- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Brooklyn
- Team: Bridegrooms
- League: American Association
Michael J. Hughes (1866-1931) got 25 of his three-year career total 39 wins for the Brooklyn Bridegrooms in his rookie season, 1888. That performance earned Hughes the opening day start for Brooklyn in 1889, but he fell to a lackluster 9-8 record that year. Hughes was traded to the Athletics in 1890, finishing his brief ML tenure going 1-3 in six games.
- In Brooklyn’s final year in the American Association, Hughes went 1-0 in the 1889 Series against the NY Giants, won by NY 6 games to 3
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Washington, D.C.
- Team: Nationals
- League: National League
William Ellsworth Hoy (1862-1961) was a renowned outfielder for the Cincinnati Reds & other clubs over a 15 year career. Hoy was rendered deaf by a childhood illness. He was not the 1st deaf player in the majors, but he was the most accomplished, using his speed and small stature (5’4”) to generate walks and steals. Hoy retired in 1902 holding the career record for outfield chances.
- Hoy’s record three outfield assists to the plate in one game were all to his catcher Connie Mack
- At his death in 1961 he was the longest lived major league player at 99 years of age
- Hoy's uniform color on this card was changed in June, 2017 from blue to red to reflect recent reliable research by Craig Brown & friends at Threads of Our Game. Nine cards were previously released featuring a blue uniform.
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Chicago
- Team: White Stockings
- League: National League
Charles E. Hoover (1865-?) was a catcher for the Kansas City Cowboys of the American Association from the end of the 1888 season through the following year. Hoover was a teammate of the franchise’s only Hall of Famer, “Slidin” Billy Hamilton. As an end-of-season rookie, Hoover appeared in only three games in ’88 but went 3 for 10. The following year he was in 71 games, mostly behind the plate but with turns at third base and the outfield. He hit .248 with 25 RBI. Hoover also had an extensive minor league career including such colorful teams as the Des Moines Prohibitionists, the Davenport Onion Weeders and the Lincoln Rustlers.
- All in all, Hoover was on the roster of 12 minor league squads, literally from coast to coast (from the Savannah Modocs to the Sacramento Senators)
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Philadelphia
- Team: Quakers
- League: National League
William James Hoover (1863-1924) was a prime example of players from the beginning of baseball who could shine at the amateur or minor league level and fail when up against the true elites of the game. In Buster’s case, the exception (the Union Association of 1884) proves the rule. That is where Hoover began in the “majors” but was really playing against minor-league caliber opponents. He wowed, hitting .364 (2nd in the league), third in OBP and slugging. Then that quixotic misadventure ended and the players had to find real homes. Buster’s was still in Philadelphia with Harry Wright’s Quakers where he hit .190. After years mostly in the minors (where he often excelled, averaging .306 over 11 seasons) he got a shot with the Orioles and hit .217. Finally, the Cincinnati Reds gave him a try in 1892: 14 games, .176. Hoover finished up hitting .305 for the Troy Washerwomen in 1894.
- Bill James has thoroughly analyzed the quality of the Union Association and found that it, like the anonymous Wisconsin dairy, could have embraced the motto: “Our Best Is None Too Good”
- Hoover’s uniform color on this card was changed in June, 2017 from black to blue/red to reflect recent reliable research by Craig Brown & friends at Threads of Our Game. Five cards were previously released featuring a black uniform.
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Des Moines
- Team: Prohibitionists
- League: Western Association
James Wear Holliday (1867-1910) had a knack for beginnings. He began in big league baseball at its pinnacle: game five of the 1885 post-season series. He wouldn’t play in a regular-season game until 1889, but again reached an apex by leading the league in home runs as a rookie. Bug’s sophomore season began with another bang: an opening game HR. Holliday played exclusively for Cincinnati and during his six prime years was second only to Roger Connor in home runs. His peak productivity came in 1894 when he hit .372, scoring and driving in 119 runs. Thereafter, health took a sad toll. Following an appendectomy in ‘95 Bug was never the same and his life ended too early due to a fatal infection.
- At 5’11” “Bug” was not tiny, but he struck some as such way out in center field and got the nickname
- His unlikely debut came about when Cap Anson was desperate for a right-fielder in the St. Louis Series. Young Bug fared poorly and headed to the minors for seasoning.
- Holliday’s uniform color on this card was changed in June, 2017 from black to blue to reflect recent reliable research by Craig Brown & friends at Threads of Our Game. Six cards were previously released featuring a black uniform.
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