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The catching platoon of switch-hitting Joe Sugden and Bill Merritt replaced Connie Mack in Pittsburgh in 1895. Sugden was Mack's designated pinch runner when Mack had an injury that hindered his running, an arrangement which was then legal. He platooned with Mike Kahoe in 1902 as the AL Browns' initial catching combo. A longtime scout, he served the Cardinals from 1928 until his death. (ME)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » May 18, 1912: The Tiger players protest Ty Cobb's suspension and vote to strike. Faced with a $5,000 fine for failing to field a team, club owner Frank Navin orders manager Hugh Jennings to sign up some local amateurs. Al Travers, Bill Leinhauser, Dan McGarvey, Billy Maharg (whose real name was Graham, "Maharg" reversed), Jim McGarr, Pat Meany, Jack Coffey, Hap Ward, and Ed Irvin put on Tiger uniforms. Two Detroit coaches, Joe Sugden, 41, and Jim McGuire, 48, complete the lineup, and score the only two runs for Detroit. The Athletics win 24–2, as Travers goes all the way, giving up 26 hits and 24 runs in eight innings. The only recruit to hit for Detroit is Irvin, who laces two triples in three at bats and closes his ML career with a 2.000 slugging average (only three other players will debut with two triples -— Roy Weatherly, Willie McCovey, and John Sipin). Only one ever plays another ML game: Maharg will bat once for the Phils in 1916. He will also be involved as a conspirator in the Black Sox scandal of 1919. A's starter Jack Coombs leaves after three innings with a 6–0 lead, good enough for a win under the rules at the time. Boardwalk Brown and Herb Pennock divide the rest of the pitching for the A's. Starter Travers, having pitched his only ML game, returns to his studies at St. Joseph's College and later becomes a Catholic priest.