- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Detroit
- Team: Wolverines
- League: National League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Permanent Outtake: Alternate fielding pose.
I made this card, the second one in the 1880s series for White, in a moment of doubt & fear. I had originally intended to produce only one pose per player for this set, but in the early days of the business there were ebbs in the demand for my work and I retreated to the idea that more Hall of Famers would increase demand. I also created a second John Clarkson card for the same reason. I have since regretted that decision and now feel confident enough in your support to return to my original principles for this series. While I have removed this pose from this series, I hope to create a smaller series that covers the 1890s some day and I can envision this pose making a permanent appearance in that set.
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Boston
- Team: Beaneaters
- League: National League
Undecided: I love this image of Mr. Sutton, but the quality is not great. I am still not sure if I should wrestle with it again or retire the card permanently.
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: St. Joseph
- Team: Clay Eaters
- League: Western Association
Charles F. Whitney had a least one close relative make it to the major leagues: his brother Arthur, a right-handed 3rd baseman. The Old Judge card on which Charles appears is identified as “G” Whitney, 3B, for the St. Joseph Clay Eaters in 1889. Baseball Reference pegs this Clay Eater as our Charles, also a right-handed third baseman. Charles played exclusively in the minors and founded the Victor Sporting Goods Co. of Springfield, MA. Arthur worked for his brother’s company after retiring from baseball. Victor was later bought out by Al Spalding’s empire. There are intriguing connections between these Whitneys and another from the same era: Jim “Grasshopper” Whitney. Jim played minor league ball in Binghamton, NY in 1878 and was with the San Francisco Knickerbockers in ’80 when he was hired by Boston’s Red Caps. Charles played for the SF club, then the Athletics in 1879, and for Binghamton in 1887-88. Arthur was born in 1858 and Jim was a year older. If Charles was older than Art (he was already in business and hired his brother) that could make Jim his “cousin?” Jim following him by a year to the West Coast. Such speculation is all that remains as we try to piece together data regarding these early pro ball players.
- Extant info for Charles shows he began pro ball in 1879 with the Omaha Green Stockings and finished with the tantalizingly-named Clay Eaters ten years later
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: New York
- Team: Giants
- League: National League
Arthur Wilson Whitney (1858-1943). Art played 3rd base for 8 different teams over 11 major league seasons. A below average hitter, his best year may have been 1886 with the Pittsburgh Alleghenys when he compiled 122 hits, 13 doubles, 4 triples, 15 steals & 70 runs with a light .239 batting average.
- 2x World Series Champion with the New York Giants: 1888 & 1889
- Brother Frank Whitney also played professionally: 34 games for the Boston Red Caps in 1876
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Detroit
- Team: Wolverines
- League: National League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
James Laurie “Deacon” White (1847-1939). Considered the greatest catcher of baseball’s barehanded period (1870s), White eventually moved to 3rd base, played 23 seasons, won 6 championships, and played with a number of the century’s best players on a number of the century’s best teams.
- 1st person to bat in 1st pro league, in 1871, earning a hit – a double
- Reportedly believed the earth is flat
- 2 batting titles; 3 RBI titles
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 2013
- Although the Old Judge series features nine known poses of Deacon White (including the McGreachery pose), this photo was taken during the Tomlinson Studio photoshoot of 1886 in Detroit and is not known to exist in the Old Judge series.
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