- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Cincinnati
- Team: Red Stockings (AA)
- League: American Association
Anthony John Mullane (1859-1944) won 284 games over a 13 year career with 7 teams, primarily in the AA. In 2010 he was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds’ Hall of Fame. When the NL added 10.5 feet from mound to plate, Mullane was never the same pitcher. The next year (’94) he surrendered 16 first inning runs to the Beaneaters.
- Ambidextrous, Mullane held the ball in both hands, disguising his intended offering
- Lost a season (’85) to suspension amidst his string of five 30-win years
- Mullane was voted SABR's Overlooked 19th Century Legend for 2015
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Indianapolis
- Team: Hoosiers (NL)
- League: National League
Samuel R. Moffett (1857-1907) had one of the most dismal starts to his ML career as anyone ever has. He came up with the Cleveland Blues in 1884 and went 3-19 for the seventh place club. Only four rookies in all of baseball have had poorer seasons. Perhaps that led to Sam’s decision to try another venture. He literally struck gold with his brothers in Montana, taking over $200K out of the ground in ’85. He gave baseball another shot in 1887-88 with the Indianapolis Hoosiers, but his 1-5 record in ’87 coupled with a .122 BA sent him back west.
- The strapping Moffett (6’, 175 lbs) managed only a .169 career BA and went 6-29 on the mound
- Sam’s kid brother Joe was a fellow big-leaguer who played one year for the Toledo Blue Stockings of the American Association in 1884
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Pittsburgh
- Team: Alleghenys
- League: National League
Albert Joseph Maul (1865-1958) pitched in 15 seasons for ten teams from 1884-1901. His career highlight was winning the NL ERA title in 1895 with 2.95. In 13 years in the NL, he compiled an ERA of 4.56, winning 68 and losing 67. In 1898 with the Orioles, Smiling Al went 20-7 with a 2.10 ERA.
- The New York Times said of Maul’s come-back year in ’98: “The most remarkable case on record of a restored glass arm.”
- Ned Hanlon had made Maul his reclamation project in ’98 and took the veteran to Brooklyn the next year, but neither could re-ignite the old magic
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Philadelphia
- Team: Athletics (AA)
- League: American Association
Robert T. Mathews (1851-1898) won the 1st Nat’l Assoc game on May 4, 1871. Over 20 years, Mathews became the only man to win 50+ games in each of the 3 early major leagues: NAPBB, the NL, and the AA. His resume includes an NL and an AA title with the Providence Grays and Phil. Athletics respectively. Stands 25th among winningest pitchers in MLB history.
- Won 297 games, more than any other pitcher NOT inducted into the Hall of Fame
- One of the first to use the spitball and execute the curve
- Although the Old Judge series features three known poses of Bobby Mathews, I could not find one of suitable quality for this project. This image is taken from an Old Judge (Gypsy Queen) proof taken at the same time as Mathews' other OJ images and may represent an as-of-yet undiscovered pose.
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Boston
- Team: Beaneaters
- League: National League
Michael Joseph Madden (1867-1896) had a gift for curving the baseball, dazzling his hometown Portland, ME media as a teen. He had a head for the game and the heart, but sadly, not the physique. At 120 lbs he proved simply too frail for the rigors of professional play and travel in the late 1880s. His heart and head were on display during his rookie season with the Beaneaters in 1887. No matter that, for that one season, batters got four strikes; the Kid was outstanding: 21-14, 3.79 ERA completing all 37 starts. Despite his breaking stuff, he never appeared in nearly as many games in his short MLB career, suggesting his managers recognized his physical limitations. Stayed in Boston for three leagues in three years before closing out with the Orioles in 1891.
- Young Michael was taken by “consumption,” leaving a widow and two children at age 28
Ars Longa Store
Newsletter
