1895 Boston (Bostons, Beaneaters)

Left: This rendering is based on partial 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

Center & Right: These renderings are based on written documentation for uniform style and color. No visual documentation is known and an artist’s conceptualization is used to create the renderings.

Rendering accuracy:Year: documented    Team: documented

Visual documentation on these uniforms:

Photo A

Dated mid-April 1895 to mid-May1895. Montage of player portraits, full view at left, detail view of player C Dolan (95, 96, 05, 06) at right. Year of collage can be confirmed by the appearance of players Sexton, Wilson, Warner and Nyce, all of whom only played for Boston in 1895. A mid-April 1895 to mid-May 1895 date range can be suggested by the appearance of player Sexton and Collins. Sexton joined the Boston in mid-April after playing for the University of Michigan in a game against Detroit (WL) in early April 1895. Collins was loaned to Louisville on May 19, 1895 and returned to Boston for the following season of 1896. This collage showed a variety of portraits taken during different years, some as far back as 1889, and therefore these images were not representations of the 1895 Boston uniform. Only the image of player Dolan, shown in the detail view at right, may be a representation of the 1895 uniform. Dolan, who joined the team in 1895, wore a white or light-colored uniform in this photo, with the city name arched across the shirt in vertically extended lettering. This matched the lettering style established by the team one year earlier in 1894.

Top row, from left: J Ryan (94-96), F Sexton (95) and C Ganzel (89-97). Second row: J Stivetts (92-98), Z Wilson (Bos 95, Cle 95), G Hodson (Bos 94, Phi 95), J Collins (Bos NL 95-00, AL 01-07, Lou 95) and K Nichols (90-01). Third row: B Lowe (90-01), (H Duffy AA 91, NL 92-00), B Nash (NL 85-89, 91-95, PL 90), (F Selee mgr 90-01) and J Warner (Bos NL 95, Lou 95, Bos AL 02). Fourth row: C Dolan (95, 96, 05, 06), T McCarthy (UA 85, NL 85, 92-95), J Bannon (94-96), H Long (90-02) and J Sullivan (91, 95-98). Fifth row: C Nyce (95), F Tenney (94-07) and T Tucker (90-97). Player IDs from a version of this collage printed in the Spalding Base Ball Guide 1896, published at the start of the 1896 season and which also credited the photographer as G. Waldon Smith, Boston. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Sexton info on joining Boston from the Detroit Free Press, April 7, 1895. Research from Peter Reitan. Collins loan info from retrosheet.org. Image scan from the Detroit Public Library. Original montage by G. Waldon Smith, Boston.

Left, detail view of photo A, dated mid-April 1895 to mid-May 1895, portrait of B Nash (NL 85-89, 91-95, PL 90). Right, detail view of Nash from a Boston portrait collage issued in 1889. This demonstrated how the same player portrait was used and reused over a period of time, in this case over a six-year period. Nash wore a white uniform in this photo with square-ish block letters arched across the chest. This style uniform was worn by the Boston team between the years 1886 and 1892. Ten of the twenty-one portraits shown in the 1895 collage (photo A) depicted uniforms that matched this style, eight of which can be attributed to earlier years. Three of these eight portraits (Nash, Ganzel and Tucker) were included in a collage of portraits issued in 1889. Another three of the eight portraits (Nichols, Lowe and Long) were included in a collage issued in 1890. Two of the eight portraits (Stivetts and McCarthy) were probably taken in the year 1892 or 1893. This date range can be determined by the fact that both players joined the team in 1892 and that the block-style lettering was not used by the team 1894. Player ID of Nash from the Spalding Base Ball Guide 1896, published at the start of the 1896 season and which also credited the photographer as G. Waldon Smith, Boston. Years Nash with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan at left from the Detroit Public Library.

Dated mid-April 1895 to mid-May 1895. Two detail views of photo A. Left: portrait of J Bannon (94-96). Right: portrait of J Sullivan (91, 95-98). Similar to the Nash portrait above, these two portraits showed a uniform with square-ish block letters arched across the shirt. This style was worn by the Boston team between the years 1886 and 1892. However Bannon played for Boston in 1894 and 1895. It is unknown if this uniform was worn by this player during this time. Sullivan played 1 game for Boston in 1891 before returning to the team in 1895. It is possible this portrait was made in 1891 when the team wore a shirt with this style of lettering. It is also possible the lettering was added to the image by hand by an artist. Based on studio lighting, the Bannon and Sullivan portraits do not appear to have been made at the same time. Player IDs the Spalding Base Ball Guide 1896, published at the start of the 1896 season and which also credited the photographer as G. Waldon Smith, Boston. Years Bannon and Sullivan with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from the Detroit Public Library.

Dated mid-April 1895 to mid-May 1895. Another detail view of photo A. Left: portrait of Z Wilson (Bos 95, Cle 95). Center: portrait of G Hodson (Bos 94, Phi 95). Right: portrait of J Collins (Bos NL 95-00, AL 01-07, Lou 95). These three portraits, plus the portraits of Boston players Ryan, Sexton, Warner and Nyce, showed a generic uniform with lace ties and no lettering. Three of these portraits, Wilson, Collins and Nyce (only Wilson and Collins shown above) portrayed a uniform with a two-tone collar and similar characteristics in lighting and studio backdrop. As these three players were each new to the team in 1895, it could be suggested these portraits were made at the same time in early 1895. All of the portraits in the collage were credited to a single photographer, G. Waldon Smith, Boston. This may suggest these generic uniforms were part of a wardrobe selection made available by the photography studio. Player IDs from the Spalding Base Ball Guide 1896, published at the start of the 1896 season and which also credited the photographer as G. Waldon Smith, Boston. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from the Detroit Public Library.

Dated mid-April 1895 to mid-May 1895. Two additional detail views of photo A. Left, studio image of F Sexton (95). Right: studio image of F Tenney (94-07). The Sexton image cannot be examined due to poor image quality but may be from when Sexton played for the University of Michigan in early April 1895. Note that the image had a different studio background than the Tenney image, suggesting the two images were not made at the same location or time. The Tenney image can most likely be identified as from 1894 or 1895. Tenney joined the team in 1894 and he clearly wore a Boston uniform in this image. The light-colored cap may suggest a photo date of 1894, not 1895. Poor image quality prevents further examination. Player IDs from the Spalding Base Ball Guide 1896, published at the start of the 1896 season and which also credited the photographer as G. Waldon Smith, Boston. Years Sexton and Tenney with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from the Detroit Public Library.

Photo B

Issued 1895. Mayo Cut Plug baseball card reprint of H Duffy (AA 91, NL 92-00). Full view at left, detail view at right. This illustration was most likely made from a photograph. Based on the vertically extended lettering arched across the shirt, an 1894 or 1895 date for the original image could be suggested, exact date undetermined. Years Duffy with team from baseball-reference.com. Original card issue date from oldcardboard.com.

Photo C

Issued 1895. Mayo Cut Plug baseball card reprint of T McCarthy (UA 85, NL 85, 92-95). Full view at left, detail view at right. This illustration was most likely taken from a photograph, however it is possible the shirt lettering was added later by an artist. The single dark-color horizontal stripe on the cap was unique and does not correlate with other references on the Boston cap. Years McCarthy with team from baseball-reference.com. Original card issue date from oldcardboard.com.

Photos D, E & F

Issued 1895. Mayo Cut Plug baseball card reprints of, from left, B Nash (NL 85-89, 91-95, PL 90), C Ganzel (89-97) and B Lowe (90-01)). These illustrations were examples of how some baseball cards in the series were derived from photographs from previous years. None of these images depicted the Boston uniform of 1895. The Nash portrait was first used on an Old Judge baseball card issued in 1888, seven years prior. The Ganzel portrait was first used in a Boston portrait collage issued in 1889, and the Lowe portrait was first used in a Boston portrait collage issued in 1890. Years players with team from baseball-reference.com. Baseball card issue dates from oldcardboard.com.

Photos G, H & I

Issued 1895. Mayo Cut Plug baseball card reprints of, from left, J Bannon (94-96), H Long (90-02) and K Nichols (90-01). These illustrations were examples of how some baseball cards in this series were a creation of the artist. The uniforms depicted were not based on photographs or actual examples and none of these images represented the 1895 Boston uniform. The Nichols drawing, right, was based on a cabinet card photo made circa 1889 in which the player wore the striped uniform of the Omaha team of the Western Association. The artist drew the word “Boston” where “Omaha” originally was positioned on the shirt. Years players with team from baseball-reference.com. Original card issue date from oldcardboard.com.

Written documentation on these uniforms:
March 1895: “Boston, March 13. — […] Manager Selee has been busy arranging with the equipment of his men for the coming season. Naturally he took Hugh Duffy with him to select the bats. He has determined upon a traveling uniform of fancy light-colored flannel with blue stockings and trimmings. […] The home uniform will be of white with cardinal stockings and caps. Selee will discard the white caps [of 1894] because they soil so quickly.” From The Sporting Life, March 16, 1895. Research from Chuck McGill.

March 1895: “The uniforms of the [Boston] players are […] suits are of gray flannel with blue checks, the whole making a very neat effect. The caps are of this material and have long visors and a fine monogram, ‘B. B. C’ in blue. Norfolk jackets will be worn.” From The Sporting Life, March 23, 1895. Research from Chuck McGill.

April 1895: “The Boston team will try to go through a season without a professional mascot. Manager Selee will do the hypnotizing.” From The Sporting Life, April 13, 1895.

April 1895: “The Bostons received a rousing reception as they came out for their preliminary practice [on April 23, 1895, in New York, Polo Grounds, exhibition game]. They wore neat gray uniforms, with blue stockings and belts, instead of the conventional sweaters they wore loose gray Norfolk jackets.” From the New York Evening World, April 24, 1895.

August 1895: “Boston, like Joseph of old, believes in a raiment of many colors—red caps, gray pants and shirt, blue stockings and belts. Why not have yellow shoes and a green collar to complete the outlandish rig?–Baltimore Telegram.” From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 19, 1895. This editorial comment would imply the team sometimes wore their red home caps with their gray road uniforms. Boston played four games at Baltimore between August 13, 1895 to August 15, 1895. Game dates from retrosheet.org.

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.