One of the great early major league baseball players, he got his start with a semi-pro team called the Young Clevelanders. In 1886 he joined the Detroit team of the old National League, and helped pitch that team to a pennant in 1887 with an 11-1 mark. His lone loss came in a 14-inning game in which he allowed just one hit. Traded to Cleveland in 1889, he set a record of 16 total bases in a game (single, double, three triples and a home run) which stood until 1954. Major league career ended in 1891, but he played, and later managed, in the minors until 1898.