SOLD RARE 1930's Buck Lai Ticket - 1st Asian Baseball Player

[Shoeless Moe]

Buck Lai was born in Honolulu to Chinese immigrants. Thanks to some time with the barnstorming Hawaiian Travelers, he entered organized baseball in 1918 with the Eastern League’s Bridgeport Americans and spent the better part of four seasons with that club. Then Lai joined the regionally famous Brooklyn Bushwicks—who, oddly enough, played nearly all their home games in Queens—and starred for the Bushwicks for years. Lai had reportedly gone to spring training with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1918, and exactly 10 years later he got another shot, this time with the New York Giants.

In the middle of spring training, the Giants reportedly sold Lai’s contract to Little Rock in the minor leagues. But then the reports backtracked, suggesting that Lai had refused to go; not surprising, considering he’d spent his entire professional career within an hour of New York City. So Buck Lai stuck with the Giants all the way through spring training—during which he was almost invariably referred to as the Chinaman*—before getting sold to the Jersey City Skeeters. But this didn’t happen until after the Giants’ Opening Day victory over the Boston Braves, and it’s certainly possible that Lai was on the bench, ready to play. According to The Sporting News, after Lai’s brief stint with Jersey City, he actually returned to the Giants, but once again didn’t actually get into a game before drawing his release. Oh, and there’s also some evidence that he’d been on the Phillies’ Opening Day roster back in 1918.


For those who are unfamiliar with him a great article from our fellow NET54er Gary C:

http://infinitecardset.blogspot.com/...eed-demon.html

and more on Hawaiian Travelers:

http://research.sabr.org/asianbb/pro...1916-paperback


and seems like at least few bidders at RMY know of him:

https://rmyauctions.com/bids/bidplace?itemid=252

https://rmyauctions.com/bids/bidplace?itemid=1773

This Ticket for sale is a great companion piece if its you.

Doubt you will find another one or one will become available possible ever!

$50 Shipped

[Shoeless Moe]

and SOLD