1882 Metropolitan, New York (Metropolitans, Mets)
These renderings are based on visual documentation for uniform style and partial written documentation for color. Details, such as cap color, 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 1882 to early August 1882. Year of photo can be confirmed by the appearance of player Clapp, who only played with Metropolitan this one year. An April 1882 to August 1882 date range can be determined by the fact that a drawing from this photo was published on August 5, 1882. Players wore a uniform in this photo consisting of a light polka-dot shirt, see detail view below, and white pants. A newspaper from 1882 described this uniform as being of “white flannel, and the shirts [on a] white ground with blue small polka dots.”
Top row, from right: J Lynch (<82, AA 83-87), C Reipschlager (<82, AA 83-86), J O’Neill (<82), E Kennedy (<82, AA 83-85), J Clapp (82), J Doyle (StL AA 82), F Hankinson (82, AA 85-87) and S Brady (<82, AA 83-86). Front: T Mansell (<82), F Larkin, C Nelson (82, AA 83-86) and J Reilly (<82, AA 85). Player IDs from engraving of photo, see photo B. Years players played with Metropolitan in the American Association (1883-1887) from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from Mark Fimoff, SABR 19th-century Pictorial Committee. Original photo by Napoleon Sarony, New York.
Dated April 1882 to early August 1882. Detail view of photo A. Detail view shows a subtle polka-dot pattern on shirt, a more apparent pattern on the necktie, and a multi-striped belt. (Note, the polka-dot pattern may not be visible in this detail view on your mobile phone.)
Photo B
Dated August 5, 1882. This drawing was published in Harper’s Weekly on this day and was made based on the team photo taken by Napoleon Sarony, see photo A.
Written documentation on these uniforms:
1882: “The Metropolitan uniforms were comprised of bluish gray pants, dark blue stockings, white and polka dot shirts, and caps of different colors. The shirt material had been imported especially from England and the design was identical with that of the racing colors of the famous Foxhall Keene stable.” From Preston Orem, Baseball From Newspaper Accounts 1882, page 51. Original resource documentation not provided by Orem. Research from John Thorn. Foxhall P. Keene (1867-1941) was a prominent thoroughbred horse trainer and sportsman in the U.S. and England. The colors of his stable were white with blue spots. Info on Foxhall Keene from Tom Shieber and from wikipedia.com. Note, this newspaper account from Orem does not appear to match photo A for color of pants and caps and may be describing the team’s practice uniform.
March 1882: “The Manhattan polo grounds, which are being much altered and improved, will be opened in April when the Metropolitans will meet the Manhattan College nine. […] The club will be provided with two uniforms, [one] for practice and [one] for dress. The former will consist of light gray flannel, dark blue stockings, brown leather shoes, and each player will be distinguished by caps of different well-defined colors. The dress suit will be white flannel, and the shirts, which are imported, are Foxhall’s colors, white ground, with blue small polka dots. The rest of the uniform same as for practice.” From the Boston Globe, March 19, 1882. Research from Ed Morton. The “dress” uniform was another name for their game uniform.
March 31, 1882, Metropolitan, New York, v. Stock Exchange Club, New York, at New York, Polo Grounds, exhibition game: “The Mets appeared in their practice uniforms of blue stockings and white breeches and jackets, with parti-colored caps.” From the New York Clipper, April 8, 1882.
Circa 1882, referenced in May 1883: “The Metropolitans, formerly uniformed in gray, blossomed out for their [1883] opener at the Polo Grounds in white shirts with a blue monogram, blue and white stockings and cap.” From Preston Orem, Baseball From Newspaper Accounts 1883, page 64. Original resource documentation not provided by Orem. Research from John Thorn. Game date from Retrosheet.org.
Team genealogy:
Metropolitan, New York 1880-1887
Metropolitan was formed as an independent pro team in New York, NY, in 1880 and through the end of the 1882 season competed as an independent against teams from the National League (NL) and the American Association (AA). The AA was a new major league formed in 1882 and Metropolitan joined the AA for the 1883 season. They played in the new league between 1883 and 1887 and the team disbanded after the 1887 season. Information from wikipedia.
Rendering posted: August 15, 2020
Diggers on this uniform: Ed Morton, John Thorn, Mark Fimoff, Tom Shieber,