- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Louisville
- Team: Colonels
- League: American Association
Lafayette Napoleon Cross (1866-1927) debuted in the majors as a catcher for Louisville, transitioned to being a stellar third-baseman and went on to a remarkable 21-year career for nine teams including four Philadelphia clubs in four leagues. He was a solid hitter as well, ranking high in a number of offensive and defensive categories upon his retirement in 1907. His longevity allowed him to be the only player to appear in both the Old Judge card series and the 1910 T210 set.
- At 40, led league in fielding for fifth time
- His career .292 average included 2645 hits
- Career assists record was not eclipsed until Eddie Mathews surpassed him in 1964
- Lave’s uniform color on this card was changed in February, 2017 from blue to maroon to reflect recent reliable research by Craig Brown & friends at Threads of Our Game. Nine cards had been previously released featuring a blue uniform.
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: St. Louis
- Team: Browns (AA)
- League: American Association
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Charles Albert Comiskey (1859-1931) rose from decent first-baseman to become one of the foremost managers and owners of baseball’s early decades. “The Old Roman’s” leadership skills emerged with his first team, the newly-minted St. Louis Browns whom he piloted to four pennants. He would go on to compile an outstanding 840-541 record. His .608 winning percentage is third-highest behind Joe McCarthy and Jim Mutrie. “Commy” parlayed his ownership of the Western Association’s Dubuque Rabbits into a franchise in the American League which he helped found in 1901. He built the White Sox stadium in 1910 which would bear his name for the next 81 years and presided for the next decade over one of the most talented and troubled teams in history. While many dismiss the charge that it was Comiskey’s penurious ways that “drove” his 1919 squad to infamy, there is no doubt he was a cheapskate of the first order. He underpaid, over-promised and reneged with abandon, epitomizing the arrogance of the reserve-clause era.
- Charles is credited with revolutionizing play at first-base, innovating play off the bag
- Owned the Chicago White Sox from 1901-1931, winning two World Series
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1939
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Louisville
- Team: Colonels
- League: American Association
Hubert B. Collins (1864-1892) was a good-hitting outfielder/second-baseman for two major league clubs from 1886-1892. He came up with the Louisville Colonels of the American Association and moved to the Brooklyn Bridegrooms late in the ‘88 season. Hub played out his career in Brooklyn in both their AA and NL franchises. He managed a fine .284 lifetime average in seven years. In 1890 during his team’s back-to-back title years, Collins led the league in runs scored. The young Louisville native had begun in pro ball with Columbus in the Southern League in ‘85 and came up to his hometown team the next year from Savannah.
- Brooklyn paid the Colonels $4500 for the young utility man in September 1888
- Hub suffered a head injury in a horrific collision with Tom Burns in July 1891. A passing locomotive drowned each others’ call for the short fly ball. He never recovered, succumbing to typhoid fever the next spring
- Hub's uniform color on this card was changed in January, 2017 from blue to maroon to reflect recent reliable research by Craig Brown & friends at Threads of Our Game. Four cards had been previously released featuring a blue uniform.
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: St. Louis
- Team: Browns (AA)
- League: American Association
Elton P. Chamberlain (1867-1929) was a right-hander for 6 teams over 10 ML seasons, including at least one game he finished as a southpaw. A study in perseverance, the icy-calm Chamberlain doggedly refused to give in to Boston’s Bobby Lowe on May 30, 1894, eventually surrendering 4 HRs to a batter for the first time in history. Lowe added a single to keep Ice Box in the record books for most total bases to a batter in one game. In 1888-89 he went 25-11 and 32-15 for the Browns.
- Led the American Association with six shut-outs in 1890 for the Columbus Solons
- Completed 264 of his 301 career starts and ranks 64th all time in that statistic
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Brooklyn
- Team: Bridegrooms
- League: American Association
Robert Lee Caruthers (1864-1911) was a star pitcher, primarily for the Browns and Bridegrooms, leading his teams to five pennants in his 10-year career. Caruthers had the distinction of helping Brooklyn capture titles in consecutive seasons in two leagues: the AA in ’89 and the NL in ’90. One of the hardest working players of his day, Caruthers pitched in 340 games and played outfield in 366 as well as filling in occasionally at first and second. In 1886 while winning 30 games for St Louis, Caruthers had a league high .448 on base percentage, a pattern of plate and mound prowess that characterized this versatile dynamo.
- Caruthers won 40 for the Bridegrooms in ’89 and 23 the next year in the Senior Circuit
- Only Whitey Ford (barely) edged Caruthers in winning percentage for those with 200+ games
- No player who spent most of his career in the AA has made the Hall of Fame
- Caruthers' uniform color on this card was changed in January, 2017 from blue to red to reflect recent reliable research by Craig Brown & friends at Threads of Our Game. Nine cards had been previously released featuring a blue uniform.
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