1895 St. Louis (Browns)
These renderings are based on partial visual documentation for uniform style and partial written documentation for color. Important details may be undocumented or difficult to determine. An educated guess is made to complete the renderings.
Rendering accuracy:Year: unconfirmed Team: documented
Visual documentation on these uniforms:
Photo A
Dated April 2, 1895. This portrait montage was printed in a newspaper on this date, full view at left, detail view of R Ehret (95) at right. Drawings based on original portraits made by John H. Moyston of Memphis. The original images were made when the St. Louis team played exhibition games in Memphis between March 29 and March 31, 1895. The caption under the published montage read: “From a photograph taken in Memphis, especially for the Post-Dispatch.” This caption would suggest that a single team photo was made in Memphis, however cabinet-card portraits of individual St Louis players with Moyston’s identification on the photo frame are known to exist, see below. The image of Ehret, who only played for St Louis in 1895, and also that of Breitenstein, top row far right in montage, showed the team’s cap. These caps were depicted as having a rounded crown and with the fabric pulled towards the front of the cap. The shirts depicted in the montage with a button placket. Eleven of the fourteen players were depicted wearing neckties. As these photos were taken during spring training, it is unknown if the team was photographed wearing the uniform from the previous season of 1894. However, the style of cap worn by Ehret and Breitenstein was unusual for the period. Caps with a rounded crown may first have been introduced by Boston in 1894, and it is possible St. Louis followed the style in 1895.
Top row, from left: T Dowd (93-98), R Ehret (95) and T Breitenstein (AA 91, NL 92-96, 01) . Second row: D Lyons (95), H Staley (StL 95, Whe IOL 95), (A Beckenberger mgr 95), D Cooley (93-96) and D McDougal (StL 95, 96, Qui WA 95). Third row: M Hogan (94, 95,Ind WL 95), B Ely (93-95), J Quinn (UA 84, NL 85, 86, 93-96, 98) and R Connor (94-97). Fourth row: D Miller (94, 95), A Twineham (dnp, StL 93, 94, Det WL 95) and H Peitz (92-95). Image and player IDs from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 2, 1895. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from Carson Lorey.
Photo B
Dated 1895. Portrait montage, full view at left, detail view of R Ehret (95) at right. Drawings based on original portraits made by John H. Moyston of Memphis. The original images were made when the St. Louis team played exhibition games in Memphis between March 29 and March 31, 1895. The drawings in this montage were not the same as those published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on April 2, 1895. The image of Ehret, who only played for St Louis in 1895, and also that of Breitenstein, middle row third from left in montage, showed the team’s cap. These caps were depicted as having a rounded crown and with the fabric pulled towards the front of the cap. The shirts depicted in the montage with a button placket. Eleven of the thirteen players were depicted wearing neckties.
Top row, from left: H Staley (StL 95, Whe IOL 95), D McDougal (StL 95, 96, Qui WA 95), A Twineham (dnp, StL 93, 94, Det WL 95), M Hogan (94, 95, Ind WL 95) and D Cooley (93-96). Middle row: T Dowd (93-98), H Peitz (92-95), T Breitenstein (AA 91, NL 92-96, 01) and R Connor (94-97). Third row: R Ehret (95), B Ely (93-95), D Lyons (95) and J Quinn (UA 84, NL 85, 86, 93-96, 98). Player D Miller was not included in this montage but was included in the montage published by theSt. Louis Post-Dispatch on April 2, 1895. Player IDs from item. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from Gary and Oliver Kodner, cardinalsuniformsandlogos.com.
Photos C & D
Left, dated March 29-31, 1895, cabinet-card portrait of T Dowd (93-98). Right, drawing made from the same photo and published in a newspaper on January 25, 1896. Date of March 29-31, 1895 determined by a drawing of this photo published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on April 2, 1895, and with the following caption “From a photograph taken in Memphis, especially for the Post-Dispatch.” St. Louis played exhibition games in Memphis on these dates. The photo frame on the cabinet card confirmed the image was taken by a Memphis photographer. The player wore a gray road uniform in this image. The city name was arched across the chest and one of the shirt buttons was positioned inside the opening of the letter “O.” The shirt had a shirt pocket on the left breast. The lettering and the shirt pocket were not included in the published drawing at right. Cabinet card image from Hunt Auctions, and also from Ken Samoil. Player ID and drawing from the New York Clipper, January 25, 1896. Years Dowd with team from baseball-reference.com. Original photo by John H. Moyston, Memphis.
Photo E
Dated April 1895 Dated March 29-31, 1895, cabinet-card portrait portrait of D McDougal (StL 95, 96, Qui WA 95), full view at left, detail view at right. Date range determined by a drawing of this photo published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on April 2, 1895, and with the following caption “From a photograph taken in Memphis, especially for the Post-Dispatch.” St. Louis played exhibition games in Memphis on these dates. The photo frame on the cabinet card confirmed the image was taken by a Memphis photographer. Player wore a white or light gray uniform when this image was taken. Detail view showed that the city name arched across the chest in rectangular letter forms and that two shirt buttons overlapped the letter “O.” Player ID and image scan from Hunt Auctions. Years McDougal with team from baseball-reference.com. Original photo by John H. Moyston, Memphis.
Photos F, G & H
Left, dated September 7, 1895, portrait of M Hogan (StL 94, 95, Ind WL 95). Center, dated February 8, 1896, portrait of T Breitenstein (AA 91, NL 92-96, 01). Right, dated August 8, 1896, portrait of D McDougal (StL 95, 96 3 games, Qui WA 95). Each portrait was published in the New York Clipper on its respective date and each was based on a photograph made between March 29 and March 31, 1895 in Memphis. Drawings of these photographs were published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on April 2, 1895, and with the following caption “From a photograph taken in Memphis, especially for the Post-Dispatch.” St. Louis played exhibition games in Memphis on these dates. In the illustrations above, the artist removed the city name from the shirt. The drawing of Breitenstein included a cap with a rounded crown and with the fabric pulled towards the front of the cap. Images and player IDs from the New York Clipper, September 1895 to August 1896. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Drawings based on original photos by John H. Moyston, Memphis.
Photo I
Dated August 1895 to September 1895. Cabinet card portrait of I Samuels (StL 95, RI EIL 95), full view at left, detail view at right. Image scan and player ID from Justin Mckinney, who received the image from a collector in about 2020. Mckinney has determined the identity of the player as “Sammy ‘Ike’ Samuels, who appeared for the [St. Louis] club in August and September [1895].” Mckinney adds that “the photo was taken by the Morrison Gallery, which was located in Chicago.” The back of the cabinet card included the studio’s street address as 161 West Madison St., and also listed recent awards won by the studio in 1893, 1894 and 1895. Mckinney suggests that the image “may have been taken either August 3 or August 4, since Samuels was from Chicago and made his debut there, and he appears to be wearing a road uniform in the photo. The photo was taken by Clara Hagins, who was the Morrison studio photographer. Hagins is [the collector’s] great aunt and [the collector] is in possession of a large collection of photos from the gallery. […] The image shows a lot of nice details including a loop on the right side [of the belt] that looks like it would be used to attach a glove.” Note also the position of the shirt buttons overlapping the “O” in St. Louis. The position of these buttons was similar, but not an exact match, to other photos of St. Louis players from 1895 shown above. Original photo from the Morrison Gallery, Chicago. Photo courtesy of RLC Protection Trust.
Photos J & K
Left, dated 1895, Mayo’s Cut Plug baseball card of J Clarkson (dnp). Right, dated 1888, Conly baseball card of Clarkson when he played for Boston (88-92). The image of John Clarkson wearing a St. Louis uniform at left was a retouched image of Clarkson wearing a Boston uniform, right, taken seven years earlier. Besides the similarity in pose and lighting, the arrows point out matching characteristics in both images. Based on these similarities, it is likely the St. Louis uniform depicted on the Mayo’s card was the creation of an artist and not a representation of an actual uniform. The Mayo’s Cut Plug baseball card series of 1895 included other examples of players from other teams, as well, where a city name had apparently been added to the shirt fronts. The lettering on the Mayo’s card of Clarkson also did not exactly match other photo examples of the 1895 St. Louis uniform shown above, most notably in the size of the lettering, the baseline curve of the lettering, and the treatment of the “T” in St. Louis.
Remarkably, the tobacco company made an error in using the image of John Clarkson altogether. Clarkson, a Hall of Fame pitcher, had retired from baseball after the previous season of 1894 and did not play for St. Louis at any time during his career. However, his younger brother, Arthur “Dad” Clarkson, also a pitcher, did play for St. Louis between 1893 and 1895. The image on the Mayo’s Cut Plug card above was clearly that of John, and not of Arthur. However, is it possible John tried out with the St. Louis team before the 1895 season began? Newspaper reports from early 1895 do not support this theory. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch on February 25, 1895, stated that “John Clarkson, the famous ex-pitcher of the Chicago, Boston and Cleveland teams, has been engaged to coach the University of Michigan base ball nine this season.” The Detroit Free Press on April 9, 1895, reported the following: “Bay City, Mich., April 8 – Arthur Clarkson left the city today for St. Louis to join the Browns, for whom he will pitch this season.” The paper then noted that “his brother John […] who is in business in this city, will be at the head of an amateur team in this city.” The Ironwood (MI) News-Record on August 24, 1895, noted that “John G. Clarkson, the famous pitcher of the Chicagos and Bostons […] is in the cigar business in Bay City.” Years John Clarkson with Boston and Arthur Clarkson with St. Louis from baseball-reference.com. Supporting research from Gary and Oliver Kodner. Date of Mayo’s Cut Plug card from oldcarboard.com. Image of Conly baseball card image from Heritage Auctions with research from Carson Lorey. Original Clarkson image from C. F. Conly, Boston.
Photo L
Dated March 1896, labeled 1895. This montage of portraits was published in the Spalding Base Ball Guide in March 1896 and was created between January and March 1896. This date range can be determined by the appearance of player Hart, who was traded to St. Louis in January 1896. Labeled as the 1895 team, the collage included players who were not on the 1895 team. Players Hart, McFarland, Murphy, Parrott, Latham and Myers were all new to the team for the 1896 season. Eight of the nine remaining players shown belonged to both the 1895 and 1896 teams. One of these eight, Hogan, was with the team in 1896 though he did not play in an official game that year. In late April 1896 the Browns still retained Hogan as an “extra” before he was sent to Indianapolis for the 1896 season. The majority of these drawings were based on photographs made between March 29 to March 31, 1895 by John H. Moyston, Memphis. In the Spalding drawings, a bow tie was added to the replace the necktie worn in the original. At least two of the drawings in the collage (Parrott and McFarland) were based on photos of the player dressed in street clothes and therefore the uniform shown was a creation of the artist in these two cases.
Top row, from left: B Hart (Pit 95, StL 96, 97), E McFarland (Ind WL 95, StL 96, 97), T Dowd (93-98), T Breitenstein (AA 91, NL 92-96, 01) and R Connor (94-97). Middle: D Cooley (93-96), J Quinn (UA 84, NL 85, 86, 93-96, 98), M Murphy (Cin 95, StL 96, 97) and T Parrott (Cin 95, StL 96). Front: A Latham (StL AA 83-89, StL NL 96, Cin 95), B Myers (96), M Hogan (StL 94, 95, Ind WL 95, 96), Ruppold (?) and D McDougal (StL 95, 96 3 games, Qcy WA 95, Whl ISL 95). Player IDs and image scan from the Spalding Base Ball Guide 1896, published in March 1896. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. The name of player Cooley in the collage was misspelled as Croley. Myers was misspelled as Meyers. Hart transaction info from retrosheet.org. Hogan transaction info from wikipedia.com, retrieved April 5, 2019 and citing The Sporting Life, May 2, 1896.
Written documentation on these uniforms:
February 1895: “Our Illinois neighbors would make it an object for the Browns to play there.” From The Sporting Life, February 16, 1896. Research from Chuck McGill. This article was about the team looking for a new ballpark location and was one of several referring to the team as the “Browns.”
March 1895: “The Brown Stocking Ball Club, 12 strong, left St. Louis last night for Little Rock, Ark., to open their spring practice games.” From the Memphis Commercial Appeal, March 5, 1895. This report suggested the team planned to wear the team’s traditional brown stockings in 1895.
April 2, 1895, St. Louis v. Nashville, at Nashville, exhibition game: “The Nashvilles made a much better showing against the St. Louis Browns yesterday. […] Not a single Brown Stocking was sent to base on balls.” From the Nashville Banner, April 3, 1895. Examples of a newspaper referencing the team’s stocking color.
August 21, 1895, St. Louis v. Brooklyn, at Brooklyn: “The Browns were easy.” From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 22, 1895. This is one of many examples where the team nickname was used, possibly implying the team’s accent color was brown.
Team genealogy: St. Louis 1882-
St. Louis joined the American Association (AA) in 1882. The AA was a major league operating between 1882 and 1891 and St. Louis played in the AA in every year of the league’s existence. The team moved to the National League (NL) for the 1892 season. The NL began operation in 1876 and St. Louis has played in the NL every year since 1892. Information from wikipedia.
Rendering posted: January 22, 2023
Diggers on this uniform: Carson Lorey, Chuck McGill, Gary Kodner, Justin Mckinney, Ken Samoil, Oliver Kodner,