- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Boston
- Team: Beaneaters
- League: National League
William Daily (1868-1922) was a pitcher who had the rare opportunity of playing for two pennant winners, back-to-back, in two leagues. The only other team to do this was Brooklyn just prior to Daily’s Boston Reds/Beaneaters staging their coup in 1890/91. Daily had broken into pro-ball with the Jersey City Skeeters in 1887 as a 19-year-old. He came up with the NL’s second-place Beaneaters in 1889, getting into nine games and going 3-3. He stayed with most of his mates when they ventured into the Players’ League the following year and Ed excelled with an 18-7 record good for the league lead in winning percentage although Old Hoss Radbourn and Ad Gumbert won more for King Kelly’s Reds that championship season. Daily’s productivity dropped dramatically as the club joined the American Association in ’91, giving the young pitcher the chance to play in three leagues in consecutive seasons. After an 8-6 record, Bill returned to Buffalo/Albany through 1893.
- The Bridegrooms had performed their back-to-back feat in 1889-90 with the AA and the NL
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Philadelphia
- Team: Quakers
- League: National League
Edward M. Daily (1862-1891) broke in with a bang for the Quakers in 1885, winning 26 games, 5th in the NL. He played mostly in the outfield for a few years and teams before returning to the mound in 1890 as the “star” pitcher for the Brooklyn Gladiators’ only year in the AA, going 10-15 for the last place club. With Ward’s Wonders of the Players’ League and the NL’s Bridegrooms, Daily was part of a three-team Brooklyn entry that one year.
- Got to play in the “world series” in 1890 for Louisville, Daily’s third team that frantic year
- Died following his stint with the Washington Statesmen in their final year in the AA
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Indianapolis
- Team: Hoosiers (NL)
- League: National League
Lawrence J. Corcoran (1859-1891) was a shining star who left a short trail through the baseball heavens before flaming out in ill-health and an exhausted right arm. He could even use the left one and did pitch ambidextrously on at least one occasion. Few players of any era could have better fulfilled media prophecy: on Sept 13, 1879 the NY Clipper predicted that with good catching support “it would be difficult to get a base hit from his pitching.” Only two others would exceed Larry’s rookie 43 win total. By 1884 Corcoran would hurl his third no-hitter. He was the first to accomplish the feat and it wasn’t matched until Koufax many decades later. For five glorious years with Anson’s White Stockings, Corcoran was phenomenal: 170 wins, 246 CG and the no-nos.
- Unsurprisingly, the arm wearied. His body, afflicted by Bright’s disease, failed too, at age 32
- Per his SABR biographer: “Corcoran possessed all the attributes of greatness except durability”
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Boston
- Team: Beaneaters
- League: National League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
John Gibson Clarkson (1861-1909) won 328 games, won the triple crown in 1889 and twice pitched more than 600 innings in a season. In 1885, John appeared in 70 games, threw 68 complete games, 623 innings, won 53, had an ERA of 1.85, a no-hitter, and won the pennant. Apparently having to hurl the sphere a mere fifty feet was a tonic to the arm. But unlike so many pitchers of his era, Clarkson didn’t flame out from such prodigious labor on the mound. From 1885-92 he AVERAGED 36 wins per season and would win 30+ an extraordinary six times. This great career began with the Worcester Ruby Legs in 1882, flowered with Cap Anson’s Sox in ‘84 and fully bloomed in Boston when John followed his ace catcher King Kelly to the Beaneaters in ‘88. League politics that culminated in the Players’ League revolt took a toll on Clarkson’s reputation and sundered his friendship with Kelly as the hurler remained loyal to the Nationals.
- Cleveland acquired John in 1892 allowing him to team with Cy Young. Chief Zimmer, who caught Young for a decade, proclaimed Clarkson the best he ever saw
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1963
- Although the Old Judge series features seven known poses of John Clarkson (all in a Chicago White Stockings uniform), this image is taken from a cabinet photo produced by the Conly Studio in Boston.
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: St. Louis
- Team: Browns (AA)
- League: American Association
Elton P. Chamberlain (1867-1929) was a right-hander for 6 teams over 10 ML seasons, including at least one game he finished as a southpaw. A study in perseverance, the icy-calm Chamberlain doggedly refused to give in to Boston’s Bobby Lowe on May 30, 1894, eventually surrendering 4 HRs to a batter for the first time in history. Lowe added a single to keep Ice Box in the record books for most total bases to a batter in one game. In 1888-89 he went 25-11 and 32-15 for the Browns.
- Led the American Association with six shut-outs in 1890 for the Columbus Solons
- Completed 264 of his 301 career starts and ranks 64th all time in that statistic
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