1898 Cleveland (Clevelands, Spiders, Indians)
These renderings are 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 renderings.
Rendering accuracy:Year: documented Team: documented
Visual documentation on these uniforms:
Photo A
Dated September 21-23, 1898. Year of photo confirmed by the appearance of players Frank, Heidrick and Fraser, all of whom only played for Cleveland in 1898. A date range of September 21-23, 1898, can be determined by Heidrick and Fraser in combination with the setting of the photograph. Fraser was purchased by Cleveland between Sept 5 and 12, 1898, and Heidrick was signed by Cleveland during this same time and before September 17. The setting of the photograph, based on the grandstand in the background, was the Philadelphia National League Park and the only games Cleveland played in Philadelphia after September 17 was a 3-game series played September 21-23, 1898. Players wore a light gray road uniform in this photo, with caps and stockings of a middle-tone color. The cap had a rounded crown. The shirt had the city name arched across the chest in small block letters. On some shirts, the “N” in Cleveland was sewn backwards onto the shirt, see detail view below. At least eight of the thirteen players in uniform wore a short-sleeved shirt. One player who was new to the team, Fraser in the front row far right, wore a light gray shirt with no lettering.
Top row, from left: F Frank (Cle 98, Day ISL 98), E Heidrick (Cle 98, Pat AtL 98), C Young (90-98), (Z Wilson 95-98) and E McKean (AA 87, 88, NL 89-98). Middle: N Cuppy (92-98), H Blake (94-98), P Tebeau (NL 89, 91-98, PL 90), J Burkett (91-98), B Wallace (94-98) and L Criger (96-98). Front: J Powell (97-98), J O’Connor (92-98) and C Fraser (Cle 98, Lou 98). Player IDs and image from Spalding Baseball Guide 1899, which was published as a review of 1898. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Note that veteran Cleveland catcher C Zimmer (Cle AA 87, 88, Cle NL 89-99) was not included in this photo. Zimmer saw limited playing time toward the end of the 1898 season due to an injury. The Sporting Life reported on August 13, 1898, that “Catcher Zimmer is in Chicago and is being treated by a well-known specialist for the trouble to his throwing arm.” His last game played for Cleveland was on August 18, 1898, and he did not play in any games for the remainder of the year after that date. On September 17, 1898, The Sporting Life said that Zimmer “has virtually passed on,” possibly implying he was not traveling with the team because of the injury. This may be confirmed by the October 1, 1898, issue of The Sporting Life which said in a report written on September 26, 1898, that “Charley Zimmer received a telegram from [Manager] Tebeau today asking him to report for duty. [Cleveland catcher] Criger is sick.” However, box scores published in The Sporting Life from this week showed that Criger played in every game and that, presumably, Zimmer did not rejoin the team.
Dated September 21-23, 1898. Detail view of photo A. Detail view showed the city name arched across the chest. The red arrows showed that on some of the shirts the “N” in Cleveland was sewn onto the shirt backwards. A similar backwards letter can be seen on a Cleveland uniform in a spring training photo from the following year of 1899, see photo F below.
Photo B
Dated 1898. Game program with illustration of the team, full view at left, detail at right. The illustration was not created from a current photo of the team. Instead it was drawn based on a team photo taken three years earlier in 1895, and with many alterations made by the artist in an effort to portray the 1898 roster. See the original image from 1895 here.
Photo C
Issued 1898. Photo dated 1894 to 1898, most likely 1897 or 1898. Portrait of B Wallace (94-98) issued by the National Copper Plate Company, full view at left and detail view at right. Player wore a white or light gray in this photo. The background behind the player was most likely added after the photo was made. The detail view at right showed that the shirt had a letter “C” on the right breast. Based on this it could be suggested the photo was made in 1897. A newspaper report from this year described the Cleveland road uniform as having a red “C” on the shirt. Detail view also showed that the shirt had a pocket on the left breast and that the button placket was visible up to the neck line and not hidden by the shirt collar. The uniform does not match that shown in the team photo from September 1898, see photo A. The image of Wallace was also published in a June 17, 1899, supplement of The Sporting News. Wallace had been transferred to St. Louis in 1899 and the caption under the player’s name in the supplement read “St. Louis 1899.” Years Wallace with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from Ken Samoil.
Photos D & E
Issued 1898. National Copper Plate Company portraits of, left, L Criger (96-98),and right, C Zimmer (AA 87, 88, NL 89-99). The portrait of Criger was made between 1896 and 1898. Player wore a light gray uniform in this photo. This uniform was similar to that shown in the Wallace portrait above, see photo C, however no letter was visible on the right breast of Criger’s uniform. The portrait of Zimmer was made between circa 1892 and 1898. Though similar in pose, this image of Zimmer was not the same that had been published as early as 1893. It is unknown if the lettering on the shirt was part of the original image or added later by the production artist. The background behind the both players was most likely added after the photo was made. Neither uniform matched that shown in the team photo from September 1898, see photo A.. Years players with team from baseball-reference.com. Criger image scan from Carson Lorey. Zimmer image scan from Ken Samoil.
Photo F
Dated mid-March 1899 to late March 1899. This photo was not taken in 1898 as often identified, but instead was made in the following year of 1899 when the Cleveland team was at spring training in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The majority of the uniforms worn by the players in this photo were most likely carry-overs from the 1898 season as these uniforms matched those shown in the team picture from September 1898, see photo A. The Hot Springs location for this photo can be determined by the appearance of player Paschal. Cleveland trained at Hot Springs both in the spring of 1898 and the spring of 1899. However in March 1899, a newspaper reported that “[Cleveland manager] Tebeau is trying out at Hot Springs a young outfielder from the Southern League named James H. Paschal.” Paschal did not make the team in 1899 and did not play in any regulation games at the major-league level during his career. With the identification of Paschal and Hot Springs, a date range of mid-March 1899 to late March 1899 can then be suggested. The mid-March date can be determined by a newspaper that reported on March 6, 1899, that “Manager Tebeau is here [in Cleveland] awaiting the arrival of the players. The start for Hot Springs will be made at 1:15 o’clock next Monday afternoon [on March 13, 1899].” A late March 1899 date can be determined by the fact that the majority of the Cleveland players in this photo were transferred to the St. Louis team before the start of the 1899 season. This transfer occurred on March 31, 1899 and was the result of the Cleveland owners purchasing the St. Louis Browns franchise a few weeks earlier. A newspaper headline written on April 3, 1899, announced that the “New Browns Team Now Made Up” and that “All of the Old Browns Shifted to Cleveland.” The ensuing report detailed that the new rosters were decided upon “after the Robison brothers [Cleveland owners] and Edward C. Becker [St. Louis principal] had a conference Friday [on March 31, 1899].” As fourteen of the players in photo C were transferred to St. Louis (Heidrick, Young, Burkett, Stenzel, McKean, Schrecongost, O’Connor, Tebeau, Childs, Wilson, Blake, Wallace, Powell and Criger) and only three in the photo remained with Cleveland (McAllister, Bristow and Zimmer), it can be suggested this photo was made before the players were divided between the two separate teams on March 31, 1899.
Top row, from left: S McAllister (96-99), E Heidrick (dnp, StL 99), C Young (dnp, StL 99), G Bristow (Cle 99, KC WL 99), J Burkett (dnp, StL 99) and C Zimmer (Cle AA 87, 88, Cle NL 89-99, Lou 99). Middle: J Stenzel (dnp, StL 99), E McKean (dnp, StL 99), O Schrecongost (dnp, StL 99), J O’Connor (dnp, StL 99), P Tebeau (dnp, StL 99), C Childs (dnp, StL 99), Z Wilson (dnp, StL 99), H Blake (dnp, StL 99) and B Wallace (dnp, StL 99). Front: J Powell (dnp, StL 99), L Criger (dnp, StL 99), J Paschal (dnp), Long (dnp) and F Bates (Cle 98, 99, StL 99). Player IDs from photo. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Travel date to Hot Springs from The Sporting Life, March 11, 1899. Info on Paschal at Hot Springs from The Sporting Life, March 25, 1899. Info on player transfers to St. Louis from The Sporting Life, April 8, 1899. Image scan from Full Count Vintage Baseball Card Forum, with research from Ken Samoil.
Dated mid-March 1899 to late March 1899. Detail view of photo C. Detail view showed a shirt that matched that shown in photo A, suggesting the uniforms from 1898 were used for spring training in 1899. Note that the player in the center of this photo may have worn a white home uniform, not a light gray road uniform, and that the shirt had a backwards “N” on the front. Also note that the player at left in the photo wore a shirt in which the lettering had been removed. Detail view from Mark Fimoff, SABR 19th-century Pictorial Committee.
Written documentation on these uniforms:
April 28, 1898, Cleveland v. Cincinnati, at Cincinnati: “The Reds captured a postponed game from the Indians today [April 28].” From the Buffalo Courier, April 29, 1898. Use of the Indians nickname.
September 1898: “Cleveland, Sept. 12 — The Exiles were in the city today. They did not come to play ball, but to get a bit or rest before the final trip East. […] The Rovers will leave for Washington on Tuesday afternoon.” From The Sporting Life, September 17, 1898. This report called the team the “Exiles” and the “Rovers” because the 1898 schedule had been modified late in the season to give Cleveland only three home games in the month of September. The schedule was modified due to Cleveland’s poor home attendance and the inability to play Sunday games there. In total, Cleveland played only 55 home games while playing 94 road games in 1898. The Cleveland correspondent to The Sporting Life also called the team the “Outcasts” and the “Wanderers” in his reports.
September 21, 1898, Cleveland v. Philadelphia, at Philadelphia: “The Phillies hit hard and outplayed the Indians.” From The Sporting Life, October 1, 1898. An example of the Indians nickname in use, and made during the same series of games in which the team photo was taken, see photo A.
Team genealogy: Cleveland 1887-1899
Cleveland was formed to join the American Association (AA) in 1887. The AA was a major league operating 1882-1891. Cleveland moved to the National League (NL) in 1889. The NL began operation in 1876 and Cleveland played in the NL from 1889 to 1899. After the 1899 season, Cleveland was dropped by the league and the team disbanded. Information from wikipedia.
Rendering posted: September 15, 2020
Diggers on this uniform: Carson Lorey, Ken Samoil, Mark Fimoff,