A Brief Look at Billy Holbert - a Late 19th Century Brooklyn Gray/Dodger

I figured it was about time I take a moment to highlight an old-time Dodger player; albeit a Dodger who only played 15 games for the old club.  Featured above is William "Billy" Holbert on an 1888 N172 Old Judge Baseball card that is currently available at BST Auctions.  He is shown bent-over home plate -- complete with an fantastic vintage "spider" style catchers mask and tipped-finger workman’s style baseball glove.  (Click on the pic to embiggen)

Billy is well known for several reason.  First, he was the favorite catcher to dominant Hall of Fame pitcher Tim Keefe when he played for both the Troy Trojans and the New York Metropolitans.

(Via DPL)

Secondly, Holbert holds an MLB record that still stands today.  In 2,335 career Major League at-bats he did not hit a single home run.  Zilch!  Nada!

He was the living embodiment of the no-hit, good defense kind of catcher. (Check out another card of his on the right from the same set as seen above)

Granted, he did play ball during the deadball era -- a time period known more for slap hitting rather than homers.  Still, you'd think with the large expansive outfields of the time he'd have at least one round-tripper next to his name.  BTW, Tom Oliver of the early 30's Red Sox owns the modern record for most at-bats without a homer with 1,931.

As a Brooklyn Gray/Dodger his time with us was largely uneventful.  Holbert came over from the NY Metropolitans as part of a seven player trade/sale. He would play in Brooklyn for part of only one season, 1888, and get into only 15 games before retiring.  As a Brooklyn player he would slash a measly .120/.170/.140/.310. 

After leaving the game as a player he would go on to become an umpire for a short time; including being an umpire for the short-lived Players League of 1890.  Billy would soon serve with the US Secret Service soon thereafter. 

Check out his career statistics below, via Baseball Reference:

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An "Uncle Robbie" Robinson Vintage Photo

I thought it would be fun to take a quick look at a long forgotten Dodger manager by the name of Wilbert Robinson.  He skippered the franchise during the early part of the 20th Century- from 1914 to 1931.  For 18 years he steered the ship through muddy waters.  For the most part, the team was not very good under his leadership, but he can stake claim to winning the only Brooklyn pennants from 1901 to 1940 - two of them.

The team was a hodgepodge of jokers and error prone idiots, if you will, but Brooklyn loved them anyway.  Heck, they would soon be called "The Daffiness Boys," and Wilbert would be affectionately be called "Uncle Robbie."  Per a Baseball-Reference biography:

Two incidents illustrate the club’s personality during this period. In one case, slugger Babe Herman hit what appeared to be a triple, only to be called out by the umpire for not touching second. Manager Robinson charged on to the field to challenge the umpire’s call, when his first base coach warned him, “Don’t worry about it, Skip. He missed first, too.” In another instance, outfielder Casey Stengel, who would later manage the great Yankee teams of the 1950s, once found an injured bird in the outfield grass. Planning to nurse it back to health, he placed the bird under his cap and resumed playing the game. By the time Stengel came to bat, he had totally forgotten the bird, but the crowd had not forgotten an error he had made the previous inning and began to boo him. In response to the crowd’s taunting, Stengel politely doffed his cap. The bird, which Stengel had forgotten, had been revived by his body heat and promptly flew away. The boos quickly turned into roaring laughter.

Anyway, I was thinking of Uncle Robbie because of a great auction Item I saw for sale through Lew Lipset's Old Judge auctions.  See it below.  It is an September 1908 vintage press photo featuring a team photograph of the Baltimore Orioles - a minor league club at the time.  Robbie is on the back row, 3rd on the right, and was well past his prime.  In a few short years he would join the Dodgers.

(auction link)

Of special note, Mark Langill reminded us of the blockbuster trade between the Dodgers and Baltimore Orioles in 1899 that didn't include Uncle Robbie, but was just as impactful to the Dodgers as the recent trade we made with the Red Sox. 

February 7, 1899 – A joint ownership agreement between the Brooklyn Bridegrooms and Baltimore Orioles shift several Baltimore players to Brooklyn, including manager Ned Hanlon and Willie Keeler. Two players remain in Baltimore and later become rival managers – Wilbert Robinson (Brooklyn) and John McGraw (N.Y. Giants). The new Brooklyn team is renamed the “Superbas,” which is coined from a Vaudeville group named Hanlon’s Superbas.

Basically, many of the Orioles all-stars would be sent to Brooklyn at an attempt at a championship.  It would eventually help the team win the pennant in 1899 and 1900.

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Old Judge: Snapshots from Ebbets Field, 1913

These photos are remarkable.

Available in Lew Lipset's Old Judge.com auction are a group of 8 photographic snapshots from Ebbets Field. I know that doesn't sound like much considering there are thousands of pics out there from its nearly 50 years of existence.

What makes this photos special is that they apparently come from 1913- the year Ebbets Field opened. On top of that, one of them has been dated on reverse as April 7, 1913. This is two days before its officially opening in Brooklyn.

From the auction description:

The photos measure about 4 1/2" x 3". According to the writing on the back, they were taken on April 7 (Daubert), May13 (Cutshaw, Hummel), May 15 (Smith, Stengel), May 16 (Miller). The photos of Wheat and Rucker are undated. It’s interesting to note the pictures have almost all different parts of the ballpark in the background.

The opening bid for these photos is steep- at $1500.00. So, I won't even think about bidding. It's way over my budget. Still, I'd love to have a closer at these beauties.

(Auction Link)

Old Judge: Some Dodgers to Gawk At

One of my favorite small scale auction houses, Old Judge, just closed up their most recent offering. Included were several Dodger related memorabilia items worth a taking note of.

Below is just a sample of some original artwork pieces created by Mark Rucker at the request of Lew Lipset (operator of the Old Judge Auctions) in 1983. It consisted of 11 different paintings of some of the greatest ballplayers to ever play the game. Below are the drawings for Sandy Koufax, Jackie Robinson, Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn (he's paired with Koufax below- notice his extended middle finger) and Mike "King" Kelly. Considering that these are one-of-the-kind I think that the final closing price of $550.00 for 11 pieces was pretty reasonable.

(Auction Link)

This photo use to hang at the Rotunda at Ebbets Field. I'll let the auction description tell you more about it.

In 1960 the owners of Ebbets Field decided to sell the memorabilia that remained in the ballpark. Several items were purchased by an ex-marine (well known in the hobby) and a lifetime Dodger fan who used a four day pass to come home to purchase several items that included four wall photos, two Ebbets Field seats and some other items. Total cost $100! It was autographed in person to our consignor "To a great Brooklyn Dodger Fan, Best Wishes Johnny Podres" years later.

It sold for $2,500.00.

(Auction Link)

Here is a seldom seen Jackie Robinson Boosters pin that sold for $242.00.

(Auction Link)

Old Judge: Brooklyn Rarities

Lew Lipset, proprietor of the Old Judge Auctions, is currently running his April offering. Lew is one of the old sages of the vintage card hobby. Few people have as much knowledge and experience with old cardboard as this man. He was the writer of The Encyclopedia of Baseball Cards that originally came out in 1983 that focused on pre-WWII Baseball cards and, subsequently, ran the Old Judge Newsletter for 10 years beginning in 1985 that updated information from this volume.

Enough of the hero worship, though, below are a couple of nice Brooklyn Dodger items. The T3 Turkey Reds set is one of the more gorgeous of pre-WWII cards. You have to see one for yourself to truly appreciate the artwork. A couple of years ago at the National Convention in Anaheim I had a chance to see proofs in mint condition of the original set and they blew me away. Those cards truly deserve to be hung on the wall of a museum. This lot consist of 3 Brooklyn teammates: Bill Dahlen, Tim Jordon and Matty McIntyre. I have yet to ever add one of these cards to my collection, but I do have a handful of the boxing version of these cards- known as T9's.

Auction Link: T3 Turkey Reds Dodgers:

Here is a cabinet card produced by Joseph Hall Studios in Brooklyn that features the 1890 Brooklyn Bridegrooms (Dodgers). These rarely ever come up for auction. 17 different players are featured.

Auction Link: 1890 Joseph Hall Cabinet of Brooklyn Team:

Old Judge: Ruth and the 1915 Brooklyn Dodgers

Old Judge always has some of the more unique Baseball related collectibles around. I absolutely suggest checking out their auction for a look at a little bit of Baseball history.

One item that immediately caught my eye is the below real photo postcard featuring a very young Boston pitcher named Babe Ruth. He sits second on the right on the bench with Harry Hooper, Olaf Henrickson and Everett Scott.

Auction Link: Ruth Boston Postcard:

Here is a elongated postcard featuring 6 Brooklyn Dodger pitchers taken during Spring Training in 1915. This one-of-a-kind item includes Wheezer Dell, Leon Cadore, Ed Appleton, Goodrell, Chubeks and Sherry Smith. Of special note, this photo was featured in the April 1988 issue of one of the hobby's great old newsletters- The Old Judge.

Auction Link: 1915 Postcard of 6 Brooklyn Pitchers: