Quote:
Originally Posted by mighty bombjack
Thanks! No O'Rourke, of course. I don't currently have the funds for such a tough auto.
I agree about the card on ebay. I have wondered what the signature was cut from (and where Topps purchased it) for awhile now.
This is a great thread. I've learned a lot about your relative.
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Here is some more info about O'Rourke from the website
www.thefirsthit.org:
Born: September 1, 1850, at East Bridgeport, Connecticut
Died: January 8, 1919, at Bridgeport, Connecticut
Batted: right
Threw: right
Played for: Middletown Mansfields, Boston Red Stockings, Boston Red Caps, Providence Grays, Buffalo Bisons, New York Giants, New York Giants (PL), Washington Senators (NL)
Elected to Hall of Fame by Committee on Baseball Veterans: 1945
-The owner of the National League's very first hit on April 22, 1876, Jim O'Rourke played baseball until he was past the age of 50, after which he continued in the game as a manager, umpire and minor league president.
-Nicknamed "Orator Jim" due to his clever and robust use of the English language
-O'Rourke began his pro career in 1872 and played on six pennant-winning clubs in seven years, from 1873 to 1879.
-O'Rourke captured the National League batting title in 1884 by hitting .350, and in 1888 and 1889 helped New York to its first two league championships.
-When Jim O'Rourke took the field as catcher for the New York Giants on September 22, 1904, he set a record for oldest player ever to play in the National League.
-O’Rourke played Major League ball from 1872 - 1893 posting a lifetime .311 batting average
-Fiercely proud of his Irish heritage James refused to drop the “O” from his last name when signed by Boston in 1873
-James O’Rourke and his brother John were the first brothers to play on the same ML team in the outfield together (1880)
-O’Rourke is the first man to have played Major League ball in 4 different decades: the 1870s, 1880s, 1890s and one game in 1904 (at the age of 54!)
-When O'Rourke was courted by the New York Giants the team promised to make him one of the era’s highest paid players, but Jim would not sign until the Giants agreed to pay for his Yale Law education. The club consented and Jim graduated with Yale’s Class of 1887, and the Giants marched into the postseasons of 1888 and 1889.
-As owner, manager and player for the minor league Bridgeport Victors, Attorney James O’Rourke signed the first African-American to play for a Bridgeport pro team in 1895
-In a 1910 Boston Globe interview with Tim Murnane, O'Rourke states that "Baseball is for all creeds and nationalities"
-For the period 1876–1892, he ranks behind only Cap Anson in career major league games played (1644), hits (2146), at-bats (6884), doubles (392) and total bases (2936), and behind only Harry Stovey in runs scored (1370).(wikipedia)