1887 New Orleans

This rendering is based on visual documentation for uniform style and written documentation for color. Some 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 1887 based on appearance of players Ewing, Geiss, Cartwright, Campau, Klusman and Vaughn. Player portraits were most likely made after early June 1887 as this was the time players Klusman and Campau joined New Orleans from other Southern League teams. Klusman came from Mobile when it folded in late May 1887 and Campau came from Savannah when it folded in early June 1887.

Top row, from left: S Fuller (87, 88), J Ewing (87), unidentified, unidentified and unidentified. Middle: B Geiss (87), E Cartwright (87), (T Brennan, mgr 87), C Campau (NO 87, 92-94, 03, Sav 87) and B Klusman (Mob 87, NO 87). Bottom: unidentified, F Vaughn (87) and unidentified. Photo scan and player IDs from Mark Fimoff, SABR 19th-century Pictorial Committee. ID of manager Brennan is speculated but unconfirmed by Fimoff. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Mobile team info from the Port Jervis (NY) Evening Gazette, May 23, 1887. Savannah team info from wikiwand.com, biography on player Campau, referencing the Detroit Free Press, March 13, 1899. Original portraits by E. J. Souby, New Orleans.

Dated 1887. Detail views of B Klusman (Mob 87, NO 87) from photo A. Player was photographed wearing a short-sleeve shirt with lace ties. Of the twelve players show in team collage, only three wore short sleeves. Note the large shirt pocket under the left breast. Years with team from baseball-reference.com.

Written documentation on this uniform:
April 1887: “The new uniforms of the New Orleans team have arrived at last and are very pretty. The shirt and pants are of Yale gray flannel, the name in red letters across the shirts. The striped caps and the maroon stockings now worn will complete the suit. They will be worn for the first time on Wednesday [April 27].” From the New Orleans Times-Picayune, April 26, 1887. Research from Don Stokes.

Team genealogy:
 New Orleans 1887-1889
New Orleans joined the Southern League (SL) for the 1887 season. The SL operated between 1885 and 1889. New Orleans played in the SL between 1887 and 1889, dropping out when the league folded during the 1889 season. Information Baseball America, Inc., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (1997).