- Series: 1880s: Spotted Ties
- City: New York
- Team: Metropolitans
- League: American Association
John H. Lynch (1857-1923) was a right-hander for three New York state teams, the Buffalo Bisons, NY Metropolitans and Brooklyn Gladiators, in a career that spanned the period 1879-1890. He had several minor league assignments scattered among his total of seven major league campaigns.
While with the Metropolitans, Jack caught the attention of the New York Clipper, the weekly paper that did much to popularize baseball in its earliest days. One scribe wrote of Lynch: “Studying the in-and-out curves, rises, and drop deliveries, he rapidly acquired a reputation as an effective and puzzling pitcher . . . He has complete control of the ball, with all the curves and varying paces in delivery, and is cool and self-possessed.”
The highlight of Jack's career had to have been the championship season with the Mets in 1884. He shared the mound duties with Tim Keefe and actually nosed out the future Hall of Fame hurler in winning percentage: Lynch was 37-15 to Keefe's 37-17. Keefe had a slightly lower ERA and completed a couple more games than Lynch, but Jack had more shut-outs. All in all, they were a remarkably balanced duo who led their club to the first post-season tourney against the Providence Grays. Unfortunately, the New Yorkers were swept 3-0. Lynch would win 20+ in his two additional years with the Mets, but would never again achieve the heights of that '84 season (nor the 496 innings he threw that year).
- Jack Lynch more than held his own alternating mound assignments next to a pitching genius, widely acclaimed as one of the most dominant of the 19th century. Keefe endured but, for that one shining season in 1884, Lynch earned applause and lasting respect
Auction History
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Old Judge Pose: 282-1
- Series: 1880s: Diamond Duos
- City: New York
- Team: Giants
- League: National League
Art Whitney:
Arthur Wilson Whitney (1858-1943). Art played 3rd base for 8 different teams over 11 major league seasons. A below average hitter, his best year may have been 1886 with the Pittsburgh Alleghenys when he compiled 122 hits, 13 doubles, 4 triples, 15 steals & 70 runs with a light .239 batting average.
- 2x World Series Champion with the New York Giants: 1888 & 1889
- Although I haven't quite figured it all out, it appears Whitney was part of a fairly distinguished baseball family. His brother Frank played for the Boston Red Stockings in 1876; Charles Whitney, who played minor league ball from 1879 to 1889, was also likely Art's brother; and research suggests that 10 year major league veteran Grasshopper Jim Whitney may have been a cousin.
Mascotte:
This dog's name and relationship to Art Whitney and/or the New York Giants has been lost to history. I have no evidence that this dog ever served as the team's mascot, but she does appear to be wearing a handkerchief in the team's colors. The Giants (Buck Ewing in particular) were notoriously superstitious about their mascots. At one time or another between 1884 and 1890, the Giants "employed" at least five children: Masters Boldt, Bretsie, Preston, Breslin and an unidentified "colored boy," a yellow mongrel dog who was eventually captured by animal control and euthanized, and a toy rubber dog that barked when squeezed.
Despite the mystery surrounding this dog, her presence and photogenic posing created what REA has described as "one of the most unusual and memorable images to ever appear on a baseball card." It has been suggested that this image was staged and intended by the Goodwin photographers to represent a sort of comedic complex irony. Between the minor and major leagues, Art Whitney played for 12 different teams over 17 professional seasons and twice sued his team in contractual disputes. Even in an era when few players stayed with any one team for more than a year or two, Whitney's lack of loyalty was possibly renowned and cast into stark contrast in this photo by the adoring attention he is being given by man's best friend, the ever-loyal dog.
Whether the meeting between the two was devised or a genuine moment in time caught by a Goodwin photographer, I think the image's appeal is due to something simple we can all relate to: it's fun.
In fact, this is perhaps the image that most directly inspired the idea behind the Ars Longa 1880s series. In the nascent stages of my work, when this was all but an amorphous and rudimentary idea, I saw this image and thought how fun it would be to colorize it. Three and a half years and nearly 750 cards later, here it is.
Auction History
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Old Judge Pose: 499-1
- Series: 1880s: Spotted Ties
- City: New York
- Team: Metropolitans
- League: American Association
Charles W. Reipchlager (aka Ripslager) (1856-1910) was a reserve catcher, playing the one position that didn't require an ability to hit the curve, just corral it. His major league tenure was primarily with the New York Metropolitans, beginning in 1883. He lasted four seasons as a partner with Bill Holbert, himself a light-hitting but capable receiver.
Charlie moved on to the Cleveland Blues for the '87 season where he labored in 63 games and batted .212. He would try one more time to escape the minors. He signed with the Brooklyn Gladiators for the upcoming 1890 season, only to be released before the campaign began. The Gladiators would go on to a 26-73 record that year which must have convinced Reipschlager that the majors were simply out of reach.
Reipschlager and Holbert were working behind the plate during an era of rapid change in pitching distances and pitching technique. The National League loosened the requirements for the pitching motion in 1884 but the Metropolitans' American Association didn't follow suit until mid-way through the '85 campaign. In 1886 both leagues lengthened the pitcher's “box” and placed a flat stone at the front of it to allow the umpire to police the pitcher's adherence to the defined space. The “mound” would await the 20th century's innovations.
- Reipschlager's career batting average was a meager .222, but he earned his keep in an era when short distances from the pitcher's “plate” to home made it perhaps more challenging to catch than to hit
Auction History
Cartophilia
Old Judge Pose: 386-1
- Series: 1880s: Spotted Ties
- City: New York
- Team: Metropolitans
- League: American Association
John W. Nelson (1849-1910) has a resumé reading like a history of baseball in New York: Brooklyn Eckfords (1867-69, '72) NY Mutuals ('70,) Troy Haymakers/Trojans ('72, '79,) NY Metropolitans ('83-87,) NY Giants ('87) and the Brooklyn Gladiators (1890). Candy got out of the Big Apple occasionally, playing for the Indianapolis Blues in '78 and the Worcester Ruby Legs in '81, but otherwise this native of Portland, ME was a fixture in and around the city that never sleeps.
Candy was a right-hander who batted left and was primarily a shortstop for nine franchises in three leagues over a career that saw him become the oldest player in the American Association at age 41 with the Gladiators. That finale came in a season when three major league teams graced the pastures of Brooklyn: the NL's Bridegrooms, the Players' League Ward's Wonders and Nelson's squad. He was not the only team member to hang 'em up after the 1890 campaign. Only three Gladiators continued to play professionally and none of them after July of '91. Candy was the best hitter (and only one to hit over .300) on the '83 Metropolitans as they debuted in the AA under Jim Mutrie.
- For all nickname aficionados, Baseball-Reference has determined that there have been precisely six “Candys” in the majors, with Hall of Famer Candy Cummings having the greatest renown and Candy Maldonado being the most recent.
- In 13 seasons, this Candy hit .253
Auction History
Cartophilia
Old Judge Pose: 341-1
- Series: 1880s: Spotted Ties
- City: New York
- Team: Metropolitans
- League: American Association
William Henry Holbert (1855-1935). Holbert was a catcher for 6 teams over 12 seasons and is perhaps best known as the player with the most career at bats without a home run (2,335). While a good defender, Bill was a weak hitter compiling a career BA of .208, with .228 OBP, .232 SLG, and an OPS+ of 47.
- One of the original umpires of the Player’s League in 1890
- Of his 486 hits, only 48 were for extra bases
Auction History
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Old Judge Pose: 230-1
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