- Series: Diamond Heads '15
- City: St. Louis
- Team: Cardinals
- League: National League
John Barney Miller (1886-1923) broke into major league ball in 1909 at the top of the game. As second-baseman for the Pirates, Dots would spend his rookie season with a champion as Pittsburgh won the NL pennant and beat the Tigers in the World Series. Miller went on to a fine 12-year career with three National League clubs: five with Pittsburgh, five with the Cardinals and the last two with the Phillies. When Fred Clarke brought Miller to the ‘09 spring camp he played him at short as the team’s regular, a guy named Honus Wagner, was late arriving. There was no way Miller would stay at that position once Wagner finally showed up but his play impressed Clarke enough to earn a spot at 2nd. A reporter asked Wagner who the new kid was and Hans said “That’s Miller.” The scribe noted it phonetically and a memorable nickname was born. Dots became a versatile addition to each team, playing every position for St Louis and prompting Ring Lardner to dub him the best utility man of the era.
- Miller succumbed to TB just as his promising managerial career was beginning. He led his San Francisco Seals to the PCL pennant in 1922
- NL president John Heydler paid tribute to “a brainy player, well liked everywhere…”
- Series: Diamond Heads '15
- City: St. Louis
- Team: Terriers
- League: Federal League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Mordecai Peter Centennial Brown (1876-1948) gained the Hall of Fame on the strength of a wicked curve, enhanced by childhood accidents that cost him parts of two fingers on his “twirling” hand. He won 20+ for the Cubs six times from 1904-12 with two world championships.
- Career record of 239-130 and the 3rd best ERA of all time: 2.06
- Had legendary duels with Giants’ Christy Mathewson, and went 13-11 against him
- His 2.06 ERA is best ever by a pitcher with more than 200 wins
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1949
- Series: Pilgrims
- City: St. Louis
- Team: Browns (AL)
- League: American League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Rhoderick John Wallace (1873-1960) had a Hall of Fame career as a premier shortstop for 24 years before going on to one of the longest tenures in MLB as coach, manager, scout & even a short stint as an umpire. Playing primarily in St. Louis for the Cardinals & Browns, Wallace set records, including a mournful one: longest career by a player to never make the World Series.
- Too good a fielder to stay on the mound, became the premier defensive SS of his era
- In 1911, Pirates’ owner declared Wallace the one player in the AL he desired above all others
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1953
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T201 Mecca Canvas: Bobby Wallace
- Series: Pilgrims
- City: St. Louis
- Team: Browns (AL)
- League: American League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
George E. Waddell (1876-1914) was one of the premier pitchers in MLB history and also a man-child who’d leave the dugout and chase a fire truck. His titanic struggles with Cy Young made for the greatest pitching duels of all time. Connie Mack described his curve as the “fastest and deepest I’ve ever seen.”
- Waddell’s perplexing personal and social problems led to a shortened career and life
- Driven to distraction, Mack sold Rube to the Browns for the ’08 season, his last hurrah
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1946
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T201 Mecca Canvas: Lefty Leifield
- Series: Pilgrims
- City: St. Louis
- Team: Cardinals
- League: National League
Harry F. Sallee (1885-1950) set pitching marks for St. Louis that still rank him among the best in franchise history. He debuted with the Cards in ’08 and stayed into the ’16 season. His 2.67 ERA places him 3rd all-time for a club that has seen its share of stars. HOF catcher Roger Bresnahan said Sallee had “the best control of any southpaw that ever curved a ball over the plate.” Unfortunately, Slim had much less control in his personal life, witnessed by a stream of rule violations, fines, suspensions & other turmoil. It could not have helped that this star labored for an exceptionally weak team most years, as the Cards were routinely worst or near-worst in fielding & hitting (in a doubleheader with the Reds in ’08, St. Louis committed 17 errors).
- In ’13, Sallee won 19 of the club’s 51 victories while getting little support.
- Sallee’s finest hour, helping Cincinnati to the world championship in ’19, would be tarnished by the Black Sox scandal
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T201 Mecca Canvas: Albert Bridwell
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