- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: New York
- Team: Giants
- League: National League
William M. George (1865-1916) was a left-handed pitcher & outfielder for two major league teams over 3 years in the late 1880s. He debuted as a pitcher for the NY Giants in ’87. During his two seasons on the mound, George went 5-10 with a 4.51 ERA. His mediocre performance led to him being released by the Giants in June of ‘89. He had not gotten into a game that year in NY. The native of Bellaire, OH tried out with the American Association’s Columbus Solons in July of 1889. They picked him up as an outfielder. Bill got into five games that summer, getting 4 hits and 3 RBI in 17 at-bats & was released in August, ending his major league experience.
- Bill’s record in ’88 was 2-1 with a 1.34 ERA. But, with Tim Keefe winning 35 with an 1.74 ERA & Mickey Welch winning 26 with a 1.93 ERA, the competition was stiff on the pennant winner
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Pittsburgh
- Team: Alleghenys
- League: National League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
James Francis Galvin (1856-1902) sported some colorful nicknames: Pud, Gentle Jeems and The Little Steam Engine, indicative of his renown. Pud was baseball’s first 300-game winner. He pitched for six teams over 15 years, and remains the only player to win 20+ games in ten seasons and not win a pennant. Only Cy Young pitched more innings or hurled more complete games, a testimony to the extraordinary demands placed on starters in the 19th century. Perhaps no pitcher of any era accomplished so much by overcoming a distinct physical limitation. In Galvin’s case, it was his small hands which left him unable to completely grip a baseball. He couldn’t throw the curve so he adapted, becoming an expert in “drops, straight balls and the different artifices known to pitchers to deceive the batter” as he told a friend. As his steam engine nickname suggests, Pud just rolled right at the hitter with power and durability yet with amazing finesse, especially in holding runners on base. Buck Ewing was a great admirer and said he wouldn’t have had anyone attempting steals with Galvin on the mound.
- Galvin threw no-hitters in 1880 and ‘84
- Began and ended his long career in St Louis with the NA’s Brown Stockings and NL’s Browns
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1965
- Galvin's uniform color on this card was changed in April, 2017 from black to red to reflect recent reliable research by Craig Brown & friends at Threads of Our Game. Nine cards had been previously released featuring a black uniform.
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: St. Louis
- Team: Browns (AA)
- League: American Association
Julius Benjamin Freeman (1868-1921) was just 19 years old when he got his first and last chance to pitch in the major leagues. The date was October 10, 1888 when he took the mound for the St Louis Browns, then in the American Association. Julie lasted six and a third innings, surrendering seven hits and five runs, three of which were earned. He walked four and struck out only one batter, making one wild pitch. Such is the glory of America’s Game that over a century later, such details survive about a seemingly obscure effort. Freeman was a walk-on in the cavalcade of baseball, but history allows us to relive many of the details of his one moment in “the Show.” He lost that contest to the Louisville Colonels but goes down in the record books with a “lifetime” .333 batting average, by virtue of his single that autumn afternoon.
- Freeman’s player-manager was Charlie Comiskey, prepping for his storied career in Chicago en route to the Hall of Fame
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Brooklyn
- Team: Bridegrooms
- League: American Association
David Luther Foutz (1856-1897) compiled the 2nd highest winning % of all time (.690) for the St. Louis Browns & Brooklyn Bridegrooms over a 13 year career. A fine batsman, he hit .357 for Brooklyn in ’87 & won 25 games on the mound. Foutz was so highly prized that Browns’ owner Chris Von der Ahe bought the Bay City, MI franchise to get him.
- Was sold to the Bridegrooms in 1888 for $13.5k, then led Brooklyn to pennants in ’89 & ‘90
- Ended his career as player-manager for the Bridegrooms from 1893-1896
- Forced to retire due to ill health, Foutz succumbed to asthma at the age of 40
- Foutz' uniform color in this card was changed from blue to red in March, 2017 to reflect recent reliable research conducted by Craig Brown and friends at Threads of Our Game. Six cards had been previously released featuring a blue uniform.
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Omaha
- Team: Omahogs
- League: Western Association
John A. Flynn (1864-1907) played one major league season, in 1886 at the age of 22 for the Chicago White Stockings. He had a great year, with a 23-6 record and a 2.24 ERA. Flynn’s performance helped Chicago to its second straight NL pennant, but the team lost the series to the St Louis Browns with Flynn out of action with a sore arm and fondness for liquor.
- Holds record for most wins by a pitcher who only played one season (23)
- Al Spalding had tried to police his players’ “intemperate” habits all season and the NL even hired Pinkertons in every league city. Sadly, Flynn’s arm gave in as he gave way to alcoholism after one brilliant year.
- An attempted comeback with Omaha ended quickly; he was out of the game by age 25
- Flynn died at 42, eulogized by his hometown paper as “a wholesouled, generous fellow” with a “host of friends and admirers.”
- Although the Old Judge series features two known poses of Jocko Flynn, I could not find one of suitable quality for this project. This image is taken from an Old Judge proof taken at the same time as Flynn's other OJ images and may represent an as-of-yet undiscovered pose.
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