- 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: Baltimore
- Team: Orioles
- League: American Association
Michael Joseph Griffin (1865-1908) was an accomplished center fielder for the AA’s Orioles, the Players’ League’s Athletics and the NL’s Bridegrooms over 12 seasons. He batted over .300 six times, scored 100+ runs ten times and stole 473 bases. On 4/16/87 he became the 1st ML player to hit a HR in his first plate appearance. Ended his career as player-mgr for Brooklyn.
- Caught up in the Baltimore/Brooklyn merger in ’98, won a salary judgment of $2,300 and retired
- Managed local Utica breweries until his death from pneumonia at 43
- Griffin’s uniform color on this card was changed in May, 2017 from black to blue/red to reflect recent reliable research by Craig Brown & friends at Threads of Our Game. Nine cards had been previously released featuring a black uniform.
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Cleveland
- Team: Blues (AA)
- League: American Association
Robert James Gilks (1864-1944) was an outfielder and pitcher for the Cleveland Blues, Spiders and Baltimore Orioles from 1887-1893. In the OF, Gilks was credited with piloting the strategy of trapping fly balls in order to get force-outs. He was said to have been the first OF to get an unassisted double-play.
- Another first: two bases-loaded doubles in the same inning, Aug. 5, 1890
- Played on the famed Orioles squad with McGraw, Keeler, Kelley, and Wilbert Robinson in ’92-3
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: St. Louis
- Team: Browns (AA)
- League: American Association
William Benjamin Fuller (1867-1904) played shortstop for the Washington Statesmen (Senators), St Louis Browns and NY Giants from 1888-1896. For one day in 1891, Shorty‘s brother Harry joined him with the Browns for his only MLB game. Blessed with a keen eye at the plate, Shorty struck out only 198 times while receiving 444 bases on balls.
- Fuller’s knack for walks boosted his anemic career BA of .235 to an OBP of .322
- Stint with the Browns included their final year in the AA (’91) and 1st in the NL (’92)
- Washington sold Shorty to the Browns after the ’88 season for $800
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: St. Louis
- Team: Browns (AA)
- League: American Association
Julius Benjamin Freeman (1868-1921) was just 19 years old when he got his first and last chance to pitch in the major leagues. The date was October 10, 1888 when he took the mound for the St Louis Browns, then in the American Association. Julie lasted six and a third innings, surrendering seven hits and five runs, three of which were earned. He walked four and struck out only one batter, making one wild pitch. Such is the glory of America’s Game that over a century later, such details survive about a seemingly obscure effort. Freeman was a walk-on in the cavalcade of baseball, but history allows us to relive many of the details of his one moment in “the Show.” He lost that contest to the Louisville Colonels but goes down in the record books with a “lifetime” .333 batting average, by virtue of his single that autumn afternoon.
- Freeman’s player-manager was Charlie Comiskey, prepping for his storied career in Chicago en route to the Hall of Fame
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