- Series: Pilgrims
- City: Cleveland
- Team: Naps
- League: American League
Frederick Peter Falkenberg (1879-1961) pitched for 7 ML clubs over a 15-year career from 1903-17, laboring in obscurity and mediocrity until he emerged in 1913 (at age 32) with a secret weapon that transformed him into a world-beater. For one meteoric season he went 23-10 with a 2.22 ERA using the “emery ball,” a legal but dubious pitch that practitioners kept on the down-low.
- In 1914, lured to the new Federal League, he continued his success for one more year
- The Federal League and Falkenberg both flamed out the following year
- Retired to San Francisco and became an entrepreneur for his favorite game: bowling
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T201 Mecca Canvas: Cy Falkenberg
- Series: Pilgrims
- City: New York
- Team: Giants
- League: National League
Arthur Fletcher (1885-1950) was cut from the same cloth as the fiery John McGraw for whom he starred for over a decade. When McGraw took his Giants to Dallas in 1908 he saw a cocky kid who played ball the way he did, not just with glove and bat but with fists and mouth. He took young Art (who off the field was a temperate, whole-souled gentleman) to New York, and soon installed him as the replacement for local hero Al Bridwell at short. It didn’t take long for Fletcher to vindicate his mentor as his strong batting and slick fielding anchored an all-star infield for three straight pennants. In all, Fletcher played in four World Series under McGraw. Fletcher managed the Phillies before finding a home as coach for the Yankees, a post he held until a heart attack forced his retirement after nineteen seasons. It has been said that, in his four appearances as a player and ten as coach, Art cashed more World Series checks than anyone.
- Art came to detest being field general. His time with the Phils was not happy, aggravated by a raw relationship with renowned umpire Bill Klem. He was content to stay in coaching and leave the managing to Miller Huggins and Joe McCarthy
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Cartophilia
T201 Mecca Canvas: Russell Ford
- Series: Pilgrims
- City: Cleveland
- Team: Naps
- League: American League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Elmer Harrison Flick (1876-1971) subbed for injured Sam Thompson in right field for the Phillies in 1898, beginning a 13-year run as a powerful hitter with great speed on the bases. After joining Cleveland in 1902, Flick became such a fixture that he earned his place in trivia lore as the player the Naps kept rather than trade for a young Ty Cobb. He and teammates Nap Lajoie and Addie Joss are among only 6 modern players to make the Hall of Fame with no World Series appearance on their resumés.
- Health problems began to plague Flick in 1908, severely curtailing his productivity and by 1914 he was out of baseball entirely
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1963
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Cartophilia
T201 Mecca Canvas: Joseph Lake
- Series: Pilgrims
- City: Rochester
- Team: Bronchos
- League: Eastern League
Edward Cunningham Foster (1887-1937) played mostly 2B and mostly for the Senators over a 13 year career. He broke in with a bang in 1912 and AL pres. Ban Johnson dubbed him the rookie of the year long before it became an official award. He later became known as the best hit-and-run batter in the AL.
- Career BA of .264, hit his best for the Browns in 1922 (.306)
- Survived typhoid fever in 1913 but lost much of his season
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Cartophilia
T201 Mecca Canvas: Eddie Foster
- Series: Pilgrims
- City: Chicago
- Team: Leland Giants
- League: Cuban-American Negro Clubs Series
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Andrew Foster (1879-1930) was “the foremost manager and executive in history of the Negro Leagues” according to his Cooperstown plaque. He is known by many as “the Father of Negro Baseball,” a title earned by decades of playing greatness on the mound, managing championship teams, and founding the Negro NL in 1920. John McGraw recruited Foster to instruct his pitchers. Foster is said to have taught Mathewson the screwball. His nickname may derive from his defeat of Waddell in one of many exhibitions with the “real” big leaguers.
- Honus Wagner said Foster was “one of the greatest pitchers of all-time”
- But it was his brilliance as an executive that left a legacy of greatness in African-American history as the league he founded finally gave a national platform for the talents of black players
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1981
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T201 Mecca Canvas: JB Seymour
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