- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Kansas City
- Team: Cowboys
- League: American Association
Myron Smith Allen (1854-1924) was an outfielder for the NY Gothams, Boston Beaneaters, Cleveland Blues and Kansas City Cowboys in the 1880s. In fact virtually his whole tenure in MLB was with the American Association as his stints with the NL NY and Boston clubs were precisely one game each.
- Allen’s ’87 season with the Blues was by far his most productive with a .276 BA in 463 ABs
- He drove in one run in the NL and 87 in the AA
- Allen also pitched 4 games for 3 teams, going 1-3
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Old Judge Pose: 4-3
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Kansas City
- Team: Cowboys
- League: American Association
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Permanent Outtake: Alternate batting pose.
After finding an alternate pose with better detail, I retired this version and made a new one. You can find the new card here.
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Kansas City
- Team: Cowboys
- League: American Association
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
William Robert Hamilton (1866-1940). An outfielder for 3 teams over 14 ML seasons, Sliding Billy was an elite hitter & one of the greatest base runners in history. In 1894, Billy scored a record 198 runs. He ranks 4th all-time in OBP (.455) & 3rd in stolen bases. Billy has a career .344 BA & is 1/3 players to avg 1+ runs scored per game.
- 1 of 5 players to hit a lead-off & walk-off HR in same game
- Was a member of Philly all-.400 outfield in 1894 (.404)
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1961
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Kansas City
- Team: Blues (WA)
- League: Western Association
Joseph Brook Gunson (1863-1942) was a pioneer catcher in baseball’s early days. Three years before his death, Gunson donated his original mitt to the new Hall of Fame. During his life and since, historians have been as split over who deserves the honor of inventing the catcher’s glove as were the fingers of Gunson and his fellow backstop on the Western League KC Blues. Those torn hands prompted Gunson to contrive some protection. Doc Bushong or Harry Decker may have beaten Joe to the draw, but there can be no argument that this stalwart receiver was a key contributor to the game he loved. Gunson debuted with the lowly Washington club of the upstart Union Association in 1884, then knocked around the minors until catching on with the Browns, Spiders, Orioles and Cowboys during a four-year ML stint.
- Gunson’s stats are unimpressive: a .211 BA, with little power. Yet, like so many early players, he made his mark on the fledgling sport with grit and creativity which laid a foundation for all who were to follow
- The Sporting Life compared Gunson’s hands with their “knots and gnarls” to famed Chicagoan Sylvester “Silver” Flint’s “battered paws.” Such was the catcher’s lot in the 19th century….
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Kansas City
- Team: Cowboys
- League: American Association
James J. Davis (1861-1921) played 3rd base during 7 seasons for 6 major league teams (twice with Kansas City in different incarnations). He broke in with KC’s Cowboys of the Union Association in 1884 and later played for their American Association contingent in ’88-89. He also played for the Gladiators, Brooklyn’s Players’ League entry in 1890, finishing his time in the big leagues for the Washington Statesmen during their final year in the AA, 1891. “Jumbo” was a sturdy 5’11” and 195 lbs, hardly a giant but he must have impressed with his strength, leading the league in triples in ‘87 and generally hitting for a respectable average. His career BA was .272 with 468 hits in 453 games. The native New Yorker had begun minor league ball in 1883 with the Quincy, IL, Quincies in the Northwestern League (when Indiana, Illinois and Michigan were considered the “northwest”).
- In 1888, Davis saved a girl from drowning at the Coney Island shore while the Cowboys were on a road trip to NY
- Following his final game in D.C. “Big Jim” umpired some AA contests in 1891
- Also played for the Orioles and Browns, finding his post-retirement home in St. Louis
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