Need help with old tintype- for Angela

[E93]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

Another interesting aspect of this image is that almost every player is wearing a different uniform. Not sure what to make of that.

Doesn't that indicate that is pre-dates a specific year? I remember hearing once that up until some year (188?) players wore different uniforms for different positions. I have a similar anonymous cabinet with players all wearing different uniforms.
JimB

Edited to add: Just read through all the posts and saw that someone already stated that in 1882 Spalding convinced players to wear different uniforms for different positions.

[barrysloate]

Jim- yes, there is an 1882(?) cabinet of Chicago that shows each player wearing a unique uniform. If I remember correctly Al Spalding was trying an experiment of some kind, which apparently was not successful. How that translated to a town team I don't know.

[bmarlowe1]

1882 is correct. This was done throughout the NL, I believe. In any case, it did not last long, and the varying uniforms in the tintype under duscussion here do not at all match the NL scheme. Below are Chicago, Detroit, and Troy, all in 1882.

[slidekellyslide]

Originally Posted by E93

Doesn't that indicate that is pre-dates a specific year? I remember hearing once that up until some year (188?) players wore different uniforms for different positions. I have a similar anonymous cabinet with players all wearing different uniforms.
JimB

Edited to add: Just read through all the posts and saw that someone already stated that in 1882 Spalding convinced players to wear different uniforms for different positions.

Jim, that's the cabinet you got from me, and those players are wearing the "Clown costumes" as some called them in 1882. Angela's tintype photo doesn't really represent the uniforms that Spalding had in mind, I just think it's a ragtag bunch put together. The Uniforms Spalding endorsed had specific colors and patterns depending on the position of the player on the field.

[olsport]

Take a read on this 19th Century Baseball website concerning evolution of the equipment. http://www.19cbaseball.com/equipment.html
Another thing to take into account is the players kept, and handed down older uniforms (and equipt.), since they were very expensive. Some of these in the tintype could have been 10 year old hand me downs, and some look like something just put together of any type clothes. Another great thing about the negro catcher, is he is wearing fingerless gloves (isn't he?) The catchers mask pretty much dates the tintype from the 1880s, as it looks like the newest piece of uniform/ equipment in the image.