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Arthur Irwin

Shortstop
  • Series: Pioneer Portraits II: 1875-1899
  • City: Boston
  • Team: Reds (PL)
  • League: Players' League
  • Hall: Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame

Doc, Sandy, Cutrate, Foxy (1863-1927). Born in Canada, Irwin was: 1st pos. player to wear a glove; member of the 1st World Series Champion; college coach; ML scout & business manager; minor league owner; major & minor league manager; president of 1st pro U.S. soccer league; owner of cycling tracks; inventor of a football scorecard; and umpire of 50 NL games. After contracting stomach cancer, Irwin committed suicide by jumping over board a ship. It was soon discovered that he had two wives, 1 in Boston, 1 in New York.

  • Canadian BB Hall of Fame: 1989

Auction History

George Wood

Outfield
  • Series: Beginnings: 1880's
  • City: Philadelphia
  • Team: Quakers
  • League: National League
  • Hall: Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame

George “Dandy” Wood (1858-1924). Born on Prince Edward Island in Canada, Wood played 13 professional seasons for 7 different teams. Primarily a left fielder, he served as player/manager for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1891. “Dandy” compiled 1,467 Hits and had a .273 lifetime batting average.

  • 1st Detroit player to hit for cycle: 6.13.85
  • Lead NL in HRs & Triples in 1892
  • The 8th Canadian to reach the majors, Wood was elected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011

Auction History

Pop Smith

Shortstop
  • Series: Beginnings: 1880's
  • City: Boston
  • Team: Beaneaters
  • League: National League
  • Hall: Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame

Charles Marv Smith (1856-1927). From Nova Scotia, Canada, Smith was an infielder for 10 different teams over 12 professional seasons. On April 17, 1890, Smith walked his first 5 times up at bat and was hit by a pitch the 6th time, becoming the 1st player in Major League history to come to bat 6 times in a game and not record an official At Bat.

  • Elected to Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame: 2005

Auction History

Tip O’Neill

Outfield
  • Series: Beginnings: 1880's
  • City: St. Louis
  • Team: Browns (AA)
  • League: American League
  • Hall: Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame

James Edward O’Neill (1858-1915) came out of Woodstock, Ontario to take the American Association by storm, becoming Canada’s Babe Ruth. Tip debuted with the NL’s Gothams in 1883 as a pitcher, receiving tepid reviews. He made a better impression on Charles Comiskey who signed him the next season in St. Louis to replace switch-pitching Tony Mullane. The following year theWoodstock Wonder came into his own at the plate. He became the Browns’ best hitter and led the team to four straight pennants, then falling second to Brooklyn in ‘89. Ever loyal to Comiskey, Tip followed his leader to the Players’ League Chicago Pirates, back to St. Louis in ‘91 and on to Cincinnati for his final campaign the next year. In his decade at the pinnacle of the game, O’Neill established one of the best hitting records of the 19th century: .326 BA, .458 slugging and a Triple Crown. He and Paul Hines remain the only such champions eligible for the Hall to be excluded (a fate shared with all the greats who played primarily in the AA, save for Bid McPhee).

  • Tip’s excellence is commemorated north of the border with the Tip O’Neill Award given annually by the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame
  • U.S. Speaker of the House “Tip” O’Neill was nicknamed after James
  • Elected to Canadian BB Hall of Fame: 1983

Auction History

Arthur Irwin

Shortstop
  • Series: Beginnings: 1880's
  • City: Philadelphia
  • Team: Quakers
  • League: National League
  • Hall: Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame

Doc, Sandy, Cutrate, Foxy (1863-1927). Born in Canada, Arthur Irwin was: the 1st position player to wear a glove; a winning participant in the 1st interleague series to crown a "World Champion" club, the 1884 Providence Grays; a college coach; an MLB scout & an MLB business manager; a minor league owner; a major & minor league manager; the president of the 1st professional U.S. soccer league; an owner of cycling tracks; the inventor of a football scorecard; and an umpire of 50 National League games. Arthur Irwin is also a member of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. After contracting stomach cancer, Irwin committed suicide by jumping over board a ship. It was soon discovered that Arthur Irwin had two unwitting wives, 1 in Boston, 1 in New York.

  • In 1907, NY Highlanders' manager George Stallings rented a flat overlooking Hilltop Park and, equipping Irwin with binoculars and mirrors, had Irwin steal signs from NY's opponents and reflect them back to Stallings in the dugout.
  • Irwin signed Lou Gehrig to his first professional contract, with the Hartford Senators in 1921. Although Gehrig used the alias "Lou Lewis" to hide his professional status from Columbia University, the ruse was discovered and Lou was forced to sit out a year of college ball.
  • Irwin managed the Washington Nationals (1889), Boston Reds (1891), Philadelphia Phillies (1894-1895), NY Giants (1896) & the Washington Senators (1898-1899)
  • While with the Providence Grays in 1883, Irwin broke two fingers on his left hand. Determined not to miss any games, Irwin got a buckskin glove, added padding and sewed two fingers together to allow his bandaged fingers to fit. After his injuries healed, Irwin kept with the glove. John Motgomery Ward soon followed. By the next season, 1884, most professional players were using the Irwin Glove.
  • Elected to Canadian BB Hall of Fame: 1989

 

                                   

 

Auction History