[1] Hicks was one of the first catchers to stand directly behind the batter, which allowed future Hall of Fame pitcher, Candy Cummings to develop the first curveball used in baseball.

The family moved to Newtown Queens circa 1850 where his siblings were born: brother Barnett (1852-) and a sister Delia (1855-).

He was great nephew of pioneering 1872 female Presidential candidate Victoria Woodhull and her husband James Harvey Blood.

He began playing professional baseball in the National Association of Base Ball Players through 1871, most notably for the Eckford of Brooklyn.

Most catchers of his era stood twenty to twenty-five feet behind the batter, which made it impossible to field a curveball.

[12] There is some dispute with this notion, as other baseball references have him as player-manager for the White Stockings the previous year as well,[1] instead of Bill Craver.

[11] When the Association folded, the Mutuals and Hicks moved over to the newly formed National League in 1876, and then finished his career with the Cincinnati Reds.