- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Indianapolis
- Team: Hoosiers (NL)
- League: National League
Jeremiah Dennis Denny (1859-1927) was a rare ambidextrous third baseman who played professionally for over 20 years, 13 in the majors. He was the last position player to play his entire career without a glove, which would have hindered his ability to use his left hand when the play required. Denny broke in with the Providence Grays and led them to the first inter-league post-season tournament championship as the NL beat the AA in 1884. Jerry teamed with Arthur Irwin at short to create a formidable combination on the left side. He won the first-ever “series” game with a three-run homer off Tim Keefe of the Metropolitans. Providence closed down and Jerry moved to the Maroons in St. Louis for a year and then on to Indianapolis when the team relocated. A reliable batter with good power, Denny compiled a .260 career average and 74 HRs.
- Holds the MLB record for chances by a third baseman in a game: 16 on 8/17/82
- Denny was a pseudonym, adopted while in college in Phoenix to mask his semi-pro forays that were barred to amateurs. His birth name was Eldridge
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Philadelphia
- Team: Quakers
- League: National League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Edward James Delahanty (1867-1903) died in the icy waters of the Niagara River while still in his baseball prime. He was hitting .333 for the Senators that July of 1903, well below his days with the Phillies, but still a force to be reckoned with after a 16-year career in left field. Through the 1890s no hitter dominated as did Big Ed. With Sam Thompson and Billy Hamilton he formed an outfield-for-the-ages, each hitting .400+ in 1894. He struggled during his early years until, driven to excel, Ed transformed himself at the plate. Personal achievement had not brought a pennant, however, and Delahanty experienced the frustrations of the reserve system in his pursuit of the pay he felt was his due. As with so many players of that day, Ed turned to the bottle and was given to outbursts such as the one that got him ejected from the train the night he died. His tragic end came amid one of the great careers in baseball history.
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Philadelphia
- Team: Quakers
- League: National League
Earle Harry Decker (1864-?) was a catcher for six teams over four seasons in the majors. He came into pro ball at an opportune time for a young man. 1884 saw the arrival of the short-lived Union Association whose entry into the “big leagues” allowed many minor league and marginal players a chance at the elite level, if only briefly. Harry was nothing if not opportunistic. He was clever enough to patent a thumbless catcher’s mitt (“The Decker Safety Catcher’s Mitt”) and cunning enough to pursue a criminal career that landed him in San Quentin prison under the name Earl Henry Davenport. Harry led a long life of crime, using multiple aliases, which has prevented baseball historians from tracking his life after baseball. He did show up in a team photo of the San Quentin squad and a reporter recalled him from his Keokuk days as a good defensive catcher. A versatile fielder, Decker played most positions but was a weak hitter, resulting in short stints in the majors followed by return to the minors (five teams in the US and Canada.)
- Harry’s most productive season was his last, with Pittsburgh, in 1890. He hit .274 in 92 games
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Chicago
- Team: White Stockings
- League: National League
Thomas Peter Daly (1866-1938) began his fine 16-year career as a catcher/second-baseman with the Chicago White Stockings in 1887 but was a mainstay with Brooklyn for 11 seasons, 1890-1901. Slightly-built and swift, “Tido” stole 385 bases, enabled by his .278 lifetime average that got him on base a lot for a catcher (he hit .294 in Brooklyn.) By the mid-nineties he had transitioned to the infield. Daly played for three pennant-winners in 1890, 1899 and 1900, all in Brooklyn. He is reported to have hit the first pinch-hit home-run in history on May 14, 1892 off John Clarkson. Tido was a “lifer” who stayed around the game in the minors as a player/manager and scout. He last played for the Johnstown Johnnies in 1907 and even managed for Toronto in 1932 at age 66.
- In 1891 Daly caught Tom Lovett’s no-hitter against the Giants
- Daly's uniform color in this card was changed from black to blue in March, 2017 to reflect recent reliable research conducted by Craig Brown and friends at Threads of Our Game. Four cards had been previously released featuring a black uniform.
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Boston
- Team: Beaneaters
- League: National League
William Daily (1868-1922) was a pitcher who had the rare opportunity of playing for two pennant winners, back-to-back, in two leagues. The only other team to do this was Brooklyn just prior to Daily’s Boston Reds/Beaneaters staging their coup in 1890/91. Daily had broken into pro-ball with the Jersey City Skeeters in 1887 as a 19-year-old. He came up with the NL’s second-place Beaneaters in 1889, getting into nine games and going 3-3. He stayed with most of his mates when they ventured into the Players’ League the following year and Ed excelled with an 18-7 record good for the league lead in winning percentage although Old Hoss Radbourn and Ad Gumbert won more for King Kelly’s Reds that championship season. Daily’s productivity dropped dramatically as the club joined the American Association in ’91, giving the young pitcher the chance to play in three leagues in consecutive seasons. After an 8-6 record, Bill returned to Buffalo/Albany through 1893.
- The Bridegrooms had performed their back-to-back feat in 1889-90 with the AA and the NL
Ars Longa Store
Newsletter