Joseph Start, nicknamed "Old Reliable", was one of the most durable regulars of baseball's earliest era, and one of the top first basemen of his time. He began his playing career in 1859, before the formation of organized leagues and before ballplayers received payment for their services. He continued to play regularly until 1886, when he was 43. Start's career spanned countless innovations that transformed the game in fundamental ways, but he adjusted and continued to play at a high level for almost three decades. Baseball historian Bill Ryczek said that Start "was the last of the preāCivil War players to hang up his cleats."
Joe Start
Joe Start, detail of woodcut depicting the 1865 Brooklyn Atlantics, published in Harper's Weekly
The Enterprise Base Ball Club of Brooklyn was an American baseball club in the 1850s and 1860s.
Joe Start, 1865, then with the Brooklyn Atlantics