- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Philadelphia
- Team: Quakers
- League: National League
William J. Gleason (1866-1933). A pitcher and 2nd baseman over 22 seasons with 7 different teams, Gleason went on to manage the Chicago White Sox from 1919 to 1923 and is perhaps best known for being the manager during the 1919 Black Sox Scandal. As a pitcher, Kid won 138 games. As a hitter, Kid compiled 1,946 hits & a .261 career BA.
- One of 29 players to play in 4 different decades
- Won 38 games in 1890
- Coached under Connie Mack for 8 seasons
- Gleason’s uniform color on this card was changed in April, 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: Indianapolis
- Team: Hoosiers (NL)
- League: National League
John Wesley Glasscock (1857-1947) was the premier shortstop of the 19th century. Some of his records (fielding % & assists) stood until Ozzie Smith a century later. No slouch at the plate, Glasscock averaged .290 and led the NL in ’90 for the Giants.
- In ’89, discovered the young Amos Rusie and signed him for the Hoosiers’ final season
- Went 6 for 6 on 9/27/90 to secure the batting title over Billy Hamilton
- One of the toughest to strikeout of his era, averaging one every 33 ABs
- Was selected as SABR's Overlooked 19th Century Baseball Legend for 2016
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Washington, D.C.
- Team: Nationals
- League: National League
Bernard Gilligan (1856-1934) may serve as the textbook example of “good field, no hit.” As a hitter, he ranks among the all-time worst, 1 of 6 catchers to occupy the “top” ten list. But “Little Barney” was superb behind the plate & drew accolades from his first outings until his last games in semi-pro ball around Boston past the turn of the century. And no matter how weak his offense, no catcher ever had the year Barney did in 1884. He was Old Hoss Radbourn’s personal catcher & caught every game of the greatest season by a major league hurler. Depending on who is counting, Radbourn won 59 or 60 games and the pennant that magical season. With “hands half beaten to a pulp by catching 81 regular-season games,” the diminutive backstop humbly accepted a personalized Springfield watch (worth over $4000 today) commemorating his role in Radbourn’s year for the ages. The presentation came during the post-season tourney which Radbourn and his Providence Grays swept in three. When the Grays were being dissolved, Boston passed on Gillligan, distrusting his arm strength. The Senators were delighted to add him to their expansion-club roster in ’86.
- It took a rookie Connie Mack to dislodge Barney from his starting role
- As if spurred by his pitcher’s greatness, Gilligan had his best year at the plate in ’84
- Gilligan’s uniform color on this card was changed in May, 2017 from black to blue to reflect recent reliable research by Craig Brown & friends at Threads of Our Game. Six cards had been previously released featuring a black uniform.
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Detroit
- Team: Wolverines
- League: National League
Charles H. Getzein (1864-1932) mastered the “pretzel curve,” thrown with a skipping delivery and a sharp overhand swing. The pastry analogy may have been hyperbole, but he was able to baffle hitters for nine major league seasons for five teams. Charlie came into his own with the Detroit Wolverines and was stellar in 1886-87 winning 59 games plus hurling six complete games in the ’87 “Series.”
- Game 6 of that tourney was witnessed by 10,000 at the Polo Grounds. Getzein no-hit St Louis for 8 innings, shutting them out en route to a Detroit championship
- Teamed with catcher Charlie Ganzel, a duo sports writers dubbed the “Pretzel Battery”
- Career record: 145-139 including 277 complete games with an ERA of 3.46
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: New York
- Team: Giants
- League: National League
John Joseph Gerhardt (1855-1922) played for 11 teams over his 15-year career, primarily at second base. He averaged only .227 at the plate but led the league at times in key fielding categories. He played for the biggest teams of his day: the Giants, Mutuals, and Reds and also for the more obscure: the Washington Blue Legs, the Baltimore Canaries, the Louisville Eclipse and the Brooklyn Gladiators.
- Gerhardt was named manager of two of his teams: Louisville in 1883 and St. Louis in 1890
- A 1922 NY writer compared him favorably to the best: “None had anything on Move Em Up Joe Gerhardt”
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