Monster Card Monday: 1902 Charlie Hickman

The APBA Blog’s deadball expert Scott Fennessy passed this interesting 1902 Charles Hickman card to me.  Hickman was known by two nicknames.  This card shows “Cheerful Charlie” but I’ve always known him as “Piano Legs”. 

Hickman played for seven teams in 12 years but it’s probably safe to say that 1902 was his career year.  Splitting his time between Boston and Cleveland, he led the AL in hits (193) and total bases (288) while hitting .361 with 36 doubles, 13 triples, and 11 homeruns.  He drove in 110 runs and stole nine bases. 

As a kid, I remember reading that Hickman got his nickname “Piano Legs” because he would get tripped up in the field.  His SABR bio bears this out as does his APBA fielding ratings.  It was a different game back then.  He committed a total of 86 errors as a thirdbaseman in 1900. 

Nevertheless, his 1902 hitting card is still a good one especially in the context of the deadball era. He gets four power numbers of 3-5-5-6.  On top of that, he has four 7s plus a 15-10. 

In 1902, Cheerful Charlie only struck out 15 times and only walked 15 times.  As a result, he gets a 36-14 and no 13s. 

Fun numbers:  51-7, 42-8, 26-41

Hickman played every position except catcher throughout his career including pitcher.  First base and outfield were his main posts but he could play second and third if need be (and if good defense was not a requisite!).  He dabbled in pitching during his whole career with a 10-8 record and a 4.28 ERA. 

thanks, Scott!