A is for Abbaticchio

Sometimes, when I am lying in bed at night and I can't sleep, I do the T206 version of counting sheep -- I go alphabetically through the set, one player per letter. With A, I always start with Abbaticchio. Without pondering too long you might think he comes first in all of Baseball with an AB beginning -- but let's not forget Hank Aaron. And, to be fair, current player David Aardsma deserves to be credited with the first name in the baseball alphabet -- beating Aaron by a "D" to an "O" in letter 4 of the name.

Anyway, back to Mr. Abbaticchio. No -- he does not share a nickname with a Swedish Rock Group (ABBA). His nickname was Batty. And not because he was a particularly good hitter (lifetime .254). He was probably just a bit loony. But Abbaticchio deserves some historical mention for the following reasons:

- He was the first Major League Baseball player and first professional football player of Italian ancestry.
- He played for Pittsburgh Pirates on their 1909 World Series team (though he struck out in his only at-bat).
- In 1895 he was a member of the first professional football team in the United States -- the Latrobe Athletic Association football team -- where he starred as a fullback and kicker. In this regard, he is often credited with developing the first spiral punt.

So everytime you organize your T206 cards with Mr. Abbaticchio on top, you'll have a little historic ammunition to enhance your appreciation.