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NewsletterI was thrilled to receive an invitation from the Negro Leagues Baseball Grave Marker Project to create a commemorative baseball card for the headstone laying ceremony for baseball pioneer and Hall of Fame member King Solomon White. The ceremony was held at Frederick Douglass Memorial Park in Staten Island, New York, on May 10, 2014.
It was a great honor to participate in my own small way in the celebration of Sol White’s remarkable life and hall of fame career and to contribute, again in my own small way, to correcting the injustice of an unmarked burial that befell this great man after his passing.
I want to thank John Thorn, official historian for Major League Baseball, for suggesting my participation for the occasion.
If you are not familiar with the Negro Leagues Baseball Grave Marker Project, they are a great organization that is determined to right some wrongs and restore dignity to many of the great Negro League players, managers & owners who passed all too anonymously and unceremoniously. I strongly advocate support for their efforts.
Links
- Negro Leagues Baseball Grave Marker Project website
- One of many good articles covering the event
- John Thorn’s blog post on the occasion with Sol White card by Ars Longa Art Cards
With only a few days to design and produce 50 cards for the ceremony, I based the commemorative card on Sol White’s entry in the Pilgrims Series of Art Cards, changed the dimensions to a traditional 2.5″ x 3.5″ and added some text, a portrait, an inscription and a facsimile autograph to the reverse to commemorate this special event.