1890 Buffalo (Buffalos, Bisons)

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 partial 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 1890 to May 1890. Photo year confirmed by appearance of thirteen players in photo. These men only played in Buffalo for the 1890 season, the team’s one-year entry into the Players’ League. Photo date range of April 1890 to May 1890 can be determined by fact that a drawing made from this photo was published in a newspaper on May 31, 1890. Team wore a buttoned shirt in this photo, with large lettering across the chest, a dark belt and dark stockings. Newspaper reports from 1890 described the home uniform as white in color, with a black cap, belt and stockings. A black cap can be partially seen next to the baseball in the center area of the foreground in this photo. This same cap was subsequently rendered as white in color in the newspaper drawing, see photo B. Note that the studio flooring in this team photo matched that from the 1887 Buffalo team photo, suggesting the same photographer made both images.

Top row, from left: J Rainey (90), J Irwin (90), J Carney (Buf PL 90, Cle PL 90), G Krock (90), C Mack (90) and S Wise (90). Middle: G Haddock (90), D White (NL 81-85, PL 90), J Rowe (NL 79-85, PL 90), E Beecher (90) and J Halligan (90). Front: S Clark (90), D Hoy (90), A Ferson (90) and G Keefe (90). Player IDs from The Sporting Life, May 31, 1890. Years with team from baseball-reference.com.

Dated April 1890 to May 1890. Detail view of photo A. Detail view shows the city name in large lettering extending to the armpits, and a narrow shirt placket.

Photo B

Dated May 31, 1890 as published in The Sporting Life. This drawing was made from the 1890 team photo, see photo A.

Dated May 31, 1890. Detail view of photo B. Detail view shows second letter “F” in city name centered on a narrow button placket.

Written documentation on these uniforms:
January 1890: “All the secretaries of the clubs in the Players’ National League [i.e., Players’ League] have sent their club uniform colors to Secretary Brunell. All the clubs, except Philadelphia, have selected white home and colored traveling uniforms, so that the audience can readily distinguish the teams in the field. The teams will be dressed as follows: […] Buffalo- Home: white suits, brown trimmings and stockings. Traveling: Gray suits, brown trimming and stockings. From the Chicago Daily Tribune, January 29, 1890. Research from Don Stokes. A similar report was published in the Buffalo Courier, January 30, 1890, and The Sporting Life, February 5, 1890.

March 1890: “Two Players’ League clubs have changed their uniforms. Buffalo will wear white with black trimmings and stockings home, and gray and black on the road. Philadelphia will wear white with light blue trimmings and stockings at home and navy blue with light blue trimmings and stockings while traveling.” From the Syracuse Standard, March 25, 1890, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, March 30, 1890, and The Sporting Life, April 2, 1890. The Sporting Life research from Chuck McGill.

April 19, 1890, Buffalo v. Boston at Buffalo, opening day: “The Buffalos’ new suits of white with black caps, stockings, and trimmings are very pretty.” From the Buffalo Express, April 20, 1890. Game date from retrosheet.org.

May 1890: “A scoreboard is needed on the Buffalo [Players’] League grounds.” From the Buffalo Commercial, May 3, 1890. Research from Don Stokes.

September 1890: “The Pittsburg[h] young men faced the Buffalo Black Stockings eighteen times the past season [of 1890], and they won thirteen of the eighteen.” From The Sporting Life, September 20, 1890.

Team genealogy: Buffalo 1890-1890
Buffalo was formed to join the Players’ League (PL) at the league’s inception in 1890. The PL was a major league that played for one season before folding. The team disbanded after the 1890 season. Info from wikipedia.