1888 Philadelphia (Philadelphias, Phillies)
Left: This rendering is based on visual 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
Left center: This rendering is based on visual documentation for uniform style only. An educated guess is made on uniform color and on minor details that may be missing or difficult to determine.
Rendering accuracy: Year: documented Team: documented
Right center: This rendering is based on visual 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 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 circa April 1888. Old Judge baseball card of C Childs (88, 2 gms). Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date can be confirmed as this was the only year Childs played for team and last appeared in a game on April 24 before being released. Photo shows a white uniform with dark-colored lettering, belt, stockings and horizontal bands on cap. Other documentation suggests the accent color was red. Year Childs with team from baseball-reference.com. Last game info from Jimmy Keenan, SABR BioProject. Image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Photo B
Dated circa April 1888. Old Judge cabinet card of B Sanders (NL 88, 89, PL 90, AA 91). Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date may be suggested by the studio background, which matches that shown in photo A. Detail view shows lettering across chest and braid on cap overlaying the lower horizontal color band. Years Sanders with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Photo C
Dated circa April 1888. Studio photo of E Andrews (84-89). Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date may be suggested by the studio background, which matches that shown in photo A. Photo shows a different style of white uniform when compared to photos A and B. In this photo, note that the bands on the cap were thicker, the shirt was plain with no lettering but with a shirt pocket, the belt had a buckle, not a leather strap, the pants had a center belt loop, as opposed to two center loops, and the pants had quilted padding at the hips and knees. Years Andrews with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Photo D
Dated circa April 1888. Old Judge cabinet card of J Tyng (88, 1 gm). Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date may be suggested by the studio background, which matches that shown in photo A. Photo shows same uniform as shown in photo C. Detail view shows padded pants. Year Tyng with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Photos E & F
Dated circa 1888. Playing cards of S Farrar (83-89, Phi PL 90) and J Mulvey (83-89, 92, Phi PL 90, Ath AA 91). Cards show white uniform with red belt and stockings.
Photo G
Dated April 25, 1888. Philadelphia and New York, at New York, Polo Grounds, opening day. The Philadelphia team, at right, wore dark uniforms and stockings in this photo. Contemporary newspaper accounts state the team wore a navy blue road uniform with red stockings in early 1888. Two players wore a white shirt or jacket in this photo. Four players wore white undershirts. Game date from retrosheet.org.
Photo H
Dated 1888 or 1889. Photo date range determined by appearance of players Schriver, Gleason and Delahanty in combination with players Irwin and Andrews. Style of uniform matches Old Judge cards from 1888, see photos I, J & K. Players most likely wore the navy blue uniform in this photo. The lettering on the shirt, which was red in color, has been retouched by hand and made lighter in this photo.
Top row, from left: P Schriver (88-90), J Clements (84-97, Phi UA 84), C Buffinton (87-89, Phi PL 90), (H Wright, mgr 84-93), J Mulvey (83-89, 92, Phi PL 90, Ath 91), G Wood (86-89, Phi PL 90, Ath AA 91) and S Farrar (83-89, Phi PL 90). Front: D Casey? (86-89), A Irwin (86-89), K Gleason (88-91), E Delahanty (88, 89, 91-01), J Fogarty (84-89, Phi PL 90), unidentified and E Andrews (84-89). The player seated in the front row, far left, possibly Casey, has been added to this photo. The head of player Irwin, seated in the front row, second from left, may also have been added to this photo. Years with team 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 or 1889. Detail view of photo H. Detail view shows dark uniforms, most likely the navy blue uniform described in contemporary newspaper accounts. Note the light-colored buttons positioned directly above and below the letter “i” in “Phila.” The same alignment can be seen in photos K & M.
Photo I
Dated circa April 1888. Studio photo for Old Judge baseball card of C Kelly (Phi NL 83, Ath AA 86, dnp 88). Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date can be confirmed as Kelly was signed by the team on February 4, 1888, but was subsequently released and did not play for the team in 1888. Studio background also matches that shown in photo A, further confirming an early 1888 date. Photo shows the navy blue uniform. Detail view faintly shows the red lettering across the chest. Both the color of the shirt and lettering appear almost identical in a black and white image. Player ID and sign date reported in The Sporting Life from Jay Miller, Joe Gonsowski and Richard Masson, The Photographic Baseball Cards of Goodwin & Company, 1886-1890 (2008). Years Kelly with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from the New York Public Library. Photo by Conrad M. Gilbert and William F. Bacon, Philadelphia.
Photo J
Dated circa April 1888. Studio photo for Old Judge baseball card of B Hoover (Phi UA 84, Phi NL 84, Alb IA 88). Full view at left, detail views at right. Photo date can be confirmed as Hoover was signed and released by Philadelphia before the start of the 1888 season and did not play for the team. The difference in the studio background when compared to the Kelly photo, see photo I, may suggest a second session and photo date. Top right, detail view of cap. The cap had horizontal bands which were hard to detect in black-and-white photography. Bottom right, same detail view enhanced to show to color bands on the cap. Player ID and sign/release info from Jay Miller, Joe Gonsowski and Richard Masson, The Photographic Baseball Cards of Goodwin & Company, 1886-1890 (2008). Years Hoover with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from the New York Public Library. Image scan from Oliver Kodner. Photo by Conrad M. Gilbert and William F. Bacon, Philadelphia.
Photo K
Dated circa April 1888. Old Judge baseball card of P Schriver (88-90). Full view at left, detail view at right. Photo date may be suggested by the studio background, which matches that shown in photo J. Detail view faintly shows lettering on shirt, and also a button placket with white or light-colored buttons above and below the letter “i” in “Phila.” Detail views also shows detachable sleeves and solid padding at the knees. Possibly, this padding was common for catchers to wear during this period. Years Schriver with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Photo most likely by Conrad M. Gilbert and William F. Bacon, Philadelphia.
Photo L
Dated 1888. Promotional poster for Old Judge baseball cards. Full view at left, detail view of player E Andrews (84-89) at right. Illustration of Andrews was based on Old Judge baseball card also from 1888 and colorized to reflect the navy blue uniform, see photo C. Illustration also shows red bands on cap, a red belt and red stockings. Years Andrews 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).
Photo M
Dated circa 1888. Allen & Ginter baseball card of J Fogarty (84-89, Phi PL 90). Card most likely shows an artist’s representation of the 1888 navy blue uniform. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from the Library Of Congress.
Photo N
Dated circa 1888. Old Judge & Gypsy Queen baseball card of E Andrews (84-89). Full view at left, detail view at right. Card depicted a gray uniform and a gray cap with red horizontal bands. Years with team from baseball-reference.com.
Photos O & P
Dated 1888. Old Judge baseball card of J Clements (84-97, Phi UA 84) and D Casey (86-89). Both cards were hand-dated as 1888 on the photo as well as dated 1888 on the printed border. However, both photos were made from a photo session in 1887 and represent the uniform of the previous year. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Images from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Written documentation on these uniforms:
February 1888: “The Phillies will have two sets of uniforms next season. The one that will be worn at home will consist of white caps, shirts and pantaloons, with dark red belt, stockings and trimmings. The traveling suit will be of navy blue, with red trimmings, exactly like those worn by the Indianapolis team the latter part of last season, save that the cap will be blue, with red trimmings, instead of plain red.” From The Sporting Life, February 29, 1888. Research from Chuck McGill.
April 25, 1888, Philadelphia v. New York, at New York: “The New York and Philadelphia players were photographed in a group before yesterday’s game.” From the Philadelphia Record, April 26, 1888. Research from Ed Morton. See photo above in visual documentation.
May 4, 1888, Philadelphia (NL) v. Jersey City, at Jersey City, Oakland Park: “The men appeared early on the field for practice [before the game], the Jersey City men in light checked uniforms and red stockings; The Philadelphias in dark blue, with red trimmings.” From the New York Evening World, May 4, 1888. Research from Don Stokes. Note, this was an afternoon game reported as a special to the Evening World on the same day.
May 25, 1888, Philadelphia v. Boston, at Boston: “Before the game the Phillies appeared on the field for practice. […] They presented a solid front in their dark blue uniforms, red legs and red trimmings.” From the Boston Globe, May 26, 1888.
September 1888: “The ‘Phillies’ have a new uniform of silver gray trousers and coats, red stockings and maroon striped caps.” From the New York Evening Telegram, September 13, 1888.
September 15, 1888, Philadelphia v. Chicago, at Chicago.“The Philadelphia wore their new uniforms. The shirts and trousers are dark gray with red trimmings, red stockings, and red and light gray striped caps.” From the Chicago Daily Tribune, September 16, 1888. Research from Don Stokes and Graig Kreindler. Game date from retrosheet.org. Note that this report stated the new uniform was dark gray while other reports from this month stated the new uniform was silver gray, presumably a lighter shade of gray. It should also be noted that this Chicago Tribune report may have been an actual eyewitness report from the game.
September 1888: “The Phillies have a new uniform. They consist of shirt snd knickerbockers of silver gray knitted goods, maroon and white caps, maroon belts and stockings.” From the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, September 17, 1888. Note that this report stated the new caps were maroon and white, while the report from the Chicago Tribune, see above, stated the colors as maroon and light gray.
Team genealogy:
Philadelphia 1882-
Philadelphia was formed to play in the League Alliance (LA) in 1882. The team joined the National League (NL) in 1883. The NL began operation in 1876 and Philadelphia has played in the league every year since 1883. Information from wikipedia.com and Robert D. Warrington.
Rendering posted: May 30, 2016
Diggers on this uniform: Chuck McGill, Don Stokes, Graig Kreindler, Oliver Kodner,