1899 Indianapolis (Hoosiers, Indians)

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 mid-July 1899 or late August 1899. Year of photo determined by the appearance of players Heydon and Hartsel, both of whom only played for Indianapolis in 1899. This photo was most likely taken when the team played at Kansas City and during the team’s second or third visit there during the 1899 season. On the team’s first visit to Kansas City in late May 1899, Heydon and Hartsel had yet to join the team. Heydon was purchased by Indianapolis in mid-June, and Hartsel was purchased in late June. All of the players in the photograph above were listed in box scores from the team’s second visit to Kansas City on July 17-19, as well as the team’s third visit there August 22-24. The only exception was pitcher B Dammann, who was purchased by Indianapolis in late June 1899 but did not play in the second series in Kansas City or was included in the photo above. Dammann appeared in the third series in Kansas City, pitching one game on August 23. Based on this, it could be suggested the above photo may have been made during the second visit on July 17-19, 1899. 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 “Meyer” and “K.C. Mo.” in the bottom corner of the image. The photographer of these images was not credited. Players wore a light gray uniform in this photo, with a dark belt and dark stockings. The shirt featured a decorative letter “I” on a pocket on the left breast. The cap was in the pillbox style and decorated with subtle horizontal bands. This uniform was similar to the uniform worn the previous two season of 1897 and 1898.

Top row, from left: A Stewart (96-00), F Foreman (97-99), G Flynn (97-00), M Heydon (Ind 99-04, Was NL 99) and G Hogreiver (95-04). Middle: E Scott (98, 99), H McFarland (97-99), B Allen (98, 99), E Hickey (98-01) and F Motz (94-99). Front: T Hartsel (Ind 99, 00, Lou NL 99), W Kellum (96, 97, 99, 02, 03, 06, 07) and M Kahoe (Ind 97-99, 06, Cin NL 99). Player IDs from the photo frame. Years with the team from baseball-reference.com. Heydon purchase info from The Sporting Life, June 17, 1899. Hartsel and Dammann purchase info from The Sporting Life, July 1, 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, Harwell Collection.

Dated 1899, probably mid-July 1899 or late August 1899. Detail view of photo A. Detail view showed the decorative letter “I” on a shirt pocket. This letter was similar to that worn on the uniform during the previous two seasons of 1897 and 1898.

Photo B

Dated late June 1899 to late September 1899. Year of photo confirmed by the appearance of player Newton, who only played for Indianapolis in 1899. Date range of late June to late September determined by the appearance of player Hartsel who was purchased by the team in late June and by the fact that this picture was published in a newspaper on October 1. This image was most likely “the beautiful and artistic group photo of the Western League champions” that was submitted to The Sporting Life in late September 1899. Players wore a white or light gray uniform in this photo, with a white pillbox-style cap. The shirt had a script letter “I” on the left breast. This uniform was very similar to the one worn in photo A.

Top row, from left: H McFarland (97-99), A Stewart (96-00), G Flynn (97-00) and G Hogreiver (95-04). Middle: D Newton (99), F Motz (94-99), (B Allen 98, 99), F Foreman (97-99) and E Scott (98, 99). Front: E Hickey (98-01), M Heydon (Ind 99-04, Was NL 99), W Kellum (96, 97, 99, 02, 03, 06, 07) and T Hartsel (Ind 99, 00, Lou NL 99). Image and player IDs from Cincinnati Commercial Tribune, October 1, 1899. Years with the team from baseball-reference.com. Hartsel purchase info from The Sporting Life, July 1, 1899. Image scan from Carson Lorey.

Dated late June 1899 to late September 1899. Detail view of photo B. Detail view showed the script letter on the shirt pocket. Note that the bottom curl of the letter was not identical on each uniform, indicating these items were cut by hand.

Written documentation on this uniform:
June 1899: “Owing to the painting of the Indianapolis grand stand by non-union painters the central Labor Union have laid a boycott on the Indianapolis Club. This movement will extend to all Western League cities on days when the Indianapolis Club plays. In Detroit and Buffalo, union men say, the effect will be most felt.” From The Sporting Life, June 17, 1899. OK, this has nothing to do with uniforms but it was interesting nonetheless.

September 1899: “We are indebted to Manager Bob Allen, of the Indianapolis Club, for a beautiful and artistic group photo of the Western League champions of 1899.” From The Sporting Life, September 30, 1899. This most likely was referencing the photo of the team taken in a studio setting, see photo B.

1899, referenced in February 1900: “The uniforms for the coming season [of 1900] will be similar to those used by the Indianapolis since 1895. White uniforms will be used at home and probably a gray uniform on the road.” From the Indianapolis Journal, February 25, 1900 Research from Ed Morton.

Team genealogy: Indianapolis 1894-1900
Indianapolis 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. Indianapolis played in the WL between 1894 and 1899 and in the American League in 1900. The team was dropped when the AL declared major league status in 1901. Information from wikipedia.com.