1899 Chicago (Chicagos, Orphans, Rough Riders)
This rendering is based on visual documentation for uniform style and written documentation for color. Important details may be undocumented or difficult to determine. An educated guess is made to complete the rendering.
Rendering accuracy:Year: documented Team: documented
Visual documentation on this uniform:
Photo A
Dated April 23, 1899. This drawing, based on a photo taken in early April 1899, was published on this day. Chicago played their last exhibition game of the Spring in Kansas City on April 12, 1899, and played their first game of the regular season at Louisville on April 14, 1899. They then played a series of games in Cincinnati, April 20-23. It is likely the original team photo was made during this time period. Chicago’s first home game was not until April 27, 1899. Players were depicted wearing a white or light-colored uniform in this drawing with a short run of lace ties on the shirt and dark-colored stockings. The caps had a rounded crown that featured the letter “Y”, which was a symbol of the city of Chicago, see more on this symbol below. The illustration showed no lettering on the front of the shirts, and also depicted two of the shirts with either a shirt pocket, or possibly a place where the city seal had originally planned to be placed. A newspaper reported in March 1899 that “the emblem of the city in white upon a maroon shield will be worn on the uniforms and caps of the club.” It is possible the seal on the shirt was never produced. The sleeve lengths were depicted as both 3/4 and full. Four of the seventeen players wore their shirt collars up, not flat. One player in the front row wore a long double-breasted coat with over-sized buttons. Newspapers reported in 1899 that the Chicago home uniform was white, with maroon stockings and trimmings. At the home opener on April 27, the team coats were described by one newspaper as “bath robes.”
Top row, from left: G DeMontreville (Chi 99, Bal NL 99), T Donahue (95-00), J Connor (92, 97-99), (T Burns, mgr 98, 99), H Wolverton (98-00), F Chance (98-12), C Griffith (NL 93-00, AL 01, 02) and J Ryan (85-00). Middle: B McCormick (96-01), D Green (NL 98-01, AL 02-05), B Everitt (95-00), B Lange (93-99) and J Katoll (Chi NL 98, 99, Chi AL 01, 02, StP WL 99). Front: A Nichols (98-00), J Taylor (98-03, 06, 07), S Mertes (NL 98-00, AL 01, 02), B Phyle (98, 99) and J Callahan (NL 97-00, AL 01-05, 11-13). Player IDs and image from the Chicago Inter Ocean, April 23, 1899. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Game date at Kansas City from The Sporting Life, April 22, 1899. Report of city seal on shirt from the Detroit Free Press, March 23, 1899. Game date at Louisville from retrosheet.org. Image scan from Ken Samoil.
Dated April 23, 1899. Detail view of photo A. Detail view showed the letter “Y,” a symbol of the city of Chicago, on the front of the caps. A newspaper in 1899 reported that on March 21 the team “selected as its emblem the coat of arms of Chicago. The emblem of the city in white upon a maroon shield will be worn on the uniforms and caps of the club.” Based on the drawing above, the maroon shield never materialized on the shirts or the caps. One hundred years later, in November 1999, the Chicago Tribune wrote a brief history of the city symbol, stating that the “Y” had been adopted by the city in 1892 after the newspaper sponsored a contest “seeking municipal colors.” The paper noted that “the winning entry came from Danish immigrant A.J. Roewad, who designed an emblem featuring an inverted Y.” Roewad wrote that his design represented “the three Chicago divisions — North, West and South — united with a white or silver band, the [Chicago] River.” Below are sketches of the design published in the Chicago Tribune on October 1, 1892. Report on team adopting symbol from the Detroit Free Press, March 23, 1899. History of the city symbol from Doug Bukowski, Chicago Tribune, November 9, 1999, retrieved March 3, 2021.
Photo B
Dated April 1899. These drawings of Chicago players, from left, B Everitt (95-00), G DeMontreville (Chi 99, Bal NL 99) and F Chance (98-12), were published on this day. Drawings were most likely based on photos made in previous years. The drawing of DeMontreville was most likely made from a photo taken when the player was with Baltimore in 1898. The drawing of Chance was similar to photos of the player taken in 1898. Image and player IDs from the Chicago Inter Ocean (date to come). Years players with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from Ken Samoil.
Photo C
Dated April 1899. These drawings of Chicago players, from left, D Green (NL 98-01, AL 02-05), J Ryan (85-00) and J Katoll (Chi NL 98, 99, Chi AL 01, 02, StP WL 99), were published on this day. Drawings may have been made based on photos taken in 1898 or 1899. Image and player IDs from the Chicago Inter Ocean (date to come). Years players with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from Ken Samoil.
Photo D
Dated September 2, 1899. Photo of J Taylor (98-03, 06, 07), full view at left, detail view at right. This photo was published on this day, however the photo appears to have been taken in 1897 when the player was with Milwaukee of the Western League. Player wore a light gray buttoned shirt in this photo. Note that Taylor was clean-shaven in this portrait but wore a mustache in the team photo above. Player ID and image from The Sporting Life, September 2, 1899. Years Taylor with team from baseball-reference.com. Milwaukee info from Nigel Ayres.
Photo E
Dated June 8, 1902, original image possibly dated 1899. This photo of J Taylor (98-03, 06, 07), full view at left, detail view at right, was published in a newspaper on June 8, 1902. The player wore a shirt and cap that closely resembled the Chicago uniform of 1899. The cap had a rounded crown and featured a symbol that looked like the letter “Y,” representing the city of Chicago. The shirt had lace ties and a breast pocket. Note that Taylor was clean-shaven in this portrait but wore a mustache in the team photo above. Image and player ID from the Boston Globe, June 8, 1902. Years Taylor with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from Ken Samoil.
Written documentation on this uniform:
March 1899: “[Chicago] President Hart and Manager Burns opine that the Orphans will capture the bunting.” From The Sporting Life, March 18, 1899. An example of the team nickname in use.
March 1899: “In all likelihood Chicago fans will see the ball team in the old white stockings this year. [Manager] Burns believes maroon to be a hoodoo color. He will use his influence to have the uniforms like those of the old team, of which we was a star.” From the Chicago Inter Ocean, March 21, 1899. Research from Ed Morton. Note that later newspaper reports stated the team began the season wearing maroon, not white.
March 1899: “The Chicago ball club Tuesday [March 21, 1899] selected as its emblem the coat of arms of Chicago. The emblem of the city in white upon a maroon shield will be worn on the uniforms and caps of the club. The idea came up during a discussion of uniforms and the advisability of putting the initial ‘C’ or the name ‘Chicago’ on the shirts as distinguishing marks. Manager Burns at once accepted the suggestion of the men and will order the new uniforms made with the ‘Y’ shaped emblem. Whether or not the motto will be accepted is doubtful, but just now almost every man on the team says ‘I will.’” From the Detroit Free Press, March 23, 1899. Research from Ed Morton. “I Will” was the motto of the city of Chicago, developed at the same time as the “Y” symbol.
April 1899: “Chicago will return to the old characteristic white stockings this season, if the wishes of Manager Burns and a majority of the players are considered. Good move: the famous white stockings should never have been abandoned.” From The Sporting Life, April 1, 1899. Note that later newspaper reports stated the team began the season wearing maroon, not white.
April 14, 1899, Chicago v. Louisville, at Louisville, home opener: “Both teams made a fine showing in their new uniforms.” From the Louisville Courier-Journal, April 15, 1899.
April 1899: “An explanation goes with the ‘Y’ on the Chicagos’ caps. It is the emblem of the Windy City, signifying the ‘city among rivers.’” From The Sporting Life, April 22, 1899.
April 20, 1899, Chicago v. Cincinnati, at Cincinnati: “Burns Rough Riders Outplay Cincinnati Team.” A headline from the Chicago Inter-Ocean, April 21, 1899. Research from Peter Reitan. This is an example of the “Rough Rider” nickname in use by newspapers for the Chicago team in 1899. “Cowboys” and “Rancheros” were also used as nicknames by reporters. Reitan writes that “the team earned the names […] during spring training at the Casa del Consuelo Hotel in Hudson Hot Springs, New Mexico, now known as Faywood Hot Springs. They apparently didn’t play much baseball, but they staged a mock-train robbery, rode bucking broncos, learned to use a lariat, hunted jackrabbits and climbed mountains. But it wasn’t all fun and games – they did play a few pick-up games against rough-riding cowboys, rancheros, miners, and veterans of Teddy Roosevelt’s cavalry regiment known as the ‘Rough Riders.’”
April 22, 1899, Chicago v. Cincinnati, at Cincinnati: “Lange was spiked in the right ankle at Cincinnati Saturday. […] The red dye from his uniform stockings got into his wound and this morning the injured member was swelled in an alarming manner.” From the Chicago Tribune, April 26, 1899. Research from Ed Morton.
April 24, 1899, Chicago v. St. Louis, at St. Louis: “The Chicago team, as they first appeared on the field in Monday’s game, were a great disappointment. The natty, jaunty appearance, the snow white stockings, the dark blue uniform and the word Chicago on the breast were all missing and the team appeared in a garb that reminded one very much of the Brewery team’s uniform, the team that represented Pittsburg[h] in the early days of the American Association.” From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 25, 1899 Research from Ed Morton.
April 27, 1899, Chicago v. Cincinnati, at Chicago, home opener: “The [Chicago] players were clad in their brand new uniforms of white, with maroon stockings and trimmings.” From the Chicago Inter Ocean, April 28, 1899. Research from Ed Morton.
April 27, 1899, Chicago v. Cincinnati, at Chicago, home opener: “The first wildly inspiring moment came when the heroes of the day [Chicago], seventeen strong, in company front and clad in bath robes, marched across the diamond to their bench in front of the grand stand. […] Then they modestly retired to the rabbit burrow that this year takes the place of the old-time players’ bench. The rabbit burrows are two in number — one for each team. They are about four feet high and painted brown.” From the Chicago Tribune, April 28, 1899. The “bath robes” may suggest that the team wore long coats. A drawing of the team published a few days earlier also showed one player wearing a long double-breasted coat with large buttons, see photo A. The “rabbit holes” were new covered team benches, required by a new league rule for the 1899 season.
Early 1899: “When the 1899 season began, maroon stockings were worn by the Chicago White Stockings.” From Harvey Frommer, Old Time Baseball: America’s Pastime in the Gilded Age (2006).
May 1899: “Clark Griffith, of Chicago, declares that he has a winning mascot in a certain cap of his, which is of a brownish-green color. He wants Manager Burns to fit out the whole team with brownish-green caps, so that he can wear his and not break the new uniform rule.” From The Sporting Life, May 20, 1899.
July 25, Chicago v. Baltimore, at Chicago: “The Rough Riders Outplayed. […] McGraw’s men won the final game of the series yesterday.” From the Troy (NY) Daily News, July 26, 1899. An example of the Rough Rider nickname in use.
September 1899: “Let’s see, didn’t Chicago start out with maroon stockings this year? That’s the hoodoo; stick to the time-honored and lucky white!” From The Sporting Life, September 2, 1899. Chicago finished in eighth place in 1899.
Team genealogy: Chicago 1874-
Chicago reformed after the Great Fire of October 1871 and rejoined the National Association (NA) in 1874 and 1875 after a two-year absence. The NA was baseball’s first league, operating 1871-1875. Chicago joined the National League (NL) at its formation in 1876 and the team has played in the NL every year since 1876. Information from Paul Batesel, Players and Teams of the National Association, 1871-1875, from baseball-reference.com, and from wikipedia.
1899 Chicago summary
Uniform: home – white, red stockings
First worn:
Photographed: late April
Described: March, April, September
Material:
Manufacturer:
Supposition:
Variations:
Other items:
Opening Day report: yes, April 27 v. Cincinnati
Rendering posted: March 7, 2021
Diggers on this uniform: Ed Morton, Ken Samoil, Nigel Ayres, Peter Reitan,