Perhaps the greatest team to grace a professional baseball diamond was not the 1927 Yankees. Imagine a scenario where any team from any era could challenge Babe Ruth and his boys for ultimate bragging rights, who would that lone team be that might have a chance to supplant their flag onto the mountain of baseball supremacy? The answer is almost certainly the 1943 Homestead Grays. A lineup which boasted the only slugger to possibly challenge Ruth (Josh Gibson) along with a bevy of Hall of Famers and stars, this was one of the greatest assemblages of talent ever to grace the diamond! Offered here is the only original team photograph of the 1943 Grays we have ever seen and it comes from the estate of former player Wilmer Fields (who was with the Grays until he went over to fight in WWII). Included in the masterpiece from photographer Wright and Riley (stamped on the back) is a veritable who's who of Negro League history. Back (l-r): Big Edsall Walker, James Cool Papa Bell, Roy Partlow, Thad Christopher, Josh Gibson, Johnny Wright, Ray Brown, Ernest Spoon Carter, Buck Leonard, Candy Jim Taylor (manager). Front (l-r): Jud Wilson, Jerry Bingham, Joe Spencer, Vic Harris, Sam Bankhead, Matt Carlisle. The team is expertly posed at the ballpark and it has some really cool handwritten identifications on the front from Wilmer Fields himself which add a sort of folk art touch to the piece. An important piece of baseball photography and one of the most incredible pieces of Negro League history ever offered, this is a unique piece of art that is being offered here publicly for the first time ever!

Size: 8x10
Designation: Vintage 1
Condition: 1.5/5
Quality: 5/5
Overall Grade: 6.5/10