- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Pittsburgh
- Team: Alleghenys
- League: National League
George Frederick Miller (1864-1909) had an outstanding ten-year career in Pittsburgh before closing his ML tenure with his best offensive years. He played from age 18 with Harrisburg until 38 as player-manager for the Dayton Veterans of the Central League. As a big-league catcher, Miller proved a formidable batter, defender and runner. He could also bring a certain “tenth-man” quality to the field, attested by his nickname “Foghorn.” Miller harassed opponents (and umps) mercilessly from near the on-deck circle. And he was versatile, playing substantial innings at third and in the outfield. Doggie compiled an excellent .267 average lifetime, but had terrific years at the plate after leaving the Steel City for the Browns in 1894-95, hitting .339 and .291. He was sold to the Louisville Colonels the following year for $400.
- Per the NY Clipper, Nov 16, 1889: “Miller is one of the most promising and popular young players in the profession and he certainly has a very bright future before him.”
- Other than Doggie and Foghorn, Miller also enjoyed Calliope as a nickname
- Miller has five known Old Judge poses
- Miller’s uniform color on this card was changed in August, 2017 from black to red to reflect recent reliable research by Craig Brown & friends at Threads of Our Game. Six cards were previously released featuring a black uniform.
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Philadelphia
- Team: Quakers
- League: National League
James Thomas McGuire (1863-1936). A catcher, manager & coach, McGuire’s 26 major league seasons was a record until Nolan Ryan broke it in 1993. Deacon also played for 11 different teams; another record until broken by Matt Stairs in 2010. He is one of 29 players to play in 4 different decades.
- His 1,859 assists as a catcher is still a record
- Managed the Senators (1898), the Red Sox (1907-1908), & the Naps (1909-1911)
- Coach with the Tigers (1911-17)
- 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: Washington, D.C.
- Team: Nationals
- League: National League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Cornelius McGillicuddy, Sr. (1862-1956). An average catcher with strong leadership skills for 11 professional seasons (1886-1896), Mack then owned (1901-1954) and managed (1901-1950) the Philadelphia Athletics for half a century, establishing many managerial records and a unique place in the pantheon of baseball icons in the 20th century.
- 5x World Series Champion
- Most Managerial Wins: 3,731
- Most Managerial Losses: 3,948
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1937
- Mack's uniform color in this card was changed from black to blue in August, 2017 to reflect recent reliable research conducted by Craig Brown and friends at Threads of Our Game. Nine cards were previously released featuring a black uniform
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Cincinnati
- Team: Red Stockings (AA)
- League: American Association
James William Keenan (1858-1926) had a substantial major league career as a decent hitting catcher, primarily for Cincinnati. He got his start at the dawn of pro ball with his hometown entry in the National Association in 1875, its final season. The New Haven Elm Cities struggled to a 9th place finish but Keenan was on his way. He played minor league ball until the Buffalo Bisons of the NL hired him in 1880. After brief appearances with the Pittsburgh Alleghenys & Indianapolis Hoosiers, Jim caught on as a regular catcher with Cincinnati, 5 years with their AA team and his last two with the NL version, the Reds. A lifetime .240 average testifies to his skills at the plate in a rugged era for catchers. He played other positions and even gets his name in the record books: per the Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers he is one of 41 receivers to pitch in major league games and his 2.37 ERA places him first all-time among his cohorts (he hurled 19 innings and was 0-1).
- As an emergency replacement at catcher for New Haven, Jim witnessed teammate Billy Geer make seven errors in one inning at second base
Ars Longa Store
Newsletter
