.
October 15, 1887, Detroit v. St. Louis, at Brooklyn, Washington Park, championship series game: “The Detroits dress is ugly, being of blue flannel so very dark that it almost looks black.” From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, October 15, 1887.
October 15, 1887, Detroit v. St. Louis at Brooklyn, Washington Park, championship series game: “At 1 1/2 o’clock the two nines in full uniform, the Browns in their dark blue and brown stockings, and the Detroits in blue uniforms and white stockings, took carriages for Washington Park.” From the New York Sun, October 15, 1887. Research from Gary Kodner.
October 18, 1887, Detroit v. St. Louis, at Boston, Union ball grounds, championship series game: “They [Detroit] looked natural enough in their white and black uniforms.” From the Boston Globe, October 19, 1887.
1887, referenced in 1888: “The Detroits’ uniform for next season [1888] will consist of trousers of the same shade of blue as last season [1887], but a trifle more snugly cut. The stockings are white, the blouses ash gray in color, with the word ‘Detroit’ worked in blue across the front. The caps are of blue, save the tops, which are gray. White belts complete the uniform.” From the Concordia Daily Blade, February 1888, no specific date available in scan. Research from Don Stokes and Graig Kreindler.
1887 Detroit, referenced in 1888 Athletic, Philadelphia: “The Athletics will also shed their uniform of last season (1887), and in its stead will wear a garment of very similar to that worn by the Detroits last season. It will consist of dark blue pants, white Jersey shirts and belts, light blue stockings and caps, with the word Athletic worked across the breast of the shirts.” From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 26, 1888. Research from Oliver Kodner.
Team genealogy:
Detroit 1881-1888
Detroit was formed to join the National League (NL) in 1881. The NL began operation in 1876. Detroit played in the NL between 1881 and 1888. The team disbanded after the 1888 season. Information from wikipedia.
Rendering posted: April 2, 2023
Diggers on this uniform: Don Stokes, Ed Morton, Gary Kodner, Graig Kreindler, Joe Gonsowski, Mark Fimoff, Oliver Kodner, Todd Radom,