1903-1906 Cardinals

1903 through 1906 appeared to have the same uniforms. The only change noticed is the emblem on the cap, which was a new design that also incorporated a T in the emblem, reading STL. We also saw this emblem used on team overcoat jackets. In this era, we see photographs of the entire team wearing jackets with STL emblems on them. Sometimes this emblem matched the emblem on the cap, and sometimes it did not.

In 1904 the National League officially mandated in the rule book that white uniforms would be worn at home games, while gray uniforms would be worn on the road.

Select photography and one newspaper article reveals the Cardinals wore a white or light colored cap. We do not know if this cap was white or gray, nor do we know its official use.

Newspaper Accounts

St. Louis Post Dispatch: April 5, 1903
Capt Donovan’s men were glad. They had every reason to be. They had the prettiest new spring suits of bluish gray, trimmed with red and new caps with white monograms.

St. Louis Globe Democrat: May 28, 1906
Manager McCloskey sprang a surprise yesterday by a new uniform for the Cardinals. The old cardinal caps and stockings have given away to white caps with cardinals lettering and the stockings are now white, with the exception of a band around the calf of the leg which is cardinal. The new combination is tasteful and neat and it possesses a big advantage over the old style in the fact that it is less liable to cause blood poisoning. Despite the fact that the players wore white stockings under the cardinals ones, the latter faded through and dyed their legs. The coloring matter was always liable to get into a cut or bruise and cause serious trouble. 

St. Louis Post Dispatch: July 15, 1906
“Why are baseball teams nicknamed and how did the teams in the National and American leagues receive their names?” is the inquiry of a correspondent who signs himself “Raven.”
As a usual thing, baseball teams have been given their nicknames by baseball writers, who happen to strike upon some cognomen which hits popular fancy and is taken up by the public.
The name Ravens has been applied to the local American League team ever since the trimmings of the uniforms were changed from brown to black, every discerning person recognizing the absurdity of calling. Team Browns that did not have a vestige of that color about their uniform.
It was because of a. Chance in the color of the trimming of their uniforms, caps and stockings that the name of the Robison aggregation at League Park was changed from Browns to Cardinals. The messrs. Robison had purchased the team of Mr. Von der Ahe and then transferred the Cleveland Spiders to St. Louis. When the color of the uniform was changed the was no longer nicknamed Browns, but called Cardinals, and the name has adhered to them ever since. 

Team Colors

Cardinals Red – PMS 200

Off-White Fabric – CMYK: 1/2/3/0

Gray Fabric – CMYK: 0/0/0/20