• Card series: Pilgrims
• City: Cleveland
• Team: Naps
• League: American League

Frederick Peter Falkenberg (1879-1961) pitched for 7 ML clubs over a 15-year career from 1903-17, laboring in obscurity and mediocrity until he emerged in 1913 (at age 32) with a secret weapon that transformed him into a world-beater. For one meteoric season he went 23-10 with a 2.22 ERA using the “emery ball,” a legal but dubious pitch that practitioners kept on the down-low.

• In 1914, lured to the new Federal League, he continued his success for one more year
• The Federal League and Falkenberg both flamed out the following year
• Retired to San Francisco and became an entrepreneur for his favorite game: bowling