1895 St. Paul (St. Pauls)

This rendering is based on visual documentation for uniform style and color. Minor details may be undocumented or difficult to determine and an educated guess is made to complete the rendering.

Rendering accuracy: Year: documented    Team: documented

Visual documentation on this uniform:

Photo A

Dated April 1895 to early June 1895. This image was published in a newspaper on June 8, 1895. Note that the year printed in the caption beneath the photo appears to read as 1893, but with close inspection the year can be confirmed as 1895. The appearance of players Van Dyke, Irwin, Boyle, Peppers, Camp, Marr, Jones, Johnstone, Smith and Berger can also confirm the year as 1895, as this was the only year these men played for St.Paul. Players wore a light gray uniform in this photo with dark lettering on the shirt, a dark belt and dark stockings. The pillbox-style cap was white in color, not gray, and featured two dark-colored horizontal bands and dark trim along the front edge of the visor. The shirt had a pocket beneath the left breast. Nine of the thirteen players shown in this photo wore long-sleeved shirts. One player wore his collar styled up. One player, front row far right, wore a shirt with no lettering. One player, back row second from right, wore a shirt with a team name ending in “OY” across the chest. Two players in this photo wore a different type of pillbox cap, that of a solid mid-tone color and with subtle horizontal bands sewn into the body. A newspaper report from April 1895 stated the St. Paul uniform that year was to be “gray with black trimmings, gray blouse and pants, black hose and belt” and that the city name was also to be in black letters.

Top row, from left: B Van Dyke (StP 95, Jac/Spr WA 95), C Irwin (StP 95, Oak CaL 95), E Boyle (95), H Peppers (95) and L Camp (95). Middle: L Marr (StP 95, Nas SL), T Mullane (95-98), A Jones (95), (C Comiskey mgr 95-99), T O’Rourke (95-97), J Pickett (87-89, 95, 96) and J Johnstone (95). Front: O Smith (StP 95, Ric VaL 95), F Kraus (95, 96) and T Berger (StP 95, Roc EL 95). Image and player IDs (not shown in photo A) from the St. Paul Dispatch, June 8 1895. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Note that the visual appearance of players Van Dyke, Irwin, Camp and Berger in the team photo do not appear to match some of the profile images displayed on baseball-reference.com, as referenced on September 11, 2021, and it is likely the contemporary identifications from the Dispatch are correct. Image scan and Dispatch research from Carson Lorey. Original image by Zimmerman, St. Paul.

Dated April 1895 to early June 1895. Detail view of photo A. Detail view showed the team’s light gray shirts and white caps. The city name was in block-style lettering and one of the shirt buttons overlapped the letter “P” in the name. A shirt pocket can be seen on several of the shirts. Note that the player in top left of this detail view wore a shirt with a team name ending in “OY.”

Written documentation on this uniform:
April 1895: “Capt. Comiskey, of the St. Paul Base Ball Club, arrived home yesterday after a flying visit to Chicago. He was accompanied by Mrs. Comiskey, Miss and Master Comiskey. He met Second Baseman [John] Pickett in Chicago. The two selected the uniforms that the St. Paul team will wear this season. […] The suits will be of gray with black trimmings, gray blouse and pants, black hose and belt. The words ‘Saint Paul’ in black will appear across the front of each blouse. Spalding will make the uniforms, which will arrive here on April 12.” From the St. Paul Globe, April 5, 1895. Research from Cary Smith.

May 1895: “Commy [i.e.. Comiskey] promised to put on a uniform and play first base in Thursday’s game [May 9, 1895], while Tony Mullane would try to get his arm back by pitching a game. […] Commy did not put on the suit and Tony is still playing first.” From the Minneapolis Times, May 12, 1895.

Team genealogy: St. Paul 1895-1899
St. Paul joined the Western League (WL) in 1895 with the transfer of the Sioux City team. The WL operated between 1894 and 1899 and St. Paul played in the league through the 1899 season. The team was transferred to Chicago before the 1900 season when the league reformed as the American League. Information from wikipedia.com