Goodwin Auctions: 19th Century Brooklynite Dan Foutz

Here is a great and truly vintage 19th century Baseball card currently available on auction from Goodwin & Company. It features do-it-all ballplayer Dave Foutz of the Brooklyn Bridegrooms (an early incarnation of the Dodgers). Foutz was decent with the bat, he could field multiple positions and he was a very accomplished pitcher... Heck, he even managed the Dodgers for a time. This guy was a Victorian Baseball renaissance man.

His numbers don't lie. As a pitcher, in 1886 he won 41 games while losing only 16 with a ERA of 2.11. That year he threw 504 innings, had 55 complete games and had a ERA+ of 164. As a batter a year later, 1887, he would hit .357 with a OPS of .901. In 1889 he stole 64 bases. His ability to do it all made it seem that he was destined to become a superstar. Unfortunately, he fell short of greatness, although Baseball Reference does compare his career quite favorably with that of Hall of Famer Dizzy Dean. It is said that Foutz suffered through asthma throughout his life and eventually succumbed to it at the age of 40 - only a year after leaving the game.

The card below is one of the scarcer Baseball cards out there. It was produced in 1895 by Mayo's Cut Plug.

(Auction Link)