1887 Louisville (Louisvilles)
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 April 1887 to early May 1887. Year of photo and date range of April to early May determined by the appearance of player Veach, who only played for Louisville in 1887 and was released from the team on May 4, 1887. The date range can be further confirmed by a newspaper report on May 5 that stated “new photographs of the Louisville Club are now completed and on exhibition.” The early season date can also be confirmed by the fact that all 16 players in the photo were listed in a team roster published on April 3. This roster also included the players’ heights and weights. Players in the photo wore a white or light gray uniform with a dark-colored belts and stockings. The short-sleeved shirts had thin dark lace ties, laced in an “x” pattern, and the city name arched across the front. At least 9 of the 16 men wore long-sleeved undershirts. The pants had a thin line of trim running down the seam. The caps, shown throughout the photograph, were white with broad vertical stripes. Newspaper reports from early in the 1887 season stated that the team wore a white uniform with red stockings and caps of “red and black stripes.”
Top row, from left: A Cross (85-87), C Wolf (82-91), P Cook (86-89), J Kerins (85-89), L Cross (87, 88), H Collins (86-88) and P Reccius (82-88). Middle: P Browning (AA 82-89, NL 92, 93), B Veach (87), G Hecker (82-89), (J Kelly mgr 87, 88), T Ramsey (85-89), E Chamberlain (86-88) and J Werrick (86-88). Front: R Mack (85-88), J Neale (86, 87) and B White (86-88). Player IDs based on profile photos at baseball-reference.com, and also from researchers Paul Winter, Ken Samoil and Nigel Ayres. Image scan from a contributor to net54baseball.com forum, who also noted that the above print was originally in the possession of Louisville pitcher Elton Chamberlain, seated middle row, second from right. Info on photographs displayed and date of Veach release from the Louisville Courier-Journal, May 5, 1887. The newspaper also stated that the release was “consummated at Hecker’s base-ball store.” Team roster listing from the Louisville Courier-Journal, April 3, 1887. Research on published roster and photograph displayed from Paul Winter. Original photo by Stuber, likely Daniel Stuber, Louisville.
Dated April 1887 to early May 1887. Detail view of photo A. Detail view showed the lettering style on the shirts. The shirts also had a breast pocket, visible on the shirt of the player seated in the middle of this detail view.
Photo B
Dated November 15, 1934. This newspaper ad depicting a 19th-century player wearing a Louisville uniform was published on this day. The caption next to the drawing says, “redrawn from an old lithograph advertising a Louisville team of about 1887.” It is possible the original lithograph was based on a photo printed on an Old Judge baseball card issued between 1887 and 1890. Ad from The Sporting News, November 15, 1934. Research from Ed Morton.
Written documentation on these uniforms:
March 1887: “The Louisvilles will look gaudy in their new uniforms of indigo blue with scarlet stockings. Is that your idea, John Kelly?” From The Sporting Life, March 2, 1887. Research from Chuck McGill. Kelly was manager of the Louisville team in 1887 and 1888. Kelly info from baseball-reference.com.
April 16, 1887, Louisville v. St. Louis, at Louisville, Eclipse Park, home opener: “The Louisville and St. Louis teams donned their uniforms to open the championship series.” From the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, April 17, 1887.
April 28, 1887, Louisville v. Detroit, at Louisville, Athletic Park, opening day: “The [Louisville] players appeared in clean uniforms with new caps, red and black striped, which added much to their appearance, and wearing blue blouses.” From the Indianapolis News, April 28, 1887.
May 1887: “The new photographs of the Louisville Club are now completed and on exhibition. They are the best taken for years part.” From the Louisville Courier-Journal, May 5, 1887. Research from Paul Winter.
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: […] Louisville — Has gray and red caps, white trousers and shirts, maroon stockings.” From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 14, 1887, citing the New York Sun. Research from Todd Radom.
1887, referenced in March 1888: “The Louisville management have decided on a new uniform for the coming [1888] season. The suits in which the season will begin are light maroon with gray trimmings, and the name Louisville across the breast. The others will be white, with wine colored stockings the same as used last year [1887].” From the Atlanta Constitution, March 19, 1888. Research from Don Stokes and Graig Kreindler. Note, this report conflicts with the following report regarding the white uniform of 1887.
1887, referenced in March 1888: “The Louisville players [in 1888] will also have the white uniform with blue trimmings that was worn last season [1887].” From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 26, 1888, citing the Cincinnati Commercial. Research from Gary and Oliver Kodner. Note, this report conflicts with the previous report regarding the white uniform of 1887.
Team genealogy:
Louisville 1870s-1899
Louisville began as Eclipse, a semi-pro team in Louisville formed in the late 1870s. As Eclipse, they joined the American Association (AA) at its formation in 1882. The AA was a major league operating between 1882 and 1891. Eclipse was known as Louisville by 1884 and the team played in the AA through the 1891 season. The team joined the National League (NL) in 1892 when the AA and NL merged, and was disbanded after the 1899 season when the NL contracted from twelve to eight teams. Information from wikipedia and Ken Samoil.
Rendering posted: August 28, 2024
Diggers on this uniform: Chuck McGill, Don Stokes, Ed Morton, Gary Kodner, Graig Kreindler, Ken Samoil, Nigel Ayres, Oliver Kodner, Paul Winter, Todd Radom,