- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: New York
- Team: Giants
- League: National League
“Piano Legs” (1857-1933). An outfielder for 4 teams over 14 major league seasons, Gore was an excellent hitter who played on 7 pennant winning teams and in 4 World Series. His alcoholism oftentimes put him at odds with teammates, fans, and managers.
- All-time leader in OF errors: 368
- Stole 7 bases in 1 game; a record
- Had 5 extra-base hits in 1 game: a record he achieved by hitting 3 doubles & 2 triples against Old Hoss Radbourn
- Won NL batting title: 1880
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Cleveland
- Team: Blues (AA)
- League: American Association
Robert James Gilks (1864-1944) was an outfielder and pitcher for the Cleveland Blues, Spiders and Baltimore Orioles from 1887-1893. In the OF, Gilks was credited with piloting the strategy of trapping fly balls in order to get force-outs. He was said to have been the first OF to get an unassisted double-play.
- Another first: two bases-loaded doubles in the same inning, Aug. 5, 1890
- Played on the famed Orioles squad with McGraw, Keeler, Kelley, and Wilbert Robinson in ’92-3
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Washington, D.C.
- Team: Nationals
- League: National League
Franklin Washington Gardner (1859-1914) is proof of the power of eulogy. His obit writer in Sporting Life on Aug 22, 1914 said: “…from 1878 until about 1890 [Gardner] was one of the best ball players in the country.” This of one who compiled a lifetime .233 average, was 2-12 during sporadic stints on the mound, and played for 8 clubs in a seven-year tenure in the majors – only once playing consecutive seasons for the same team. He was suspended and fired more often than he changed uniforms. Bill James counts Gid among the 8 men most worthy of the title “Drinking Men” of the 1880s, an era not known for sobriety and decorum. Gardner’s intro to the big leagues came with the Troy Trojans in 1879 after impressing many in New England’s small towns. He made it to age 32 when, upon his father’s death, Gid went home to live with mom and never held a job again. Evidence of how endearing this rogue could be: he mysteriously disappeared from his semi-pro Norwich team in 1890 for weeks mid-season, yet “was cheered by a few hundred fans at the train depot when he returned.”
- His best year was ’83 with the Orioles, batting .273 in 42 games. In September, manager Billy Barnie fined Gid for drunkenness on a road trip to NY
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: St. Joseph
- Team: Clay Eaters
- League: Western Association
William Fry was the subject of an Old Judge series while with the 1889 St Joseph Clay Eaters. He never played in the major leagues and his minor league record is sketchy. Fry’s best-documented season was 1887 with the Zanesville Kickapoos of the Ohio State League. Will scored the most runs that year (104) and had the team’s second-highest total of hits with 141. He began in pro-ball in 1883 in the Pittsburgh area with the Liberty Stars of the Western Interstate League (eight Pennsylvania clubs plus Youngstown.) The following year found him still in the Steel City with East Liberty of the Iron and Oil Association. We have no data for 1885. Will moved west to the St Joseph Reds of the Western League in ’86 before joining the Kickapoos for two seasons. He returned to Missouri for his final year, when Old Judge caught up to him, this time with the Clay Eaters. He only managed a .187 average in 150 at-bats.
- Baseball Reference records Fry’s surname as Frey while the Goodwin catalog editors indicate an alternate spelling of Frye. We use the name that appeared on the OJ cards
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: New York
- Team: Giants
- League: National League
Elmer Ellsworth Foster (1861-1946) was an outfielder with the New York Metropolitans, New York Giants and Chicago Colts over a six year span beginning in 1886. The very rare baseballer who threw left and batted right, Foster achieved a career batting average of .187.
- One of the first five major leaguers born in Minnesota
- Played at Haverhill with future Hall of Famers Wilbert Robinson and Tommy McCarthy
- Noted for his speed on the base paths, Foster always had an explanation if caught stealing: “Why, I wasn’t a bit tired. Why should I have stopped running?”
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