1888 Columbus

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 this uniform:

Photo A

Dated 1888. Year of photo determined by the uniforms worn by the players. Newspapers reported in April 1888 that the Columbus team planned to wear “parti-colored uniform[s], giving each player different colored shirts and caps, thus making the club’s appearance picturesque.” This meant that each player wore striped shirts and caps of different colors. The only common items on the uniform were below the waist. Newspapers said that “the entire team will wear dark brown pants. The belts, stockings and cord on the pants will be red.” For more on what each player wore, see written descriptions below.

Identification of the players in the photo would help to confirm the year, however many on the team were career minor-leaguers with no definitive reference photos available. Only two players can be positively identified; Fred Mann (Col 88, Cha SL 88), top row far left, and Buck West (Col 87, 88, Lim YSL 88, Whe TSL 88), middle row fourth from left. Author and historian David Nemec has published this team photo, describing it as “a preseason glimpse of the 1889 Columbus Solons.” Nemec identified Buck West as Dave Orr and Fred Mann as Henry Easterday, as well as, Lefty Marr, seated fourth from left; Wild Bill Widner, seated third from left; Jimmy Peoples, seated second from left; and Hank Gastright, center on ground. After comparing known photos of these players to those in photo A, none of these identifications can be verified. Image scan from Robert Edward Auctions. Mann ID from Ken Samoil. West ID from Carson Lorey. Original photo by John A. Pfeifer, Columbus.

Dated 1888. Detail view of photo A. Detail view showed that the shirts had lace ties and sleeve extensions. The pillbox-style caps had a white cord above the brim. The player standing at right held a baseball, indicating he was one of the team’s pitchers.

Dated 1888. Another detail view of photo A. This detail view showed several fielding gloves and a catcher’s mask. Two of these players held baseballs, indicating they were both pitchers. The player in the middle did not hold baseball, but instead the apparent team mascot, a cat.

Written documentation on this uniform:
April 1888: “The Columbus, Ohio, base ball team will wear harrah uniforms this season. Each man will wear a different colored shirt and cap, brown pants and red belt and stockings.” From the Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, April 2, 1888.

April 1888: “April 10. — […] The Columbus Club last year had the poorest uniforms of any club in the League. This year the management determined to give the local club as fine an appearance as the best uniforms could possibly do. The idea that they thought of for some time was the adoption of a parti-colored uniform, giving each player different colored shirts and caps, thus making the club’s appearance picturesque. This matter has been settled, and the following are the colors that will be worn, the shirts and caps being of striped goods—-Backer, Handiboe and Kelly, pitchers, will wear light blue and black; Smith, Pike and Munyan, catchers, dark blue and black; Hamilton, first base, red and dark blue; Welch, second base, orange and black; Rourke, third base, white and navy blue; O’Brien, short stop, red and white; Gilman, left field, red and blue; West, middle field, maroon and light brown; McVey, right field, light blue and dark blue. Manager Curry, when playing, will also have a neat uniform. The entire team will wear dark brown pants. The belts, stockings and cord on the pants will be red. Kangaroo shoes of the best quality will be worn.” From The Sporting Life, April 18, 1888. Research from Chuck McGill. Note, center field was called middle field in this report.

April 1888: “The Columbus team has adopted what it is pleased to term a uniform, the most striking part of which is the utter lack of anything like uniformity. Each player is rigged out in a different colored suit. The [Ohio] State Journal says that the club’s appearance will be ‘picturesque to a degree.’ […] When the team prances on the diamond in those parti-colored ‘togs,’ the resemblance will be that of an animated rainbow or a company of circus tumblers. […] The entire team will wear dark brown pants. The belts, stockings and cord on the pants will be red.” From the Wheeling (WV) Intelligencer, April 1888. The exact publish date was not included on the newspaper scan. This report also described the color of the shirt to be worn by each player. These descriptions matched exactly to what was reported in The Sporting Life on April 18, 1888.

Team genealogy:
 Coming soon