1888 Detroit (Detroits, Wolverines)
Left: This rendering is based on partial visual and partial written documentation for uniform style and color. Minor details may be undocumented or difficult to determine and an educated guess is made to complete the rendering.
Rendering accuracy:
Year: documented Team: documented
Right: This rendering is based on a contemporary illustration which may or may not be based on an actual uniform. 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 1888. Photo date may be confirmed by player Sutcliffe, who joined Detroit for the 1887 World Series and then played with team in 1888. It is also possible the photo was taken during or after the 1887 World Series. Team wore a pinstriped shirt in this photo, with dark blue pants and white stockings. The color of the pants and stockings were described in newspaper accounts from this period. No caps were shown in this photo. Only one player was wearing short sleeves, the rest wore long sleeves.
Top row, from left: D White (86-88), S Sutcliffe (87 ws, 88), D Brouthers (86-88), S Thompson (85-88), C Ganzel (86-88) and L Baldwin (86-88). Middle, seated: P Conway (86-88), J Rowe (86-88), N Hanlon (81-88), (B Watkins, mgr 85-88), C Getzein (84-88), L Twitchell (86-88) and C Bennett (81-88). Front, on ground: H Gruber (87-88), H Richardson (86-88) and E Beatin (87, 88). Player IDs from photo. Years with team and Sutcliffe world series info from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from Jay Miller, Joe Gonsowski and Richard Masson, The Photographic Baseball Cards of Goodwin & Company, 1886-1890 (2008). Original photo by Joseph Hall, Brooklyn.
Photo B
Dated 1888. Photo date determined as image appears to have been taken at same session as photo A. Note that studio background appears to match in both photos. However, players were arranged in different positions in this version: the row of three players sitting on the ground was eliminated and a new standing row of 4 players was added in back. Compare the position of the manager in each photo. Photo scan from Mark Fimoff, SABR 19th-century Pictorial Committee.
Dated 1888. Detail view of photo B. Detail view shows pinstriped shirt with pocket.
Dated 1888. Another detail view of photo B. This enlargement showed not only the stitching on the shirt pocket of player Sam Thompson, but also that the noted batsman included a handkerchief in the pocket. Always the gentleman. Image scan from Tom Shieber.
Photo C
Dated 1888. Photo date may be confirmed by player Sutcliffe, who joined Detroit for the 1887 World Series (vs. St. Louis) and then played with team in 1888. Photo taken at Boston, South End Grounds. Players wore the same pinstriped shirt and cap as shown in photo A. Pinstripes can also be seen on the cap sitting in foreground. Note, several players have been mechanically added to this photo, notably players Brouthers and Baldwin in center of photo. Also, the head of player White has been added to the body of an unidentified player standing at far right.
Top row: P Conway (86-88), C Bennett (81-88), L Twitchell (86-88), D Brouthers (86-88) in back, L Baldwin (86-88) in front, C Ganzel (86-88), S Sutcliffe (87 ws, 88), S Thompson (85-88) and D White (86-88). Front, on ground: H Gruber (87-88), (C Getzein 84-88), N Hanlon (81-88), H Richardson (86-88) and J Rowe (86-88). Player IDs based on photo A. Years with team and Sutcliffe world series info from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from the Boston Public Library. Image was part of a collage of National League team photos produced in 1888 by George H. Hastings, Boston.
Dated 1888. Detail view pf photo C. Detail view shows pinstriped shirts.
Photo D
Dated 1888. Old Judge cabinet card of F Scheibeck (Det 88 – 1 gm, London IA 88). Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date of 1888 can be confirmed as Scheibeck only played one game for Detroit in his career. Year Scheibeck with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Photo E
Dated 1888. Old Judge cabinet card of C Getzein (84-88). Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date of 1888 can be confirmed as photo background appears to match photo D. Detail view shows pinstripes on cap and shirt, a shirt pocket and lettering of city name. Years Getzein with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Photo F
Dated 1888. Old Judge cabinet card of L Baldwin (86-88). Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date of 1888 can be confirmed as photo background appears to match photo D. Detail view shows button placket and a two-tone belt. Years Baldwin with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Photo G
Dated circa 1888. Allen & Ginters baseball card of C Getzein (84-88). Full view at left, detail view at right. Illustration shows red lettering on shirt and brown or gray pinstripes. A newspaper account from February 1888 described the lettering as blue in color. The cap was not pinstriped in this illustration. Years Getzein with team from baseball-reference.com.
Photo H
Dated 1888. Promotional poster for Old Judge baseball cards. Full view at left, detail view of player S Thompson (85-88) at right. Illustration of Thompson was based on Old Judge baseball card dated 1887 and colorized to reflect the 1888 uniform. Illustration shows blue lettering and does not show pinstripes on the shirt and cap. Years Thompson with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from Jay Miller, Joe Gonsowski and Richard Masson, The Photographic Baseball Cards of Goodwin & Company, 1886-1890 (2008).
Photos I & J
Dated 1888. Baseball playing cards (WG1) of D White (86-88), left, and J Rowe (86-88), right. Issue date can be confirmed as the complete set of playing cards included player J Clarkson of Boston (not shown). Clarkson was traded to Boston for the 1888 season and 1888 was the last year White and Rowe played for Detroit. Cards show a thick-striped shirt and cap, a white button placket and pants in a light blue color. There is no photographic or written documentation to confirm these were actual uniforms worn by Detroit. Image scans from www.oldcardboard.com.
Written documentation on these uniforms:
January 1888: “The Detroits’ uniform for next season will consist of trousers of the same shade of blue as last season, 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 Sporting Life, January 25, 1888. Research from Chuck McGill. This same report was also found in the Atchinson [KS] Daily Globe (research from Oliver Kodner), the Paterson [NJ] Morning Call (research from Don Stokes and Graig Kreindler), the Concordia [KS] Daily Blade and in various other newspapers in February 1888. Note, the gray shirt and blue caps described in these accounts do not match visual documentation from this year.
July 1888: “The Washington uniform is almost a perfect copy of that of Detroit. The [National] League ought to allot every club its own color and thus prevent the confusion that is now seen at many games. Chicago abandoned white stockings because Detroit appropriated the color.” From the Warren Republican (Hackettstown, NJ), July 27, 1888.
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 10, 2016
Diggers on this uniform: Chuck McGill, Don Stokes, Graig Kreindler, Oliver Kodner, Tom Shieber,