Show us your Rarest card

[spec]

Originally Posted by GaryPassamonte

Kevin- Ross Barnes was the the first "superstar" of professional baseball. From 1871-1876, he dominated the game and his omission from the HOF is a travesty.

Beyond the brevity of Barnes' career (6 extraordinary seasons over a 9-year span), his Hall of Fame chances have been diminished by the fact that his production decline coincides with the abolishment of the "fair-foul" hit (a bunt that rolled foul after first hitting the ground in fair territory) of which he was a master. In fact, illness robbed him of his exceptional skills, much as it did Hall of Famer Elmer Flick three decades later.