- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Pittsburgh
- Team: Alleghenys
- League: National League
Robert Gilman Allen (1867-1943) played for the Phillies from 1890-94, was out of the majors until he caught on with the Beaneaters for the 1897 season and closed his career with Cincinnati for 5 games in 1900 while also managing. His mediocre lifetime BA of .241 belied his value as he had a .334 OBP over his 607 ML games.
- Over his career, Allen worked 297 walks versus 221 strikeouts
- In 1893 he slugged 8 HRs, exceeded by only 10 NL players
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- Old Judge Pose: 5-1
- Buchner Canvas: Sam Barkley
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Kansas City
- Team: Cowboys
- League: American Association
Myron Smith Allen (1854-1924) was an outfielder for the NY Gothams, Boston Beaneaters, Cleveland Blues and Kansas City Cowboys in the 1880s. In fact virtually his whole tenure in MLB was with the American Association as his stints with the NL NY and Boston clubs were precisely one game each.
- Allen’s ’87 season with the Blues was by far his most productive with a .276 BA in 463 ABs
- He drove in one run in the NL and 87 in the AA
- Allen also pitched 4 games for 3 teams, going 1-3
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Cartophilia
Old Judge Pose: 4-3
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: St. Paul
- Team: Apostles
- League: Western Association
Warner Samuel Anderson (1866-1941) was a right-handed pitcher who played part of 4 seasons with the Indianapolis Hoosiers & Washington Senators. Primarily a minor leaguer, Varney began his professional career with the Milwaukee Cream Cities of the Northwestern League in 1887 and his debut was promising: starting 40 games & going 24-15 with a 2.94 ERA. By ’89 the Hoosiers gave him a try but the 23-year-old got into only two games. Five years later, he got another opportunity with the Senators where he pitched substantially in only the 1895 season, hurling 204 innings with a 9-16 record. His other significant year was 1897 with the Rockford Forest Citys of the WA, where he won 17 & lost 9. When he played, he hit. His two strong seasons with Milwaukee & Rockford he hit .295 and .324 respectively, and in ’95 batted .289 against ML competition. For unknown reasons, he was only a spot-starter for most of his career.
- Varney pitched for one final club – Rock Island in 1898 – starting and winning his only game. He also went 1 for 3 at the plate
Auction History
Cartophilia
- Old Judge Pose: 7-5
- Buchner Canvas: Nick Nicholl
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Philadelphia
- Team: Quakers
- League: National League
George Edward Andrews (1859-1934) was an outfielder for the Philadelphia Quakers from 1884-89 before becoming caught up in the turbulence of the early ‘90s when leagues and teams were forming and folding with abandon. He played the last year of the Indianapolis Hoosiers’ franchise in 1889, then for the Players’ League (John Montgomery) Ward’s Wonders of Brooklyn in 1890 and (Mike “King”) Kelly’s Killers in Cincinnati in 1891, his last season in the majors. Andrews’ lifetime batting average was .257 with more hits (830) than games played (774).
- The speedy Andrews stole 35+ bases three times, including a NL-leading 56 in 1886
- The Ohio native was a rare college graduate in the early days of baseball, an alumnus of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Omaha
- Team: Omahogs
- League: Western Association
William Walter Andrews (1859-1940) played for the Louisville franchise of the American Association which lasted ten years under two identities, both of which employed Andrews. Wally debuted with the Eclipse in May of 1884 as a right-handed first baseman and utility player. He got into 14 games that season and hit a meager .204. He played in the minors for awhile and had a bang-up year for the Memphis Browns in 1887 where he hit .422 and 28 HRs. Not surprisingly, Louisville gave him another look. By 1888, the team was the Colonels and Andrews, now age 29, got into 26 games where he fared a bit poorer than his first stint, managing a .194 average in 93 at-bats. He did yeoman service defensively, however, making only a single error in 294 chances for a .997 fldg %.
- Born on the eve of the Civil War in Philadelphia, Andrews died in Indianapolis just as World War II raged in Europe, on January 20, 1940
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Chicago
- Team: White Stockings
- League: National League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Adrian Constantine Anson (1852-1922) was Mr. Longevity, a big, brawling cyclone of controversy & batsmanship unrivaled in the early days of pro ball. He set hitting standards that only the greatest future players would approach or break. He also, by dint of his ferocious personality, may have been the single greatest force for segregation in baseball until Branch Rickey began to reverse that sad estate.
- Played a record 27 consecutive years in the NL
- First batter to 3000 hits, using his powerful arms to create line drives with a short swing
- Managed the Chicago NL team to five pennants and still holds the Cub franchise records for hits, doubles, runs scored and runs batted in
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1939
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