1898 Philadelphia (Philadelphias, Phillies)
These renderings are based on 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 renderings.
Rendering accuracy:Year: documented Team: documented
Visual documentation on this uniform:
Photo A
Dated April 1898 to early June 1898. Year of photo determined by the appearance of player Elberfield, who only played for Philadelphia in 1898. An April 1898 to early June 1898 date for this photo can be determined by the appearance of manager Stallings, who was fired from the team after a game played on June 17, 1898. Based on the ballpark in the background it can be determined that this photo was taken at the Phillies’ home ballpark. The last game Stallings managed in Philadelphia was played on June 10, 1898. An early June date can also be determined by the appearance of players Jimerson and Duggleby, as a newspaper reported that both players had been “farmed out” to Wilkesbarre of the Eastern League around June 8, 1898. Players wore a white uniform in this photo, with a white pillbox style cap, dark belts and dark stockings. The white cap had a dark-colored visor and the shirt had a dark-colored collar. The shirt also had a square-serif P on the left breast. In previous years the “P” was slightly smaller and placed on the shirt pocket of the Philadelphia uniform. The 1898 uniform had no pocket. Newspapers in 1898 described the accent color for Philadelphia as black. One player, standing second from left, wore a light gray uniform with a light gray collar. This may have been the team’s road uniform which newspapers described as gray in color. One player, standing fourth from left, wore a light gray uniform with no “P” on the breast. One player, on ground fourth from left, wore a white uniform with a white collar and the letter “P” on a shirt pocket. This uniform was most likely the Philadelphia home uniform from the previous year of 1897. Several players wore sweaters over their uniforms. The sweaters with the “P” on the front were most likely new in 1898. The team manager, Stallings, standing seventh from left, wore a uniform though he only appeared in one game for Philadelphia in 1898.
Top row, from left: E McFarland (97-01), J Jimerson (dnp, WB EL 98), M Cross (NL 98-01, AL 02-07), D Cooley (96-99), W Piatt (NL 98-00, AL 01), K Douglass (98-04), G Stallings mgr (97, 98), D Dunkle (Phi 97, 98, WB EL 98), G Wheeler (Phi 96-99, Rom NYSL 98), A Orth (95-01), J Boyle (93-98) and N Lajoie (NL 96-00, AL 01, 02). Front: R Donahue (98-01), B Lauder (NL 98, 99, AL 01), E Flick (NL 98-01, AL 02), B Duggleby (Phi NL 98, 01-07, AL 02, WB EL 98), E Abbaticchio (97, 98), E Delahanty (88, 89, 91-01), J Fifield (97-99), K Elberfeld (98) and I Fisher (Phi 98, Min WL 98). Player IDs from frame on item (not shown). This image was published in the 20th century and listed players Jimerson as “Jamison” and Fisher as unidentified. Identification of Fisher from Nigel Ayres. Years players with team and date of Stallings last game managed from baseball-reference.com. Date of Stallings last home game and from retrosheet.org. Transaction info on Jimerson, listed as “Jimison,” and Duggleby from The Sporting Life, June 11, 1898. Image scan from Ken Samoil, who stated that this item was for sale at auction and that the back of the item had information about the 1911 Philadelphia Athletics team, possibly indicating the approximate year of publication.
Dated April 1898 to early June 1898. Detail view of photo A. Detail view showed the square-serif letter “P” on the left breast and the white pillbox-style cap with a dark visor. The player standing at far right wore pants with quilted padding.
Photo B
Dated September 1898 to October 1898. Year of photo confirmed by the appearance of player E Murphy, who only played for Philadelphia in 1898. A date range of September 1898 to October 1898 can be determined by the appearance of player Conn, who joined the team around September 8, 1898. Based on the railing behind the players it can be determined that this photo was taken at the Phillies’ home ballpark. Players wore a white uniform in this photo that matched that worn in the team photo from earlier this year, see photo A. Two players in photo B, top row fourth from left and front row far left, wore a light gray uniform with a light gray collar. This was most likely the team’s road uniform. One player, middle row second from right, wore a white uniform where the letter “P” had fallen off or had been removed. The outline of the letter could still be seen on the player’s shirt. Two other players, middle row far left and middle row third from left, may also have been wearing uniforms with missing letters. These missing letters may also confirm that this photo was taken at the end of the season. One player, middle row far right, wore a plain light gray uniform with a shirt pocket. One player in the front row wore a colored cap with a soft-formed rounded crown.
Top row, from left: M Murphy (98, 00, Pit 98), E McFarland (97-01), N Lajoie (NL 96-00, AL 01, 02), D Dunkle (Phi 97, 98, WB EL 98), E Abbaticchio (97, 98), R Donahue (98-01) and (Shettsline mgr 98-02). Middle: M Cross (NL 98-01, AL 02-07), J Fifield (97-99), E Delahanty (88, 89, 91-01), D Cooley (96-99), K Douglass (98-04), W Piatt (NL 98-00, AL 01) and E Murphy (Phi 98, Hat AtL 98). Front: B Duggleby (Phi NL 98, 01-07, AL 02, WB EL 98), B Lauder (NL 98, 99, AL 01), B Conn (Phi 98, 00), E Flick (NL 98-01, AL 02) and A Orth (95-01). Image and player IDs from the Spalding Base Ball Guide 1899, published as a review of the 1898 season. Conn signing date from Jack Morris, SABR BioProject: Billy Conn, retrieved October 16, 2020.
Dated September 1898 to October 1898. Detail view of photo B. Detail view showed player, in center, wearing a light gray uniform with light gray collars. This was most likely the Philadelphia road uniform for this year.
Photo C
Dated September 1898 to October 1898. Another photo from late in the 1898 season. All of the players from photo B appeared in this photo, with the exception of player Dunkle. Photo C is sometimes identified as from 1899, however a photo year of 1898 can be confirmed by the appearance of player E Murphy, who only played for Philadelphia in 1898. An 1898 date can be further confirmed by the appearance of player Abbaticchio in combination with players Donahue, Lauder, Cross, Piatt, Douglass, Duggleby, Flick, M Murphy and Conn, all of these men only played together for Philadelphia in 1898. A date range of September 1898 to October 1898 can be determined by Conn, who joined the team around September 8, 1898. Based on the railing behind the players it can be determined that this photo was taken at the Phillies’ home ballpark. Players wore a white uniform in this photo with dark stockings. The shirt had a dark collar and a letter P on the left breast. The cap was white with a dark brim. This uniform matched that shown in other team photos from this year, see photos A and B. At least two players, Piatt in the middle row fifth from left, and M Murphy in the front row third from left, wore a similar shirt to the others but with the letter missing. On Piatt’s shirt the outline of where the letter was once was visible. One player, Duggleby front row far left, wore a light gray uniform with a P on the shirt. This was likely the team’s road uniform. Two players, E Murphy, middle row far right, and Conn, front row far right, wore light gray shirt with no letter. Conn also wore white pants and a dark cap. Both of these players were new to the team and may have worn shirts from other years or teams. Note that three dogs were included in this photo.
Top Row, L-R: E McFarland (97-01), Ed Abbaticchio (97, 98), N Lajoie (NL 96-00, AL 01, 02, 15, 16), A Orth (95-01), R Donahue (98-01), D Cooley (96-99) and B Lauder (NL 98, 99, AL 01). Middle: M Cross (NL 98-01, AL 02-07), J Fifield (97-99), E Delahanty (88, 89, 91-01), (B Shettsline, mgr 98-02), W Piatt (NL 98-00, AL 01), K Douglass (98-04) and E Murphy (Phi 98, Hat AtL 98). Front: Bill Duggleby (NL 98, 01-07, AL 02, WB EL 98), E Flick (NL 98-01, AL 02), M Murphy (98, 00) and B Conn (98, 00, 01). Image scan and player IDs from Ken Samoil. Years with team from baseball-reference.com.
Dated September 1898 to October 1898. Detail view of photo C. Detail view showed a uniform similar to that shown in photos A and B. The player sitting at left was missing the letter from his shirt and a faint outline can be seen where the letter was previously positioned.
Photo D
Dated 1898. Photo of E Abbaticchio, full view at left, detail view at right. Year of photo can be confirmed in combination with a similar photo of player Flick, see photo D. Note that both photos had a similar background and the same rock positioned on the ground with an “X” marked on it. Both players only played together for Philadelphia in 1898. Player wore a uniform that matched the team photos above. The letter “P” on the shirt was slightly larger in size compared with the Philadelphia uniform from previous years. Year Abbaticchio with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from Ken Samoil.
Photo E
Dated 1898. Photo of E Flick (NL 98-01, AL 02), full view at left, detail view at right. Year of photo can be confirmed in combination with a similar photo of player Abbaticchio, see photo C. Note that both photos had a similar background and the same rock positioned on the ground with an “X” marked on it. Both players only played together for Philadelphia in 1898. Player wore a uniform that matched the team photos above. Year Flick with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from Ken Samoil.
Photo F
Dated 1898. Photo of E Delahanty (88, 89, 91-01), full view at left, detail view at right. Year of photo can be confirmed based n similarities to photos C and D. Note that these photos had a similar background and the same rock positioned on the ground with an “X” marked on it. Player wore a uniform that matched the team photos above. Year Delahanty with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from worthpoint.com.
Photo G
Dated September 1898 to October 1898. Portrait of E Delahanty (88, 89, 91-01), full view at left, detail view at right. This image was cropped out of a team photo taken in late 1898, see B above, and was then modified with a dark background added behind the player. Detail view showed the cap with a dark brim, two light-colored horizontal bands and a large button on top. Note that the cap Delahanty wore in most of the pictures from 1898 seemed to be less of a pillbox shape when compared to other caps worn by the team. Image and player ID from the Spalding Base Ball Guide 1899, which was published in April 1899 as a recap of the 1898 season.
Photo H
Published May 21, 1898, made from a photo dated 1896 to May 1898. Drawing of N Lajoie (96-00), full view at left, detail view at right. Player was depicted wearing a pillbox-style cap with three thin horizontal bands, and a shirt that featured a pocket, as well as a shirt collar that matched the color of the shirt. As these features do not closely match the documentation on the 1898 uniform shown above, it is possible that the rendering was a depiction of the 1897 uniform. Image and player ID from The Sporting Life, May 21, 1898. Years Lajoie with team from baseball-reference.com.
Written documentation on this uniform:
March 1898: “The new [Philadelphia] traveling uniforms are gray, as last year [1897], with black stockings and trimmings, instead of red. The home suits will be black and white, as usual. The sweaters will be black with a white “P” and white trimmings.” From The Sporting Life, March 26, 1898. Research from Chuck McGill.
March 1898: “The traveling uniforms of the Philadelphias are to be of gray, with black stockings and trimmings. The sweaters will be of black with a white ‘P’ and white trimmings.” From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 28, 1898.
April 1898: “The Phillies no longer wear red sweaters and stockings, black being the order of the day.” From The Sporting Life, April 30, 1898.
April 30, 1898, Philadelphia v. Brooklyn, at Brooklyn, Washington Park, opening day: “The players marched out upon the field and stood bunched back of third base, the Brooklyns with their gray coats and white breeches and the Phillies with their dark blue sweaters and gray breeches.” From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 1, 1898.
Team genealogy: Philadelphia 1882-
Philadelphia was formed to play in the League Alliance (LA) in 1882. The team joined the National League (NL) in 1883. The NL began operation in 1876 and Philadelphia has played in the league every year since 1883. Information from wikipedia.com and Robert D. Warrington.
Rendering posted: March 26, 2021
Diggers on this uniform: Chuck McGill, Ken Samoil, Nigel Ayres,