- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Chicago
- Team: Maroons
- League: Western Association
John T. (or F.) Crogan is another of those tantalizing “mystery men” of the Old Judge card era. Many of their subjects were photographed in anticipation of a major league career that never happened. In this case, Jack was posed for five images in the OJ 1888 series. He wears the uniform of the Chicago Maroons of the Western Association as depicted in the Miller/Gonsowski/Masson definitive OJ text with middle initial T. whereas Baseball-Reference.com has him with F. Prior to his brief time with the Maroons (21 games, .188 BA) Jack was with Wheeling in ’87, apparently his first year in the minors. He went on to play in the Texas and Tri-State Leagues before finishing up with Davenport of the Illinois-Iowa League in 1891. The rest of this would-be big leaguer’s exploits are lost to history.
- The Miller compilation shows a possible alternate surname spelling of Croghan
- The only batting pose available shows Jack in a left-handed stance
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Louisville
- Team: Colonels
- League: American Association
Hubert B. Collins (1864-1892) was a good-hitting outfielder/second-baseman for two major league clubs from 1886-1892. He came up with the Louisville Colonels of the American Association and moved to the Brooklyn Bridegrooms late in the ‘88 season. Hub played out his career in Brooklyn in both their AA and NL franchises. He managed a fine .284 lifetime average in seven years. In 1890 during his team’s back-to-back title years, Collins led the league in runs scored. The young Louisville native had begun in pro ball with Columbus in the Southern League in ‘85 and came up to his hometown team the next year from Savannah.
- Brooklyn paid the Colonels $4500 for the young utility man in September 1888
- Hub suffered a head injury in a horrific collision with Tom Burns in July 1891. A passing locomotive drowned each others’ call for the short fly ball. He never recovered, succumbing to typhoid fever the next spring
- Hub's uniform color on this card was changed in January, 2017 from blue to maroon to reflect recent reliable research by Craig Brown & friends at Threads of Our Game. Four cards had been previously released featuring a blue uniform.
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: St. Paul
- Team: Apostles
- League: Western Association
John E. Carroll (1860-1942) began in MLB with the Union Association’s St. Paul White Caps in September 1884. The outfielder played in all nine games of the franchise’s only “season” going 3 for 31 with five errors. In ‘85, after stints with two minor-league clubs, Scrappy got a chance with the Buffalo Bisons of the NL. His .097 average fell when he went 3 for 41 in 13 games. Following time with the Utica Pent Ups, Carroll got his last chance in the majors with Cleveland’s Blues of the AA where he hit .199 in 57 games. His career average of .171 sent Scrappy permanently back to the minors. Old Judge misidentified one of his poses as being a Chicago Colts’ player, confusing him with Cliff Carroll.
- Carroll debuted in Cleveland on the city’s first Sunday game, August 3, 1887. He may or may not have innovated sunglasses, but he was noted for catching the attention of “the kranks” for donning “colored spectacles” one sunny day
- As so many before and since, Carroll had much more success in the minors, once even leading the Western League in home runs
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Omaha
- Team: Omahogs
- League: Western Association
James Edward Canavan (1866-1949) began in the major leagues during the 1891 season, playing more games for “King” Kelly’s Cincinnati “Killers” (aka “Porkers”) than any other team member. As the shortstop, Jim didn’t have a great average (.228) but he drove in the most runs, proving his clutch nature. Later that year, after the Killers were dissolved, Canavan and four others moved to Milwaukee. Canavan began and ended his pro-ball career in his native New England, beginning in New Hampshire and closing out his time in hometown New Bedford, playing and managing for the Whalers. After his rookie year, Jim played for Cap Anson’s Chicago Colts, then returned to the Queen City with the Reds before ending his big league tenure as a Brooklyn Bridegroom in 1897.
- Canavan piloted his New Haven Blues to the Connecticut State League pennant in 1902
- Captured here by the Old Judge photographers while with Omaha in 1889, Jim had a good year: 10 HRs, 93 Runs & 75 SBs in just 116 games
- Jim's uniform color on this card was changed in February, 2017 from red/white/black to blue/white/blue to reflect recent reliable research by Craig Brown & friends at Threads of Our Game. Five cards had been previously released featuring a red/white/black uniform.
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Indianapolis
- Team: Hoosiers (NL)
- League: National League
John Patrick Parnell Cahill (1865-1901) never did much damage to major league pitching but he hit well in the minors. Patsy’s brief stint in the big leagues included stops in Columbus, St. Louis and Indianapolis where the outfielder’s average was an anemic .205. A broken ankle with the Buckeyes ended his rookie season and may have been an omen that this gutty player belonged home in California. He had some great seasons out West, and the story gets retold that Ernest Thayer was so impressed by Patsy’s presence at the plate in a Stockton contest that he penned “Casey at the Bat” with him in mind. (The classic poem was published in 1888, the year before Cahill made it back to his home state). Patsy concluded his pro-ball in Texas with the Fort Worth Panthers in 1896.
- Cahill was versatile, even pitching several games and has been noted to have been part of the game’s first four-man rotation (for Columbus in ‘84 alongside the original “southpaw” Ed Morris)
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