1887 Buffalo (Buffalos, Bisons)
This rendering is 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 rendering.
Rendering accuracy:Year: documented Team: documented
Visual documentation on this uniform:
Photo A
Dated March 31, 1887. Year of photo confirmed by the appearance of players Easterday, Zell, Purvis and Galligan, all of whom only played for Buffalo in 1887. Photo date of March 31 determined by a newspaper report that said the team was photographed on this day. This date can be further confirmed by the fact that drawn portraits of the Buffalo players were published in a newspaper on April 3, 1887. It is likely these portraits were made from individual photographs of the players taken on the same day as the team photo. Players wore a light-colored uniform in this photo with dark stockings and belt. Newspapers in 1887 described the Buffalo uniform as blue-gray in color with red stockings.
Top row, from left: (J Chapman, mgr NL 85, IL/IA 86- 88, EL 93, 94), J Remsen (86-88), H Easterday (87), H Zell (87) and J Galligan (87). Middle: M Lehane (87-89), C Hamburg (87-89), J Roeschle (did not play for Buffalo), J Reidy (87-89), J Purvis (87) and T Calihan (86, 87). Front, on ground: M Walsh (86-88), J Fanning (87-89), F Grant (86-88) and N O’Neill (did not play for Buffalo). Player IDs from the Buffalo Courier-Express, January 7, 1932. Courier-Express research from Nigel Ayres. This photo was also published, along with with player IDs, in the Buffalo Courier, March 25, 1912. At this publishing, the caption included: “Original photograph loaned [to] The Courier by J. Rowell of No. 646 Grant street, one of Buffalo’s old-time fans.” Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Image scan from Mark Fimoff, SABR 19th-century Pictorial Committee.
Dated March 31, 1887. Detail view of photo A.
Photos B-K
Dated April 3, 1887. These drawings of Buffalo players were published in a newspaper on this date. In total fourteen portraits were shown, and the selection shown above of ten portraits was assembled into one visual by Threads. Players were depicted wearing a pillbox-style cap, the majority of which showed a single horizontal band of trim encircling the body. Some of these portraits were very similar to the image of the same player shown in the team photo, see photo A above. It is possible these drawings were made from the team photo or from photographs of individual players made at the same time as the team photo.
Top row, from left: J Remsen (86-88), H Easterday (87), M Walsh (86-88), J Galligan (87) and T Calihan (86, 87). Bottom row: C Hamburg (87-89), J Fanning (87-89), J Reidy (87-89), J Purvis (87) and N O’Neil (dnp). Images and player IDs from the Buffalo Sunday Morning News, April 3, 1887. Years with team from baseball-reference.com. Each portrait was accompanied by a brief bio of the player. A drawing and bio on Frank Grant was included (portrait not included above). The bio stated that Grant was “the colored star of last year’s team” and that he was “just as popular with this nine. The boys all like him and he is growing and developing fast. He is 19 years of age.”
Written documentation on this uniform:
March 1887: “The Buffalos will wear their old familiar uniform of blue-gray pants, shirts and caps, with red stockings.” From The Sporting Life, March 2, 1887, and the Hamilton (ON) Spectator, March 2, 1887.
March 1887: “Handsome blue-gray uniforms with red trimmings have been ordered for the Buffalo team. They will probably have two uniforms. The other will be a light color with blue trimmings.” From the Buffalo Courier, March 17, 1887.
March 1887: “The Bisons will report next Monday [March 28].” From the Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, March 22, 2887. Use of the Bison nickname.
March 1887: “The Bisons will have their photograph taken in a group today [March 31, 1887].” From the Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, March 31, 1887. Research from Ed Morton.
April 1887: “[Buffalo] wore their blue-gray uniforms and red stockings, and they played with spirit […] practicing in the 65th Regiment Arsenal last Thursday [March 31].” From the Buffalo Sunday Morning News, April 3, 1887.
May 1887: “The Oswegos are wearing gray uniforms with red stockings and trimmings, similar to those of the Buffalos and Hamiltons.” From the Buffalo Morning Express, May 1, 1887.
July 1887: “The Buffalos have new cream-colored uniforms.” From the Buffalo Sunday Truth, July 10, 1887.
Team genealogy: Coming soon
Rendering posted: August 23, 2017
Diggers on this uniform: Ed Morton, Mark Fimoff, Nigel Ayres,