Ace starting pitcher Charlie Ferguson is seated on the left, rookie reliever Cannonball Titcomb stands in back, and second baseman Charlie Bastian sits with his arms folded. Ferguson logged just four seasons before dying of typhoid fever at the age of 25. Not only did he have a stellar arm—averaging 25 wins and 16 losses—but he was developing into an accomplished batsman to boot. In his swan-song season of 1887, Ferguson put up robust numbers for his day, hitting .337 with 3 home runs, 6 triples, 14 doubles and 85 RBI. Given more time, he may have blossomed into a 19th-century Babe Ruth, even more proficient at the plate than on the mound.

Titcomb and Bastian are all but forgotten now, though it is worth mention that the manager of the '86 Quakers was the illustrious baseball forefather Harry Wright. Initially, the first two aspects of this item to arrest the viewer's attention are its unusually large half-plate size and its extraordinary image quality. The oval tintype portrait measures 3-1/4" x 4-1/2" and demonstrates always-protected, never-touched Mint condition. It is housed in its original, 5-1/4" x 6-1/2" thermoplastic case, which itself is a marvelously preserved treasure. Although Ferguson does appear in the N172 and N173 Old Judge sets, as well as in Philadelphia team photographs, this would appear to be his only extant tintype—and thus, the most unique and valuable remembrance of a tragically curtailed career. 

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