Posted By:
Gary CieradkowskiI have been interested in the Negro Leagues since the early '80's when my Grandfather used to tell me about seeing the Newark Eagles play. Going to college in Baltimore in the late 80's I got to meet many of the old players and do portraits of them, Leon Day being the best of the bunch. I got to spend quite a few afternoons in his house talking baseball with him. As far as memorabilia, I have copies of the 1945 and 46 Negro League Yearbooks. I have been trying to get some scorecards, but they are rarer than hen's teeth! Actually I'd just like to have good scans of them, owning the originals don't matter anymore, I'd just like them for research purposes. I am particularly interested in the Baltimore Elite Giants and the Newark Eagles and was writing a history of the Elites but someone else beat me to it! I compiled the stats from almost the entire seasons of 1939-43 for the team going through old newspapers and although it may sound boring, it was a whole lot of fun and rewarding.
The Negro Leagues and their collectibles are a great subject and I hope to see some cool stuff from the members!