WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1890 "BASEBALL CHAMPIONS" TIM KEEFE

Next custom "19th Century Base Ball Champions" card to get the spotlight here on the blog years after its release in 2018 by yours truly? That would be the one of Hall of Fame pitcher Tim Keefe:

Over his illustrious 14 year career between 1880 and 1893, the man posted 342 wins along with a 2.63 earned run average, with 39 shutouts, completing 554 of 594 starts.

Breaking in with Troy in 1880, the 23-year-old completed all twelve of his starts, and led the league with a microscopic 0.86 ERA in 105 innings of work, going 6-6 along the way.

Two seasons later, in 1883, he'd post one of the greatest seasons a pitcher ever had, going 41-27 over 68 games, completing ALL 68, for 619 innings pitched, striking out 359 batters and posting a 2.41 ERA.

Though I am not one for modern analytics, etc, according to the "new math", this gave Keefe a WAR of 19.9, and it seems that my friends, is absurd!

He would post six 30+ win seasons, topping 40 twice, while leading the league in wins twice, ERA three times and strikeouts two times, mainly for the New York Giants.

In 1964 the Veterans Committee selected him for Hall enshrinement, joining contemporaries Pud Galvin, Kid Nichols, etc representing the creme-de-la-creme of 19th Century pitching.

 

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1890 "BASEBALL CHAMPIONS" SAM THOMPSON

On the blog today, we profile my card for Hall of Famer and RBI-machine Sam Thompson, from my 2018 "19th Century Base Ball Champions" set:

Thompson was a "slugger" by his day's standards, slamming 126 home runs with two homer titles during his 15-year career between 1885 and 1906.

If you take a look at his career you'll be looking at some hardcore numbers!

In ten full seasons (the other five being partial at best), Thompson drove in over 100 runs eight times, with highs of 166, 165 and 147.

In 1894, he drove in those 147 runs in only 102 games! He also hit .415 with 114 runs scored to team up with fellow future Hall of Fame members Ed Delahanty (.404) and Billy Hamilton (.403) to form the only .400-hitting outfield in baseball history.

To top it off, there was a FOURTH outfielder on the team, Tuck Turner, who hit .418 in 382 plate appearances!

Back to Thompson, he collected over 200 hits in a season three times, collected 10+ homers six times, 20+ triples three times and scored 100+ runs all ten seasons of full-time play.

By the time he retired for good after a brief return to Major League ball in 1906 with the Detroit Tigers after an eight-year absence, he finished with 1261 runs scored, 1988 hits, 343 doubles, 161 triples, 126 home runs and 1305 runs batted in with a wonderful .331 batting average.

In that time he also led his league in a primary offensive category 17 times. Certainly a Hall of Fame resume if worthy of induction by the Veteran's Committee in 1974.

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1890 "BASEBALL CHAMPIONS" TONY MULLANE

The next "19th Century Base Ball Champions" card to get the spotlight here on the blog, showcasing my early custom set from 2018, is my card for Tony Mullane, "The Apollo of the Box" and quite honestly, a guy who should be in the Hall of Fame:

Over the course of his 13-year Major League career he would finish with 284 wins, and would have easily been an early member of the 300-win circle had he not missed the 1885 season, which was sandwiched between five 30-win campaigns.

He would post eight 20-win seasons, toss 30 shutouts and pick up 15 saves in an era when saves were not a common thing, as evidenced by his five seasons of leading the league in that stat, none higher than five.

Regardless, he was also a two-way player, though from the offense-side of the game he did not show the same success, hitting .243 over 2720 at-bats.

Nevertheless, the Ireland-born righty who would also sometimes pitch left-handed did rack up those 284 wins, with a nice 3.05 ERA over 555 games and 4531.1 innings, certainly enough for a vote from me for the Hall.

Sadly, I hold no such vote, so "sorry Tony!"

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1890 "BASEBALL CHAMPIONS" ROGER CONNOR

Up next from my 2018 custom "19th Century Base Ball Champions" set to be featured here on the blog, the original Home Run King Roger Connor, who saw his career home run total fall to a guy called Ruth some 15 years later:

In his stellar 18-year career, he slammed 138 homers, which was an impressive total for the dead-ball days of yore.

A big dude (6'3"/225lbs), Connor wasn't only a slugger however, by the time he retired in 1897, he totaled 2467 hits, 1620 runs, 441 doubles, 233 triples and 1323 runs batted in.

He also managed to steal 244 bases as well, though records for some of these stats were loosely kept, I'll admit.

Nevertheless, the man topped 100+ runs scored eight times, 100+ RBI's four times, 10+ homers seven times, and 10+ triples 12 times.

A very worthy player from the 1800's to be elected into the Hall of Fame, which finally happened for him in 1976, sadly some 45 years after his passing.

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1890 "BASEBALL CHAMPIONS" PUD GALVIN

Time to showcase my custom "19th Century Base Ball Champions" card for the "Little Steam Engine", Hall of Fame pitcher Pud Galvin, from my custom set released in 2018:

Over the course of his spectacular 15 year professional career, Galvin produced 365 wins, with 10 20-win campaigns, which included two straight 46-win campaigns in 1883 and 1884 with the Buffalo Bisons.

In those two seasons, Galvin started 147 games and completed 143 of them. Read that again! 143 complete games in two years, with a total of 1292.2 innings of work! Just astounding.

When he retired after the 1892 season, he was at the top or near top of every pitching mark in baseball's young history, winning 365 games, tossing 57 shutouts, completing 646 while throwing 6003 innings, with a 2.85 earned run average.

Just a powerhouse of a pitcher in the game's early years, with the end result a spot in Cooperstown when he was inducted as a player by the Veterans Committee in 1965.

Of special note for all uber-baseball history geeks out there: it seems that it was recently discovered that he pitched in the National Association before his Major League days, appearing in eight games for St. Louis in 1875 as an 18-year-old, going 4-2 with a league-leading 1.16 ERA, completing all seven of his starts with a save thrown in. I do not recall this at all until seeing it recently, and I promise you I've been a fan of National Association history since the early-80s.

Baseball history STILL evolving with nuggets like this some 150 years later! Fantastic!

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1890 "BASEBALL CHAMPIONS" PETE BROWNING

On the blog today, we spotlight SHOULD-BE Hall of Famer Pete Browning, from my 2018 custom "19th Century Base Ball Champions" set:

How is this man still not in the Hall!?

Over the course of his tumultuous 13-year career, he took home three batting titles, topped .400 in 1887 when he also stole 103 bases, and finished with a .341 career average.

He is also famously the man who put "Louisville Slugger" on the map, with company founder John Andrew "Bud" Hillerich custom-making Browning a bat when he was mired in a slump.

Almost at the level of "quirky" as Rube Waddell, please do yourself a favor and read more about his life here:

https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/Pete-Browning/

Nevertheless, by the time he retired after the 1894 season, Browning finished with a .341 average, with 1646 hits over 4820 at-bats, with a .403 OBP while stealing 258 bases and scoring 954 runs.

Because so much of his career was in the American Association, playing for Louisville, it seems to have kept him out of the Hall, where I feel he should be.

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1890 "BASEBALL CHAMPIONS" MICKEY WELCH

On the blog today, we spotlight my custom card for 300-game winner Mickey Welch, from an early WTHBALLS set released back in 2018 in deluxe packaging:

Once I got my hands on my first Macmillan Baseball Encyclopedia as a 10 year old I became obsessed with those early Gods of the mound, like Tim Keefe, Kid Nichols, Pud Galvin, and this guy, fellow Brooklyn native Welch.

All of these pitchers had incredible numbers on their Major League resume, and my eyes would strain to grasp the inning-counts, the complete games, win totals and the earned run averages.

It was mind-blowing to me, and to some extent (even after learning the differences of the game back then), it still is.

Welch put together an uber-solid 13-year career, a career that saw him post nine 20-win seasons, four 30-win seasons and a 40-win season.

All but three of his years as a pro were with the New York Giants, with his first three years playing for the Troy Trojans between 1880-1882, and he went on to become only the third pitcher to amass 300 or more career wins.

He'd finish his career after only one start in 1892, putting up a 307-210 lifetime record, with a 2.71 earned run average, a staggering 525 complete games out of 549 starts, 41 shutouts and 1850 strikeouts.

Sadly, he wouldn't gain entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame until 1973, long after he passed away in 1941, when he was voted in by the Veterans Committee.
But this time the Committee got it right as opposed to some of those other questionable picks in the early-1970's, as Welch found his place with all the other aforementioned 19th-century 300-game winners.

 

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1890 "BASEBALL CHAMPIONS" KID NICHOLS

Today on the blog we take a look at my "19th Century Base Ball Champions" card for Hall of Fame pitcher Kid Nichols, from my custom set released back in 2018 in deluxe cigarette pack packaging:

Nichols was an absolute top tier pitcher over his 15 Major League seasons, ultimately winning 362 games and at one point stringing together seven 30-win seasons in eight years between 1891 and 1898 for Boston.

In his first season at the age of 20 in 1890 he posted 27 wins, followed by those 30 win campaigns with a 27-win year thrown in, then two more 20-win seasons over his last six seasons, one of which was a 21-win season in 1904 after missing two years as he played for Kansas City of the Western League in 1902 and 1903.

Incredibly, he posted 26 and 21 wins for K.C. those two years, and he easily could have been the second 400-game winner in baseball history had he not played those two years outside of Major League ball.

By the time he retired, he finished with a record of 362-208, good for a .635 winning percentage over 621 games, 562 of which were starts, with an incredible 532 complete games, tossing 48 shutouts while saving 16, with 1881 strikeouts over 5067.1 innings.

Just insane numbers for the "Kid" from Madison, Wisconsin!

In 1949 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, rightfully having his place among other 300-game winners from the 19th Century like Charles Radbourne, Cy Young and Mickey Welch, among others.

Over his 21-year professional career, he won 504 games against 264 losses, tossing over 60 shutouts and striking out just under 2500 batters!

Amazing!

 

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1890 "BASE BALL CHAMPIONS" DAN BROUTHERS

Good day all. On the blog today, we spotlight my card for Dan Brouthers, Hall of Fame first baseman, from my custom "19th Century Base Ball Stars" set released back in 2018 in deluxe packaging:

Fun set to put together!

Brouthers put in 19 seasons under the Big League sun, and was spectacular, to the tune of a .342 career batting average with 2303 hits over 6726 at-bats in 1676 games.

He took home five batting titles, hitting as high as .374 in 1883 with the Buffalo Bisons and .373 in 1889 while with Boston.

He led the league in hits three times, runs twice, doubles three times, triples once and homers twice, with two RBI crowns thrown in for good measure in 1883 and 1892.

The man never hit below .300 in any one of his full-time seasons, and topped .350 six times, while topping the 100-RBI mark six times as well.

In 1945, he was given his rightful spot in Cooperstown when he was selected by the "Old Timers Committee".

An early elite hitter who definitely left his mark on the game, even some 130+ years later!

 

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1890 "BASEBALL CHAMPIONS" JOHN WARD

On the blog today, we spotlight my "19th Century Base Ball Champions" card of Hall of Famer John Montgomery Ward, from my fun custom set released back in 2018 celebrating the stars of the game during Major League Baseball's infancy in the late-1800's:

The college educated Ward put together some career between 1878 and 1894, starting out as a top-notch pitcher before becoming a great infielder for the latter part of his career.

From 1878 to 1884 he was primarily a pitcher with Providence and New York, winning 164 games with a 2.10 earned run average and 24 shutouts, leading the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts once each, as well as shutouts with 8 in 1880.

Incredibly, as with many pitchers at that time, he completed 245 of 262 starts, putting in an amazing 2469.2 innings in only seven seasons on the mound.

In 1884 he shifted to shortstop and then put in a Hall-worthy career over the next 11 seasons, hitting as high as .338 and stealing 540 bases, including 111 in 1887 and 88 in 1892.

Of course, the college-educated young man was also a primary factor in the formation of the Players League, who had one season of play in 1890 as players tried to gain power over their own destiny over owners and their horrid labor practices.

Now, even his SABR bio states quite accurately that no essay-length write-up could possibly do justice to his life, and I agree 100%.

To get a better understanding of the man, his career and his life, a good start would be here:

https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/John-Montgomery-Ward/

Nevertheless, a true legend of the game, as well as historical figure.

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1890 "BASEBALL CHAMPIONS" JOHN CLARKSON

Today on the blog we take a look at my custom card for Hall of Fame pitcher John Clarkson, from my 2018 "1890 Base Ball Champions" set:

Really fun custom set to create and release in special cigarette box packaging with extra goodies thrown in!

Of course, for those familiar with 19th Century cards, you'll recognize that I used the 1894 Mayo Plug set as inspiration for this set design, as the Mayo Plugs are one of my very favorite card sets of all-time.

As for Clarkson, the right hander from Massachusetts put in twelve years in the Big Leagues, posting 328 victories by the time he hung them up, winning as many as 53 games in 1885, with eight seasons of 20+ wins.

In 1889 he took home the pitching Triple Crown when he led the league with 49 wins, 2.73 earned run average and 284 strikeouts, over 73 appearances, 72 of which were starts, completing an incredible 68 of them for 620 innings of work.

In 1885, when he posted his career-best 53 wins, he completed 68 of his 70 starts, tossing 10 shutouts and striking out 308 batters while finishing with another career-best of a 1.85 E.R.A. over 623 innings.

Just amazing.

On June 4th of 1889 he is credited as throwing the first record "immaculate inning", doing so against the Philadelphia Quakers in the third inning of their match-up.

His final numbers: a 328-178 record, good for a .648 winning percentage, with a 2.81 ERA over 531 appearances, 518 of those starts, with 485 complete games and 37 shutouts.

In 1963, Clarkson was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee, joining fellow 19th Century 300-game winners like Cy Young, Pud Galvin and Mickey Welch.

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1890 "BASEBALL CHAMPIONS" JESSE BURKETT

The next card from my early custom set, "19th Century Base Ball Champions" to get the spotlight here on the blog is that of "The Crab", Jesse Burkett, one of the greatest hitters the game has ever seen:

Really fun set to design and produce.

Over his 16 year baseball career, which began in 1890 as a player in the short-lived Players League and last through the 1905 season with Boston in the American League, Burkett was nothing short of astounding, hitting at a .338 clip, with three batting titles, including two straight .400 campaigns in 1895 and 1896 that saw him hit .405 and .410 respectively for the Cleveland Spiders.

He missed a third .400 season in 1899 when he hit .396 in his first season with St. Louis of the National League, picking up 221 hits in 558 at-bats, one of six 200-hit seasons he'd have over his amazing career.

By the time he retired, he finished with 2850 hits, 1720 runs scored, including 160 in 1896 in only 133 games, 389 stolen bases and a .415 lifetime on-base-percentage, along with nine 100-run campaigns and seven .350+ seasons.

If not for an injury shortened 1891 season that saw him play in only 40 games, he would have easily reached the 3000 hit plateau, which would have made him only the second player behind Cap Anson at that time to attain the lofty mark.

In 1946, he was elected to the Hall of Fame by the "Old Timer's Committee", the precursor to the Veteran's Committee, and rightly so.

 

 

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1890 "BASEBALL CHAMPIONS" HUGH DUFFY

Today on the blog, we spotlight my custom "19th Century Base Ball Stars" card of Hall of Famer Hugh Duffy, a fun set I produced and released back in 2018:

The outfielder put in 17 years in the Big Leagues, beginning in 1888 with Chicago of the National League through the 1906 season when he appeared in one single game with the Philadelphia Phillies at the age of 39.

In between all Duffy would do it hit .326, collecting 2293 hits and score 1554 runs in 1737 games, winning two batting titles, including his RIDICULOUS 1894 season when he hit .440, also leading the league with 237 hits, 51 doubles, 18 homers and 374 total bases, while also driving in 145 runs for Boston.

Over the course of his career he'd win two home run titles, an RBI crown, the aforementioned batting titles, and one season that saw him lead the league with 161 runs scored, in only 137 games during the Players' League's one year of existence.

In 1945, he was selected for enshrinement in the Hall of Fame by the "Old Timers Committee", a precursor to the Veterans Committee.

After his playing days were over, he became a fixture in Boston baseball, as a manager, scout, batting instructor, coach and "all-around goodwill ambassador" for baseball until his death in 1954.

True baseball "lifer"!

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1890 "BASEBALL CHAMPIONS" GEORGE DAVIS

Up on the blog today, we spotlight my early custom card for Hall of Famer George Davis, from my "19th Century Base Ball Stars" set released back in 2018, in a fun faux 1890's cigarette pack with all sorts of goodies:

Sure wish I could get in my time machine and jet back to that era to buy up all the cigarette packs I could find so I could pull out cards like this!

I'm especially fond of the 1894 Mayo Plug set, which this set right here was modeled after of course!

As for George Davis, his inclusion in this set was based on his stellar 20-year Big League career that saw him as one of the best shortstops of the era, playing for the New York Giants, Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Spiders between 1890 and 1909.

Over his 2372 games, he'd hit .295 while picking up 2665 hits, with 453 doubles, 163 triples and 73 homers, with 1545 runs scored and 1440 runs batted in, as well as 619 stolen bases.

He would topp 100 runs scored five times, while also topping 100 RBIs three times, including a league-leading 135 in 1897 with the Giants.

He'd hit .300 or better nine times, all in a row between 1893 and 1901, with a high of .355 in 1893, his first year with the Giants, when he also established his career-best in hits with 195 and incredible 27 triples and 11 home runs.

Some 100 years later, the Veteran's Committee voted him into the Hall of Fame, finally getting him some recognition that slowly evaporated over the decades since his playing days ended, and rightly so!

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1890 "BASEBALL CHAMPIONS" ED DELAHANTY

Up on the blog today, we come to my custom card for the great Ed Delahanty, from my early custom "19th Century Base Ball Stars" set released many moons ago:

Beautiful portrait of the Hall of Famer, who put in 16 years in the Majors and tragically had his career cut short after passing away in a freak accident that saw him fall to his death after wandering on to the Niagara Falls bridge in a drunken state on July 2nd, 1903.

One of FIVE professional baseball brothers, Ed hit a tremendous .346 over his career, with 2597 hits in 7510 at-bats between 1888 and 1903, winning two batting titles and hitting .400+ three times, with four 200+ hit seasons, seven 100+ RBIs and 10 100+ run campaigns.

Incredibly, in 1894 with the Philadelphia Phillies, he was part of a starting outfield that saw each man hit over .400, with Delahanty at .405, Sam Thompson at .415, and Billy Hamilton at .403, while Tuck Turner, the reserve fourth outfielder, hit .418 over 382 plate appearances! Just amazing.

That starting outfield all would eventually make it to the Hall of Fame years later, and rightly so!

For his career, Delahanty also finished with 1600 runs scored, 522 doubles, 186 triples, 101 homers and 1466 RBIs, with a .411 on-base-percentage and .505 slugging, stealing 456 bases.

In 1945 he'd be selected for the Hall of Fame by the "Old Timers Committee", now knows as the Veterans Committee.

Incredible baseball player who sadly met a tragic end to his career, but most importantly his life on that day in 1903 at the age of 35.

 

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1890 "BASEBALL CHAMPIONS" KING KELLY

Good day all!

On the blog today, we spotlight my custom card for the great King Kelly, from my early custom "19th Century Base Ball Stars" set released in 2018:

Arguably the best, if not most popular player of the 19th Century, Kelly put in 16 tumultuous years in the Major Leagues, often credited with helping popularize the hit-and-run, the hook slide, and the catcher's practice of backing up first base.

Truly a character of the early game, do yourself a favor and read what you can on the man, as I could spend the next few hours just trying to outline a basic profile of his exploits, so I'll keep to his performance between the foul lines here.

Over his 16 year career he'd take home two batting titles, while leading the league in runs scored three years in a row between 1884 and 1886.

He'd also lead the league in doubles three times and on-base-percentage twice, finishing up his Big League tenure with a .307 average, with 1813 hits over 5896 at-bats in 1456 games between 1878 and 1893.

Sadly, he passed away at the young age of only 36 from Pneumonia in November of 1894, just one year removed from his last action as a player, broke with debt, leaving behind a wife.

In 1945 he became the second player voted into the Hall of Fame by the (then) Old Timer's Committee, now what we call the Veterans Committee.

An early legend of the game who left his permanent mark on the sport.

 

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1890 "BASEBALL CHAMPIONS" CY YOUNG

Good day all!

On the blog today we take a look at my custom card for the man, the legend, Cy Young, from my early "19th Century Base Ball Stars" set released back in 2018, and happy to say long sold-out:

A truly fun set to conceive and build back then, really trying to convey a real 19th Century cigarette pack as packaging for the tobacco-sized cards on matte-stock.

As for Young, what really needs to be stated about the work-horses of all work-horses?!

Over his 22 year career that began in 1890, the man appeared in 906 games, with 815 of them starts, completing an astonishing 749 of them, tossing 76 shutouts while saving 18, tossing a mind-numbing 7356 innings and facing almost 30,000 batters!

His total numbers were amazing: 511 wins against 315 losses, with a 2.63 earned run average and 2803 strikeouts, at the time of his retirement holding all "counting stats" records.

Six times he'd record an ERA under 2.00, with a low of 1.26 in 1908 at the age of 41 when he posted a record of 21-11, completing 30 of 33 starts while tossing three shutouts and striking out 150 batters.

As far as wins, he posted 30+ five times while topping 20+ an incredible 16 times, with a high of 36 in 1892 while pitching for the Cleveland Spiders.

Somewhat of the pitching counterpart to Cap Anson, the man just kept producing year after year into his 40s, establishing a record and legend that 100+ years of baseball history couldn't even erase.