With a nickname fitting of the date on which he entered the world, George “Candy” LaChance is born on Valentine’s Day in Putnam, Connecticut.

LaChance reached the National League’s Brooklyn Grooms in 1893 and spent six years with the team before joining the NL’s Baltimore Orioles in 1899. The former minor league catcher worked as a first baseman and outfielder.

After a season of minor league ball with the American League’s Cleveland Lake Shores, he joined the Cleveland Blues organization as the AL joined the NL in competitive play. In his lone season in the MLB with Cleveland, he hit .303 with 75 RBI in 133 games. He was traded after the 1901 season to the Boston Americans for catcher Ossee Schrecongost, who had played in Cleveland while with the NL’s Cleveland Spiders in 1898 and 1899.

LaChance would play four seasons in Boston, winning a World Series in 1903.