- Series: Pilgrims
- City: Pittsburgh
- Team: Pirates
- League: National League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Max George Carey (1890-1976) was “harder to stop than a run in a silk stocking” per Joe Williams. A superb center fielder with a fine lifetime BA of .285, it was on the base paths that he made his mark with the Pirates and Robins. Saving his best for (nearly) the last, Carey led Pittsburgh to the pennant with a .343 BA, and to the title with a .458 Series average in 1925.
- In 1922 was successful in steals 51 of 53 attempts and led the NL ten times
- Stole home 33 times, second only to Ty Cobb’s 50
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1961
Auction History
Cartophilia
T201 Mecca Canvas: Thomas Downie
- Series: Pioneer Portraits I: 1850-1874
- City: New York
- Team: Knickerbockers
This is not an image of Duncan Curry. Yet again, Mark Fimoff of SABR identified my mistake and was kind enough to alert me to it.
I made and released this card twice, both in 2013.
- Series: Pioneer Portraits I: 1850-1874
- City: New York
- Team: Knickerbockers
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
This is not an image of Alexander Cartwright. Somewhere in the photographic archives of the State of Hawaii, they had tagged this photo as that of Alexander Cartwright from his time living in that great State. Again, Mark Fimoff of SABR identified my mistake and was kind enough to alert me to it.
I made and released this card twice, both in 2013.
- Series: Pioneer Portraits I: 1850-1874
- City: New York
- Team: Knickerbockers
Duncan Curry (1812-1894) is one of a group of illustrious founders of the Grand Old Game. Several have been put forward as the true “Father of Baseball” and Curry’s claim is as sturdy as any. A founder of the Knickerbocker Club (a requisite for paternity), Curry was an integral part of the beginnings of the game, including participation in the “first” game: in Hoboken NJ June 19, 1846.
- The NJ interlopers destroyed the Knickerbockers in that game 23-1
- Curry blamed the loss on overconfidence and an opposing pitcher with blinding speed
- In 1856 Curry’s preferred seven-inning format lost out to Louis Wadsworth’s nine, signaling the transition of the game’s growth out of the hands of the founding Knickerbockers
- Series: Pioneer Portraits I: 1850-1874
- City: Brooklyn
- Team: Star of Brooklyn
- League: National Association (NABBP)
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
William Arthur Cummings (1848-1924) has a plaque in Cooperstown today, not because of his won-lost record or ERA – both of which were excellent; but primarily because he is credited with inventing the curveball, and was able to throw it effectively under the combat conditions of early baseball. A star for the Brooklyn clubs in the old NABBP in the 1860s, Cummings continued to be effective in the pro era until 1877.
- Cummings got the idea for the curve from a day at the beach chucking clam shells
- Once catcher Nat Hicks moved close behind the batter, the curve became a viable pitch
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1939
Ars Longa Store
Newsletter
