- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Cincinnati
- Team: Red Stockings (AA)
- League: American Association
Warren William Carpenter (1855-1937) was a solid-hitting, left-handed third baseman in the days when teams and leagues were figuring out modern baseball. “Old Hickory” began with the Syracuse Stars of Al Spalding’s League Alliance, a 28-team consortium that pioneered minor-league affiliation in 1877. He stayed the next year as the club joined the International League and made his MLB debut in ‘79 when the franchise became part of the National League. Two more NL clubs followed before Hick came into his own with the American Association’s Cincinnati Red Stockings from ‘82-89. His first season at Cincy was a great one as Carpenter led the league in hits & RBI with a .342 AVG. Over a twelve-year career Hick batted .259, collecting 1,200+ hits.
- Carpenter & Jimmy Macullar traveled to Cuba after the 1879 season, becoming the first North Americans to play in the Cuban League
- The lads’ Cuban League Colón club was so dominant that other teams refused to keep playing them
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Baltimore
- Team: Orioles
- League: American Association
Thomas P. Burns (1864-1928) was an excellent player with four ML teams over 15 seasons. He starred for the Brooklyn Bridegrooms, leading them to two pennants in two leagues (1889 in the AA & 1890 in the NL.) His nickname derived from his offseason job hawking shellfish. He brought his huckstering skills to the park, annoying fellow players as “the noisiest man that ever played on the Brooklyn team.” He had a temper to match his mouth, once stabbing & severing a tendon of sleeping teammate Tom Daly, who was dozing on field between games of a double-header.
- NL home-run and RBI champion in 1890
- Compiled a .300 lifetime batting average
- Burns' uniform color on this card was changed in January, 2017 from black to blue & 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: Diamond Heads '15
- City: Indianapolis
- Team: Hoosiers (FL)
- League: Federal League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
William Boyd McKechnie (1886-1965) was a noted baseball strategist and the only manager to lead three teams to NL pennants. Won World Series titles with two clubs: the ’25 Pirates and ’40 Reds. A player, manager and then coach for nearly half a century, “the Deacon” was known for his temperance and piety.
- Served as coach for young Indians manager, Lou Boudreau, winning the ’48 Series
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1962
- Series: Diamond Heads '15
- City: New York
- Team: Giants
- League: National League
Edward Leslie Grant (1883-1918) had a cup of coffee replacing an ailing Nap Lajoie with the Indians at the end of the 1905 season, upon his graduation from Harvard. Caught on with the Phillies ’07-10, then played for the Reds and Giants thru 1915. An early enlistee for WWI, Grant became the 1st ML veteran to die in that conflict, leading a heroic search for the “Lost Battalion.”
- A Harvard lawyer (’09), Grant refused to holler “I Got It!,” preferring “I Have It!”
- Series: Diamond Heads '15
- City: Philadelphia
- Team: Athletics (AL)
- League: American League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
John Franklin Baker (1886-1963) was released by his minor league mgr who declared he “could not hit.” Connie Mack needed a 3rd baseman and gave Baker a try at the end of the 1908 season. Baker played 13 years exclusively at 3rd. He wielded his 52-oz bat like no other in the dead ball era.
- Led the AL in HRs 4 straight years for the Athletics
- Helped Connie Mack’s team to 3 Series victories, closed his career with Babe Ruth’s Yankees
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1955
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