Vintage Base Ball Logo & Uni

[BallWonk]

I'm involved in founding a new vintage base ball team in the Baltimore-Washington area, the Chesapeake and Potomac Base Ball Club. (http://chesapeakepotomacbbc.tripod.com/) We're set to play our first games at a tournament in July. In the meantime, we're doing things like writing bylaws and learning the rules of 1868 and so forth. I'm working on graphics and documents, which includes making a logo and finalizing our uniforms.

For the logo, the goal is to have something attractive in a plausible mid 19th century style. I used fonts similar to some that have been documented to the 1870s:

For the uniforms, we have two basic styles. "Muffins" or rookies (all of us this year) will play in simple and cheap white shirts and blue slacks, along with the team cap that all members receive when they join:

Veteran players (or "Ballists" in the lexicon of the day) will be expected to purchase a team uniform. We intend to field two squads, the Baltimore-centric Chesapeakes ("red squad") and the Washington-centric Potomacs ("blue squad"). To make this affordable, and to allow every member to play for either squad as the occasion requires, we're going with a shield-front shirt with a reversible shield. Another goal with these uniforms is to give each squad a distinctive look for games between the two squads using only a single shirt. Here's what we have in mind:

Edit: Substituted new Chesapeake chest letter adopted by Club. See the old image here.

I'd be hugely grateful for any C&C before we actually commission the uniforms from the vintage weaver.

[Redskins24]

The font for the wordmark looks absolutely perfect although the big "C" and "P" look a little too curly, but then again, I don't know if it would be like that at the time. Looks like you put a lot of time into this.

[steiny_ramone]

This is a very awesome, original idea. Two questions though: Will there be numbers? And what font did you use for the wordmark?

[BallWonk]

This is a very awesome, original idea. Two questions though: Will there be numbers? And what font did you use for the wordmark?

No, we're recreating the style of play of the 1860s, and players then did not wear numbers. Teams were still essentially gentlemen's clubs, and they tended to wear shirts decorated with the initial of the club name. So for example, the Baltimore Pastimes wore blue Ps on their shirts. But player names or numbers would have been gauche, and so had to wait for professionalization.

The fonts are RoughRiders (and RoughRiders Alt Caps for either the C or the P) and Westwind. RoughRiders is from FontMesa and recreates an actual period type. Westwind I have no idea where it comes from, but it's very similar to display fonts I've seen in publications from the latter 19th century.

[leopard88]

Very nice. My ONLY issue (and this may just be me) is the name. The phone company in Maryland was Chesapeake & Potomac (commonly known as C&P) until about the mid-80s (sometime after the AT&T breakup, when it took the Bell Atlantic name). So, for me at least, Chesapeake & Potomac will always sound like the phone company. Regardless, don't let that have any impact on this (and I would be worried if you did let it have an impact ).

[ColeJ]

you're officially my hero.

i wish i lived up there, so i could join up. it's that damn cool.

[Fjm]

The uniforms look too similar, and they will look exactly the same from the side or behind (since you then couldn't see the logo.)

Couldn't the teams at least wear different colored socks? And different colored caps would be nice. For the Potomacs (blue team) I'd go with white and blue striped socks, and blue and white striped caps, eliminating the red.

[BallWonk]

The uniforms look too similar, and they will look exactly the same from the side or behind (since you then couldn't see the logo.)

Couldn't the teams at least wear different colored socks?  And different colored caps would be nice.  For the Potomacs (blue team) I'd go with white and blue striped socks, and blue and white striped caps, eliminating the red.

Excellent points. I don't mean to argue with you here, just to explain the limitations of this design project:

We really are stuck with a single cap (and unfortunately reversible caps are not an option), and the only element of the shirt that can change is the reversible chest shield. Same with pants. Vintage uniforms are a hefty investment for players (which is why we let rookies wear their own street clothes, as new club members often would have done back in the day) and having different hats, shirts, or pants for each squad would make participation on the team prohibitively expensive as well as a logistical nightmare. (We need uniforms that a player can change from one squad to another on the fly during tournaments or intrasquad matches.)

(If we have a saving grace here, it's that clubs from this era typically had only one uniform, no "road grays," so it's normal to see two similarly dressed teams on the field, with the only obvious difference being what was on their chests.)

A second set of socks is an excellent idea. The added expense would be minor. My only concern would be logistical: If anyone forgot to bring his second pair of socks, then we might have to field a team with unmatched socks, which would create more visual confusion than the two-sock solution would ever prevent. However, I'll pass your sock suggestion on to the rest of the Club to think about. Thanks for the suggestion!

[steiny_ramone]

Looking at it, I wonder if making the Chesapeake shield red, instead of white would create a bigger difference.

I have another thought, though I'm not sure if it fits the style of the time: What about striped socks that match the hat? I think that would look really cool, but again, it might not be historically accurate.

[BallWonk]

Looking at it, I wonder if making the Chesapeake shield red, instead of white would create a bigger difference.

I have another thought, though I'm not sure if it fits the style of the time: What about striped socks that match the hat? I think that would look really cool, but again, it might not be historically accurate.

More sock advice? I guess these unis do have some high-profile hosiery ... But I jest. It's a great suggestion, and I'll pass it on. We have a historian on the squad who can tell us if striped socks would be too anachronistic.

I thought about the white-on-red shield for the Chesapeake squad as well. One advantage would be looking less like the 1869 Red Stockings, which is perhaps the best known and most successful vintage team out there. (It's why we switched away from an Old English C; the Red Stockings wear white shield-front shirts with a red Old English C.) Here is what the red shield looks like in color:

It looks good, actually, but I worry that it offers too little visual contrast. Yes, red and blue are distinct colors, but dark blue and white are even more contrasty, and dark letter versus white letter also makes for a stronger contrast. To see what I mean, here's what the red shield looks like in black & white:

Awfully similar: dark pants and socks, white shirt, dark shield with letter. Still, it's worth playing around with some more.

[steiny_ramone]

Looking at it, I wonder if making the Chesapeake shield red, instead of white would create a bigger difference.

I have another thought, though I'm not sure if it fits the style of the time: What about striped socks that match the hat? I think that would look really cool, but again, it might not be historically accurate.

More sock advice? I guess these unis do have some high-profile hosiery ... But I jest. It's a great suggestion, and I'll pass it on. We have a historian on the squad who can tell us if striped socks would be too anachronistic.

I thought about the white-on-red shield for the Chesapeake squad as well. One advantage would be looking less like the 1869 Red Stockings, which is perhaps the best known and most successful vintage team out there. (It's why we switched away from an Old English C; the Red Stockings wear white shield-front shirts with a red Old English C.) Here is what the red shield looks like in color:

It looks good, actually, but I worry that it offers too little visual contrast. Yes, red and blue are distinct colors, but dark blue and white are even more contrasty, and dark letter versus white letter also makes for a stronger contrast. To see what I mean, here's what the red shield looks like in black & white:

Awfully similar: dark pants and socks, white shirt, dark shield with letter. Still, it's worth playing around with some more.

Yeah that's what I was thinking about the shield colours. Because red and blue is a big contrast, and a little more eye-catching, but white and blue is an even bigger contrast. Ultimately, it's up to you. I like both ideas.

[ColeJ]

you could always go with a red shield, with a white C... then a white shield, with a blue P.

that way you get the contrast, and you avoid the red stockings look.

[no97]

I'll second ColeDMD's idea...

Also, I'm sure you're aware of the Vintage Base Ball Association, but just in case you're not...

I'll add my envy for this team. The two closest to me are near the Twin Cities (the Quicksteps located in suburban Columbia Hts., and the St. Croix, located in suburban Stillwater). I'd love to be able to put one together here in northern Minnesota...

Moose