1914 Federal Leauge Kansas City Uniform?

[Den*nis O*Brien]

The question is...could this photo show the unknown home uniforms for the Kansas City Packers. According to Dressed To The Nines only the road uniforms are known. Packers could be a commonly used team name but a few things stand out as possible clues. The building in the background looks "Big City". KC being a meat packing city the dehorned steer on the wagon stands out. And the entire mode of transportation is rather grand and not small town in appearance. We once had a board member who used "KC Fed" for an avatar. Maybe he is still here. http://exhibits.baseballhalloffame.o...f&Entryid=1940

[Butch7999]

We'd like to think you're right... hoping you are... but...
only ten players plus a mascot? Kind of a short roster... and a very young-looking (high-school / college-age?) roster, at that...
Can you read the name of the company written on the side of the wagon? That might be a clue...

[bgar3]

Agree with above. I would try starting with identifying one of the players from the team in this photo.

[MrSeven]

They look a little young to be the Federal League Packers.

http://sabr.org/research/1915-kansas-city-packers

[bmarlowe1]

Originally Posted by bgar3

Agree with above. I would try starting with identifying one of the players from the team in this photo.

That is right, but we would need a higher res scan posted.

[khkco4bls]

Definitely way too young

[Den*nis O*Brien]

....for the good observations and solid opinions. They could be the high school team sponsored by the company in the background. I was too excited at the possibility of a "Discovery" to notice the fresh faces. Still they got the "Royal" treatment on Main Street!! This should have gone into Leon's thread from 2 years ago regarding teams in the company of animals.

[slidekellyslide]

It could be the Sioux City Packers Western League club. The building behind them appears to be a fire station.

[john.clowes]

Found a photo of the Kansas City Packers' home opener in 1914 here... http://kcbbh.blogspot.com/2014/04/

Neither team had dark uniforms.

[john.clowes]

Hmmm, maybe a possible answer to the mystery?

Here's a photo of what may be the identical wagon, labeled with the company name "Morris & Company", perhaps the largest meat packer in Chicago and Omaha in the first decade or two of the 20th century. Is it possible that they had a sponsored team called the Packers? I believe that this photo is from 1906.

[Runscott]

Agreed. The fact that real meat packers are in the photo doesn't help the theory.

[tachyonbb]

With the wagon it is logical to assume the team was located in a town with a meat packing/stockyards and a Morris & Company packing plant.
Options:
Chicago: Very large Morris presence but I don't know of any pro level teams called the Packers. Still could be a semi-pro/company team.
Kansas City: Morris had a large presence here. They got in via a shell company located in Boston then caught the other two major companies by surprise. The Kansas City Packers are an option.
Sioux City: Primarily a Armour town, but Morris had a plant here for a while. Western league team called the Packers. They changed nicknames many times. 1905-07(Packers), 1908-09 (Soos) 1910-13(Packers) 1914-1919(Indians) and 1920-23(Packers).
Omaha: Swift, Armour and Morris all had large presence. Local Western League team was not called the Packers until 1930. Omaha South high school was/is called the Packers. Some in the photo look young enough to be high school but not all.
East St. Louis: Large Morris presence but I don't know of any Packers baseball teams in that area.
There are a few others where Morris had a presence but I can find no baseball connection.

Can you make out the logo on the hat?