Daniel Richardson (1863-1926) played 2B and SS for the Giants, Grooms, Senators, and Colonels over an 11 year span. His stints with the NY Giants included one year when the team played in the Player’s League (’90). He contributed to two Giant league championships in ’88 & ’89.
David L. Orr (1859-1915). A 1st baseman for 5 teams over 7 major league seasons, Orr was one of the best hitters of the 1880s. Largely forgotten today, Orr may have made a case for the Hall of Fame were it not for a career-ending, paralyzing stroke suffered on the field in 1890. Dave’s .342 lifetime average is 11th all-time & in 4 of 7 seasons, his closest comp is Dan Brouthers.
Brouthers himself believed Orr was the greatest hitter of his time:
"The greatest hitter that ever played ball was old Dave Orr. He didn't care whether they were over the plate or not. If they were within reach of that long bat of his he would hit them out, and when he hit them there was no telling whether they would be found again or not. I have always held that Dave Orr was the strongest and best hitter that ever played ball." - Dan Brouthers, Sporting Life, 1894
James Henry O’Rourke (1850-1919) made the National League’s first base hit, and went on to a 21-year, Hall of Fame career. From 1876-92, only Cap Anson played in more games or got more hits. After leaving MLB for the minors, O’Rourke returned for his swan song with his pal John McGraw’s Giants, becoming the oldest player (at 54) to play in the NL and to get a hit.
James J. Mutrie (1851-1938) was a giant among early baseball entrepreneurs. He may rightly be known as the father of New York baseball, is second only to Joe McCarthy in manager winning %, won pennants in two leagues, helped create (and won) the first true inter-league run-up to the “world series” and popularized the nickname for his Manhattan “Gothams” by referring to his burly lads as “my Giants!” Along the way, “Truthful James” (a wry sobriquet given by the immortal Father Henry Chadwick) stirred controversy at nearly every turn, risked all and in the end, lost. Yet he was beloved by his players and for decades was revered in the Big Apple as the man who truly brought the game to its biggest stage. He and partner John Day audaciously brought two new NY entries into the city: the AA’s Metropolitans and what would become the National League’s Polo Grounds-dwelling Giants who triumphed in the first two post-season tournaments. Done in by the Players’ League rebellion and ensuing financial pressures, Mutrie was forced from the game in 1892.
Patrick J. Murphy (1857-1927) was a right-handed catcher for the New York Giants from 1887-1990. This Massachusetts native had a career batting average of .220 and hit one home run in the “Dead Ball” era. He played in one “world series” in 1888, going one for 10 and scoring a run in three games against the St Louis Browns. The Giants prevailed six games to four. The contest was marked by the great future Hall of Famer Tim Keefe’s four victories over the Browns.
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