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Jim Donnelly

Third Base
  • Series: Beginnings: 1880's
  • City: Washington, D.C.
  • Team: Nationals
  • League: National League

James B. Donnelly (1865-1915) had eleven seasons in the majors, playing third base for nine teams. While he toiled in relative obscurity for most of his career, Donnelly had the thrill, in its waning days, of being part of a remarkable championship season with the Orioles in 1896. In that storied year, the club walked away with its third straight NL pennant, besting second-place Cleveland to win the Temple Cup in the post-season. Donnelly had, by far, his greatest offensive production in ‘96, hitting .328 - over a hundred points above his lifetime average. That effort would have been a headliner for any other team, but in Baltimore Donnelly was only the sixth-best on the squad. Jim was overshadowed by pretty good men: Wilbert Robinson .347, Jack Doyle .339, Hughie Jennings .401, Willie Keeler .386, and Joe Kelley .364. Talk about Murderers Row! The Ned Hanlon/John McGraw powerhouse was soon to disband as the NL went from twelve to eight teams to accommodate the new American League a few years later.

  • Donnelly had begun “out west” in Terre Haute in 1884 and played for Indianapolis, Detroit and Omaha in his early days, but stayed close to his New Haven roots in New England from 1899-1902
  • Jim's uniform color on this card was changed in March, 2017 from black to blue to reflect recent reliable research by Craig Brown & friends at Threads of Our Game. Two cards had been previously released featuring a black uniform.

Auction History

Miah Murray

Catcher
image unavailable
  • Series: Beginnings: 1880's
  • City: Washington, D.C.
  • Team: Nationals
  • League: National League

Jeremiah J. Murray (1865-1922) officiated more big league games than he played as a catcher. He began in organized ball in 1883 in the Interstate Association with the Reading Actives for whom he caught nine games before playing briefly with the league champion Brooklyn Greys. This was the year before Brooklyn would join the American Association as the Atlantics. Throughout his time in baseball, Murray would alternate short stints with major league clubs between longer periods in the minors. He made it to the Providence Grays of the National League in ‘84, the Louisville Colonels of the AA in ‘85, then back with the Washington Nationals in ‘88, returning to D.C. with the Statesmen during their sole year in the AA, 1891. Four years later Murray came up as a NL umpire, handling 112 games and recording seven ejections. He continued sporadically to fill in through the 1905 season.

  • Murray was blessed to debut with Old Hoss Radbourn’s famed Providence team and, despite his very brief time as a September reserve, was included in the team honors bestowed by manager Frank Bancroft which included a fine gold badge emblazoned with Champions 1884 in blue
  • In all, Miah played a mere 34 games over his decade around major league ball

Auction History

John Irwin

Third Base
  • Series: Beginnings: 1880's
  • City: Washington, D.C.
  • Team: Nationals
  • League: National League

John Irwin (1861-1934) followed elder brother Arthur out of Toronto and into American baseball, joining Art’s Worcester Ruby Legs when they were a National League entry in 1882. Art had been with the team since 1880 and was an established star when John debuted, getting into a single game that season. The younger Irwin played his most substantial year in ‘84 with the upstart Union Association’s Boston Reds under the tutelage of George Wright. John played third base, and hit .234 over 105 games in the UA’s only season. He would never see that much playing time again. Staying on the margins of big-time pro-ball, John saw action in all of the leagues of his day. He was with the NL’s Washington team in ‘87,the Players’ League’s Buffalo Bisons in ‘90, and then back with another Boston team called the Reds, this time in the American Association in 1891 with a final stint with the AA’s Louisville Colonels that same year.

  • John’s appetite for the game was undiminished by his mediocre record. He played for various, primarily New England, teams through the 1899 season
  • Big brother Art’s innovation of the fielder’s glove and scandalous demise amid bigamy revelations overshadowed John’s more mundane career but he outlived Art by 13 years
  • Irwin’s uniform color on this card was changed in May, 2017 from blue to red to reflect recent reliable research by Craig Brown & friends at Threads of Our Game. Two cards had been previously released featuring a blue uniform.

Auction History

Frank Gilmore

Pitcher
  • Series: Beginnings: 1880's
  • City: Washington, D.C.
  • Team: Nationals
  • League: National League

Franklin T. Gilmore (1864-1929) was nicknamed “Shadow” and cast a giant one with Washington when he formed the “Grasshopper Battery” (per John Thorn) or the “bones battery” as dubbed by early journalists, with catcher Connie Mack. The two made a striking pair: angular stringbeans of sinew and bone. Gilmore debuted in D.C. in 1886. There is dispute as to whether the Nationals wanted Gilmore or Mack more, but they came as a tandem and would be such during Frank’s all-too-brief sojourn in the majors. The battery-mates from Hartford’s Dark Blues’ ‘86 team were not only similar in build and stature, they were very close as roommates. Years later, Mr. McGillicuddy would reminisce about spending all night rubbing Gilmore’s arm with liniment in what proved a vain effort to prolong the young phenom’s career. Shadow reached a pinnacle on September 28 that rookie year when he fanned 16 St Louis Maroons, equaling the year’s best strikeout performance. Perhaps foreshadowing the young hurler’s future, the Nationals lost the contest 5-2, giving Gilmore poor support.

  • The slender pitcher’s ML record proved slim as well: three seasons with Washington, 12 wins against 33 losses, a 4.26 ERA with 212 Ks in 405 innings
  • On a side note, Bill James ranked Gilmore the worst professional baseball player of the 19th century

Auction History

Sam Crane

Second Base
  • Series: Beginnings: 1880's
  • City: Washington, D.C.
  • Team: Nationals
  • League: National League

Samuel Newhall Crane (1854-1925) played second base for eight major league teams in three leagues from 1880-90. Sam lacked power (three career HRs, .203 average) despite a sturdy 6’, 190-lb frame. He was only a little more adept stealing bases (25 over the decade). Somehow, the practice of thievery on the bases carried over into Sam’s private life and his mediocre tenure in the big leagues ended ignominiously when he was accused of stealing a local merchant’s cash and wife. Such a checkered past was no hindrance to a longer career as a sportswriter. True to his tarnished image, Sam was mired in controversy as a scribe, getting himself barred from the Polo Grounds after attacking Giants’ owner Andrew Freedman in print. Whatever unpaid debts Crane left on the field or in the press box, he more than made up for by becoming an early and ardent promoter of creating a “memorial” to past stars of the game in Cooperstown, NY. His and others' efforts eventually led to the establishment of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 1939.

  • Crane’s ouster amid the “circus” atmosphere surrounding the Giants made him a brief cause celebre among journalists aghast that one of their own should be censored
  • Crane's uniform color on this card was changed in February, 2017 from black to blue to reflect recent reliable research by Craig Brown & friends at Threads of Our Game. Two cards had been previously released featuring a black uniform.

Auction History