Another Piece To The Vintage Base Ball Experience – The Uniforms

Over the past few weeks or so, I have been in researching the world of Vintage Base Ball through social media and websites nationwide. Common theme – everyone looks like they are having a blast being in the Vintage Base Ball community. It is a fun, non-confrontational, uplifting group that loves baseball, loves their community, and loves to have a few laughs on any given game day. Through Instagram pages and websites, I am starting to get a better picture of the experience and of course, always strive to learn more. So, I have reached out to a few vendors of Vintage Base Ball for their commentary on the experience and their piece of it. And a number of them have returned my emails, including a really interesting shop online called the Historical Emporium.

First, check out this outfit and really creative description I found during a store search on the Historical Emporium’s website:

Montgomery McAllister, Liberty Lancers Baseball Team

Meet Montgomery Money McAllister, the prodigious player from Philadelphia who found himself at the heart of the Liberty Lancers’ baseball frenzy. Hailing from a family of bankers, Money had a natural inclination for numbers, but his true passion lay in the chaotic art of baseball. With his quick wit and unparalleled skills, he became the ultimate asset to the team.

From the moment Money stepped onto the field, it was clear he was destined for greatness. His batting average skyrocketed faster than the stock market, and his nimble feet dashed across the bases like a Wall Street tycoon chasing profits. The Liberty Lancers knew they had struck gold when they recruited him.

Pretty cool find, right? The shirt, the suspenders, the hat – all part of a Vintage Base Ball type uniform. I inquired with the staff at the Historical Emporium about the types of uniforms players would wear, the materials used, and why they appear to look so professional or business like. “In general men’s clothing of any sort in that era would have been made of cotton, linen and/or wool in various blends,” wrote Alicia, one of the company’s co-founders. “Their clothing appears to be “professional” to our modern eye because their clothing was, in general, more formal than what we wear to day.” Alicia finished with “as in if a man was out in town he would at a minimum be wearing a shirt and a vest, if not a coat of varying degrees of formality.”

Alicia also sent me a number of website links and stories to further explain the Vintage Base Ball uniform and its variations based on the era of baseball the players are representing. And a number of photo submissions of Vintage style baseball uniforms to an online contest promoted by the Historical Emporium. Here are some of those examples:

https://www.historicalemporium.com/gallery/888118/play-ball

https://www.historicalemporium.com/gallery/890180/tennessee-vintage-base-ball

https://www.historicalemporium.com/gallery/889543/quicksteps-vintage-base-ball-club

Here is the full list of examples Alicia sent to me:

Wow, huge thanks to the Historical Emporium for supplying me with some great information and photos on Vintage Base Ball uniforms. Special thanks to co-founder Alicia for the information, photos, links, and more on the uniforms. I am thoroughly enjoying my Vintage Base Ball research and the interesting vendors, players, and league administrators who make Vintage Base Ball so special. Stay tuned for more Vintage Base Ball community member spotlights in the days and weeks to come.

For more information on the products and services of the Historical Emporium, head over to their website – www.historicalemporium.com.