- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Boston
- Team: Beaneaters
- League: National League
Michael Joseph Madden (1867-1896) had a gift for curving the baseball, dazzling his hometown Portland, ME media as a teen. He had a head for the game and the heart, but sadly, not the physique. At 120 lbs he proved simply too frail for the rigors of professional play and travel in the late 1880s. His heart and head were on display during his rookie season with the Beaneaters in 1887. No matter that, for that one season, batters got four strikes; the Kid was outstanding: 21-14, 3.79 ERA completing all 37 starts. Despite his breaking stuff, he never appeared in nearly as many games in his short MLB career, suggesting his managers recognized his physical limitations. Stayed in Boston for three leagues in three years before closing out with the Orioles in 1891.
- Young Michael was taken by “consumption,” leaving a widow and two children at age 28
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Boston
- Team: Beaneaters
- League: National League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Michael Kelly (1857-1894) was one of the great stars of the 1880s. He inspired America’s first pop record (“Slide, Kelly, Slide!”) in 1889 with a 1927 movie to follow. The “Chicago Slide” was copied by his White Stockings teammates, a “combination slide, twist and dodge” that allowed the team to “get away with hundreds of stolen bases when really they should have been touched out easily” per the Tribune’s Hugh Fullerton in 1906. A catcher, right-fielder and manager over 16 years, he popularized the hit & run.
- A pioneer athlete in vaudeville, $10,000 Kelly also popularized autograph signing
- First major leaguer to publish his autobiography (1888)
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1945
- Although the Old Judge series features eleven known poses of Mike Kelly, I could not find one of suitable quality for this project. This image is taken from a cabinet photo produced by the Hastings Studio in Boston.
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Boston
- Team: Beaneaters
- League: National League
Richard Frederick Johnston (1863-1934) played OF, primarily for the Boston Beaneaters, over an 8-season career. He began with the Richmond Virginians of the AA and last played for King Kelly’s Cincinnati club in 1891. Johnston compiled a .255 lifetime BA with a high of .296 for Boston in ’88, when he led the NL in triples and extra-base hits.
- Led the NL in outfield put-outs in ’86 & ’87
- Turned nine OF double-plays, leading the league in 1887
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Boston
- Team: Beaneaters
- League: National League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Permanent Outtake: Alternate throwing pose.
I made this card, the second one in the 1880s series for Clarkson, in a moment of doubt & fear. I had originally intended to produce only one pose per player for this set, but in the early days of the business there were ebbs in the demand for my work and I retreated to the idea that more Hall of Famers would increase demand. I also created a second Deacon White card for the same reason. I have since regretted that decision and now feel confident enough in your support to return to my original principles for this series. While I have removed this pose from this series, I hope to create a smaller series that covers the 1890s some day and I can envision this pose making a permanent appearance in that set.
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Boston
- Team: Beaneaters
- League: National League
Thomas Francis Gunning (1862-1931) looks like a mediocre ball player on the record. His six years in MLB show a weak hitting catcher whose defense was shaky. The stats belie a “sober, honest, reliable and energetic” player who was a credit to his sport. Popular at every level in which he played, Tom was as serious about his studies as about baseball, which is saying something. Even when he was completing his medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania, and with a bad arm, Gunning played for his school team and for Hartford. His major league tenure began with the Beaneaters in 1884 where he played three seasons before moving on to the two Philadelphia clubs, the Quakers and Athletics. His lifetime .205 average and .887 fielding % don’t begin to express his value to his teams or the esteem of his managers and colleagues. Frequently chosen to fill in as an umpire, Gunning was known for his objectivity, sometimes to the dismay of his teammates during a rowdy and partisan era. He turned down overtures from St. Louis in ’87 to remain in Philadelphia and med school.
- Gunning eschewed protective gear & frequently paid the price
- Was assigned as a rookie to the Massachusetts State Association – a “reserve” league concocted by the Beaneaters to safeguard their youngsters from the Union Association’s depredations
- As a young MD in Fall River, MA, had a role in the inquests into the 1892 Lizzie Borden axe murders case
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