Breaking the Color Barrier

[herbc]

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

Jackie Robinson, Brooklyn Dodgers, April 15, 1947

Larry Doby, Cleveland Indians, July 5, 1947

Henry Thompson*, St. Louis Browns, July17, 1947 (7/8/49 Giants)

Monte Irvin (*H. Thompson), New York Giants, July 8, 1949

Sam Jethroe, Boston Braves, April 18, 1950

Orestes Minoso, Chicago White Sox, May 1, 1951

Bob Trice, Philadelphia Athletics, September 13, 1953

Ernie Banks, Chicago Cubs, September 17, 1953

Curt Roberts, Pittsburgh Pirates, April 13, 1954

Tom Alston, St. Louis Cardinals, April 13, 1954

Chuck Harmon, Cincinnati Reds, April 17, 1954 (*see Escalera)

**Nino Escalera (No RC's), Cincinnati Reds, April 17, 1954

Carlos Paula, Washington Senators, September 6, 1954

Elston Howard, New York Yankees, April 14, 1955

**John Kennedy (No RC's), Philadelphia Phillies, April 22, 1957

Ossie Virgil, Detroit Tigers, June 6, 1958

Pumpsie Green, Boston Red Sox, July 21, 1959