1889 Brooklyn Bridegrooms
Source: Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.
Photographer: Gardner & Co., 276 & 278 Fulton St., Brooklyn, New York
Photo Subject: This is a studio photo of the 1889 Brooklyn Bridegrooms, who won the American Association pennant that year. Of special note is pitcher Bob Caruthers, seated in the front row, second from the left. Caruthers recorded 40 wins to 11 loses for the 1889 season.
Fun Fact: Over time, the professional baseball team located in Brooklyn went through several nickname changes:
the Atlantics (1884), the Grays (1885-1887), the Bridegrooms (1888-1890), the Grooms (1891-1895), the Bridegrooms (1896-1898), the Superbas (1899-1910), the Trolley Dodgers (1911-1912), the Superbas (1913), the Robins (1914-1931) and finally the Dodgers (1932-1957).
Funny, but there seems to be some disagreement on the name timeline, but I settled on the naming scheme used by the Baseball Reference website.
The 1888 name change to the Bridegrooms came about as four of the star players got married that year. It was in 1889 that the Bridegrooms kissed the bride as they won the American Association pennant by two games over the St. Louis Browns.
Painting Detail: Printed on 13” x 19” canvas and painted using Schmincke Mussini and Marshall’s oil paints. Finer details were made using Prismacolor pencils.
Acknowledgement: Special thanks to Craig Brown’s website, Threads Of Our Game, which is an excellent resource for pre-1900 baseball uniforms.