Kevin Weber suggested this 1912 Grover Hartley card for the Weird Wednesday column. Grover aka “Slick”, went 8 for 34 with two doubles and triple with two steals and one HPB for the New York Giants.
For one, Hartley has power numbers 2-6-6, strange in of itself. As a catcher, he also has a 15-11 and a 25-10. Those speed numbers might not have been enough because the coup de grace is a 45-42*
What I found most interesting in researching this was Hartley’s longevity in the bigs. While he only played a (still respectable) 14 seasons in baseball, he managed to keep making comebacks. He took a break after the 1917 season and came back in 1924 for a few years. He left baseball in 1930 only to return four years later in 1934 at the age of 45 for the St. Louis Browns. In fact, his 1934 card was written up as a Monster Monday card three years ago.
Alas, he only came up for a cup of coffee that year and that was the last we heard from Slick.
thanks, Kevin!
