- Series: 1880s: Loving Paupers
- City: St. Paul
- Team: Apostles
- League: Western Association
John Thomas Pickett (1866-1922) was a utility infielder/outfielder who earned three brief chances in the major leagues. First, after tearing up the Western Association for St. Paul in 1888-89, John was given a try by the American Association’s Kansas City Cowboys late in the ‘89 season. He got to play quite a bit for a late-comer that year, getting into 53 games at three positions. He managed only a .224 average. Fortunately for Pickett, 1890 was a volatile year in the majors as the Players’ League siphoned off as much talent as they could lure to their rogue enterprise and John got a chance with the Philadelphia Athletics where he did much better, hitting .280 in 100 games. The diluted talent allowed many of the Players’ players to excel that single year of the league’s existence, similar to what had happened in 1884 as the Union Association played spoiler to baseball’s establishment. Two years later Pickett got his last chance in the big leagues with the cellar-dwelling Orioles. Tommy Lasorda has famously postulated that the best teams lose a third of their games and the worst win a third of theirs. Baltimore defied Tommy’s sage observation by winning 19 and losing 54 en route to a last place finish in the AA in ‘92. He hit .213 for the struggling Birds - totally unlike his usual solid hitting in the minors. John had begun in pro ball with Stillwater of the Northwestern League in 1884 and played later for Milwaukee and Minneapolis in the same circuit. He was still hitting near .300 in his final Western Association appearances with Kansas City and Minneapolis in 1897 as he wrapped up his time in the minors.
- One sweet note that Pickett could take with him was that when the Orioles let him go, he was replaced at second base by a young firebrand named John McGraw
Auction History
Cartophilia
Old Judge Pose: 369-2
- Series: 1880s: Loving Paupers
- City: Milwaukee
- Team: Creams
- League: Western Association
George William McVey (1865-1896) had a much-traveled professional career in baseball, almost all of it in the minors. He played for 20 different franchises beginning in 1884 with the Chillicothe Logans of the Ohio State League and ending with the Quincy Browns of the Western Association in 1895. Along the way he made stops in the Southern League/Association, Tri-State, Texas-Southern, Central Interstate, Pacific Northwest/Interstate and Ohio-Michigan Leagues. George’s sole chance to see action in the major leagues came with the Brooklyn Grays of the American Association in 1885. He played catcher and first base for Brooklyn, but only got into six games where his .143 average led to his return to the minors. That same season saw “Big George” back in Atlanta where he caught the attention of The Sporting News who reported on September 23 that he had “made quite a reputation as a catcher and outfielder in the Southern League.” The sturdy McVey stood 6’1” and, by the end of his career, was known for his size as noted in another Sporting News item from August, 1895: “Big George McVey is playing a good game at first . . . and is hitting at a four hundred gait.” Tragically, this would be his last and best ball. He was reported in April ‘96 to be suffering bowel troubles. He died the following month in Quincy, Illinois.
- A clue to McVey’s peripatetic sojourn in baseball comes from a report in the Milwaukee Sentinel on May 9, 1889 where it was stated that George and Creams teammate Billy Klusman “were released for getting on a spree in St. Joseph.” If this was indicative of a dissolute lifestyle, McVey would hardly be the first of his era’s players to succumb to the temptations and deprivations of the times that shortened far too many careers
Auction History
Cartophilia
Old Judge Pose: 321-3
- Series: 1880s: Loving Paupers
- City: St. Joseph
- Team: Clay Eaters
- League: Western Association
Thomas J. Flood (1867-?) never made it to the major leagues, but his Old Judge card series in 1889 placed this young Missouri ballplayer among an elite of his day. He was captured by the photographer in his St. Joseph Clay Eaters uniform cutting a dashing figure as a right-handed pitcher. Indeed, The Sporting News noted that Thomas had been the Houston Babies’ star hurler the prior year, going 11-15 for a struggling franchise. He was again the stalwart of that team in ‘88 when he compiled a miserable record of 2-10, but started the majority of games, completing the entire dozen. Only one of that squad’s pitchers ever had big league experience. That was veteran Doc Landis who was in the final year of his career that had begun with American Association teams in 1882. The Texas Southern League in those days consisted of a mere six clubs, including the San Antonio Missionaries and Dallas Hams. Flood had started out with amateur outfits in his native St. Louis, such as the Prickly Ash and Grand Avenue clubs. The Sporting News mentioned his first professional job was with Springfield, MO in 1887 where he was said to have won every start for the Indians of the Southwestern League. Unfortunately, Flood’s auspicious beginning ended abruptly with the demise of the Springfield franchise. He was picked up by Ft. Smith to finish the season. With the Clay Eaters, Thomas found himself among a staff with better talent. Five of his fellow pitchers would see big league service. He went 9-16 in ‘89, the third-best record on the team.
- Despite missing out on MLB glory, Flood was celebrated by The Sporting News as “the finest pitcher in the Southwestern League.” Not a bad clipping to show the family
Auction History
Cartophilia
Old Judge Pose: 164-4
- Series: 1880s: Loving Paupers
- City: St. Paul
- Team: Apostles
- League: Western Association
Cecil Calvert Broughton (1860-1939) had a lifelong love of baseball. He began playing on the amateur diamonds around Evansville, WI and became one of his State’s first major-leaguers with the Cleveland Blues in 1883. After brief stints in the top-tier, Cal played with minor league and local clubs. At the end of his estimable life, having served as Evansville’s first police chief and civil servant, Broughton enjoyed listening to games on his radio as his life ebbed. Everywhere Cal played, news reports spoke of a beloved player, coach and man. Primarily a catcher, Broughton was known for his “head for the game” and his skill at managing pitchers. Brief stints with six teams from 1883-88 comprised his MLB tenure, while the bulk of his playing time was in the minors.
- A beloved local hero, Cal captured train robbers in a gunfight, and pinched the area’s first car thieves in 1913
- His salary as the first elected top cop: a sumptuous $35 a month
Auction History
Cartophilia
Old Judge Pose: 42-5
- Series: 1880s: Loving Paupers
- City: St. Paul
- Team: Apostles
- League: Western Association
Willard Eben Mains (1868-1923) had only a few brief appearances in the majors as a pitcher. He was 1-1 with the Chicago White Stockings of the National League in 1888 after starting in pro ball with Portland of the New England League the previous season. He returned to the minors in the Western Association and would go on to a successful career in the lower echelons, winning 318 while losing 179. In 1891 Grasshopper got a little longer opportunity with the American Association's Cincinnati Kelly's Killers and Milwaukee Brewers where he went 12-14. It would be another five years before his last shot in the big time, with Boston's Beaneaters in '96, where he was 3-2.
Mains, also known as Willie, was a product of one of the oldest families in his native Maine. He came out of Windham and would make a name for himself manufacturing bats. He had at least three factories in Sandy Creek, Harrison and Fryeburg, but marketed his product nationally. A Mains Dolley 31” bat circa 1890s recently sold for $400.
- Over his entire 20-year career in professional baseball, Mains played for 17 teams. He stayed in upstate New York for his final decade, closing out his tenure with the Binghamton Bingoes in 1906 after two lengthy tours with the Rome Romans and Syracuse Stars
- Willard inspired his son Jim to pursue careers in both baseball and bats. James R. Mains played first for Harvard in 1942 and got one appearance in the majors, with the Athletics, in August '43 where he lost his only start. Jim established his bat-making operation in Bridgton, Maine
- Perhaps it was his pedigree as a scion of the Down Easters that prompted the Old Judge photographer to record Grasshopper's surname as "Maines" on his St. Paul Apostles card series
Auction History
Cartophilia
Old Judge Pose: 290-2
Ars Longa Store
Newsletter