1897 Indianapolis (Indians)
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 these uniforms:
Photo A
Dated April 1897. Year of photo confirmed by the appearance of player Cockman, who only played for this team in 1897. Date of April 1897 determined by the appearance of players Gray and Kellum. The Sporting Life reported on April 10, 1897 that “Billy Gray, late of Cincinnati, has decided to make the best of the situation, and has joined the Indianapolis team.” The Sporting Life reported on May 1, 1897 that “the Indianapolis Club has released southpaw pitcher Kellam [sic] to the Washington, Ind., Club.” Both of these reports suggested the team photo was made in April. Players wore a white uniform in this photo with an elaborate script “I” below the left breast. Though difficult to determine, it was likely the shirt did not have a breast pocket. The elimination of this feature was an emerging trend during this period. The cap was white and in the pillbox style. The belt and stockings were dark in color. A newspaper in early 1897 described the home uniform as white in color with brown as the accent color. Four players wore a white turtleneck sweater under their shirt and with the neck of the sweater rolled down on top of an open collar. The majority of players wore short-sleeved shirts. One player in the middle row, third from left, wore a shirt with loose-fitting 3/4 length sleeves. One player in the front row wore a uniform that had the city name across the front. This uniform was possibly light gray in color and the shirt did not have a shirt pocket, suggesting this was the team’s road uniform from 1897. A newspaper described the Indianapolis road uniform as gray in color with brown trimmings.
Top row, from left: B Gray (WL 97, AL 00), M Beville (Ind 97, 99, Sag MiL 97), F Motz (94-99), W Kellum (WL 97, AL 00, AA 02, 03, 06, 07), A Stewart (WL 96-99, AL 00) and G Flynn (WL 96-99, AL 00, WA 01). Middle: B Wood (95-97), J Goar (WL 97, AL 00), B Phillips (WL 94-98, AA 04), B Watkins mgr (WL 97-99, AL 00, WA 01, AA 02, 03, 06), F Foreman (97, 98), unidentified and M Kahoe (WL 97-99, AA 06). Front: G Hogreiver (WL 95-99, AL 00, WA 01, AA 02-04), H McFarland? (97-99) and J Cockman (Ind 97, Ric AtL 97, Lon CL 97). Player IDs based on various photo references posted to baseball-reference.com. Assistance on player IDs from Ken Samoil and Carson Lorey. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from the Spalding Base Ball Guide 1898, which was a recap of 1897 published at the start of the 1898 season.
Dated April 1897. Detail view of photo A. Detail view showed the elaborate script letter “I” on the shirt below the left breast. Note that these letters varied slightly from one to another in their form, especially in the curl at the bottom of the letter, indicating they were sewn on the shirt by hand. Though difficult to determine, it was likely the shirt did not have a breast pocket. The elimination of this feature was an emerging trend during this period.
Dated April 1897. Another detail view of photo A. Detail view showed a player wearing a uniform with the city name arched across the front. The uniform may have been light gray in color and therefore was possibly the road uniform for 1897.
Written documentation on these uniforms:
March 1897: “The traveling uniforms of the several Western League teams this season will be as follows: Indianapolis, gray with brown trimmings; Milwaukee, gray with light blue trimmings; St. Paul, dark blue with black trimmings; Minneapolis, gray with black trimmings; Kansas City, dark blue throughout; Columbus and Detroit, gray with maroon trimmings; Grand Rapids, gray with black trimmings. All the clubs will wear white at home, with the same colored trimmings as used on the road uniform.” From St. Paul Globe, March 21, 1897, and from The Sporting Life, March 27, 1897. Globe research from Peter Reitan and Chuck McGill. Sporting Life research from Chuck McGill.
April 1897: “The new uniforms for the Indianapolis players have arrived from Chicago and are now on exhibition at the When and at Charles Mayer & Co.’s store. They are white, with brown belts and stockings. The coat and sweater are also plain white.” From the Indianapolis Journal, April 20, 1897. Research from Ed Morton.
1897, 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.
Rendering posted: April 18, 2020
Diggers on this uniform: Carson Lorey, Chuck McGill, Ed Morton, Ken Samoil, Peter Reitan,