- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Philadelphia
- Team: Athletics (AA)
- League: American Association
Curtis Benton Welch (1862-1896). Primarily a center fielder for 10 professional seasons, Welch was a fast runner with great instincts. His “$15,000 slide” into home clinched the 1886 World Series for the St. Louis Browns. It has been called the most famous play of the 19th century.
- Top 10 in steals 6 years in a row
- Currently ranks 51st all-time in steals (453)
- Alleged to have hidden beer behind billboards so he could drink during games
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Louisville
- Team: Colonels
- League: American Association
William B. Weaver (1865-1943) was a proficient outfielder, steady hitter and all-around player who could catch when needed. Possessing keen baseball acumen, Weaver’s major league tenure lasted from 1888 to 1894 where he produced a solid .278 average. Earned a second nickname “Buck” in comparison to Buck Ewing in recognition of his prowess with the bat in his Texas League debut. Signed by Louisville, Weaver quickly impressed with his fine hitting and as a “splendid fielder and base-runner.” He experienced incredible highs and lows on field and off: in 1889 the team became first to lose 100 games, but next year won the pennant; then became one of a handful of major leaguers to go to prison for fathering a child with a minor, but lead prison teams to such accomplishments as to earn an early release.
- Recorded two once-in-a-century entries in the annals: only player until 1989 to lead league in fielding %, POs and assists; and went 6-for-6 hitting the cycle, not done again until 2009
- Shares a strange link with the other Buck Weaver of Chicago “Black Sox” infamy by coaching his integrated KS prison team – officially known as the Black Sox
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Minneapolis
- Team: Millers
- League: Western Association
George Turner is a mystery man. He is the subject of five Old Judge cards in the 1889 series. He wears a Minneapolis Millers (Western Assoc.) uniform and is identified as a center fielder. He strikes a left-handed batting pose in two portraits. Miller, Gonsowski and Masson, in their compilation of Goodwin and Co. cards for 1886-90 state that Turner played for the WA Denver Grizzlies in the same year. There is a Thomas Turner on the Denver roster and a “Lone” Turner on the Millers, shown as a CF-Pitcher. No other information is recorded for this enigmatic player.
- Turner’s Old Judge poses show two with the bat and three with bare-hand catching poses
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: St. Paul
- Team: Apostles
- League: Western Association
George W. Treadway (1866-1928) hit .328 with 26 triples and 102 RBI for the Brooklyn Grooms in 1894. That was the high-water-mark of a brief 3+ year ML career. Treadway knocked around the minors for several more years before retiring in California from the Pacific Coast League. Treadway was a target of racial slurs and rumors that he was passing for white. The gossip was printed by a Louisville paper and may have caused his trade from Baltimore to Brooklyn. If it was a spiteful move, Treadway commanded a high price: he and another player were traded for Hall of Famers Dan Brouthers and Willie Keeler.
- A noted biography of Joe Jackson asserted Treadway was “driven out of baseball” by the accusations—belied by the lengthy minor league career he pursued until age 37
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Detroit
- Team: Wolverines
- League: National League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
“Big Sam” (1860-1922). An outfielder over 15 seasons for 3 different teams, Thompson was one of the great hitters of the 19th century. Sam was the 1st player with 20 steals & 20 HRs in a season. In 1894, he was one of 4 Philly OFs to hit over .400.
- His 61 RBI in 1 month is a record
- Only 19th c. player to amass 150 RBI in a season & he did it 2x
- .923 RBI/AB ranks 1st all-time
- Back problems shortened his career; but he returned after 10 years to play 8 games for Detroit in 1906
- Elected to hall of Fame: 1974
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