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Mike “King” Kelly was one of baseball’s first famous players. His Hall of Fame plaque reads, “Colorful player and audacious base-runner. In 1887 for Boston he hit .394 and stole 84 bases. His sale for $10,000 was one of the biggest deals of baseball’s early history.”

Kelly debuted in 1878 for the Cincinnati Reds. The team was led by Hall of Famer Deacon White who hit .314. The Reds finished second in the National League.

Kelly played his first dozen seasons in the NL. Along the way he won the batting crown in 1884 and gain in 1886. Both years he also paced the Senior Circuit in runs and on-base percentage.

A student of the game, Kelly is credited with devising the hit-and-run. He also played an important role in the double-steal and in the positioning of outfielders bases on the batter’s tendencies.

So famous was Kelly that he made a handsome profit from baseball’s first autobiography.

Play ball: Stories from the Ball Field was published in 1888. That season Kelly was in the middle of his three-year stint with the Boston Beaneaters. The book was organized and put together by the Boston Globe’s Jack Drohan.

Versatile in the field, he played right field, catcher, and third base. For his career Kelly hit .307 with a 138 OPS+. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1945.

 

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In the Chicago White Stockings’ lineup shown here stands many of the game’s early great. Hall of Fame outfielder Mike “King” Kelly bats third followed by Cap Anson, the first man to amass 3,000 hits.

Behind Anson is Ned Williamson who set the single-season home run mark with 27 bombs in 1884. His record stood for 35 years until Babe Ruth surpassed it in 1919. The 7th player on the order is pitcher Fred Goldsmith who claimed to have invented the curveball.

Kelly’s name is misspelled here with an additional “e” inserted. The 1882 was a fine year for Kelly who hit .305 with a league-leading 37 doubles.

Shown here is a scorecard filled out entirely in the hand of Hall of Famer Harry Wright from the June 21, 1881 contest. Chicago beat the Providence Grays 8-2 that day as Kelly went 2-for-5 with two runs scored.

Cooperstown man Wright kept meticulous score of his games. When his scorebooks were found and sold to a memorabilia collector, each page was taken out and sold individually. Click here to see more of Wright’s work.

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The scorecard in the second image is from a June 21, 1881 game won by the Chicago White Stockings 8-2 over the Providence Grays. The winning pitcher that day was Fred Goldsmith.

A four-time 20-game winner, Goldsmith tallied 110 wins during the 5-year period from 1880-1884. The 6’1″ right-hander is best known for claiming to invent the curveball.

Most historians credit Candy Cummings with the origination of the pitch. The Hall of Fame inducted him for that contribution in 1929.

Shown here is a handwritten letter from Fred Goldsmith detailing his version of invention of the curveball. Goldsmith, who died the same year Cummings was inducted writes, “Originator of first curveball. Made a public demonstration at the old Capitoline Grounds, N.Y. on Aug 27, 1870.”

Though the curveball debate continues with many advocating for recognition of Goldsmith, it is Cummings is remembered in Cooperstown.