The Forgotten Monarch
by Jay Caldwell In ancient Greek mythology, four pillars held up the sky. If one looks at the Negro Leagues firmament, four pillars (teams) held up the Negro Leagues. The city of Chicago was home to the first great dynasty with the Chicago American Giants led my Andrew “Rube” Foster. Foster established the Negro National […]
Why were portraits of certain players selected and others omitted?
This is probably the most frequently asked question I have encountered. Unknown Player I believe there is no real precedent for the scope of painted portraits displayed in the book Black Baseball In Living Color, The Artwork of Graig Kreindler, an effort that took the better part of four years. The Perez Steele sets of […]
A Ghost of a Mystery
“There are three kinds of lies, lies, damn lies, and statistics.” – attributed to Benjamin Disraeli, British Prime Minister (1868) Oliver Marcell (1895-1949) lived long enough to see baseball integrated and a trickle of Negro Leagues stars enter Integrated Professional Baseball. He was nicknamed “Ghost” with two theories offered up for his moniker. The less […]
Graig Kreindler Joins the Platter!
Negro Leagues History Artist Graig Kreindler Joins the Platter! re-posted from Mike Lindsley (ML) Sports Platter The painter of the national pastime chats about his work and career, his current involvement with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, the 2018 NY Yankees, plays Rapid Fire and more with ML.
When an Artist Sits Down
Researching the history and migration patterns of players in the Negro Leagues can be particularly challenging, fascinating and rewarding.
Ernie Tanner
Known as the “black Jim Thorpe”, his gridiron greatness was only surpassed by his brilliance on a baseball diamond. The fleet footed shortstop integrated, and led the Tyee White Sox to the Tacoma City Championship in 1910. He was player/manager of the segregated Tacoma Little Giants, 1912- 23. The Little Giants were initially sponsored by William Clark Little (1879-?), a barber and former leftfielder for the 1907 Yakima Black Stockings, but the team kept the name long after Little relocated to Oakland, and were essentially handled by Ernie Tanner for a decade.
An Artball® Origin
With my current artistic endeavor, which first piqued my interest when my good friend Mark Macrae asked me if I had ever thought about drawing or painting on a baseball before (during a memorabilia show in Tacoma, WA, back in November, 1997), I have been able to combine my love for narrative storytelling and baseball into one object, the Artball®.
John Golden
John Golden manned the hot corner for the Ellensburg Colts. He typically hit sixth in the batting order, just ahead of Daviscourt. Initially the league had six teams, then contracted to just four; Yakima Tigers, Ellensburg Colts, Toppenish Indians, and Prosser Elks.
Baseball Archeology in Cuba
Baseball Archeology in Cuba A Trip to Guines by Mark Rucker Visiting Cuba is like tripping in a time machine. We’re not talking about a beach vacation at Veradero, but a visitation to the living, working Cuba. A Cuba, where baseball is woven into the shirts they wear, is the caffeine in their coffee, and […]
What becomes a legend most?
The film, “Legends of the Road,” isn’t in the Academy Awards pipeline yet, but its quality and heart are so compelling that a future Oscar nod cannot be ruled out.
