Good day all!
On the blog today, we spotlight my custom
card for the great King Kelly, from my early custom "19th Century Base
Ball Stars" set released in 2018:
Arguably the
best, if not most popular player of the 19th Century, Kelly put in 16
tumultuous years in the Major Leagues, often credited with helping
popularize the hit-and-run, the hook slide, and the catcher's practice
of backing up first base.
Truly a character of the early game,
do yourself a favor and read what you can on the man, as I could spend
the next few hours just trying to outline a basic profile of his
exploits, so I'll keep to his performance between the foul lines here.
Over
his 16 year career he'd take home two batting titles, while leading the
league in runs scored three years in a row between 1884 and 1886.
He'd
also lead the league in doubles three times and on-base-percentage
twice, finishing up his Big League tenure with a .307 average, with 1813
hits over 5896 at-bats in 1456 games between 1878 and 1893.
Sadly,
he passed away at the young age of only 36 from Pneumonia in November
of 1894, just one year removed from his last action as a player, broke
with debt, leaving behind a wife.
In 1945 he became the second
player voted into the Hall of Fame by the (then) Old Timer's Committee,
now what we call the Veterans Committee.
An early legend of the game who left his permanent mark on the sport.
