• Card series: Pioneer Portraits II: 1875-1899
• League: National League

Abraham G. Mills (1844-1929), a former NL president, chaired the commission that anointed Abner Doubleday the inventor of the game in Cooperstown. Riding a patriotic fervor in that era, Mills sought to refute Henry Chadwick’s thesis that baseball grew from English “rounders.” Historians may quibble, but the Hall is in Cooperstown.

• Mills was heavily involved in the development of the “reserve” clause so reviled by players
• A leader in the Olympic movement, Mills’ last work involved planning the ’32 Winter games