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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

Old Hoss Radbourn

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

Charles Gardner Radbourn (1854-1897). An elite pitcher for 5 teams over 12 seasons, Radbourn owns the single-season Wins record with either 59 or 60 (sources vary) in 1884 – the year in which he became baseball’s 2nd triple Crown winner with 441 Ks & a 1.38 ERA. In 1884, Radbourn started 40 of his team’s last 43 games and won 36 of them. In the 1884 World Series, Radbourn started and won all three games, giving up only 3 runs. Including the postseason, Old Hoss won 62-63 games in 1884 and threw over 700 innings.

  • NL Triple Crown: 1884
  • NL Wins champ: 1883, 1884
  • 309 career Wins
  • Pitched no-hitter: 1883
  • Elected to Hall of Fame: 1939

Auction History

Billy Nash

Third Base
  • Series: Beginnings: 1880's
  • City: Boston
  • Team: Beaneaters
  • League: National League

William Mitchell Nash (1865-1929) made one invaluable contribution to baseball: he scouted & recruited Napoleon Lajoie, bringing him to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1896. By that time, Nash had mostly played out his ML career as a steady-hitting 3rd baseman for the Boston Beaneaters. He compiled a respectable .275 lifetime average and, in 1895, was declared by Sporting Life magazine “the best fielding third baseman in the League.” Traded for future Hall of Famer Billy Hamilton to the Phillies, Nash was player-manager when he found Lajoie who was pounding the ball for the Fall River Indians in the New England League.

  • Nash broke into the majors with his hometown Richmond Virginians of the old AA in 1884 before finding a home wih the NL Beaneaters
  • Best year was 1887: .295 AVG with 84 RBI
  • Bill James ranks Nash 49th amongst third basemen all-time
  • Sporting Life touted his $7500 compensation in ’91 as money well-spent

Auction History

John Morrill

First Base
  • Series: Beginnings: 1880's
  • City: Boston
  • Team: Beaneaters
  • League: National League

John Francis Morrill (1855-1932) was a successful player/manager, primarily for the Beaneaters, in a career spanning 1876-90. His team’s third pennant came in ’83, the year after he took over as manager at Boston. “Honest John” hit .319, played six positions, and piloted the club to victory, winning 33 of its final 44 games.

  • Batted .260 over his 15 year career
  • Received a 5-minute ovation upon his return to Boston after a brief stint w/Washington

Auction History

Kid Madden

Pitcher
  • Series: Beginnings: 1880's
  • City: Boston
  • Team: Beaneaters
  • League: National League

Michael Joseph Madden (1867-1896) had a gift for curving the baseball, dazzling his hometown Portland, ME media as a teen. He had a head for the game and the heart, but sadly, not the physique. At 120 lbs he proved simply too frail for the rigors of professional play and travel in the late 1880s. His heart and head were on display during his rookie season with the Beaneaters in 1887. No matter that, for that one season, batters got four strikes; the Kid was outstanding: 21-14, 3.79 ERA completing all 37 starts. Despite his breaking stuff, he never appeared in nearly as many games in his short MLB career, suggesting his managers recognized his physical limitations. Stayed in Boston for three leagues in three years before closing out with the Orioles in 1891.

  • Young Michael was taken by “consumption,” leaving a widow and two children at age 28

Auction History