(First in a series of 13 Unsung Phillies Legends, fellas who played a long, long time ago. None are enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame or the team’s Wall of Fame, but each has a small place in franchise history.)

RHP Charlie Ferguson

Charlie Ferguson was signed by the Phillies for $1,500 off the sandlots of his hometown, Charlottesville, Va., and never played in the Minor Leagues.

The 6-foot, 170-pounder was a gifted athlete who threw right-handed and batted from the left side. As a 21-year-old, he won his major league debut on May 1, 1884, beating the Detroit Wolverines, 13-2. Not only was it a complete game, but he added a triple and two singles. He tossed a no-hitter on Aug. 29, 1885, 1-0, over Providence, the first in Phillies history (keep in mind the distance from the “pitcher’s box” in those days was 50 feet.)

• Phillies alumni

The next season, Ferguson became the first pitcher in baseball history to win two games in one day. During a three-city road trip that started in Chicago that summer, Ferguson became ill and asked manager Harry Wright if he could return to his Virginia home for proper treatment. Wright refused but Ferguson went anyway, taking a train. After spending 10 days in bed and missing the entire trip, he rejoined the team in Philadelphia with a doctor’s note in hand. While it isn’t known how many starts he missed, Ferguson finished 30-9 with a 1.98 ERA that season. Oddly, the 30 wins ranked sixth best in the NL. The ERA was the lowest. Ferguson won 12 in a row, a mark that stood in the Phillies record book until Steve Carlton’s 15-game winning streak in 1972.

In 1887, Ferguson’s final season, the Phillies ended up in second place, their highest finish, and set a club attendance record of 253,671. They reached second place by ending the season on a 16-game winning streak (plus one tie), including 11 on the road. By comparison, the club’s modern winning streak is 13 consecutive games, accomplished in 1977 and 1991.

Ferguson played in all 17 games, going 7-0 as a pitcher and hitting .361. Playing as the everyday second baseman when he didn’t pitch, Ferguson led the club with 85 RBIs. He never touched a baseball again.

Many thought he might have gone down as one of the greatest baseball players ever if his life hadn’t ended on April 29, 1888, from typhoid fever. Death came in Philadelphia less than two weeks after he turned 25.

His four-year pitching numbers were awesome: 21-25, 26-20, 30-9 and 22-10. In 183 games on the mound, he was 99-64 with a 2.67 ERA. In 1,514 2/3 innings, he allowed 1,402 hits and 290 walks, while striking out 728. His 99 wins rank among the top 10 on the Phillies' all-time list. When he wasn’t pitching, he was used in the outfield, second base and third base. He was a .288 career hitter with 157 RBIs in 257 games.

NEXT: Kid Gleason.