- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Cleveland
- Team: Spiders
- League: National League
John F. O’Brien (1867-1892) pitched four seasons in the majors, changing leagues every year. He played in the AA, the NL, & the Players’ League – all for Cleveland teams, and moved to the Boston Reds in the AA for the 1891 season, his last due to his untimely death from pneumonia the next year.
- Had signed with Cincinnati to play in ’92 but passed away at his home in Troy, NY
- Was 18-13 for the pennant-winning Boston club in ‘91
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Indianapolis
- Team: Hoosiers (NL)
- League: National League
Thomas John Esterbrook (1857-1901) played third and first base for seven different teams over 11 professional seasons. In 1884, Esterbrook had a terrific year, compiling a .314 batting average, with 150 hits, 29 doubles, 11 triples, 110 runs and an OPS+ of 150 for Jim Mutrie’s New York Metropolitans of the American Association. By 1889, Dude was player/manager of the Louisville Colonels during one of the most dismal seasons in MLB history (27-111, the worst record in the AA’s existence). As the losses mounted, tempers rose and Esterbrook’s attempts to fine players met with rebellion. He lost his post to “Chicken” Wolf who replaced him only to face the first true players’ strike when owner Mordecai Davidson reinstated Dude’s levies. Ironically, Esterbrook set his career mark, hitting .318 that woeful campaign, albeit in a part time role. His lifetime average in the majors was .261.
- Esterbrook’s confrontational style, evident in his short tenure as a manager, signalled emotional trouble ahead. His life ended at the age of 43 when he jumped from a train that was transporting him to a psychiatric hospital
- The Dude abides
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Boston
- Team: Beaneaters
- League: National League
William Mitchell Nash (1865-1929) made one invaluable contribution to baseball: he scouted & recruited Napoleon Lajoie, bringing him to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1896. By that time, Nash had mostly played out his ML career as a steady-hitting 3rd baseman for the Boston Beaneaters. He compiled a respectable .275 lifetime average and, in 1895, was declared by Sporting Life magazine “the best fielding third baseman in the League.” Traded for future Hall of Famer Billy Hamilton to the Phillies, Nash was player-manager when he found Lajoie who was pounding the ball for the Fall River Indians in the New England League.
- Nash broke into the majors with his hometown Richmond Virginians of the old AA in 1884 before finding a home wih the NL Beaneaters
- Best year was 1887: .295 AVG with 84 RBI
- Bill James ranks Nash 49th amongst third basemen all-time
- Sporting Life touted his $7500 compensation in ’91 as money well-spent
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Indianapolis
- Team: Hoosiers (NL)
- League: National League
George D. Myers (1860-1926) was typical of the catchers of his day, a hard-working journeyman behind the plate and a weak hitter at it. His average over six years was a slim .203, but he was a steady backstop, valued by Buffalo and the Maroons/Hoosiers franchises. After 2 seasons with the Bisons, Myers moved to St. Louis in 1886 to the team that had started and ended the Union Association in ’84. Owner Henry Lucas had so stocked his Maroons as to make a mockery of competition. The league folded after a year and by 1886 John Brush bought the team and moved it to his Indianapolis stadium. Myers moved with the team and continued as the lead catcher, sharing duties with two others. Following his time in Indiana, Myers pursued minor league success with the Minneapolis Millers, then returned to his upstate New York roots with the Syracuse Stars and the Rochester Flour Cities through 1892.
- As a rookie in Buffalo, Myers cut his teeth under as fine a mentor as anyone in early baseball could hope for: “Orator Jim” O’Rourke who was in his final year as manager
- Although the Old Judge series features three known poses of George Myers, I could not find one of suitable quality for this project. This image is taken from an Old Judge proof taken at the same time as Meyers' other OJ images and may represent an as-of-yet undiscovered pose.
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Washington, D.C.
- Team: Nationals
- League: National League
James Albert Myers (1863-1927) began in pro-ball for Muskegon and Winona in the Northwestern League before catching on with the Milwaukee Brewers of the Union Association, all in 1884. From there, Myers began a National League career, first with the Philadelphia Quakers and Kansas City Cowboys for a year each. He then played three years in Washington and three back in Philadelphia as the Quakers transitioned to Phillies, ending his baseball experience in 1891. The stocky second-baseman had a lifetime .246 average and never hit a home run. He was usually among the leaders in fielding chances and once led the league in errors.
- “Cod’s” best years as a regular were 1886 and ‘90, hitting a solid .277
- The latter year saw Myers swipe 44 bases and attain a .742 OPS
- Myer's uniform color in this card was changed from black to blue in August, 2017 to reflect recent reliable research conducted by Craig Brown and friends at Threads of Our Game. Six cards were previously released featuring a black uniform
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