- Series: Diamond Heads '15
- City: Boston
- Team: Braves
- League: National League
George Tweedy Stallings (1867-1929) got two hits in his 20 major league at bats. He managed the Phillies to 74 wins and 104 defeats in his first two years as pilot of a big league team. He did a bit better with Detroit and NY when he joined the American League but would end his career as field general with a mediocre sub-.500 record. So why is this fellow known as the “Miracle Man?” He left the Highlanders for Boston in 1913 and brought signs of life to Beantown’s beleaguered Braves. They rose to a fifth place finish after bottoming out each of the previous four years. But, oh what joy 1914 would bring. That season started as dismally as usual for a Stallings-led squad. On July 15 the Braves trailed the Giants by 11 ½. Suddenly the stars aligned. Boston would end that regular season by gaining 22 games on NY. They rode their 10 ½ game lead into the Series with the Athletics and swept them in four. The team would forevermore be the “Miracle Braves” and George earned the nickname he carried the rest of his life.
- Bill James credits Stallings with being the first to deploy platooning as an offensive tool rather than a cover for weakness
- The Georgia native went on to reestablish baseball in Montreal and, with his partners, built the stadium where Jackie Robinson prepped for his historic debut in Brooklyn in ‘47
- Series: 1880s: Diamond Duos
- City: Philadelphia
- Team: Quakers
- League: National League
Pop Schriver:
William Frederick Schriver (1865-1932) was a durable catcher for several mostly National League teams from 1886 through 1901. His debut for the AA’s Brooklyn Grays was his only stint outside the NL. Pop had a solid .264 lifetime batting average over a 14 year major league career. During his time with Cap Anson’s Colts, to promote a game with the Senators, battery-mate Clark Griffith made a 555’ “toss” to Schriver (off the Washington Monument). Accounts differ on Pop’s performance and Griffith later said Schriver dropped the ball. In any case, history has credited Gabby Street with the first successful accomplishment of the stunt, largely on the testimony of Griffith who by then was owner of Street’s Senators. In 800 games, Schriver made 720 hits in 2,727 at-bats.
- During 1894, the year of the D.C. feat, Pop was among the league leaders in most defensive categories
- In 1901 Schriver led the league in throwing out runners attempting to steal
Charlie Bastian:
Charles J. Bastian (1860-1932) was the model “good field, no hit” infielder, squeezing 4 different leagues and 6 teams into his 8 year career. He started in MLB with the Wilmington Quicksteps of the evanescent Union Assoc’s only year, 1884, and finished with a game in the Players’ League in 1891.
- Lifetime BA of .189 defeated his finesse in the field
- Led all NL second-basemen in fielding % in 1886
- His main club was the Quakers, who were the Phillies when Bastian returned for one game in ‘91
Auction History
Cartophilia
Old Judge Pose: 23-6
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Boston
- Team: Beaneaters
- League: National League
Undecided: I love this image of Mr. Sutton, but the quality is not great. I am still not sure if I should wrestle with it again or retire the card permanently.
- Series: Spearheads
- City: Boston
- Team: Red Stockings (NAPBBP)
- League: National Association (NAPBBP)
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Albert Goodwill Spalding (1850-1915) was an elite pitcher who retired at age 27 and proceeded to influence the game as few others have. He helped organize the NL, co-founded A.G. Spalding sporting goods, published the game’s first official rules, traveled the world to promote baseball, owned the White Stockings and led an Olympics, leaving one of the great legacies in sport.
- Was a five-time pennant winner with the Boston Red Stockings and Chicago White Stockings
- Career 252-65 record with a .796 winning percentage
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1939
Auction History
Cartophilia
- W.S. Kimball (N184) Canvas:
Hardie Henderson, Champion Base Ball Pitcher
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Kansas City
- Team: Blues (WA)
- League: Western Association
Parke B. Swartzel (1865-1940) pitched for seven years in organized ball but only played one year at the major league level—for the Kansas City Cowboys in 1889. Swartzel won the team’s season-opener and their final game that year. All told he made 48 appearances, starting 47 games and completing 45. During this busy year, Swartzel allowed a league-high 481 hits, going 19-27 for a struggling team.
- Played for five minor league teams including the Lincoln Tree Planters of the Western League
- Also gave up a league high 21 home runs as one of the workhorses of the American Association
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