A McCreachery Card Theory

[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 ?

[cyseymour]

Just for those who skimmed my previous posts, the McCreachery case has been solved. The name is a double-entendre:

McCrea/Chery means "Sweet Son of God"
Creach means "Fall from Grace"

The double-entendre reflects both his religious views and downfall as a baseball player. That is the way the name is McCreachery. Thank you to all who contributed.

[insidethewrapper]

Does anyone have a clear picture of this card ? In Lew Lipset's book, he spells the card name as "McGreachery" with as "G" instead of a "C". Which is it ?

[oldjudge]

Cy--from what I have read there are several theories as to what the name means, if anything. Your theory is one of several and I would not jump to the conclusion that it is the correct theory.

Not sure what you mean by a short print card. it is certainly a rare card. How many were printed initially is anyone's guess. Since only one is known to exist now it couldn't have been that many. Also, not all portraits are manager cards.

There is a clear picture of the card in the Old Judge book

[RCMcKenzie]

Lew Lipset's book also talks of Indianapolis outfielder Jack McGeachy who played for the Hoosiers from 1887 thru 1889. Lipset mentions that Watch Burnham was the Indy manager in 1887, but left before the end of the season. Lipset goes on to say that Harry Spence was the manager of Indy in 1988. There is no mention of who took over for Burnham to finish up 1887. Could it have been Jack McGeachy as an interim player manager in 1887. If so, then the card could simply have been an error card with no hidden meanings. In other words, the printer put the wrong photo for Jack McGeachy and misspelled his name..

[insidethewrapper]

As Joe previously has stated, Deacon did not "fall from Grace" and was not a "downfall as a baseball player " He had a great 1887 season, won the 1887 "World Championship" and was reserved by Detroit for the 1888 season. The team was very shaken when to talked about retiring before the 1888 season. He was a key player even at his age. This photo was taken before the 1888 season, but not sure when it was printed as a card.