Holy smokes, glad to see the many replies since my last visit but I still cannot follow cyseymour's reasoning. I believe much of the confusion for you cyseymour resides in a failure to soak in all that is known about the situation. In no particular order, I'd like to offer some information that might help you.
- All Deacon White N172 cards are rare, the McCreachery only has a single known copy today, some of his other poses are not that far behind. I'd gladly trade a high grade Delahanty for a White
- By studying the N172 team change cards of 1888 (Fa & Fb), as well as the other years of N172 production, you quickly realize that the N172 cards were produced during the earliest part of the baseball season. The cabinets would often catch later in the year trades (produced perhaps during and after the N172 run)
- Only new players for Indy & Detroit were photographed in 1888 at Fearsnaught studio together with those that were somehow missed in 1887. McGeachy was photographed in 1887, so he was not part of the photo shoot. Strangely, all players were photographed in 5 poses except Deacon who posed for 9 different shots. The other Detroit players to be photographed that day were Baldwin, Conway, Getzien, and Scheibeck.
- Detroit began 1888 very strong, holding first place as late as July 28th (tied with NY Giants at 47-20 => well past 1/2 way point of season) when they lost the first of 16 straight! Yes, Detroit lost 16 straight but not because of Deacon White. Hardy Richardson broke his ankle (season ending injury), Sam Thompson had a lame throwing arm (wouldn't play remainder of the season), and most importantly, the team did not like their manager (Watkins). Watkins was strict and quick to fine players whether they deserved it or not and this quickly grew old. The Wolverines wouldn't return to winning ways until team Secretary, Robert Leadley, would take over as manager. By mid-1888, every team member despised Watkins (Deacon wasn't alone on this).
- Furthermore, the poor finish to 1888 wasn't responsible for Detroit disbanding; the death blow was instead due to a tough NL ruling that left visiting clubs with a smaller share of gate receipts. Detroit drew huge crowds on the road and did well in 1887 however they couldn't cover the player's salaries in 1888 with the smaller cut. (Jealous Boston, New York, etc. knew how to put an end to a small town team)
- Lastly, and I repeat, Deacon White had a solid 1888, he wasn't the demise of the Wolverines.
I do however like the discussion that has resulted from the probing.
Great to hear from some of my long time Detroit friends! Hope all is well.