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Topnotchsy
Featured Contributor, The best players in history?
- Aug 7, 2008
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I posted about winning this ball in the pickups thread, but doing some research I was able to learn a lot more, and thought people might find it interesting.
For decades, baseball players would supplement their income by doing barnstorming tours. Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig did tours and they ran for decades. ***** League teams and players often did tours. It was a chance for them to play against white teams (and at times with white players, even before integration), a chance to bring baseball to cities that did not have their own team, and a chance to make some extra money.
When Jackie Robinson played in the Majors, he used to lead a tour in the off-season. Initially the teams that Jackie lead were comprised of only ***** League players, but in 1953, he added some white players including teammate Gil Hodges. Others on the team included Maury Wills (who was in the Minors and would not make the Majors for half a decade.)
Maybe the most fascinating signature on the ball comes from Spec Bebop. Bebop was a midget performer who toured with the Indianapolis Clowns. While baseball as we know it today is serious business, in the ***** Leagues, baseball was viewed more as another form of entertainment, and they often had jugglers and other performers. Bebop was a very popular performer with his co-performer "King Tut." He was listed on the roster playing the position ENT (entertainer).
As mentioned, the tour was the first for Jackie that featured white players on the team. Interestingly, the tour had some controversy when they were in Birmingham, Alabama. The team played a game with all the white players on the bench due to a ban on blacks and whites playing together.
Also really cool, the ball is an official ***** American League
Signatures:
Percy Smith - Pitcher Indianapolis Clowns
Jackie Robinson - Brooklyn Dodgers 1947-1956
Gil Hodges - Dodgers 1943-1961
John Glenn - Dodgers Minor Leaguer 1950-1960
Luke Easter - Was a part of Jackie's Barnstorming Tour. Homestead Grays 1947-48, Cleveland Indians 1949-1954.
Bob Young
Maury Wills - Dodgers 1951-1959 (minors) 1959-1966 (majors)
Clyde McNeal - ***** and Mexican Leagues 1945-57. Dodgers Minor League 1953-57
Ralph Branca
"BeBop" - Spec Bebop - Midget performer
For decades, baseball players would supplement their income by doing barnstorming tours. Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig did tours and they ran for decades. ***** League teams and players often did tours. It was a chance for them to play against white teams (and at times with white players, even before integration), a chance to bring baseball to cities that did not have their own team, and a chance to make some extra money.
When Jackie Robinson played in the Majors, he used to lead a tour in the off-season. Initially the teams that Jackie lead were comprised of only ***** League players, but in 1953, he added some white players including teammate Gil Hodges. Others on the team included Maury Wills (who was in the Minors and would not make the Majors for half a decade.)
Maybe the most fascinating signature on the ball comes from Spec Bebop. Bebop was a midget performer who toured with the Indianapolis Clowns. While baseball as we know it today is serious business, in the ***** Leagues, baseball was viewed more as another form of entertainment, and they often had jugglers and other performers. Bebop was a very popular performer with his co-performer "King Tut." He was listed on the roster playing the position ENT (entertainer).
As mentioned, the tour was the first for Jackie that featured white players on the team. Interestingly, the tour had some controversy when they were in Birmingham, Alabama. The team played a game with all the white players on the bench due to a ban on blacks and whites playing together.
Also really cool, the ball is an official ***** American League
Signatures:
Percy Smith - Pitcher Indianapolis Clowns
Jackie Robinson - Brooklyn Dodgers 1947-1956
Gil Hodges - Dodgers 1943-1961
John Glenn - Dodgers Minor Leaguer 1950-1960
Luke Easter - Was a part of Jackie's Barnstorming Tour. Homestead Grays 1947-48, Cleveland Indians 1949-1954.
Bob Young
Maury Wills - Dodgers 1951-1959 (minors) 1959-1966 (majors)
Clyde McNeal - ***** and Mexican Leagues 1945-57. Dodgers Minor League 1953-57
Ralph Branca
"BeBop" - Spec Bebop - Midget performer
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1953 Barnstorming - Jackie Robinson 2.jpg145.5 KB · Views: 22
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1953 Barnstorming - Jackie Robinson 6.jpg163 KB · Views: 25
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1953 Barnstorming - Jackie Robinson 4.jpg161.6 KB · Views: 23
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