- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Louisville
- Team: Colonels
- League: American Association
John Ewing (1863-1895) had three early cups of coffee, playing 1 game in 1883 for the St Louis Browns, 1 game in ‘84 for the “Outlaw Reds” of the Union Association, and 1 game also in ’84 for the Washington Nationals of the UA. In that game, Long John had a triple and scored– the full extent of his offense until returning to MLB four years later. Ewing finally caught on as a pitcher in 1888 with the Louisville Colonels, playing there for 2 seasons before ending his career with the 1890 Giants of the Players’ League and their NL club in ’91 where he went out with a bang, earning the NL’s ERA title with 2.27. In all, Ewing played for six ML teams in four leagues during his brief career.
- Ewing’s brother Buck went on to a Hall of Fame career as infielder/manager
- The brothers were teammates for two seasons and John played under Buck as manager in ‘90
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Louisville
- Team: Colonels
- League: American Association
Philip Sydney Ehret (1868-1940) made his major league debut while still only 19, in July 1888. A pitcher for six big league teams over 11 seasons through 1898, Red broke in with the Kansas City Cowboys and closed his tenure with his hometown Louisville Colonels. Overall, he achieved a 139-167 record with a 4.02 ERA. Young Ehret had a great year in 1890, winning 25 games for the Colonels with the second-best ERA in the American Association at 2.53. Only 29 when his major league career closed, Ehret returned to the minors for another six years finishing up in the Southern Association with the Memphis Egyptians for three seasons and, finally, with the Montgomery Senators in 1906 where he pitched only five innings.
- Pitched three games, winning two, in the 1890 post-season series which ended in a tie with Brooklyn, 3-3-1 after weather curtailed a planned nine-game event
- Led the NL in shutouts in 1893 with four
- Red was part of what became the longest streak of a team starting a different opening-day pitcher, 13 straight years in Cincinnati from 1892-1904, a record still unmatched. He was sixth in the skein
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Louisville
- Team: Colonels
- League: American Association
Lafayette Napoleon Cross (1866-1927) debuted in the majors as a catcher for Louisville, transitioned to being a stellar third-baseman and went on to a remarkable 21-year career for nine teams including four Philadelphia clubs in four leagues. He was a solid hitter as well, ranking high in a number of offensive and defensive categories upon his retirement in 1907. His longevity allowed him to be the only player to appear in both the Old Judge card series and the 1910 T210 set.
- At 40, led league in fielding for fifth time
- His career .292 average included 2645 hits
- Career assists record was not eclipsed until Eddie Mathews surpassed him in 1964
- Lave’s uniform color on this card was changed in February, 2017 from blue to maroon to reflect recent reliable research by Craig Brown & friends at Threads of Our Game. Nine cards had been previously released featuring a blue uniform.
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Louisville
- Team: Colonels
- League: American Association
Hubert B. Collins (1864-1892) was a good-hitting outfielder/second-baseman for two major league clubs from 1886-1892. He came up with the Louisville Colonels of the American Association and moved to the Brooklyn Bridegrooms late in the ‘88 season. Hub played out his career in Brooklyn in both their AA and NL franchises. He managed a fine .284 lifetime average in seven years. In 1890 during his team’s back-to-back title years, Collins led the league in runs scored. The young Louisville native had begun in pro ball with Columbus in the Southern League in ‘85 and came up to his hometown team the next year from Savannah.
- Brooklyn paid the Colonels $4500 for the young utility man in September 1888
- Hub suffered a head injury in a horrific collision with Tom Burns in July 1891. A passing locomotive drowned each others’ call for the short fly ball. He never recovered, succumbing to typhoid fever the next spring
- Hub's uniform color on this card was changed in January, 2017 from blue to maroon to reflect recent reliable research by Craig Brown & friends at Threads of Our Game. Four cards had been previously released featuring a blue uniform.
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Louisville
- Team: Colonels
- League: American Association
Louis Rogers Browning (1861-1905) starred in the outfield for six teams over twelve seasons and was the best hitter in the ten-year history of the American Association. Pete’s nickname with the Eclipse was The Gladiator, but Browning is known to history as the Louisville Slugger: the first player to order bats from Hillerich & Bradsby after the owner’s son, Bud, invited the slumping slugger to the woodworking shop for a custom-made model that produced three hits the next day. Bud defied his dad’s unwillingness to bother with baseball equipment and sealed the company’s reputation when Honus Wagner became the first star to officially endorse a bat. Browning always ranked among the batting leaders and won the crown three times. Fighting the excruciating pain of mastoiditis with alcohol, Browning dominated at the plate even as his drinking increased. The chronic childhood affliction caused deafness and contributed to Pete’s erratic performance afield.
- Only four right-handed batters have eclipsed Browning’s .341 lifetime average
- A lifelong eccentric, driven by his demonic ailments, Pete lovingly named his bats and retired them when he deemed them to have used up their quota of hits
- Selected as SABR’s 2009 Overlooked 19th Century Legend still awaiting the Hall
- Pete's nephew, Tod Browning, was a film director best known for his films Dracula (1931) & the classic cult film Freaks (1932)
- Browning's uniform color in this card was changed from black to maroon in January, 2017 to reflect recent reliable research conducted by Craig Brown and friends at Threads of Our Game. Nine cards had been previously released featuring a black uniform.
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