#buck ewing

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Buck Ewing was the first catcher to ever be inducted to the baseball hall of fame. Ewing was an early baseball star playing in the 1880s and 1890s for a few teams, most notably the New York Gothams, today known as the San Francisco Giants.

Ewing was an excellent catcher when it came to keeping base runners in check, and he himself stole over 350 bases, which as a catcher, would rank 1st, but he played every other position so often as well that he does not officially qualify.

Buck's time with the Gothams is speculated to have ended because of his leaving the National League for the new Players League in 1890 (which was a short lived League following in the footsteps of the 1884 Union Association which looked to abolish the reserve clause.) Because Ewing left for the New York team in the Players League and the league failed, Ewing was only let back on the Gothams (now renamed to the Giants) for a single year before being moved.

After a few more years with the Cleveland Spiders and Cincinnati Reds, Ewing retired as a player and continued the next few years as a manager.

Few catchers of the time could come close to Ewing's all around ability. Other contemporaries like King Kelly played other positions more commonly than catcher, and his closest peer in the conversation, Roger Bresnahan, only began playing in 1897, and was a star in the early 20th century.

Ewing would pass away at age 47 from diabetes in 1906 and posthumously be inducted to the fall of fame in 1939. He was one of the first 1800s players to recieve votes (along with Cap Anson) and among the first to be inducted.

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Bread and Butter

He was the first player to hit 10 home runs in a season.  He was the first catcher in the Hall of Fame.  He died of diabetes.