- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Denver
- Team: Grizzlies
- League: Western Association
James McQuaid (1861-1928) played baseball under the name Mortimer Martin “Mart” McQuaid. He was a right-handed, grizzled veteran of the minor league circuits from age 27 in 1888 until 1906 with Alameda in the California League. According to the Baseball Encyclopedia, Mart played for 31 teams including brief stints in the majors with St Louis and Washington. He also managed the Dubuque squad in 1896-7. Over 14 seasons, McQuaid had a .310 BA but was miserable afield, botching over one in ten chances. According to SABR’s Vern Luse, McQuaid was the brother of famed ML umpire Jack McQuaid. His cups of coffee in the AA with the Browns (4 games) and the NL’s Senators (one game in which he took the collar) were accidental interruptions for a lifelong laborer in America’s summer meadows, the diamonds-in-the-rough of Main Street USA.
- McQuaid’s Old Judge pose was for the Denver Grizzlies during his second year, but typical of his career: he hit .303 but “was the worst right fielder in the league, by a large margin” per the Goodwin editors
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Chicago
- Team: Maroons
- League: Western Association
James Adelbert McCauley (1863-1930) was a catcher for four major league teams in a brief career that spanned three seasons from 1884-1886. This New Yorker came out of Union College in Schenectady to sign with the St Louis Browns in the AA, but appeared in only one game. Most of his time in a sporadic tenure was with the Buffalo Bisons in ’85 and the Trolley Dodgers in ’86 where he ended his ML stint.
- Career BA of .189 spoke to the brevity of his work in the majors
- In 30 games for Brooklyn, McCauley had an OBP of .439 showing a good eye with 11 walks
- Although the Old Judge series features five known poses of Jim McCauley, I could not find one of suitable quality for this project. This image is taken from a cabinet photo produced by the Gehrig Studio in Chicago. The Gehrig Studio cabinet also features a Goodwin copyright stamp for 1888 and it is clear that this photo was taken in the same studio at the same time as McCauley's five known OJ poses. It is therefore plausible that this pose may constitute a sixth as-of-yet undiscovered OJ pose for McCauley.
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Omaha
- Team: Omahogs
- League: Western Association
Thomas Joseph Lovett (1863-1928) had a supernova-like splash of brilliance on the mound for the Brooklyn Bridegrooms before fading into obscurity. Lovett debuted in MLB for the Athletics in 1885, making only 16 appearances that summer. Signed by Brooklyn in its final year in the American Association, Lovett had his year-of-a-lifetime in 1890 with the newly minted NL Brooklyn franchise. He was 30-11 with a 2.78 ERA, pitched four complete games in the post-season, winning two in a series draw with Louisville. Lovett’s final brush with greatness occurred on June 22 the following year as he hurled a no-hitter against the Giants.
- Lovett’s career record was 88-59 with a 3.94 ERA
- He had one more strong year with Brooklyn in ’91 (23-19) before ending his tenure in Boston in ‘94
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Chicago
- Team: Maroons
- League: Western Association
Herman C. Long (1866-1909). A shortstop for 5 teams over 16 seasons, Long was a member of 5 NL pennant-winning teams. Despite a good career, Long is perhaps best known as the record holder for total errors (1,096) & errors by a SS in a career (1,070). Despite these records, Long was statistically a better than average defender & was considered a good shortstop by his peers.
- NL HR Champ: 1900
- .300+ batting average: 4x
- 2 seasons with 100+ RBI; 2 with 100+ Runs
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Omaha
- Team: Omahogs
- League: Western Association
John Atkinson Leighton (1861-1956) enjoyed a lengthy baseball career from 1887 through 1901, but his only major league stint was for the Syracuse Stars of the American Association in 1890. He played in seven games and batted .296 while playing the outfield. A long-lived Massachusetts native, Leighton was considered the oldest living player until his death, whereupon he was succeeded in that status by Dummy Hoy. Leighton was part of the Stars’ only ML season. He was a teammate of their top hitter, Cupid Childs and their ace Dan Casey on the mound.
- Leighton appeared in the Old Judge series as a CF for the Omaha Omahogs, but there is no reference to him on the team’s roster
- Leighton did play for Syracuse and Providence in the International League and Lewiston in the New England League
Ars Longa Store
Newsletter
