A McCreachery Card Theory

[cyseymour]

There has been some interesting speculation on why an Old Judge card with Deacon White on it had the name "McCreachery" underneath it. Some believe the theory that was a joke because White's playing had become so poor that he was presumed to be the manager. This is a great story, but I believe there is a more likely, and unfortunately, cynical reason for why White was given the name "McCreachery".

In the late 19th Century, there were many Irish immigrants coming to America. Seeing that by stealing jobs and resources from other Americans, they came to resent the Irish, and it lead to discrimination against them. It is hard to imagine in our country today, which is 25 percent Irish, but some Irishmen changed their names to rid themselves of prefixes like "O" or "Mc". For instance, Hall of Famer Jim O'Rourke briefly changed his name to "Rourke" when he entered the league, and reversed it back about a year later.

So the reason behind the "McCreachery" name given to Deacon White's card wasn't simply that it was a false name, but that it was an Irish one. My belief is that the slander made against White was mocking his religiosity, that the joke is that he was Catholic, as the Catholics had strict codes of behavior in regards to alcohol, etc. As such, the McCreachery card is derogatory in nature, towards both the Irish and White himself. This is most certainly the reason for its very low print run.

This doesn't mean that the card isn't an incredibly interesting card, especially seeing as it is a unique card of a Hall of Famer. Surely, it would reach 200k+ in auction, being probably the only known unique card of a HOFer in existence. I felt that it was time for the real story of the McCreachery card to come out, and it my strong belief that this story is an accurate interpretation of the card.

[Joe_G.]

Who, besides yourself, has ever suggested that Deacon's play was poor at time of his 1888 card being published (or any other time for that manner). When that photo was taken in April of 1888, he had finished a solid year batting well over league average (even over Detroit's league leading average). His Wins over Defensive and Offensive Replacement were both positive. Same would hold true for 1888. He was a solid contributer to the team even though he was the oldest player in baseball. His salary was likewise a healthy $3500, only behind Brouthers and Richardson at $4000.

Minor correction, but the spelling on his portrait is "McCreachery", not "McCreacherie". It has always been my belief that they simply took White's 9th pose, a portrait, and decided to tease him as looking more like a manager than a player. Many managers are shown in portrait.

I'm not as well versed on Irish slander but previously didn't find it unusual to assign a ficticious name that started with "Mc". It is the most common start to a last name in the Old Judge set. Just look at McAleer, McCarthy x2, McCauley, McClellan, McCormack, McCormick, McCullum, McDonald, McGarr, McGeachy, McGlone, McGuire, McGunnigle, McKean, McKinnon, McLaughlin, McPhee, McQuaid x2, McTammany, & McVey. Were they all slandered?

I do find the topic interesting however and would like to hear more.

[cyseymour]

Joe, thanks for the correction on the name spelling. To answer your first question, the belief that the McCreachery name is via the Old Judge book, p. 87.

"The final example is a rare portrait card of Deacon White. A fictitious name, McCreachery, is listed together with the title of manager for the Indianapolis club. Deacon White, the oldest player in the league, was apparently better suited to manage from the bench than play third base for the Detroit Wolverines."

To answer your second question, there are a lot of players with the prefix "Mc" in the OJ set. Obviously, they were not being slandered - those were their real names and they were actually Irish. But Deacon White was not Irish, his last name of "White" is obviously not Irish, and that is what makes it slander to change his name to an Irish one.

To call an Irish person a "Mick" is an ethnic slur. I would never use that language but you can see where it comes from. Personally, not only don't I have anything against the Irish, but it is a dream of mine to visit Ireland. From everything I had heard and seen it is a spectacularly beautiful country and the people are very nice. I also like Celtic music, which is really cool.

But in 19th Century America, not everyone did love the Irish. A lot of it is due to economic forces that make people feel they need to battle for resources, without which would threaten their livelihood. This makes them suspicious of outsiders. Even native-americans were called "foreigners" in the pre-war time period. How hypocritical is that?

[cyseymour]

One more point: if Deacon White really did have a strong year that year, as you suggest, that would not lend credence to the theory on the OJ book that they were poking fun at his poor play.

[RCMcKenzie]

Mac is gaelic for "son of". O' means "grandson of". Mc and mac are used interchangeably between people of Scotch or Irish heritage.

There is no such clan name as McCreacherie or McCreachery etc. The closest I have heard of is the Scotch name McCeachern.

It's my guess that they were making fun of his older age, as in Mac "Creature".... Not a malicious slander just making fun.

www.geo.ed.ac.uk/home/scotland/genealogy.html

[cyseymour]

Originally Posted by RCMcKenzie

Mac is gaelic for "son of". O' means "grandson of". Mc and mac are used interchangeably between people of Scotch or Irish heritage.

There is no such clan name as McCreacherie or McCreachery etc. The closest I have heard of is the Scotch name McCeachern.

It's my guess that they were making fun of his older age, as in Mac "Creature".... Not a malicious slander just making fun.

www.geo.ed.ac.uk/home/scotland/genealogy.html

Very interesting. I had never known the gaelic meaning of those prefixes.

But if it truly was meant to mean "Mac Creature", then that could very well indeed suggest it to mean that he was a "creature of Irish descent." Terrific observation.

[Joe_G.]

Matt, I thoroughly enjoyed your post, thank you!

CySeymour,
The problem resides largely in your delivery. Most of your theories were wild pitches yet you proclaimed from the onset that you had "The Real Story of McCreacherie (sic)". Your position on the name changed with nearly every post, yet each time it was/is presented in a "matter of fact" manner. A review of your own posts becomes comical. To keep this to a reasonable length, some of the quotes are paraphrased.

Originally Posted by cyseymour

Deacon played poorly . . . McCreacherie(sic) was the result of Irish slander mocking Deacon's religiosity . . . the McCreachery card is derogatory in nature, towards both the Irish and White himself. This is most certainly the reason for its very low print run.

It took several posts to convey that we (the authors of the Old Judge book) weren't trying to suggest Deacon had played poorly. Yet you clung to this for many posts.

Originally Posted by cyseymour

If "to creature" means to drink a lot, and the Irish were known to drink a lot, then the name "McCreachery" could have been a joke that meant "drinks so much that he's Irish".

You seem rather surprised to learn later in the thread that Deacon didn't drink (you actually knew very little about Deacon and the Wolverines). I would think some knowledge of Deacon and the way his peers perceived him would help decipher the cards true meaning but that wasn't going to stop you.

Originally Posted by cyseymour

So it seems that they were calling him Irish via blaming him for the downfall of the Detroit Wolverines. Wow.

Deacon was responsible for the downfall of the Wolverines?? Oh boy.

Originally Posted by cyseymour

Another interpretation:

McCrea in gaelic: "Son of Grace"
Chery in french: "Dear, Darling", aka "mon cherie"

So McCreachery could have meant something along the lines of "Dear Son of Grace". Which would make sense since he was a devout Christian.

I think we have a winner!

Originally Posted by cyseymour

"McCreachery" means "Sweet Son of God". It is a double-entendre with the word "creach" to describe the demise of the teams he's played for, because "Creach" means "fall from grace". Get it?

These OJ producers sure were smart!

Originally Posted by cyseymour

It was printed in 1888, per design of the card. White had a poor year in 1888 and the team disbanded.

Originally Posted by cyseymour

But the double-entendre of "Sweet Son of God/Fall from Grace" is very, very on target, not only with the life and times of Deacon White, his poor play, and his religiosity, and the demise of his team, but also consistent with the joke of calling him a manager of Indianapolis. The narrative makes perfect sense.

As far as whether Boston wanted him, I wouldn't know, but whether did they did or not, it doesn't change the story that he had fallen very hard from his championship days just a year earlier. He had gone from "preacher" to "creacher" very quickly. That is the reflection that the card is commenting on.

OK, problem with previous quotes is that very little of it is true. I tried clearing this up on my post stamped 12/10 @11:24pm. The card was issued when Deacon was playing well and one of the few bright spots on the Detroit team. His batting in 1888 was second to only Dan Brouthers!

Despite all this ribbing, I very much enjoy your contribution to the topic. Your knowledge of 19th century English, Latin, and French far exceeds my own so I appreciate what you bring to the table.

If we were to release a 2nd edition of the book, somewhere within its roughly 500 pages, there might be a sentence or two mentioning the possibility of McCreachery being a riddle of sorts. Question is, will you have your final answer ready before we go to press?

Originally Posted by cyseymour

One more thing:

Deacon White career OPS .740
Ed Delahanty career OPS .916

To each his own, my friend.

One more thing:

Deacon White = Best bare handed catcher to play the game. His play was legendary during the 1870s, a decade in which catching was deemed, by far, the most important position on the field. He then re-invented himself as one of the games better 3rd basemen to extend his career another 10 years. Led a long, clean, and virtuous life.

Delahanty = Great hitter but unfortunately drunk and disorderly. Jumped (or was thrown) into Niagra River just upstream the Falls, cutting his life and baseball career short.

To each his own, my friend

[Joe_G.]

As for the McCreachery card rarity, it is not alone within the N172 set. There are a good number of poses with only single copies known. The obvious starting point would be the California League cards for which many have only one known copy. This extends will into the "Significant Rarities" and beyond. Some of the toughest players in the set are only catalogued as having one, two, or three poses when they were likely issued 5. There are undoubtedly many neat poses that have long been lost to time (what a shame).

As for the McCreachery card, I do believe it was distributed in packages of cigarettes. The where-a-bouts of the copy shown earlier in this thread are known. I don't believe we will be seeing it hit the market anytime soon.

[tonyo]

The thing I most appreciate about this thread is learning more about Deacon White and they way the game was played and the leagues were run back in the 19th. Mostly thru the sabr article linked by David, but some tidbits here and there thru the posts as well.

I'm still trying to wrap my imagination around a catcher with no glove. Tough as nails?

[cyseymour]

Joe,

I feel that you are way off base. As new information arises, I am willing to integrate it. Many people had different ideas on the card. It was a collaborative effort by the board. Sure, some posters delivered ideas that were later disproven, i.e. the drinking or the downfall of the Wolverines comments, but that is part of the process to find the truth as other posters chime in with new information. You drum up a bunch of old posts from the thread, but it doesn't disprove anything I'm saying now about the name McCreachery or the answer to the riddle.

If I stuck rigidly to old, disproven ideas of the card as new information became available, would you consider that more commendable? You ask me, is my final answer ready? Well, my final answer is ready. It was a riddle - the name was a double-entendre based on McCrea/Chery and Chreach, "Mc" meaning son, Crea being "God" and "Chery" meaning dear/sweet , making McCree/Chery mean Dear Son of God/Sweet Jesus, and then "Creach" a reference to aging as a fall from the Grace of God. It is very clever and fits perfectly within the context of the joke on the card seeing that he is presented as being a manager.

I realized the double-entendre on the second page of this thread and have stuck with it as the answer, for good reason. You disproved the notion posted by David N. that it was in reference to the downfall of the Detroit Wolverines, and I accepted that. As I demonstrated in my post #71 at 12:10PM yesterday, the type of downfall suggested by the term creach refers to a fall from grace via aging. It fits perfectly with your own suggestion in the OJ book regarding White being tabbed the Indy Mgr as a joke on his age.

I have outlined a tremendous amount of historical, social and etymological evidence to support my theory. Not only has no one been able to disprove it, nor present a credible alternate theory, but it is clear that "Dear Son of God/Fall from Grace" is highly logical and humorous, and it fits directly within the context of the card and the social and historical backdrop of the era. Can you find any legitimate reason why the riddle would not be true?

If you do revise the book, and mention therein that it's a riddle, which I feel you have an obligation to do, then please be sure to also explain it was a double-entendre based on the root words McCrea/Chery and Creach, meaning "Dear Son of God/Fall from Grace" so that people can understand it. It's only fair, and I feel you owe that to me as the discoverer of the riddle. Without an decent explanation, it pays short shrift to the discovery, as well as to the card itself.

------------------------------------

As for your little quip about the Delahanty card, I'm not sure why you would want to come on and take a shot at my card. It clearly has nothing to do with the thread. I probably shouldn't have gotten drawn into it, but I do consider Buck Ewing and King Kelly to be the greatest catchers of the 19th Century, and the statistics bear that out. White wasn't quite on that level, but he was very good. Many 19th cent. catchers suffered from dementia (there was a recent article in the NYTimes on that), and that may have been the source of some of White's strange ideas later on, which is sad. As for Delahanty, he led the league in OPS four times and posted an OPS above 1.000 six times, and was the greatest field player of his era.

Just a personal point - I am not out here trying to be your nemesis. From everything I can tell, you seem to be a pretty good guy. But if someone sends a zinger my way, whether about a Delahanty card, Rodney Dangerfield line, etc., then they should expect to receive a zinger right back. Within the lines of civility and decency, of course. It's only fair and part of a lively exchange. But hopefully we can all work together to share information and ideas as part of an online community of collectors, and conversation doesn't have to be restricted to the intellectual realm of solely a few book authors.

[Matthew H]

Cy, I like the idea that the name could possibly have something to do with his religious beliefs. People already knew him as "Deacon", and I'd like to believe people were clever enough to create something with similar meaning. I still believe it was a jab at his appearance, so with the fictitious name actually having meaning... That would be pretty cool.

If you look closer at pg87 of the OJ book, you'll notice it says "...the oldest player in the league, was apparently better suited to manage..."

No need for etymology, see the standard definition. It seems to me this was left open to interpretation.

Also, I'm pretty sure Joe was complementing your beautiful Delahanty card, offering to trade one of his Deacon White cards for it. I'm surprised you weren't able to decipher that one. Personally, I'd hold him to that statement, but that's just me.

[cyseymour]

Let me chime in with one more etymological observation:

"Chreacher" is probably also the Gaelic for the English word "creature".

Definition of CREATURE

1
: something created either animate or inanimate: as
a : a lower animal; especially : a farm animal
b : a human being
c : a being of anomalous or uncertain aspect or nature
2
: one that is the servile dependent or tool of another :

So the word "creature" is really something that intends certain animalistic, earthly characterics, as opposed to the pure and divine. This lends even more creedence to that the idea that the McCreachery double-entendre is a study of opposites between the Divine and Earthly.

McCrea/Chery: Dear Son of God - Divine
Chreach: Fall from Grace - Earthly

This is completely consistent with the style humor that Old Judge displayed in many of their other joke cards, from the Whitney with Dog (loyal/disloyal) card to the Nicol and Reilly (tall/short) card. One could also argue that by putting the biggest superstars of their respective teams, Ewing and Williamson, in photos with their mascots is a study of opposites, at least in some degree.

They have also previously shown a penchant for wordplay, exhibit the Poor Man card.

This demonstrates that the double-entendre fits perfectly not only with the rest of the card, as well as the personality of Deacon White, but also with the comedic styled tendencies of the Old Judge producers.