- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Louisville
- Team: Colonels
- League: American Association
Philip H. Tomney (1863-1892) was born on the banks of the Schuylkill River in the coal country of eastern Pennsylvania mere days before America’s bloodiest conflict would ensue at nearby Gettysburg. His short life would end just 28 years later when he succumbed to the pernicious effects of consumption, endemic to the area of his origins. “Buster” would devote nearly all of his brief adult life to the game of baseball, excelling to such a degree that in his nine year professional career, he would spend three at the pinnacle of the sport: the “big leagues.” Phil was a shortstop during his ML stint, all of it with the Louisville Colonels toward the end of their years in the American Association: 1888-90. It is reasonable to suppose that Tomney’s health drove him from the game. His final season stats indicate his best year with a .277 batting average in a career-high 386 ABs over 108 games. He drove in a solid total of 58 runs with an OBP that year of .357.
- Slightly built at 5’7″ and 155 lbs, the right-hander’s final game was Oct 14, 1890
- Died March 18, 1892 in his hometown of Reading
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Boston
- Team: Beaneaters
- League: National League
Edward Christopher Tate (1860-1932) made his ML debut with the Boston Beaneaters at the end of the 1885 season. He stayed as a catcher for three more seasons before moving to the Orioles where his big league career ended in 1890. Tate went on to play four more years in the minors. His career batting average was .218 and he had two HRs.
- Tate played nine games in the outfield for Boston and subbed at 1B for Baltimore
- In 1926 Tate’s home town fans re-named Island Park in Richmond, VA Tate Field to honor one of their first baseball heroes
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Cleveland
- Team: Spiders
- League: National League
Elmer Ellsworth Sutcliffe (1862-1893) asked the famed Cap Anson for a tryout as a catcher. The Wheaton, IL native impressed “Uncle” Cap but wasn’t going to be a pushover. When Anson asked what he’d want to be paid, he is said to have replied “Well, Cap, I’ve been getting a dollar a day working out in Wheaton and I can’t afford to play ball for any less!” The 22-year-old signed on with the White Stockings for 2 years. Then, typical for the era, bounced from team to team: the Maroons, Wolverines, Spiders, Infants, Senators & finally, the Orioles in 1892. His lifetime BA of .288 was a composite of highs & lows. Sy’s best years were with Cleveland’s Infants (.329 in ’90) & .353 for the Senators in ’91 (the franchise’s 1st year, known then as the Statesmen).
- Although signed as a catcher, Sutcliffe had the versatility to play 1B, SS, and the outfield
- Sadly, the strapping 6’2” left-hander’s health gave out and he died at age 30, just months after his final game with Baltimore
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Philadelphia
- Team: Quakers
- League: National League
William Frederick Schriver (1865-1932) was a durable catcher for several mostly National League teams from 1886 through 1901. His debut for the AA’s Brooklyn Grays was his only stint outside the NL. Pop had a solid .264 lifetime batting average over a 14 year major league career. During his time with Cap Anson’s Colts, to promote a game with the Senators, battery-mate Clark Griffith made a 555’ “toss” to Schriver (off the Washington Monument). Accounts differ on Pop’s performance and Griffith later said Schriver dropped the ball. In any case, history has credited Gabby Street with the first successful accomplishment of the stunt, largely on the testimony of Griffith who by then was owner of Street’s Senators. In 800 games, Schriver made 720 hits in 2,727 at-bats.
- During 1894, the year of the D.C. feat, Pop was among the league leaders in most defensive categories
- In 1901 Schriver led the league in throwing out runners attempting to steal
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Des Moines
- Team: Prohibitionists
- League: Western Association
Luke Schildknecht was a minor league catcher in the late 1880s in the midwest. Photographed by the Old Judge crew for their 1888 series, Luke appears in three known poses in a Des Moines uniform. The Baseball Encyclopedia lists Luke on the 1888 Des Moines Prohibitionists' roster, playing 26 games with a .237 BA. They indicate the same stat line for the ’88 Sioux City Corn Huskers, which had taken over the Des Moines club mid-season. Interestingly, only three players on that team lack personal data, with Schildknecht and battery mate Frank Wells being two of them. The tandem seem to have arrived and left the team at about the same time.
Dennis Pajot’s The Rise of Milwaukee Baseball documents that the Cream City team signed both Schildknecht and Wells prior to the 1889 season. However, Schildknecht is listed as the fourth-string catcher for the squad and does not appear in the historical record for the team at any time. Despite not making the team in Milwaukee, the Old Judge editors changed Luke's team designation from Des Moines to Milwaukee and continued to use the Milwaukee designation on Luke's cards throughout the rest of the Old Judge run.
- Yep, I was confused too. Took me a few years to realize that the uniform Luke is wearing in this image is a Des Moines uniform. Reversing the trend that the Old Judge guys started 128 years ago, I changed Schildknecht's team designation on this card in September, 2017, from Milwaukee to Des Moines. Balance is restored. Six cards were previously released with the Milwaukee team designation.
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