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.   

It's Like Christmas Morning

The Reds have been practising daily at their park during the past week.  They will not play to-day as the Atlantics have engaged the park for their own use.  The work on the new fence at the park is well under way and will soon be completed.  Their new uniforms will be done to day.  This uniform consists of a gray cap, gray shirt and gray pants, all trimmed with red, and red stockings.  The nine is now definitely fixed with "Pack" Dillon, Dan. Morgan, Wm. Redmon, J. Blong, John McSorley, Chas. Houtz, Arthur Croft, Thos. Oran, and Chas. Sweasy.  John Dillon will be the tenth man.  Sweasy is a new man, and will arrive in the city on Tuesday [April 13].  He was one of the old Cincinnati Red Stockings and is a very strong player.

-St. Louis Republican, April 11, 1875


Issues of the St. Louis Republican, covering 1873 through 1876, are now online at the website of the State Historical Society of Missouri.  I'm giddy with excitement.  I spent like two minutes playing around with the search engine and found the date of Charlie Sweasy's arrival in St. Louis and a nice description of the Reds' uniforms.  I'm going to have a lot of fun with this.      

At Long Last

The long talked of opening of the St. Louis Athletic Association grounds will take place this afternoon when the new Union Base Ball Club will make its inaugural appearance, opposed to a team picked from the reserve force and the Lucas Amateurs. Yesterday afternoon the Unions played a practice game, and the way they made the leather fly opened the eyes of the thousand spectators who had taken the pains to visit the new grounds. In to-day's game the Unions will wear for the first time their regular uniform, the suits of which are made of white flannel trimmed with maroon, while the caps, belts and stockings are all maroon...Dan Devinney will umpire the game, which will be called at 3 o'clock sharp...

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, April 6, 1884

Very Attractive And Handsome

Quite a scene was enacted at the Directors' headquarters at Sportsman's Park yesterday, as President Von der Ahe displayed the magnificent new uniforms of the St. Louis and Reserve players...Those of the St. Louis players are beauties. They are of the purest white flannel, the shirts being of a soft, smooth texture, with the "St. Louis Browns" in brown cashmere handsomely woven across the center. Pretty silkcord lacings are used, giving the shirts a very attractive and handsome appearance. The breeches are of the blouse pattern, and look elegant on the players. The stockings are a beautiful brown, while the belt if of a fine brocaded silk woven material. Each player receives two suits, with each one of which goes a pair of garters and a pretty necktie. The caps have two brown stripes around them...

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, April 6, 1884

The Return Of The Old Colors

The St. Louis Club will this season play in a handsome suit of white, with brown belts and stockings. The uniform will be the most tasteful ever shown in St. Louis, and the return of the old colors will doubtless be enthusiastically greeted by the admirers of the team.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, February 3, 1884

Well, this certainly raises a few questions. The quote from the Globe is clear about what the Browns uniforms looked like: white shirt and pants, brown belt and brown stockings. However, the photo that I've posted above is supposedly the 1884 St. Louis Browns and they sure aren't wearing white shirts and pants. Now, I also have photos that were identified as the 1883 and the 1885 Browns and both those clubs were wearing white.

I think there are a couple of possibilities here. First, the Globe could be wrong about the uniforms. Second, the photos are misidentified. The Globe mentions a return to "the old colors" which implies that the club wore white in the past, didn't wear white in 1883 and then returned to white uniforms in 1884. I have three photos, for three consecutive years, when the club wore white, then a dark uniform and then returned to white. It's possible that the team photos I have are for 1882, 1883 and 1884 rather than 1883, 1884 and 1885. The final possibility is that the club in the photo above is not the Browns at all.

I'm not exactly sure what the problem is here but something is amiss. Maybe someone with better eyes than me can take a look at the above photo and help us identify it. But at the moment, I don't feel that I can identify the early Browns' team photos with any accuracy.

Update: Both David Ball and David Nemec were kind enough to take a look at the above photograph and it is there opinion, which I share based on my confidence in their knowledge, that it's a picture of the 1887 Cleveland Blues and, therefore, not a picture of the 1884 St. Louis Browns. My thanks to both of those gentlemen for their help.

The Uniform Of The Lucas Club

The uniform of the Lucas Club will be white suits with maroon caps and stockings. It will be one of the neatest and most attractive ever worn by any nine.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, January 27, 1884

More On The Poor 1884 Browns

The pictures above are of the 1883 Browns that finished second in the AA, the poor 1884 Browns, and the 1885 championship Browns. The 83 and 85 Browns wore all white uniforms while the 84 team was wearing all black (or I guess it could be a dark gray or brown).

The 84 Browns, wearing those heavy, dark uniforms, had the worst record of any Browns team from 1883 through 1890. I honestly believe that those uniforms had to have played a part in it.

I can imagine Comiskey going to George Munson and saying "Look, I know that Von der Ahe's latest mistress designed these uniforms. But only a crazy man would go out and play baseball in the hot St. Louis sun while wearing all black. Talk to the boss and get us our old white uniforms back."

I Feel Sorry For The 1884 Browns

The 1884 Browns finished fourth in the AA with a record of 67-40. They were a young team on the verge of a great championship run. Most of the pieces were already in place and they had a bright future.

But take a look at those uniforms. While they look pretty good and are rather stylish, try to imagine wearing those dark uniforms in late July and early August in the heat and humidity of a St. Louis summer. No air-conditioned clubhouse. No fans in the dugout. No refrigerated Gatorade. Nothing but playing a game of baseball during the hottest part of the day while wearing all black uniforms.

You have to feel sorry for them.

The Uniform Of The 1875 Reds

"The uniform of the St. Louis Reds will consist of red stockings, gray pants, shirts, and caps trimmed with red. A small 'Red Stockings' will be worked on the shirts, and the word 'St. Louis' over it."

-from the St. Louis Globe-Democrat (March 29, 1875)