A McCreachery Card Theory

[novakjr]

my main point, wasn't necessarily that poor performance led to the downfall of the Wolverines, but that his actions and views could eventually be very destructive to the game in general, if other players were to follow suit(basically unionization)..Although the same could possibly be applied in terms of being a clubhouse distraction to the Wolverines..

"creachery" would be collective actions or views(and/or the practice of) that are perceived to be destructive or distractive(in this case depending on your views, to either just the Wolverines or on a larger scale the whole league). Maybe it's just a case of "deacon being manny"?

Or maybe we're all over thinking it...

Just looked at the article again. I completely missed a key sentence.
"Just as White had been present at the temporary demise of Cincinnati as a major league city, so was he to be a part of Buffalo's departure." Combine that with Detroit's downfall. Maybe the joke is that he was viewed as the "kiss of death" for a team?

Co-incidentally, after jokingly appearing on this card as the manager for "Indianapolis", they also folded in 1889. Now wouldn't that be the ultimate joke..

[cyseymour]

Originally Posted by novakjr

my main point, wasn't necessarily that poor performance led to the downfall of the Wolverines, but that his actions and views could eventually be very destructive to the game in general, if other players were to follow suit(basically unionization)..Although the same could possibly be applied in terms of being a clubhouse distraction to the Wolverines..

"creachery" would be collective actions or views(and/or the practice of) that are perceived to be destructive or distractive(in this case depending on your views, to either just the Wolverines or on a larger scale the whole league). Maybe it's just a case of "deacon being manny"?

Or maybe we're all over thinking it...

Just looked at the article again. I completely missed a key sentence.
"Just as White had been present at the temporary demise of Cincinnati as a major league city, so was he to be a part of Buffalo's departure." Combine that with Detroit's downfall. Maybe the joke is that he was viewed as the "kiss of death" for a team?

Co-incidentally, after jokingly appearing on this card as the manager for "Indianapolis", they also folded in 1889. Now wouldn't that be the ultimate joke..

Maybe they knew Indianapolis was about to go under, and that's why they choose that team!

[oldjudge]

David--that is an interesting theory and it makes quite a bit of sense. A unique card now has a great story to go with it.

[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.

http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/0/Chery
http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/1/Mccrea

I think we have a winner!

[RCMcKenzie]

n172mccreachery.jpg


Great research, David. Thanks to all who have contributed to the discussion. It is a fun subject to discuss. I have read that White was a minor league manager, but apparently he never actually managed the Indianapolis club, which supports David's account of the meaning of the name (downfall, fall from grace etc.).

I also read in the last week that White was aware of the induction classes in 1936 and 1937 and was very surprised that he was not going into the HOF. he died in 1939 at 91.

[cyseymour]

Just a little more info:

"Crea" is Latin, it is the root word for create, creator (i.e. God).

http://www.english-for-students.com/crea.html

Cher is from French, it is a word of affection, probably literally means sweet, the English word "Cherry" is presumably derived from it. "Chery" is a last name in French. The English name "Cheryl" is derived from it. We use this in English, i.e. "Sweet Marie", "Sweet Jesus", etc.

So a little more fluidly, "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! Bravo to everyone who participated!

[JeremyW]

Be careful of what you say, my mom's name is Cheryl. Pretty interesting thread though.

[insidethewrapper]

I, like Joe, have researched the Detroit Wolverines for years. This "White-McCreachery" Old Judge card is interesting to say the least. I have no explanation for it , but two things come to mind after reviewing the newspapers from the first part of 1888. I think these photos were taken in April , 1888 before the season ( is that correct Joe ?). The Tomlinson photos were taken in Mid-May.
If these were taken in Indianapolis, the Indianapolis team had a player named
"McGeachey" not much different from "McCreachery" (G vs Cr and extra "r" at end of name) One of two things, it could have been an error in spelling or a joke by the photographer. Since the portraits ( like the Watkins card) were managers, on this photo was printed manager again by mistake.

During this pre-season time, White indicated he would leave the team if Watkins remained the manager. Just a few weeks ( March, 1888) White was guaranteed by the directors of the club that he would be treated fairly by Watkins. He then agreed to sign, he disliked Watkins intensely. So this photo session was during this time.

Maybe he was in on the joke with the photographer etc and he was listed as manager to get even with Watkins.

These are just 2 possibilities I thought could have happened.


Joe, I have a question, is this card considered in the "short print" OJ catagory ?