• Card series: Beginnings: 1880's
• City: St. Louis
• Team: Whites (WA)
• League: Western Association

Charles John Crooks (1865-1918) became the first player in organized ball known to have hit four home runs in a game, accomplishing the feat for the Omaha Omahogs in 1889. The whole Western League had struggled to stay afloat that year and the team’s sale of Crooks to the American Association’s Columbus Colts that summer enabled them to make a profit (Omaha got $1750 for their outfielder and netted $1000 for the year). The four homers proved his strength but it was Crooks’ uncanny ability to draw walks that made him most valuable. He remains among a handful of players to record more bases on balls than games in a season, ranking him with the likes of Ted Williams, the Mick and the Babe. With a lifetime OBP of .408 and a BA of .237, Jack is in the top-ten highest ratio of the two.

• Despite Jack’s sabermetric value, the 1890 Colts were his only winning team in an 8-year career
• Jack cut short his baseball career after finding success as a cigar salesman