1896 Philadelphia (Philadelphias, Phillies)
Left: This renderings is 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 rendering.
Rendering accuracy:Year: documented Team: documented
Right: This rendering is based on written documentation for uniform style and color. No visual documentation is known and an artist’s conceptualization is used to create the rendering.
Rendering accuracy:Year: documented Team: documented
Visual documentation on these uniforms:
Photo A
Dated April 1896 to June 1896. Year of photo confirmed by the appearance of players Brouthers, Eyler and Hulen, all of whom only played for Philadelphia in 1896. An April 1896 to June 1896 date range can be determined by the appearance of players Sullivan and Turner, who were traded together from Philadelphia to St. Louis on June 28, 1896. This same date range can be determined by the appearance of Eyler, misspelled as Eiler on the photo frame. Eyler, a pitcher, was with Philadelphia during spring training and a newspaper reported on April 22, 1896, that the Phillies “bat against Eyler every morning in practice.” Eyler never played in a regulation game for Philadelphia and was subsequently loaned to several minor league teams, including the Philadelphia Athletics team of the Pennsylvania State League. A newspaper reported on June 13, 1896, that the Athletic club had “borrowed pitcher Eyler from Philadelphia.” Players wore a white uniform in this photo with a letter “P” on the shirt pocket. The cap, letter, belt and stockings were of a mid-tone color. The cap had a rounded crown with the letters “PBC,” presumably for Philadelphia Ball Club, positioned above the bill. Two players in this photo, E Eyler top row and C Lucid middle row, wore a uniform that had the abbreviation “PHILA” arched across the chest. The lettering on these two uniforms appeared to be slightly different from each other which may suggest two separate manufacturing dates. These “Phila” uniforms may have been light gray in color, possibly signifying this was the road uniform of 1896. It is also possible this was a uniform from the previous year of 1895. Another theory for the “Phila” uniforms comes from researcher Ed Morton who writes “Con Lucid was pitching for the Philadelphia Athletics by June 16, 1896, and Elwood Eyler was not released until July 7, 1896. Do you think they can be wearing the Athletics’ uniforms [of the Pennsylvania State League]? The Athletics of this year played home games at the Phillies’ park and were loaned players by the Phillies.”
Top row: J Boyle (93-98), J Sullivan (Phi 95, 96, StL 96), D Brouthers (Phi 96, Spr EL 96), S Thompson (89-98), E Eyler (dnp, Phi PaSL 96) and A Orth (95-01). Middle: B Hallman (NL 88, 89, 92-97, PL 90, AA 91), T Turner (Phi 93-96, StL 96), M Grady (94-97), J Clements (NL 84-97, UA 84), L Cross (NL 92-97, PL 90, AA 91, AL 01-05), B Nash (96-98), C Lucid (Phi NL 95, 96, Nwrk AtL 96, Phi PaL 96), K Carsey (92-97) and W McGill (95, 96). Front: B Hulen (96), E Delahanty (88, 89, 91-01) and J Taylor (92-97). Player IDs from the Spalding Base Ball Guide 1897, in which this photo was published at the start of the 1897 season. Identity of player Eyler from Ken Samoil. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Sullivan and Turner trade date from retrosheet.org. Info on Eyler in spring training from The Sporting Life, April 11, 1896, research by Ken Samoil. Info on Eyler pitching every morning from the Scranton (PA) Times on April 22, 1896, research from Ed Morton. Info on Eyler borrowed from Philadelphia from The Sporting Life, June 13, 1896. Image scan from baseball-fever.com.
Dated April 1896 to June 1896. Detail view of photo A. Detail view showed the letter “P” positioned on the shirt pocket, utilizing a square-serif font style. The Philadelphia team of the National League would wear the letter “P” on their left breast from this year until the early 1920s. Detail view from Carson Lorey.
Dated April 1896 to June 1896. Another detail view of photo A. Detail view showed a cap with a rounded crown and the letters “PBC” above the bill. Detail view from Carson Lorey.
Photo B
Dated April 3, 1896. This drawing of the Philadelphia team, based on a photo, was published in a newspaper on this date. Players were depicted wearing a white uniform with a dark-colored cap and stockings, and a dark-colored sweater over their uniform shirt. The sweaters had large collars and a short run of lace ties. One sweater was depicted with the indication of a button placket and with the word “Phila” across the front, possibly suggesting this was a sweater from a previous year. At least two players were depicted with their sweater tucked into his pants. The caps were depicted with a rounded crown.
Top row, ten men standing, from left: (Scanlan, trainer), S Thompson (89-98), D Brouthers (Phi 96, Spr EL 96), J Boyle (93-98), (B Shettsline, mgr 96?, 98-02), B Inks (Phi 96, Cin NL 96), A Orth (95-01), J Taylor (92-97), E Delahanty (88, 89, 91-01) and J Sullivan (Phi 95, 96, StL 96). Front row, nine men sitting and squatting: B Hulen (96), B Hallman (NL 88, 89, 92-97, PL 90, AA 91),W McGill (95, 96), B Nash (96-98), L Cross (NL 92-97, PL 90, AA 91, AL 01-05), M Grady (94-97), J Clements (NL 84-97, UA 84), C Lucid (Phi NL 95, 96, Nwrk AtL 96, Phi PaL 96) and T Turner (Phi 93-96, StL 96). Image scan and players IDs from the Philadelphia Inquirer, April 3, 1896. Years with tam from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from Ed Morton.
Dated April 3, 1896. Detail view of photo B. Detail view showed unique sweater of player second from left. This sweater had the indication of a button placket and the word “Phila” across the chest. The other sweaters had lace ties and no lettering. The cap of the player standing at far right had the possible indication of lettering above the brim. Two players in the detail view wore their sweaters tucked into their pants.
Written documentation on these uniforms:
April 1896: “The nicknames of the National league clubs are as follows: Boston, Beaneaters; Cleveland, Spiders; Pittsburg[h], Pirates; Philadelphia, Quakers; Baltimore, Orioles or Oysters; Brooklyn, Bridegrooms; Cincinnati, Reds; Louisville, Colonels; St. Louis, Browns; New York, Giants; Washington, Senators; Chicago, Colts.” From the Windsor (ON) Evening Record, April 14, 1896.
April 1896: “The uniforms of the [Auburn, NY] team have been ordered. They will be of light gray, an exact counterpart of the uniforms of the Philadelphia National league team, with maroon stockings and belt and the Boston [National] league cap.” From the Auburn (NY) Bulletin, April 17, 1896.
April 21, 1896, Philadelphia v. New York, at New York, Polo Grounds, home opener: “The Philadelphia batters wore their working uniforms of gray, with black stockings and caps.” From the Philadelphia Times, April 22, 1896. Research from Ed Morton.
April 21, 1896, Philadelphia v. New York, at New York, Polo Grounds, home opener: “At 3:30 the gong was rung for the visitors [Philadelphia] to begin practice work on the diamond. When they peeled off their flaring red sweaters it was seen that their uniforms were all gray, with black trimmings and stockings, but their caps were blue, with the letters ‘P.B.C.’ in front over the visors.” From the New York Sun, April 22, 1896.
1896, referenced in March 1897: “The Phillies’ visiting uniforms [in 1897] will be the red and maroon affairs of last year [1896].” From the Louisville Courier-Journal, March 11, 1897. This same report was published in the Chicago Inter-Ocean, March 14, 1897. Research on both from Ed Morton. Note that the report listed above from April 21, 1896, described the 1896 road uniform as gray with black trimmings and a blue cap.
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: September 29, 2019
Diggers on this uniform: Carson Lorey, Ed Morton, Ken Samoil,