1867 Cincinnati (Red Stockings)
These renderings are based on written documentation for uniform style and color. No visual documentation is known and an artist’s conceptualization is used to create the renderings.
Rendering accuracy:Year: documented Team: documented
Visual documentation on these uniforms:
None
Written documentation on these uniforms:
1866, recounted in 1890: “On July 23, 1866, the Cincinnati Ball Club was formed. The uniform was a gorgeous affair, consisting of red caps, blue trousers and white shirts.” From the Lancaster (PA) Daily Intelligencer, April 19, 1890.
1866-1867: “The first uniforms of the Cincinnati club were patriotic: red caps, white shirts, and blue pants.” From Greg Rhodes and John Snyder, Redleg Journal, Year by Year and Day by Day With the Cincinnati Reds Since 1866 (2000), support documentation not given. Research from Cam Miller.
July 1867: “The Cincinnatians [played] in white flannel suits, with knee breeches and red stockings, a la Young America Cricket Club.” From Henry Chadwick, The Ball Player’s Chronicle, July 25, 1867. Research from John Thorn. Note, the Young America Cricket Club (YACC) was formed in Philadelphia about 1855. YACC was not a junior team as their name might suggest, but a club of seasoned “new Americans” organized to compete against the Germantown Cricket Club, an established team with an English heritage. The photo below (photo A) has been dated as 1867 and shows some of the Young America and Germantown members wearing knickers. Eventually, YACC and Germantown merged in 1890 and remained a prominent cricket club until the 1920s. YACC info from wikipedia.
Photo A
Dated 1867. Photo of the Young America and Germantown Cricket Clubs. Photo from John Thorn.
Dated 1867. Detail view of photo A showing several member wearing knickers and stockings.
July 15, 1867, Cincinnati v. National, Washington, at Cincinnati: “The Cincinnati boys also made a fine appearance; their dress white caps, white shirts, white pants, and red belt and leggings.” From the Cincinnati Enquirer, July 16, 1867. Research from Tom Shieber.
July 15, 1867, Cincinnati v. National, Washington, at Cincinnati: “The Cincinnati Nine were captained by the well-known cricketer, Harry Wright, and they appeared on the field in the unique costume worn by the Young America Club of Philadelphia.” From the New York Tribune, July 16, 1867. Research from Tom Shieber.
October 1867: “The baseball match today [October 25], between the celebrated and successful Cincinnati Club and the ‘Actives,’ of Indianapolis, will be played at 12 P.M., upon the Union Grounds. This game will be the last played this season by the ‘Red Stockings.'” From the Cincinnati Enquirer, October 25, 1867. Research from Richard Hershberger. This entry confirmed that the team wore red stockings in 1867.
October 25, 1867, Cincinnati v. Active, Indianapolis, at Cincinnati, Union Grounds: “The first inning closed with the score 6 to 1 in favor of the ‘red stockings,’ at the end of the fourth inning the game stood 17 to 15, ‘Cincinnatis’ in the lead.” From the Cincinnati Enquirer, October 26, 1867. This entry confirmed that the team wore red stockings in 1867.
1867, referenced in December 1869: “The original uniform of the Cincinnatis was plain white, with red belt. The famous scarlet stockings were added in the latter part of 1867.” From the New York Clipper, December 18, 1869.
Who was the originator of the Red Stocking uniform?
Both Harry Wright, Cincinnati player/manager from 1866 to 1870, and George Ellard, Cincinnati player in 1866 and 1867 and subsequent owner of a “baseball depot” store in Cincinnati, have been connected to the origination story of the Cincinnati uniform, which famously featured short pants and exposed red stockings in 1867, and added a red “C” on the chest in 1868. The written documentation below were some of the earliest claims made for each:
Claim for Ellard, made in 1871 by an unidentified Cincinnati club member: “Mr. George B. Ellard, now a resident of this city, wore the [Cincinnati] uniform, then white shirt, white pants and red cap, and added to and appeared in ‘red stockings,’ in the manner of the present costume of the [1871 Boston] Club, and in three or four games played that year [in 1866] he alone wore the red stockings. Harry Wright played in the above mentioned game [Cincinnati v. Buckeye, Cincinnati, in 1866], but appeared in ordinary citizen’s clothes. From this it will be seen that the assertion that he [Wright] was the originator of or introducer of the Red Stocking uniform is untrue. In the season of 1867 this uniform was worn by the [Cincinnati] first Nine as a matter of choice, and in that year the Club was first called the ‘Red Stockings,’ being so dubbed by a reporter of a city paper, in a derisive article. In the spring of 1868, the red stocking uniform was formerly adopted by the Club [and] has been by its representatives worn ever since.” From the Cincinnati Commercial, February, 23, 1871. Research by Peter Morris, But Didn’t We Have Fun? (2008), referencing the Chadwick Scrapbooks. Reference to the 1866 game with Buckeye also from the Commerical. Per Morris, the above was a letter submitted to the newspaper by an unknown person who described himself only as “Old Member” and who had questioned the right of the 1871 Boston team of the National Association to usurp the red stocking identity when the Cincinnati team folded after the 1870 season.
Claim for Wright, made in 1875 by Wright himself when asked to give a sketch of his life: “I was called to Cincinnati [in 1866] to take charge of the Union Cricket Club and Skating Park. […] When I arrived in Cincinnati cricket was all the rage, but it finally subsided, and from the [cricket] club I managed, the old Red Stockings of that city was organized. I would like to say in this connection that the uniform I used as the cricketer was adopted by the baseball club, and is the same now worn by the Bostons [of the National Association of 1875, a team managed by Wright]. We have been accused of borrowing our colors from the Cincinnati nine, but that is not true, as the idea was eminently original with me.” From the Chicago Tribune, August 22, 1875, reprinting an interview that Wright made “while in Louisville” with a reporter from the Louisville Ledger. Researcher Peter Morris also notes in his book, A Game of Inches (2006, 2010), that a similar interview with Wright was printed in the Cincinnati Enquirer, August 20, 1875.
Claim made for Ellard (and others club members) in June 1883 by a newspaper retelling the origin of the style: “The Knickerbocker costume as a uniform for base-ball players originated with the old Cincinnati Base-ball Club in 1867. Belonging to the organization at that time were a number of cricketers having a membership in the Union Cricket Club [of Cincinnati], whose dress was of the knee-breeches pattern. The Cincinnati cricket members, among them were George Ellard, Crooks, Howard, Winslow, Tom Cartwright, Sammy Kemper, Con Howe and others, disliked the cumbersome base-ball pantaloons, and advocate change. They were howled down by an overwhelming majority of voters [i.e., club members], who looked on the move as attempt to introduce English ideas into American sports. The sensible few, however, cherished the plan and bided their time. They went to work and by a quiet canvas [of members] learned who who were friendly to the change, and on a certain afternoon notified each of them to attend a meeting in [club president] A. B. Champion’s office that night without fail. To prevent further adverse actions [within the club], notices were placed in the Post-office for all other members [to attend], but it was singular to note that somehow or other they did not get them until the succeeding morning. The [pro-]Knickerbocker squad was on hand early, and at the appointed minute the meeting was called to order and a motion was made to discard the long pants and adopt knee-breeches. It carried buy a vote of 15 yeas and 1 nay — the latter being an enemy to the innovation who had caught on to the scheme at a late hour [and] without having time enough, however, to secure enough aid to defeat the measure. The next day there was Gehenna [i.e., hell] to pay and no pitch hot, but it was too late to do any good. The nine, in their new uniforms, went East [on a tour], where they captivated all the ladies and were sneered at by the men. It took a long time to overcome the prejudice, but other organizations came in one by one. Today, no professional will play in any thing else.” From the Cincinnati Enquirer, June 18, 1883. Research from Ed Morton.
Claim for Wright, made in 1887 by former Cincinnati club president Aaron B. Champion: “Now, be it known, that knickerbockers, today so common — the showing of the manly leg in varied-colored hose — were unheard of, and when Harry Wright occasionally appeared with the scarlet stockings, young ladies’ faces blushed as red, and many high-toned members of the club denounced the innovation as immoral and indecent. There were, however, strenuous supporters of the new idea, strong-headed radicals, and at a meeting on Third Street they got possession, ‘by strategy, my boy,’ and adopted the uniform afterward to be a by-word, a nickname, a term of ridicule and finally full of glory — ‘that is, baseball glory.’” From John Thorn, Our Game, June 4, 2019, transcribing an article written by Aaron B. Champion and published in Saxby’s Magazine, August 1887.
Claim for Wright, made in 1888 by his brother George: “My brother Harry first brought about this important change [in baseball fashion], and it was somewhat in this manner: The Young America Cricket Club of Philadelphia used often to come to New York, where my brother then was to play games, and on one of its trips, in the year 1865, the captain of the cricket club presented my brother with a pair of long red stockings. In the succeeding year, 1866, when my brother went on his western trip [to Cincinnati], he took these stockings with him, and also had made for him a pair of knickerbocker pants to go with them.” From the Boston Herald, 1888. Research from Todd Radom, Winning Ugly (2018). Exact publish date of the Boston Herald interview with George Wright not provided by Radom.
Claim for Wright, made in 1890 by a newspaper retelling the Cincinnati team history, including a game with National of Washington in 1867: “While the Nationals appeared in their regular suits of blue pantaloons and caps, with white shirts, the Cincinnati nine wore the uniform introduced by Harry Wright, viz: red stockings, knee breeches and white flannel shirts and caps, then quite a novelty.” From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, February 2, 1890. Research from Tom Shieber.
Claim for Ellard, made in 1907 by his son Harry Ellard: “The origin of the uniform of the Cincinnati Baseball Club is not generally known. When baseball first started, the players adopted a uniform similar to that used by the cricket clubs—shirt, cap and long trousers. At a meeting held [in ‘the latter part of 1867’ in Cincinnati] in the office of [club president] Aaron Champion, then 75 West Third Street, the subject of uniform was discussed and a number of designs were submitted. That designed and submitted by George B. Ellard, namely short white flannel trousers, white flannel shirt and red stockings, was finally accepted and adopted, hence the name of the club. As the long red stockings were necessarily made to order, they were quite expensive, for they were up to that time unknown. The orders for the manufacture of the uniforms of 1867-’68-’69-’70 were given by Mr. Ellard to Mrs. Bertha Bertram, who at that time conducted a tailoring establishment [in Cincinnati] on Elm Street, near Elder. Mrs. Bertram has the distinction of making the first uniforms that were ever worn by members of the Cincinnati Baseball Club, the style of which has been changed but very little up to present day [of 1907].” From Harry Ellard, Base Ball in Cincinnati, A History (1907).
Claims after 1907. Throughout the early 20th century, both Wright and Ellard continued to receive credit individually for creating the Red Stocking uniform. One notable 20th-century claim for Harry Wright was his Hall of Fame plaque from 1953, which included amongst his accomplishments: “Introduced knicker uniforms.” Many of these later claims, in all likelihood, were based on the 19th-century documentation presented above. In the end, one can speculate that the Red Stocking uniform came from both men, that both Wright and Ellard naturally knew of and/or wore knickers when playing cricket in the 1860s, that Wright arrived in Cincinnati in 1866 with a pair of long red stockings given to him as a gift while in New York, that Ellard wore knickers playing baseball in 1866 and conspired with other members in 1867 to adopt the style, that Wright as manager orchestrated that the entire team was to wear knickers and red stockings in July 1867, and that Ellard suggested the letter “C” on the breast of the uniform for the 1868 season. In tandem, they created the uniform that would become the most famous in all of 19th-century baseball.
—Info on Bertha Bertram. The blog, dannwoellertthefoodetymologist, has the following on Bertha from blogger “geschenke2015,” posted on May 2, 2019: “George Ellard contracted a young Bohemiam immigrant tailoress, Bertha Wenzlick [sp?] Bertram to make the uniforms for the nine. She operated out of her home on Elm Street near Elder and Findlay Market. She had just lost an infant girl, Lena in 1865, and her husband Carl Bertram, a Prussian immigrant, had returned from fighting for the Union in the 29th Ohio Volunteers Infantry and became a U.S. citizen. Bertha would make the uniforms for the team from 1867-1870. […] The notoriety would get her other gigs with local semi-professional baseball teams that popped up in Greater Cincinnati in the 1870s and 1880s like the Shamrocks, Ravens, Stars, Riversides, and the Cumminsville Mutuals, among others.” From dannwoellertthefoodetymologist.wordpress.com, retrieved July 29, 2023. No citations given, however the information about Bertram making uniforms for other teams was likely taken from Harry Ellard’s 1907 book. The blog post included a cabinet card of a young girl, purported to be Bertram, no reference given.
An obituary for Bertha Bertram appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer on November 26, 1912, and read as follows: “Mrs. Bertha Bertram (nee Wenzilicki), widow of Charles Bertram, after a short illness, November 23, at 6:10 p.m., aged 72 years. Funeral from the late residence, 3114 Jefferson av.” Find A Grave lists Bertha’s burial at Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, and included a photo of her grave marker with the dates 1840-1912. The site also and listed her birth as November 10, 1840, Germany, and that Bertha “made the first Redlegs uniforms in the late 1800’s.” Her husband, Charles Bertram, died December 22, 1878 and was buried at Spring Grove. Find A Grave included Charles’ grave registration card, which listed next of kin as ”Wife, Mrs. Charles Bertram, Liberty and Elm Street Cincinnati,” and that Charles served in the Civil War for Company A, 28th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Find A Grave info retrieved July 29, 2023. In 1987, a Cincinnati man named Robert Wimberg published a book entitled Cincinnati, Over-The-Rhine (1987). The book was “a complete guide to all the buildings and the locations of razed buildings in the old German section of Cincinnati, which was called Over-The-Rhine, because it was north of the Cincinnati-Erie Canal, now Central Park.” Reporting on the book, the Cincinnati Enquirer on December 20, 1987, said the author “can show you the building where Bertha Bertram made the uniforms for the Cincinnati Red Stockings from 1867 to 1870.”
—Info on Anna Jones. The Cincinnati stockings may have been sewn, possibly at Bertram’s shop, by a young Cincinnati girl named Anna, who was born in 1850 or 1851 and therefore was about seventeen-years-old in 1867. The obituary of the seamstress from 1925 was as follows, “Springfield, Ohio, May 27. — Mrs. Jacob Jones, 75 years old, who claimed the honor of knitting the first red sox worn by the Cincinnati Reds, died at her home here today. The sox were knitted 61 years ago by Mrs. Jones, when she was a small girl working in a Cincinnati art shop. The sox were worn by the Reds on their trip to California.” From the Cincinnati Enquirer, May 28, 1925. Researcher Ed Morton has found that this story appeared in many newspapers across the country in May and June 1925, often with the headline “Betsy Ross of Baseball Dies at Springfield.” Jones obituary stated, possibly in error, that the stockings were made “61 years ago,” or about 1864. The obituary also mentioned Cincinnati’s “trip to California,” which took place in late September-early October 1869. As with many things, the accuracy of information provided by Jones or her family may have been uncertain. Many news reports picked up by the wire service stated Jones died on May 28, not May 27. Her first name, Anna, comes from the 1920 US census where she was recorded as 69 years old, born in Canada, and living in Springfield with her husband Jacob, age 74, research from Bob Barrier. Find a Grave states her death date as May 26, 1925, and that she was buried as Anna Jones at Ferncliff Cemetery, Springfield. No birth year was recorded, and no grave marker was recorded nearby for Jacob Jones. One printed obituary from Chillicothe, Ohio, stated she died at age 73, not 75, making her birth year about 1852 and the year of her sox-sewing about 1866.
Team genealogy:
Cincinnati 1866-1870
The Cincinnati club was formed in 1866 and was one of the first to use a city name as a team name. Their Red Stocking nickname derived from when the team first wore red stockings and knickers during the 1867 season. Cincinnati ushered in the era of professionalism as one of the first openly salaried teams and an undefeated season in 1869. Despite the team’s success, Cincinnati dissolved due to financial reasons after the 1870 season. Information from David Ball, Peter Morris and others, Base Ball Pioneers, 1850-1870 (2012).
Rendering posted: September 14, 2022
Diggers on this uniform: Cam Miller, Don Stokes, Ed Morton, John Thorn, Richard Hershberger, Tom Shieber,