- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: New York
- Team: Giants
- League: National League
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
- Brother Frank Whitney also played professionally: 34 games for the Boston Red Caps in 1876
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Detroit
- Team: Wolverines
- League: National League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
James Laurie “Deacon” White (1847-1939). Considered the greatest catcher of baseball’s barehanded period (1870s), White eventually moved to 3rd base, played 23 seasons, won 6 championships, and played with a number of the century’s best players on a number of the century’s best teams.
- 1st person to bat in 1st pro league, in 1871, earning a hit – a double
- Reportedly believed the earth is flat
- 2 batting titles; 3 RBI titles
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 2013
- Although the Old Judge series features nine known poses of Deacon White (including the McGreachery pose), this photo was taken during the Tomlinson Studio photoshoot of 1886 in Detroit and is not known to exist in the Old Judge series.
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: New York
- Team: Giants
- League: National League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Smiling Mickey (1859-1941). An elite pitcher for 13 professional seasons, Welch was the 3rd pitcher to reach 300 wins. Mickey was a 20-game winner 9 times in his career, 7 times in succession. He also won 30+ games 4 times and 40+ games once. Shared pitching duties with HOFers John Ward & Tim Keefe.
- 1st pinch hitter in Major League history: 9.10.89, when he pinch hit for fellow HOFer Hank O’Day
- Still holds record for consecutive K’s to start a game: 9
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1973
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Detroit
- Team: Wolverines
- League: National League
George Edward Weidman (1861-1905) hurled more innings for the Detroit Wolverines than any other pitcher. Six of his nine ML seasons were with that club. Stump pitched for Rochester University as a youth and must have gotten great guidance from his amateur battery-mate: future Hall of Famer Buck Ewing. His record suggests a bit of hard luck, perhaps typified by his debut with the Buffalo Bisons in 1880 where, despite a 3.40 ERA, Weidman was 0-9. In ’81, with Detroit, Weidman had the lowest ERA in the NL at 1.80, going 8-5. 1882 saw yet another fateful stroke as Stump matched up with famed John Montgomery Ward in a pitching duel for the ages. The game went 17 scoreless innings until Old Hoss Radbourn broke Weidman’s heart with an 18th inning HR. For five straight years Stump lost 20+ games, suggesting managerial confidence and abysmal support. After leaving the Wolverines for a year in KC, Weidman returned for a satisfying, pennant-winning season, contributing 13 wins.
- Stump played minor league ball in Canada, umpired awhile, and concluded his pro ball life with the Providence Clamdiggers in 1893
- His life was cut short by cancer: Weidman did not survive surgery attempting to remove a tumor in his throat
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Chicago
- Team: White Stockings
- League: National League
George Edward Martin Van Haltren (1866-1945). Primarily an outfielder who also pitched in 93 games, Van Haltren is oftentimes mentioned as a player who may deserve better HOF consideration. George played for 5 teams over 17 seasons, compiling some impressive numbers. George still holds the NL record for reaching base in 60 consecutive games.
- 2,532 hits; .316 BA; .386 OBP
- Batted .300+ in 12 seasons
- Ranks 20th all-time in SBs: 583
- Scored 100+ Runs in 11 seasons
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