- Series: Pilgrims
- City: Cleveland
- Team: Naps
- League: American League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Elmer Harrison Flick (1876-1971) subbed for injured Sam Thompson in right field for the Phillies in 1898, beginning a 13-year run as a powerful hitter with great speed on the bases. After joining Cleveland in 1902, Flick became such a fixture that he earned his place in trivia lore as the player the Naps kept rather than trade for a young Ty Cobb. He and teammates Nap Lajoie and Addie Joss are among only 6 modern players to make the Hall of Fame with no World Series appearance on their resumés.
- Health problems began to plague Flick in 1908, severely curtailing his productivity and by 1914 he was out of baseball entirely
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1963
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T201 Mecca Canvas: Joseph Lake
- Series: Pilgrims
- City: New York
- Team: Giants
- League: National League
Arthur Fletcher (1885-1950) was cut from the same cloth as the fiery John McGraw for whom he starred for over a decade. When McGraw took his Giants to Dallas in 1908 he saw a cocky kid who played ball the way he did, not just with glove and bat but with fists and mouth. He took young Art (who off the field was a temperate, whole-souled gentleman) to New York, and soon installed him as the replacement for local hero Al Bridwell at short. It didn’t take long for Fletcher to vindicate his mentor as his strong batting and slick fielding anchored an all-star infield for three straight pennants. In all, Fletcher played in four World Series under McGraw. Fletcher managed the Phillies before finding a home as coach for the Yankees, a post he held until a heart attack forced his retirement after nineteen seasons. It has been said that, in his four appearances as a player and ten as coach, Art cashed more World Series checks than anyone.
- Art came to detest being field general. His time with the Phils was not happy, aggravated by a raw relationship with renowned umpire Bill Klem. He was content to stay in coaching and leave the managing to Miller Huggins and Joe McCarthy
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T201 Mecca Canvas: Russell Ford
- 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
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T201 Mecca Canvas: Cy Falkenberg
- Series: Pioneer Portraits II: 1875-1899
- City: Cedar Rapids
- Team: Rabbits
- League: Western Association
William Fuller was a minor-league catcher and infielder, primarily at first-base. His closest shot at the majors came in 1888 with the Milwaukee Brewers of the Western Association. It was in that uniform that the Old Judge photo-shoot captured Will in right-handed throwing and left-handed batting poses. Will had begun the previous year with the Kalamazoo Kazoos in the Ohio State League before being picked up by the Brewers where he played in 67 games, batting .236. He came back with Milwaukee in ‘89 but got into only ten games and hit a paltry .100. Thereafter, Fuller saw limited duty with the Burlington Hawkeyes of the Central Interstate League before heading west to toil for Tacoma in the Pacific Northwestern League. After a four year absence (or at least an absence of data) Fuller showed up with the Birmingham Bluebirds of the Southern Association in 1896 before returning to the Western Association with the Cedar Rapids Rabbits in 1897.
- His swan song was sweet: Will played in 124 games, hit a fine .305, tying for the team lead in hits with 155
- Series: Pioneer Portraits II: 1875-1899
- City: New York
- Team: Giants
- League: National League
William Benjamin Fuller (1867-1904) played shortstop for the Washington Statesmen (Senators), St Louis Browns and NY Giants from 1888-1896. For one day in 1891, Shorty‘s brother Harry joined him with the Browns for his only MLB game. Blessed with a keen eye at the plate, Shorty struck out only 198 times while receiving 444 bases on balls.
- Fuller’s knack for walks boosted his anemic career BA of .235 to an OBP of .322
- Fuller’s stint with the Browns included their final year in the AA (’91) and 1st in the NL in ’92
- Washington sold Shorty to the Browns after the ’88 season for $800
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