Posted By:
Misunderestimated (Brian H)Jodi, and anyone else who wants to know more about why Deacon White belongs in the Hall of Fame, I urge you to check out the posting from the "Hall of Merit" project a the baseballthinkfactory.org. If you peruse these links you will find too much information (primarily Sabremetric in nature) about White's value/merit in the larger context of when he played.
http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/hall_of_merit/discussion/catchers/
http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/hall_of_merit/discussion/1898_ballot_discussion
http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/hall_of_merit/discussion/ranking_hall_of_merit_players_not_in_the_hall_of_f ame_group_3/
Chief Executive Summary (in other words even shorter):
In (too) brief -- based mostly on my recollections from about 5 yrs ago:
White was clearly the best Catcher before Buck Ewing and then became a top tier 3rd baseman. His on the field excellence actually preceded the advent of the National League and the National Association. In fact, excluding the National Association and everything before, White was basically a 3B. Even in this capacity (and Catching is and was a far more valuable field position) White still warrants HOF induction. Like other 19th century position players his career numbers suffer because of the few games played. In White's case his best seasons were in the 1870s when they played the fewest games. Go to White's page on baseball-reference.com and press the link "neutralize" above his hitting stats and then think about his career numbers given that he played the most dangerous position of all during some of his best years and that the protective equipment was non-existent. There were no "tools of ignorance" -- just ignorance.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/w/whitede01.shtml