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1876 Catalog Ad |
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1884 Wright & Ditson Baseball Guide | |
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1903 Spalding Catalog |
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1926 Spalding Catalog |
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1915 Goldsmith catalog |
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7th AAF Uniform Patch |
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125 Years of baseball Patches Binder |
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Great Western
Pants Uniform Tag |
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GW Baseball Uniform Style Chart |
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1930 Uniform Pants Style |
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| KeyMan
Collectibles |
NEWSLETTER |
August 2021 |
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Collecting Vintage Baseball Uniforms |
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Steven KeyMan |
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By Steven KeyMan |
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Founder of
Keymancollectibles.com,
and a long time
collector, Steven
KeyMan has more than 30
years of experience in
researching, and
cataloging information
on Baseball
Memorabilia.
Researching his own personal
collection, and helping others find
information on their
collectibles, the
website grew into the
largest online resource
for baseball
memorabilia |
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Ask
Steven: Direct your questions or feedback,
about Baseball Memorabilia to Steven KeyMan
Steve@keymancollectibles.com You can also Send
KeyMan pictures of your personal Memorabilia Display,
and get your own Free
Collectors Showcase Room featured on the website.. |
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A baseball uniform gives us identity,
and belonging. Team loyalty and
camaraderie. The feeling of being
issued a baseball uniform at any level
of play is a memory that never fades.
It connects us with our heroes, Cobb,
Ruth, Robinson or Clemente. A fabric of history of the game we love.
The Tracy Martin Collection brings us back to the beginning of time. His
uniform collection is evolutionary.
This 1860-1870 Civil war era Shield
uniform is one of the earliest. The
shield-front jersey style first gained
popularity in the late-1850s. Many ball
clubs of the 1860s and 1870s wore this
style.
The shirt fronts were sold by sporting goods companies with monograms or
an initial letter of the club. Also
known as Bibs, this style was removed
from the catalogs by the turn of the
centaury.
Introduced in the 1870s the laced-front
style remained in catalogs until at
least 1913. Some styles were
offered with the lacing for the top
part of the jersey.
This circa
1890s Rawlings laced-front wool uniform
also featured detachable sleeves. First
introduced in the 1890s, detachable sleeves were popular
throughout the first few decades of the
20th century.
Buttons on the sleeve
extensions attached to button holes on
the jersey, eliminating the need for
multiple jerseys of different sleeve
lengths and allowing players to dress
comfortably, whatever the weather
conditions. |
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Aggressive style of play and base running of the 1870s, causing
wear-and-tear on the body, led to the
development of padded uniform
pants. Quilted padding baseball pants
were offered in catalogs until about
the mid 1910's when padding worn under
the pants became more preferred by ball
players.
Part of the antiquebaseballuniforms.com collection,
this pair of quilted baseball pants was
listed in Spalding catalogs from
1911-1913.
A collector for 20 years, Mike of
Antique Baseball Uniforms has an
extensive collection exhibited on his
newly published website. His passion
for circa 1890s to Early 1930s baseball
uniforms, extends to fellow
collectors and enthusiasts who
appreciate the historical significance
of these relics. The Antique Baseball
Uniforms features a
Showcase for other Collectors as
well.
This
circa 1890s Navy blue baseball uniform
features a white full collar jersey
with the team name "STARS" in white &
matching trim; matching pants, and a
white belt with metal loop closure,
commonly used during the 1890's to
early 1900s.
It is believed to have connections to
the Syracuse Stars team which played
one season in the American Association
in 1890. The team used the same uniform
colors. The Syracuse Stars was also the
name of several other Minor league
baseball teams that played between 1877
and 1929.
No uniform is complete without a cap.
Spalding offered a line of baseball
caps in the early 1900s and into the
1920s; which included; the No. 6
Chicago Style, No. 15 Philadelphia
Style, No. 17 Brooklyn Style, No. 23
New York Style, and this
No. 25 Boston Style.
Only the Philadelphia Style, and Brooklyn Style caps made it into the 1928
catalog. Each cap was offered in
different qualities to match a uniform.
The circa 1925 uniform tag on the
sweatband of this Boston Style cap
indicates the No. "M" Quality, colors
same as No. M Quality Baseball
uniforms.
Zippered uniform jerseys hit the
playing field in the 1930s. The 1937
Chicago Cubs were the first major
league team to zipper up. By 1940 and
’41, half of all big league clubs had
zippered jerseys. But, only a handful of
teams wore them into the 1970s.
The last major league club to wear a
zipper-front jersey was the
Philadelphia Phillies in 1986.
Shawn Hennesey's Chevrons and Diamonds collection focuses on
baseball and military history. His
uniform collection can field an Armed
Forces All-Star team. This
Seventh Army Air Force team road
uniform is what Staff Sergeant Joe
DiMaggio would have worn in 1944.
DiMaggio and other major league players were transferred to Hawaii in the
Spring of 1944. Big names like; Joe
Gordon, Pee Wee Reese and Red Ruffing,
along with Joe, were split into
different teams. This 7th AAF
grey with blue trim Road jersey
features a Sun-Collar, and the Seventh
Army Air Force uniform patch on the
sleeve
Uniform patches worn on the jersey
front, or sleeve has it's own niche in
the collecting community. The Chevrons
and Diamonds collection features four
uniform patches that were worn on the
jersey front.
Pictured here; 1955 Kunsan Air Base Manager, FAD Naval Aviation '51
Champs, 1950s 212th Artillery Group
Gunners, 1944 Naval Aviation
uniform insignia Letter.
 Authorized
by Major League baseball, in 1993 Willabee & Ward issued the "125 Years
of Official Baseball Patches."
The complete set of 40 patches came
with a binder. Each
uniform patch was secured in plastic, and
mounted to a 9"x 12" information card in a plastic binder sleeve.
Below the uniform patch is a "Patch Fact" information box with a short
summary. The information card gives a
detailed history that continues on the
other side. The front bottom of the
card illustrates where the patch was
worn, home and away, jersey front, or
sleeve.
In general baseball uniforms can be dated to an era by particular
fashions, styles, fabric, patterns,
etc. But, with 1000s of styles used
since the 19th century, dating a
vintage uniform could be a daunting
task. Even with catalogs in hand. |
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Joe of the
Antique Sports
Collector website, features a
Baseball Uniform Manufacturer Tag
Database to help date uniforms from
about 1890-1942. Manufacturers include;
Spalding, Victor, Wright & Ditson,
Draper & Maynard, Horace Partridge,
Goldsmith and more.
 The website is dedicated to displaying and sharing
his vintage sports
equipment and memorabilia with other
collectors, as well as those interested
in starting a collection. The
Antique Sports Collector Showcase
shares pictures of the collections of
fellow vintage sports collectors.
This rare style 1890s early 1900 baseball jersey; with full collar, full
length cuffed sleeves, and a breast
pocket is amongst the more than
100 vintage baseball uniforms in
his collection.
Sporting Goods catalogs are a great
source for dating vintage baseball
uniforms. They are also highly sought after by
collectors. This catalog issued by
Great Western in 1938 is filled with
information on baseball uniforms, and style descriptions.
Great Western Athletic Goods of Chicago was primarily a uniform
manufacturer. To establish a niche in
the uniform market, Thomas E. Wilson &
Co. Athletic Goods
merged with Great Western in 1925 and
renamed Wilson-Western Sporting
Goods. Then in 1931, Wilson
Sporting Goods Co. Wilson also produced
Great Western branded baseball
equipment for their catalog.
Uniform pants have gone through many
style changes and trends with how
players wore their pants. During the
first half of the 20th century,
ballplayers wore their pants so that
their stockings showed to the bottom of
their knee.
This 1930s Great Western uniform pants features elastic at the bottom to
be worn around the knee, so the baggy fit pant
legs would hang over, and hide the
elastic. A trend toward lowering the
pant leg crept into baseball fashion.
The trend of ballplayers lowering their
pant legs became more popular with each
passing decade.
In the early 1950s, longtime umpire Bill Stewart called for an end to the
long pants, citing difficulties in
determining the location of a batter’s
knee, and thus the bottom of the
strike-zone. By the 1990s, the height
of the pant leg dropped to the
"No-Sock" look, with some players even
tucking the pant legs into their shoes.
This glamorous gold and blue satin
uniform, manufactured by Powers
Athletic Wear was made for the
PBSW Arizona Ramblers women's softball
team. The Ramblers won the National
American Softball championships in
1940, 1948 and 1949. The team played
their home games at Phoenix Municipal
Stadium until July of 1950 when the
team moved to Rambler Field.
National Softball Hall of Famers that played for the Arizona Ramblers
include; 11 x all-star, Margie Law,
Thelma Keith, Betty “Butch” Hamman, and
Dot Wilkinson.
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KEYMAN COLLECTIBLES
RELATED RESOURCES |
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KeyMan
Collectibles Collectors Corner
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webs best resource for baseball memorabilia. |
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KeyMan Collectibles Baseball
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with other collectors or show off your
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KeyMan
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facebook" Post Questions and
comments relating to Baseball Collectibles and
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