Editing Joe Start (section)

{{Short description|American baseball player (1842–1927)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Joe Start
|image=Joestart.jpg
|position=[[First baseman]]
|bats=Left
|throws=Left
|birth_date={{birth date|mf=yes|1842|10|14}}
|birth_place=[[New York City]], U.S.
|death_date={{death date and age|1927|3|27|1842|10|14}}
|death_place=[[Providence, Rhode Island]], U.S.
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=May 18
|debutyear=1871
|debutteam=New York Mutuals
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=July 9
|finalyear=1886
|finalteam=Washington Nationals
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
|stat1value=.299
|stat2label=[[Hit (baseball)|Hit]]s
|stat2value=1,417
|stat3label=[[Run (baseball)|Run]]s
|stat3value=852
|teams=
;&nbsp; National Association of Base Ball Players
: [[Brooklyn Enterprise|Enterprise of Brooklyn]] (1859&ndash;1861)
: [[Brooklyn Atlantics]] (1862&ndash;1870)
;&nbsp; League player
: [[New York Mutuals]] ({{baseball year|1871}}–{{baseball year|1876}})
: [[Hartford Dark Blues]] ({{baseball year|1877}})
: [[History of the Chicago Cubs|Chicago White Stockings]] ({{baseball year|1878}})
: [[Providence Grays]] ({{baseball year|1879}}–{{baseball year|1885}})
: [[Washington Nationals (1886–1889)|Washington Nationals]] ({{baseball year|1886}})
;&nbsp; League manager
: [[New York Mutuals]] ({{baseball year|1873}})
}}

'''Joseph Start''' (October 14, 1842 &ndash; March 27, 1927), nicknamed "'''Old Reliable'''",<ref>[https://negroleagueshistory.com/william-white-defining-race-america/ Caldwell, Jay, "William White, Defining Race in America"], NegroLeaguesHistory.com, November 13, 2017</ref> was one of the most durable regulars of [[baseball]]'s earliest era, and one of the top [[first baseman|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 pre–Civil War players to hang up his cleats."<ref name="Ryczek">[https://sabr.org/latest/ryczek-my-favorite-19th-century-player-joe-start/ Ryczek, William, "My Favorite Nineteenth Century Player: Joe Start"], Society of American Baseball Research 19th Century Committee, Summer 2018</ref>