- Series: Pilgrims
- City: Chicago
- Team: Cubs
- League: National League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Frank Leroy Chance (1876-1924) was a tenacious and fiercely competitive MLB player-manager for the Cubs and Yankees and manager of the Red Sox. John L. Sullivan called him the “greatest amateur brawler of all time.” Chance brought that pugilistic spirit to the diamond, giving unruly fans and players as good as he got.
- Joined the fraternity of the immortals in Cooperstown with the teammates with whom he is forever linked: Johnny Evers and Joe Tinker
- Cubs’ owner gave Chance a 10% stake in the club as reward for stealing home from 2nd in a tied game
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1946
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T201 Mecca Canvas: Frank Chance
- Series: Pilgrims
- City: Pittsburgh
- Team: Pirates
- League: National League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Max George Carey (1890-1976) was “harder to stop than a run in a silk stocking” per Joe Williams. A superb center fielder with a fine lifetime BA of .285, it was on the base paths that he made his mark with the Pirates and Robins. Saving his best for (nearly) the last, Carey led Pittsburgh to the pennant with a .343 BA, and to the title with a .458 Series average in 1925.
- In 1922 was successful in steals 51 of 53 attempts and led the NL ten times
- Stole home 33 times, second only to Ty Cobb’s 50
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1961
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T201 Mecca Canvas: Thomas Downie
- Series: Pilgrims
- City: Chicago
- Team: Cubs
- League: National 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
Auction History
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T201 Mecca Canvas: Mordecai Brown
- Series: Pilgrims
- City: St. Louis
- Team: Cardinals
- League: National League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Roger Bresnahan (1879-1944) played every position but came into his own as a lead-off-hitting catcher and battery mate to Christy Mathewson for John McGraw’s Giants. Innovation took guts in a rowdy era and he had the fortitude to introduce shin guards, batting helmets and padded masks over the protests of other clubs and the pelting of irate fans (who didn’t have to catch Mathewson.)
- Batted .350 in 1903, trailing only Honus Wagner’s .355 and Fred Clarke’s .351
- Elected to Hall of Fame the year after his death: 1945
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T201 Mecca Canvas: Roger Bresnahan
- Series: Pilgrims
- City: Philadelphia
- Team: Athletics (AL)
- League: American League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Charles Albert Bender (1884-1954) won 212 games en route to a Hall of Fame career. He began life amid the abject poverty of a Minnesota reservation, was mentored by Pop Warner at the Carlisle Indian School and hit the majors with a bang for the Athletics in 1903. “Albert” as Connie Mack called him, beat future Hall members Cy Young and Clark Griffith compiling 17 wins in his rookie season. He led the league 3x in win percentage but was at his best under pressure. In 5 World Series, Bender won 6 games with a 2.44 ERA and completed 9 of his 10 starts.
- Connie Mack said that of all his players he would most trust Bender to win in the clutch
- Admired for his brilliance, Ty Cobb dubbed him the most intelligent pitcher he ever faced
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1953
Auction History
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T201 Mecca Canvas: Chief Bender
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