- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Chicago
- Team: White Stockings
- League: National League
James Edward Ryan (1863-1923) was one of the stand-out players of the 19th century. When he retired in 1903 after 18 ML seasons Ryan ranked in the top 10 in most offensive stats. The first veteran’s committee of the Hall of Fame convened in 1936 and did not elect a single player from that era. Ryan got no votes despite ranking among the best of his day. Ryan was no shrinking violet. He was known as a battler who would punch a reporter or a conductor who wouldn’t find him a berth. In 1888 he led the NL in HRs, hits, doubles, total bases and slugging percentage.
- Career .306 hitter with 118 lifetime home runs when few were hit
- Despite his success, Ryan soured on the game. After his retirement he counseled against making a career in pro-ball, pointing to the few players who made it past age 35
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Chicago
- Team: White Stockings
- League: National League
Nathaniel Frederick Pfeffer (1860-1932). Nicknamed Dandelion, Pfeffer played for 7 teams over a good 16 year career. A good baserunner (at least 400 SBs) and league-average hitter (94 OPS+), Pfeffer was one of the best defensive second basemen of his era, dominating the defensive leaderboards for his position in the 1880s.
- 1st in PO at 2B from 1884-1891
- 1st in As at 2B: 1884-85, 1888-89
- 1st in DPs at 2B: 1884-1889, 1891
- 1st in RF at 2B: 1884-85, 1888-90
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Chicago
- Team: White Stockings
- League: National League
August H. Krock (1866-1905) first pitched in the majors for Cap Anson’s Chicago White Stockings in 1888. He had a spectacular rookie season going 25-14 with a 2.44 ERA. Typical of his day, Gus finished what he started. He completed all 39 appearances with four shut-outs. Unfortunately, he struggled thereafter, never winning more than three games in a year. He came back with Chicago in ’89, then bounced to the Hoosiers, Senators and Bisons, exiting MLB after the 1890 season. As he helped Anson’s crew to a second-place finish in ’88, Gus had a face-off with a 40-year-old rookie for Washington, John Greenig. It would be a rare day for a rookie to make his big league debut at such an age and the press took note of the May 9 start. The White Stockings dispatched the hapless Greenig with nine quick runs and Krock was complimented for his steady performance, a five-hitter with Dummy Hoy doing the only damage with a homer and single.
- Before and after his years in the bigs, Gus played for Oshkosh, Milwaukee, and Sioux City in the Northwestern League and Western Association
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Chicago
- Team: White Stockings
- League: National League
William Forrest Hutchinson (1859-1926) played primarily for Chicago over his 9 seasons and still ranks high in Cub franchise history in several pitching categories. He is tops in complete games with 317 and 2nd in innings pitched. He was the 1890 NL saves champion and league champ in wins three times.
- Played 2 games with KC Unions in ’84, then labored in minors until signing with Chicago in ‘89
- Regarded by many as the “biggest casualty” of the new mound distance in 1893
- A Yale grad in 1880, Hutchinson was one of the first in MLB to earn a BA
- Series: Beginnings: 1880's
- City: Chicago
- Team: White Stockings
- League: National League
Charles E. Hoover (1865-?) was a catcher for the Kansas City Cowboys of the American Association from the end of the 1888 season through the following year. Hoover was a teammate of the franchise’s only Hall of Famer, “Slidin” Billy Hamilton. As an end-of-season rookie, Hoover appeared in only three games in ’88 but went 3 for 10. The following year he was in 71 games, mostly behind the plate but with turns at third base and the outfield. He hit .248 with 25 RBI. Hoover also had an extensive minor league career including such colorful teams as the Des Moines Prohibitionists, the Davenport Onion Weeders and the Lincoln Rustlers.
- All in all, Hoover was on the roster of 12 minor league squads, literally from coast to coast (from the Savannah Modocs to the Sacramento Senators)
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