1889 St. Paul (St. Pauls)

Left & Center: These renderings are based on visual documentation for uniform style only. Color information is unknown and the uniforms are rendered in values of gray. Minor details may also be undocumented or difficult to determine and an educated guess is made to complete the renderings.

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 1889 to late May 1889. Year of photo can be confirmed by the appearance of player Treadway, who only played for St. Paul in 1889. Date of April 1889 to late May 1889 for photo can be determined by the appearance of players Pickett and Sowders, both of whom were sold by St. Paul to Kansas City (AA) on May 27, 1889. This date range can also be confirmed by the St. Paul Globe, which published this photo ten years later on February 5, 1899, saying that the newspaper “has dug up” the above photo and that the image was taken “early in the spring of 1889.” Players wore a light gray uniform in this photo with a dark cap, dark belt and dark stockings. The shirts had lace ties and the city name arched across the chest in dark letters. Both the lettering and the cap appeared dark in color in the reproduction, suggesting they may have been black. However, the Old Judge photos below suggest that the letters and cap were of a mid-ton color, possibly blue. A newspaper report from early 1889 stated the team planned to wear a “light gray” uniform with “black trimmings” in 1889. The lettering on the shirts varied in size on certain uniforms, see detail view below. Six of the eleven players in the photo wore a shirt where the lettering was larger in size when compared to the other five uniforms in the photo. Of the eleven players shown, six wore short-sleeved shirts and five wore long sleeves. However there was no correlation between the size of the lettering and the length of the sleeve, meaning that the uniforms with the larger lettering was worn in both short- and long-sleeved styles, not all one or the other. At least three players wore an undershirt with striped sleeves in this photo. This undershirt was most the same or similar to the striped sweater that was captured in an Old Judge baseball card of player Pickett from the previous year of 1888. The team’s manager in the photo above, back row center, wore a striped cap. This cap was also very similar to the cap worn by the team during the previous season.

Top row, from left: (A Thompson, president), B Farmer (88, 89), (J Barnes, mgr 86-89), G Treadway (StP 89, Den WA 89) and (A Poupeney). Middle: B Hawes (89, 90), J Werrick (84, 89, 90), J Pickett (StP 87-89, 95, 96, KC AA 89), W Mains (89, 90) and L Murphy (88-90). Front: J Sowders (StP 88, 89, KC AA 89), C Broughton (88-90), S Carroll (84, 88, 89, 91) and C Reilly (88, 89). Player IDs and image from the St. Paul Globe, February 5, 1899. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Date of Pickett and Sowders sale from The Sporting Life, June 5, 1889. Image scan from Cary Smith.

Dated April 1889 to late May 1889. Detail view of photo A. Detail view showed that the city name appeared in two different sizes on the uniform. The players sitting at far left and second from right had larger lettering on their shirts, while the players sitting second from left and at far right had smaller lettering. Detail view also showed that players laced their shirts in both an “x” pattern and an inverted “v” pattern.

Dated April 1889 to late May 1889. Another detail view of photo A. This detail view focuses on the background and on a boy sitting on the ballpark fence or bleachers. When the St. Paul Globe published this photo ten years later in 1899 they included a detailed caption listing the identity and current whereabouts of every player in the image. They did not identify the youngster in back but commented that “he was probably there because he wanted to become a great man like those in front of him. He is doubtless driving a street car or a dairy herd now.”

Photo B

Dated 1889. Old Judge baseball card of W Mains (89, 90), full view at left, detail view at right. Year of photo can be confirmed by comparing the background in this photo with the identical background in the photo of player Tuckerman, see photo C. These two men only played together for St. Paul in 1889. Detail view showed the pillbox-style cap and the letter “A” in the city name intersecting with the lace ties. Detail view also showed that the shirt laces were tied in both an inverted “v” and in an “x” pattern. Note that the cap and lettering appeared lighter in color in this photo when compared to the team photo from this year, see photo A. Based on the baseball card photos of St. Paul players from 1889, it could be suggested that the team’s cap and lettering were blue or middle gray in color, not black. Years Mains with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Photo C

Dated 1889. Old Judge baseball card of W Tuckerman (88, 89), full view at left, detail view at right. Year of photo can be confirmed by comparing the background in this photo with the identical background in the photo of player Mains, see photo B. These two men only played together for St. Paul in 1889. Detail view showed the pillbox-style cap, and the lace ties on the shirt tied in both an inverted “v” and in an “x” pattern. Note that the city name on the player’s shirt was smaller in size when compared to photo B. Also note that the lettering appeared lighter in color in this photo when compared to the team photo from this year, see photo A. Based on the baseball card photos of St. Paul players from 1889, it could be suggested the team’s lettering was blue or middle gray in color, and not black. Unlike the other Old Judge photos on this page, Tuckerman wore a dark-colored cap in this photo, possibly black, and not one of a mid-tone color. Years Tuckerman with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Photo E

Dated 1889. Old Judge baseball card of C Broughton (88-90), full view at left, detail view at right. Year of photo can be confirmed by comparing the background of this photo with the identical background of photos B & C. Detail view showed a shirt pocket under the players left elbow and quilted padding on the pants at the hips. Note that the cap and lettering appeared lighter in color in this photo when compared to the team photo from this year, see photo A. Based on the baseball card photos of St. Paul players from 1889, it could be suggested that the team’s cap and lettering were blue or middle gray in color, not black. Years Broughton with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Photo F

Dated 1889. Studio photo of S Carroll (84, 88, 89, 91), full view at left, detail view at right. Year of photo can be confirmed by comparing the background of this photo with the identical background of photos B & C. Detail view showed the shirt pocket beneath the left breast and the city name displayed in small letters across the chest. Note that the “L” in the city name was missing from the shirt and this missing letter may imply the uniforms with the small lettering were holdovers from the previous season of 1888. Carroll was wearing the same shirt with the missing letter in the team photo above, see photo A. Also note the extended areas of padding on the pants. Further note that the cap and lettering appeared lighter in color in this photo when compared to the team photo, see photo A. Based on the baseball card photos of St. Paul players from 1889, it could be suggested that the team’s cap and lettering were blue or middle gray in color, not black. Years Carroll with team from baseball-reference.com. Image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Written documentation on these uniforms:
February 1889: “President Thompson and Manager Barnes consider the St. Paul team for the season of 1889 the strongest they have ever put in the field. […] The club will have two uniforms. One will be dark blue with black trimmings, with white belts and neckties, and the other will be light gray with black trimmings.” From the St. Paul Globe, February 24, 1889. Research from Ed Morton.

Team genealogy: Coming soon