1873 Atlantic, Brooklyn (Atlantics, Magenta Stockings)

This rendering is based on incomplete visual documentation for uniform style and incomplete 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 September 17, 1873. This montage of portraits was published in a newspaper on this day. Year of publishing can be confirmed by the appearance of players Barlow, Britt, Remsen and Burdock in combination with Pearce, Pabor and Boyd. These men only played together for Atlantic in 1873. Based on the realistic quality of the portraits and the similar style of the shirt collar, it is likely all of the woodcuts were based on photographs made during the 1873 season. Two players, Pabor and Boyd, were new to the team in 1873 suggesting their images may have been made during this year. Players wore a white or light-colored shirt in these portraits. Seven of the nine portraits showed a bib on the front of the uniform. Both the bib and the shirt collar were depicted as having colored trim, see detail views below. Seven of the nine players were shown wearing a bowtie. Researcher Mark Fimoff has determined that the portraits of Ferguson, Pearce, Remsen and Dehlman were shown in reverse when compared to exemplar photos of these players. Fimoff noted that “perhaps all of the faces in the woodcut are laterally reversed.” The images may have flipped during the artist’s process of copying from original photographs. The team’s cap was not shown in this montage, however there may be a depiction of a dark-colored cap in the center of the artwork.

Top portrait: B Ferguson (66-70, 72-74). Middle row, from left: D Pearce (56-70, 73, 74), T Barlow (72, 73), J Britt (72, 73) and C Pabor (73, 75). Bottom: J Remsen (72, 73), H Dehlman (72-74), B Boyd (73, 75) and J Burdock (72, 73). Player IDs from montage. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Years Ferguson and Pearce with team from Paul Batesel, Players and Teams of the National Association, 1871-1875 (2012). Image from The Daily Graphic, September 17, 1873. Image analysis and publish date from Mark Fimoff, SABR 19th-century Pictorial Committee, Reflecting The Past newsletter, March 2013. This montage has also been dated September 15, 1873 by some sources.

Dated September 17, 1873. Two detail views of photo A. Portraits of B Ferguson (66-70, 72-74), left, and D Pearce (56-70, 73, 74), right. Detail views showed trim on the shirt collar and in the case of the Ferguson portrait, also on the shirt bib. The Ferguson portrait also showed the top of the letter “A” for “Atlantic” centered on the bib. Years Ferguson and Pearce with team from Paul Batesel, Players and Teams of the National Association, 1871-1875 (2012), and from baseball-reference.com.

Written documentation on this uniform:
June 1873: “The entries for the great race for the championship of the United States and the colors were as follows: Athletics of Philadelphia, the Blue Stockings; Atlantic of Brooklyn, the Magenta; Baltimore of Baltimore, the Yellow Stockings; Boston of Boston, the Red Stockings; Mutual of New York, the Green Stockings; Philadelphia of Philadelphia, the White Stockings; Resolutes of Elizabeth, the Jersey Nine; Washington of Washington, Garney’s Nine; Maryland of Baltimore, Smith’s Nine.” From the New York Evening Telegram, June 30, 1873.

September 8, 1873, Atlantic, Brooklyn v. Boston, at Boston: “In the third inning the magenta stockings got two men upon bases by good batting of Pearce and Ferguson.” From the New York Clipper, September 20, 1873.

Team genealogy: Atlantic, Brooklyn, 1854-1875
Atlantic was formed in Brooklyn, NY, in late 1854. The club was one of 16 charter members of the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP), baseball’s first organization, operating 1857-1870. The club initially chose not to enter the National Association (NA), baseball’s first professional league, operating 1871-1875. However, Atlantic did join the NA in 1872 and played in the league until 1875, when they disbanded. The success and popularity of the club during the 1860s led to the frequent use of the Atlantic name by other clubs. Information from Craig B. Waff, William Ryczek, Peter Morris and others, Base Ball Founders (2013).