1891 Boston (Bostons, Beaneaters)

Left: This rendering is based on visual documentation for uniform style and partial 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 mid-April 1891 to mid-July 1891. Photo year confirmed by appearance of players Getzein and Sullivan, who only played in Boston in 1891. Date range of mid-April 1891 to mid-July 1891 determined by appearance of player Nash, who joined the team late and played his first game on April 13, 1891, and by player Sullivan, who was released by the team on July 12, 1891. Players wore a white uniform in this photo, with a white cap, dark shirt laces, dark lettering, a dark belt and dark stockings. Newspaper reports from this year stated the team wore the traditional white uniform with red trimmings at home. Note that the lettering on the shirt was noticeably thicker when compared with previous Boston uniforms. Also note that the team was one of the first to revive the style of wearing a cap that had a rounded crown and not one that was pillbox in shape.

Top row, from left: B Lowe (90-01), K Nichols (90-01), T Tucker (90-97), C Ganzel (89-97), C Getzein (91), M Sullivan (Bos NL 90, 91, Cle NL 91) and S Brodie (90, 91). Middle: C Bennett (89-93), H Long (90-02), J Clarkson (88-92), (F Selee mgr 90-01), B Nash (NL 85-89, 91-95, PL 90), J Quinn (NL 88, 89, 91, 92, PL 90) and H Stovey (PL 90, NL 91, 92). Front: J Sullivan (Roc AA 91, Bos NL 91, Col AA 91) and F Lake (91, 97, 10). Player IDs and image scan from Nigel Ayres. Years with team and Sullivan release info from baseball-reference.com. Nash arrival info from The Sporting Life, April 18, 1891. Original photo by G. Waldon Smith, Boston.

Dated mid-April 1891 to mid-July 1891. Detail view of photo A. Detail view shows that players wore a cap with a rounded crown and a shirt with thick lettering across the breast. This lettering was noticeably heavier when compared to previous Boston uniforms. Also note that several players wore their collars up in this photo.

Uniform Comparison Study

Left: Detail view of 1891 Boston NL team photo. Right: Detail view of 1891 Boston AA team photo. Side-by-side comparison shows difference in letter thickness of two Boston uniforms.

Photo B

Dated April 22, 1891. Photo of New York, left, and Boston, right, at New York, Polo Grounds, opening day. The Boston players wore a gray road uniform in this photo, with a dark belt, dark stockings and 2 dark horizontal bands on a pillbox cap. The city name was displayed in thick, bold lettering, similar to that on the home white uniform, see photo A. A newspaper report of the opening day game in New York said the Boston team wore a gray uniform with black stockings.

Boston players. top row, from left: B Nash (NL 85-89, 91-95, PL 90), C Ganzel (89-97), H Stovey (PL 90, NL 91, 92), (F Selee mgr 90-01), T Tucker (90-97) and C Bennett (89-93). Boston players, front row: K Nichols (90-01), J Quinn (NL 88, 89, 91, 92, PL 90), S Brodie (90, 91), J Clarkson (88-92), H Long (90-02) and M Sullivan (Bos NL 90, 91, Cle NL 91). Player IDs based on photo A, and cross-referenced with box scores from the opening series in New York in which Boston played eleven players. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. New York-Boston box scores from The Sporting Life, April 25, 1891. Image scan from Ron McCulloch, How Baseball Began (1995), citing that the original was from the National Baseball Library, Cooperstown, NY. Original photo by Joseph Hall, Brooklyn.

Dated April 22, 1891. Detail view of Boston team from photo B. Detail view showed that four of the players standing in the top row, far right, may have worn a white shirt with gray pants, instead of a gray shirt. Player standing top right may have worn white shirt laces, not black. The cap worn by this team may have been white in color, not gray, though this is unconfirmed.

Photo C

Dated April 23, 1891. Drawing of Boston player C Bennett (89-93). This drawing was published by a newspaper reporting on the Boston-New York opening game in New York at the new Polo Grounds on April 22, 1891. Player was depicted wearing white shirt, dark pants and dark stockings. Newspaper reports from this year stated the Boston road uniform was gray with black stockings. It is possible the team wore white shirts with gray pants at times when away from home. This rendering may have been drawn from an existing photograph. Drawing from the New York Sun, April 23, 1891.

Photo D

Left: dated April 23, 1891, drawing of Boston player J Clarkson (88-92). Right: dated 1887, detail view of Old Judge baseball card of Clarkson. The drawing at left was published by a newspaper reporting on the Boston-New York opening game in New York at the new Polo Grounds on April 22, 1891. Player was depicted wearing a dark uniform with a white cap, lettering, belt and stockings. However this drawing of Clarkson was based on a baseball card from 1887, see right, and may not represent the 1891 Boston road uniform accurately. Newspaper reports from 1891 stated the Boston road uniform was gray with black stockings. Drawing of Clarkson from the New York Sun, April 23, 1891.

Photo E

Dated October 1891. Collage of player portraits, full view at left, detail view of player Nash at right. All of the portraits in this collage were made between the years 1888 and 1890. None of the portraits were made in 1891 with the possible exception of player Staley, who was photographed in street clothes. The appearance of Staley in combination with player Brodie confirms this collage was issued in 1891 as these men only played together for Boston during this year. An issue date of October 1891 or later can be suggested by the “Champions 1891” wording in center of collage as Boston won the NL championship in 1891. Portraits of players Kelly, Nash, Ganzel, Bennett and Quinn can be approximately dated as 1889 as these portraits appeared on a collage printed in that year. The portraits of Ganzel and Quinn can be definitively dated as 1889 as this was their first year in Boston. The portrait of player Clarkson has different studio lighting on the background when compared to the 1889 portraits and may suggest the portrait of Clarkson was made in 1888, his first year with the team. The portraits of players Tucker, Long, Nichols, Brodie and Lowe can be dated 1890 as this was each player’s first year in Boston. The uniform each player wore had red lace ties and arched lettering which can be identified as the 1890 Boston NL uniform. The portrait of player Stovey can also be dated to 1890, also his first year in Boston. His portrait showed a uniform with white laces and the city name in a subtle arch which has been identified as the 1890 Boston PL uniform. None of the uniforms shown in this collage match the uniform shown in the team photo, see photo A. It can be speculated the team repurposed these existing player portraits from previous years to reduce costs.

Clockwise from top left: T Tucker (90-97), H Long (90-02), H Stovey (PL 90, NL 91, 92), J Quinn (NL 88, 89, 91, 92, PL 90), B Nash (NL 85-89, 91-95, PL 90), C Bennett (89-93), (H Staley 91-94), B Lowe (90-01), S Brodie (90, 91), K Nichols (90-01), J Clarkson (88-92) and M Kelly (NL 87-89, 91, 92, PL 90, AA 91). Middle: (F Selee mgr 90-01) and C Ganzel (89-97). Player IDs from collage. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Original portrait images by G. Waldon Smith, Boston.

Written documentation on these uniforms:
March 1891: “John F. Morrill & Co. have been awarded the contracts for the making of the Boston [National] League Club’s uniforms. Curiously enough, they will be the same as the [Boston American] Association—white and red for home use, gray and black abroad.” From The Sporting Life, March 21, 1891. Research from Chuck McGill.

April 22, 1891, New York v. Boston at New York, opening day parade to the Polo Grounds: “At 12 ½ o’clock a band of music struck up a lively air on Broadway, near Wall Street. Instantly a crowd rushed to the spot and found two tally-ho coaches filled will ball players. They were the Bostons, arrayed in neat gray uniforms and black stockings, and our own team dressed in their attractive, close-fitting white jerseys and black stockings.” From the New York Sun, April 23, 1891.

May 1891: “It is the style now in the East for ball teams to have their pictures taken in dress suits instead of uniforms. The Boston [National] League club has introduced the style.” From the Pittsburgh Dispatch, May 5, 1891.

August 17, 1891, Boston v. New York at New York: “[Boston players Bobby] Lowe and [Herman] Long had to wear New York uniforms yesterday, as their trunk was not delivered at the Westminster Hotel in time for them to dress for the game.” From the New York Herald, August 18, 1891.

Team genealogy: Boston 1871-1952
Boston was formed to enter the National Association (NA) in 1871. The NA was baseball’s first league, operating 1871-1875. Boston played in the NA in every year of the league’s existence and moved to the National League (NL) upon its start in 1876. Boston played in the NL from 1876 to 1952 and moved to Milwaukee for the 1953 NL season. Information from Paul Batesel, Players And Teams of the National Association, 1871-1875, from baseball-reference.com and from wikipedia.com.