- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Baltimore
- Team: Orioles
- League: American Association
John K. O'Brien (nee Bryne) (1860-1910) was a rare find for Billy Sharsig and his Athletics in 1881--a catcher who could hit. Jack joined the new franchise in its season in the Eastern Championship League and stayed on when the club joined the American Association the following year. By the '83 season, Jack would lead his team to the pennant, driving in a team-high 70 runs with a .290 average. O'Brien had entered baseball out west with the San Francisco-Reno team in the Pacific League as a raw 19 year old. He eventually played six of his eight major league seasons with the Athletics, for whom he always hit remarkably well for his position and era. His two years away from Philly with Brooklyn and Baltimore were struggles for him at the plate, but still exceeded the usual output for a catcher. Overall, Jack had a lifetime .266 BA in 555 games, driving in 308.
- Proving he wasn't quite done after his final year in Philadelphia, O'Brien signed on for the 1891 season with the St. Paul Apostles/Duluth Whalebacks of the Western Association where he hit .317 in 97 games
- In SF, Jack played with Sandy Nava, who would become the first Mexican-American in the major leagues with Providence and Baltimore
- Although the Old Judge series features nine known poses of Jack O'Brien, I could not find one of suitable quality for this project. This image is taken from an Old Judge proof taken at the same time as O'Brien's other OJ images and may represent an as-of-yet undiscovered pose.
- O'Brien’s uniform color on this card was changed in May, 2017 from black/red to blue/red to reflect recent reliable research by Craig Brown & friends at Threads of Our Game. Two cards had been previously released featuring a black uniform.
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Baltimore
- Team: Orioles
- League: American Association
John Francis Smith (1864-1952). Despite his name, Smith never had a winning season in the major leagues, going 54-74 for 6 different teams over 8 seasons. Smith earned his nickname after striking out 16 batters in a minor league game. Before one game, Smith bragged he was so good that he did not need his teammates; they proceeded to commit 14 errors & Smith lost the game 18-5. The players were fined $500 and Smith was released.
- Discovered Christy Mathewson
- Won a minor league batting title
- Smith's uniform color on this card was changed in March, 2017 from black to blue & red to reflect recent reliable research by Craig Brown & friends at Threads of Our Game. Nine cards had been previously released featuring a black uniform.
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Baltimore
- Team: Orioles
- League: American Association
William Aloysius Purcell (1854-1912) ascended to the new “major leagues” in the early days of the NL as it was still in its formative stage. Playing OF for the Syracuse Stars, Purcell migrated with his team & the Buffalo Bisons out of the soon-to-perish International Association to join the new professional circuit. 1879 would be the first & last season for the Stars in MLB; and an incomplete year as the team folded on Sep 10. Nevertheless, Purcell would go on to a successful 12-year career. He finished ’79 with the Cincinnati Reds and would eventually play in Cleveland, Buffalo, Philadelphia, Boston and Baltimore. Purcell earned the distinction of being the first player in Philadelphia history to get a hit and score a run, in his first at-bat of the club’s inaugural 1883 season.
- Was once fined for destroying a baseball, which he had done to get a new ball into the game so that Pud Galvin could better throw his curve
- Late in his career, Purcell was recruited to manage the incorrigible Atlanta Atlantans of the Southern Assoc, a team that came to be dubbed “Purcell’s Plug-Uglies”
- .267 BA with 1,217 hits in 1,097 ML games
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Baltimore
- Team: Orioles
- League: American Association
Matthew Aloysius Kilroy (1866-1940). Kilroy pitched for 6 teams over 10 seasons; most famously for the Baltimore Orioles. Did you know that Matt Kilroy is the single season record holder with 513 Ks in 1886? That’s 72 Ks more than the next closest total. Kilroy’s 1st 2 years: 75-53, 137 GS, 132 CG, 730 Ks & 3.22 ERA. After his sophomore year, Kilroy would win 20+ games once more, but then descended into mediocrity – going 20-34 over the last 6 years of his career.
- Pitched a no-hitter: 10.6.86
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Baltimore
- Team: Orioles
- League: American Association
John Joseph Harkins (1859-1940) came by his nickname “Pa” early in his career but really earned it after his ninth son was born in 1911. Harkins was a pitcher for the Cleveland Blues, Brooklyn Grays and Baltimore Orioles from 1884-88, establishing a so-so record (51-83 with a 4.09 ERA). The stats tell only a small part of Pa’s story. A half century later, his obituaries in hometown New Brunswick, NJ would extol an esteemed citizen, father, coach and, yes, “one of the last surviving big-time baseball players of the Eighties.” He was hailed as half of the “famed battery” with Cleveland: Harkins and Bushong “which thrilled fans in 1884.” Harkins was the first major-leaguer to come out of Rutgers and went on to coach at Yale, Lehigh and Princeton. He mentored the future football legend Amos Alonzo Stagg who remained a lifelong friend. The Blues folded after Pa’s ’84 season and seven players migrated to Brooklyn including catcher Doc Bushong. Harkins was a regular starter for his three years there, got into only one game for the Orioles in ’88 and went into college coaching.
- Back home, Harkins went into business with a tavern, served in public office and as a court official
- John was the Grays’ opening day starter in 1885 and 1886
- Harkins' uniform color on this card was changed in June, 2017 from black/red to blue/red to reflect recent reliable research by Craig Brown & friends at Threads of Our Game. Six cards were previously released featuring a black uniform.
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