1899 Detroit (Detroits, Tigers)
These renderings are based on visual documentation for uniform style only. Color information is unknown and the uniforms are 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 1899, possibly May 22-24, 1899. Year of photo determined by the appearance of players Eagan and Slater, both of whom only played for Detroit in 1899. Date range of May 22-24, 1899, can be suggested by the likelihood that this photo was taken when the team first played at Kansas City on these dates. Detroit played two additional series in Kansas City after the May 1899 dates, however each of these visits can be discounted as the date for photo A. Detroit played in Kansas City on July 13, 14 and 16, however photo B (see below) was most likely taken at that time, based on the players in that photo. Detroit played in Kansas City again on August 19 and 20, however the players listed in the box scores from those games do not match the players in photo A. Kansas City superintendent Charles Meyer organized photos of visiting Western League teams to be taken on the field in Kansas City during the 1898, 1899 and 1900 seasons. The photo above included the mark of “C. W. Meyer” and “K.C. Mo.” in the bottom corner of the image. The photographer of these images was not credited. Though the print above was overexposed, it appeared that the players wore a uniform in this photo consisting of a white shirt, dark pants and dark stockings. This uniform may have been used primarily for Detroit home games. The shirt had an old-English “D” on the left breast. Two players in the photo wore a shirt with a different-style old-English D positioned on the right breast, not the left breast. It is possible this alternate shirt was first used in the previous season of 1898. Two different pillbox-caps were also worn in this photo, both were white or light gray in color. One cap had a single thick horizontal band above a colored visor, the other had two thin horizontal bands above a white or light gray visor.
Top row, from left: A Shaw (99, 00), J Cronin (Det 99-02, Cin NL 99), T Thomas (Det 96-99, StL 99), S Dungan (95-99) and B Eagan (99). Middle: J Barrett (Det 99, 01-05, Cin NL 99), E Friske (Det 99-01, Cin NL 99), G Stallings (96, 98-01), E Slater (99) and J Ryan (99, 00). Front: F Buelow (Det 98, 99, StL NL 99) and P Dillard (97-99). Player IDs from item. Years players with team from baseball-reference.com. Note that box scores from the May 22-24 series confirmed that all twelve men pictured above played in these games, with the exception being K Elberfeld (Det 98-03, Cin NL 99) who played in the series but was not included in the photo. Info on Charles Meyer from the Kansas City Times, October 13, 1898, with research from Ed Morton.Image scan from the Detroit Public Library, Ernie Harwell Collection.
Dated 1899, possibly May 22-24, 1899. Detail view of photo A. Detail view showed the two different styles of letters worn on the shirts and the different horizontal bands worn on the caps.
Photo B
Dated 1899, possibly July 13, 14 or 16, 1899. Year of photo determined by the appearance of players Eagan and Slater, both of whom only played for Detroit in 1899. Date range of July 13, 14 or 16, 1899, can be suggested by appearance of players Gaston and Elberfeld, in combination with the likelihood that this photo was taken when the team played at Kansas City on these dates. Gaston joined the team in late May 1899 and after Detroit’s first visit to Kansas City on May 22- 24, 1899. Elberfeld was removed from the team after punching an umpire in a game on August 1, 1899, inflicting a split lip and a black eye. Both Detroit management and league commissioner Ban Johnson suspended Elberfeld for the remainder of the season and therefore he was not with the team on their third and final visit to Kansas City, August 19 and 20. Kansas City superintendent Charles Meyer organized photos of visiting Western League teams to be taken on the field in Kansas City during the 1898, 1899 and 1900 seasons. The photographer of these images was not credited and many of the photos included the mark of “Meyer” and “K.C. Mo.” in the bottom corner. Though the photo above did not include Meyer’s mark, the composition of the players and the white backdrop used behind the men was very similar to Meyer’s other photos from this period. It is likely that Meyer arranged for two photographs of the Detroit team, the first between May 22-24, 1899 (photo A) and a second between July 13-16, 1899 (photo B). Players possibly wore both white and light gray uniforms in this photo, with a dark belt and dark stockings. The shirt featured an old-English letter “D” in a dark color on the left breast. Two different pillbox-caps were worn, both were white or light gray in color. One cap had a single thick horizontal band above a colored visor, the other had two thin horizontal bands above a white or light gray visor. At least two players standing in the back row wore shirts without a letter, one of these shirts had a dark-colored collar. The mascot sitting in the front row wore a shirt with a different style letter positioned on the right breast. It is possible this was a style from a previous year.
Top row, from left: J Ryan (99, 00), E Friske (Det 99-01, Cin NL 99), T Thomas (Det 96-99, StL 99), P Dillard (97-99) and W Gaston (Det 99, 00 Bro NL 99). Middle: J Cronin (Det 99-02, Cin NL 99), E Slater (99), G Stallings (96, 98-01), B Eagan (99) and S Dungan (95-99). Front: A Shaw? (99, 00), F Buelow (Det 98, 99, StL NL 99), mascot, J Barrett (Det 99, 01-05, Cin NL 99), and K Elberfeld (Det 98-03, Cin NL 99). Player IDs based on photo A and on baseball-reference.com. Additional input on player IDs from Carson Lorey, Ken Samoil and Nigel Ayres. Years players with team from baseball-reference.com. Based on box scores, all of the players in photo B participated in the Kansas City series played on July 13, 14, and 16. July 15 was a rain out. Info on Gaston joining the team from The Sporting Life, June 3, 1899. Info on Elberfeld altercation and suspension from The Sporting Life, August 5 and August 12, 1899. Info on Charles Meyer from the Kansas City Times, October 13, 1898, with research from Ed Morton. Image scan from the Detroit Public Library, Ernie Harwell Collection.
Dated 1899, possibly July 13, 14 or 16, 1899. Detail view of photo B. Detail view showed that players possibly wore both white and light gray uniforms in this photo, and that the two were very close in tone. Detail view also showed that the player sitting in middle had a shirt pocket on the right breast.
Photo C
Dated 1899 to 1905, possibly 1899. Photo of J Barrett (Det 99, 01-05, Cin NL 99), full view at left, detail view at right. Player wore a uniform shirt and cap that was similar to that shown in photo B. Detail view showed that the shirt had a pocket on the right breast and that it was positioned across from the old-English letter “D” on the opposite side. Image scan from Marc Okkonen, Baseball Uniforms of the 20th Century (1991). According to Okkonen’s published work, the Detroit team did not wear a “D” in the style shown in photo C during the years of 1901 to 1905, and when Barrett returned to play for the Detroit team. This may confirm that photo C was taken in 1899.
Written documentation on these uniforms:
April 1899: “After gazing on the motley array of uniforms that the athletic forms of the Tigers have been encased in the past three seasons, it will be gratifying to Detroit patrons of the game to learn that President VanDerbeck intends to equip his team in the finest style known to uniform makers this spring. A new shirt here, a belt there, a couple of caps and bright stockings to fill out the best of the old uniforms make the team appear like a sand lot gang. […] New white uniforms will be here in time for the opening game and on the road the team will wear gray suits, such as the major league clubs have been using for years as traveling uniforms. The Minneapolis and Indianapolis teams have always attracted attention and comment by their tidy appearance, and this season the Tigers will advertise the city they represent in a similar manner. A showy coat, in lieu of a sweater, will be worn over the uniform while on the road, and the Detroit magnate will be complimented for the enterprise in fitting the team out so completely.” From the Detroit Free Press, April 9. 1899. Research from Ed Morton.
April 1899: “The Victor Sporting Goods Company, of Springfield, Mass., is making quite a feature of uniforms. […] Among the more important clubs they have outfitted being the Philadelphia, New York, Detroit, St. Paul, Kansas City, Scranton and Reading Clubs.” From The Sporting Life, April 29, 1899.
May 1899: “‘Pingree’s Potato Peddlers’ is the name attached to the Detroit team by the Indianapolis paper.” From The Sporting Life, May 27, 1899. Pingree was Hazen S. Pingree, Detroit mayor, 1890-1897, and Michigan governor, 1897-1901, who encouraged Detroit citizens to turn vacant city lots into vegetable gardens. Pingree info from wikipedia.com and hourdetroit.com, retrieved May 10, 2021.
May 1899: “Now that the Detroits have abandoned their old striped jackets, the nickname Tigers has no direct application.” From the St. Paul Globe, May 27, 1899. Research from Todd Radom, The Sporting News, June 18, 2015. For information on the origins of the Tiger nickname, go to the page on the 1895 Detroit team here.
Team genealogy: Detroit 1894-
Detroit joined the Western League (WL) in 1894 when the league reformed. The reorganized WL operated between 1894 and 1899 and reformed again as the American League (AL) for the 1900 season. Detroit played in the WL between 1894 and 1899 and has played in the AL from 1900 to the present day. Information from wikipedia.com.
Rendering posted: May 13, 2021
Diggers on this uniform: Carson Lorey, Ed Morton, Ken Samoil, Nigel Ayres, Todd Radom,