Thanks for the replies everyone and the auto/Homer pic too, always good to see old Pirates stuff. I've read that players back then also played under an assumed name when they were signed to a different team but wanted a tryout with a major league team. Possibly they played in Outlaw Leagues or they were looking to jump a contract. I have plenty of free time tomorrow so I'll look through some old papers and see if I can come up with anything.
One of the players I checked was Steamer Flanagan, a T206 player. He didn't play anywhere in 1904 and only played with the Pirates in 1905 so I thought maybe there could be a mix-up. He actually played an exhibition game the day before his major league debut, then in his debut he pinch hit in the 9th inning but his name didn't make it into the boxscore. It was just a note in the bottom of the story
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