- Series: Pioneer Portraits II: 1875-1899
- City: Chicago
- Team: White Stockings
- League: National League
Martin C. Sullivan (1862-1894) played outfield for four teams over five years from 1887-91. His first two seasons were with the Chicago White Stockings where he got into 190 games and even pitched in relief in one. He moved on to the Indianapolis Hoosiers in 1889, spent part of the next two seasons with the Beaneaters before ending his ML tenure with one game for the Cleveland Spiders.
- His lifetime BA is variously reported as .256, .273 and .288 showing the variance in data in that era
- Series: Pioneer Portraits II: 1875-1899
- City: Boston
- Team: Beaneaters
- League: National League
Charles Sylvester Stahl (1873-1907) was “the game’s most outstanding frosh hitter” in 1897 with the Boston Beaneaters. He led all rookies that year in 11 categories and still holds the Boston franchise record for 1st-yr players with a .354 BA. By 1904 he had been part of 4 champions in 7 years. His inexplicable suicide left his players in shock and grief.
- Succeeded as mgr by Cy Young who said “Players may come and go, but there are few Chick Stahls.”
- Series: Pioneer Portraits II: 1875-1899
- City: Chicago
- Team: White Stockings
- League: National League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Albert Goodwill Spalding (1850-1915) was an elite pitcher who retired at age 27 and proceeded to influence the game as few others have. He helped organize the NL, co-founded A.G. Spalding sporting goods, published the game’s first official rules, traveled the world to promote baseball, owned the White Stockings and led an Olympics, leaving one of the great legacies in sport.
- Was a five-time pennant winner with the Boston Red Stockings and Chicago White Stockings
- Career 252-65 record with a .796 winning percentage
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1939
- Series: Pioneer Portraits II: 1875-1899
- City: Cleveland
- Team: Spiders
- League: National League
“The Deerfoot of the Diamond” (1871-1913). A Maine native & son of a Penobscot chief, Sockalexis was one of the most gifted athletes ever to play the game. A pioneering Native American, Sockalexis endured intimidation and abuse throughout his all-too-brief career. He starred for the Fighting Irish before joining the Cleveland Spiders in 1897. His legacy lives today whenever the Cleveland Indians take the field—many believe that mascot to be a post-mortem tribute to this early star.
- Harvard professors measured his throw at 414′
- While at Notre Dame, he homered in the Polo Grounds off future Hall of Famer Amos Rusie
- John McGraw called him the “greatest natural talent” he had ever encountered in the game
- Series: Pioneer Portraits II: 1875-1899
- City: Pittsburgh
- Team: Pirates
- League: National League
Elmer Ellsworth "Mike" Smith (1868-1945) pitched well enough to lead the AA in ERA in 1887 for Cincinnati, but after 3 years on the mound his bat dictated a shift to the outfield. Traded to the Pirates in ’92, Smith was an impact player, hitting 136 triples and 37 HRs over his 14-year career. His three-baggers tied Babe Ruth’s lifetime total.
- His remarkable but brief pitching record included 122 CG in 136 starts with 9 shut-outs
- In his great ’87 season, Smith started 52 games, completed 49 and went 34-17
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