Deep Red Stockings

The uniform of the St. Louis "Reds" will consist of gray pants, shirts and caps, with red trimmings, and stockings of deep red.  "Red Stockings," in small letters, will be worked on the shirts, and the words "St. Louis," over it.

-Mears Scrapbook, Volume 5


I have to admit that when I first read this description of the uniform of the 1875 Red Stockings, I believed that their stockings were "Jeep red" and I actually googled "Jeep red," hoping to discover what the heck that looked like.  Of course, I ended up with lots of descriptions and pictures of red Jeeps.  How was I supposed to know that there is no such thing as "Jeep red"?  I'm a guy.  I only recognize the existence of about ten colors.  How was I to know that some 19th century woman didn't come up with a weird shade of red and called it "Jeep red"?  It was a possibility. 

There are two lessons here.  First, red is red and there is no such thing as Baby Pink or Terra Cotta or Dark Sienna or Candy Apple Red.  Second, sometimes trying to decipher 19th century newspapers can be difficult.