Tales from The b.a.SKET: Black Art Sketches for the Contemporary Art Lover
By D. Amari Jackson
This week, we reach into the b.a.SKET and pull out a storied and compelling era in American sports history…
Despite marginalization and lack of mainstream attention due to race, many extraordinary tales have nonetheless survived from the legendary era of 20th century baseball clubs collectively known as the Negro Leagues. Leading the way is the incomparable Leroy “Satchel” Paige, the greatest pitcher in Negro League history and regarded one of the best pitchers to ever play the game. Paige was known to pitch two or three games a night, commonly shutting out his competition in consecutive contests.
In 1934, Paige formed the Satchel Paige All Stars to “barnstorm,” a way athletes could make additional money offseason by competing against teams outside their league including, in this case, white players from Major League Baseball (MLB). Over a three-year period, Paige’s team won 128 games while barnstorming, 40 against teams with MLB players, losing only 23. In one notable game, Paige pitched against MLB’s top pitcher, Hall of Famer Dizzy Dean, striking out 17 batters in the win. Well aware of Paige’s greatness, Dean later offered, “If me and Satch were together in St. Louis, we would clinch the pennant in July and go fishing until the World Series.”
Then there was the mighty catcher, Josh Gibson, widely considered one of the best power hitters and catchers in baseball history. Though relevant statistics are incomplete, it is believed Gibson hit well over 800 home runs in in his career while sporting one of the highest batting averages in Negro League history.
Gibson’s power was known to be unparalleled. So much so that the white baseball press was known to refer to Gibson as “the Black Babe Ruth,” prompting the Black baseball community to correct them by labeling Ruth “the white Josh Gibson.”
Either way, Gibson’s greatness—unlike his stats—are not in dispute. Still, an oft-repeated tall tale about the slugger’s on-field exploits has made its way into common lore:
“In the bottom of the ninth at Pittsburgh, down a run, with a runner on base and two outs, Gibson hits one high and deep, so far into the twilight sky that it disappears, apparently winning the game. The next day, the same two teams are playing again, now in Washington. Just as the teams have positioned themselves on the field, a ball falls out of the sky, and a Washington outfielder grabs it. The umpire yells to Gibson, “You’re out! In Pittsburgh, yesterday!”
———————
“Negro League Ball Player”
Negro League Ball Player from BAIA’s Garden Art For The Soul series captures the flavor and majesty of this extraordinary era in American sports history.
Browse and shop for fine art from our growing network of artists, collectors, estates, galleries — specializing in works by Black American artists with great values on premier art.
START COLLECTING ART
Sign up for our free email course on how to begin your collection.
Amari Jackson is a creator, author, TV/web/film producer, and award-winning journalist. He is author of the 2011 novel, The Savion Sequence; creator/writer/coproducer of the 2012-2014 web series The Book Look; writer/coproducer of the 2016 film Edge of the Pier; and current writer/coproducer of Listen Up! on HBCU GO/Roku TV. He is a former Chief of Staff for a NJ State Senator; a former VP of Communications & Development for the Jamestown Project at Harvard University; and a recipient of several writing fellowships including the George Washington Williams Fellowship from the Independent Press Association. An active ghost writer, song writer, martial artist, and journalist, his writings have appeared in a wide variety of national and regional publications.
Would you buy stock in BAIA if you could? Well we invite you to join us in becoming a monthly supporter, starting at just $3 a month YOU become a stakeholder and begin to help us transform lives through art. We are growing the BAIA team and will use your contributions to hire more team members for the purpose of creating more educational and marketing resources for schools and universities about african american artists both past and present. Such art initiatives and educational programming like Blacklite with Steve Prince, Relating to Art with Dr. Kelli Morgan, and BAIA BITS would not be possible without the ongoing support of our Patreon members. Please consider becoming a monthly Patreon member today!
Review our list of rewards for becoming a BAIA Patreon / patron supporter. Your monthly contribution has lasting benefits. — “What will your legacy be” – Dr. Margaret Burroughs
Thank you new and recurring monthly Patrons
Deloris and Eddie Young, Esther Silver-Parker, Eugene Foney, Zadig & Voltaire, Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art, John and Melanie Guess, Frank Frazier, Houston Museum of African American Culture, Leslie Fields, Jim Nixon, Dr. Michael Butler, Mary “Madea” Jones, Carolyn L. Mazloomi,Terry Whitt Bailey, Brenda k robinson, Greg Head, Deborah J Jackson, Deborah Griffin, Kimberly Wilson-Lawson, Gail Rogers, Natalie F Lawrence, Yvonne R Carter, Gillian Crocca Photography, Eliesha Nelson, Gracie M Jamiah, Lyndale Pettus,Rev. Anita Marshall, E L Greene, Devon Simpson, Sylvie Meyers, Edward Johnson, Jimmy S. Clark, Jr., Robert & Susan King, Jacqueline Boggan, Nanno Smith, Dindga McCannon, Jenae Gayle, Donald M Rubin, Maya, Jessica Bickett, Jewell T. Williams, Derek Nichols, Diana Mbr, Shavaughn Buckley, Jalisa Whitley, Kassi De Luna, Eric T McKissack, Tsedey Betru, Cheryl, Polk, Victor W Brown, Alnita Ann Holder, Sharon Butts, Gregory M Glore, Tanya Desdunes, Vernestine Laughinghouse, Arelia Jones, Shakira Pollard, Kimberly Esmond Adams, Patric McCoy, Bridget Griffin, Rayhart, Mikal Aziz, Patricia Goodwin, Rebecca Smith, Rita Alston, Chris McNew, Sharyn Welch, Eunice Sykes, Paula DeJoie, Patricia S. Kearse, Cyderia Gates, Anita Askew Wharton, LaShanda Chirunga, Kree8tive DJ, Cynthia Hargrove, S Johnson, Darris L Shaw, Willa Bandler, Valerie A. Cooper, Paige Jernigan, Monique Johnson, Djibril N’Doye, Zawadi, Paul Daniel Curtis, Dr. Karen Patricia Williamsm, Brenda Joyner, Christina, Robert Taylor, Takisia Whites, Stephanie Stephens, Atiya Slaughter, Renee Williams Jefferson, Hope Elliott, Elaine Buchsbaum, Rosemarie Rogers, Frazier and Myra O’Leary, Velma McLaurin-Bell, Judy Nyquist, Kate Gadd, R Simpson, Crystal Green, Denise Rogers, Tara, Faye Edwards, Trina Virginia Brooks, jack, Beverly S Ware, Raven Walthor, Paige Jernigan, Gregg Y., Loretta Y Blakely, Barbara Hayes, Sonia Pollard, Vince Leal, Lisa Tomlinson, Diane E Leifheit, Art Now After Hours, Suzette Davis, Alison Woods, PB Fine Art Appraisal, Peter Prinz, Vickie Townsend-Carter, Lindiwe Stovall Lester, Arturo Lindsay, Raynard Hall, Toby Sisson, Bernard W. Kinsey, Leslie Smith, Nelly Maynard, Terri Bowles, Otto Neals, Ted Ellis, Bill Cook, SylviaWong Lewis, Donna Paxon, Nancy Maignan, Kimberly Smith, Tracy Russ, Gwen Meharg, Johnnie Mae Maberry, Zishan Evans, Arbrie Griffin Bradley, Sandra Sautner, Barbara Brown, Bronwen Hodgkinson, Sonia Deane, January Hoskin, Quinton Foreman, Terri Pease, Annette Grrr, Elayne Gross, Ann Tankersley, Jacqueline Konan, Jerome Moore, India Still, Kim Dubois, Edwina King Diva E, Charlotte Bender, Phyllis Stephens, Judith Hamilton, Francene Greene, Caryliss R. Weaver, Sharmon Jane Hilfinger, Bill and Deborah Nix, Joyce A, Wanda Baker-Smith, Emily Jean, C Harris, Morris Howard, Marie L Johnson, Ayoka Chenzira, Jean Gumpper, Dr. Darlene White, Dr. Sandra Boyce Broomes, Michele C. Mayes, Rita Crittenden, Beverly Grant, Linda B. Smith, Judith Bergeron, Emily Hegeman Cavanagh, Teri L, Claudia Bell, Cooky Goldblatt, Danni Cerezo, Sarah Caputo, Christina Levine, Jessica Beckstrom, Pamela Hart, Tellis, Louise Berner-Holmberg, Carla Sonheim, Alison Deas, Monikapi, Ashley Littlefield, Pearlie Taylor, Marina Kovic, Sarah Rooney, Mitchell Shohet, Cheryl B Blankman, Petrina Burkard, Sarah Drury, Megan LaCroix, Kellyn Maguire, Sophia Bellino, Cory Huff, Wilhelmina Barker, Shelley Danzy, Rosalyn D. Elder, Karen Pinzolo, Desiree Dansan, Deborah Paige-Jackson, ALKEBU LAN IMAGES Bookstore, DeLores M Dyer, Shelia, Susan Ross, Carlton Cotton, Joan L. Ward, Jocelyn Benita Smith, Paul Robinson, Janice Orr, Patricia D Dungy, Shawn Rhea, Cheryl Odeleye, Runez M Bender, Karen Y House, M Belinda Tucker, Dr. Yonette Thomas, Diana Shannon Young, Harold Moore, Shurvon Haynes, K.Coleman, Dana Todd Pope, M. Rasheed, Jamal Love, Annette, Manuelita Brown, Gale Ross, KL Martin, Patricia D Dungy, Patricia A Thomas, Carolyn J Grantham, Lyla Correoso_thomas, Judith Braggs, Cheryl Odeleye, Jean ODonnell, Saundra Woods, D. Amari Jackson, Aisha J. Thomas, Lisa Brathwaite, Marcia T Gibson, Kathryn Anderson Weaver, Deadybones, Genevieve Marsh, Rene Lee, Deborah L. McCullough, Claudia Gibson-Hunter, William Rembert Sr, Pauline Mansfield, Richard Lewis, Patrica Nulls, DeVera Redmond
We Appreciate Your Support
