Noteworthy players and their cards: Lave Cross

[GeoPoto]

Since the board of late has trended toward discussions of criminal proceedings, market price exuberances, national show shenanigans, and yelling at clouds, I miss the opportunities to show off Washington players and their cards. So, when I recently revisited Lave Cross and noted his substantial career, which is poorly documented by baseball cards coming as it did during the hiatus in marketing pressure brought about by ATC's success gaining a monopoly and their failure to keep it, I decided to once again bring him (and at least one of his cards) to your attention. Fortunately, Cross finished his remarkable career in Washington, which allows me to have a card of sorts. (If there are other Cross cards out there, I would love to see them.)

Before I get to Lave's card, I offer these highlights regarding his place in baseball history:

< Born Vratislav Kriz, we can be grateful he changed it to Lafayette Napoleon Cross, which gave rise to the nickname "Lave".

< Lave played 21 MLB seasons between 1887 and 1907, including stints in the American Association and the Player's League as well as the National and American Leagues.

< He finished with 2,651 hits, a career .292 batting average, and 303 stolen bases.

< When he retired, he ranked fifth in major league history in hits (2,644) and runs batted in (1,371), ninth in doubles (411) and total bases (3,466), and third in games played (2,275) and at bats (9,064).

< He also excelled as a defensive player. After beginning his major league career as a catcher, he led third basemen in fielding percentage five times and ended his career with nearly every fielding record at that position: games (1,721), putouts (2,306), assists (3,706), total chances (6,406), and fielding average (.938).

< He won a National League Pennant with the Brooklyn Superbas in 1900 and captained Mack's Philadelphia Athletics teams that won two of the first five pennants in the American League (1902 and 1905).

And he (after a 25-cent haircut and shave) stumbled onto this card (As always: Thanks for listening!):