- Series: Pilgrims
- City: Pittsburgh
- Team: Pirates
- League: National League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Fred Clifford Clarke (1872-1960) broke into MLB in a big way, going 5 for 5 in his 1st game (never bettered.) This Hall-of-Famer starred with the Pirates along with Honus Wagner and Vic Willis, winning 4 of the 9 titles held by the Pittsburgh franchise. Was player-mgr most of his career.
- Hit over .300 eleven times, his .390 in ’97 was bested only by Wee Willie Keeler
- Honored at Cooperstown as the “first of the successful ‘boy managers’” at age 24
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1945
Auction History
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T201 Mecca Canvas: Fred Clarke
- Series: Pilgrims
- City: Pittsburgh
- Team: Pirates
- League: National League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Max George Carey (1890-1976) was “harder to stop than a run in a silk stocking” per Joe Williams. A superb center fielder with a fine lifetime BA of .285, it was on the base paths that he made his mark with the Pirates and Robins. Saving his best for (nearly) the last, Carey led Pittsburgh to the pennant with a .343 BA, and to the title with a .458 Series average in 1925.
- In 1922 was successful in steals 51 of 53 attempts and led the NL ten times
- Stole home 33 times, second only to Ty Cobb’s 50
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1961
Auction History
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T201 Mecca Canvas: Thomas Downie
- Series: Pioneer Portraits I: 1850-1874
- City: Cincinnati
- Team: Red Stockings (NABBP)
- League: National Association (NABBP)
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
William Henry Wright (1835-1895) established professional baseball on the American landscape with his 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings, a team with which he show-cased the game that was to become the true national pastime. His influence on the sport is incalculable. For 25 years Wright led as player, manager, executive, and chief of umpires. Perhaps his greatest contribution was inspiring true team-spirit. He invented such staples as signals, platooning, hit-and-run, communication among players and a nascent farm system.
- Managed his teams to over 1200 wins, a .581%, winning six championships
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1953
- Series: Pioneer Portraits I: 1850-1874
- City: Philadelphia
- Team: Athletics (NABBP)
- League: National Association (NAPBBP)
John Phillips Jenkins Sensenderfer (1847-1903) was a second baseman and outfielder for the Philadelphia Athletics during the first four years of the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, from 1871-74. The debonair man with an aura of aristocracy earned his nickname at least in part from the elegant mustache he sported. The Count, a lifelong Philadelphian, had been with the club in the amateur league since 1866, making him one of the true leading lights of baseball’s earliest days. Sensenderfer hit .299 over his ML career, but injuries prevented him from approaching the outstanding batting he displayed in the Athletics’ early days in the NABBP. For example, he scored over 200 runs in 1868 as one of the most prolific of early hitters.
- After leaving baseball, Sensenderfer turned to politics. He was a local county commissioner and active in state Democratic roles as well
- Series: Pioneer Portraits I: 1850-1874
- City: Baltimore
- Team: Canaries
- League: National Association (NAPBBP)
John Joseph Ryan (1853-1902) broke into the majors with the Philadelphia White Stockings of the NAPBBP in 1873, their first season in pro ball. The team finished second with a record of 36-17. He played for the cellar-dwelling Baltimore Canaries the following year, the franchise’s last. Ryan went to the New Haven Elm Citys in ’75, their only year in the league. In 1876 Ryan joined the Louisville Grays for their inaugural season. He ended his career in ’77 with Cincinnati. Ryan’s best year was with the Grays in ’76, hitting .253 with his only HR.
- Ryan became a Philly cop and died in the line of duty, while making an arrest in a bar fight
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