SIGNED BY 119 NEGRO LEAGUE PLAYERS, INCLUDING HALL OF FAMERS LEON DAY, LARRY DOBY, MONTE IRVIN, BUCK LEONARD AND BUCK O'NEIL
(BASEBALL). Negro League Autograph Sheet signed. Baltimore, October 13, 1990. One sheet, measuring 11 by 17 inches, printed and signed on the recto. Floated, matted and framed, entire piece measures 16 by 20 inches. $9500.
"Autograph sheet" from the Negro League Baseball Players Association reunion in Baltimore in 1990, signed by 119 Negro League players, including Hall of Famers Leon Day, Larry Doby, Monte Irvin, Buck Leonard and Buck O'Neil and Mamie "Peanut" Johnson, one of three women to play in the league.
The Negro Leagues developed after the Civil War due to a "gentleman's agreement" among MLB higher-ups to keep Black players out of the league. After a long period without an organized circuit, Andrew "Rube" Foster founded the Negro National League (NNL) in 1920. The Negro leagues thrived in the 1920s and then again after the Great Depression, but popularity began to wane in the late 1940s when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in the MLB by joining the Brooklyn Dodgers and other star Black players started to shift over to the MLB.
This autograph sheet is signed by many of the biggest names to play in the Negro leagues. Nicknamed "Peanut" because of her diminutive size, Mamie Johnson was one of only three women to play in the Negro leagues, and the only female pitcher. She played from 1953 to 1955 with the Indianapolis Clowns, and is believed to have had an impressive 33-8 record. Hall of Famer Larry Doby was the second Black player to join the MLB, signing with the Cleveland Indians only three months after Jackie Robinson signed with the Dodgers. Hall of Famer Monte Irvin was also one of the first Black players to break the color line, joining the Giants in 1949. Buck Leonard played for the dynastic Homestead Grays from 1934 to 1950, a team that won nine straight pennants and three Negro World Series titles. In 1999, Sporting News ranked him number 47 on its list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players.
Fine condition, beautifully framed.