Nap Rucker
I always had a sentimental side for players like Rucker and Reulbach who were viewed as 'great' by their contemporaries, but who were ignored by the more knowledgeable sportswriters and fans who succeeded them. Reulbach was basically run out of the majors because of the Federal League, so he missed the 10-year prerequisite to get in the HOF. Rucker pitched for some sorry-assed Dodgers teams and was the ace of the staff, thus he was matched up whenever possible against the best that the other teams had. Plus, he was from Alpharetta, Georgia, where I used to live. He was a great guy and hard not to like. I still collect his stuff, but I don't have too much.
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SC0TT F0RREST
Scott,
I can't fault your reasoning for wanting to collect these two players.
BTW, I believe that I remember seeing the Nap Rucker no-hit ball that you described in your earlier post. Keep in mind that back in Rucker's era baseballs were VERY pricey, relatively speaking and it was expected (demanded) by the home team that a foul ball be returned to the field because that was THE game ball. foul balls were not considered fair game as souvenirs until perhaps the 1930's. Some teams even had security guards or ushers in the stands that would retrieve foul balls from the fans to bring the ball back into play. When I was doing the research on my game used HB "Dutch" Leonard no-hit ball from 1916 I came across some of the facts that I just mentioned that I had never previously known...
My point is that the Nap Rucker no-hit ball that you referenced is probably one of one or two known to exist. What a great collectible, IMHO...
That being said, you have to feel comfortable with an items provenance. With collectibles this old, a certain "leap of faith" is required because absolute provenance isn't always available.
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