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King Solomon White

Second Base
  • Series: Beginnings: 1880's
  • City: New York
  • Team: Gothams
  • League: Independent
  • Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame

King Solomon White (1868-1955). An infielder, manager, executive, sportswriter, and historian, Sol was also influential in establishing the Negro Leagues. Well traveled, White played for 11 different teams over 24 seasons. In 1907, White published the first history of black baseball, Sol White’s History of Colored Baseball.

  • Credited with a lifetime batting average of .356
  • Batted .404 in 1895
  • Elected to Hall of Fame: 2006
  • Sol White did not appear in the Old Judge series. This image is taken from a photo that appears in White's book, Sol White's History of Colored Baseball.

Auction History

J.L. Wilkinson

Shortstop
  • Series: Diamond Heads '15
  • Team: All Nations
  • League: Independent
  • Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame

James Leslie Wilkinson (1878-1964) loved to play baseball and he loved to see everyone play the game. He organized women’s teams, black and Cuban teams, and the multi-hued All-Nations team. He barnstormed with the House of David and brought night baseball to the heartland. His KC Monarchs sent more black players to the majors than any other Negro League club and eleven of his players are in Cooperstown. Being the sole white owner in the black circuits may have seemed an unlikely role for this modest Midwesterner, but “Wilkie’s” integrity and fairness earned the trust of Rube Foster when he organized the NNL in 1920. Few men of any background have left the legacy that Wilkinson established.

  • Won 17 titles and two Colored World Series
  • An inveterate entrepreneur and showman, Wilkie brought the joy of America’s game to all of America thru the Roaring Twenties, the depths of Depression, and the darkness of WWII
  • Elected to Hall of Fame: 2006

Auction History

Louis Santop

Catcher
  • Series: Diamond Heads '15
  • City: New York
  • Team: Lincoln Giants
  • League: Independent
  • Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame

Louis Santop (Loftin) (1890-1942) was a prodigious HR slugger & indomitable catcher in the Negro Leagues. He averaged .406 lifetime, caught two of the hardest throwing pitchers of all-time (Smokey Joe Williams & Dick Redding) and endured behind the plate for an astonishing 15 seasons despite the privations and rigor of black baseball in America in his day. A jovial giant, Top was a fan favorite & sure-fire draw with his ability to throw a ball over outfield fences before games & hit it even further during games.

  • It is told the Newark park had an ad promising a suit to players who hit the 440’ centerfield fence. The sign was removed after Santop hit it three times in one game
  • Played for great Negro League teams including the NY Lincoln Giants and the Hilldale Club
  • Elected to Hall of Fame: 2006

Auction History

Rube Foster

Manager
  • Series: Diamond Heads '15
  • City: Chicago
  • Team: American Giants
  • League: Independent
  • Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame

Andrew Foster (1879-1930) was “the foremost manager and executive in history of the Negro Leagues” according to his Cooperstown plaque. He is known by many as “the Father of Negro Baseball,” a title earned by decades of playing greatness on the mound, managing championship teams, and founding the Negro NL in 1920. John McGraw recruited Foster to instruct his pitchers. Foster is said to have taught Mathewson the screwball. His nickname may derive from his defeat of Waddell in one of many exhibitions with the “real” big leaguers.

  • Honus Wagner said Foster was “one of the greatest pitchers of all-time”
  • But it was his brilliance as an executive that left a legacy of greatness in African-American history as the league he founded finally gave a national platform for the talents of black players
  • Elected to Hall of Fame: 1981

Auction History

Joe Williams

Pitcher
  • Series: Pilgrims
  • City: Chicago
  • Team: Giants (IND)
  • League: Independent
  • Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame

Joseph Williams (1886-1951) may have been the best pitcher never to appear in the major leagues. He starred in the Negro Leagues and in Cuba and Mexico over a 27-year career. His best year was 1914 (an amazing 41-3). Playing against MLB players in barnstorming games, Williams compiled a 20-7 record over the “best” in the game.

  • At age 44 in 1930, closed his career with a 1-0, 12-inning win striking out 27 KC Monarchs
  • That same year, in his only confrontation with the rising star, beat Satchel Paige 1-0.
  • Elected to Hall of Fame: 1999

Auction History

Cartophilia

T201 Mecca Canvas: John Thoney