1896 Toledo (Toledos)

This rendering is based on visual documentation for uniform style only. Color information is unknown and the uniform is rendered in values of gray. Minor details may also 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 1896 to July 1896. Portrait of T Clifford (96), full view at left, detail view at right. Year of photo can be determined by fact that Clifford only played for Toledo in 1896. Date range of April 1896 to July 1896 from Leslie Gibson McCarthy, a descendant of Thomas Clifford, who wrote that Clifford “played 71 games in 1896 […] but only played the first half of that Toledo season. That July, the club was sold to a man named Charles Strobel […] who had owned a team in Washington and brought with him nearly all his players so he cut most of the Toledo players loose – including my great-grandfather.” Photo showed a light gray or light-colored uniform with light-colored lettering arched across a button placket with white buttons. The player wore his collar styled up and a turtleneck sweater under his uniform. The pillbox-style cap was of the same color as the uniform and was accented with thin horizontal bands. Year Clifford with team from baseball-reference.com. July release info from lesliegmccarthy.com, retrieved October 25, 2019, and based on research from Toledo baseball historian John Husman. Original portrait from the family of Thomas Clifford and restored in 2018 by the Toledo Mud Hens.

Photo B

Dated late July 1896 to September 1896. Date range based on appearance of manager Strobel and players Ferguson, Kihm, Cooke, Smith and Hartman, all of whom came to Toledo from Tacoma of the New Pacific League (NPL). Strobel bought the Toledo team on July 26, 1896 after the NPL disbanded on June 15, 1896. Players wore a light gray or light-colored uniform in this photo, with a dark belt and dark stockings. The city name was arched across the chest in light-colored lettering. The shirts had buttons, however two players in the back row, second from left and fourth from left, wore shirts with lace ties, not buttons, and without the city name across the chest. Both of these players came from the Tacoma team and each may have been wearing their Tacoma uniforms with the old lettering removed. Eleven of the twelve players in this photo wore their shirts open at the neck, showing a dark sweater underneath. At least 5 of these players had their shirt open to mid-chest. Three players wore their collar up. At least three players wore quilted pants.

Top row, from left: S Vetters (96), C Ferguson (Tol 96-99, Tac NPL 96), G Kihm (Tol 96, Tac NPL 96), F Cooke (Tol 96, Tac NPL 96) and A Winkler aka D Cecil (96). Middle: E Beck (96-00), B Coyle (Tol 96, Aug NEL 96), (C Strobel mgr Tol 96-02, Tac NPL 96), G Kelb (96, 97) and B Smith (Tol 96-00, 03, Tac NPL 96). Front: H Keenan (96-98), E Arthur (96-00) and W Hartman (Tol 96, 98-00, Tac NPL 96). Player IDs from photo caption (not shown). Years with team from baseball-reference.com. This image was also printed in the Spalding Base Ball Guide 1897, issued at the start of the 1897 season. Image scan from Carson Lorey, and also from Chuck McGill. Strobel purchase date from John Husman, SABR BioProject: Armory Park, retrieved October 25, 2019. New Pacific League disband date from Baseball America, The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (1997).

Dated late July 1896 to September 1896. Detail view of photo A. Detail view showed the city name across the chest in light-colored lettering. Detail view also showed players wearing their shirts unbuttoned at the neck, revealing a dark turtleneck sweater underneath. Detail view from Carson Lorey.

Written documentation on this uniform:
April 1896: “Toledo’s new uniform is dark blue and maroon, a somber but serviceable equipment.” From the Detroit Free Press, April 16, 1896. Research from Ed Morton. This description does not match the photo references shown above and possibly was describing the team’s road uniform.

Team genealogy: Coming soon