Edward Sylvester Nolan, nicknamed The Only Nolan, forged a late-1800s Philly legacy as a lefty who also saw time in the outfield and on the infield. His MLB run spanned 1878–1885 with stops in Indianapolis, Cleveland, Allegheny City, Wilmington, and Philadelphia, finishing with a 23-52 record and a 2.98 ERA across 676 innings, plus a meager .077 batting line in 29 plate appearances for Philly. This week, Nolan Hoffman pitched for Philadelphia on Monday, reviving the nickname’s lineage as the Phillies’ modern Nolan—and a wink at the franchise’s long echo of names across eras.

Beyond that thread, the piece packs in a quick-hitting MLB snapshot: Soto, Naylor and Raleigh are highlighted for stolen-base chatter, with a broader slate of news—Judge, Kershaw, Harper, Olson and even Dale Murphy—popping up as current-mile markers in the fantasy-sphere. It’s a reminder that a single game can connect centuries of Phillies lore to today’s rosters and daily fantasy decisions.

The historical arc centers on Nolan’s birth in 1855 in Trenton, Canada, his long NL/AA/UA journey, and his death in 1913 in Paterson, NJ. The Monday start with Hoffman acts as a playful bridge between dusty 19th‑century Philly baseball and the present-day rotation, suggesting that lineage, narrative, and statlines still tilt the fantasy landscape.