A McCreachery Card Theory

[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.

[RCMcKenzie]

On his wikipedia page (for what it's worth), it says that Deacon White was a "flat-earther" zealot. He went around trying to convince people that the earth was flat. So, it may have been making fun of his intelligence.

The word 'creature' also used to be humorous slang for 'whiskey'.(Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary 1959). It could be that they thought he drank. I am unaware of Catholics having strict views about alcohol usage. Anyway, I believe it was a nickname and running joke among the ball players and not an insult or slur in any way.

[cyseymour]

Wow, I had no idea about the slang of the word creature being a term for drinking. It turns out that the Irish were very heavy drinkers back then, according to the stereotype.

http://www.victoriana.com/Irish/Iris...alCartoons.htm

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".

If that's the case, then you are probably right that it is not really meant to be malicious (albeit still engaging in a stereotype).

[RCMcKenzie]

Yes, that's what I'm thinking it meant....

Also "White" is a very common English surname. Wikipedia cites a British genealogy website as listing "White" as the 16th most common surname in the United Kingdom.

[cyseymour]

Fascinating! Thank you so much for participating in this thread and enlightening me with your observations!

[Joe_G.]

I guess we left too much open to interpretation w.r.t. the McCreachery card. I was responsible for much of the content in the "Old Judge Production" chapter so I'll take the blame for not being more specific. To quote the book directly, as you did above, "The final example is a rare portrait card of Deacon White. A fictitous 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".

I did not intend to suggest his play was poor, but instead that his age (and appearance) was more appropriate for a manager than playing the hot corner. As for the name McCreachery, there could be an inside joke that has been long lost to time. I have enjoyed reading the posts between you and RcMcKenzie.

Thank You.

[kkkkandp]

My 1887 Pud Galvin card looks like it says "Calvin."

Do you think that was a subtle reference by the creators of Old Judge cards to theologian John Calvin, upon whose theories Presbyterianism was based? Furthermore, through that could it be a veiled reference to the Presbyterian cocktail as a subtle dig against the teams in the American Association - the upstart "Beer and Whiskey League" - that was challenging the teams from the more established National League? Galvin came from the American Association to the National League in 1887.

Just a thought.