- Series: Pioneer Portraits II: 1875-1899
- City: New York
- Team: Giants
- League: National League
William Henry Murphy (1869-1906) got his nickname attending Old Eli and was a coach in some of America’s finest universities following his brief tour of duty in MLB. Murphy was an infielder and OF playing sporadically over 3 years for the NY Giants. The diminutive Murphy (5’3” and 125 lbs) was one of the two shortest players in the game’s history.
- Coached Stanford, Columbia and the Naval Academy baseball teams and Fordham’s football squad
- Finished medical school and became a physician before succumbing to TB at 36
- Series: Pioneer Portraits II: 1875-1899
- City: Cincinnati
- Team: Red Stockings (AA)
- League: American Association
Anthony John Mullane (1859-1944) won 284 games over a 13 year career with 7 teams, primarily in the AA. In 2010 he was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds’ Hall of Fame. When the NL added 10.5 feet from mound to plate, Mullane was never the same pitcher. The next year (’94) he surrendered 16 first inning runs to the Beaneaters.
- Ambidextrous, Mullane held the ball in both hands, disguising his intended offering
- Lost a season (’85) to suspension amidst his string of five 30-win years
- Mullane was voted SABR's Overlooked 19th Century Legend for 2015
- Series: Pioneer Portraits II: 1875-1899
- City: Boston
- Team: Beaneaters
- League: National League
John Francis Morrill (1855-1932) was a successful player/manager, primarily for the Beaneaters, in a career spanning 1876-90. His team’s third pennant came in ’83, the year after he took over as manager at Boston. “Honest John” hit .319, played six positions, and piloted the club to victory, winning 33 of its final 44 games.
- Batted .260 over his 15 year career
- Received a 5-minute ovation upon his return to Boston after a brief stint w/Washington
- Series: Pioneer Portraits II: 1875-1899
- League: National League
Abraham G. Mills (1844-1929), a former NL president, chaired the commission that anointed Abner Doubleday the inventor of the game in Cooperstown. Riding a patriotic fervor in that era, Mills sought to refute Henry Chadwick’s thesis that baseball grew from English “rounders.” Historians may quibble, but the Hall is in Cooperstown.
- Mills was heavily involved in the development of the “reserve” clause so reviled by players
- A leader in the Olympic movement, Mills’ last work involved planning the ’32 Winter games
- Series: Pioneer Portraits II: 1875-1899
- City: Cincinnati
- Team: Reds (NL)
- League: National League
Calvin Alexander McVey (1849-1926) was a key player in the earliest days of pro ball, first with Harry Wright’s seminal Cincinnati Red Stockings in 1869, then moving with Wright to Boston as one of Harry’s select threesome. The young McVey joined the fledgling pro team for a stagecoach trip to Omaha and then became the 1st ball club to use the new transcontinental railroad to SF as part of the Red Stocking’s national tour.
- During his career, McVey played all nine positions and was an outstanding hitter: .346 BA lifetime
- McVey’s move from Boston to Chicago in 1876 with Al Spalding, Ross Barnes & Deacon White (to form the White Stockings with Cap Anson, Paul Hines & Bob Addy) led to the creation of the NL
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