- Series: Pilgrims
- City: Detroit
- Team: Tigers
- League: American League
William Edward Donovan (1876-1923) paid a $10 fine for earning his nickname, awarded after walking 9 straight for his minor league Hartford team. He went on to a fine ML career over 18 years with 4 clubs as player & manager. He emerged from Brooklyn’s bullpen obscurity to compile a 25-15, 2.77 ERA record in 1901 & really came into his own with the Tigers from ’03-12. He led his team & the AL with a 25-4 mark in ’07, still the franchise’s best winning %. Like his Detroit mates, Donovan struggled in his World Series opportunities, going 1-4 & earning the dubious distinction of losing two straight finales in ’08 and ’09. Until his arm gave out in ’12, Donovan was a consistent closer & still ranks 50th all-time in complete games.
- Donovan stayed in baseball as manager of the New Haven Profs in the EL. He was en route to Chicago for winter meetings when he died in a train wreck of the 20th Century Limited
- Lifetime: 378 games, 186 Ws with 289 completed & a 2.69 ERA
Auction History
Cartophilia
T201 Mecca Canvas: Wild Bill Donovan
- Series: Pilgrims
- City: Detroit
- Team: Tigers
- League: American League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Samuel Earl Crawford (1880-1968) needed a couple more weeks among his 19 ML seasons to reach 3000 hits, finishing with 2961 and the all-time record for triples. “Wahoo Sam” teamed with Ty Cobb for 3 straight Series appearances ‘07-09. Neither did well or won a title. Nevertheless, the renowned manager who made Babe Ruth an outfielder said there was never a better hitter than Crawford. This Nebraska farm kid was considered the strongest hitter of his day and consistently ranked in the top 10 in slugging.
- Playing in the big Deadball Era parks, speedy Crawford set the record for inside-the-park HRs
- Debuting with Cincinnati in 1899, Crawford hit .307 as the youngest player in the majors
- A model of moderation, he rarely struck out, walked or reacted to teammate Cobb’s tirades
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1957
Auction History
Cartophilia
T201 Mecca Canvas: Sam Crawford
- Series: Pioneer Portraits II: 1875-1899
- City: Detroit
- Team: Wolverines
- League: National League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Portraits of Sam Thompson are exceptionally rare. This is simply a case of having struggled to make a card out of a particularly difficult image, only to find a better image later. This card is now an outtake and has been replaced by another.
- This card was created and issued four times. It has now been retired.
- You can find the replacement card here
- Series: Pioneer Portraits II: 1875-1899
- City: Detroit
- Team: Wolverines
- League: National League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Portraits of Dan Brouthers are exceptionally rare. This is simply a case of having struggled to make a card out of a particularly difficult image, only to find a better image later. This card is now an outtake and has been replaced by another.
- This card was created and issued twice. It has now been retired.
- You can find the replacement card here
- Series: Pioneer Portraits II: 1875-1899
- City: Detroit
- Team: Wolverines
- League: National League
I made this card before I had clearly defined the parameters within which images would be used for each Ars Longa series. This image is actually an Old Judge image and I would greatly prefer to reassign it to the 1880s series. This particular card is now retired and I will likely replace it in this series with a different (but still excellent) image of Mr. Watkins.
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