1892 Brooklyn (Brooklyns, Bridgegrooms)

This rendering is based on partial visual documentation for uniform style only. Color information is unknown and the uniform is rendered in values of gray. Important details may also be undocumented or difficult to determine and an educated guess is made to complete the rendering.

Rendering accuracy:Year: undocumented    Team: documented

Visual documentation on this uniform:

Photo A

Dated 1892. Collage of player portraits. Two players were shown in uniform: J Ward (PL 90, NL 91, 92), middle row, and C Daily (PL 90, NL 91-95), bottom row. These two portraits were made in 1890 and not in 1892. They were originally included in a portrait collage of the 1890 Brooklyn Players’ League team.

Top row, from left: H Collins (AA 88, 89, NL 90-92), D Foutz (AA 88, 89, NL 90-96), B Hart (92), M Griffin (91-98), T Daly (90-01) and O Burns (AA 88, 89, NL 90-95). Middle row: D O’Brien (AA 88, 89, NL 90-92), B Inks (Bkln 91, 92, Was 92), J Ward (PL 90, NL 91, 92), D Brouthers (92, 93) and A Terry. Bottom row: E Stein (92-96, 98), T Kinslow (PL 90, NL 91-94), T Corcoran (92-96), C Daily (PL 90, NL 91-95) and B Kennedy (92-01). Player IDs from collage. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Several newspapers published this collage, this version was originally published by the Chicago Evening Post. Image scan from the Detroit Public Library.

Photo B

Dated 1891 to 1894. Portrait of M Griffin (91-98), full view at left, detail view at right. Date range determined by the fact that 1891 was Griffin’s first year in Brooklyn and by the fact that this portrait was included in an 1894 photo collage. An 1892 date can be suggested for this portrait by analyzing the uniforms worn by Brooklyn players in the 1894 photo collage, see uniform study below, in which this portrait was included. Detail view at right showed that the second letter “O” in “Brooklyn” was sewn along the edge of the shirt opening. Years Griffin with team from baseball-reference.com.

Photo C

Dated 1895. Mayo’s Cut Plug baseball card of B Kennedy (92-01), full view at left, detail view at right. This portrait of Kennedy was taken between 1892 and 1894, not in 1895 when this card was issued. 1892 was Kennedy’s first year in Brooklyn, and 1894 was the date when this portrait was included in a published collage. An 1892 date can be suggested for this portrait by analyzing the uniforms worn by Brooklyn players in the 1894 photo collage, see uniform study below, in which this portrait was included. Detail view at right showed that the second letter “O” in “Brooklyn” was sewn along the edge of the shirt opening, similar to the Griffin portrait, see photo B. Years Kennedy with team from baseball-reference.com. Baseball card date from oldcardboard.com.

Photo D

Dated 1892 to January 1893. Portrait of E Stein (92-96, 98), full view at left, detail view at right. Date range determined by the fact that 1892 was Stein’s first year in Brooklyn and by the fact that a drawing of this portrait was published in the New York Clipper on February 4, 1893. A drawing from this portrait was also included in an illustrated collage published in April 1893, see photo A. Detail view at right showed a uniform with bold lettering across the chest, the second “O” in “Brooklyn” divided by the shirt opening and a shirt button overlapping the “O” and “K.” Years Stein with team from baseball-reference.com. New York Clipper date from J.P. Caillault, The Complete New York Clipper Biographies (2009). Image scan from Ken Samoil.

Photo E

Dated 1895, photo dated circa 1892. Mayo’s Cut Plug baseball card of T Corcoran (92-96), full view at left, detail view at right. This portrait of Corcoran was taken between April 1892 and January 1893, not in 1895 when the baseball card was issued. 1892 was Corcoran’s first year in Brooklyn, and a drawing from this portrait was published in the New York Clipper on January 14, 1893. In April 1893, another drawing of this portrait was published in a newspaper, see photo A. Detail view at right showed that this uniform matched the Stein portrait, see photo B. Years Corcoran with team from baseball-reference.com. Baseball card date from oldcardboard.com.

Uniform Study

Dated April 1894 to mid-May 1894. Collage of photo portraits published in the Spalding Baseball Guide, 1895. By studying the shirt lettering, this collage can help to identify Brooklyn uniforms from the years 1891 to 1894. The red boxes correspond with the detail views below.

Four detail views of the Brooklyn uniform from the photo collage shown above. Detail views show subtle differences in the lettering on the shirt:

–Uniform A was distinguished by a button that overlapped the vertical stroke of the second “O,” see arrow. Based on the players who wore this uniform (Foutz & Daly), an 1891 photo date can be suggested

–Uniform B was distinguished by slightly thicker and tightly spaced lettering when compared to uniform A. The second “O” ran along the edge of the shirt opening, see arrow. It also had a slightly wider letter “K” and no buttons overlapping letters. Based on the players who wore this uniform (Griffin & Kennedy), an 1892 photo date can be suggested

–Uniform C was distinguished by letters that were thicker and more square in shape than all other examples. Also, the second letter “O” was divided across the shirt opening, see arrow. Based on the players who wore this uniform (Daub & Sharrott), an 1892 or 1893 photo date can be suggested

–Uniform D was distinguished by thinner lettering that was similar to uniform A, but with the second “O” divided across the shirt opening, similar to uniform C. Uniform D also had unusually wide letter spacing between the “O” and the “K,” see arrow. Based on the players who wore this uniform (Shindle & Gilbert), an 1894 photo date can be suggested

Written documentation on this uniform:
April 23, 1892, Brooklyn v. Philadelphia at Brooklyn, first game of doubleheader: “The Brooklyn team came on the field in their pretty white uniforms, in the place of the gray suits they wore the day before, and actively engaged in practice up to 2:30 P.M., when Umpire Mahoney called ‘play,’ and the first of the two games began.” From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 24, 1892. Research from Ed Morton. Brooklyn apparently wore their road uniforms for the previous day’s home game on April 22 due to the weather. The Daily Eagle reported on April 23 that for the April 22 game against Philadelphia “a chilly, drizzle rain prevailed nearly all day” and that the game was played “despite rain, the wet grounds and slippery balls and bats.”

May 23, 1892, Brooklyn v. Washington, at Brooklyn, Eastern Park: “On the way to Eastern Park yesterday everybody talked about the death of [Brooklyn player] Hub Collins. […] When the Washington and Brooklyn teams appeared on the field each of the players wore bits of crape on the left arm.” From the Brooklyn Eagle, May 24, 1892. Game date from retrosheet.org. Collins died May 21, 1892 in Brooklyn, info from baseball-reference.com. Researcher Sam Gazdziak at ripbaseball.com wrote that “Brooklyn wore black crepe on their uniforms for a month.”

Team genealogy: Brooklyn 1883-1957
Brooklyn was formed as a minor league team in 1883 and joined the American Association (AA) in 1884. The AA was a major league operating 1882-1891 and Brooklyn played in the AA between 1884 and 1889. Brooklyn moved to the National League (NL) for the 1890 season. The NL began operation in 1876. Brooklyn played in the NL between 1890 and 1957, when the team moved to Los Angeles. Information from wikipedia.