Vickers started his career in organized professional baseball in 1900, when he played for the Toledo Mud Hens and the New Castle Quakers of the Interstate League. Two years later, he appeared as a pitcher for the Rock Island Islanders and the Terre Haute Hottentots of the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League.
Near the end of the 1902 season, Vickers started three games for the Cincinnati Reds, each resulting in a complete game loss. He struck out six and walked eight, and posted a 6.00 earned run average (ERA) in 21 innings pitched.
Cincinnati's last game of 1902 was scheduled for October 4 against the Pittsburgh Pirates, who had clinched the National League pennant.: 105  Although the weather was rainy and the field was muddy and wet, Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss insisted on playing the game, wanting his team to set a record by winning 103 games. In protest, Reds manager Joe Kelley submitted a lineup card with his players out of position, including Rube Vickers at catcher. Vickers caught two innings, during which he set the single-game modern-era MLB record for passed balls with six,: 107  a mark which has since been tied but not surpassed. He was replaced after two innings by Heinie Peitz, an actual catcher, but the Pirates had taken a 7–1 lead and went on to win the game.

Return to Rube Vickers Autograph Profile