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TWO MORE EARLY STARS – CHARLES BROPHY & ISAIAH DUFFY – HANG UP THEIR CLEATS

After the end of play in 1898, two more of the biggest stars of the early days of professional baseball – Charles Brophy & Isaiah “The Greyhound” Duffy – ended their lengthy and historic careers.




Brophy’s retirement was a curious case. It was thought he had retired when he didn’t return to the Knickerbockers and failed to sign with another professional team after becoming the first to cross the 3,000-hit barrier as a pro in 1894. As it turned out, instead he took a two-year hiatus and came back to play two seasons of semi-pro ball for the Erie Lakers in the Great Lakes Baseball Conference. In his final season, at the age of 44, he led the GLBC in batting average at .375 (OPS: .889) while playing first base (21 seasons at CF for the Knick's). Brophy added 260 hits over two years with Erie to his APBL total of 3,142 (posted here) for a final, senior-level total of 3,402, breaking Konrad Jensen’s senior-level record of 3,311 in about 300 more games.

Brophy’s career honors:

1st player to reach 3,000 hits as a professional (4/26/1894)
3,402 career hits between APBL & GLBC: all-time all-levels leader
6x APBL President’s Cup winner (1877, 78, 86, 88, 89, 91)
1x President’s Cup Most Valuable Player (1891)
14x APBL or Metropolitan Conference Team of the Year at OF (1875-81, 83, 85-90)
5x APBL or Metropolitan Conference MVP (1877, 78, 80, 82, 85)
4x Metropolitan Conference Batsman of the Year (1878, 83, 85, 86)
4x Metropolitan Conference Batting Champion (1878, 83, 85, 86)
3x Metropolitan Conference Golden Glove at OF (1885, 86, 88)
21x APBL Player of the Week
14x APBL Batsman of the Month

7x APBL or M.C. leader in Total Bases (1875-78, 81, 83, 86)
3x .400 hitter (1878, 79, 83)
3x M.C. leader in Position Player WAR (1885, 86, 88)
4x APBL or M.C. leader in On-Base Percentage (1875-78)
4x APBL or M.C. leader in Triples (1875, 76, 78, 86)
3x M.C. leader in Hits (1878, 83, 86)
3x APBL or M.C. leader in Runs (1878, 81, 83)
2x APBL or M.C. leader in On-Base + Slugging (1875, 78)

1898: GLBC Batting Champion at the age of 44 (.375)


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Isaiah Duffy’s career was one of nearly constant excellence, especially when it came to outfield defense. Signed directly to the Boston Shamrocks’ senior roster after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, Duffy won the first of his record-setting fifteen Golden Gloves for outfield defensive work as a rookie in 1880. He would then proceed to win Golden Gloves each of the next thirteen seasons (1881-93), whether playing in left, center, or right field, before winning his final one in 1896. There was a reason why he was called “The Greyhound”, and it was because his outfield range was unparalleled. On top of that, his hands and throwing arm were almost peerless as he set numerous defensive records.

Duffy was excellent with the bat as well. He was good for an OPS+ of 152 over his seventeen seasons in Boston, and he won three Colonial Conference Batsman of the Year awards in the mid-1880s while helping lead the Shamrocks to four APBL titles. After Boston plunged to 33 games out of first place in 1896, he moved to Milwaukee in the MWBA for one last crack at a title and won his fifth in 1897. Even though Duffy was 40, he was still the third-best hitter in the Milwaukee lineup while winning the Lincoln Memorial Cup.

Duffy's fine offense combined with his extraordinary defense and longevity left him the career leader in WAR among retired position players when he transitioned into coaching.

Isaiah Duffy’s career stats:





Career honors:

5x Cup winner (4x APBL, 1x MWBA)
15x APBL Golden Glove winner at OF (1880-93, 96) – career record for any player or position group
3x APBL Colonial Conference Batsman of the Year (1884, 85, 88)
6x APBL Team of the Year member (1882, 84, 85, 86, 88, 91)
1x APBL Batting Champion (1885: .371)

2x APBL leader in Position Player WAR (1884, 88)
2x APBL leader in Home Runs (1891, 96)
2x APBL leader in Runs Batted In (1882, 84)
2x APBL leader in Walks (1886, 94)
2x APBL leader in On-Base Percentage (1884, 85)
2x APBL leader in On-Base + Slugging (1885, 88)

88.6 Career WAR (6.7 per 162 G) - new career leader among retired position players
Career outfield Zone Rating of +208.9 across LF/CF/RF - all-time record
1886: Zone Rating of +19.2 at Left Field - single-season record for LF
1890: Zone Rating of +22.1 at Center Field - single-season record for CF
1895: 29 Assists from Center Field - single-season record for outfielders