New Discovery for Hall of Fame and Negro League Collectors

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

I have discovered through research that a postcard I have recently come into possession of contains JL Wilkinson.

This is the 1909 Hopkins Brothers Lady Baseball Club from Des Moines, IA..the man in the suit in the back row is JL Wilkinson who would later go on to own the Kansas City Monarchs and was a key figure in the early success of the Negro Leagues. Wilkinson started out by forming his "Lady" ball club in 1909 and a few years later formed the famous "All Nations" club which was a barnstorming club filled with players of many nationalities and at one time contained a couple of women. In 1920 he would form the Kansas City Monarchs.

Hopkins Brothers was a sporting goods store in Des Moines that sponsored the team.


Here is the All Nations team which you can see a couple of the same women in the front row that are on the postcard.


Here is a photo of Wilkinson in his later years