- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: St. Paul
- Team: Apostles
- League: Western Association
George W. Treadway (1866-1928) hit .328 with 26 triples and 102 RBI for the Brooklyn Grooms in 1894. That was the high-water-mark of a brief 3+ year ML career. Treadway knocked around the minors for several more years before retiring in California from the Pacific Coast League. Treadway was a target of racial slurs and rumors that he was passing for white. The gossip was printed by a Louisville paper and may have caused his trade from Baltimore to Brooklyn. If it was a spiteful move, Treadway commanded a high price: he and another player were traded for Hall of Famers Dan Brouthers and Willie Keeler.
- A noted biography of Joe Jackson asserted Treadway was “driven out of baseball” by the accusations—belied by the lengthy minor league career he pursued until age 37
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: St. Paul
- Team: Apostles
- League: Western Association
Patrick Lawrence Murphy (1857-1911) played one year in the major leagues for the Washington Statesmen. The year was 1891, the first in the storied franchise that became the Senators. The American Association folded the next year giving Murphy the distinction of playing for the nation’s capital’s only entry in that league. Murphy batted left-handed and managed one HR and a .265 BA. Murphy came late to the big stage. He made his pro ball debut at age 31 with the St. Paul Apostles, moving over to the Minneapolis Millers in ’91 before joining the Statesmen. He ended his minor league tenure the following year, playing for four teams: the Chattanooga Chatts, the Indianapolis Hoosiers, the New Haven Nutmegs and the Buffalo Bisons.
- This Canadian late-comer to America’s game batted a modest .237 in his minor league play
- The Toronto native died in Indianapolis only 20 years after his brief time in MLB
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: St. Paul
- Team: Apostles
- League: Western Association
William Moffat Earle (1867-1946) earned an outsized reputation in the game for a part-time catcher who never played more than 53 games in any of his 5 ML seasons. Long after his career ended, Bill Stern was spinning tales of how Billy was a victim of the superstitions of his day, pilloried for an “evil eye” that “creeped-out” his teammates. He began at the top of the profession, touring the world & photographed at the Great Pyramid with Al Spalding’s troupe, earning the moniker the Little Globetrotter. He was a good hitter and was lauded for his great potential during the 1889 world exhibition. That potential was never truly realized though, partly perhaps affected by Billy’s infatuation with the spirit world and hypnotism. His temperament was as erratic as his ML tenure, where he chronically jumped teams and fought over contracts.
- Had he played more, a lifetime career .286 BA certainly would have earned Earle a place on the catchers’ honor roll
- The “blacklist” insinuations are belied by Billy’s long minor league tenure and in Cuba, as player and manager
- Earle's uniform color in this card was changed from black to blue in August, 2017 to reflect recent reliable research conducted by Craig Brown and friends at Threads of Our Game. Seven cards were previously released featuring a black uniform
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: St. Paul
- Team: Apostles
- League: Western Association
John E. Carroll (1860-1942) began in MLB with the Union Association’s St. Paul White Caps in September 1884. The outfielder played in all nine games of the franchise’s only “season” going 3 for 31 with five errors. In ‘85, after stints with two minor-league clubs, Scrappy got a chance with the Buffalo Bisons of the NL. His .097 average fell when he went 3 for 41 in 13 games. Following time with the Utica Pent Ups, Carroll got his last chance in the majors with Cleveland’s Blues of the AA where he hit .199 in 57 games. His career average of .171 sent Scrappy permanently back to the minors. Old Judge misidentified one of his poses as being a Chicago Colts’ player, confusing him with Cliff Carroll.
- Carroll debuted in Cleveland on the city’s first Sunday game, August 3, 1887. He may or may not have innovated sunglasses, but he was noted for catching the attention of “the kranks” for donning “colored spectacles” one sunny day
- As so many before and since, Carroll had much more success in the minors, once even leading the Western League in home runs
- 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
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