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Breaking the Color Barrier
In honor of Black History Month, I’ve decided to post a few cards from my collection.
Breaking the Color Barrier in Major League Baseball This first set of cards represents the first Black Players to play for each Major league baseball team. The collection contains a conventional rookie card of each player that had one issued. There are two players that did not have a card, Nino Escalera and John Kennedy. To represent Escalera I’ve included a Larry Fritsch card from the 1977 “One Year Winners” set. To represent John Kennedy, I’ve included a custom card made by Bob Lemke in 2012. Please note that Henry Thompson was not only the first player for the Browns in 1947, but he along with Monte Irvin, on July 8, 1949, broke the color line with the New York Giants. Nino Escalera and Chuck Harmon also made their debut on the same day, April 17, 1954 for the Cincinnati Redlegs. I’ve also included in this collection, a card of Moses Fleetwood Walker. The Fleetwood card is from the Upper Deck, 1994 American Epic card set, based on the Ken Burns film “Baseball the American Epic”. Fleetwood is documented as being the first black man to appear in a Major League baseball game on May 1, 1884 for the Toledo Blue Stockings, during their one year in the American Association. The color barrier was enacted in 1888 and remained in place until 1947. Moses Fleetwood Walker, Toledo Blue Stockings, May 1, 1884 https://sportscardalbum.com/c/4i7k0r66x450.JPG Jackie Robinson, Brooklyn Dodgers, April 15, 1947 https://sportscardalbum.com/c/0239tr9nx450.JPG Larry Doby, Cleveland Indians, July 5, 1947 https://sportscardalbum.com/c/tdjtai1wx450.JPG Henry Thompson*, St. Louis Browns, July17, 1947 (7/8/49 Giants) https://sportscardalbum.com/c/15508f5ex450.JPG Monte Irvin (*H. Thompson), New York Giants, July 8, 1949 https://sportscardalbum.com/c/kqy4563zx450.JPG Sam Jethroe, Boston Braves, April 18, 1950 https://sportscardalbum.com/c/a1150x04x450.JPG Orestes Minoso, Chicago White Sox, May 1, 1951 https://sportscardalbum.com/c/pc94q07gx450.JPG Bob Trice, Philadelphia Athletics, September 13, 1953 https://sportscardalbum.com/c/p543h572x450.JPG Ernie Banks, Chicago Cubs, September 17, 1953 https://sportscardalbum.com/c/f99jh152x450.JPG Curt Roberts, Pittsburgh Pirates, April 13, 1954 https://sportscardalbum.com/c/zdi99s5kx450.JPG Tom Alston, St. Louis Cardinals, April 13, 1954 https://sportscardalbum.com/c/76v4bq9jx450.JPG Chuck Harmon, Cincinnati Reds, April 17, 1954 (*see Escalera) https://sportscardalbum.com/c/0gpty201x450.JPG **Nino Escalera (No RC's), Cincinnati Reds, April 17, 1954 https://sportscardalbum.com/c/vx6q8492x450.JPG Carlos Paula, Washington Senators, September 6, 1954 https://sportscardalbum.com/c/9jc064g1x450.JPG Elston Howard, New York Yankees, April 14, 1955 https://sportscardalbum.com/c/ivk673yex450.JPG **John Kennedy (No RC's), Philadelphia Phillies, April 22, 1957 https://sportscardalbum.com/c/qf8v91wtx450.JPG Ossie Virgil, Detroit Tigers, June 6, 1958 https://sportscardalbum.com/c/1703at0vx450.JPG Pumpsie Green, Boston Red Sox, July 21, 1959 https://sportscardalbum.com/c/aa151i8tx450.JPG |
Great post. Very interesting and informative....and some great cards too. Thanks for the effort
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Great thread, Herb! It would be interesting to see this idea spread across the major sports that were segregated, like Kenny Washington and Woody Strode*, Earl Lloyd and Nat Clifton, etc. Any plans for that? Any signed stuff?
One interesting aspect of boxing collecting for me has been the way that racist attitudes were dealt with in comparison to baseball. There was definitely some bad stuff at the heavyweight division level (Peter Jackson's freeze-out, the reaction to Jack Johnson, Harry Wills' freeze-out) but nothing like the 'Gentlemen's Agreement' in baseball. One reason I collect Joe Louis is that his story is so inspiring and so out of character with the rest of American sports history of the prewar period. Plus, he kicked some symbolic Nazi ass... Isn't Green's debut with the Sox in 1960 not 1950? I thought they were the last to integrate? *I met him once at a Hollywood memorabilia convention. Interesting guy. His bio (Goal Dust) is a good read. |
I think you are right about Pumpsie, Adam. The WSJ reviewed a book about Yawkey recently. In it there is a discussion about his hold out on signing black players and how that impacted both his reputation and the ongoing success of the Red Sox during his tenure
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Great thread man. Thanks for bringing more people knowledge of the Negro Leaguers who broke the barrier. The Negro Leagues are another very interesting part of baseball history for anyone who has not delved into it yet. I recommend you spend some time reading about the players and the times.
AndyH |
Amazing set of cards of many fantastic players. Thanks for sharing your collection!!
On a side note, as a life-long Red Sox fan, Yawkey's opposition to signing African-American players, has been, and always will be, one of the worst mistakes in team history (and there have been some doozies--Ruth?). Dave |
Great post and terrific cards.
Among my favorite photos is this moment when Jackie signs for Montreal. With a stroke of the pen, the first cracks in the wall. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4628/...3d978fe16c.jpg |
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