Baseball History: 10 best players who never made the Majors

Jim Creighton – Pitcher

Major League Baseball, at least in its earliest form, did not exist until 1870. Jim Creighton passed away in 1861 at just 21 years old, nine years before he would have had a chance to be a part of MLB history.

And yet, even in those early days, Creighton was a star. One of the best cricket players in the country, he was recruited to the diamond, becoming one of the early professional players. Even though he was only 18 years old, Creighton became one of the best players in New York City, which was one of the hotbeds for baseball at the time.

Creighton essentially put together in the 1860s the equivalent of Bob Gibson‘s 1968 campaign. At a time when teams routinely scored double digit runs, Creighton allowed only 7.2 runs per game in his career. Despite pitching underhand, as per the rules of the day, Creighton was able to fire the baseball with greater velocity than anyone else, and his rising fastball and slow curve changed the complexion of the game.

Unfortunately, right at the height of his popularity, Creighton was struck down. On October 14, 1862, after already hitting four doubles, Creighton homered. However, the force of his swing caused severe internal injuries, as Creighton himself said that he heard something snap. He began to suffer severe pain and bleeding, passing away four days later at his home from either a ruptured bladder or a ruptured abdominal hernia.

As Creighton would have been in his early 30s when the National Association, the first major league, began, he could have had a few solid years left. Unfortunately, Creighton was a comet across the sky of the early days of the game.