- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Indianapolis
- Team: Hoosiers (NL)
- League: National League
Richard D. Buckley (1858-1929) was a catcher with four teams over an eight-year career in the majors. He started with the Indianapolis Hoosiers in 1888 where he was behind the plate in 51 of his 71 games. Dick hit a robust .273 his rookie season. He played two full campaigns in Indiana, two with the Giants, two with St Louis and finished with two more with the Phillies, closing his MLB tenure in 1895 with a fine overall batting average of .245. Buckley wasn’t through with pro ball however, continuing in the minors with Midwest clubs until retiring at age 42 with the Omaha Omahogs of the Western League.
- Buckley was born to the game: in Troy NY just at the beginnings of organized ball. In 1860 the Victories of Troy were one of 62 teams in the new NABBP, reconstituted in ‘66 as the Unions of Lansingburgh (a neighborhood in north Troy) where young Dick would have seen baseball’s finest come through town
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Boston
- Team: Beaneaters
- League: National League
Thomas Tarlton Brown (1860-1927) began a long career in MLB with the Baltimore Orioles in 1882. The young Englishman would go on to roam the outfields of ten franchises, ending with the NL’s Senators in 1898. Tom hit his stride with Boston’s Beaneaters and Reds. With the latter, he starred for a rare team to win pennants back-to-back in two leagues, as the Reds captured the Players’ League title in 1890 and the American Association flag in ’91. The fleet-footed Brown covered a lot of ground in the outfield, perhaps too much. He holds the MLB record for 490 OF errors, far more than the records in the AL and NL. His speed paid dividends on the bases as Tom led the league twice in steals, compiling a career total of 657.
- Selected for A.G. Spalding’s “World Tour” taking baseball global on an 1888 trip to Europe/Africa
- Enjoyed a career season in ’91, leading the AA in triples (21), SBs (106), hits (189) & runs (177)
- Is considered to have been part of the innovation of the platoon system with the ‘87 Indianapolis Hoosiers, paired with Gid Gardner
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: New York
- Team: Giants
- League: National League
William M. Brown (1866-1897) was a catcher & infielder for 7 seasons with 5 clubs, including stints with NY’s Giants in both their National League and Players’ League incarnations. He began in New York in 1887, left for the Phillies in ’91, was out a year before catching on with the Orioles. His final year in the majors was with two teams: the Louisville Colonels & St. Louis Browns in 1894. This native San Franciscan was exotic enough to be nicknamed for his State in an era dominated by eastern teams and players. Chronic lung problems limited his play. He sought milder climes in the west & Hawaii to no avail, succumbing to the disease at age 32. He is buried in the necropolis “City of Souls” in Colma, CA, near his hometown.
- Brown’s finest year was 1893 with the Colonels, batting .304 with 140 hits and 85 RBI
- His 50 walks that year gave him an OBP of .373
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Detroit
- Team: Wolverines
- League: National League
Dennis Joseph Brouthers (1858-1932) was one of the truly great hitters of the 19th century. Dan (pronounced BROOTHERS) played for ten teams over 19 seasons. He led the NL in OBP five times; SLG% seven times; H & 2B three times; Rs, HRs, & RBI twice. The 19-year old Brouthers vowed to quit the game when Johnny Quigley, a catcher for Harlem in 1877, died a month after a horrific home plate collision with Big Dan. He relented after the shock subsided & went on to the most prolific career of his era.
- One of only 29 to play in four decades
- .342 BA is 9th all-time; .423 OBP is 15th
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1945
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: New York
- Team: Giants
- League: National League
Master William Breslin was one in a line of NY Giants’ mascots in the 1880s, primarily due to HOF catcher Buck Ewing’s love of “hoodoos.” Superstition is still alive and well in baseball and goes back to its roots. In the old days it wasn’t rally monkeys, tomahawks or Phanatics–it was young boys recruited from the mean streets by ball players desperate for an edge. Lads such as “masters” Bretsie and Preston prowled the NY dugout in 1886, preceded by an unknown “colored boy” that year. Any charm could do, though. Ewing seized variously on a yellow mutt, a ring-tailed monkey named “Mose,” and a toy barking dog. But no mascot seems to have gained the popularity and fame of Willie Breslin.
One of Buck’s proteges was Fred Boldt, a Chicago waif the team picked up on the road. Back in NY, young Fred ran up an account at a diner near the Polo Grounds and absconded with Cannonball Titcomb’s shoes.
- The Breslin Old Judge cards have become highly prized
- Sadly, biographical data for Willie and his cohorts is lacking. We trust he turned out better than young Boldt
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