Posted By:
john/z28jdHey Julie,just because people now know Kid Gleason as the manager of the Black Sox doesnt mean back then he wasnt famous,its actually quite the contrary.He was a star pitcher who won 138 games,before switching to 2ndbase where he also became a star for the New York Giants.There isnt many players in baseball who have won at least 138 games and driven in over 100 runs in a season[thats called and understatement]
Besides that in 1904 he was in his 17th season,he played on 2 championship teams in Baltimore and 4 times won at least 20 games
He was one of the players made a hero for saving a family from a burning building on the way to the stadium
He was the first player traded between leagues when the AL and NL came to a 'peace treaty'
He was one of the star players expelled from the players league for signing with an NL team
He was also with another player who died on a foreign tour and Gleason himself came close to dying because they were told to drink sea water to prevent sea sickness.The other player,Tom O'Brien was a popular player among NY fans so this was a big deal back then and 3 of these events took place within 4 years of these cards being made.He played 3 more years after that[or 5 if you count brief appearances later on when he was in his 40s]
So i wouldnt say he was a nobody back then,he actually made the headlines quite often and im sure in 1904 alot of people had heard of him.I think Hals card of Mordecai Brown is proof that they didnt just pick up the cards in 1904 and handcut the stars better since Brown was a 26yr old, 9-13 career pitcher when these cards were made,it wouldve had to happen more recent,and probably much more recent if all the star players are cut better