• Card series: Pioneer Portraits I: 1850-1874
• City: Brooklyn
• Team: Atlantics
• League: National Association (NABBP)

Joseph Start’s (1842-1927) baseball career spanned the early days of the game before the Civil War and included two NL titles with the Providence Grays. Start was a premier first baseman beginning with the Enterprise of Brooklyn and the Atlantics (1860-71) and extending to the NA Mutuals (1871-76) and several NL teams, well-earning his nickname, Old Reliable.

• Best year was ’78 with the Chicago White Stockings, leading the league with 100 hits and 125 total bases
• Playing exclusively in the “no-glove” era, his .963 fielding % at first base over 16 seasons is remarkable