Player Spotlight: Doc Powers

 

The name Michael Riley “Doc” Powers may not always be familier with collectors, but he does hold his place in baseball history.  He was born on September 22, 1870 in Pittsfield, MA and played catcher for a variety of teams such as Louisville Colonels, Washington Senators, Philadelphia Athletics, and the New York Highlanders.  Powers career stats amounted to a .216 BA, 4 HR, and 199 RBI’s.  In 1909, Powers crashed into a wall while trying to catch a pop-up and two weeks later he passed away because of the fatal injuries.  He was the first baseball player to pass away from an on-field injury.  The only other time this happened was with Ray Chapman in 1920.  

Doc Powers didn’t have many cards made at all.  He has a 1903-04 Breisch-Williams E107 #125, and a card in the famous T206 set.  He would definitely be an interesting player to have a relic and/or cut signature card made of.

 

 

Player Spotlight: Jim O’Rourke

 

Jim O’Rourke will always be considered one of the best outfielders of the 19th century.  He made his major league debut for the Middletown Mansfields on April 26, 1872.  During his 32 year career in Major League Baseball, O’Rourke established a .311 career batting average, won the National League Pennant five times, and was the first player to get a hit for the National League.  He played in the minor leagues during his fifties, and made his last major league appearance on September 22, 1904 for the New York Giants.  When he was 60 years old, he played catcher for an entire minor league game.  In 1945 Jim O’Rourke was inducted to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.  According to The Sporting Life, O’Rourke was credited with a throw of 365 feet, the next to the longest by any player.

As far as collecting goes, Jim O’Rourke has only about 20 cards made.  Some of his most popular cards would be his 1887-90 Old Judge, and 1887-89 Old Judge Cabinets.  He has no relic cards, but does have one cut signature made.  It can be found in the 2004 Topps Tribute HOF Cut Signature set, and is serial numbered 1/1.  His signatures are very hard to come by, and when one shows up, they usually sell for quite a bit.

 

Player Spotlight: Charles Radbourn

Charles “Old Hoss” Radbourn was born on December 11, 1854 and made his major league debut in 1880 for the Buffalo Bisons.  During his career he played for the Bisons, Providence Grays, Boston Beaneaters, Boston Reds, and finished with the Cincinnati Reds back in 1891.  Radbourn holds the record for the most wins in a single season for a pitcher with 60, although many baseball historians say he won 59.  I highly doubt that any pitcher today will ever reach a milestone like that.  Even though his career lasted for only 11 seasons, Radbourn was able to obtain 310 victories.  In 1939 he was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.  Many people speculate that the term “charley horse” came from Charles Radbourn, because he suffered from the same type of leg pain.  

Charles Radbourn does have a few cards that collectors can add to their collection.  Probably his most popular cards would be the 1887-90 N172 #427 Old Judge, and 1887-90 N172 #426 .  The Old Judge tobacco cards were some of the first mass produced cards in history, and are usually quite expensive even if the player isn’t a Hall of Famer.

 

When researching old players like Radbourne, you come across a lot of interesting information.  Did you know that Charles Radbourne was the first person ever photographed giving the middle finger?  I know, I laughed too when I learned this.  Radbourne did this during a team photo back in 1886.  Can you imagine if that image would have been used for a card?  That sure would have been the Billy Ripken of the 19th century.

 

Player Spotlight: Cap Anson

Do you know what July 18th is?  It is the 101st anniversary of the 3,000 hit club.  Back in 1897, Cap Anson became this first player in history to obtain over 3,000 hits. 

Cap Anson made his MLB debut on May 6, 1871 for the Rockford Forest Citys.  During his career he played for the Philadelphia Athletics and the Chicago White Stockings/Colts.  Anson racked up a career batting average of .333 with 3,418 hits and 2,076 RBI’s.  You could consider Anson as one of baseball’s first superstars.  To this day he still holds club records such as most career RBI’s, runs, hits, singles, and doubles.  Cap Anson, with the assistance of Richard Carey, Jr, wrote a book about his life titled “A Ball Player’s Career: Being the Personal Reminiscences of Adrian C. Anson.  This book is considered the first baseball autobiography.  In 1939 Anson was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. 

If you are looking to collect Cap Anson memorabilia, you might need some deep pockets.  Most of his original cards from the 19th and early 20th centuries sell in the high hundreds and into the many thousands depending on what you are looking to buy.  In today’s hobby, you can find base cards of Anson in such products as Upper Deck SP Legendary Cuts which are only worth a couple of dollars.  There are no memorabilia cards that contain bat, pants, or jersey pieces.  Topps and Upper Deck have made a couple of cut signature cards.  In 2004 Topps made a product called Topps Tribute HOF Cut Signature Edition, where they inserted a cut signature card for every member of the Hall of Fame serial numbered 1/1.  Upper Deck has made the most Cap Anson cut signature cards.  The 2001 Legendary Cuts – Cut Signature is #’ed/2, 2003 Legendary Cuts #’ed/1, 2004 Legendary Cuts #’ed/1, and 2005 Legendary Cuts #’ed/1.  Whenever these cut signatures show up for sale, they usually sell well into the thousands.  Anson is one of the most collected 19th century players and its great that after all these years his cards are still in such high demand.