Pre-war Non-HOFers Worth Collecting

[CooperstownExpert]

Born in 1872, Deacon Phillippe grew up in the Dakota Territory outside the reach of pro talent evaluators. Undiscovered until after his family moved to Minnesota, Phillippe was almost 27 by the time he threw his first big league pitch. He reeled off 5 straight 20-win seasons to start his career.
To me he falls below Cooperstown line but he still had one heck of a career. Phillippe owns the the lowest lifetime walks-per-nine mark from 60'6". He posted six 20-win seasons, a .634 winning percentage, 242 complete games, and 189 big-league wins. He won the first World Series game in baseball history. Phillippe's 44 innings, 5 complete games, and three wins in the '03 tilt have yet to be topped.
Had he broken in a few years earlier, he'd probably be in the Hall of Fame. Here's a link to cool story about him.
There's an example of Pillippe's signature and a ball signed by 6 guys who played in the first World Series.