- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Indianapolis
- Team: Hoosiers (NL)
- League: National League
Otto H. Schomberg (1864-1927) played 1B and OF for parts of three seasons in the Major Leagues, for the Alleghenys and Hoosiers. He was a fine hitter but cursed with an erratic throwing arm which led to the demise of his big league career. He shuttled between first and the OF as managers tried to find a place for this promising slugger. Schomberg was also plagued by heart problems and suffered a bout of malaria that combined to end his hopes for a baseball future.
- During his only full season in 1887, Schomberg was among the top ten batters in the NL and received the Spalding Ivory Bat award as his team’s hitting leader
- Schomberg had an entrepreneurial talent that led to a successful career in the timber industry
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Indianapolis
- Team: Hoosiers (NL)
- League: National League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
“The Hoosier Thunderbolt” (1871-1942). In a 10 year career: (8) 20-win & (4) 30-win seasons; 5x strikeout & 2x ERA leader; won pitching’s Triple Crown in 1894. Rusie threw hard for the era, once hitting HOFer Hughie Jennings in the head, inducing a 4-day coma. This event was influential in increasing the pitching distance to 60’6″ from its original 50 feet.
- Once was traded for Christy Mathewson
- Suffered hearing loss due to line drive to the head
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1977
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Indianapolis
- Team: Hoosiers (NL)
- League: National League
Thomas John Esterbrook (1857-1901) played third and first base for seven different teams over 11 professional seasons. In 1884, Esterbrook had a terrific year, compiling a .314 batting average, with 150 hits, 29 doubles, 11 triples, 110 runs and an OPS+ of 150 for Jim Mutrie’s New York Metropolitans of the American Association. By 1889, Dude was player/manager of the Louisville Colonels during one of the most dismal seasons in MLB history (27-111, the worst record in the AA’s existence). As the losses mounted, tempers rose and Esterbrook’s attempts to fine players met with rebellion. He lost his post to “Chicken” Wolf who replaced him only to face the first true players’ strike when owner Mordecai Davidson reinstated Dude’s levies. Ironically, Esterbrook set his career mark, hitting .318 that woeful campaign, albeit in a part time role. His lifetime average in the majors was .261.
- Esterbrook’s confrontational style, evident in his short tenure as a manager, signalled emotional trouble ahead. His life ended at the age of 43 when he jumped from a train that was transporting him to a psychiatric hospital
- The Dude abides
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Indianapolis
- Team: Hoosiers (NL)
- League: National League
George D. Myers (1860-1926) was typical of the catchers of his day, a hard-working journeyman behind the plate and a weak hitter at it. His average over six years was a slim .203, but he was a steady backstop, valued by Buffalo and the Maroons/Hoosiers franchises. After 2 seasons with the Bisons, Myers moved to St. Louis in 1886 to the team that had started and ended the Union Association in ’84. Owner Henry Lucas had so stocked his Maroons as to make a mockery of competition. The league folded after a year and by 1886 John Brush bought the team and moved it to his Indianapolis stadium. Myers moved with the team and continued as the lead catcher, sharing duties with two others. Following his time in Indiana, Myers pursued minor league success with the Minneapolis Millers, then returned to his upstate New York roots with the Syracuse Stars and the Rochester Flour Cities through 1892.
- As a rookie in Buffalo, Myers cut his teeth under as fine a mentor as anyone in early baseball could hope for: “Orator Jim” O’Rourke who was in his final year as manager
- Although the Old Judge series features three known poses of George Myers, I could not find one of suitable quality for this project. This image is taken from an Old Judge proof taken at the same time as Meyers' other OJ images and may represent an as-of-yet undiscovered pose.
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Indianapolis
- Team: Hoosiers (NL)
- League: National League
Samuel R. Moffett (1857-1907) had one of the most dismal starts to his ML career as anyone ever has. He came up with the Cleveland Blues in 1884 and went 3-19 for the seventh place club. Only four rookies in all of baseball have had poorer seasons. Perhaps that led to Sam’s decision to try another venture. He literally struck gold with his brothers in Montana, taking over $200K out of the ground in ’85. He gave baseball another shot in 1887-88 with the Indianapolis Hoosiers, but his 1-5 record in ’87 coupled with a .122 BA sent him back west.
- The strapping Moffett (6’, 175 lbs) managed only a .169 career BA and went 6-29 on the mound
- Sam’s kid brother Joe was a fellow big-leaguer who played one year for the Toledo Blue Stockings of the American Association in 1884
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