Parson Nicholson

Thomas Clark "Parson" Nicholson (April 14, 1863 – February 28, 1917) was an American baseball player whose career spanned from 1887 to 1899. He played principally as a second baseman and in the minor leagues. He did play three seasons in Major League Baseball for the Detroit Wolverines in 1888, the Toledo Maumees in 1890, and the Washington Senators in 1895.

Nicholson's only full season in the major leagues came in 1890 with Toledo when he appeared in 134 games, all at second base, and compiled a .268 batting average with 11 triples, four home runs, 72 RBIs and 46 stolen bases. Over the course of 12 minor league seasons, Nicholson appeared in 837 games and compiled a .303 batting average with 48 triples, 37 home runs, and 354 stolen bases.

Early years and nickname Nicholson was born in Blaine, Ohio, in 1863. He received the nickname "Parson" because he refused to play baseball on Sundays. In 1887, at age 24, he compiled a .357 batting average playing in the Ohio State League for teams in Wheeling, West Virginia, and Steubenville, Ohio.

Detroit and Toledo

In 1888, Nicholson played for the St. Louis Whites in the Western Association. With high salaries owed to the team's star players, and gate receipts declining markedly, the team folded in October 1888 with the players being sold to other teams. Nicholson was acquired by the Cleveland Spiders, but the Spiders sold Nicholson to the Toledo Mud Hens of the International League in May 1889 for $500. During the 1895 season, he hit .348 in 81 games for the Tigers and had three triples and nine home runs.

Nicholson continued to play in the minors through the 1899 season. He split the 1897 season playing with three Western League teams and played the 1898 season for Newark in the Atlantic League and Kansas City in the Western League. He concluded his playing career in 1899 as a player-manager for Wheeling in the Interstate League. Nicholson died in Bellaire in 1917 at age 53 from lobar pneumonia caused by tuberculosis. He was interred at the Rose Hill Cemetery in Bellaire.