1924 Negro Leagues World Series
Presented by Jay Caldwell
The purpose of this art exhibit is to educate the public on the first Negro Leagues World Series held in 1924 between the Hilldale Club, champions of the Eastern Colored League, and the Kansas City Monarchs, champions of the Negro National League.
The World Series played out over 10 games, four venues, and 18 days. Game 3 had ended in a tie after 13 innings when the game was called due to darkness. It was an exciting series. In the last seven games, the winning team scored its winning run in its last at bat.
This exhibit was a collaborative effort by five artists – Brian Kong, Graig Kreindler, Mike Kupka, Darryl Matthews, and Jeff Suntala.
Show Dates
- Available beginning August 2024
Meet The Artists
We recruited five artists to work on this exhibit and its companion card set of 67 cards. The artists are:
Brian Kong
Brian Kong has worked as an illustrator for 30 years. He was greatly influenced by comic book art and baseball cards and is living his dream doing both for a living. He first started working at Marvel in 1994 and several other comic book companies before working in advertising doing storyboards that helped launch the first Universal Studios theme park ads. He has been commissioned by Topps, Upper Deck, Leaf, and several other trading card companies to work on their Sports and entertainment products since 2007. He has also produced custom comic books for several MLB & NBA teams including the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Mariners, Heat and more. These were given out as promotional items at stadiums and arenas across the US. Currently, he is working with Fanatics, illustrating exclusive prints for their website featuring NFL, MLB, & NHL players.
Graig Kreindler
Graig Kreindler is one of the country’s best sports artists. The United States Sports Academy’s named Kreindler the 2018 Sport Artist of the Year, Painter. Kreindler painted all 237 portraits of the Black Baseball in Living Color exhibit. He currently has a 10-year backlog of commissioned orders. You can see more of Graig’s work at graigkreindler.com
Mike Kupka
Mike Kupka has worked with several professional sports leagues and major entertainment companies over the past 30 years. His sports art has included works for the NHL, MLB, NFL, NBA, and Topps Company. His portfolio includes working under the entertainment licenses of Lucas Films, Warner Brothers, Disney, and Marvel. Kupka began as a freelance artist in his early twenties. A combination of his passion for art and love of sports propelled his career early on. Working with professional athletes, publishers and galleries, Mike’s illustrative style quickly became noticed among collectors.
Darryl Matthews
Darryl Matthews is the son of Negro Leagues first baseman Francis Oliver Matthews (BLTL) who played parts of five seasons with the Newark Eagles (1938-1945) in a career interrupted by his work at a defense plant during WWII. Darryl is a native of Newark, NJ and attended the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Art. He is best known for painting sports figures. Darryl tries to include dramatic movement in his artwork and favors rich colors. The eyes tend to be the focal point of his work, revealing personality, sadness, joy, fear, tension, paranoia, and beauty.
Jeff Suntala
Jeff Suntala is a Cleveland-based illustrator who has worked on numerous Negro League projects over the years and enjoys helping to bring the once-forgotten history to life. His work can be seen at suntala.com and thereusedtobeaballpark.com.
1924 Negro Leagues World Series Exhibit Information
Exhibit Materials
- 33 5" x 7" Negro Leagues player portraits by Brian Kong
- 10 5” x 7” Key Play diagrams by Jeff Suntala
- 4 5” x 7” Player portraits for team statistics cards by Mike Kupka
- 2 9" x 12" Executive portraits by Darryl Matthews
- 4 5” x 7” Stadium diagram cards by Jeff Suntala
- 1 9” x 12” portrait by Graig Kreindler
- Black frames for all the paintings with a backing that identifies who the player is.
- "Backstories" for all the paintings.
- An exhibit sign "1924 Negro Leagues World Series” collection courtesy of Jay Caldwell"
- 1000 color brochures regarding the exhibit
- Optional: Card Sets (67 total cards) for resale
Venue Requirements
- Minimum of 400 square feet with 60 lineal feet of wall space.
- 1000 square feet is recommended
- Locked premises with security cameras
- All risks insurance coverage
