About the Renderings

At Threads Of Our Game, all uniform drawings are based on visual and/or written documentation. Each rendering strives to show accurate style, detail and color in the following nine areas: 1) cap or hat, 2) neckline, collar and tie, 3) bib or placket, 4) lettering or graphic, 5) shirt sleeves and shirt pocket, 6) belt and belt loops, 7) pants, striping and padding, 8) socks and 9) shoes.

Each rendering is scored for accuracy based on 4 areas of documentation: 1) year/team identification, 2) uniform style, 3) uniform detail and 4) uniform color. With these ratings, you can see at a glance how well each rendering is based on documented references.

The faceless form of a 19th-century player is used for each rendering with the intent to complement the 20th-century uniform study completed by Marc Okkonen. Okkonen’s remarkable research can be viewed at the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum website here.

Date Attribution
In most cases, the visual reference used to create a rendering is also used to date the drawing. However, we don’t automatically accept a date attached to a reference as accurate. Instead, we use this two-step process to determine date: 1) we attempt to identify players by cross-referencing with other available resources, and 2) we attempt to verify the years each identified player was a member of a respective team or played in the respective city. When identifying players, we use the first initial and last name of the player as cataloged on baseball-reference.com. The years in which a player belonged to a team are listed in parenthesis after the player’s name. If a player played on additional teams within a respective year, that information is included as well. Confirming when players actually played for a specific team is the best way to accurately date a reference. Members of SABR have also helped to verify team, date and player information for this project.

Color Attribution
Reading black-and-white reference photographs for color information is the obvious challenge with this project. There is no simple rule for how color appears in these old images:
—light tones can represent white, yellow, light blue or light gray
—dark tones can represent red, green, dark blue, dark gray, brown or black

To combat this problem, we use written descriptions from contemporary accounts to help determine uniform color. In some cases, an educated guess is made on color to complete a rendering. These guesses are made when a team color has been documented for surrounding years, or when a team nickname describes the color.

Grayscale Renderings
If no color reference is known, or is yet to be discovered, then the uniform rendering is depicted in values of gray and is noted as such. When color information becomes available, the rendering will be updated.

Artist’s Conceptualizations
In cases where a written description is known but visual documentation is missing, the uniform is rendered as an artist’s conceptualization. This interpretation is based only on the written description and on the uniform styling typical of that year. Though these interpretations have no visual documentation, it is our hope they will better complete the overall picture of the time period. Each of these drawings are marked accordingly.

Fuzzy Details and Variances
Some uniforms are rendered based on references that have poor visual quality, making minor uniform detail difficult to determine. Educated guesses are made in these cases to complete the rendering. Additionally, it is common to find small variances relating to one uniform in a single reference (i.e., players wearing multiple sleeve lengths or different belts). In these situations, the style worn by the majority is portrayed in the rendering.

Drawing Ownership and Copyright
All uniform renderings in this database are original artwork created by Craig Brown and are the copyright of the artist. These renderings are for public online viewing for educational and reference purposes only. Renderings cannot be downloaded, shared, reproduced or copied in any form or media without the expressed written consent of Craig Brown. Renderings may be based on reference images posted online or supplied by other resources. These reference images may be in the public domain or have a current copyright in force. The owners of these images have no ownership in the uniform renderings created by Craig Brown. By visiting this website, you are accepting these terms. Thank you for your compliance.