William "Buck" Ewing played in the majors for 18 years, collecting more than 1,600 hits including 250 doubles, 178 triples, 71 home runs, and batting for a .303 average, all before 1900. He had at least 354 steals, as well, though the totals from his first six seasons are unknown. In all but one year from 1883 through 1892, Ewing played for the National League's New York Giants, leading the league in home runs once, and triples once, on the way to a Hall of Fame career as the 19th century's greatest catcher.

Ewing is featured in 11 different poses in the N172 set. This example depicts the captain of New York's first National League champions (1888 and 1889) ready to catch a ball, with both of his hands held up at head height. Ewing was a genius as a field leader, and was unsurpassed when it came to throwing to bases. His fundamentals are on clear display in this image.

The (MK) qualifier comes from some incredibly light pencil markings on the back of the card, almost imperceptible without close examination. While the front of the card suffers a bit from the dark toning and slight underdevelopment of the image, leaving the contrast light, the entire image is still absolutely visible and the text is legible. Some edge chipping on the top and bottom, with a bit of paper loss along the right side, seemingly from a piece of tape being removed and taking some of the card away.  An outstanding card, one of the most popular and important Hall of Famers of the era.