- Series: Pioneer Portraits II: 1875-1899
- City: Pittsburgh
- Team: Pirates
- League: National League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Jacob Peter Beckley (1867-1918) was a durable first-baseman over a 20-year career. Though he never played for a pennant winner, Beckley hit .309 lifetime and held the games-played-at-first record until Eddie Murray surpassed him in 1994. Hit .300+ in 13 seasons (three different Pittsburgh clubs, Giants, Reds and Cards.) Upon his retirement, Beckley’s 2930 career hits made him second only to Cap Anson.
- Not above subterfuge, worked a hidden-ball trick on Honus Wagner using two balls
- Known for cheating on the base paths, was called out by the ump for “getting there too fast!” after racing from 2nd directly home while Blue wasn’t looking
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1971
- Series: Pioneer Portraits II: 1875-1899
- City: New York
- Team: Giants
- League: National League
Charles Edwin Bassett (1863-1942) was a well-traveled infielder with the Providence Grays, Kansas City Cowboys, Indianapolis Hoosiers, the New York Giants and Louisville Colonels for nine major league seasons from 1884-92. Bassett had three fine years with the Hoosiers, getting nearly a hit a game. His most productive season was 1891 with the Giants, batting .260 in 524 at-bats. In his 917 games he drove in 402 runs and stole 116 bases.
- Hall of Stats ranks Bassett 189th among all second-basemen
- Bassett attended Brown University in his native Rhode Island
- Series: Pioneer Portraits II: 1875-1899
- City: Boston
- Team: Red Stockings (NAPBBP)
- League: National Association (NAPBBP)
Charles Roscoe Barnes (1850-1915) was the best player in the five year history of the fist professional baseball league, the National Association of Professional Baseball Players (NAPBBP), 1871-1875. Barnes is the all-time NAPBBP leader in runs, hits, doubles, walks, stolen bases, total bases, batting average, OBP and SLG%. He then dominated the National League in its inaugural year, 1876, leading the league hits, runs, average, OBP, SLG%, total bases, doubles, triples and walks. He also hit the 1st HR in National League history, for the Chicago White Stockings, 5.2.1876. Over the first six years of his major league career, Barnes' batting average was .397. An unidentified illness limited Barnes to just 22 games in 1877, and he was never the same player again, retiring shortly thereafter at the age of 31.
“Roscoe C. Barnes…was the greatest second baseman the game ever had…” - A History of the Boston Baseball Club, 1897.
"No matter how great you were once upon a time — the years go by, and men forget. Ross Barnes, forty years ago, was as great as Cobb or Wagner ever dared to be. Had scores been kept then as now, he would have seemed incomparably marvelous.” - W.A. Phelan, Baseball Magazine, 1915
- Because he played in the second game in MLB history, is credited with the 17 other players that day as the 27th player to debut in MLB
- 1st hitter to win batting titles in 2 leagues: NA in ’72-73 and NL in ‘76
- In 1918, made Cap Anson’s all-time team as the shortstop
- Barnes was selected as SABR’s ”Overlooked 19th Century Baseball Legend “ for 2013
- Series: Pioneer Portraits II: 1875-1899
- City: Pittsburgh
- Team: Pirates
- League: National League
Marcus Elmore Baldwin (1863-1929) had a career that mirrored the stormy times in which he pitched. In his seven years with five clubs, Baldwin managed to get on the good and bad sides of some of the most notable figures in early baseball. He warred with Chris von der Ahe, including time in the slammer and charges of kidnapping. He practically put the “pirate” in the Pittsburgh Pirates by poaching inter-league players. He was the mound mainstay for Al Spalding’s world tour, only to return to lawsuits and acrimony as Spalding accused him of rowdiness beyond the bounds of a dissolute era. His debut was aborted as Cap Anson tried to insert him into the series with the Browns only to be expelled by the officials. Such was the checkered path that proved preparation for a long medical career in Pittsburgh.
- Baldwin was regarded as the flamethrower of his era. Catcher Jack O’Connor, who also caught Cy Young, said Baldwin was “the fastest pitcher I ever caught.”
- His fastball was all the more intimidating given Baldwin’s wildness, often walking as many as he fanned.
- Series: Pilgrims
- City: Detroit
- Team: Tigers
- League: American League
Owen Joseph Bush (1887-1972) played in the Deadball Era instead of the Moneyball Era, hence he isn’t held in the esteem his record would enjoy today. The diminutive SS wrote the book on small ball, a keen eye enabling him to lead the league in walks five times. He hit .250 but was so adept at getting on base he was at or near the top in runs scored. Legends grow around the sluggers who drive in the runs, but Donie was out there for Cobb, Crawford and Heilmann to pick up. Equally proficient at short, Bush had a lifetime .937 fielding % and still owns the record for 425 putouts in 1914. In addition, his speed produced over 400 stolen bases.
- “Donie” was a misprint for his real nickname, Ownie, but it stuck
- Clark Griffith recognized managerial talent and hired Bush for the ’23 season. Bush then had the “thrill” of taking the Pirates to the ’27 Series against the Yankee bombers and being swept
- Bush continued in baseball, compiling a 65-year career and was beloved in his home Indianapolis
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