In honor of Black History Month, enjoy a slide show featuring vintage cards and collectibles of Negro League players. Some are well-known and Hall of Famers. Others are obscure except to those who study the history. Cuban-issued cards depicting players in winter leagues are most prevalent. Venezuelan, Mexican, and Puerto Rican leagues all issued cards as well. American manufacturers produced almost no Negro League cards, despite wildly popular players and teams.
Collecting the Negro Leagues
The cards featured here are from my personal collection. If you would like to learn more about collecting the Negro Leagues, Cardhound has you covered here. You can find modern “tribute” items or even many autographs for just a few dollars. But collecting true playing days vintage star cards can get pricey. As a result, you won’t see any Josh Gibson or Oscar Charleston cards in my collection, unfortunately! Still, many great vintage cards can be found under $100.
Before and After Jackie
Any baseball fan has heard of Jackie Robinson. His story is what got me interested in black baseball and understanding segregation in general as a young baseball player and collector. But for most casual fans, Jackie is the beginning and end of the integration story. Of course, there were generations of Black players prior to Jackie, playing mostly in segregated leagues in the U.S. or often in fully integrated leagues abroad.
Even post-Jackie Hall of Famers like Larry Doby (who was the second black player post-integration and the first in the AL) and Minnie Minoso (the first Afro-Cuban player in MLB) don’t receive the recognition they deserve. And most baseball fans would struggle to name any black players before integration. This long list would include Americans who starred in Negro Leagues, and Black Cubans who played here. And almost all of these players played various professional leagues to eke out a living.
Still Underrepresented
Sadly, even the American Baseball Hall of Fame has been very slow to recognize the careers of so many Negro League stars. There are fewer than 30 Negro League players inducted, if you exclude players like Willie Mays and Hank Aaron, who are obviously enshrined based on their MLB careers. View the full list here.
As we celebrate Black History Month, please enjoy the slide show and captions, and thanks for reading! Note: you may need to view the slides on desktop to view the captions.
Most baseball fans know that Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in MLB . . .
. . . but far fewer even know Larry Doby, who broke the barrier in the A.L. shortly after.
The Cuban Comet, Mr. White Sox, Minnie Minoso broke the Afro-Cuban barrier in MLB.
Jackie opened the door for many former Negro Leaguers to enter MLB, such as Luke Easter.
Vargas hit .472 while playing for the New York Cubans in the Negro National League in 1943.
Alejandro Oms was one of the best Latino outfielders of his day, and was a 3x batting champ in the Cuban Winter Leagues.
Martin Dihigo is considered by many to be on the short list of possible "greatest players of all time." He played everywhere and did everything, and is in several Halls of Fame.
Ray Brown is one of just a few Negro League players in the Hall of Fame. The Ohioan pitched his teams to 8 pennants in one nine-year span.
By all accounts Dandridge was one of the best-fielding 3rd basemen of all time. He is another HOF inductee.
The "true rookie" of Minnie Minoso.
Now on to some more obscure figures--like Rodriguez, who had a brief stint in MLB in addition to a solid Negro League and Cuban career.
Many players earned their notoriety in singular moments of excellence against MLB teams. Pedroso earned fame after pitching a no-hitter against the Tigers in 1909.
Negro League history is full of stories of enormous potential cut short by tragic death. Dreke died of TB at just 29 years of age.
Like Dreke, Rios' life and career were also cut short by illness. Rios was also just 29 years old when he died.
American Negro Leagues pitcher from 1915-1932, Red Ryan could also hit for average.
"Hooks" Jimenez is a Cuban baseball HOF inductee, and had a lengthy career, from 1912-1929. Just like Americans went south of the border, Cubans also often came north to play in American Negro Leagues.
Oscar Levis was the first Jamaican player in a recognized major league. He played for 12 years across various pro leagues including American Negro Leagues.
A baseball lifer, Fernandez played and coached for decades, and was on the first list of Negro League players considered for the HOF.
Rojo is another baseball lifer, active player and manager from the 1920's-1940's.
Duncan had a long and legendary career (1920-1948) as a catcher and manager in American Negro Leagues and Cuban leagues.
Pablo "Champion" Mesa starred in some of baseball's all-time best outfields in both Cuba and the U.S. alongside such legends as Oscar Charleston, Martin Dihigo and Alejandro Oms.
Little biography is available for Fabre, like many others, despite as long, solid career lasting from 1918-1935.
A native of Havana, Cuba, Bragaña played professionally from 1928 to 1955, mostly with the Cuban Stars (East).
Listed at just 5'4" and nicknamed "Ducky," Davenport has a local connection to my area, finishing his career with the Danville Dans (IL). 5x all star.
Most fans of vintage baseball know of Luis Tiant Jr. His dad starred everywhere he played for 20+ years.
Nicknamed "Cocaina," allegedly because his pitches made batters feel woozy. He played in the Negro Leagues for over a decade and starred in Cuba, Mexico, and Venezuela.
An American, infielder Serrell played from 1941-1957. A great hitter, Serrell was inducted to the Mexican Baseball HOF in 2020.
Salazar played and managed for 20 years in Cuba, the U.S., Mexico, and Venezuela, and is in 3 Halls of Fame.
