Gambo and T_Wil1 Photopack

[Amazin69]

Does anybody have an image of Chris Codiroli during his 6-game cameo coda with the 1990 Royals? I'd remembered him with the A's and Indians, but I'd forgotten about his popping up briefly in KC until I saw it mentioned in passing in a joke. There don't seem to be any cards of him, at least not that I've found.

Not a major issue, but now I'm curious. Thanks.

[Merkle923]

A request for a photo of him prior to being selected by the Expos in the 1968 NL Expansion draft. These are from the Cardinals' 1968 yearbook (he was in Spring Training) and in the uniform of the 1966 St. Petersburg Cardinals.

[jeffersons34n2]

Does anyone have any photos of Jose Reyes with the Rockies now? Or Tulowizki with the Blue Jays?

[FatJack]

Originally Posted by jeffersons34n2

Does anyone have any photos of Jose Reyes with the Rockies now? Or Tulowizki with the Blue Jays?

There will be plenty of such pictures in a few days. They'll turn up in Google search readily. One of the best places to find current images is Zimbio. Just click photos, then the search icon and enter the player's name. They have a few pictures of Reyes with the Rockies right now (including the one attached). The only pictures of Tulo with the Blue Jays thus far (not counting photoshopped efforts from ESPN and others) are warm-up shots on Getty that were added today, leading me to believe he just got there.

[Merkle923]

Back into MY vault and one of my favorite items: a hand-finished album of postcards of the 1909 Washington Senators by the Barr-Farnham Post Card company, and complete with (as you see below) the business card of Mr. Barr himself.

These were photographed in April, 1909, at the Senators' home field, the creatively-named American League Park, which had for a few seasons been known as...Nationals Park.

The images aren't spectacular individually but as you'll see as I post them, they make quite a collection, especially when glued one-to-a-page against the black-paged album.

Our first player is Charlie Smith, a Cleveland righty who broke in with his hometown team in the American League's second season. Like almost everybody to pitch for the early Washington clubs, he lost 20 games one season, but had a good albeit brief run with the Red Sox, 1909-11.

[Merkle923]

Underscoring my previous observation, not only did Bob Groom lose 27 games as a rookie with the '09 Senators, but he would end up losing 20 with three different teams (it would be unfair not to note that when the Senators began to rise from the basement, Groom would win 24 in 1912).

As an aside, his Baseball-Reference page has a brief but moving message on it. It's sponsored by his granddaughter: Bob Groom Statistics and History | Baseball-Reference.com

[Merkle923]

This is "Long Tom" Hughes, who pitched for the New York Highlanders in 1904, not "Salida" Tom Hughes, who was with the same team off and on from 1906 and 1910.

This Hughes broke in with the Chicago Orphans in 1900 and then jumped to Boston. He started and lost Game Three of the 1903 World Series (the only game not started by either Cy Young or Bill Dinneen) and spent nearly a decade in Washington's rotation. I don't have any information on any time/times it actually happened but in 1909 both this Hughes and his namesake in New York were in their respective rotations and each team played each other team 22 times a year, it's very possible that the pitching match-up in a Yankees/Senators game was Tom Hughes versus Tom Hughes.

On May 18, 1906, the White Sox were lighting him up 10-0 in the ballpark in which this photo was taken, and he was being mercilessly abused by a fan. Hughes promptly ran into the stands and leveled him.

[KenRaffensberger16]

Thanks, Merkle. I'm loving those old Barr- Farnham cards of 1909.
Great Stuff!!

[Pinetarpress]

I am looking for a better Mike Potter pic with the Cards...the airbrushed one on the 77 Topps custom made is only one I have seen

[cheech411]

price

[Merkle923]

Back to Barr-Parnham's postcards of the 1909 Washington Senators and one of the more infamous characters in the game's history.

"Sleepy Bill" Burns not only lost two no-hitters with two out in the ninth in a span of 14 months, but he was also the apparent bag man in the bribery and attempt to fix the outcome of the 1919 World Series.

Dealt by Washington to the White Sox on May 16, 1909 (his appearance in the set confirms how early the Barr-Parnham photos were taken and printed), Burns would wear out his welcome on five teams in just three calendar years, and be out of organized baseball by 1917. He was with the White Sox just long enough to have been the purported liaison between New York gambler Arnold Rothstein and the key Chicago players who took money in 1919.

[Merkle923]

After a .362 season at Portland in 1907, Jerry Freeman became the Senators' 28-year old rookie first baseman in 1908.

He didn't really hit. Though his OPS+ of 106 was tied for third on the '08 Nats, after exactly 22 extra-base hits in 173 Washington games he was dispatched to Toledo of the American Association in late May, 1909, and appears with that team in the T206 card set.

[Merkle923]

Bizarre pre-1910 nicknames often leave opaque clues about the perception of a player by his contemporaries - but not William "Dolly" Gray.

He broke into the minors with the 1903 PCL Los Angeles Loo Loos, just five years after the saccharin music hall song "Good-bye Dolly Gray" was written during the Spanish-American war, and just two years after it was imported as a recruiting anthem for England's war against the Boers in South Africa. A lot of men named Gray got stuck with the name "Dolly."

Sadly, this story is probably the most interesting thing about Gray's major league career. After winning 58 of 83 decisions in L.A. in 1907 and 1908, he was pretty much cannon fodder in the American League. In a time when wins and losses were far stronger indicators of performance (since rare was the game when they didn't go to starters), his records of 5-19 in 1909, 8-19 in 1910, 2-13 in 1911 meant it was...Good-bye Dolly Gray.

[Merkle923]

If the premise of a player-manager is hard to get your head around, think about the Red Sox going through four skippers in one season, ranging from Cy Young to a first baseman who had spent the previous season in the minors.

That was Bob Unglaub's story in 1907; the next year Boston dealt him off to Washington, where he played around the infield through the season of 1910.

[Merkle923]

Never a standout as a player (he hit .208 over eight seasons), catcher Charles "Gabby" Street is probably among the all-time leaders like Bob Uecker in making fame out of very little on-the-field success.

Street became a household name on August 21, 1908, when after missing the first twelve, he caught the thirteenth ball dropped by a reporter 555 feet up on The Washington Monument.

He later became a minor league manager, then a Cardinals coach in 1929, and promoted to the skipper's job the next year. He won National League pennants in each of his first two seasons and the World Series in 1931, and later became the Cardinals' and Browns' radio color commentator, at the end working with a young play-by-play man named Harry Caray.

[Merkle923]

George McBride played for one of only two teams after 1891 to last just one season in the majors. He broke in with the original American League Milwaukee Brewers (they moved to St. Louis in 1902) and bounced around the minors and majors until he won the Senators' shortstop job in 1908.

McBride kept the job until 1916, then served the Nats as a utility infielder, and finally as Clark Griffith's handpicked selection to succeed him as manager in 1921. The Nats finished a strong 4th but late in the season, McBride was struck in the face with a ball during batting practice, and had to retire. He came back later in the decade for three years as a Tigers' coach.

[keonleafs]

Originally Posted by Merkle923

Bizarre pre-1910 nicknames often leave opaque clues about the perception of a player by his contemporaries - but not William "Dolly" Gray.

He broke into the minors with the 1903 PCL Los Angeles Loo Loos, just five years after the saccharin music hall song "Good-bye Dolly Gray" was written during the Spanish-American war, and just two years after it was imported as a recruiting anthem for England's war against the Boers in South Africa. A lot of men named Gray got stuck with the name "Dolly."

Sadly, this story is probably the most interesting thing about Gray's major league career. After winning 58 of 83 decisions in L.A. in 1907 and 1908, he was pretty much cannon fodder in the American League. In a time when wins and losses were far stronger indicators of performance (since rare was the game when they didn't go to starters), his records of 5-19 in 1909, 8-19 in 1910, 2-13 in 1911 meant it was...Good-bye Dolly Gray.

The pictures are wonderful, and the accompanying stories, a treasure!! Thanks for taking time to share these with us. Always appreciated!!

[KenRaffensberger16]

Could members post some photos or baseball cards of Billy Pierce, from his Tigers, White Sox and Giants days. Mr. Pierce passed away yesterday at age 88. He won 211 games, was a seven-time all-star, and a two-time 20 game winner. He also was a Golden Era, Veterans Committee, Hall Of Fame candidate this past December.
A strong late career performance in 1962 (16-6) helped propel the San Francisco Giants into that season's World Series. He missed the 2,000 career strikeouts milestone by one strikeout. In his final game at the end of the 1964 season, needing one strikeout for 2,000, the final batter he faced,
Dick Bertell (Cubs) bounced into an inning-ending double play.

[KenRaffensberger16]

A great one passes away.

[tnfoto]

Originally Posted by KenRaffensberger16

Could members post some photos or baseball cards of Billy Pierce, from his Tigers, White Sox and Giants days...

1945 Tigers, 1954 White Sox and ca. 1962-63 Giants, the Giants photo courtesy of thecatspajamas.